by Shaykh Saud bin Ibraaheem Ash-Shuraym

delivered on Rajab 15, 1424 (September 12, 2003)

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the worlds. Peace and blessings of Allah be upon the Messenger, his household and companions.

Brethren in faith! When one looks at the present situation of the Muslims, one will realise it is pathetic, because they have abandoned the Book of their Lord. It is not an exaggeration if one concludes that the disease of the past nations has crept into this Ummah with or without the Muslims' knowledge. Do not you read the Word of Allah that says, "And there are among them unlettered people, who know not the Book, but they trust upon false desires and they but guess." (Al-Baqarah 2:78)

This verse means: They know nothing of the Book that was revealed to them except its recitation that does not go beyond their throats. This is because they are unable to ponder over the meanings of the Qur'an except those among them whom Allah blesses. They are also unable to explore the creation of Allah in their own selves and in the universe around them and many of them have an insatiable love for this world and a hatred for death.

Dear Muslims! All this is a result of the disappearance of the essence knowledge, in spite of the advancement in the printing, means of publication and audio-visual technologies.

Imaam Ahmad reported on the authority of Ibn Labeed Al-Ansari that the Messenger of Allah said something and then added, "And that is when the knowledge is gone." I said, 'O Messenger of Allah! How can the knowledge go while we read the Qur'an and we teach it to our children and our children teach it to their own children?' The Prophet said, "May your mother be bereaved of you O son of Labeed!^[1] I thought you were the most knowledgeable person in Al-Madeenah. Do not you see that the Jews and the Christians have the Torah and the Gospel with them and yet refuse to benefit from what is inside them?"

Fellow Muslims! The nation that claims to follow the Qur'an should not be oblivious of its teachings given the fact that the Book is free of all imperfections and contains the conditions of the past generations. Allah says,

"Verily, this is in the former Scriptures - The Scriptures of Ibrahim (Abraham) and Musa (Moses) (peace be upon them)." (Al-A'laa 87:18-19)

Brethren in faith! The Messenger of Allah lived for sixty-three years at the end of which he became gray-haired. This condition epitomized wisdom, wide experience and admiration. Abu Bakr asked him, "O Messenger of Allah! What is it that has made you have gray hair?" The Prophet answered, "It is Hud, Al-Wuaqi'ah, 'Amma yatasaa'aloon^[2] and Wash-Shamsu kuwwirat^[3] that have caused me gray hair."^[4] (At-Tirmidhi & others)

Fellow Muslims! It is much heard that age and vicissitudes of life cause gray hair. But what will you say about a person who was aged and has undergone vicissitudes of life and yet attributed the grayness of his hair to verses of the Book of Allah, which he recited repeatedly and pondered over their meanings?

Why did the Prophet mention Surah Hud? What are the contents of this Surah that can effect changes in one's mind and life? Let us remove any veil that might be in our hearts so that we can vividly understand how this Surah and its sisters made our Prophet and our exemplar per excellence gray-haired.

'Abdur-Rahman bin Abi Layla said, "A woman visited me while I was reading Surah Hud and she said: 'O 'Abdur-Rahman! Is that how you read Surah Hud? By Allah, I have been reading it for six months and I am yet to finish it."

There is no wonder that this woman said what she said. Before her, 'Abdullah bin Mas'ood had said, "Do not rush while reciting this Qur'an as you rush in your recitation of poetry and do not hasten with it as the ripened dates fall off its tree. Ponder over its marvellous meanings and let it shake your hearts. Let none of you think only of when he is going to finish the Surah."

Dear brethren! Surah Hud was revealed after Surah Yunus and Surah Al-Isra according to some scholars. The period in which the Surah was revealed to the Prophet was one of the saddest periods of his mission, because it was revealed after the death of his dear wife Khadeejah who was his honest confidant and supporter. It was the same period that his beloved uncle, Abu Talib who used to give me unconditional backing and protect him against the Quraysh infidels, died. The year was rightly named 'Year of Sorrow'.

As a matter of fact, the revelation of this verse at this period was a consolation and a source of strength for the Messenger of Allah and his followers. It is a consolation for them for the sorrow, distress and loneliness that they were feeling in a society in which almost everybody rejected their message and persecuted them. So this Surah, with its stories and parables, served as a consolation, a lesson and a support for them. Allah says, "And all that We relate to you (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) of the news of the Messengers is in order that We may make strong and firm your heart thereby. And in this (chapter of the Qur'an) has come to you the truth, as well as an admonition and a reminder for the believers." (Hud 11:120)

The Prophet found out that the Surah in its entirety talked about Prophets Nuh, Hud, Salih, Ibrahim, Lut, Shu'aib and Musa and their peoples. Three of these Prophets are Messenger of Resoluteness. Each of them faced with his people, similar problems faced by his predecessor. The following verse depicted the condition of all of them: "(They were reprieved) until, when the Messengers gave up hope and thought that they were denied (by their people), then came to them Our Help, and whomsoever We willed were rescued. And Our Punishment cannot be warded off from the people who are criminals (sinners, disbelievers, polytheists)." (Yusuf 12:110)

Allah tells us in the above verse that these Prophets reached a stage of despair after they had suffered successive attacks, insults, denials and conspiracies at the hands of their peoples. All this was destined to happen because the way of Allah does not change. It was therefore, a duty of the Prophets to have patience and perseverance and to encourage their followers to have the same until Allah brought relief.

The Surah begins with the Word of Allah, "Alif-Lam-Ra. (These letters are one of the miracles of the Qur'an and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings). [This is] a Book whose verses are perfected and then presented in detail from [One Who is] Wise and Acquainted. (Saying) worship none but Allah. Verily, I (Muhammad (peace be upon him)) am unto you from Him a warner and a bringer of glad tidings." (Hud 11:1-2)

This Book, whose verses are perfected, explained that none should be worshipped besides Allah and that this worship and the call towards it are not an innovation or something revealed to Muhammad alone. It was rather the mission of all Messengers. Each of them told his people, "O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other god but Him." (Al-A'raaf 7:59)

Therefore, slaughtering should be done for Allah alone; hope, fear, seeking for relief and aid, reliance, fervent desire and fear are all acts of worship that should be directed to Allah alone. Also, no law should be followed except His.

After this introduction, Allah starts mentioning the stories of the Prophets in succession. The first was about the dialogue that took place between Prophet Nuh and his people when his people told him:

"We see you but a man like ourselves, nor do we see any follow you but the meanest among us and they (too) followed you without thinking. And we do not see in you any merit above us, in fact we think you are liars." (Hud 11:27)

The people of Prophet Muhammad said the similar thing to their Messenger, "When the hypocrites and those in whose hearts was a disease (of disbelief) said: "These people (Muslims) are deceived by their religion." (Al-Anfal 8:49)

Derisive and contemptuous statements come out from filthy minds that are filled with malice and arrogance. That is a scathing comment against the Messenger of Allah and his sincere companions. Yes! Following the truth does not in any way amount to meanness. Ibn Katheer said, "The fact is that the followers of the truth are the real noble people even if they are poor and that those who reject the truth are the meanest of all people even if they are rich."

Heraclius, the Roman Emperor asked Abu Sufyan about the qualities of the Prophet saying, "Are his followers noble or weak people?" Abu Sufyan answered, "They are weak people." Heraclius said, "They are the followers of all Messengers."

Had belief in the Messengers been connected to nobility, Islam would not have elevated Salman, the Persian; and polytheism would not have relegated Abu Lahab, who was the Prophet's uncle.

One day, the companions saw 'Abdullah bin Mas'ood on a palm tree. They laughed at the tenderness of his shanks while they were being blown here and there by the wind. The Messenger of Allah said, "Are you astonished by the tenderness of his shanks? They are certainly heavier on the scale than the mountain of Uhud."

Those who are usually scorned by the arrogant, the vainglorious and the noble people of this world enjoy high position in the Hereafter because of the faith they have in their Lord and their reliance on Him in spite of their weakness and lack of supporters.

Dear brethren! Allah presents another example when He says about Prophet Lut that he told his people, "Would that I had strength (men) to overpower you, or that I could betake myself to some powerful support (to resist you)." (Hud 11:80)

The Prophet said, "May Allah bestow mercy on Loot. He indeed had a powerful support. That was Allah." The disdained people do experience much sorrow and anxiety but when the truth is eventually revealed and the dwellers of Hell enter their abode, they will then say about those, whom they used to ridicule in the life of this world, "What is the matter with us that we see not men whom we used to count among the bad ones?" Did we take them as an object of mockery, or have (our) eyes failed to perceive them?" (Saad 38:62-63)

The answer to this question will be: "And the dwellers of Paradise will call out to the dwellers of the Fire (saying): "We have indeed found true what our Lord had promised us; have you also found true, what your Lord promised (warnings)?" They shall say: "Yes." Then a crier will proclaim between them: "The Curse of Allah is on the wrong-doers." (Al-A'raf 7:44)

Dear brethren! In Surah Hud, we read stories of a sincere and devoted caller, who loved his people dearly and whose mind was free from malice against his brethren in faith. He loved for them what he loved for himself and he recognized that it was dangerous to forsake and disappoint them. He would stand by his followers as if he has heard the saying of the Prophet Muhammad: "The Muslim is a brother of his fellow Muslim. He should not wrong him nor forsake him or surrender him to the enemy." The Muslim should not wrong his brother nor forsake him or surrender him to his whims or to the satanic thoughts that can lead him away from the right path.

The above concepts should be well understood by all Muslims and they should be implemented in their dealings with their brethren in faith. That was exactly what Prophet Nuh did with his people when he told them, "And O my people! I ask of you no wealth for it, my reward is from none but Allah. I am not going to drive away those who have believed. Surely, they are going to meet their Lord, but I see that you are a people that are ignorant. O my people! Who will help me against Allah, if I drove them away? Will you not then give a thought?" (Hud 11:29-30)

While commenting on this verse, Ibn Katheer said, "It was as if they were asking him to drive away the believers from himself because they felt that their sitting with those believers would be undignified for them. Their counterparts also made the request to the Messenger of Allah that he should expel the weak people who were with him and give them a special audience. It was when the noble men of Quraysh made this request that Allah revealed the following verse: "And turn not away those who invoke their Lord, morning and afternoon seeking His Face. You are accountable for them in nothing, and they are accountable for you in nothing, that you may turn them away, and thus become of the unjust." (Al-An'am 6:52)

The true Muslim does not build up himself upon the ruins of his brethren. He does not prefer the enjoyment of this transient world to the everlasting bliss of the Hereafter. He directs people to the right path and forbids them from doing evil. He does not allow ill feeling to drive him to do what the brothers of Prophet Yoosuf did when they said, "Kill Yusuf (Joseph) or cast him out to some (other) land, so that the favor of your father may be given to you alone, and after that you will be righteous folk (by intending repentance before committing the sin)." (Yusuf 12:9)

The Messenger of Allah said, "Whoever eats up a morsel at the expense of a Muslim, Allah will feed him the like thereof from the Hell (in the Day of Resurrection), and whoever clothes himself at the expense of a Muslim, Allah will cloth him the like thereof from the Hell and whoever exposes a Muslim, Allah will expose him on the Day of Resurrection." (Ahmad)

Fellow Muslims! Another story from Surah Hood teaches us the importance of laying good example and the positive effect of that in building the society. The matter becomes more emphatic when the concerned individuals are the rulers, the scholars and the influential people, and more especially the callers to the way of Allah. This is because; their steps are watched and their sayings and deeds are held in high esteem. None of these people should forbid something and turn around to commit it or warn against an innovation and turn back to do it. For this situation can cause a mix up of truth and falsehood in the eyes of common people.

Prophet Shu'aib exemplified the concept of being a good example to the followers when he told his people, "I wish not, in contradiction to you, to do that which I forbid you. I only desire reform to the best of my power. And my guidance cannot come except from Allah, in Him I trust and unto Him I repent." (Hud 11:9)

Dear brethren! Let us conclude this sermon with a statement that all the Messengers called their peoples to the way of Allah. When their peoples refused to accept their message, different kinds of punishment were meted out to them. Among them were those to whom a violent wind with showers of stone was sent, of them were those seized by a awful cry and of them were those Allah caused the earth to swallow and of them were those drowned.

At the end of this Surah, Allah tells His Messenger Muhammad, "These are some of the news of the (population of) towns which We relate unto you (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) of them, some are (still) standing, and some have been (already) reaped." (Hud 11:100)

Allah says further, "Such is the Seizure of your Lord when He seizes the (population of) the towns while they are doing wrong. Verily, His Seizure is painful, (and) severe." (Hud 11:102)

Allah once again issued a warning to His Prophet, and by extension, to His servants against doubting the truthfulness of the message, "So be not in doubt (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) as to what these people (pagans and polytheists) worship. They worship nothing but what their fathers worshipped before (them). And verily, We shall repay them in full their portion without diminution." (Hud 11:109)

Indeed, payment of the full portion in the above verse means punishing those who heard the message of truth and yet refused to follow it. It is this worrying threat that made the Prophet afraid for the future of his Ummah and thereby caused him gray hair. The Messenger of Allah did not want his followers to meet that horrible fate of the peoples of the previous Prophets.

It was in the light of the above that he said, "All members of my Ummah will enter Paradise except him who refuses to." The companions said, "O Messenger of Allah, who will refuse?" He said, "Whoever obeys me will enter Paradise and whoever disobeys me have refused to (enter Paradise)."

Notes
[1] The literal meaning of this statement is not meant. The Arabs only used to say it as a slight rebuke.

[2] Surah An-Naba' 78

[3] Surah At-Takweer 81

[4] In this hadeeth, the Prophet was alluding to the fact that it was the dreadfulness of the message that these four Surahs carry that made him grow grey hair. Allah knows best.