Topic of Discussion:

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In the name of All°h, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Discussion: The Qur˜°n: A Divine Light

in the (Spiritually) Dark and Gloomy Nights
Øad¢th #4
#43 [ Discussion #5
#56]
Lectures on Akhl°q given by His Eminence
Ayatull°h al-`U®m° al-Ø°jj ash-Shaykh N°•ir Mak°rim ash-Sh¢r°z¢ (may All°h protect him)
Translated by Saleem Bhimji – www.al-mubin.org – al-mubin@al-mubin.org

‫ اﻟﻘﺮآن ﻧﻮل ﻓﻲ ﻇﻠﻤﺎت اﻟﻠﻴﻞ‬:‫اﻟﻤﻮﺿﻮع‬

Topic: The Qur’an: A Divine Light in
the (Spiritually) Dark and Gloomy Nights
Text of the Øad¢th:

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TRANSLATION It has been narrated from Ibn Sa`¢d al-Khudhr¢ that he said, “The Messenger of All°h
spoke
TRANSLATION:
to us and said in his speech, ‘O’ People! You are in a period of Hudnah and the journey which you are upon is a
fast moving one, and surely you see how night and the day make everything old which is new and how they
make everything which is far away, near (to you) and how (these two) bring forth all the promises (which have
been kept).’ Miqd°d said to him, ‘O’ Prophet of All°h, and what is Al-Hudnah?’ So he (blessings of All°h be
upon him and his family) replied, ‘It is the abode of tests and migration. So then when the (treacherous) events
descend upon you like a segment of the dark night, then I advise you to (hold onto) the Qur˜°n since it (the
Qur˜°n) is an intercession whose intercession is accepted, and it is the one which speaks the truth and also
confirms and testifies to others (and the truth which they speak) and whoever places the Qur˜°n in front of him, it
(the Qur˜°n) will lead him towards Paradise and the person who tosses the Qur˜°n behind him, it will push him to
the Hell.”1

Commentary of Øad¢th:
n this ¶ad¢th, the Noble Prophet
has stated, ”O’ People!

I
You are in the period of “Hudnah” (the
explanation of this will follow later); you have been left free in this transient world and have been given free
reign (to do as you please). This transient world is in a state of quickly passing away. The night and day are
making all new things old and long forgotten and is making all things which may be far away, near (to you) and
is making every promise which was kept to be fulfilled.”

1 Bi¶°rul Anw°r, Volume 74, Page 177

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It is amazing to think that we are living in an environment in which there is no peace and tranquility - everything
is being overturned and changed rapidly. In the words of the late `All°mah Iqb°l:

‫ﻣﻮﺟﻴﻢ ﻛﻪ آﺳﻮدﮔﻰ ﻣﺎ ﻋﺪم ﻣﺎﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﻣﺎ زﻧﺪه ﺑﻪ آﻧﻴﻢ ﻛﻪ آرام ﻧﮕﻴﺮﻳﻢ‬

The upsurge in the water (a wave) is a thing in constant motion and if it were to be stable and calm, then it would
cease to be called a wave. When a person looks at the world stage of humanity, he would see that babies are
quickly becoming young adults, the young adults are quickly becoming elders, and the elders are being brought
to the graveyard. These announcements that are made (within the community) of people who pass away is
actually a warning for all human beings.

In continuation of the ¶ad¢th, the companion, Miqd°d asked, “O’ Prophet of All°h! What is the meaning of “Al-
Hudnah”?

The Prophet replied, “(Al-Hudnah means that) the transient world is a place of test and examination and a period
(of passing through) in which you have been left alone (to fend for yourself). All°h i will not bother with you,
and in the face of the sins which you commit and the actions which you perpetrate, He will not immediately
punish you.”2

2
There is a long discussion in relation to the tests of All°h i, however we shall allude to some of the points of it
here.
1. Why does All°h i need to test people?
Isn’t the process of examination so that we can recognize and have a better knowledge of those people or things
which are unknown and obscure to us and so that we can judge the level of a person’s ignorance and lack of
knowledge? If this is the case, then All°h i, whose Knowledge covers and encompasses all things and who
knows all of the inner and outer secrets of every person and every thing in existence is already aware and knows
everything – so then why test us? Is there something which is hidden from Him that He must test us to bring it
forth?

The answer to this important question must be sought out and therefore we must state that the meaning of testing
or examination in relation to All°h i has a different meaning to the testing and examination which we
understand. For us, the testing and examination process is for us to develop a better understanding and to
remove any sorts of doubts and ignorance – however in relation to the tests of All°h – in reality – the meaning of
this testing is nurturing and upbringing.
upbringing

In reality, the test of All°h i is similar to the work which a horticulturalist who has a great deal of experience
carries out in which he would place the ready to grow seed into the ground which has been made ready for
sowing. This seed, by making use of the natural gifts (of water, light, etc…) would start to grow and develop and
stage by stage, would fight against the difficulties which it comes across and would battle with various things
happening around it such as the strong winds, the cold weather and the burning heat of the sun and it would
stand strong until a beautiful flower blooms from its branch or until a huge tree full of fruit is brought forth so
that it is now able to continue its life on its own and put up with all sorts of difficulties which it may come across.

When soldiers want to look strong and powerful in terms of their military prowess, they go forth in military
manoeuvres and simulated wars and are put face to face with the various challenges of thirst, hunger, heat, cold,
difficult circumstances and demanding impediments so that they can be conditioned and tempered – and this is
the meaning of the examinations of All°h i.

2. The Tests of All°h i are Universal

Seeing as how the order in the life of the world of existence is one of evolution (to reach to perfection) and one of
the cultivation (of the spirit), and all living creatures which exist are traversing the path towards perfection, and
even the trees bring forth their hidden potentiality when they bring forth fruit, we see that all people from the
Ethical Discourse | Discussion # 56 | Page 2 of 4
After this, the Prophet
then commands the following, and this next point has been mentioned in various books
in the form of an independent ¶ad¢th in which he says:

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So then if events come upon you which resemble the darkness of the night (events which are full of terror and
fear) then hold on fast to the Qur˜°n – why? Because the Qur˜°n is an intercessor and it is one whose intercession
is accepted. It is one who is truthful and it is also the one which has confirmed and acknowledged All°h i. The
person who places the Qur˜°n in front of him (keeps the Qur˜°n in mind before performing any act) will be guided
to Paradise by the Qur˜°n, and the person who throws the Qur˜°n behind him will be led into the hell fire.

Placing the Qur˜°n in front and leaving it behind can have two meanings:

1. Paying attention to the Qur˜°n and neglecting the Qur˜°n, or:

2. The Qur˜°n becomes the teacher of the person and not an instrument for his use – by this we mean that the
person brings himself to the Qur˜°n not he wants to the Qur˜°n to ‘come to him’.

There are some people who, when they have made their decision and final conclusion (in regards to a particular
act or thing), they then refer to the Qur˜°n and seek to find a verse which would conform to their own ideologies.
These sorts of people stick to only those verses of the Qur˜°n which they find (which suit their purpose) and leave
aside all other verses of the Qur˜°n and through this, they are the living example of the verse which states:

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“We believe in part of it and disbelieve in part of it.”3

It is clear that such people have thrown the Qur˜°n behind them.

Many of the misled Madh°hib (sects) which have come forth within Isl°m such as the Wahhabis are plagued with
this sickness. When a person’s theological beliefs become very exact and precise we see that they then seek to
gather together all of the verses of the Qur˜°n which are clear and obvious and take the verses which have two
sides to them (their meaning) and which serve their purpose.

On the opposite side, there are a group of people who are students of the Qur˜°n and they say, “Our final decision
is that which the Qur˜°n tells us.” These people take the guidance of the Qur˜°n when they need to solve any
difficulty and are a living example of the verse of the Qur˜°n which reads:

Prophets to all other people, according to the general law of evolution (to reach to perfection), must all face the
Divine Tests and must make their talents and abilities blossom and bloom.

3. The Ways of Testing

The verses of the Qur˜°n bring forth many examples of the people who have been tested and mentions their trails,
which include: fear, hunger, loss to their wealth, death of their children and even death of the Prophets. In
addition, the commandments of All°h i, and generally speaking from the point of view of the Qur˜°n, even some
dreams are all a part of the testing process of All°h i and in general, all of these things can either be “good or
bad” - and all of them are classified as tests of All°h i:

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“And We shall surely test you with evil and good…” (Tafs¢r-e-Namuna, Volume 1, Page 526)
3 S£ratul Nisa (4), Verse 105
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“But no! by your Lord! they do not believe (in reality) until they make you a judge of that which has become a
matter of disagreement among them, and then do not find any straitness in their hearts as to what you have
decided and submit with entire submission.”4

You have definitely heard the following short saying from Nahjul Bal°gha in which it has been stated:

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“Isl°m is as-Taslim (complete submission).”5

Until a person does not submit entirely in the presence of the Qur˜°n, he shall not be considered as a true Muslim.

It is not correct for a person to impose his own beliefs upon the Qur˜°n and this is a form of egotism since the
Qur˜°n clearly tells us that, “We must submit entirely to it – both its outer content and its inner purport.”

With all of this emphasis which exists (in regards to the Book of All°h), still the Qur˜°n does not hold a essential
and deserving status in our Theological Seminaries. If only we paid as much attention to the Qur˜°n and the
exegesis of it as we do to the study of rhetoric and expression (of the `Arabic language) since just we as all believe
and accept that:

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“There is nothing wet or dry except that it is recorded in a manifest book.”6

There is a group of people, such as the Wahhabis, who only give importance to the letters of the Qur˜°n and put
forth much efforts to recite it (properly), however they have nothing to do with its contents. When the Q°r¢ of the
Qur˜°n recites many verses of the Qur˜°n in one breath, they would shout out, “All°h, All°h” (as a form of
encouragement to the reciter), however when the moving verses regarding the Day of Judgement are recited,
since the Q°r¢ did not recite then in one breath there is no “All°h, All°h”!

Truly, amongst us, the Qur˜°n is oppressed! The Qur˜°n must be our text book and you must have discussions on
the exegesis of this book such that we sit and see what it is that the Qur˜°n has to say to us not what we have to
say about this book.

What is important is that we must have the firm belief that the more work that is done on the Qur˜°n (its
understanding), the more we will be granted a divine light, purity and a new understanding of this Book. The
illumination of the mind of a person comes about when he works with the Qur˜°n, and we must know and realize
that in relation to the Qur˜°n, we have three important responsibilities which must be fulfilled:

1. Recitation of the Qur˜°n.

2. Understanding the contents of the Qur˜°n
3. And more important than all, acting upon the contents of the Qur˜°n.

…and all praise belongs to All°h (Glory and Greatness be to Him), only the mistakes are mine

4 S£ratul Nisa (4), Verse 65

5 Nahjul Balagha, Short Saying 120
6 S£ratul An`am (6), Verse 59

Ethical Discourse | Discussion # 56 | Page 4 of 4