Current Affairs: "Where are those you used to invoke besides Allah ?" [al A’raf 7:37]

  إِذَا جَاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُنَا يَتَوَفَّوْنَهُمْ قَالُوا أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُمْ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ ۖ قَالُوا ضَلُّوا عَنَّا وَشَهِدُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا كَافِرِينَ

..when Our messengers come to them to take them in death, they will say, “Where are those you used to invoke besides Allah ?” They will say, “They have departed from us,” and will bear witness against themselves that they were disbelievers. [al A’raf 7:37]

وَقِيلَ ادْعُوا شُرَكَاءَكُمْ فَدَعَوْهُمْ فَلَمْ يَسْتَجِيبُوا لَهُمْ وَرَأَوُا الْعَذَابَ ۚ لَوْ أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يَهْتَدُونَ

And it will be said, “Invoke your ‘partners’ ” and they will invoke them; but they will not respond to them, and they will see the punishment. If only they had followed guidance! [Qassas 28:64] 

In these aayaat, Allah is showing irony to the disbelievers. The disbelievers torture the Muslims in the past, and they even torture them today* in the secret dungeons/prisons – and they sarcastically say to the believers – ‘pray to your Allah to help you now!’ [even Pharoah said this about Moses: surah Ghafir 40: 26-27]

So when Allah takes these unrepentant people at death, He makes the harsh angels shout to them; Call upon your partners! [those they called for help in the worldly life] So they will call upon them (in desperation). And they will not respond to them…

—

*He [Babar Ahmad] said (6th May 2011): “One of the officers said ‘you are in prayer now’. All the others began to laugh and it was like they were laughing at me.

“One said ‘where is your God now?’. And another said ‘pray to him’.

 http://www.cageprisoners.com/learn-more/news/item/1521-terror-suspect-babar-ahmad-taunted-over-god-by-police

[Please support his release by signing this PETITION]

So when Allah takes these unrepentant people at death, He makes the harsh angels shout to them; Call upon your partners! [those they called for help in the worldly life] So they will call upon them (in desperation). And they will not respond to them…

وَقِيلَ ادْعُوا شُرَكَاءَكُمْ فَدَعَوْهُمْ فَلَمْ يَسْتَجِيبُوا لَهُمْ وَرَأَوُا الْعَذَابَ ۚ لَوْ أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يَهْتَدُونَ

And it will be said, “Invoke your ‘partners’ ” and they will invoke them; but they will not respond to them, and they will see the punishment. If only they had followed guidance! [Qassas 28:64]

AND IF My servants ask thee about Me – behold, I am near; I respond to the call of him who calls, whenever he calls unto Me… [Baqarah 2:186]

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُواْ لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُواْ بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ
 
AND IF My servants ask thee about Me – behold, I am near; I respond to the call of him who calls, whenever he calls unto Me: let them, then, respond unto Me, and believe in Me, so that they might follow the right way. [Baqarah 2:186]
 

When you take this ayah and compare it with the other ayahs where Allah responds to things which the people asked about, you immediately notice one difference. Allah says {to His Messenger } “Qul” (“Say: “) … then the answer is given. For example:

يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الأهِلَّةِ قُلْ هِيَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَجِّ وَلَيْسَ الْبِرُّ بِأَنْ تَأْتُوْاْ الْبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا وَلَـكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنِ اتَّقَى وَأْتُواْ الْبُيُوتَ مِنْ أَبْوَابِهَا وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

THEY WILL ask thee about the new moons. Say: “They indicate the periods for [various doings of] mankind, including the pilgrimage.” [165] However, piety does not consist in your entering houses from the rear, [as it were,] but truly pious is he who is conscious of God. [166] Hence, enter houses through their doors, and remain conscious of God, so that you might attain to a happy state.

Just to take the relevant parts of the ayahs, we see the pattern is like this:

يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الأهِلَّةِ قُلْ
THEY WILL ask thee about the new moons. Say…

يَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنفِقُونَ قُلْ
THEY WILL ask thee as to what they should spend on others. Say….

يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الشَّهْرِ الْحَرَامِ قِتَالٍ فِيهِ قُلْ
They will ask thee about fighting in the sacred month. Say…..

يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ قُلْ
THEY WILL ask thee about intoxicants and games of chance. Say….

وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْيَتَامَى قُلْ
And they will ask thee about [how to deal with] orphans. Say….

وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْمَحِيضِ قُلْ
AND THEY will ask thee about [woman’s] monthly courses. Say…

All of these questions, they ask something, and it is [Oh Prophet] Say this and this….

 

But:

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ
AND IF My servants ask thee about Me – behold, I am near; I respond to the call of him who calls, whenever he calls unto Me.

Not, if my servants ask you about me then say I am near… no, it is just if they ask you about me then I am near. This is the exception to the pattern, and Allah does not make exception for no reason. Every word or lack of word is there for a purpose so we can see that the omission/removal of “Qul” [“say: “] in this ayah/verse must have a purpose, and the effect of not having this Qul here is to make the saying more intimate between Allah and His servant. If we ask about Allah, He is near, He answers the one who makes dua [calls upon Him].

There is no intermediary in this and this structure of the ayah and omission of “qul” even emphasises this point about the nature of dua being a direct line between Allah and His servants, and His closeness to us. And the use of first person enhances this feeling of closeness with Allah aswell, and brings to mind his merciful and soft attributes as opposed to His majestic and glorious ones which you get from plural of majesty. This makes the servant feel at ease to approach their Lord in dua and turn to Him like a close friend, to trust Him and confide in Him.

..and when I fall ill, He is the One who restores me to health. (Shu’ara 26:80)

 وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ

..and when I fall ill, He is the One who restores me to health.

(ash-Shu’ara 26:80)

 
مَرِضْتُ 

I fall ill, There is a very delicate point here; the respect and care that the Prophets’/Messengers’ of Allah pay towards Allah (swt.)

Abraham/Ibraheem (peace be upon him) does not say “when Allah makes me ill” rather he says “when I fall ill“, therefore not directly attributing his illness to Allah swt. Though he knows well that both health and illness is from Allah (swt). However because we all look at illness as a test, a trial, something difficult, so from the amount of respect he has for Allah (swt), he does not say when Allah makes me sick, but rather he acknowledges his illness as his fault.

فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ

Then he continues, to say that Allah (swt) is the one who restores his health (i.e. attributing the good to Allah). Giving Allah (swt) the prestige, and position of goodness. يَشْفِينِ this is in a tense that demonstrate that it will happen more than once. So on the one hand Abraham/Ibraheem says when I fall ill, meaning he knows he will, then he acknowledges that Allah (swt) will give him shifa [cure] more than once.

It is due to the goodness of his heart and the goodness that he exhibited in his character, that Allah (swt) chose him – Abraham/Ibrahim – as His khaleel [close friend].

All these mannerisms of Prophet Ibrahim/Abraham towards Allah are described in just 5 words!

The Power of Du’a [2:129]

Asalaam alaikum Warahmatulah Wabarakatuh


This verse shows the power of Du’a [calling upon Allah for your requests].

How?

Prophet Ibrahim [Abraham] and Isma’il [Ishmail] prayed to Allah that through their offspring comes a Messenger;

{ “Our Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall recite unto them Your Verses and instruct them in the Book (this Quran) and Al-Hikmah (full knowledge of the Islamic laws and jurisprudence or wisdom or Prophethood, etc.), and sanctify them. Verily! You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.”} [al Baqara 2:129]

Allah directly answered their du’a and sent Prophet Muhammad (sal Allah alaihi wasalam)!

So ask from Allah, and He will give!