Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Assigned Station
Al-Saffat (Those Ranged in Ranks) - Chapter 37: Verse 164

"There is none among us, but that he has a known station."

These are understood to be the words of the angels, each of whom is assigned a station that is never left; some remain bowing, never straightening their spines; others remain prostrating, never lifting their heads. In the immediate context, this verse is a declaration that they, like the jinn, know that any worship of them is misplaced. More broadly speaking, that all angels have a known station indicates that they have, like all created things other than human beings and jinn, no freedom to move from one station or level of being to another. In contrast, human beings and jinn have unknown stations and only reach their final known stations at the moment of death. As Ibn Arabi writes of human beings and jinn, "[Their] stations are designated and ordained within God's Knowledge and unseen by them. Each of them reaches his station at the end of his breaths. Thus his last breath is in his known station upon which he dies. That is why they have been called to travel. Hence they travel, either upwardly by answering the summons or the revealed Law (Shariah) or downwardly by answering the command of desire whence they know not, until after the object of desire has been attained. Hence each individual among man and jinn reaches in his traveling the known station for which he was created."

Compiled From:
"The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary" - Seyyed Hossein Nasr

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Treaty

The Prophet viewed all treaties very seriously. He never broke a promise he gave to anyone, nor would he violate a treaty that had been concluded and witnessed by both parties. For example, a few moments after concluding the ?udaybiyah peace agreement with the Quraysh, a Muslim who was imprisoned and tortured in Makkah arrived and sought refuge with the Muslims. His father was the Quraysh negotiator of the agreement. He demanded that the Muslim, Abu Jandal, should be handed over to him. The Prophet requested him to allow his son to stay with the Muslims. In his appeal to the father, the Prophet said: "The ink has not dried yet on the agreement document." The father adamantly refused. The Prophet consoled Abu Jandal and handed him over to his father, telling him: "It is not right for us in our faith to go back on our pledges." [Ibn Hisham]

The Prophet's strict observance of commitments that he had made under treaties was mirrored by a serious view of any violation of treaties by the other side. Each one of the three Jewish tribes that were party to the Madinah convention was expelled from Madinah when they violated its terms and adopted a hostile attitude.

When the overwhelming majority of the population of Arabia had adopted Islam, it was God's decision to claim the entire Arabian Peninsula as a land of Islam. Therefore, all treaties that did not specify an expiry date were declared abrogated, with a notice of four months to provide the people concerned with some time to determine what they wished to do. The treaties that specified a date of expiry were to run to the end of their terms. The Prophet made the required announcement on the grand day of pilgrimage, so that it would be known to all tribes at the same time. Thus, everyone was clear about their prospects and the options available to them, and they could make their decision with full recognition of the consequences.

Compiled From:
"Muhammad: His Character and Conduct" - Adil Salahi

Blindspot!

Possessed

I am aware that spiritual crises and psychological disorders lie behind the claim that a jinn has possessed this person or caused that person to despair. Sometimes I help them with some charms, recitations and good advice to bring about an improvement in their state. To actually dispel their illusions would take a long time. The Noble Qur'an explains to us the enmity of Iblis and his descendants towards Adam and his descendants and states that this enmity does not go beyond whispering and deceit.

In his attack Shaytan does not command any overpowering force. His power is only to render people heedless and nothing more. Shaytan does not set up any material obstacle in front of a person to stop him from going to the mosque. He does not physically push a drunkard so that he goes to drink in a bar. He possesses trickery and machination and no more than that. The reputation of the deen is harmed by the spread of these illusions among religious people. You know that the scope of material science has expanded and is well-established. When the 'supernatural' is discussed in this way, then the entire future of faith is in danger. There is no reason to accuse the jinn of something they have not done.

People in our time are suffering from alienation and stress. I have met young men and women who claimed that they have been touched by Shaytan and whose nerves were completely shattered. What they really need are kind teachers and psychologists who can play a great role in treating these disorders.

Compiled From:
"The Sunna of the Prophet" - Muhammad Al-Ghazali