Author: CelikTafsir

JATUH
OLEH NOUMAN ALI KHAN

BAHAGIAN 2

Bahagian seterusnya ini adalah mengenai: Adam dan malaikat diajar

Allah berfirman dalam (Al-Baqarah: 31)

وَعَلَّمَ اٰدَمَ الْاَسْمَاۤءَ كُلَّهَا

Dan Dia ajarkan kepada Adam nama-nama semuanya,

Allah telah ajarkan Adam nama-nama segala benda semuanya sekali tanpa satu pun yang ditinggalkan. Kalimah الْاَسْمَاۤءَ boleh diterjemahkan sebagai nama-nama, dan juga kualiti (kelebihan). Sebab itulah nama-nama Allah dipanggil الْاَسْمَاۤءَ الحسني. Ia bukanlah sekadar nama tetapi merangkumi kualiti Allah sekali.

Adam telah diajarkan nama dan kualiti segala benda, dan ini bermakna Adam telah diajar segala jenis bahasa. Ini kerana semua bahasa akan memperkenalkan kata nama (noun) sesuatu benda itu. Sebagaimana seorang anak kecil yang baru belajar, dia akan belajar mengenali nama sesuatu benda terlebih dahulu. Maka, kata nama adalah asas sesuatu bahasa, malah semua bahasa yang wujud di dunia ini. Oleh itu sekarang kita tahu yang manusia pertama yang diajar kosa kata secara keseluruhan adalah Nabi Adam.

Kita pula sebagai anak cucu Adam diajar hanya sebahagian bahasa dan ia adalah ‘anak’ kepada induk bahasa yang telah diajar kepada Nabi Adam. Dan kita kena ingat yang Nabi Adam telah diajar secara langsung oleh Allah sendiri. Maka, ini bermaksud yang semua bahasa telah diajar oleh Allah melalui wahyu. Tidak ada satu bahasa pun yang wujud di bumi ini yang bukan datang daripada-Nya. Ini kerana semua bahasa berasal daripada nenek moyang kita, dan nenek moyang itu berasal daripada moyang di atasnya sehinggalah sampai kepada Nabi Adam. Dan Nabi Adam telah diajar oleh Allah. Maka, di sini juga mengajar kita bahawa semua bahasa haruslah dimuliakan kerana semuanya telah diajar oleh Allah. Kita tidak sepatutnya mengejek-ejek sesuatu bahasa atau dialek. Kerana ia seumpama mengejek Allah, bukan?

Satu lagi implikasi daripada pelbagai bahasa ini adalah penggunaan istilah di dalam ilmu. Setiap pengetahuan ilmu dan sains ada istilahnya tersendiri. Bidang kedoktoran ada istilahnya, bidang kepeguaman ada istilahnya dan seterusnya dalam semua bidang lain. Dengan erti kata lain, segala ilmu yang telah diberikan kepada Nabi Adam adalah asas kepada seluruh kemajuan intelektual manusia. Segala-galanya telah diajar kepada manusia pertama ini agar baginda dapat menurunkan ilmunya ini kepada generasi seterusnya.

Nenek moyang kita telah mencatat semua ilmu-ilmu ini dan diberikan terma-terma (istilah-istilah) yang bersesuaian. Manusia kemudiannya selepas itu menambah baik terma-terma tersebut. Dengan ini, bidang ilmu dapat berkembang menjadi semakin canggih. Ini bermakna, manusia tidak dapat bergerak maju ke hadapan tanpa ilmu-ilmu asas ini. Kemajuan dan pembangunan ilmu manusia di dalam semua bidang merupakan perancangan Allah sejak awal lagi dan ia bermula dengan Adam.

Oleh sebab itu, apabila anda belajar ilmu fizik, biologi, perubatan, kewangan dan apa sahaja bidang pun, anda sebenarnya menyambung pembelajaran dan ilmu yang berasal daripada Adam. Maka, jangan kata yang belajar pengajian agama sahaja yang berkait rapat dengan Allah, sedangkan semua bidang pengajian berkait rapat dengan Allah! Anda sendiri yang membuat pengasingan itu, bukannya Allah.

Kitab Allah mahukan kita mendalami segala ilmu-ilmu di alam ini dan mengajak kita mempelajari tentang segala-galanya yang bermanfaat. Allah berfirman di dalam (Hud: 61)

هُوَ اَنْشَاَكُمْ مِّنَ الْاَرْضِ وَاسْتَعْمَرَكُمْ فِيْهَا

Dia telah menciptakanmu dari bumi (tanah) dan menjadikanmu pemakmurnya,

Dalam Bahasa Arab moden kalimah اسْتَعْمَر bermaksud menjajah. Manakala dalam Bahasa Arab lama pula ia bermaksud Allah meletakkan kita di bumi dan Dia mahukan kita membangunkan dan memajukan bumi. Bagaimanakah kita boleh memajukan dan memakmurkan bumi jika kita tidak belajar sains?

Sebagai contoh, pertanian dapat dilakukan apabila manusia belajar cara pengairan yang betul. Dari situ, bandar-bandar dapat berkembang maju. Ini tidak akan dapat berlaku tanpa ilmu sains. Tahukah anda dari mana asalnya tamadun Islam? Ia berasal dari ilmu sains juga. Malangnya, kita telah lama dipengaruhi oleh pemikiran sekular yang mengasingkan agama dan sains sehingga kita menganggap ilmu sekular ini tidak penting. Sedangkan kita belajar di sini yang Allah telah mewahyukan ilmu sekular terlebih dahulu kepada manusia. Allah tidak pun menyebut lagi tentang ibadah kepada Adam, bukan?

Amat malang sekali umat Islam telah berada dalam kebekuan intelektual sehingga kita telah mengasingkan dan membezakan pengetahuan ilmu agama dengan ilmu sains. Atau kita boleh katakan di antara ‘ilmu wahyu’ dan ‘ilmu penciptaan’. Di sini kita telah belajar bahawa Nabi Adam telah diberikan kemuliaan untuk mempelajari ilmu ciptaan. Dan itu merangkumi segala jenis ilmu. Allah tidak menghadkan ilmu ciptaan kerana Dia telah berfirman وَعَلَّمَ اٰدَمَ الْاَسْمَاۤءَ كُلَّهَا  di mana kalimah كُلَّهَا bermaksud  segala-galanya, termasuk segala idea dan konsep yang abstrak. Jadi ilmu yang diberikan kepada Nabi Adam adalah amat luas.

Apa yang telah dikurniakan kepada Adam tentulah amatlah mengagumkan. Malah ada di antara kita telah dikurniakan sebahagian daripada ilmu yang istimewa ini. Ada di antara kita diberikan ilmu sastera dan puisi, ada pula yang berseni dan ada pula yang hebat dalam bidang sejarah dan bahasa, dan ada pula yang mahir dalam bidang sains dan perubatan.

Maka, walau dalam bidang apapun kehebatan anda itu, ia merupakan sebahagian kecil pecahan daripada ilmu yang telah dikurniakan kepada Adam. Ilmu itu telah diberikan kepada Adam untuk diturunkan kepada kita semua. Oleh sebab itu juga, janganlah berasa bersalah pula jika kita mahir ilmu keduniaan ini. Jika anda hebat dalam ilmu apa sekalipun, ingatlah bahawa ia merupakan anugerah daripada Allah yang telah diturunkan dari generasi ke generasi sehingga sampai kepada anda.

Maka, maksud pertama الْاَسْمَاۤءَ adalah nama-nama. Maksud kedua boleh diambil daripada hadith berikut:

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ بْنُ حُمَيْدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو نُعَيْمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ، عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ لَمَّا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ آدَمَ مَسَحَ ظَهْرَهُ فَسَقَطَ مِنْ ظَهْرِهِ كُلُّ نَسَمَةٍ هُوَ خَالِقُهَا مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَ عَيْنَىْ كُلِّ إِنْسَانٍ مِنْهُمْ وَبِيصًا مِنْ نُورٍ ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ عَلَى آدَمَ فَقَالَ أَىْ رَبِّ مَنْ هَؤُلاَءِ قَالَ هَؤُلاَءِ ذُرِّيَّتُكَ فَرَأَى رَجُلاً مِنْهُمْ فَأَعْجَبَهُ وَبِيصُ مَا بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ فَقَالَ أَىْ رَبِّ مَنْ هَذَا فَقَالَ هَذَا رَجُلٌ مِنْ آخِرِ الأُمَمِ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِكَ يُقَالُ لَهُ دَاوُدُ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَبِّ كَمْ جَعَلْتَ عُمْرَهُ قَالَ سِتِّينَ سَنَةً قَالَ أَىْ رَبِّ زِدْهُ مِنْ عُمْرِي أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً ‏.‏ فَلَمَّا انْقَضَى عُمْرُ آدَمَ جَاءَهُ مَلَكُ الْمَوْتِ فَقَالَ أَوَلَمْ يَبْقَ مِنْ عُمْرِي أَرْبَعُونَ سَنَةً قَالَ أَوَلَمْ تُعْطِهَا ابْنَكَ دَاوُدَ قَالَ فَجَحَدَ آدَمُ فَجَحَدَتْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُ وَنَسِيَ آدَمُ فَنَسِيَتْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُ وَخَطِئَ آدَمُ فَخَطِئَتْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُ ‏”‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ ‏.‏ وَقَدْ رُوِيَ مِنْ غَيْرِ وَجْهٍ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏.‏

Daripada Abu Hurairah -raḍiyallāhu ‘anhu-, dia berkata, Rasulullah -ṣallallāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam- bersabda, “Tatkala Allah menciptakan Adam, Dia mengusap punggungnya, maka berjatuhanlah semua roh yang bakal Dia ciptakan daripada anak keturunannya sampai hari kiamat. Dan Dia letakkan di antara kedua mata setiap orang daripada mereka seberkas cahaya, kemudian Dia tunjukkan kepada Adam. Adam pun bertanya, “Duhai Rabb-ku, siapakah mereka ini?” Allah berfirman, “Mereka ini adalah keturunanmu.” Lalu dia melihat salah seorang daripada mereka yang cahaya di antara kedua matanya menakjubkannya, lantas dia berkata, “Duhai Rabb-ku, siapakah dia ini?” Kata Allah, “Dia salah seorang keturunanmu dalam kalangan umat belakangan, namanya Dawud.” Lalu dia berkata, “Duhai Rabb-ku, berapakah Engkau jadikan umurnya?” Kata Allah, “Enam puluh tahun.” Adam berkata, “Duhai Rabb-ku, tambahkanlah untuknya daripada umurku sebanyak empat puluh tahun.” Ketika umur Adam telah habis, Malaikat Maut mendatanginya. Beliau pun berkata, “Bukankah usiaku ini masih tersisa empat puluh tahun lagi?” Malaikat berkata, “Bukankah telah engkau berikan untuk putramu Dawud?” Beliau (Rasulullah) bersabda, “Adam melakukan pengingkaran, maka anak cucunya juga melakukan pengingkaran, Adam lupa, maka anak cucunya juga lupa, dan Adam bersalah, maka anak cucunya juga bersalah.” Jami’  At-Tirmidzi 3076. Status: Hasan (Darussalam).

Setiap seorang daripada kita berada di situ ketika kejadian itu dan ini bermakna roh kita semua telah ditunjukkan kepada Nabi Adam. Sebelum ini, apa yang kita tahu adalah Nabi Adam telah diberitahu tentang nama-nama kita, bukan? Jangan lupa yang Nabi Adam juga diberitahu mengenai kualiti kita juga. Sebagaimana seorang bapa yang seharusnya mengenali anak-anaknya.

Maka, di sini kita boleh lihat maksud kalimah الْاَسْمَاۤءَ juga membawa maksud nama-nama kita. Ia bukan bermaksud ‘benda’ sahaja. Pelajar bahasa Arab boleh menghargai fakta ini kerana Allah telah menyambung firman-Nya dengan  ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ عَلَى الْمَلٰۤىِٕكَةِ kemudian Dia perlihatkan kepada para malaikat,. Dhomir (kata ganti) هم bukan digunakan untuk benda yang tidak bernyawa tetapi untuk manusia. Ini kerana Nabi Adam telah diajar nama-nama manusia terlebih dahulu dan kemudian barulah ditunjukkan kita kepada para malaikat.

Kemudian Allah telah bertanya kepada mereka (para malaikat): فَقَالَ اَنْۢبِـُٔوْنِيْ بِاَسْمَاۤءِ هٰٓؤُلَاۤءِ “Sebutkan kepada-Ku nama semua ini. “Bolehkah kamu namakan kesemua manusia ini dan kualiti yang ada pada mereka?” Malaikat tidak dapat menjawabnya. Allah tanyakan soalan ini kepada mereka kerana mereka yang terlebih dahulu bertanyakan soalan kepada Allah. Iaitu soalan mereka yang bertanyakan mengapa Allah mahu menjadikan khalifah baru di bumi. Maka, sekarang Allah memberitahu mereka jenis khalifah apakah yang akan diletakkan di bumi ini. “Adakah kamu tahu nama-nama mereka, kualiti dan kelebihan yang ada pada diri mereka, wahai malaikat?” “Tidak”, jawab mereka. Mereka tidak tahu.

Maksudnya Allah sedang menegaskan yang malaikat tidak boleh menuduh yang manusia akan mengulangi kesilapan yang telah dilakukan oleh jin sebelum ini. Itu adalah pemikiran yang pra matang. Kamu tidak boleh menghukum manusia berdasarkan apa yang makhluk sebelumnya telah lakukan.

Apakah pengajarannya di sini? Prinsip ini bukan sahaja ditujukan kepada malaikat tetapi untuk anda dan saya. Jika seseorang telah melakukan kesilapan di masa silam, ini tidaklah bermakna yang anak cucunya akan terus melakukan kesilapan yang sama.

Jika seorang Muslim telah melakukan dosa di masa silamnya, tidaklah bermakna generasi seterusnya akan melakukan dosa yang sama. Malang sekali, kita telah membina satu perasaan yang merisaukan tentang masa depan kita berdasarkan sejarah silam kita. Sama ada tentang diri kita sendiri ataupun ummah. Kaum Muslim suka melakukan perkara ini, bukan? Dan bukan hanya untuk Muslim sahaja, malah untuk bukan Islam juga. Kita biasa dengar, “Ah, puak kafir ni sudah sebati perangai macam ni, takkan berubah dah!” Adakah anda mendapat jaminan daripada Allah yang mereka akan berterusan berperangai dan bersikap begitu sampai bila-bila?

Lihatlah perangai puak Quraisy. Ya, pada masa silam merekalah yang paling kuat menentang Rasulullah. Namun begitu, daripada puak yang samalah lahirnya manusia seperti Khalid ibn Walid dan ramai lagi para sahabat lain yang hebat. Oleh sebab itu, janganlah kita menghakimi manusia berdasarkan masa silam mereka. Para malaikat telah diajar yang cara pemikiran sebegini adalah tidak betul. Maka, kita juga harus mengambil pengajaran yang sama di sini.

Adakah jin sebelum kita itu telah diajar ilmu sains dan teknologi? Tidak, hanya manusia diberikan ilmu tersebut. Maka, apabila manusia  menjadi khalifah di bumi, mereka akan melakukan perkara yang hebat. Daripada bahan-bahan mentah di bumi ini, manusia akan mencipta, mereka bentuk benda-benda baru. Anda sendiri boleh melihatnya sedang berlaku, bukan? Lihatlah tahap mana kita berada sekarang. Ia telah terbukti sejak zaman berzaman.

Setelah Allah tanyakan kepada mereka, kemudian di penghujungnya Allah telah berfirman, اِنْ كُنْتُمْ صٰدِقِيْنَ jika kamu yang benar!”  Ini boleh membawa dua maksud. Pertama, Allah sedang mencabar para malaikat dengan mengatakan yang kebimbangan mereka adalah tidak berasas. Kedua, ia merujuk kepada tasbih dan taqdis. Dan Allah sedang memberitahu malaikat bahawa di antara manusia ini, akan ada yang mengisytihar kesempurnaan dan kesucian Allah di tahap yang tidak mampu dicapai oleh para malaikat.

Sebagai contoh, pada Hari Pembalasan nanti, ketika semua didiamkan, hanya Rasulullah yang diberikan kebenaran untuk berkata-kata. Rasul kita akan memuji Allah dengan cara yang tidak pernah diajar kepada sesiapapun, malah kepada para malaikat pun. Maka, tasbih, tahmid dan taqdis baginda nanti adalah lebih baik daripada para malaikat. Maka, di sini Allah sedang memberitahu para malaikat agar tidak memandang rendah manusia ini kerana dalam kalangan mereka akan ada para nabi dan rasul.

Lihat hadis di atas mengenai Nabi Dawud. Nabi Dawud telah menarik perhatian Adam sehingga baginda telah menghadiahkan 40 tahun daripada jangka hayat hidupnya kepada Nabi Dawud. Jika anda mempelajari mengenai Dawud dalam Qur’an apakah  yang akan anda temui? Agaknya apakah yang telah menjadikannya begitu istimewa sekali? Baginda telah diberikan kelebihan untuk mengharmonikan alam. Apabila baginda memuji-muji Allah, gunung-ganang dan unggas menyertai baginda. Baginda telah mencipta baju besi yang menunjukkan ilmu pengetahuannya yang tinggi. Baginda juga telah diberikan kelebihan mentadbir urus yang hebat yang tidak diberikan kepada rasul-rasul yang lain.

Dalam erti kata yang lain, baginda telah benar-benar menjaga bumi dan menjadi khalifah yang sebenar. Dan baginda merupakan seorang khalifah yang benar-benar istimewa sekali. Dan oleh sebab itulah, Nabi Dawud telah menarik perhatian Adam dan baginda mengaguminya dan berasakan beliau layak untuk tinggal lebih lama lagi di atas bumi ini. Ini kerana Nabi Adam sudah mengenali ciri-ciri kelebihan dan kualiti setiap daripada anak-anaknya.

Kembali semula kepada ketika Allah bertanyakan kepada malaikat itu dan mereka menjawab, قَالُوْا سُبْحٰنَكَ Mereka menjawab, “Maha Suci Engkau. Malaikat menjawab Allah terlalu sempurna. Tapi, bilakah kita ucapkan tasbih? Ketika kita mengatakan sesuatu yang tidak sepatutnya. Ini bermaksud yang mereka sedang menarik semula kata-kata mereka yang melampau apabila mereka telah mempersoalkan keputusan Allah.

Dan mereka telah menyambung لَا عِلْمَ لَنَآ اِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا tidak ada yang kami ketahui selain apa yang telah Engkau ajarkan kepada kami. “Engkau telah ajarkan kami tentang jin. Kami hanya tahu tentang jin, tetapi kami tidak tahu tentang manusia. Kami tidak akan mempersoalkan lagi sebarang keputusan-Mu”. اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ الْعَلِيْمُ الْحَكِيْمُ Sungguh, Engkaulah Yang Maha Mengetahui, Maha Bijaksana.”

Walaupun kedudukan mereka begitu rapat dengan Allah, mereka masih sedar akan batas dan sentiasa merendah diri. Tapi, bagaimana dengan kita? Mungkin kita sebagai pelajar agama yang telah belajar peringkat demi peringkat, menghadiri kursus demi kursus, seminar demi seminar dan seterusnya telah berjaya menjadi pelajar yang penuh dengan ilmu di dada dan paling cemerlang di antara pelajar lain. Bagaimana dengan sikap kita? Malangnya ramai yang kita lihat semakin tinggi ilmunya, semakin bongkak pula malah suka memandang rendah orang lain.

Sepatutnya lagi tinggi ilmu seseorang itu, makin rendah dia tunduk ke bumi. Itulah tanda keilmuan, dan para malaikat sedar akan hakikat ini. Malaikat telah diajar agar tidak menghakimi sesuatu perkara terlalu awal.  Begitu juga dengan kita, apabila kita bertemu seseorang buat pertama kali dan langsung tidak tahu apa-apa mengenai diri mereka, janganlah kita tergesa-gesa membuat penghakiman ke atas diri mereka.

Sekarang Allah berpaling pula kepada Adam.  قَالَ يٰٓاٰدَمُ اَنْۢبِئْهُمْ بِاَسْمَاۤىِٕهِمْ Dia (Allah) berfirman, “Wahai Adam! Beritahukanlah kepada mereka nama-nama itu!” Allah telah memerintahkan Nabi Adam untuk memberitahu malaikat nama-nama kita semua. Maka, bukan sahaja Nabi Adam yang tahu nama-nama kita, tetapi para malaikat juga. Seterusnya, nanti Allah akan mengirimkan penjaga dari kalangan para malaikat untuk kita semua, berdasarkan masalah yang kita hadapi kerana merekalah yang menjaga kita. Oleh sebab itulah mereka kena kenal kita dan segala kelebihan dan masalah kita.

Selepas Nabi Adam memberitahu para malaikat nama-nama kita, Allah telah berfirman, قَالَ اَلَمْ اَقُلْ لَّكُمْ اِنِّيْٓ اَعْلَمُ غَيْبَ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالْاَرْضِ Dia berfirman, “Bukankah telah Aku katakan kepadamu, bahawa Aku mengetahui rahsia langit dan bumi. Allah menyebut tentang bumi kerana soalan malaikat adalah tentang bumi dan khalifahnya. Dan ayat ini begitu indah sekali apabila Allah menyebut kedua-duanya sekali langit dan bumi kerana Adam telah dijadikan daripada dua bahagian ini: tubuh badan fizikalnya adalah dari bumi, manakala roh pula dari langit.

Maka, kelebihannya bukan sahaja dijadikan daripada tanah dan roh, tetapi sesuatu yang begitu luar biasa sekali. Oleh hal yang demikian, jangan sesekali merendah-rendahkan manusia. Manusia bukanlah haiwan tetapi mereka adalah makhluk yang begitu istimewa sekali. Haiwan hanya tahu beranak pinak dan makan minum untuk hidup sahaja. Tetapi manusia tidak begitu, mereka mempunyai begitu banyak potensi. Kita mampu untuk mencipta, berkasih sayang, mencari keadilan, bersyukur, berfikiran tinggi, mencipta keindahan, memiliki nilai-nilai tinggi dan sebagainya.

Namun, amat malang sekali, dalam industri hiburan kita telah digalakkan dengan pemikiran untuk meraikan perubahan manusia menjadi haiwan pula. Lihatlah lirik-lirik lagu yang mengandungi kata-kata kotor dan jijik. Siapakah yang menggemari kata-kata begini jika tidak anjing atau haiwan lain? Ini amat menyedihkan sekali kerana Allah telah tunjukkan betapa hebatnya manusia ini, tetapi terdapat segolongan manusia yang telah berubah menjadi buruk. Kita sekarang hidup pada zaman di mana perangai buruk umpama haiwan diraikan dengan hebat sekali. Ini merupakan sebuah tragedi dek kerana kehancuran jiwa-jiwa roh manusia.

Dan lihatlah juga kepada karya seni pada hari ini. Ia bagaikan telah hilang nilai-nilai kemanusiaannya. Cuba bandingkan karya seni Islam di masa silam. Karya ahli seni dahulu adalah tentang simetri kerana ia diilhamkan daripada ayat-ayat Allah yang mengatakan bahawa Dia telah mencipta segala-galanya dalam penuh kesempurnaan dan tersusun. Maka seni Islam terdahulu cuba mencontohi kesempurnaan ini dengan menghasilkan konsep simetri dalam seni lukisan mereka. Cuba lihat karya seni pada hari ini pula, penuh dengan kelucahan yang amat mengganggu sekali apabila melihatnya.

Allah telah mengatakan yang Dia tahu apa yang tersembunyi di langit dan di bumi. Dan tentang manusia pula, Dia telah kurniakan potensi yang pelbagai kepada kita. Ini amatlah indah sekali kerana manusia sememangnya mempunyai kebaikan di dalam diri mereka.

Allah sambung وَاَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُوْنَ وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْتُمُوْنَ dan Aku mengetahui apa yang kamu nyatakan dan apa yang kamu sembunyikan?” Para malaikat tentunya keliru kerana mereka tidak pernah menyembunyikan apa-apa pun daripada Allah. Kenapakah Allah berkata sedemikian? Mereka tidak sedar yang di antara mereka terdapat satu jin yang telah dimuliakan sedang menyembunyikan perasaannya selama ini. Allah telah menyentuh tentangnya. Ia belum berlaku lagi, tetapi Allah sedang memberi sedikit tanda dan petunjuk tentang jin ini. Keengganan untuk sujud belum lagi terjadi tetapi Allah sudah tahu akan perkara ini.

Iblis ragu-ragu terhadap Nabi Adam tetapi dia simpan sahaja perasaannya itu. Walhal dia sudah berasa sangat cemburu terhadap Nabi Adam. Terdapat sebahagian manusia yang kadangkala cemburukan anda walaupun mereka belum mengenali anda. Kenapa? Mereka rasa tergugat dengan kewujudan anda. Hanya dengan kewujudan anda seolah-olah telah merampas kedudukan hebat mereka itu.

Malangnya, dalam dunia Islam pun berlaku cemburu sesama ahli agama. Mereka yang sepatutnya yang membantu untuk memajukan ummah tetapi mereka pula yang telah jatuh ke dalam perangkap syaitan. Ini terjadi apabila terdapat puak-puak yang datang daripada kumpulan masjid atau mazhab yang berbeza. Mereka bersengketa sesama sendiri. Masing-masing merasakan diri mereka sahaja yang benar kerana mereka sedang menjalankan kerja Allah.

Apabila ini terjadi, mereka tidak ubah seperti Iblis saja. Ingatlah, Iblis juga telah menjalankan kerja Allah. Kebanggaannya adalah mendapat pengiktirafan daripada Allah di atas segala khidmatnya kepada Allah. Oleh itu, jika anda juga tersasar dalam perangkap mahukan kebanggaan begini, maka anda sebenarnya mempunyai sikap seperti Iblis juga.

Terdapat pengajaran yang amat penting di sini. Mengapakah dalam Qur’an Allah telah menekankan segala perkara buruk yang telah dilakukan oleh para ulama Yahudi? Kerana mereka telah berbangga dan sombong dengan status mereka. Oleh itu, kita juga harus berwaspada agar tidak menjadi begitu. Jika kita inginkan penghargaan untuk kerja-kerja kita hanya dengan menjatuhkan orang lain, maka kita sedang menghadapi masalah yang amat besar kerana tidak ada bezanya kita dengan Iblis.

Amat malang sekali, dalam masyarakat Islam kita ini, terdapat terlalu banyak yang mempunyai sikap suka menjatuhkan orang lain. Adakah sikap begini dapat memajukan ummah? Tentu tidak, dan kerana itu sikap begini harus dihentikan. Jangan hiraukan perkara yang remeh temeh. Dan mereka yang suka menyebarkan perkara remeh begini hanya membuang masa sahaja dan ini juga adalah perangai syaitan. Maka, janganlah diikuti jejak langkah syaitan.

Kemudian Allah menyambung, وَاِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلٰۤىِٕكَةِ اسْجُدُوْا لِاٰدَمَ فَسَجَدُوْٓا Dan (ingatlah) ketika Kami berfirman kepada para malaikat, “Sujudlah kamu kepada Adam! Maka mereka pun sujud,. Terdapat 2 pendapat popular tentang perbuatan sujud ini. Pertama, ia sebagai tanda hormat kepada Adam, dan ia dibenarkan dalam syariat terdahulu.

Tetapi terdapat pendapat yang lain yang tidak bertentangan dengan syariat. Jika kita belajar makna sujud, ia hanya dilakukan jika suatu yang hebat berlaku. Jika Allah melakukan sesuatu yang hebat, kita sujud. Contohnya, ketika tongkat Musa yang memakan ular-ular ahli sihir, mereka terus sujud; ketika golongan Nasrani mendengar ayat-ayat Qur’an dibacakan, mereka juga sujud; begitu juga ketika kaum Quraisy datang untuk berdebat dengan Rasulullah dan mereka mendengar ayat-ayat Qur’an dibacakan, mereka yang Musyrikin juga turun sujud (tanpa sedar). Begitu juga ketika abang-abang Yusuf melihat adik yang mereka telah tinggalkan di dalam perigi buta sekarang telah menjadi seorang yang hebat dan berpengaruh, mereka terlalu kagum dengan perancangan Allah sehingga mereka terus turun sujud.

Sekarang, ketika Nabi Adam dijadikan, walaupun pada awalnya para malaikat ada mempunyai persoalan tentang kejadian baginda, tetapi setelah memahami penjelasan daripada Allah, maka mereka juga terus sujud kepada Adam. Sujud ini berlaku setelah roh dimasukkan ke dalam jasad Nabi Adam. Ia merupakan sebuah keajaiban dari Allah sehingga mereka terlalu kagum dan terus sujud.

Namun begitu, Iblis mempunyai masalah dengan arahan dari Allah ini. اِلَّآ اِبْلِيْسَۗ kecuali Iblis. Dia telah melihat Nabi Adam dijadikan daripada tanah dan dia tidak memperakui roh yang telah ditiup ke dalam jasad Nabi Adam. Maka, dia enggan sujud kepada Nabi Adam walaupun diperintahkan oleh Allah.

Terdapat sedikit masalah di dalam terjemahan ini. Lihat ayat ini: ‘Semua pelajar datang kecuali Kareem.’ Bukankah ini bermaksud Kareem juga merupakan seorang pelajar? Maka, jika Allah berfirman yang semua malaikat sujud kecuali Iblis, adakah ia seolah-olah bermaksud Iblis itu adalah malaikat? Tapi bukankah ia adalah jin?

Di sinilah indahnya Bahasa Arab. Kalimah فَسَجَدُوْٓا bermaksud mereka (para malaikat) sujud. Dan jika Iblis adalah sebahagian daripada malaikat itu, maka ayat yang sepatutnya adalah begini: فَسَجَدُوْٓا اِلَّآ اِبْلِيْسُ  (Iblisu، bukannya Iblisa) di mana dhommah diletakkan pada kalimah اِبْلِيْسَۗ. Tetapi, jika sesuatu itu tidak termasuk dalam kumpulan  yang sama, maka kita meletakkan nasb (harakat fathah) ke atas kata nama itu dan kerana itulah ayat itu berbunyi: فَسَجَدُوْٓا اِلَّآ اِبْلِيْسَ.

Sekarang mari kita berikan contoh dalam ayat yang lebih mudah: ‘Semua pelajar hadir kecuali Ustaz Nouman.’  Sekarang, adakah ini bermaksud Ustaz Nouman ini adalah di antara pelajar? Tidak, bukan? Ya, dia termasuk sebahagian dari ahli di dalam kelas tetapi dia tidak diletakkan dalam kumpulan yang sama. Dan anda tahu tentang perkara ini kerana kita telah menambah perkataan ‘ustaz’. Tetapi dalam Bahasa Arab kita tidak perlu berbuat demikian. Kita hanya perlu ubah harakahnya dan kita akan tahu yang ia bukanlah di dalam kumpulan yang sama. Dan sebab itulah untuk mereka yang pandai berbahasa Arab, ayat ini tidak mengelirukan mereka. Dan sebab itulah juga anda perlu belajar Bahasa Arab untuk mengetahui maksud rafa’, nasb dan jarr.

Untuk segelintir orang, mempelajari Bahasa Arab adalah susah dan boleh menjadi agak membosankan. Sesetengah daripada mereka hanya mahu terus belajar ke bahagian yang penting dan menarik sahaja dari Qur’an. Tetapi untuk sampai ke situ, anda perlulah belajar langkah demi langkah.

Dan Allah telah berfirman bahawa Iblis اَبٰى وَاسْتَكْبَرَۖ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكٰفِرِيْنَ Ia menolak dan menyombongkan diri, dan ia termasuk golongan yang kafir. Kita telah pelajari yang kadangkala, manusia enggan untuk taat disebabkan oleh keangkuhannya. Adan kadangkala ada pula yang enggan kerana disebabkan oleh kejahilan. Ada kalanya pula yang enggan itu kerana marah. Dan ada juga yang enggan kerana sedih atau takut. Jadi ada beberapa sebab kerana manusia enggan melakukan sesuatu.

Namun begitu, jika seseorang itu enggan disebabkan keangkuhannya, maka sudah tidak ada harapan buat dirinya. Dan disebabkan itulah Iblis dihukum kufur dan sudah tidak ada harapan lagi buat dirinya untuk selama-lamanya. Kalimah كَانَ مِنَ الْكٰفِرِيْنَ bermaksud dia telah dari sebelum itu pun sudah termasuk di dalam golongan kafir. Bukannya selepas dia tidak mahu sujud baru dikira kafir, tidak. Sebelum itu lagi dia sudah kafir sebenarnya.

Sekarang Iblis enggan sujud. Di dalam Surah Al-A’raf Allah telah menjelaskan dengan terperinci mengapa ia berlaku. Tetapi Allah mahu kita fokus kepada perkara lain dalam Surah Al-Baqarah. Di sini perhatian diberikan kepada Nabi Adam, manakala dalam Surah Al-A’raf fokus utama adalah tentang Iblis.

Maka, sekarang Allah berpaling kepada Adam وَقُلْنَا يٰٓاٰدَمُ اسْكُنْ اَنْتَ وَزَوْجُكَ الْجَنَّةَ Dan Kami berfirman, “Wahai Adam! Tinggallah engkau dan isterimu di dalam syurga,. Kalimah اسْكُنْ bermaksud hidup dalam harmoni. Kamu dan isteri kamu. Dan tidak dinyatakan في الْجَنَّةَ (dalam syurga) tetapi hanya الْجَنَّةَ tanpa harf في di sini. Kebiasaannya apabila kita katakan kita tinggal di sesuatu tempat, kita akan katakan ‘di’ Dallas, Johor dan sebagainya. Tetapi di sini tiada ‘di’. Kenapa?

Ini kerana kalimah في (di dalam) akan menghilangkan sifat luas terbentangnya Jannah itu. Adam tidak diberitahu untuk tinggal di dalam Jannah kerana baginda boleh tinggal di mana-mana sahaja di Jannah itu. Baginda boleh tinggal di mana-mana sahaja di seluruh Jannah yang tidak berpenghujung itu.

Kalimah سكن bermaksud seseorang yang sedang bergerak dan dia berhenti. Dan kemudian dia akan bergerak semula. Dan kemudian dia berhenti lagi. Maksudnya tidak tetap di satu-satu tempat. Kerana itu sesuai digunakan kalimah سكن untuk Nabi Adam di dalam ayat ini. Memang terdapat kalimah lain untuk seseorang yang tinggal di suatu tempat dan tidak ada perancangan untuk bergerak (pindah).

Maka kita telah tahu bahawa Nabi Adam tidak akan tinggal selamanya di Jannah dan sekarang kita tahu yang Nabi Adam akan menerokai keindahan dan kenikmatan Jannah keseluruhannya. Keindahannya ada diisyaratkan di dalam kalimah اسْكُنْ ini.

Siapakah bersama Nabi Adam? Isterinya Hawa, bukan? Tetapi tidak pula Allah menyebut اسكنا (tinggallah kedua-dua kamu) tetapi Dia hanya memberikan perintah-Nya kepada Nabi Adam. Dalam erti kata lain, Allah hanya memerintahkan kepada Nabi Adam, bukan isterinya. Ini kerana hanya ketua keluarga akan diberikan tanggungjawab. Hanya dia yang mewakili seluruh ahli keluarganya yang lain.

Selain itu, terdapat juga makna lain untuk اسْكُنْ. Di dalam ayat lain, Allah berfirman وَمِنْ اٰيٰتِهٖٓ اَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مِّنْ اَنْفُسِكُمْ اَزْوَاجًا لِّتَسْكُنُوْٓا اِلَيْهَا  Dan di antara tanda-tanda (kebesaran)-Nya ialah Dia menciptakan pasangan-pasangan untukmu dari jenismu sendiri, agar kamu cenderung dan merasa tenteram kepadanya. Agar kamu mendapat ketenteraman daripadanya. Maka, daripada اسْكُنْAdam, Hawa telah diciptakan.

Di sini mengajar juga kepada kita, bahawa kunci ketenangan dan ketenteraman sesebuah rumahtangga terletak di tangan suami. Kadangkala, si isteri mungkin terlalu marah sehingga mengeluarkan kata-kata yang sangat buruk, tetapi ketika inilah si suami harus mewujudkan ketenangan itu. Suami haruslah bertenang, dengar sahaja apa yang isteri ingin katakan dan jangan terus mengambil hati dengan kata-katanya. Suami harus sahaja berkata: Ya. Jangan sesekali berpaling dan menjawab. Jangan. Biarkan sahaja. Lepaskan sahaja. Biarkan si isteri meluahkan perasaannya sehingga lega. Ini kerana menjaga ketenteraman adalah tanggungjawab si suami. Jangan harapkan perkara ini daripada isteri kerana dia tidak  mampu sebenarnya.

Tidak dinafikan, kadangkala ia adalah amat sukar sekali. Tetapi ia merupakan sebahagian daripada tanggungjawab kita sebagai suami. Jadi, kalimat لِّتَسْكُنُوْٓا اِلَيْهَا bermaksud: agar kamu merasa tenteram terhadapnya. Ini bermakna ketenangan anda ditujukan langsung kepada isteri anda.

Dan ayat seterusnya bersambung وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَاۖ dan makanlah dengan nikmat (berbagai makanan) yang ada di sana sesukamu berdua. Di sini Allah perintahkan pula kepada kedua-dua mereka. Untuk perintah tanggungjawab, Allah tujukan kepada Nabi Adam sahaja kerana baginda merupakan ketua keluarga. Manakala untuk perintah hak dan nikmat makan, Allah perintahkan kepada kedua-duanya sekali.

Dan untuk larangan, Allah berfirman وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ (Tetapi) janganlah kamu berdua dekati pohon ini. Sekali lagi, Allah tujukan kepada kedua-dua mereka. Ini kerana hal ini adalah di antara mereka dengan Allah dan si suami tidak boleh menghalang, begitu juga si isteri. Ini kerana perbuatan ini dilakukan kerana Allah. Malangnya terdapat segolongan suami yang menghalang isteri dari taat kepada Allah seperti melarang isterinya memakai hijab; terdapat pula segolongan isteri yang melarang suaminya solat di masjid. Semua ini adalah salah. Jika hal yang melibatkan antara kita dan Allah, tiada sesiapa ada hak untuk menghalangnya, tidak kira apa saja.

Keseimbangan ini, adakalanya sukar untuk dicapai. Adakalanya kita mahu taat perintah Allah, tetapi terpaksa pula melawan kehendak suami. Namun di antara Allah dan suami, kita mesti mencapai redha Allah dahulu.

Perintah Allah adalah: ‘Jangan hampiri pohon ini.’ Bukan: ‘Jangan makan daripada pohon ini.’ Terdapat sesetengah larangan di dalam Islam yang menyatakan jangan hampiri perbuatan itu, apatah lagi melakukannya. Allah tidak berkata: ‘Jangan hampiri babi.’ Cuma jangan memakannya. Tetapi terdapat sesetengah larangan yang Allah tidak mahu kita menghampirinya, contohnya jangan hampiri zina; jangan hampiri harta anak yatim; jangan hampiri perbuatan keji.

Oleh itu, terdapat sesetengah tempat yang kita tidak sepatutnya pergi pun, contohnya seperti kelab-kelab malam kerana kita sudah tahu apa yang berlaku di sana. Jangan pergi menonton wayang kalau sudah tahu rating buruk mengenainya. Jangan pergi ke perlawanan bola keranjang kerana kita tahu di sana ada pasukan tarian sorak yang berpakaian menjolok mata.

Allah kemudiannya menasihati فَتَكُوْنَا مِنَ الظّٰلِمِيْنَ nanti kamu termasuk orang-orang yang zalim!” Bahaya mendekati pohon itu kerana kalau dekati juga, maka akan terjerumus melawan larangan Allah.

Di penghujungnya nanti, adakah mereka pergi berseorangan atau bersama-sama? Bersama-sama, bukan? Ini kerana suami isteri biasanya akan membuat persetujuan bersama-sama dan kadangkala keputusan itu tidak semestinya baik. Contohnya mereka bersetuju menceburi perniagaan yang berisiko tinggi, atau mengambil pinjaman daripada along atau yang melibatkan. Mereka tidak boleh saling menyalahkan di antara satu sama lain kerana mereka telah sama-sama bersetuju ketika membuat keputusan itu dan mereka sama-sama kena bertanggungjawab.

Jika mereka menghampiri pohon itu, maka mereka akan menjadi golongan yang zalim. Tetapi, adakah terdapat manusia lain di situ? Siapakah golongan zalim itu? Ini merupakan sebuah persoalan yang pelik, bukan? Di sini Allah sedang memberitahu bahawa anak cucu Adam itu akan membuat kezaliman dan mereka tidak sepatutnya menjadi seperti mereka. Semua ini menjadi pengajaran kepada kita.

JATUH

OLEH NOUMAN ALI KHAN

BAHAGIAN 1

Ini adalah kerangka untuk penulisan ini. Ia merupakan sebuah topik yang besar maka kita memerlukan peta minda. Kita akan menceritakan kisah Nabi Adam. Kisah Adam ada diceritakan sebanyak 7 kali di dalam Qur’an tetapi diceritakan secara terperinci di dalam Surah Baqarah dan Surah A’raf. Namun kisah di dalam kedua surah itu tidak serupa walaupun sama. Apa yang Allah rincikan dalam Surah A’raf tidak dirincikan dalam Surah Baqarah. Di sini kita akan lihat kisah Nabi Adam di dalam Surah Baqarah secara terperinci.

Kita akan lihat kisah baginda dengan membiarkan Allah menceritakannya kepada kita. Ia mungkin berbeza berbanding dengan kisah daripada sumber-sumber yang lain yang kita biasa dengar. Mungkin juga kisah-kisah itu telah dicampuradukkan daripada pelbagai sumber. Sekarang, kita hanya akan melihat penceritaan daripada Allah sahaja.

Allah memulakan kisah ini di tempat yang paling tidak diduga di dalam (Al-Baqarah: 29)

هُوَ الَّذِيْ خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مَّا فِى الْاَرْضِ جَمِيْعًا

Dialah (Allah) yang menciptakan segala apa yang ada di bumi untukmu

Ini bermaksud dua perkara: apa sahaja yang Allah ciptakan di dunia ini adalah hanya untuk kamu. Segala-gala sumber yang Dia jadikan adalah untuk kegunaan manusia.

Maksud kedua pula adalah sumber yang dijadikan itu adalah untuk kamu semua. Untuk semua orang, bukannya sebahagian sahaja. Sumber alam ini sepatutnya dikongsi bersama oleh semua manusia. Malangnya fitrah manusia mudah menjadi tamak, ramai yang mengaut lebih dari yang sepatutnya. Sedangkan sepatutnya semua negara mendapat sumber dengan selayaknya. Allah sudah beri kecukupan sebenarnya untuk kegunaan manusia seluruhnya, tiada yang dapat lebih daripada yang lain. Maka ayat ini mengajar kita cara-cara untuk menggunakan sumber tersebut yang telah Allah sediakan. Kita harus belajar bagaimana untuk hidup bersama-sama dengan semua orang di atas muka bumi ini. Dan bukan hanya untuk orang Islam sahaja.

Kemudian Allah sambung:

ثُمَّ اسْتَوٰٓى اِلَى السَّمَاۤءِ فَسَوّٰىهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمٰوٰتٍ ۗ

lalu Dia menyempurnakannya menjadi tujuh langit.

Sebelum ini telah disebut yang Allah telah menjadikan bumi, sekarang Dia bercerita tentang langit pula. Allah telah membahagikan langit kepada tujuh lapis. Dan di akhir ayat ini Dia menyatakan yang Dia Maha Mengetahui.

وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيْمٌ

Dan Dia Maha Mengetahui segala sesuatu.

Jadi kita sudah tahu yang Allah mula mencipta bumi, kemudian langit. Kita mungkin merasakan bahawa kita tiada kaitan dengan langit ini kerana kita tinggalnya di bumi, tetapi sebenarnya kedua-dua tempat ini amat berkait rapat dengan manusia. Dan kita akan jelaskan lagi nanti.

Walaupun Allah telah menjadikan bumi untuk kita, kemudian apabila Dia menyebut pula tentang langit, kerana Dia sebenarnya mahu menyatakan tentang Jannah, yang berada di langit. (An-Najm: 15)

عِنْدَهَا جَنَّةُ الْمَأْوٰىۗ

di dekatnya ada syurga tempat tinggal,

Ayat ini adalah tentang peristiwa mikraj Rasulullah ke langit. Jadi kita sekarang sudah tahu yang Jannah itu letaknya di langit. Dan kita semua tahu tentang kisah Adam yang bermula di syurga. Maka, inilah bahagian pertama kisah ini:

Tajuk: ‘Langit atau Bumi?’

Allah telah berfirman di dalam (Al-Baqarah: 30)

وَاِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلٰۤىِٕكَةِ اِنِّيْ جَاعِلٌ فِى الْاَرْضِ خَلِيْفَةً ۗ

Dan (ingatlah) ketika Tuhanmu berfirman kepada para malaikat, “Aku hendak menjadikan khalifah di bumi.”

Allah memberitahu kepada malaikat tentang manusia. Manusia belum dijadikan lagi ketika itu, tetapi Dia sudah menceritakan kepada mereka tentang manusia. Dia akan menjadikan makhluk yang digelar manusia yang akan menetap di bumi. Maka, ini memberitahu kita yang sebelum Nabi Adam dijadikan lagi, sudah ada perancangan yang manusia akan diletakkan di bumi.

Ini penting kerana terdapat di antara kita yang menyangka Adam dan Hawa diturunkan ke bumi sebagai hukuman setelah melanggar perintah Allah kerana telah terpedaya dengan bisikan Iblis. Di sini kita jelas bahawa Adam dan Hawa dari awal lagi telah dirancang untuk turun ke bumi. Maka, penurunan mereka ke bumi bukanlah satu bentuk hukuman. Kita memang sudah dirancang untuk diletakkan di bumi. Dalam ayat (Al-Baqarah: 29), Allah telah menyebut bahawa bumi telah dijadikan untuk kita, bukan? Oleh sebab itu, kita sebagai Muslim sepatutnya sudah jelas mengenai perkara ini: Dunia ini bukanlah hukuman buat kita.

Bagaimana kita dapat lebih memahami perkara ini? Perhatikan analogi berikut. Bayangkan seorang lelaki yang bekerja di sebuah syarikat. Majikannya telah menghantar email ke seluruh kakitangan mengatakan lelaki ini akan dihantar ke negeri lain. Semua kakitangan lain mendapat email ini, kecuali lelaki itu sendiri. Pada minggu berikutnya, lelaki itu datang ke pejabat lewat 30 saat sahaja. Majikannya memanggilnya dan memberitahu yang disebabkan kelewatannya itu, dia akan dihantar ke negeri lain.

Soalan: Adakah adil dia dihukum begitu teruk hanya kerana kelewatan 30 saat sahaja? Padahal kakitangan lain sudah sedia maklum dari awal lagi yang lelaki itu akan dihantar ke negeri lain. Maka, kita tahu yang dia dihantar ke negeri lain itu bukanlah kerana kelewatan 30 saat itu, tetapi ia merupakan perancangan majikannya dari awal lagi. Tapi digunakan insiden lewat itu sebagai penyebab dia mula dihantar sahaja.

Nabi Adam juga sudah tahu sebenarnya dari awal lagi yang baginda akan diturunkan ke bumi. Ini kerana Iblis sudah datang dan mengkhabarkan berita tersebut kepadanya. Kemudian Iblis memperdaya baginda dengan mengatakan jika baginda ingin kekal tinggal di Jannah, maka baginda harus memakan buah daripada pohon terlarang itu. Ini kerana Iblis telah mendakwa yang hanya malaikat dan penduduk tetap hanya layak tinggal di Jannah selama-lamanya. Dan Nabi Adam bukanlah tergolong daripada golongan yang layak itu. Maka, tujuan Adam makan buah itu kerana baginda percaya yang baginda akan menjadi malaikat atau penduduk tetap Jannah.

Ramai yang mempersoalkan perkara ini: Sekiranya Allah telah memutuskan apa yang akan terjadi kepada kita dan apakah pengakhiran kita, maka bagaimana pula kita dipersalahkan? Adakah ini semua satu ‘muslihat’?

Persoalan tentang takdir adalah persoalan paling lama dalam dunia falsafah. Ia dibincangkan zaman berzaman oleh sangat ramai orang. Persoalan ini boleh saja ditanyakan terus oleh manusia pertama iaitu Adam, bukan?

Mari kita lihat satu lagi analogi untuk cuba menjelaskan perkara ini. Bayangkan seorang pemuda yang bekerja di sebuah syarikat dan dia bermula bekerja dengan memegang jawatan paling rendah, katakanlah tukang sapu. Kemudian dia dinaikkan menjadi pengawal keselamatan, kemudian penjaga kaunter hadapan. Seterusnya dia dinaikkan pula menjadi pengurus pejabat. Begitulah dia terus dinaikkan pangkat selama 40 tahun bekerja di syarikat itu. Sampailah dia sudah menjadi Naib Presiden syarikat. Hanya tinggal satu jawatan sahaja yang lebih tinggi daripadanya iaitu Presiden.

Pada suatu hari, Presiden itu masuk ke dalam pejabatnya dengan seorang pemuda berusia 16 tahun. Pemuda itu adalah anak saudaranya. Presiden itu mengarahkan Nabi Presiden itu untuk memberikan jawatan Naib Presiden itu kepada budak itu. Siap beri arahan lagi: “Sekarang pergi ambilkan kopi untuk kami”.

Bolehkah anda bayangkan apa yang berlaku selepas itu? Sudah tentu Naib Presiden itu naik marah, bukan? Mungkin dia menjerit-jerit dalam kemarahannya kerana sudah tidak dapat dibendung lagi. Dan jika kita yang mendengar kisah sebegini, sudah pasti kita merasa simpati dengannya, bukan? Kerana tidak masuk akal perkara sebegini boleh terjadi, bukan?

Tetapi kita bukan hendak menceritakan kisah malang Naib Presiden itu di sini sebenarnya. Ia hanya analogi sahaja. Kita sebenarnya sedang bercakap tentang kisah Iblis laknatullah. Dia telah berusaha keras sepanjang hidupnya untuk menaikkan darjatnya sehingga hampir setaraf malaikat. Dia telah membantu menghalau jin yang membuat kerosakan di bumi. Namun, tiba-tiba Allah telah membuat pengumuman yang para malaikat mesti sujud kepada Nabi Adam. Adakah ini kedengaran adil? Iblis mesti telah berkata: “Selama ini aku yang bersusah payah bekerja keras berkhidmat sepanjang hidupku. Tiba-tiba orang lain yang dinaikkan?”

Adakah Adam dimuliakan Allah? Ya. Pada suatu ketika, Iblis juga telah mendapat kemuliaan itu. Adam telah diberikan kedudukan yang tinggi, begitu juga Iblis. Adam telah melanggar perintah Allah, begitu juga Iblis. Maka, sehingga saat itu, mereka masing-masing mempunyai persamaan, bukan? Kerana dua-dua pernah buat kesalahan.  Cuma ada satu perbezaan. Ketika Adam diturunkan ke dunia, baginda boleh sahaja bertanya kepada Allah: “Ya Allah, Kau sejak awal lagi sudah merancang aku turun ke bumi, maka bagaimana pula perkara yang berlaku ini adalah salahku?” Namun adakah baginda bertanyakan soalan itu? Tidak.

Iblis boleh juga bertanyakan satu soalan yang logik: “Engkau telah jadikan aku daripada api, dan Engkau jadikan dia daripada tanah. Jadi apakah hebatnya dia?”

Kedua mereka boleh sahaja bertanyakan soalan begitu kepada Allah. Namun salah seorang daripada mereka telah dilaknat selamanya, manakala seorang lagi pintu harapan sentiasa terbuka untuknya. Kenapa? Kerana dia sedar, walaupun apa sahaja keputusan Allah bagaikan tidak logik di akalnya, tetapi dia mesti yakin dengan kebijaksanaan Allah. Jika terdapat kepincangan, semua itu salah dirinya dan dia yang harus bertanggungjawab di atasnya.

Berlainan dengan Iblis. Apabila dia melakukan kesilapan, dia terus menyalahkan Allah. Oleh sebab itu, jika kita suka menyalahkan Allah di atas sesuatu perkara, maknanya kita telah mengikut sunnah Iblis. Tetapi jika kita sanggup mengambil tanggungjawab di atas kesilapan kita, maka kita telah mengikut sunnah Nabi Adam. Itulah perbezaan di antara Adam dan Iblis.

Mari kita sambung. Kita kena ingat yang kita berada di bumi bukanlah sebagai hukuman atau sumpahan daripada Allah. Kepercayaan Kristian mengatakan yang bumi ini adalah hukuman dan  manusia dilahirkan dalam dosa (Konsep ‘Dosa Asal’). Ini bukanlah konsep dalam Islam. Allah sebenarnya mahu memuliakan kita dengan meletakkan kita di bumi ini. Dia mahu kita hidup dengan aman di bumi dan bukakan jalan kita ke Jannah.

Akan tetapi ramai yang mempunyai persoalan mengenai takdir. Mereka berhujah yang jikalau semua perkara telah ditakdirkan oleh Tuhan, maka kita sebenarnya tidak bersalahlah, bukan? Jikalah kita boleh mengambil kasut dan melemparkan kepada mereka yang tidak berpuas hati dengan persoalan takdir ini, adakah dia akan berasa marah? Sudah pasti dia marahkan kita yang melempar kasut itu kepadanya. Tetapi, katakanlah kita jawab: “Itu adalah qadr Allah. Allah telah menetapkan bahawa kamu akan dibaling dengan kasut, bukannya salah aku!”

Sudah pasti orang itu masih marahkan kita. Dia mahukan kita memikul tanggungjawab kesalahan kita itu. Apa yang kita buat itu tetap salah, walaupun itu adalah takdir Allah.

Adam yang telah membuat keputusan untuk memakan buah daripada pohon terlarang itu, dan baginda mengambil tanggungjawab di atas kesalahannya itu dan bertaubat kepada Allah. Bandingkan perbuatan ini dengan Iblis yang membuat kesalahan tetapi kemudian telah menyalahkan Allah di atas kesalahannya itu.

Sekarang, mari kita beralih ke bahagian kedua topik ini: Apakah maksud ‘Khalifah’?

Oleh kerana Allah meletakkan kita sebagai khalifah di atas muka bumi ini, maka kita seharusnya memahami apakah sebenarnya maksud khalifah ini. Terdapat banyak maksud khalifah, tetapi kita akan tekankan 3 maksud sahaja di sini.

Maksud pertama adalah ‘pengganti’. Sebagai contoh, sekiranya seorang guru besar sebuah sekolah bersara dan ada guru besar mengambil alih tempatnya, maka guru besar yang baru itulah pengganti kepada yang lama. Contoh yang lain pula adalah jika seorang datuk meninggal dunia dan anaknya yang paling tua mengambil tempat sebagai ketua keluarga. Ini juga maksud khalifah. Dia akan mengambil alih semua tugas dan tanggungjawab ketua keluarga.

Maksudnya di sini, Allah meletakkan manusia bertanggungjawab menjaga dunia. Kita mengambil alih tugas ini daripada orang sebelum kita dan apabila kita meninggal dunia, orang yang selepas kita pula yang akan memikul tanggungjawab itu. Lihat contoh Allah berfirman di dalam (Al-An’am: 133) menggunakan kalimah khalifah:

وَرَبُّكَ الْغَنِيُّ ذُو الرَّحْمَةِ ۗاِنْ يَّشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفْ مِنْۢ بَعْدِكُمْ مَّا يَشَاۤءُ كَمَآ اَنْشَاَكُمْ مِّنْ ذُرِّيَّةِ قَوْمٍ اٰخَرِيْنَ

Dan Tuhanmu Mahakaya, penuh rahmat. Jika Dia menghendaki, Dia akan memusnahkan kamu dan setelah kamu (musnah) akan Dia ganti dengan yang Dia kehendaki, sebagaimana Dia menjadikan kamu daripada keturunan golongan lain.

Maksud kedua khalifah adalah seseorang yang dibiarkan membuat keputusan sendiri tanpa dipantau. Katakan kita akan meninggalkan rumah kita, dan kita memberi tanggungjawab kepada anak kita untuk menjaganya. Maksudnya anak kita pada waktu itu menjadi khalifah. Ketika itu dia ada kebebasan untuk melakukan apa sahaja yang dia inginkan kerana kita sebagai ketua rumah tidak ada. Kita mungkin telah menggariskan peraturan dan larangan yang dia boleh dan tidak boleh buat, tetapi kita tiada di rumah untuk memantaunya.

Maka, khalifah di sini bermaksud, seseorang yang mempunyai pilihan untuk melakukan apa sahaja. Mereka boleh melakukan apa yang sepatutnya dilakukan tetapi mereka boleh melakukan yang sebaliknya. Keputusan di tangan mereka. Oleh yang demikian, inilah yang diberikan oleh Allah kepada kita. Dia telah memberikan kita kebebasan untuk membuat pilihan. Allah tidak memaksa kita. Dia tidak memaksa kita untuk solat. Dia tidak memaksa kita untuk berbuat baik, atau bercakap benar sepanjang masa. Semua terpulang ke atas diri kita sama ada kita mahu atau tidak.

Maksud yang ketiga adalah seseorang yang diberi tanggungawab bagi pihak orang lain. Dan ini adalah berbeza dengan pemilikan. Ini kerana kita diberikan tanggungjawab mengurus bumi ini di mana seterusnya kita akan menyerahkan tanggungjawab itu kepada yang lain pula. Maka kita tidak memiliki sepenuhnya tanggungjawab itu selamanya, tetapi sementara sahaja.

Begitulah manusia yang diletakkan di dunia ini seharusnya memahami yang mereka tidak memiliki apa-apa. Allahlah pemilik sepenuhnya langit dan bumi. Kita mungkin rasakan yang kita memiliki baju dan kasut yang kita pakai ini, tetapi akhirnya kita sedar yang kita harus mengembalikan semua barang itu. Ini kerana kita akan mati dan kita tidak akan membawa semua itu ke akhirat. Begitu juga dengan tubuh badan kita ini. Kita tidak memilikinya sepenuhnya. Semua anggota tubuh badan ini akan menjadi saksi dan akan bercakap bagi pihak kita akhirat kelak.

Oleh hal yang demikian, ketiga-tiga maksud di atas dapat menjelaskan maksud khalifah. Ia adalah sebuah tanggungjawab yang begitu besar sekali dan telah diumumkan kepada malaikat di langit. Kerana itulah para malaikat amat terkejut dengan pengumuman tersebut.

Dan ini membawa kita kepada bahagian ketiga perbincangan kita ini: Malaikat yang mengadu.

Sebelum manusia hidup di dunia ini, jin yang telah dulu dijadikan khalifah. Sepertimana kita, mereka juga telah diberikan pilihan untuk membuat keputusan dan mereka telah melakukan banyak kerosakan di muka bumi. Akhirnya, Allah memutuskan untuk menghantar tentera malaikat-Nya untuk melenyapkan terus jin dari muka bumi ini. Terdapat satu jin yang melakukan kebaikan sepanjang hidupnya sehingga dia dinaikkan setaraf dengan malaikat dan dapat bersama-sama malaikat untuk membanteras jin-jin perosak. Mereka telah menghantar jin-jin ke dalam lautan dan keamanan bumi akhirnya dapat dipulihkan.

Sekarang, Allah mengatakan yang Dia akan meletakkan khalifah yang lain pula di dunia ini. Ini bermaksud tanggungjawab serta kebebasan untuk memilih dan ini telah mengejutkan para malaikat. Mereka baru sahaja melalui peperangan yang dahsyat untuk melenyapkan jin-jin perosak itu dan mereka dikejutkan dengan berita ada khalifah baru pula akan diletakkan di bumi? Dan kerana itu mereka bertanyakan soalan kepada Allah (Al-Baqarah: 30)

اَتَجْعَلُ فِيْهَا مَنْ يُّفْسِدُ فِيْهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاۤءَۚ

Apakah Engkau hendak menjadikan orang yang merosakkan dan menumpahkan darah di sana?,

Dan inilah apa yang sedang berlaku sekarang, bukan?

Tetapi, ketika itu, mereka masih belum kenal pun siapa kita ini. Nabi Adam pun belum dicipta lagi. Bagaimana pula mereka boleh tahu yang kita akan melakukan perkara tersebut? Ini adalah berdasarkan pengalaman mereka sebelum ini dengan jin. Ini kerana mereka tahu, apabila Allah menjadikan makhluk yang bebas membuat pilihan, kesudahannya nanti makhluk itu akan melakukan pilihan yang salah.

Mereka juga menambah:

وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۗ

sedangkan kami bertasbih memuji-Mu dan menyucikan nama-Mu?”

Malaikat mengatakan yang mereka sahajalah yang tidak akan melakukan kesalahan dan sentiasa tunduk patuh kepada segala perintah Allah. Jadi mengapa perlunya diciptakan makhluk lain pula?

Kejadian ini menimbulkan persoalan lain pula. Soalan malaikat ini berbunyi yang malaikat seolah-olah sedang memuji diri mereka sendiri, bukan? Adakah mereka meletakkan kedudukan mereka lebih tinggi daripada manusia? Adakah ini satu keangkuhan? Tetapi, bukankah yang mempunyai masalah keangkuhan ini adalah si Iblis? Menarik bukan jika difikir-fikirkan?

Sekarang kita lihat situasi yang berbeza ini:

Adam mempunyai persoalan tetapi baginda tidak bertanya;

Begitu juga Iblis, ada persoalan tetapi dia juga tidak bertanya;

Malaikat sahaja yang menyuarakan persoalan mereka.

Kita jelas mengapa malaikat bertanyakan soalan tersebut, tetapi bagaimana pula dengan tindakan seolah-olah seperti memuji diri sendiri itu? Kita cuba jelaskan di sini.

Apakah maksud ‘tasbih’? Di dalam bahasa Arab kata-kata tasbih diucapkan apabila terdengar sesuatu celaan terhadap tuhan. Contohnya sekiranya seseorang mengatakan yang Allah ada anak, ucapan yang harus diberikan adalah subhanallah. Ini bermaksud apabila seseorang melakukan sesuatu yang mencacatkan kesempurnaan Allah, maka kita harus mengucapkan subhanallah. Iaitu untuk menyingkirkan kata-kata yang tidak sepatutnya dikatakan tentang Allah. Inilah perbuatan yang dinamakan ‘tasbih’. Ringkasnya ia bermaksud mensucikan apa yang telah dicemar.

Sebenarnya ketika malaikat tidak faham tujuan Allah meletakkan manusia sebagai khalifah di bumi, dan mereka terus bertanya Allah, kemudiannya mereka berasa yang mereka telah bertindak melampaui batas. Kerana bukankah mereka sedang mempersoalkan tindakan Allah? Maka, di sini bukanlah mereka sedang memuji diri mereka sendiri, tetapi mereka sedang mengisytiharkan kepada Allah yang walaupun mereka bertanyakan soalan tersebut, bukanlah mereka bermaksud mereka mempersoalkan kesempurnaan Allah itu. ‘Engkau Maha Sempurna, walaupun kami tidak mampu memahami keputusan-Mu itu.’

Mereka sebenarnya di dalam ketakutan ketika bertanyakan soalan tersebut. Namun, mereka tetap tanyakan juga.

Dan apakah maksud ‘taqdis’ pula? Adakah ia bermaksud mengisytiharkan kesucian Allah? Apakah perbezaan di antara ‘taqdis’ dan ‘tasbih’ (mengisytiharkan kesempurnaan Allah)? Apakah pula perbezaan di antara kesempurnaan dan kesucian?

Kesempurnaan adalah tentang segala sifat Allah. Rahmat Allah adalah sempurna, keadilan-Nya, kebijaksanaan-Nya, kesemuanya dan banyak lagi dapat diungkap dengan tasbih.

Manakala kesucian pula berkait rapat dengan kebaikan. Dalam erti kata lain, keadilan adalah sebahagian daripada kebaikan, rahmat juga sebahagian daripada kebaikan, menghapuskan kejahatan juga adalah sebahagian daripada kebaikan. Maka, apabila malaikat melakukan taqdis kepada Allah, mereka tidak menyifatkan kejahatan kepada Allah kerana Allah terlalu sempurna dan suci untuk mereka mengatakan yang Allah telah melakukan sesuatu yang jahat. Mereka hanyalah keliru, itu sahaja.

Malaikat tidak pernah ingkar segala perintah Allah. Mereka tidak pernah melakukan apa-apa pun yang di luar daripada apa sahaja yang Allah perintahkan. Tetapi mereka ada persoalan dan mereka tanya kepada Allah. Maka, di sini kita faham bahawa bertanya kepada Allah bukanlah satu perbuatan yang mengingkari Allah. Jadi, tidak salah untuk bertanya.

Malangnya, di seluruh dunia ini, kadangkala seolah-olah ada guru yang berkedudukan terlalu tinggi sampaikan sudah tidak boleh dipersoalkan lagi oleh pelajarnya. Mereka yang bertanya akan dijatuhkan, seolah-olah perbuatan bertanya itu seperti mencela guru mereka pula. Adakah benar pemahaman sebegini?

Iblis telah mempersoalkan Allah, begitu juga malaikat telah memberi soalan kepada Allah. Tetapi terdapat perbezaan yang besar di antara mereka. Cara pertanyaan mereka itu yang membezakannya. Apabila kita bertanyakan soalan kerana benar-benar mahu memahami, dan bukan untuk mempersoalkan kedudukan Allah, maka pertanyaan sebegini dibenarkan sebagaimana yang malaikat lakukan. Namun sebaliknya apabila kita bertanyakan soalan yang mempersoalkan tujuan Allah, mempersoalkan kesempurnaan-Nya, maka di sinilah pertanyaan yang ternyata salah dan tidak dibenarkan. Malah dengan cara nada suara bertanya juga boleh menzahirkan sama ada seseorang itu mempersoalkan Allah atau tidak.

Bukanlah tidak digalakkan untuk bertanya pula, tetapi kita tidak digalakkan untuk bertanya dengan sikap yang salah. Di akhirnya nanti, inilah yang menyebabkan kita menjadi seperti sikap Iblis. Golongan muda seharusnya dibenarkan untuk bertanyakan soalan yang mereka tidak jelas, tetapi harus diingatkan jika mereka mempunyai sikap yang salah di dalam persoalan itu, maka mereka bukan sahaja menyakiti guru mereka, malah menyakiti Allah juga.

Dan di sini telah memberi pengajaran kepada kita, yang sekiranya malaikat pun dibenarkan bertanya kepada Allah, maka sesiapa sahaja juga boleh bertanyakan soalan kepada sesiapa sahaja dan bersedia untuk dipersoalkan oleh sesiapa juga. Malangnya, ini jarang berlaku di dunia kita hari ini.

Oleh sebab itu, ketika malaikat bertanya kepada Allah, apakah pula jawapan Allah kepada mereka?

قَالَ اِنِّيْٓ اَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُوْنَ

Dia berfirman, “Sungguh, Aku mengetahui apa yang tidak kamu ketahui.”

Allah mengetahui apa yang para malaikat itu tidak tahu. Seolah-olah Allah memberitahu kepada para malaikat: Kamu mungkin fikir perkara yang sama akan berlaku jika meletakkan manusia di bumi, bukan? Tetapi ada suatu yang berbeza pada kali ini.

Dan Allah akan memberitahu mereka apakah itu.

Sekian. Sambung ke Bahagian 2

Part 3

Later Allah said, فَأَزَلَّهُمَا ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنُ عَنۡہَا Then the Shaitân (Satan) made them slip therefrom. See that Allah holds both of them (Adam and Hawa) responsible. When it comes to obeying Allah, both have equal responsibility and both were in the wrong. This is different from Christian narrative, because they believed that Eve was the one who tempted Adam to eat from the tree. To the extent that they say: the root of all ‘evil’ is Eve (evil from eve). They put the blame on Eve (Hawa). But in Islam, both of them was equally responsible for that mistake.

Then Allah said: وَقُلۡنَا ٱهۡبِطُواْ بَعۡضُكُمۡ لِبَعۡضٍ عَدُوٌّ۬‌ۖ We said: “Get you down, all, with enmity between yourselves. They have to come down to earth. But is that the lowest you can go? It’s not the lowest. Because the lowest is the Hellfire. So that means that there are two levels of descent. This means that they just went down to the middle level (the earth). If it was a punishment, then the level that they have to go to is Jahannam. This means that Adam and Hawa were not sent to earth as a punishment. We have to understand and remember this because many people do not understand this.

So both of them were sent to earth, the middle level. And when you are sent to the middle level, you can either go back up or you can go lower down, right?

Allah sent Adam and Hawa down to earth, but He said in the ayat, ٱهۡبِطُواْ meaning it’s plural (more than two). So who does it mean here? Some ulama’ are of the opinion that it’s Adam, Hawa and Iblees. And it was added بَعۡضُكُمۡ لِبَعۡضٍ عَدُوٌّ۬‌ۖ enmity between yourselves, meaning that they would be enemies to each other. But if you have been paying attention, it’s just not Adam who was there when Allah introduced humanity to the angels. We were also there, do you remember?

When Allah said ٱهۡبِطُواْ (go down all of you) it also means us, all of us. And we in fact will be enemies to each other, right? That’s why man will become enemy to another man; and vice versa. Man to man, woman to woman, man to women, man and satan altogether. And Satan will cause animosity amongst siblings, remember the first murder on earth? And also women will become enemies to each other when they hate each other’s guts. Even when they are in the same family (or may be, ‘because’ they are in the same family, who knows?).

And unfortunately syaitan has managed to create this oppression, this hatred, sometimes in the name of Islam. There are some people who use the name of Islam and say the most satanic things. Some people even use Islamic reasons to oppress women. Of course they have to misuse the understanding of the religion to achieve this. They have distorted the religion that made the sunnah of the Prophet the opposite of what it’s supposed to be.

And this is the tragedy of the Ummah. The worst propaganda against Islam is done by the hands of the Muslims themselves, knowingly or unknowingly. We have so much of it that it makes us sick. See how we made enemies between each other, while both thinking that they are defending the religion. Who gives you the licence to judge a person’s heart? And what made it worse is that it is being done by people that have religious standing in the community.

So when Allah says that you will be enemies to each other, don’t just think that it’s just between believers versus kuffar, that’s too simplistic. We are living in the time where people using the name of Islam to say terrible, horrible things. And as a result, they push people away from Islam. Because there are things that are attributed falsely to Allah and to the Prophet. And that made the name of Islam bad in the eyes of the non-Muslims, isn’t it?

And this is our fight. The fight to claim back the book of Allah and try to do justice to Sunnah of the Prophet. To snatch it back from the hands that oppress in the name of Allah and the Prophet. How dare they? Unfortunately this is happening everywhere that it is sickening.

But enough venting and let’s get back to the issues at hand. And Allah continues, وَلَكُمۡ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مُسۡتَقَرٌّ۬ وَمَتَـٰعٌ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ۬ and for you on the earth shall be a resting-place and enjoyment for a season. The word ‘istiqrar’ means to stay and to stay with peace. It also means to find coolness. In contemporary English, as a human being sent to the earth, you will find on the earth a place to chill, literally.

And you will find enjoyment and utility. It’s until a given time. So there will be something that we will enjoy and find relaxation on earth. But it’s not permanent. Unfortunately some people think that their money will make them eternal. As Allah says in Humazah:3 يَحْسَبُ أَنَّ مَالَهُ أَخْلَدَهُ thinking that his wealth will make him live forever! Allah does not want you to condemn your worldly life, don’t take it wrongly.

Some Muslim got this wrong idea that we cannot enjoy this dunya. What Allah tells us not to do is to enjoy this world so much that you forget about the akhirah, that’s all. That you forget that this world is only temporary. Please study the life of the Prophet. He lived in Madinah in the time of war. But he did live his life. He didn’t put down those sahabas that enjoy this world. He’was fighting, yes but at the same time, he enjoyed this world as well. Who are you to be more hardcore than the Prophet and sahabahs? Remember that Allah gives this worldly life for us to enjoy and afterwards to thank Allah. How can you thank Allah if you don’t use His blessings on us?

Remember when the visitors came to see Prophet Ibrahim? Did he not serve them fat meat? That’s dunya, isn’t it? So remember that we are not supposed to condemn this world, but we need to live in it in a balanced way, that’s all. Allah wants happiness for the believers in both worlds. So appreciate the gifts that Allah gives us. Remember that Allah takes pride in the beautiful world that He had created.

That’s why Adam is being told to use the مَتَـٰعٌ in this world. He’s not being punished, remember? But Adam has seen Jannah already. This world is nothing compared to Jannah. You cannot imagine the sadness that he felt.

So Allah said, فَتَلَقَّىٰٓ ءَادَمُ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ كَلِمَـٰتٍ۬ Then Adam learnt from his Lord certain Words. Adam came into contact with certain words from Allah. Look at how Allah used the words here. Allah could have said that He ‘revealed’ the words but instead He used the word: تَلَقَّىٰٓ. This word means stumble, come into contact; it’s usually used in Arabic when you come upon a treasure, something valuable. What are those words?

The words are mentioned in A’raf:23 رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ “O our Sustainer! We have sinned against ourselves -and unless Thou grant us forgiveness and bestow Thy mercy upon us, we shall most certainly be lost!“ Allah Himself taught Adam these words and when he said it, Allah accepted his repentance.

Allah is saying when you accept your mistake as your personal responsibility, and repent, Allah will come close to you. Because after Adam mentioned those words, Allah said (Baqarah: 37): فَتَابَ عَلَيۡهِ‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ and He relented toward him, verily He! He is the Relentant, the Merciful. Allah is saying here that even if you did something wrong that caused you to be expelled from Jannah, it doesn’t mean that Allah does not love you. No human being has been removed from the mercy of Allah. As long as you are on earth and you are not dead, Allah may still accept your repentance.

Then Allah said: قُلۡنَا ٱهۡبِطُواْ مِنۡہَا جَمِيعً۬ا‌ۖ We said: get ye all down from here. But He also adds, فَإِمَّا يَأۡتِيَنَّكُم مِّنِّى هُدً۬ى and if there cometh unto you a guidance from Me, which means ‘if and when’ they receive the guidance from Allah. Who is ‘they’? Adam and his progenies (that means us). فَمَن تَبِعَ هُدَاىَ فَلَا خَوۡفٌ عَلَيۡہِمۡ وَلَا هُمۡ يَحۡزَنُونَ then whosoever shall follow My guidance, –no fear shall come on them, nor shall they grieve. Of course, Adam was afraid because of what he did. But Allah says here that He will remove that fear and get rid of the sadness so long he and his progeny take the guidance seriously.

That’s two things that Allah will take away: fear and sadness. That is the promise of Allah to us. So if you don’t want fear and sadness in your life, then what must you do? Obviously follow Allah’s guidance. In our case, this refers to the Qur’an. It is Allah’s remedy for fear and also for sadness. And remember that this promise was made to Adam and the ultimate fulfilment of that promise comes with the revelation of Qur’an.

By the way, what is the beauty of Jannah? More than anything else, it’s the removal of fear and sadness. Sadness is something that happened in the past and fear is something that might happen in the future. Both these will be removed in Jannah. And the same joy that you will experience in Jannah, Allah can also bring it to you here on earth. Of course if you follow the guidance from Allah. That means that you will experience it while you are on the road to Jannah. That is the promise of Allah to us and what a beautiful promise it is.

An important side note here. What about the fear of Allah? That is a valid fear, right? And we do have a sense of sadness over the sins that we have made, right? Then why did it say that they will have fear and sadness? Ulama’ says that it means that you will not be overrun with fear and sadness. Yes you will experience fear and sadness but it will not overwhelm you. Allah will give the strength for you to move on.

That means that we can have valid fear for our kids, for our parents, for akhirah and sadness over the things that have passed, but Allah will not let that sadness bury you in emotions. Because if it does, it will paralyse you. Allah will keep that emotion in check and what will keep it in check? It’s the book of Allah.

But unfortunately there are people that are angry and subsequently explain the Qur’an in anger; and there are those that are too relaxed and they explain the book of Allah in that manner. And there are those that are afraid and they interpret the Qur’an in that way as well. This is not right. Instead, we have to come to the book of Allah submissively. If you come to it with bias, then you will have a prejudice towards it.

Remember that the Qur’an will give you what you came for. If you come to it for guidance, it will give you guidance. If you come to it with a bias, then it will give you the bias that you were looking for. Remember that you have to follow the guidance and the guidance doesn’t have to follow you.

Then Allah says وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَكَذَّبُواْ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَآ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ أَصۡحَـٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ‌ۖ هُمۡ فِيہَا خَـٰلِدُونَ “And those who disbelieve and deny Our signs – those will be companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally.” Allah is saying here that the only rescue is if we follow Allah’s guidance. If you deny it, and you fall into doubt, then there is no help left for you.

So where is the juicy part? Remember that the story we are reading now comes from Surah Baqarah. It’s a long surah and it’s not only about Adam and when you read this long surah, you’d think that it has completely random subjects, right? It moves from one subject to another subject and then to another subject. But actually, everything is connected in the Qur’an and you cannot understand the Qur’an in isolation. Allah put these verses together for a purpose.

Our job now is to figure out what the story of Adam is doing in Surah Baqarah. What’s the connection? What benefit does it serve? In the study of tafseer, this is called ilm al-bayan. One of its subject matters is to understand how the ayats of the Qur’an are organised.

To understand this, let’s look at the overview of Surah Baqarah briefly. The first part of the surah (part 1) talks about the believers and compares it with the non-believers and the hypocrites. When you get to the very end of the surah (part 9), there’s a dua and that dua is the dua to protect the believers from falling into hypocrisy and helps the believers against the non-believers. See the connection?

Part 2 of the surah is what we just studied (the story of Adam) and the essence of the story is about Adam who was given all of Jannah but Satan caused him to slip as a result of greed. He has all of Jannah except that tree and the incentive that Satan promised him was staying in Jannah forever, remember? And greed and living forever goes together, right? As we’ve seen before: يَحْسَبُ أَنَّ مَالَهُ أَخْلَدَهُ thinking that his wealth will make him live forever! So this part 2 is about Adam and how greed can destroy humanity and keeps us away from Jannah.

And if you go to part 8 of this surah, it begins with ayat about spending in the path of Allah. Then there’s an ayat about Riba’ (interest). So part 8 is about the best thing that you can do with your money (in the path of Allah) and the worst thing that you can do with it (riba’). It is followed by verses about business. So part 8 verses teach us about controlling greed. Again, do you see the connection? Special attention here to ayah 268 which again relates to Satan ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنُ يَعِدُكُمُ ٱلۡفَقۡرَ وَيَأۡمُرُڪُم بِٱلۡفَحۡشَآءِ‌ۖ Satan promised you with poverty and orders you to immorality. This is what he did with Adam. He promised Adam bankruptcy and getting out from Jannah if did not follow his ‘advice’, and once Adam made the mistake, their clothes were removed and Satan continues to command humans to shamelessness.

So part 2 and part 8 are connected. You follow so far?

Moving on. Part 3 of the Surah is about the laws that Allah gave to Bani Israel and how they kept breaking Allah’s law. Now compare to Part 7. It has the list of laws that Allah gives to the Muslim Ummah. From the laws of Hajj to divorce, about eating and all that. One is about the law to the Israelites and the other is the law to the Muslims.

Part 4 is where it was told that Prophet Ibraheem passed his test from Allah. And Part 6 is telling us that this ummah will be tested. So both these parts are about tests. One for the Israelites and one for us.

What’s left? We’ve looked at part 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9 of Surah Baqarah. Right in the middle is Part 5 is where Allah told us that the Qiblah is changing. The center of Islam and all humanity is the Qiblah and the center of Surah Baqarah is about Qiblah. The Qiblah is changing from the qiblah of the Bani Israel to the qiblah of the Ummah of Muhammad. Just like the beginning of the Surah is about Bani Israel and later part is about the Ummah of Muhammad. And in the middle is about the Qiblah.

So that’s the overview of Surah Baqarah in brief. Let’s get back to the original discussion of this writing. The story of Adam is in Part 2 and we know that he is our father. And immediately after that is the part about Bani Israel (Children of Israel) as a nation. The next part is about Ibraheem and he is also a father. And the part after that is about our nation and we have a qiblah of our own. So the topic is about a father (Adam) and after that a nation (Children of Israel) and after that about a father again (Ibraheem) and later about another nation (our nation, Children of Ismael). So the formula is Father – nation – Father – nation.

Now look at this: One father will be compared to one nation. So Adam will be compared to Bani Israel (The Israelites). How? Check this out. We’ve learnt that Adam was being sent to the earth as a Khalifah. And the only other prophet that has been described as a Khalifah is from Bani Israel which is Dawud a.s. as told in Sad:26 يٰداوودُ إِنّا جَعَلنٰكَ خَليفَةً فِي الأَرضِ O David, indeed We have made you as a khalifah upon the earth. 

Remember that there were two complaints about humans from the angels when Allah said that He wanted to make humans as khalifah on earth? That they will cause corruption and spill blood, right? And what did the Israelites do? وَقَضَيۡنَآ إِلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسۡرَٲٓءِيلَ فِى ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ لَتُفۡسِدُنَّ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مَرَّتَيۡنِ And We conveyed to the Children of Israel in the Scripture that, “You will surely cause corruption on the earth twice (Isra’:4). The angels said that humans will cause corruption and who proved them correct? The Israelites.

The second complaint of the angels is that humans will spill blood. What did the Israelites do? ثُمَّ أَنتُمۡ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ تَقۡتُلُونَ أَنفُسَكُمۡ Then, you are those [same ones who are] killing one another (Baqarah:85). What the angels feared was fulfilled by the Israelites.

What happened when Adam and Hawa made their epic mistake? They were told to come down to earth from Jannah قُلۡنَا ٱهۡبِطُواْ مِنۡہَا جَمِيعً۬ا‌ۖ We said, “Go down from it, all of you. And we have already explained that the reason is because of greed. Now look at what the Israelites did. While they were in the desert, they were given Manna and Salwa. But they were not satisfied with it. The said, وَإِذۡ قُلۡتُمۡ يَـٰمُوسَىٰ لَن نَّصۡبِرَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامٍ۬ وَٲحِدٍ۬ فَٱدۡعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُخۡرِجۡ لَنَا مِمَّا تُنۢبِتُ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ مِنۢ بَقۡلِهَا وَقِثَّآٮِٕهَا وَفُومِهَا وَعَدَسِہَا وَبَصَلِهَا‌ۖ And [recall] when you said, “O Moses, we can never endure one [kind of] food. So call upon your Lord to bring forth for us from the earth its green herbs and its cucumbers and its garlic and its lentils and its onions.” (Baqarah:61). It’s because of greed, isn’t it?

And because of that Moses said to them, ٱهۡبِطُواْ مِصۡرً۬ا فَإِنَّ لَڪُم مَّا سَأَلۡتُمۡ‌ۗ Go down into [any] settlement and indeed, you will have what you have asked.” Again, the same word ٱهۡبِطُواْ was used with Adam and the Israelites.

Remember when Adam entered Jannah and was told to eat anywhere that he liked? وَكُلَا مِنۡهَا رَغَدًا حَيۡثُ شِئۡتُمَا and eat therefrom in [ease and] abundance from wherever you will. The same thing was told to the Israelites in Baqarah:58 وَإِذۡ قُلۡنَا ٱدۡخُلُواْ هَـٰذِهِ ٱلۡقَرۡيَةَ فَڪُلُواْ مِنۡهَا حَيۡثُ شِئۡتُمۡ رَغَدً۬ا And [recall] when We said, “Enter this city and eat from it wherever you will in [ease and] abundance. Here you can see the similarities of the words used.

What was the gift that Allah gave Adam when he was on earth? Words right? تَلَقَّىٰٓ ءَادَمُ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ كَلِمَـٰتٍ۬ Then Adam learnt from his Lord certain Words. And the words were about his acknowledgement that he did wrong. And what was told to the Israelites when they entered the city? وَٱدۡخُلُواْ ٱلۡبَابَ سُجَّدً۬ا وَقُولُواْ حِطَّةٌ۬ and enter the gate bowing humbly and say, ‘Relieve us of our burdens.’ But where Adam acknowledged his mistakes, the Israelites did not. They were given one word (whereas Adam got more words) but even one word they didn’t manage to handle and even changed it, ridiculing their prophet and Allah. فَبَدَّلَ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ قَوۡلاً غَيۡرَ ٱلَّذِى قِيلَ لَهُمۡ But those who wronged changed [those words] to a statement other than that which had been said to them (Baqarah:59).

When the angels made their complaints, Allah told them, قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَعۡلَمُ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ Allah said, “Indeed, I know that which you do not know.” and immediately they backed down. But the Israelites talked like they knew more than Allah and Allah rebuked them قُلۡ ءَأَنتُمۡ أَعۡلَمُ أَمِ ٱللَّهُ‌ۗ Say, “Are you more knowing or is Allah?” 

Remember when Allah said to the angels (and to Iblees)? وَأَعۡلَمُ مَا تُبۡدُونَ وَمَا كُنتُمۡ تَكۡتُمُونَ And I know what you reveal and what you have concealed. And what did the Israelites do? They hid the revelations. إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَكۡتُمُونَ مَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلۡڪِتَـٰبِ Indeed, they who conceal what Allah has sent down of the Book (Baqarah:174).

What did Iblees refuse to do? Sajdah, right? Israelites not only do not want to do sajdah, they even didn’t want to do ruku’ (which is something less than a sujood). That’s why they are being told to do that in Baqarah:43 وَٱرۡكَعُواْ مَعَ ٱلرَّٲكِعِينَ and bow down with those who bow down. 

So now we can see that Adam is compared with the Israelites. The angels made a complaint that human beings are not up to the task as a khalifah. Then Allah gave long narratives about the Israelites who were supposed to be the chosen nation, that were given so many prophets, and so many chances, and yet they proved that the angels were right, didn’t they? So far, we’ve seen that the angels were right in their complaints about human beings.

Later, Allah mentioned the story of another father, Ibraheem a.s. Who was also tested. Adam was tested and he failed temporarily and later recovered. Whereas the Israelites were also tested and they continued to fail again and again. Then Ibraheem was tested and he passed. We mentioned before that Baqarah is about father – nation – father – nation. And the similar things about them is test and test. Ibraheem was tested with colossal things and he completed the test as mentioned in Baqarah:124 وَإِذِ ٱبۡتَلَىٰٓ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ رَبُّهُ ۥ بِكَلِمَـٰتٍ۬ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ‌ۖ And [mention, O Muhammad], when Abraham was tried by his Lord with commands and he fulfilled them. That’s how great Ibraheem was and that’s why we are called the religion of Ibraheem.

Who’s next? Us! Allah said that he will test us next. وَلَنَبۡلُوَنَّكُم بِشَىۡءٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلۡخَوۡفِ وَٱلۡجُوعِ وَنَقۡصٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلۡأَمۡوَٲلِ وَٱلۡأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَٲتِ‌ۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient (Baqarah:155). So now it is our turn to be tested. When Allah told that He wants to create humans on earth, it created a question inside the mind of the angels. And that question is not answered by the doings of the Israelites. Because they are a disappointment to the legacy of their father, Ibraheem. They were supposed to uphold the legacy but they failed. But the legacy of Ibraheem must be upheld. So who will uphold it? I think that you can guess it by now.

By the way, the legacy of Ibraheem is built on the foundation of the Ka’bah. This was mentioned in Baqarah:127 وَإِذۡ يَرۡفَعُ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمُ ٱلۡقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ ٱلۡبَيۡتِ And [mention] when Abraham was raising the foundations of the House. This means that he did not build it from scratch because the foundation is already there. But where did the foundation come from? It was from Adam, who started the project. So the first father started the project and the second father finished the project.

And Ibraheem has two kinds of children: Ishaq on one side and Ismail on the other side. From Ishaq came the Israelites and we already knew that they had failed and didn’t do justice to the house.

And now it’s the turn of the children of Ismail, the Muslims turn to uphold it. And we are the final ummah that walks on this earth. There’s no more ummah after us, right? And thus we are supposed to be the answer to the angels from Allah when He answered to them,  أَعۡلَمُ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ He (Allâh) said: “I know that which you do not know.” This means that Allah knows the Muslims and the Ummah of Muhammad. Allah trusts us to show what humans can do, that we can take care of the earth and there will be those who will rise to the occasion when the time comes.

So we have a huge responsibility on our shoulders.

Now to close this long writing, let’s look at the ending part of the surah. Towards the end, we learn that Ibraheem turned to Allah and asked Him how He gave life to the dead. وَإِذۡ قَالَ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمُ رَبِّ أَرِنِى ڪَيۡفَ تُحۡىِ ٱلۡمَوۡتَىٰ‌ۖ And [mention] when Abraham said, “My Lord, show me how You give life to the dead.” (Baqarah:260). In the beginning, angels and Iblees asked their questions. And now it’s about the question of the Ibraheem. And Allah proceeds to show Ibraheem how He brought life to the dead.

And in the previous verse, Allah told the story of a prophet who passed through a town and he saw that it was completely ruined and he couldn’t see how Allah can bring it back to life. أَوۡ كَٱلَّذِى مَرَّ عَلَىٰ قَرۡيَةٍ۬ وَهِىَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَىٰ عُرُوشِهَا قَالَ أَنَّىٰ يُحۡىِۦ هَـٰذِهِ ٱللَّهُ بَعۡدَ مَوۡتِهَا‌ۖ Or [consider such an example] as the one who passed by a township which had fallen into ruin. He said, “How will Allah bring this to life after its death?” And Allah made him dead for a hundred years and later brought him back to life. Again, it’s about bringing the dead to life.

Why are these stories important? So many people think that this ummah is dead. That there is no hope left for us. And it’s true isn’t it that there’s so much corruption, disobedience, fitnah, hatred, ignorance and all. The list is endless. It seems that we can be considered as ‘dead’ in a way. But Allah says that He gives death and He also gives life. So why don’t you believe that this ummah of ours can be brought back to life? This is a matter of iman. Don’t think that there’s no hope left for us. We must believe that there is still hope. Yes, you may not be able to see now, but we must put our trust in Allah’s plan.

And lastly, let’s look at two scenes in Suratul Baqarah. One is in the beginning and another one at the end. In the beginning, we learn about a man brought down to earth from Jannah. When he was sent to earth, Adam was told to look out for guidance.

And at the end of surah, there are two ayats of Surah Al Baqarah where our Prophet received it after travelling from earth to meet Allah in the Heaven (Isra’ Mi’raj). So the surah begins with a human being going down to earth and as the surah concludes with another man ascending to receive revelations. Descent in the beginning and ascend at the end.

And what Allah says in that verse? ءَامَنَ ٱلرَّسُولُ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡهِ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ وَٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ‌ۚ The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers (Baqarah:285). In the Arasy (Throne of Allah), Allah mentioned the ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ‌ۚ which is us. Why? Because we are the answers to the angel’s question. Again, remember that we have a huge responsibility on our shoulders. May we be the ones that are involved in fulfilling it.

The End.

Part 2 

The next section is called: Adam and angels are taught

Allah says in Baqarah:31 وَعَلَّمَ ءَادَمَ ٱلۡأَسۡمَآءَ كُلَّهَا And He taught Adam all the names (of everything). Allah taught Adam all manner of names, leaving nothing at all out. The word ٱلۡأَسۡمَآءَ can be translated as ‘names’, but it can also means ‘qualities’. That’s why we say the Names of Allah is الْاَسْمَاۤءُ الْحُسْنٰى. It’s not just names, but the qualities of Allah, right?

So Adam was taught the name of things and the qualities of things. It means that Adam was being taught the languages. Because all languages boil down to nouns. A child, when it learns things, will try to understand its name first. And names are nouns, right? So nouns are the basis of not only one language, but all languages that exist in this world. The first creature that was taught this massive vocabulary is Adam.

And we his children are taught some languages and it’s actually the child of the languages that Adam already taught. And it was taught by Allah Himself. So this means that all languages are taught by Allah via revelation. Not a language that exists on earth that is not from Him, because all language goes back to parents, which goes back to further parent and eventually you end up with Adam a.s. and Adam is taught languages by Allah. And this also teaches us that all languages are supposed to be honoured because it was taught by Allah. You shouldn’t make fun of any language and dialect.

The other implication is about terminology. All sciences have their own terminology, right? In other words, what was given to Adam is the basis of all human intellectual development. All of it was handed to this man so that he could pass it down to his children. This is how science improved over time. Our forefathers jotted something down and gave it a term. And people after them improved it further, based on that term that was written down.

It means that humans cannot move upwards without the basis put down by the previous generations that defined the things. The development of human knowledge in every field is part of the plan of Allah that began with Adam a.s.

So when you study physics, biology, medicines, finances or whatever else, you actually continue to study what was initially given to Adam a.s. So you can’t say that learning deen is the only knowledge that has to do with Allah, whereas all sciences have to do with Allah! You yourself come up with that division, not Allah.

The book of Allah actually wants us to dive into the knowledge of this world and learn about everything. Allah says in Hud:61 هُوَ أَنشَأَكُم مِنَ الأَرضِ وَاستَعمَرَكُم فيها He has produced you from the earth and settled you in it. In modern Arabic the word استعمر actually means to colonise. But in old Arabic, it means Allah put you on earth and He wants you to develop and enhance the world. How are you going to enhance the earth if you don’t study sciences?

For example, agriculture happens because humans learn how to irrigate water. From there cities are developed. None of these would develop without science. Where do you think that the islamic civilizations come from? Unfortunately we have developed this secular thinking that divides religion and sciences apart, thinking that secular knowledge is not important. Whereas in this story we learn that Allah gave Adam secular knowledge first. Allah didn’t mention about worship yet to Adam, did He?

Unfortunately the ummah has reached an intellectual stagnation that we divided the knowledge of religion and knowledge of science. Or we can say between the ‘knowledge of revelation’ and the ‘knowledge of creation’. Here we learn that Adam has been given the honour to learn the knowledge of creation. That’s the knowledge of all kinds of things. Allah even didn’t limit to the knowledge of creation only because Allah says وَعَلَّمَ ءَادَمَ ٱلۡأَسۡمَآءَ كُلَّهَا where the كُلَّهَا means everything, even abstracts ideas and concepts.

It’s remarkable what Adam has been given. And even some amongst us were given some special knowledge. Some of us are very poetic, some very artistic, and have a real knack for history, some with languages, some in sciences and others in medicine.

So whatever that you are good at, that’s actually a fraction of the knowledge that has been granted to Adam. The knowledge has been given to Adam and he has passed it down to us. So don’t feel bad for knowing the knowledge of dunya. When you’re good at it, it’s a gift from Allah. Remember that it has been passed down to you.

So the first meaning of ٱلۡأَسۡمَآءَ is the name of things. The second meaning can be taken from this hadith:

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ بْنُ حُمَيْدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو نُعَيْمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ، عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ لَمَّا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ آدَمَ مَسَحَ ظَهْرَهُ فَسَقَطَ مِنْ ظَهْرِهِ كُلُّ نَسَمَةٍ هُوَ خَالِقُهَا مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَ عَيْنَىْ كُلِّ إِنْسَانٍ مِنْهُمْ وَبِيصًا مِنْ نُورٍ ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ عَلَى آدَمَ فَقَالَ أَىْ رَبِّ مَنْ هَؤُلاَءِ قَالَ هَؤُلاَءِ ذُرِّيَّتُكَ فَرَأَى رَجُلاً مِنْهُمْ فَأَعْجَبَهُ وَبِيصُ مَا بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ فَقَالَ أَىْ رَبِّ مَنْ هَذَا فَقَالَ هَذَا رَجُلٌ مِنْ آخِرِ الأُمَمِ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِكَ يُقَالُ لَهُ دَاوُدُ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَبِّ كَمْ جَعَلْتَ عُمْرَهُ قَالَ سِتِّينَ سَنَةً قَالَ أَىْ رَبِّ زِدْهُ مِنْ عُمْرِي أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً ‏.‏ فَلَمَّا انْقَضَى عُمْرُ آدَمَ جَاءَهُ مَلَكُ الْمَوْتِ فَقَالَ أَوَلَمْ يَبْقَ مِنْ عُمْرِي أَرْبَعُونَ سَنَةً قَالَ أَوَلَمْ تُعْطِهَا ابْنَكَ دَاوُدَ قَالَ فَجَحَدَ آدَمُ فَجَحَدَتْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُ وَنَسِيَ آدَمُ فَنَسِيَتْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُ وَخَطِئَ آدَمُ فَخَطِئَتْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُ ‏”‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ ‏.‏ وَقَدْ رُوِيَ مِنْ غَيْرِ وَجْهٍ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏.‏

Narrated Abu Hurairah:

that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “When Allah created Adam He wiped his back and every person that He created among his offspring until the Day of Resurrection fell out of his back. He placed a ray of light between the eyes of every person. Then He showed them to Adam and he said: ‘O Lord! Who are these people?’ He said: ‘These are your offspring.’ He saw one of them whose ray between his eyes amazed him, so he said: ‘O Lord! Who is this?’ He said: ‘This is a man from the latter nations of your offspring called Dawud.’ He said: ‘Lord! How long did You make his lifespan?’ He said: ‘Sixty years.’ He said: ‘O Lord! Add forty years from my life to his.’ So at the end of Adam’s life, the Angel of Death came to him, and he said: ‘Do I not have forty years remaining?’ He said: ‘Did you not give them to your son Dawud?'” He said: “Adam denied, so his offspring denied, and Adam forgot and his offspring forgot, and Adam sinned, so his offspring sinned.” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3076. Grade: Hasan (Darussalam)

Everyone of us was there and shown to Adam. Previously we have said that Adam has been told our names, right? Adam has also been told our qualities as well. Like a good father should know about his children, right? So here we can see that the meaning of ٱلۡأَسۡمَآءَ could also means our names. The student of Arabic can appreciate this because Allah continues the verse with ثُمَّ عَرَضَہُمۡ عَلَى ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ then He showed them to the angels. The dhomir (pronoun) هم is not used for things, but used for humans. It is because Adam was taught the name of human beings and later the humans were shown to the angels.

Then Allah asked them: فَقَالَ أَنۢبِـُٔونِى بِأَسۡمَآءِ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ and He said, “Tell Me the names of these. Can you name all these people and tell me their qualities? The angels cannot answer Him. Allah asked them this question because they asked Him the question first, asking why He’s putting a new khalifah on earth. So now Allah is telling them what kind of khalifah that this human is going to be. Do you even know their names, do you even know their qualities, o angels? No, they said that they don’t know.

Basically Allah is saying that the angels cannot accuse the humans are going to make those mistakes because that is premature thinking. You cannot judge humans based on what the previous creature has done. Guess what? That principle does not only apply to angels but it also applies to you and me. If somebody messed up in the past, it doesn’t mean that their children are going to mess up too in the future.

And if Muslims have made mistakes in the past, it doesn’t mean that the latter generation will do the same. Unfortunately we developed a depressed feeling about our future based on our past histories. Whether it is about ourselves or about our ummah. Muslims do this, right? And not only about the Muslims, but about the non-Muslims as well, right? We hear people say, “oh these kuffars, they will always be like that!”. Do you get a guarantee from Allah that they will always be like that?

Look at the Quraish. Yes, in the past there were the lots that attacked Rasulullah. But it’s the same Quraish that gave us Khalid ibn Walid and the other great companions. So don’t judge people from their past. The angels themselves were taught that this is not the correct way of thinking. And so by extension, we are being taught that it’s not the correct way of thinking.

Were the jinns before us were taught the sciences and the technologies? No, it’s only taught to human beings. So when humans become the khalifah on earth, they will do amazing things. Humans will take the raw materials on earth and will invent things, design and create things. You can see that this has been happening, right? See where we have become. The potentials has been shown throughout history.

When Allah asked them, at the end Allah says إِن كُنتُمۡ صَـٰدِقِينَ if you are truthful. This can mean two things. Allah is challenging the angels and saying that their concern is not accurate. And number two, it’s about their tasbeeh and taqdis. And Allah is letting the angels know that amongst these human beings, there will be those that will declare Allah’s perfection and purity in a way that even the angels can’t reach.

Case in point: On the day of judgement, when all are silent, Rasulullah will be given the right to speak. Our Prophet will praise Him in a way that Allah has never taught anyone else. So his tasbeeh, hamd and taqdis will be more and better than even the angels. So Allah is telling the angels not to underestimate this human because in their rank are also prophets.

Look at the hadith above about Dawud. Dawud caught Adam’s eye and he gave 40 years of his life to Dawud, remember? If you study Dawud in the Qur’an, what do you find? What made him special? He was given the ability to be in harmony with nature. He used to sing praises to Allah and the mountains and the birds joined him. He used irons to create armour, meaning he is advanced in knowledge. He was also given governance that was not given before to other prophets.

In other words, he was actually really taking care of the earth. And he’s a special khalifah. And because of that, when Adam sees Dawud, he was so impressed and because of that that he thinks that Dawud should stay on earth longer. Because Adam knows the qualities of his children, remember?

Back to the angels when Allah asked them. They answered قَالُواْ سُبۡحَـٰنَكَ They (angels) said: “Glory be to You. The angels said that Allah is too perfect. But when do you say tasbeeh? When you say something inappropriate. This means that they are backing off understanding that they are way out of line when they question Allah’s decision.

And they continue لَا عِلۡمَ لَنَآ إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمۡتَنَآ‌ۖ we have no knowledge except what you have taught us. You only taught us about the jinns. We knew about the jinns but we didn’t know about the humans. We will never question your judgement again. إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلۡعَلِيمُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ Verily, it is You, the All-Knower, the All-Wise.

Despite being close to Allah, they recognize their limits and maintain their humility. But what about us? You who are a student of knowledge and have taken seminars after seminars, courses after courses and now you are the most knowledgeable among your friends. And unfortunately you are also the most uptight and the most arrogant amongst your friends. And you are the most judgemental amongst them, too.

Actually the more knowledge you have, you should be more down to earth. That is the sign of knowledge and the angels recognize this. So the angels have been taught not to judge prematurely. So when you meet other people and you don’t know anything about them, you should not be rushing to pass judgement.

And now Allah turns to Adam. قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡ‌ۖ He said: “O Adam! Inform them of their names. Allah told Adam to tell the angels about the names of humans, which are us. So not only Adam knows our names but the angels know too. And consequently, Allah send guardians to us based on our particular problems. Because they are taking care of us. And for that they need to know about our qualities and our problems.

And after Adam told the angels of the names, Allah says قَالَ أَلَمۡ أَقُل لَّكُمۡ إِنِّىٓ أَعۡلَمُ غَيۡبَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ He said: “Did I not tell you that I know the Ghaib (unseen) in the heavens and the earth. Allah mentioned the earth because the questions from angels are about the earth, right? And this verse is beautiful when Allah says about the skies and earth because Adam is made in two parts: his physical body is from the earth and his roh comes from the sky.

So some of his qualities not only from dirt but from the roh, something so incredible. So don’t underestimate humans because they are not animals, instead they are very special. Animals only procreate and eat but humans have so many potentials. We have the ability to create, to love, to show gratitude, justice, beauty, think beyond greed, develop brotherhood and all that.

But unfortunately we can see in the entertainment industry there’s a celebration to turn you into not more than an animal. Just look at the songs that have vulgar contents. Who thinks like this? Dogs and other animals. This is so sad because Allah has shown how great we are, but some of us are changing this into something bad. We’re living in times when the animal side is being celebrated. It’s the side without the roh involved. This is the tragedy of the time, because of the destruction of the human souls.

And look at the arts nowadays. It has become so inhuman. Remember the islamic arts in the past? It’s about symmetry because it is inspired by the verses of Allah that says that He created everything in order. So the Islamic artists in the past tried to emulate this by using the concept of symmetry in their paintings. But the arts these days are full of vulgars. It is disturbing when we look at it.

So Allah has said that He knows the unseen of the skies and the earth. And regarding humans, it’s about the potential that He put in us. It’s beautiful because human beings do have goodness inside all of us.

And Allah continues وَأَعۡلَمُ مَا تُبۡدُونَ وَمَا كُنتُمۡ تَكۡتُمُونَ and I know what you reveal and what you have been concealing. The angels must have been confused because they didn’t hide anything from Allah. Why is Allah saying this? They didn’t know that amongst them is the jinn that has been promoted that has been hiding his feelings all along. Allah called him out. It hasn’t happened yet but Allah is already hinting about it. His refusal to do sajdah hasn’t happened yet but Allah already knows what he will do.

Iblees had hesitation about Adam but he kept it inside his head. He is already jealous. There are some people in life that are jealous of you even before they know you. Why? Because they feel threatened by your existence. Just because you exist and somehow you take away their position or their grandeur.

Unfortunately the ugliest thing is when even the Islamic speakers are jealous of each other. Those that are supposed to elevate the ummah but they are the ones that fell into the trap of syaitan. This is when your group is from another masjid, another a rival Islamic school. They bicker amongst each other. They think that because they are doing Allah’s work, then they are right and they are the best.

When this happens, they are no better than Iblees. Remember, Iblees himself has done Allah’s work. His pride is to get the recognition for his services to Allah. So if you are doing Allah’s work but you fell into this pride thing, then you have what Iblees had all along.

Why do you think in the Qur’an Allah highlighted the bad things that the scholars of Israelites did? Because they also had their status and because of that, they became arrogant. And we have to watch out so that we don’t become the same thing. If you think that the only way your work is to be appreciated is by putting down the work of others, then you have some serious problem in your hand. If you do, then you are no different than Iblees.

Unfortunately in the Muslim community there’s a lot of people who likes to put other people down. Do you think that you are doing something for the ummah? This must change. Nonsense should be ignored. And the person that likes to spread nonsense and make people waste time by it is Syaitan. So don’t follow the footsteps of syaitan.

Then Allah continues, وَإِذۡ قُلۡنَا لِلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ ٱسۡجُدُواْ لِأَدَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓاْ And (remember) when We said to the angels: “Prostrate yourselves before Adam.” And they prostrated. There are two popular meanings for this act. One, it’s as a sign of respect to Adam. It’s allowed in previous syariah.

But there’s another opinion which is not in conflict with syariah. If you study the meaning of sajdah, it happens when something amazing happens. When Allah does something amazing, you turn into sajdah. For example, when the staff of Moosa eat the snake, the magicians fall into sajdah. When the Christians listened to the recitation of the Qur’an, they fell into sajdah. When the Quraish came to debate Rasulullah and they heard the ayat of the Qur’an, even the Mushrikoon of Quraish fell into sajdah.

When the brothers of Yusuff saw their brother that they had put into the well and now became an important person, they were so amazed with the plan of Allah that they fell into sajdah as well.  Now when Adam was created and initially the angels had some questions about him, and later when Allah showed him to the angels, they were amazed and they also fell into sajdah. It is when the roh was put into the human body. It was such an incredible miracle of Allah that the angels were so amazed by it.

But Iblees has a problem with that. إِلَّآ إِبۡلِيسَ except Iblîs (Satan). He saw that Adam was made from dirt and he didn’t even acknowledge the roh that Allah has put into Adam. Thus he refused to prostrate to Adam even though Allah has told everyone to do that.

There’s a problem with the English translation of this ayah. Look at this sentence: ‘all the students came except Kareem’. Doesn’t that mean that Kareem is also a student? So if Allah said that all the angels did sajdah except Iblees, doesn’t that also mean that Iblees is also an angel? But wasn’t he a jinn?

This is the beauty of the Arabic language. The word فَسَجَدُوٓاْ means they (the angels) made sajdah. And if Iblees was a part of the angels then the word would be like this ​​فَسَجَدُوٓاْ إِلَّآ إِبۡلِيسُ (ibleesu and not ibleesa) where the dhommah is put on the word Iblees. But if the person does not belong in the same group, then we put nasb on the name and that’s why the word is like this: فَسَجَدُوٓاْ إِلَّآ إِبۡلِيسَ.

Now let’s put this into simple English for easy understanding: all the students came except Ustaz Nouman. Now, does Ustaz Nouman from amongst the students? No, right? Yes he belongs in the class but he’s not bunced into the same group. And you only know the difference because we added the word ‘ustaz’. But in Arabic, you don’t have to do that. You can just change it’s harakah and you’d know that he’s not in the same group. And that’s why for Arabic people, this verse is not a confusion. This is why you need to learn Arabic and know the meaning of rafa’, nasb and jarr.

For some people, learning Arabic is hard and it can be pretty boring. Most would want to get straight to the juicy stuff. But to get there, you need to get there step by step.

And Allah said that Iblees أَبَىٰ وَٱسۡتَكۡبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡكَـٰفِرِينَ he refused and was proud and was one of the disbelievers. Now we learn that sometimes people refuse because of arrogance. Sometimes people refuse because of ignorance. Sometimes people refuse because of anger. Sometimes it is because of sadness, or fear. But when you refuse because of arrogance, then there’s no hope for you. You’re done. And that’s why Iblees was a kafir and there’s no hope for him ever. And the word كَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡكَـٰفِرِينَ means that he was always has been amongst the disbelievers.

Now Iblees has refused to do sajdah. And in Surah A’raf Allah explains in detail the reason why. But Allah wants to focus on something else in Baqarah. Allah keeps the attention on Adam here. In A’raf the attention is more on Iblees.

So now Allah turns to Adam وَقُلۡنَا يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ ٱسۡكُنۡ أَنتَ وَزَوۡجُكَ ٱلۡجَنَّةَ And We said: “O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in the Paradise. The word ٱسۡكُنۡ means live in harmony. You and your wife. And it didn’t say في الجنة (in Jannah) but only ٱلۡجَنَّةَ with no harf here. Usually when you say you live somewhere, you’d say I live ‘in’ Dallas etc. But the word ‘in’ is not here. Why?

Because the word في (in) would take away the vastness of Jannah. Adam was not told where he could live in Jannah because he can live anywhere in Jannah. The entire endless horizon of Jannah and he can settle anywhere.

By the way the word سكن means someone is moving and he stops. And he starts moving again. And stop and move again. If you stay somewhere and are not planning to move anywhere, there’s other words for that. So we already know that Adam will not live in Jannah forever and now we know that Adam will explore Jannah all over the place. One castle to the other castle and hang and hang around Jannah. The beauty was captured in the word ٱسۡكُنۡ.

So who’s with Adam? Hawa his wife, right? But Allah did not say أسكنا (both of you stay) but He gave the instruction to Adam only. In other words, Allah only addressed Adam and not the wife. It’s because only the head of household is addressed when the matter of settling down is mentioned. The head of the house is being honoured with that.

The other meaning can be taken from the word ٱسۡكُنۡ as well. In another verse Allah says وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا لِّتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا And among His wonders is this: He creates for you mates out of your own kind so that you might incline towards them (Rum:21). So that you can find peace from them. And from Adam, Hawa was created.

This teaches us that the peace of the household is the man’s responsibility. Sometimes the wife will get mad and say something really bad but this is the time that the husband must establish peace. You’re gonna stay calm, hear what the wife wants to say and not take it to heart. You just say: yes. Do not turn around and reply, never-never do that. Let it go. Because when it comes to maintaining peace, it’s the man’s responsibility. You cannot expect that from her.

And sometimes it’s hard. But it’s part of our job. لِّتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا literal translation is, so that you become peaceful towards her. It means that your tranquillity is directed towards your wife.

And the verse transitioned وَكُلَا مِنۡهَا رَغَدًا حَيۡثُ شِئۡتُمَا and eat both of you freely with pleasure and delight, of things therein as wherever you will. Here Allah addressed both of them. When it was about responsibility, Allah handed it to Adam as the head of household. But when it comes to rights and the gift of eating, He gave it to both of them directly.

And when it comes to prohibition Allah says وَلَا تَقۡرَبَا هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ but come not near this tree. Again Allah addressed both of them directly. Because this is a matter between them and Allah and the husband cannot get in the way and the wife cannot get in the way. Because you’re doing it for Allah. There are some husbands that tell their wives not to wear hijab; there are wives that stop their husbands from praying in the masjid. And these are not right. When it’s between you and Allah, no human being can get in the way, no matter what.

And this balance is sometimes hard to maintain. Sometimes when you want to obey Allah, you have to disobey your husband. But between husband and Allah, you have to please Allah more.

By the way, the command was: ‘don’t come near the tree’. It’s not: ‘don’t eat from the tree’. There are certain prohibition in Islam that you’re not supposed to go near them at all. Let alone doing it. Allah didn’t say: don’t go near pigs. Only don’t eat them. But there are evils that Allah says don’t even go near it. Like don’t go near zina; don’t go near the property of the orphans; don’t go near multiple shameless stuff (fawahish).

So there are places that we shouldn’t even go to. Like going to clubs because we already know what’s happening there. Don’t go watch that movie because you already know its rating. Don’t go to the basketball games because there are cheerleaders dancing.

Allah then gave the advise فَتَكُونَا مِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ or you both will be of the Zâlimûn (wrong-doers). By the way, in the end, did they go alone to the tree or did they go together? Together, right? Because sometimes husband and wife make mutual decisions and sometimes the mutual decisions are bad ones. For example, both of them decided to enter into questionable business together. Some decided to take questionable student loans for their children. One cannot blame the other, because both of them are responsible.

If they go to the tree, then they will become from those that do wrong. But wait, there’s no one else, is there? So who are those that do wrong? It’s a pretty strange question. Here Allah is telling Adam and Hawa that some of their kids will do wrong and they should not be amongst them.

Continue to Part 3

Nouman Ali Khan – Story Night – Title: Fallen

Part 1 

Here’s the landscape that we are going to cover in this writing. It’s a huge topic so we need a map to navigate it. We are going to cover the story of Adam a.s. This story is covered 7 times in the Qur’an but there are two places that it is covered in more details that is Surah Baqarah and Surah A’raf. But both of those stories are not the same. What Allah highlights in Baqarah was not highlighted in A’raf and what was highlighted in A’raf was not highlighted in Baqarah. Today we are looking at how the story unfolds in Surah Baqarah specifically.

We are looking at these stories and let Allah tell the story to us. It’s different compared to hearing the stories coming from other sources. Or when you mix the stories and tell it in one sitting. Now we want to see how Allah tells the story Himself.

Allah begins in almost unexpected place in Baqarah:29 هُوَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ لَكُم مَّا فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ جَمِيعً۬ا  It is He Who hath created for you all things that are on earth. This means two things: whatever Allah created on earth is for you altogether. Not a thing he put on earth, not a service for human beings. All the resources on earth were made for human beings.

The second meaning is that the resources are made for all of you. All human beings should share all the resources. Human beings become greedy and some parts become greedy. There’s no part of the cities in a country that get more resources and more benefit than other neighbourhoods in the cities. This ayah actually tells us how to use the resources that Allah has already provided for us on earth. We have to learn how to live with each other. And it’s only for the Muslims only.

Then Allah continues ثُمَّ ٱسۡتَوَىٰٓ إِلَى ٱلسَّمَآءِ فَسَوَّٮٰهُنَّ سَبۡعَ سَمَـٰوَٲتٍ۬‌ۚ then He turned to heaven and made them into seven skies. Before this He said that He made the earth for us and now He’s talking about the skies. He divided the skies into seven layers. And at the end of the verse He said He is the All-Knowing وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىۡءٍ عَلِيمٌ۬ and of all things He hath perfect knowledge. He started with earth and later made a switch to the skies. We would have thought that it got nothing to do with us, but actually both of these places got to do with human beings.

The first part is that He made the earth for you and when He mentioned the skies, He wants to point to Jannah which is in the sky. عِندَهَا جَنَّةُ ٱلۡمَأۡوَىٰٓ Near it is the Garden of Abode; Najm:15. This verse is about the event of Rasulullah going for his mi’raj which was to heaven.

And you all know the story of Adam a.s. Did it begin on earth or in heaven? The story of Adam a.s. began in Jannah. So this is the first part of this story: ‘Heaven or Earth?’

Allah said in Baqarah:30: وَإِذۡ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌ۬ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ خَلِيفَةً۬‌ۖ Behold thy Lord said to the angels: “I will create a khalifah on earth.” He’s telling all the angels about the human. Humans were not made yet at that time but Allah already told the angels that He is creating this thing, called the human beings to be on earth. So before Adam was even created, the plan was always that humans were designed to be on earth. Because some people were taught that our parents Adam and Hawwa were having a great time in Jannah and because they were tricked by the was-wassa of the Devil, they were punished and sent to earth. Here we learn that the Qur’an is telling us that they were planned to be put on earth all along from the beginning. So it’s not a punishment. So we were supposed to live on this earth and verse Baqarah:29 already mentions that the earth was made for us as a gift, remember? So for Muslims they should know that this dunya is not a curse.

How can we understand this? Let’s hear an analogy to understand. There’s a man who works in a company. His boss sent an email to the entire company that he is sending this guy to another state. The only person who didn’t get the email is the guy himself. The next week the guy came to the office 30 seconds late. His boss calls him and tells him that because of that, he is being sent to another state. Is that fair, just because of 30 seconds late? Remember that all the other staff already knew that he was being sent to another state. In fact, one of his friends even told him that he’s being sent to another state.

So we know that he is being sent not because of that 30 seconds late, but it was the plan all along from the beginning, right?

So Adam a.s. already knew that he was being sent to earth. Iblees already came to him and told him that. Iblees tricked Adam a.s. that if he wants to keep staying in Jannah, he must eat from the forbidden tree. Because he claimed that only the angels and the permanent resident can stay in Jannah forever and Adam is neither of those. And by eating from the tree, Adam and Hawwa can either be angels or become a permanent resident. So the reason that Adam and Hawwa ate from the tree is because of the issue of transfer to earth.

The question many people asked is this: If Allah has already decided what we are going to be and where we are going to end, so how is it our fault? Isn’t this all a set up?

The question of predestination is the oldest question in philosophy. The first human being ie. Adam could have asked this question directly to Allah, right?

Let’s look at another analogy. There’s this person who works in a company and he started at the lowest position in the company, let’s say as a janitor. And he got promoted to security guard, later to front desk and later office manager. And he keeps getting promoted and after 40 years in the company, he’s now the Vice President of the company. There’s only one position higher than him that is the President.

One day the President walks into his office with a little kid with a baseball hat, 16 year old. The President said that that kid is the new VP and he needs to give his chair to the kid. Please get us some coffee.

What do you imagine will happen next? Surely he’s going to be mad, right? He would be kicking and yelling? And if you hear this story, who do you sympathise with? This is a hard question. Of course the VP, right?

But we’re not talking about the VP, right? We’re talking about Iblees. He worked his way up to the ranks of the angels. He helped to eradicate the jinns from earth because of their wrongdoings. And suddenly Allah made the announcement to the angels to prostrate to Adam. Excuse me? What did he do? I’ve been doing the work for so long with so many services.

Was Adam honoured by Allah? Yes. Iblees has also been honoured by Allah at one point, right? Adam was given a position and Iblees were given a position. Adam eventually disobeyed Allah and Iblees also later disobeyed Allah, right? So they have something in common up until now. But there’s one difference. When Adam was demoted to earth he could have asked the question: “O Allah, you have always intended to send me to earth, so could this be my fault?” But did he ask that question? No, he didn’t.

Iblees could also ask a logical question: You made me from fire and You made him from dirt. So what is his worth?

Both of them are in a position to make a logical question to Allah. And yet one of them is cursed forever and the other one, the door of hope remains open. Why? Because of this, they decided that whether things make sense to me or not, I have to trust the wisdom of Allah. If there’s a fault, it’s my own and I have to take personal responsibility.

But Iblees on the other hand, blamed Allah when he messed up. So when you blame Allah, you are following the sunnah of Iblees. And when you mess up and put the responsibility on yourself, then you are following the sunnah of Adam a.s. That’s the difference between these two.

Now let’s take a step further. Remember that the earth is not a curse from Allah. The Christians creed is that the earth is a punishment and the humans were born into sin. This is not the concept in Islam. Allah honours us by putting us on earth. He wants us to live well on earth and to make our way to heaven.

Again on the question that many people ask about predestination. Some said that if all has been predestined, then why are we at fault when we do anything wrong? If we can take a shoe and throw it at the person who asked, would he be offended? Who do you think he would be angry with? Surely the guy who throws the shoe, right? But can the guy in return say: that was the qadr of Allah. Allah decided that you are going to be hit by the shoe.

But of course that guy would stay mad at the thrower. He wants the thrower to take personal responsibility. And if he can accept that, why doesn’t he want to take personal responsibility for his wrongdoings? Adam decided to eat from the tree, and he took personal responsibility and repented to Allah. Compare this with the Devil who did wrong but he didn’t put the blame on himself, but he blamed Allah instead.

Now let’s enter into the second portion of this topic: what is the meaning of ‘Khalifah’?

Since he’s putting us as khalifah on this earth, so we need to understand what it means? There are many meanings to the word but we are only highlighting 3 here.

The first meaning is ‘successor’. If a principal of a school retires and a new one takes over, that new principal is the successor to the previous principal. So he is a khalifah in a sense. Another example is if a grandfather passed away and the oldest uncle takes his place as the head of the family. He is also a khalifah. He is the one left behind in charge.

So this means that Allah will put somebody to be in charge of the earth. We are taking this task from the people before us and when we leave this earth, we will pass this responsibility to the ones after us. Allah says in Al-An’am:133 using the same word origin as ‘khalifah’: وَرَبُّكَ الْغَنِيُّ ذُو الرَّحْمَةِ إِن يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفْ مِن بَعْدِكُم مَّا يَشَاء كَمَآ أَنشَأَكُم مِّن ذُرِّيَّةِ قَوْمٍ آخَرِينَ And thy Sustainer alone is self-sufficient, limitless in His grace. If He so wills, He may put an end to you and thereafter cause whom He wills to succeed you – even as He has brought you into being out of other people’s seed.

The second meaning that we can use for the word ‘khalifah’: someone left to their own devices.

Let’s say we are leaving the house and we leave our child in charge, he is a caliph. Because he is in charge. In those times he has the freedom to do whatever he wants. We might give him the dos and don’ts but we’re not there to check, right?

So a khalifah means someone who has a choice to do anything. They can do what they are supposed to do, but they can also do otherwise. The decision is in their hands. So this is what Allah has given us. He has given us the freedom to make the choice. Allah does not force it on us. He does not force us to pray, to tell the truth every time, to do good or not, all these are up to us to decide.

The third meaning: stewardship. Someone that is given the responsibility by someone else. Not just to take the place of somebody but to take the responsibility. And it’s different from taking ownership. Because you are given the responsibility and later you will have to pass it to someone else later, so you don’t own it. Human beings that are here on earth and understand the meaning of khalifah would also understand that they own nothing. Allah alone owns the earth and the skies. We think that we own our clothes and shoes, but eventually we have to return all those things. Because we are going to die and we don’t bring all those to the akhirah. And while we at it, we also don’t own our physical body, right? Even this body that we live in will testify against us on the day of judgement.

Thus all three meanings above can explain the meaning of the khalifah that is being handed to us. It’s a powerful responsibility and the announcement were given to the angels in heaven. In fact the angels were in shock when they were told about it.

That brings us to part 3 of our discussion: the angels complained.

Before humans lived on this earth, there was a huge population of jinns on earth. And they are just like human beings were left on earth and they are also the khalifah. It means they have choices and because of that, they have messed up. And eventually Allah decided to end it and sent armies of angels to wipe them out. And one of the jinn that has done good so much that he was elevated to the rank of the angels and he had joined the angels in fighting the jinns. They drove the jinns into the ocean and order was restored on earth.

And now Allah said that putting another khalifah on earth. That has the responsibility and also freedom of choice and the angels are now in shock. They just had an intense war to wipe out the jinn and now they are hearing another group of khalifah is on the way? And they asked the question أَتَجۡعَلُ فِيہَا مَن يُفۡسِدُ فِيہَا وَيَسۡفِكُ ٱلدِّمَآءَ They said: “Will You place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood? And this is exactly we humans had done, right?

But they did not know us yet, right? How did they know that we are going to do these? It’s based on the experience with the jinns. Because they know that when Allah creates a creation that has choice, then this creation will end up making the wrong choice every time.

And they add something else وَنَحۡنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمۡدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ‌ۖ while we glorify You with praises and thanks and sanctify You. The angels are saying that they’re the ones that are not going to mess up. So why the need for another creature?

This raises a few questions, right? Doesn’t it sound like the angels are praising themselves? Aren’t they putting themselves in a higher position and putting the humans in a lower position? Doesn’t it sound like they are advertising themselves? Doesn’t it sound like arrogance? But wait, isn’t arrogance the problem of the Devil? Interesting, right?

So we have these difference of outcomes:

Adam could have asked the question, but he didn’t;

Iblees could have asked the question, and he did;

Angels had questions and they asked.

So we understand why the angels asked the question that they asked. But what about their marketing of themselves?

What does tasbeeh mean? In Arabic language, it is said when you hear or say something blasphemous. If somebody said Allah has a son, the response to that is subhanallah. Meaning when you do something that takes away the perfection of Allah, you are supposed to say subhanallah. It’s to remove those that are not supposed to be said about Allah. That is the act of ‘tasbeeh’.

Actually when the angels could not understand why Allah is putting human beings on earth as khalifah, and then they asked Allah, they immediately thought that they went too far. So they are not praising themselves, but they are declaring to Allah that even though they asked this question, they did not mean to question His perfection. You are perfect, even though we cannot understand Your act.

They were actually scared when they asked that question. But they asked nonetheless.

And what does taqdis mean? It means declaring Allah’s purity? What’s the difference with tasbeeh (declaring Allah’s perfection)? And now what’s the difference between perfection and purity?

Perfection is about every attribute of Allah. The mercy of Allah is perfect, His justice, His wisdom, all of those and more is captured when we say tasbeeh.

But purity has to do with goodness. In other words, fairness is part of goodness, justice is part of goodness, so does mercy, eliminating evil is part of goodness. So when the angels did taqdis to Allah, they were not attributing evil to Allah. Because Allah is too perfect and too pure for them to insinuate that He is doing something evil. The question is just because they’re confused, that’s all.

Angels do not disobey Allah in whatever He tells them to do. They never do outside what Allah commands. But they do ask questions to Allah. So here we learn that asking questions to Allah is not a disobedience.

Unfortunately all over the world, where a person of a higher position is teaching, it almost seems like the students cannot ask questions. Those that ask will be put down. It’s as though they are committing blasphemous acts when they question their teacher. Is this the correct understanding?

The Devil questioned Allah; and the angels as well, right? But there’s a big difference between them. It’s the way of asking the question. When you ask a question because you want to understand but not questioning the position of Allah, then you are asking the kind of questions that are allowed, much like the angels did. But when you ask a question, questioning the motive of Allah, questioning His perfection, then you are wrong. Even the tone they ask will show that they are questioning Allah.

You are not discouraged to ask, but you are discouraged to ask with the wrong attitude. At the end of the day, the thing that makes Satan as Satan is his attitude. So young people should be allowed to ask questions but young people should be fairly warned, if you have the wrong attitude in your question, you are not offending the teacher, but you are offending Allah with that kind of questions.

And this teaches us as teachers, if even the angels are allowed to ask Allah, then anyone should be open to be asked and to be questioned by anyone. It should be an open society. Unfortunately that is not the case in so many places in the world.

So when the angels questioned Allah, what was Allah’s response? قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَعۡلَمُ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ He (Allâh) said: “I know that which you do not know.” Allah knows something about this khalifah that you the angels don’t know. It’s as if Allah is saying to the angels: You think that this one is going to be like the last khalifah, right? But there’s something different about this one.

And Allah will tell them what it is.

Continue to Part 2

Translation in Malay Language