الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينة ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا، ومن سيئات أعمالنا 

وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ، وأشهد أن سيدنا محمدًا عبده ورسوله .

I have emphasized in several of my past talks that it is my belief that in addition to providing us with guidance regarding the articles of belief and the basic elements of shariah (laws), Quran is an extremely important book in developing the intellectual capacity, analysis capability and logic superiority of Muslims.  

In order to achieve this superior cognitive development, the Quran established 6 steps that starts with 1) reading and  progresses to 2) “Tilawah” (تلاوة) (Understanding of the meanings and forward linkage), 3) “Tadabour“ (تدبر) (deep study and backward linkage), 4) “Tarteel” (ترتيل) (assembly of all verses related to the same subject to establish comprehensive picture), 5) “Dirasah” (دراسة) (serious study by breakdown every letter/word/ Ayat to analyze them) and ends with 6) “Tadhakur” (تذكر) (continuous reminder of past learnings).

In several of my past talks, I tried to demonstrate the use of these steps in resolving the mystery of some verses in the Quran.

Today, I want to discuss the unique strategy of the Quran when teaching concepts, ideas and commands. Instead of the just stating the idea or the command, the Quran uses a more effective method that is based on creating cooperative learning and an inquiry-based methodology.   This teaching strategy has seven elements: 1) reason, 2) contrast, 3) balance, 4) illustration, 5) sequence, 6) evolution, and 7) reiteration. 

Today, I want to demonstrate the Quran’s use of the illustration element. 

The Quran uses real stories and parables to present critical commands and concepts.  But even in these cases, the Quran does not come straight and tells us the lessons but engages our brain to derive them ourselves.    This is very effective approach for teaching and it is very useful to use with your children and grandchildren. 

As example, if you want to teach them the importance of generosity, the command will be far lasting if you frame the command in a story from which they, on their own, recognize the value of generosity.  

Now, I want to demonstrate the effective use of illustration to derive key moral and belief principles.  I’ll select a story from the Quran that you all are familiar with.  But unlike past talks when you were acting as professors and I was serving as a student who is defending a thesis, today, you will serve as members of a team who is competing with other teams to find who can identify the largest numbers of lessons from the story.

The true story that we will, inshallah, discuss today is presented in verses 67-73 of Surat Al-Baqara.  We need to use the critical thinking skill that we developed to identify the lessons we can draw from the story. Let us listen to it first:

This story started with verse 67 when Prophet Musa asked his people to slaughter a cow and it ended with verse 73 that explained the purpose of slaughtering the cow.

But let me use the Quran and the hadith books to summarize the story before we draw from it the lessons that Allah wants us to learn form it.

There was a very wealthy man from Bani Israel who was not married and thus has no children.  His relatives were poor but in spite of his wealth, he was very cheap, miser and never helped them.  The family wished he would die so they inherit his money. So, they talked about killing him and his nephew decided to act on the plan and killed him.  To avoid being implicated in the crime, the family took the body to a nearby village and left the body in front of the neighboring village wall without anyone seeing them.

In the morning the people saw the body and inquired who is the person and found that he is this wealthy man of the neighboring village. The nephew and the rest of the family became very vocal and accused the people of the village where the body was found with the crime of killing their uncle and demanded blood money and punishment for the killer.  Everyone in that village became accused and everyone tried to prove his innocence and accuse others. 

A major conflict started between the two villages and the people decided to go to Prophet Musa to investigate the case and judge among them.  Prophet Musa told them that Allah revealed to him that they need to slaughter a cow.  

But when the people heard this, they accused Prophet Musa that he is kidding.  He obviously got angry from them regarding how can they even think that he would tell something untrue and claim that Allah revealed it to him.  When he insisted that what he is telling them is a true command form Allah, they agreed to do it.   But instead of picking any cow and slaughtering it, they started asking question about its specification:

They started with saying Ask your Lord to explain to us what it is, as if they don’t know what a cow is. When Allah revealed the answer.  This was not sufficient for them, so they again told Prophet Musa: Ask your Lord to tell us about its color.   Allah revealed to Prophet Musa the color.  But this was not enough for them, so they again told Prophet Musa: Ask your Lord to make it clear for us, all the cows seem alike to us.  Again Allah revealed for them additional specification that made only one cow in whole area meets the restrictive specification.

They bought the cow at very expensive price and slaughtered it.  All members of the village gathered around the deceased.  Prophet Musa asked them to take part of the slaughtered cow and hit the deceased person with it; and the deceased person came back to life.  They asked him who killed him and he named the nephew who killed him.  

This cow has another story but let us not discuss it now and focus on the lessons we can draw from the story based on the few verses that we listened to.

In order to demonstrate that the stories in the Quran are not for entertainment but to encourage us to think to draw the lesson from it, yesterday, I told the story to my granddaughter who is 14, she is going 10th grade, and told her, I’ll give her $20 if she comes with 10 lessons.  She came with 6, so I told her if the people of the masjid can come with one additional lesson, she will get the $20.    So, she needs your help.  I’ll share with you the six lessons she was able to draw from the story.  I’ll elaborate a little on several of them but now I need you help in identifying 4 additional lessons to build on her six that are:

1/ Don’t be miser, be generous with your family, otherwise they will hate you. 

2/ Don’t seek wealth by evil means. because if they are not decreed for you, you will never get the wealth and only suffer the punishment of the evil deed in this life and the hereafter.

3/ Obey the command of Allah as it is stated and don’t make it more complicated. If you try to complicate Allah’s command, Allah will make it more complicated and expensive for you.

4/ Allah does not need to explain the reason of His commands; we should follow His command because of who is He. 

5/ Some of the commands of Allah are intended to break wrong beliefs or bad habits.   Allah wants to break the belief of these who worshiped the Golden calf by asking them to slaughter a cow.

6/ The story demonstrates that Allah can resurrects the dead by any mean, including by part of a dead animal.

Let us take few minutes and to get your input on other lessons.

Until you come with additional lessons, let me elaborate on some of the six:

1. Don’t be miser, be generous with your family, otherwise they will hate you.

The story gives a real example on the level of hatred you will face and the risk you be subject to if you are not being generous with your family. This level of hatred reached the point of killing in the story but even if actual killing will not happen, the family will be supplicating for the person’s death.  Does anyone of us want this to happen to him?

This story allowed us to identify this divine command of supporting our family without stating the command and this will have more impact on our behavior than by just stating the command.   However, this command that was derived from the real story actually came in the Quran as direct command several times:   (Al-Baqara 2: 83 and 177), (Al-Nisa 4: 36), (Al-Nahl 16:90), (Al-Isra 17:26), (Al-Noor 24:22), (Al-Rom 30:38), and (al-Hashr 59:7). The following is one example:

لَّيۡسَ ٱلۡبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّواْ وُجُوهَكُمۡ قِبَلَ ٱلۡمَشۡرِقِ وَٱلۡمَغۡرِبِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلۡبِرَّ مَنۡ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡأَخِرِ وَٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕڪَةِ وَٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ وَٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ وَءَاتَى ٱلۡمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ ذَوِى ٱلۡقُرۡبَىٰ وَٱلۡيَتَـٰمَىٰ وَٱلۡمَسَـٰكِينَ وَٱبۡنَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَٱلسَّآٮِٕلِينَ وَفِى ٱلرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَى ٱلزَّڪَوٰةَ وَٱلۡمُوفُونَ بِعَهۡدِهِمۡ إِذَا عَـٰهَدُواْ‌ۖ وَٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ فِى ٱلۡبَأۡسَآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَحِينَ ٱلۡبَأۡسِ‌ۗ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُواْ‌ۖ وَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُتَّقُونَ (١٧٧)

“It is not righteousness (benevolence) that you turn your faces towards the East or West; but it is righteousness to:  believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers;  to spend of your wealth, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity, to fulfill the contracts which you have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic.  Such are the people of truth, the people of Taqwa (the God-conscious)”. (Al-Baqara 2: 177),

So, each time, we neglect supporting our relatives financially, we need to remember what happened to this wealthy Jewish man.

2. Don’t seek wealth by evil means. because if they are not decreed for you, you will never get the wealth and only suffer the punishment of the evil deed in this life and the hereafter.

The nephew of the family sought money with evil means by killing his rich uncle but he got nothing and suffered the punishment of his crime. The Quran clearly teaches us that our fortunate in this life is decreed by Allah.  If wealth is decreed for us, we will get it whether we seek it with lawful means or with evil means. But the means we use establish our honor in this life and the hereafter.  If, on the other hand, certain wealth is not decreed by Allah for us, we will never get it even if we use all evil and tricky means. 

There are several verses in the Quran that emphasizes the point that Allah has already dreed for everyone his fortune in this life.  Allah says:

وَفِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ رِزۡقُكُمۡ وَمَا تُوعَدُونَ (٢٢) فَوَرَبِّ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ إِنَّهُ ۥ لَحَقٌّ۬ مِّثۡلَ مَآ أَنَّكُمۡ تَنطِقُونَ (٢٣)

“And in the heaven is your provisions and that which you are promised; (22) So by the Lord of the heavens and the earth, it is the truth, even as (it is true) that you can speak.” (Al-Dhariat 51:22-23)

نَحۡنُ قَسَمۡنَا بَيۡنَہُم مَّعِيشَتَہُمۡ فِى ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا‌ۚ وَرَفَعۡنَا بَعۡضَہُمۡ فَوۡقَ بَعۡضٍ۬ دَرَجَـٰتٍ۬

“It is We Who have allocated among them their livelihood in this world, and We have raised some of them above others in ranks,” (Al-Zukhruf 43:32)

There are several hadith of the Messenger (PBUH) confirming that no one leaves this life without having all the what Allah has decreed for him.  

عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه قال: إن روح القدس نفث في روعي أن نفسًا لن تموت حتى تستكمل أجلها، وتستوعب رزقها، فاتقوا الله، وأجملوا في الطلب، ولا يحملن أحدكم استبطاء الرزق أن يطلبه بمعصية الله، فإن الله تعالى لا ينال ما عنده إلا بطاعته. رواه أبو نعيم، وصححه الألباني.

وفي الحديث الآخر: الرزق أشد طلبًا للعبد من أجله. رواه القضاعي، وحسنه الألباني.

وفي رواية للطبراني: لو فر أحدكم من رزقه لأدركه كما يدركه أجله.

“If one of you try to escape from his livelihood, it would get hold of him as death would get hold of him”.

Note: Keep in mind that the fortune that Allah has decreed for you in this life is everything that you spent on yourself and not what you earn. Part of what you earn may be a fortune decreed for someone else. 

3. Obey the command of Allah as it is stated and don’t make it more complicated. If you try to complicate Allah’s command, Allah will make it more complicated and expensive for you.

Prophet Musa told Bani Israel that Allah ordered them to slaughter a cow without giving any special specification.  If they followed Allah’s command without any question, they would have immediately slaughtered any cow and a member of it would have been used to bring the person to life.   But when they started asking questions, Allah made it progressively more complicated for them to the point that they were almost on the verge of not following the command. 

This is a very important lesson for us because, you find some people keep restricting a simple command of Allah to the point that it becomes very complicated for everyone.  Those people think they are righteous but in reality, they are engaged in an evil deed and they are following the footsteps of those people of Bani Israel. 

As example, Allah’s command to us not to eat the meat of the swine as in the following:

حُرِّمَتۡ عَلَيۡكُمُ ٱلۡمَيۡتَةُ وَٱلدَّمُ وَلَحۡمُ ٱلۡخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيۡرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ وَٱلۡمُنۡخَنِقَةُ وَٱلۡمَوۡقُوذَةُ وَٱلۡمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَٱلنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَآ أَكَلَ ٱلسَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيۡتُمۡ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى ٱلنُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسۡتَقۡسِمُواْ بِٱلۡأَزۡلَـٰمِ‌ۚ ذَٲلِكُمۡ فِسۡقٌ‌ۗ

 “Forbidden to you are: the dead, the blood the flesh of swine, and that on which a name other than Allah has been invoked, that which has been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by the goring of horns – and that which has been (partly) eaten by a wild animal – unless you are able to slaughter it (before its death) – and that is shared by the use arrows seeking luck; (all) that is sin.” (Al-Maeda 5:3)

Allah also differentiates between the flesh and the fat

قُل لَّآ أَجِدُ فِى مَآ أُوحِىَ إِلَىَّ مُحَرَّمًا عَلَىٰ طَاعِمٍ۬ يَطۡعَمُهُ ۥۤ إِلَّآ أَن يَكُونَ مَيۡتَةً أَوۡ دَمً۬ا مَّسۡفُوحًا أَوۡ لَحۡمَ خِنزِيرٍ۬ فَإِنَّهُ ۥ رِجۡسٌ أَوۡ فِسۡقًا أُهِلَّ لِغَيۡرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ‌ۚ فَمَنِ ٱضۡطُرَّ غَيۡرَ بَاغٍ۬ وَلَا عَادٍ۬ فَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ غَفُورٌ۬ رَّحِيمٌ۬ (١٤٥) وَعَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ هَادُواْ حَرَّمۡنَا ڪُلَّ ذِى ظُفُرٍ۬‌ۖ وَمِنَ ٱلۡبَقَرِ وَٱلۡغَنَمِ حَرَّمۡنَا عَلَيۡهِمۡ شُحُومَهُمَآ إِلَّا مَا حَمَلَتۡ ظُهُورُهُمَآ أَوِ ٱلۡحَوَايَآ أَوۡ مَا ٱخۡتَلَطَ بِعَظۡمٍ۬‌ۚ ذَٲلِكَ جَزَيۡنَـٰهُم بِبَغۡيِہِمۡ‌ۖ وَإِنَّا لَصَـٰدِقُونَ (١٤٦)

“Say: “I do not find in which has been revealed to me anything forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it, unless it is a dead animal or blood poured forth, or the flesh of swine for that surely is impure, or the unlawful  meat on which a name other than Allah has been invoked (or has been slaughtered for). But whosoever is forced by necessity without willful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits, certainly, your Lord is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (145) And unto those who are Jews, We forbade every (animal) with undivided hoof, and for cows and sheep, We forbade on them their fat except what adheres to their backs or their entrails, or is attached to the bone.  Thus, We recompensed them for their transgression. And verily, We are Truthful.” (Al-Ana’am 6:145-146)

All Allah prohibited upon us is eating the meat of the pig, but this command is not good enough for some people.  Every once a while we get in social media a message about someone who did research and found that there are products whose content show letters such as “ar” or “E” that mean they have products produced form pig fat.  These are in products such as tooth paste, shaving cream, vitamins, medicines, eye drops, perfumes, candy, etc.    The question is: who gave those people the authority to expand the command of Allah beyond what He stated and thus make life difficult on everyone? 

Those people need to reflect in verses 101 and 102 in Surat Al-Maeda, in which Allah says: 

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تَسۡـَٔلُواْ عَنۡ أَشۡيَآءَ إِن تُبۡدَ لَكُمۡ تَسُؤۡكُمۡ وَإِن تَسۡـَٔلُواْ عَنۡہَا حِينَ يُنَزَّلُ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانُ تُبۡدَ لَكُمۡ عَفَا ٱللَّهُ عَنۡہَا‌ۗ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ۬ (١٠١) قَدۡ سَأَلَهَا قَوۡمٌ۬ مِّن قَبۡلِڪُمۡ ثُمَّ أَصۡبَحُواْ بِہَا كَـٰفِرِينَ

“O you who believe! Do not ask about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble. But if you ask about them while the Qur’an is being revealed, they will be made plain to you. Allah has forgiven that, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Forbearing. (101) People before you asked such questions, then, as a result they became disbelievers.” (Al-Maeda 5:101-102)

I also want to remind those people who think they are doing these things out piety of the following two hadith of the Prophet (PBUH):

Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas (سعد بن أبي وقاص) narrated in hadith that is reported by Boukhari and Muslim and others that the Prophet (PBUH) said,

إن أعظم المسلمين في المسلمين جرما من سأل عن شيء لم يحرم على المسلمين فحرم عليهم من أجل مسألته.

“The most sinful person among the Muslims is the one who asked about something which had not been prohibited, but became prohibited because of his inquiry.”  (ورد في البخاري ومسلم وغيرهم)

There is another hadeath that is reported by Ibn Majah and narrated by Ibn Omar who said: 

وبما رواه ابن ماجه عن ابن عمر قال { خرج علينا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في بعض أسفار فسار ليلا فمروا على رجل عند مقراة له فقال عمر يا صاحب المقراة أولغت السباع الليلة في مقراتك فقال عليه السلام يا صاحب المقراة لا تخبره هذا متكلف }

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) travelled with some of his companions and they passed at night by a man staying at watering basin.  Omar asked the man did wild beasts (carnivores) drank from it.  the messenger (PBUH) said to the man:  do not answer him, He is a showing off person (متكلف).

The same situation happened when Sayedna Omar was travelling as it is reported by Imam Malik that:

وبما رواه مالك في الموطإ أن عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه خرج في ركب فيهم عمرو بن العاص حتى وردوا حوضا فقال عمرو بن العاص يا صاحب الحوض هل ترد حوضك السباع فقال عمر بن الخطاب يا صاحب الحوض لا تخبره

It is reported that Omar ibn al-Khattab was travelling with a party of riders, one of whom was Amr ibn al-As.   They came to a watering basin and Amr ibn al-As asked the man who was staying at the basin whether wild beasts (carnivores) drank from it.  Omar ibn al-Khattab told the owner of the watering place not to answer him.  [Muwatta Malik (1/26) No. 55]

4. Allah does not need to explain to us the reason for His commands, we should follow His command because of who is He.

The verses started with Prophet Musa saying to his people: “Allah commands you to sacrifice a cow.” Without telling them why.  Only at the end of the series of the story, Allah revealed why. They should have followed the command even if they don’t understand its purpose, if they are true believers.

True belief in Allah can only be manifested by our full obedience to Him and this means that we obey without objections or reservations and without asking for clarification.  Allah does not owe us any explanations and while understanding can wait, obedience cannot.  Allah Says:

وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا مُبِينًا

“It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger, to have any option about their decision: if anyone disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong path.” (Al-Ahzab 33:36)

The Quran gives us many examples of the full obedience that Allah expects and commands.  The most compelling are those of Sayedna Ibrahim’s obedience in leaving his infant and only son with his mother alone in the arid desert.  Then, later when his son grew to be an impressive young man, he proceeded with the process of sacrificing him.  Also, the reaction of his son, Prophet Ishmael, when he was informed by his father of Allah’s command to sacrifice him; the scene is presented to us by Allah in the following verse:

فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ مَعَهُ السَّعْيَ قَالَ يَا بُنَيَّ إِنِّي أَرَى فِي الْمَنَامِ أَنِّي أَذْبَحُكَ فَانْظُرْ مَاذَا تَرَى قَالَ يَا أَبَتِ افْعَلْ مَا تُؤْمَرُ سَتَجِدُنِي إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مِنَ َالصَّابِرِين

 “Then, when (the son) reached (the age of) (serious) work with him, he said: “O my son! I see in vision that I offer thee in sacrifice: now see what your view is!” (the son) said: “O my father! do as you are commanded: you will find me, if Allah so wills, one practicing Patience and Constancy!”. (Al-Safat 37:102)

5. Some of the commands of Allah are intended to break wrong beliefs or bad habits. Allah wants to break the belief of these who worshiped the Golden calf by asking them to slaughter a cow.

It is interesting that even in the 21^st century, there is people who are very educated and still worship the cow.

6. The story demonstrates that Allah can resurrects the dead by any mean, including by part of a dead animal.