In The Name of Allah, The Compassionate, The Merciful.
His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, delivered in the context of the Friday Talk, a religious speech on Shaban 10,1441 H. - April 3, 2020 A.D
Following is an edited textof his talk:
“There was certainly in their stories a lesson for those of understanding. Never was the Qur'an a narration invented, but a confirmation of what was before it and a detailed explanation of all things and guidance and mercy for a people who believe”[12; 111].Allah, the Most Exalted says the truth.
Thereare many incidents,in the lives of the prophets, that contain some lessons we ought to learn. In this talk, we are going to focus about three of them:
The first occurred when Allah ordered ProphetIbrahim (a.s.) to bring his wife Hajar and his son Ismail from Palestine to Mecca which was at that time a barrenLand that does not have a source ofwater and that no one lives in. Ibrahim(a.s.) did not hesitate to obey Allah’s command. He left his wife and son in this land with little food and water. Before he left, his wife pleaded to him,saying, “Whom are you leaving us with? We have no one to support us nor do we have food and water.” When Ibrahim(a.s.) told her that they have Allah, she, who was a faithful believer, indicated that God will not let them down.
Ibrahim(a.s.) left Mecca, trusting that God will not leave his wife and child for their fate and that He will take care of them. So, he only prayed to God saying:“Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley near Your sacred House, our Lord, that they may establish prayer. So make hearts among the people incline toward them and provide for them from the fruits that they might be grateful”[14; 37].
A few days later the water ran out and their food became scarce. Hajar began her Sai (strolling between Safa and Marwa). Although she was concerned,she never lost hope and was confident that God will save them.When she finished her seventhround,she found water flowing near her child by Allah’s command.
Thesecond story is the story of Prophet Moussa(a.s)when he fled with his people from Egypt and the Pharaoh followed them with his huge army. By Allah’s command,Moussa (a.s)struck a path in the sea. Although Moussa’speople were afraid and even sure that they were doomed to perish, Moussa neverlost hope that Allah will not let down His downtrodden believers.Moussa(a.s)struck a path in the sea and his people crossed over itwhile the army of the tyrant oppressor drowned.
The third story is that of Ayoub(a.s), which we are in a dire need to recall today. Ayoub(a.s)was a wealthy man who had several children. But God tried him with a severe sickness that lasted for seven years.His illness was very severe that his wife and children kept away from him out of fear of contracting hisdisease. Finally, Ayoub(a.s)addressed God, butin what manner. Did he beg or blame Allah or was he angry with Him? No, he only described his state“Indeed, adversity has touched meand you are the Most Merciful of the merciful”[21; 83]...He expressed his trust in what God has chosen for him. He did not define what he needs or ask his Lord to change his condition. He leftit to God: if Allah sees that there is good in his staying ill, then he let him stay ill, and if the good was in healing him,then Allah will decide to do so. Allah proved that Ayoub‘s trust was in itsplace. But if you do not trust Allah and think bad about Him then you will be among the losers.“And that was your assumption which you assumed about your Lord. It has brought you to ruin, and you have become among the losers” [41; 22]and eventually he cured him.
Dear loved ones: putting our trust in Allah is the best means to enhance our relations with Him,and attain what He has promised us. However, this means that we should trust God more than we trust ourselves. We should have trust in His mercy, generosity and favor. Weshould put our hope inHim with respect to everything, and that He would save us from allmiseries and calamities, and that He is over all things competent.
The three stories we have referred to have onething in common:the trust of the Prophets in Allah. They trusted Him because they knew Him well. The more you know Allah, His greatness,His Mercy,His love for His creations, and that He only means good for them in what He commands them to do,the more you trust Him, accept His decrees and leave your fate in His hands.The Messenger (p.)says:“By the One Who, there is no god except for Him! A believer is not given anything at all from the good of this world and the Hereafter except by the goodness of his thoughts in Allah, and his hopefulness to Him”.
Dear loved ones: let us enhance our trust in Allah in all our affairs from the tiniest details to the most difficult situations and trials whether on the personal level or on the social one. The more things get difficult, the more we need to trust in Allah. Crises are the times when this trust is tested. Do not fail this test especially in these hard times. We should never despair and lose hope that Allah will turn hardship into ease. We should never refuse to accept to Allah’s will and decrees such as those who blame Allah on anything bad that happens to them as if he intends to hurt them. We, dear loved ones, should not let our trust in Allah shake or weaken. We should always nourish and enhance it. Moreover, we should never doubt Allah’s intentions lest we would lose and become remorseful.
Trusting Allah’s good intentions is what drove one of His faithful servants who lost his daughter to say: if I had the choice between getting my daughter or accept Allah’s decree, I would have chosen to accept His will. For we have a great hope in God and a great trust in him, and we should not trust or ask anyone else.
His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah issued onShaban 10, 1441 H. /April 3, 2020, a press release in the context of his regular Friday talk…
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