Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (Allah has counted them, but they forgot)
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Exegesis of His saying, the Exalted: (Allah has counted them, but they forgot)
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: [Al-Mujadilah: 6] (Allah has counted them) means: He has recorded them. This is derived from the word for pebbles, because the Arabs in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance did not read or write, so they would record things using pebbles, counting them with pebbles.And thus came the saying of the poet:
And I am not more numerous than them in pebbles, but honor belongs to the one who is more numerous
Meaning: They would, in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, if they wanted to count their people, count them with pebbles. They would take pebbles equal in number to the people and put them in a bag or container, so that when they wished to recall the number, it would be there; the pebbles would be there. So the origin of (Allah has counted them) means: He has recorded them. It is derived from pebbles because people in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance would only count numbers with pebbles. (Allah has counted them, but they forgot) How did He count them? He, Mighty and Majestic, counted them with His knowledge, and He counted them through His messengers who write.As Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: [Al-Zukhruf: 80] This means: We hear the secret and the whispered conversation, and the messengers are present, writing it down.
[Al-Mujadilah: 6] This phrase is an affirmation of what came before in terms of meaning, meaning that Allah is a witness to everything, whether it is an action, a statement, or a thought in the heart. All of this, Allah is a witness to it.And the intended meaning of this is: It explains the comprehensiveness of the knowledge of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and then warns against disobedience. Because if a person knows that Allah is a witness to everything, what happens? He fears and refrains from sins and performs the obligatory duties. Read the Qur'an and you know its meaning. The intention is not merely the information that Allah is a witness to everything. That is certainly intended, but it is not the only intention. The intention is that you should fear that Allah will testify against you regarding something He, Mighty and Majestic, does not approve of. Pay attention to this point. Most people read but do not understand. We must understand [Al-Baqarah: 265] [Al-Mujadilah: 6] [An-Nur: 64] and the like. What is the purpose of these? Is it that we know this attribute of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, only, or that we worship Allah in accordance with it?
The second along with the first. My brother! If you know that Allah is All-Aware of everything, will you disobey Allah? Do not disobey Him, neither in secret nor in public. If you know that He is a witness to everything, and that He will inform you of what you did, you will fear. By Allah! You will fear, because you will soon meet your Lord. [Al-Inshiqaq: 6] The particle "fa" indicates the nearness of the thing, implying sequence and immediate succession. So you will meet Him soon. And how near is the Hereafter to this world? The best thing you have left behind in time is like a moment. The future will also pass by you like a moment, and then you will be at the door, having met your Lord. Fear, my brother! Do not be deceived by this world, and do not let deception deceive you regarding Allah. This world is transient. How many a person had his youth snatched away while he was at the peak of joy and merriment, and he left this world? And how many a middle-aged man had settled into the world and possessed wealth, status, and honor that his like had not attained; and then he is buried in the dirt. Is this not the reality? And what is beyond that? Beyond that is the Promised Day, the Witness and the Witnessed, the terrors and the terrors. [Al-Muzzammil: 17-18] O Allah, enliven our hearts with admonishment, O Lord of the worlds.
My brothers! This world is not a home of permanence. What is the home of permanence? The Hereafter.And thus said the believer of the family of Fir'awn: [Ghafir: 39] Most people today have made this world their home of permanence and forgotten the Hereafter.And thus He said in the same verse: [Al-Mujadilah: 6] When Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by a group of people counting their tasbih with pebbles, he said to them: [Hold on! There is no good deed you do that Allah has not counted it - there is no need for you to place pebbles - but count your bad deeds so that you repent from them] This is part of his jurisprudence, may Allah be pleased with him.
You do not count that you said "Subhan Allah" eighty times, or a thousand, or two thousand, or that you sent blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the same way. No, this is known and recorded, and it is not lost. But count the bad deed: what bad deed did you do, so that you repent to Allah and turn away from it?Yes, the specified dhikr with a number that has been limited, such as: The tasbih after the prayers. (Whoever says: Subhan Allah, one hundred times.
) (I seek forgiveness from Allah and repent to Him one hundred times) and the like.
What is specified, specify; what is not specified, do not specify. Nothing is lost.If you specify and then boast and say: "I have sent blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) a million times." The meaning is that you have done a favor upon the Messenger.Or I said: "I have remembered Allah a thousand times." The meaning is that you have done a favor upon Allah.
Do not specify except what the Shari'ah has specified, and leave the rest open. Remember Allah much, and send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) much, and everything is counted.
We ask Allah to grant us and you the benefit of taking a lesson from the noble verses, the Prophetic hadiths, and the great creations.
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:
Allah has counted them, but they forgot
أَحْصَاهُ اللَّهُ وَنَسُوهُAnd I am not more numerous than them in pebbles, but honor belongs to the one who is more numerous
Meaning: They would, in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, if they wanted to count their people, count them with pebbles. They would take pebbles equal in number to the people and put them in a bag or container, so that when they wished to recall the number, it would be there; the pebbles would be there. So the origin of (Allah has counted them) means: He has recorded them. It is derived from pebbles because people in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance would only count numbers with pebbles. (Allah has counted them, but they forgot) How did He count them? He, Mighty and Majestic, counted them with His knowledge, and He counted them through His messengers who write.As Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:
Or do they think that We hear not their secrets and their private conversations? Yes, [We do], and Our messengers are with them recording.
أَمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّا لا نَسْمَعُ سِرَّهُمْ وَنَجْوَاهُمْ بَلَى وَرُسُلُنَا لَدَيْهِمْ يَكْتُبُونَAnd Allah is a witness to all things
وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌAnd Allah, of what you do, is Seeing.
وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌAnd Allah is a witness to all things
وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌAnd Allah is Knowing of all things.
وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌThe second along with the first. My brother! If you know that Allah is All-Aware of everything, will you disobey Allah? Do not disobey Him, neither in secret nor in public. If you know that He is a witness to everything, and that He will inform you of what you did, you will fear. By Allah! You will fear, because you will soon meet your Lord.
O mankind, indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with [great] exertion and will meet it.
يَا أَيُّهَا الْأِنْسَانُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَى رَبِّكَ كَدْحاً فَمُلاقِيهِa Day that will make the children white- haired? (18) The heaven will break apart therefrom; ever is His promise fulfilled.
يَوْماً يَجْعَلُ الْوِلْدَانَ شِيباً * السَّمَاءُ مُنْفَطِرٌ بِهِ كَانَ وَعْدُهُ مَفْعُولاًMy brothers! This world is not a home of permanence. What is the home of permanence? The Hereafter.And thus said the believer of the family of Fir'awn:
O my people, this worldly life is only [temporary] enjoyment, and indeed, the Hereafter - that is the home of [permanent] settlement.
يَا قَوْمِ إِنَّمَا هَذِهِ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا مَتَاعٌ وَإِنَّ الْآخِرَةَ هِيَ دَارُ الْقَرَارِAllah has counted them, but they forgot
أَحْصَاهُ اللَّهُ وَنَسُوهُYou do not count that you said "Subhan Allah" eighty times, or a thousand, or two thousand, or that you sent blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the same way. No, this is known and recorded, and it is not lost. But count the bad deed: what bad deed did you do, so that you repent to Allah and turn away from it?Yes, the specified dhikr with a number that has been limited, such as: The tasbih after the prayers. (Whoever says: Subhan Allah, one hundred times.
) (I seek forgiveness from Allah and repent to Him one hundred times) and the like.
What is specified, specify; what is not specified, do not specify. Nothing is lost.If you specify and then boast and say: "I have sent blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) a million times." The meaning is that you have done a favor upon the Messenger.Or I said: "I have remembered Allah a thousand times." The meaning is that you have done a favor upon Allah.
Do not specify except what the Shari'ah has specified, and leave the rest open. Remember Allah much, and send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) much, and everything is counted.
We ask Allah to grant us and you the benefit of taking a lesson from the noble verses, the Prophetic hadiths, and the great creations.