A sign for those in doubt
A Muslim is required to unreservedly accept and believe in these articles of faith even though he never saw angels or messengers of Allah (SWT) with his eyes; yet he believes in them. A Muslim has never seen Paradise or Hell; yet he believes they exist. This is what faith entails in Islam. Allah (SWT) […]
A Muslim is required to unreservedly accept and believe in these articles of faith even though he never saw angels or messengers of Allah (SWT) with his eyes; yet he believes in them. A Muslim has never seen Paradise or Hell; yet he believes they exist. This is what faith entails in Islam. Allah (SWT) affirms in Qur’an 2:3-5 “Those who believe in the unseen, and are steadfast in prayers, and spend out of what we have provided for them; And those who believe in the revelation sent to thee, and sent before thy time, and (in their hearts) have the assurance of the Hereafter; They are on (true) guidance from their Lord, and it is these who will prosper”.
Allah (SWT) gave signs to His messengers to support them in their respective missions as bearers of glad tidings who warn against disbelief. These signs were meant by Allah (SWT) to guide mankind on the path of belief. Those whom Allah (SWT) desired to be guided did not reject the signs brought by Allah’s messengers. On the other hand, those whom Allah (SWT) wished to leave on the path of disbelief were made to reject divine signs. Allah (SWT) states in Qur’an 7:178 “Whom Allah doth guide is on the right path; whom He rejects from His guidance, such are the persons who perish”.
Because man is naturally disposed to rebellion, and because Satan has undertaken to lead man astray except whom Allah (SWT) saves; there are bound to be people who will fail to see any truth in the signs of God no matter how manifest they stand out. Though such people have apparently all the faculties of reason and perception, they have so become anesthetized and therefore insensitive that those faculties do not work; and they go headlong into Hell. They are, as it were, made for Hell. Allah (SWT) confirms in Qur’an 7:179 “Many are the Jinn and men we have made for Hell: they have hearts wherewith they understand not, eyes wherewith they see not, and ears wherewith they hear not. They are like cattle, nay more misguided: for they are heedless (of warning)”.
An example of how man could sound unreasonable in questioning the signs of Allah (SWT) finds expression in the parable of the Israelites who treated the announcement by Prophet Musa (AS) of a sacrifice of a heifer with jest. When Prophet Musa (AS) continued solemnly to ask for the sacrifice (as narrated in Qur’an 2:67-71), they put him off on one pretext and another, asking a number of questions which they could have answered themselves if they had listened to Moses’ directives. Their questions were carping criticisms rather than the result of a desire for information. The Israelites at a point said to Prophet Musa (AS) that they would not believe in the message he brought until they see God manifestly with their eyes.
In any case, the signs of God are many. Some were brought and disclosed by prophets and messengers of Allah (SWT). Others were prophesized some of which have come to pass. However, the signs of God especially those that are meant to establish and corroborate the existence of God, life after death, as well as punishment for disbelievers and bliss for the righteous, would continue to unfold until end of time. The continuous display of divine signs is a respite for man from Allah (SWT) so that those for whom He desires guidance would heed the lessons inherent in the signs. One of such never-ending signs was witnessed few weeks ago in Jigawa state of Nigeria.
It is the story of a man in Kazaure town who got stuck in a grave and died immediately when he went to exhume a fresh corpse soon after burial. The man was reported to be among the mourners who participated in the funeral and took the corpse to the graveyard for burial. When the corpse was interred and mourners were returning home, the man was said to have stayed back at a nearby stream where he pretended to be washing his hands. When everyone had left the graveyard, he returned and started digging the grave with a deliberate intent of exhuming the corpse of the 38-year-old trader whose name was given as Sirajo Buhari of Unguwar Gabbas ward in Kazaure. It was in the process of digging that the grave collapsed with half of the man’s body (from head to abdomen) stuck in the grave and he died instantly. The picture of the man’s lifeless body trapped in the grave was carried on the front page of the Friday September 29 2011 edition of Aminiya newspaper as well as by Sunday Trust on page 2 of its September 18, 2011 edition.
It was gathered that early callers at the graveyard could not go close to the trapped person as everyone was afraid of the unknown. It was not until when some courageous young men arrived at the scene that the stuck dead body of the man was removed from the grave. This incident, as a contemporary but divine sign in its own right, provides answers for those whose minds still harbor doubts about transient life in the barzakh. Many lessons of course, can be deduced from the Kazaure episode.
It affirms the divine. Who else, if not Allah (SWT)’s might and authority, would have held back the man in the grave where he had gone to exhume the fresh corpse? The incident asserts that there is punishment for those who transgress the bounds set by Allah (SWT). While some sinners and criminals are punished in this world, the punishment of others is delayed until the Day of Reckoning.
It was reported that the trapped man had amulets hanging on parts of his body; probably to protect him in the course of his mission. Unfortunately, the charms failed to save him from the wages of his own sins. But for Allah’s sake, why should anyone decide to go and dig out a fresh corpse? May Allah save us from evil temptations, amin.
We mourn Ghaddafi:
The hypocrisy and insincerity of western powers again manifested in the killing of the Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi. It is now apparent that NATO had ulterior motives for going to Libya. Now that Ghaddafi has been killed, they would enjoy unrestricted access to Libya’s oil; their ultimate goal. However, taking a person’s life no matter his offence without prosecution in a court of law is tantamount to extra-judicial killing.
It is unfortunate that Ghaddafi’s body, after he was killed, was handled in that manner. He shouldn’t have been killed in the first place because he is covered by the Geneva Convention. Ghaddafi’s greatest sin, according to the west, was his refusal to be used by western governments against what he believed in. The teenage Libyan fighter, Sanad al-Sadek al-Ureibi, who claims to be Ghaddafi’s killer, is so happy to have committed the act. We wait to see if he will be prosecuted according to law or treated as a hero!
Several world leaders including Fidel Castro of Cuba, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, and Jerry Rawlins (former president of Ghana) have individually condemned the barbaric act. We are yet to hear from the Nigerian leader. Anyway, if one is not condemning a criminal act, he would of course be seen to be commending it. Therefore, Nigeria’s silence in this case could be implied. However, if anyone believes that America under the guise of NATO is justified for going to attack Libya and consequently killing Ghaddafi because of alleged misrule in that country; then we should by the same token and without delay call on NATO to come to Nigeria because it is arguably a country next to none in terms of bad governance.
We mourn Ghaddafi. May Allah (SWT) admit him into the fold of shuhadaa, amin.