SURAH BAQARAH THE COW VERSES 141 150 That was a nation who has passed away.

y. Ibrahim, Ismail, Ishaq, Yaqub AS, theyve all died, they shall receive the reward for what they earned. For you is the reward of what you earned In the Quran Allah tells us Man will only have that which he strived for, not that which he spoke, not that which he believed but that which he achieved, which he worked hard for and his effort will be seen, not just words that which he actually accomplished and you will not be asked about that which they used to do. In order words get on with the work at hand, dont just be dreaming, dont just be talking about what it is that you want to do, do something. The fools among the people will say what has turned the Muslims from the qibla which they used to face in prayer. Say to Allah belongs both the east and the west. He guides whom he will to the straight way. Thus have we made you a just nation, that you be witnesses over mankind. And the Prophet pbuh may be a witness over you. And we made the qibla which you used to face only to test those who followed the messenger from those who would turn on their heels and indeed it was great, it was difficult and Allah would never make your faith to be lost. Indeed Allah is full of kindness, the most merciful towards mankind Theres a background behind these ayat. What happened was that while the Muslims were in Makkah, the Prophet pbuh was told to pray towards the kabah. This of course was something the Muslims had no problem in doing since they had lived all their life they had a natural attachment, a natural reverence for the kabah. Now when they migrated to Madinah, apart from the other problems, obviously adjustment problems that they were facing in Madinah, Allah swt told them that they had to pray towards Jerusalem. Now for sixteen months, these Muslims that had been brought up in love and reverence of the kabah had to pray towards another direction, the direction of the Jews. And their situation wasnt made any easier by the fact that the Jews were constantly taunting them; how come you are following our qibla? You claim to be different, then why dont you have a qibla of your own. After sixteen months, the revelation came in which the Prophet pbuh was told to pray towards the kabah once more. Now again people started talking; why wasnt this command given at first?, why are the Muslims being told to pray towards the kabah now? Allah swt refers to this... The fools amongst the people...who the are fools? The hypocrites, the Jews, the mushriqeen. Basically fools here are those people who judge Allahs commands superficially. Why has Allah said this? No buy why hasnt Allah written this in the Quran, why arent we allowed to do this? Without reflecting on the true wisdom of the commands, they start questioning immediately because they dont want to obey. So Allah calls them fools. Allah says such people will say what has turned the Muslims from their qiblah which they used to face in prayer? Whats

the wisdom behind this? Why couldnt Allah have said it from the start? Why did they have to towards Jerusalem for sixteen months? Tell them to Allah belongs both the east and the west and he guides whom he wills to the straight path. Why has Allah answered their question like this? Say Allah is telling us whether you are facing East or West is not the point? The qiblah is not the end in itself. The qibla is the means to the end. What is the end? What is the ultimate goal? Obeying Allah. If you think about it, Allah swt has told us to face towards the kabah. Not because we worship the kabah like some Westerners erroneously believe that the Muslims worship the kaabah and worship the black stone. We find in Hadrat Umars story a very beautiful example of this principle. The qiblah is the means to the end. Once Hadrat Umar was kissing hajre aswad, the black stone and he commented that by Allah i know you are just a stone, i dont worship you, the only reason i am kissing you is because my prophet pbuh kissed you. That then is the goal of the mumin. To attain obedience of Allah. And the means are those means which Allah has told us. He guides whom he wills to the straight path. It is not for us to find confine guidance to rituals. Thus have we made you Muslims. Were being addressed here. We should feel a sense of honour, a sense of pride. This is how Allah has raised us up. We have made YOU a just nation, a moderate nation. What does moderate mean? How ironical that Muslims today famed for their fanaticism, Muslims today famed for being irrational, illogical, extremists, extravagant, excessive in all that they do. Allah says a just nation, a nation that stands up for truth, a nation that takes a stand in the name of justice. And moderate in all that they do, whether its ibaadah, or human dealings or its business interactions, or its dealing with people, or its giving sadaqah or they are spending on themselves, whatever they do they are moderate, they dont exceed the limit either way. The Prophet pbuh once said the best of matters is that which is most moderate. Why has Allah made us the moderate nation? So that you Muslims, you Muslims now who are despised, downtrodden oppressed. See how Allah is addressing us? So that you Muslims can be witnesses over mankind. What does this mean? How can we be witnesses over mankind? There are two ways that we can be witnesses for mankind. One is in this world that we have to convey the responsibility that the Prophet pbuh laid upon us. What responsibility is that? The task of conveying Islam to all mankind. That is the task that he laid upon us. The torch that has been handed to us, like it or not. Muslims nowadays are heard to say why should Allah punish those people who have never heard of the Quran? Why should Allah the people who have never even heard of the Prophet pbuh? Its not their fault. True, its not their fault, its our fault. Its our fault that they havent heard of the Quran. Its our fault that they havent the Prophet pbuh. How do we bear this testimony to Islam? By making our lives a living testimony of La ilaaha ilallah. By embodying the truth contained in the words La ilaaha illallah Muhammad arasoolullah. Only then can we convey Islam. I think it was George Bernard Shaw that once commented that the only

thing which keeps me from becoming a Muslim is the Muslims. The Muslims have this responsibility upon them, whether they accept it or not. Whether they know it or not We find Amina Assilmi this American convert once commented you should be the mirrors, remember people you are the mirrors through which people see Islam. She went onto say so when i enter a store in America, i make sure i am smiling, because the Prophet pbuh teaches us that, be generous in your smiles. Allah says you have to convey this message to all mankind. We havent even conveyed it to our families, forget the rest of mankind. Now the second kind of testimony will be on the day of Judgment when Allah will ask us did you convey this message to mankind or not? And they will be asked too, did these Muslims convey the message to you or not. Now we can think about it. Do we come upto this standard of excellence that Allah has set for us? Are we aware of this responsibility that rests upon our shoulders collectively and individually. And remember if you dont convey this responsibility you cant just say i didnt know about it because the Prophet pbuh is going to be a witness against you. On the Day of Judgment he will say O Allah i conveyed this message. We find in the last sermon he looked up at the sky and said O Allah you bear witness that i have conveyed to these people. Now we can think about it. What are we doing with the legacy he left for us? Allah tells us in the Quran, O Muslims you are the best of nations. You have been taken ourtfrom mankind. You are public benefactors. What has happened? Where is our self respect? Where is our dignity? Where is our pride in our Prophet, where is our pride in the Quran? See there was this eight five year old American woman who got to hear about Islam. She accepted Islam and two weeks later she died. Now before she died that woman was heard to make a comment, and she was furious at the Muslims in her district. She said i cant believe that they has this treasure and they hid this treasure from me? Why didnt they share this treasure? And the answer to this is not that they didnt want to share it, but probably that they didnt even know of it. They didnt think of it as a treasure. We think of Islam as an oppressive word and not a treasure. See how Allah honours us? Allah teaches us pride and dignity. Allah says what is honour. This ayah is one of the most important ayahs in the Quran for the entire Muslim ummah because here formally religious leadership is being transferred from the Jews to the Muslims. Now we can think about the role that we want to play in this. Because everyone will be asked about the blessings he has been given. This is the purpose of our life, to convey this mission to everyone. Some have been given life with which they can achieve it. Some have been given knowledge, some have been given talent, some have been given other skills. Allah says Allah does not burden any soul beyond his capacity. But remember each one will be asked. Now Allah goes on to say what is the reason that Allah had those sixteen months for the Muslims praying towards Jerusalem. Why couldnt Allah have said simply from the start that you know just pray towards the kabah. Allah says And we

made the qibla which you used to face only to test those who followed the messenger. From those who would turn on their heels. Do you know how this ayah was revealed? The Prophet pbuh was visiting some companions house and the time for zuhr came up so he started leading the prayer. After the first two rakahs had been completed, the revelation came to him. Silently the Prophet pbuh turned and walked around to the opposite direction because the Imam has to lead the congregation. And without a word, noiselessly, soundlessly, the entire congregation of companions behind him turned without a word. Now lets imagine ourselves in that position. I wonder what we would have done? We would have been the first to say and say whats going on, why did the Prophet pbuh just do that? No no i need to know the reason before I accept. We hear a command of Allah and we hear that the Prophet of Allah used to to do this and we say that doesnt make sense to me. I need to think about it first. Allah says we made the qiblah which you used to face only to test those who will follow the messenger from those who will turn back on their heels from those who will argue, who will protest, who will procrastinate. And indeed it was difficult. See Allahs tenderness; he doesnt say that its easy. Obey the Prophet pbuh, obeying Allah instantly, it isnt easy, it was difficult. Except for those whom Allah guided. The message is that guidance makes difficult things easy aswell. And where do we get this guidance from? Ihdinasiraatal mustaqeem. From Allah And Allah would never let your faith be lost. Indeed Allah is full of kindness. Most merciful to mankind. And yet we perceive this Islam as a burden. Look at the honour that Allah has placed for us. The honour that we dont wish to recognise. Now Allah goes on to say Indeed we have seen the turning of your faces towards the heavens. See whenever the Jews would taunt the Prophet pbuh, he wouldnt say a word, he wouldnt complain to Allah why have you done this to me. He would just look up worriedly at the sky. Look at Allahs love for the Prophet. We have seen the turning of your face towards the heaven. Surely we shall turn you towards a qiblah that shall please you. So turn your head in the direction of the sacred mosque and wheresoever you people are, turn your faces in that direction. Indeed the people of the book, the Jews and the Christians know well that that is the truth from their Lord. The Jews already knew that the Muslims would ultimately pray towards the kabah and thats why they had such a violent reaction when this command came. And Allah is not unaware of what they do. See how Allah reassures us, even if people are arguing, people are taunting, they are jeering remember Allah knows what they are doing, he knows what they are saying. And even if you were to bring to the Jews and the Christians all the signs they would not follow your qiblah, nor are you going to follow their qiblah and they will not follow each others qiblah. Indeed if you follow their desires this is very important. If you follow their desires after that of knowledge which you have received from Allah then indeed you will be one of the wrongdoers. Who is being addressed here? Is the Prophet pbuh being told was he going to disobey Allah? No we are being addressed through the Prophet that dont let these people turn

you from your purpose, dont let them brainwash you into having misconceptions about Islam or your own qiblah. And we can all think about the apologetic attitude that Muslims have today about Islam. Muslims go abroad they dont even want it to be known that they are Muslims. They are ashamed of being called Muslims and they will try and hide the fact in any possible way they can, by wearing their clothes, some people even change their names. Allah says if you follow their desires after that which you have received of knowledge then you will be one of the wrongdoers. Who is a zaalim, someone who deprives someone of his right and accords it to someone else. Who have these people deprived of their right; their ownselves. They didnt value themselves. They thought of themselves as being inferior to them. They had an inferiority complex and thats why they turned away from Islam. Those to whom we gave the book recognised the Prophet pbuh as they recognised their sons. In their heart of hearts the Jews and the Christians of that time knew it was the truth. But indeed a party of them concealed the truth while they know it. The truth is from your Lord, so dont be of those who doubt. We spend our whole time, our whole lives brooding wondering is this the truth, is this what i am supposed to do? Let me think about it a little longer. Allah says dont be of those who doubt. You dont know how much time you have left to act. For every nation there is a direction to which they face. Everyone has a goal, everyone has a dream with which he identifies himself. What should our dream be? What should our focus be on? On doing good deeds. Why? Remember wherever you are, Allah will bring you all together. The return is to Allah so we can decide how we wish to meet him. With joy? With confidence? Or with fear in our hearts. Truly Allah is able to do all things. And from wheresoever you start forth turn your face in the direction of the sacred mosque, that is indeed the truth from your Lord and Allah is not unaware of what you do. And wheresoever you are, turn your faces towards it so that men may have no argument against you except those of them who are wrongdoers. So fear them not, and fear me so that I may complete my blessings upon you and that you may be guided. Again and again Allah is repeated turn your faces towards the kabah. The word waj - Our eyes should be seeing that which Allah wishes us to see, our ears should be hearing that which Allah want us to hear, our mouths should be uttering that which Allah wishes us to speak and our intellect should be thinking in accordance with Allahs command. Waj means the essence of your personality. See how Allah is enriching our understanding of deen, its not just rituals. Its not just standing towards the kabah and reading your salat and dreaming about the latest TV show you just saw. Waj means when you surrender, when you face the kabah, your thoughts, your love, your priorities should also be Islamic, they should also be for Allahs sake. Remember the hadith, whoever loves for Allahs

sake, whoever hates for Allahs sake whoever gives for Allahs sake, whoever withholds for Allahs sake he has perfected his iman. That is true Iman. Thats the core of iman that your heart should belong to Allah, not just the rituals.