When the Wrong was Justified (1)
The soldier then said, "O young man, to invite to the good and prohibit the wrong is a very important duty and the mission of the Messengers, alaihimussalam, is to fulfil this responsibility. When there is no prophet or Messenger of Allah alive, the duty falls upon the shoulders of the Ulemas. Therefore the Qur'an and the Hadith have put much emphasis on the duty, promising great reward for those who carry out this duty and warns against discarding it or neglecting it. The Quran tells the story of the role of the ulama in the story of Ashabul Sabbath." The young wayfarer said, "Tell me about the story, please!" The soldier said, "From the time of Prophet Musa, alayhissalam, to a long time afterwards, a group from Bani Israel came to settle on the coast of the Red Sea. There they used to live from the fish cought there, and the selling of the fish. They used to catch fish for six days of the week and on the seventh day they used to spend the day in the worship of Allah.
Actually, Abraham had fixed one specific day of the week, especially for the worship of Allah of the seven days, he fixed Friday. During the era of Moses, Bani Israel, due to their crookedness demanded from him that the day for worship should be changed to Saturday. They insisted, and ultimately, Allah informed Moses, alayhissalam, through revelation that He, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, had acceded to their request and Saturday became the day of worship. Hence they should now honour and respect this day and its sanctity. Now it will be prohibited for them to do any baying, selling, farming, trading and hunting on that sacred day."
The young wayfarer asked, "So, what happenned to those fishermen?" The soldier said, "For six days, the fish used to hide themselves and on the seventh day they were seen swimming about freely. In this way Allah was testing Bani Israel and testing the strength of their faith and their obedience. It became even move difficult getting hold of fish on the six fishing days while on the seventh day there was an abundance of fish to be seen.
For some days these Bani Israel used to be patient, looking at this situation. But soon, some of them could not bear it any more and started inventing plans to circumvent the ban on fishing on the Sabbath. Some of them used to dig big holes near the sea and also dug such sluits that led to these holes. This was done on the Friday and as the fish appeared on the Sabbath day with the rising of the water, the sea water used to reach those holes through the sluits which were like channels. In the manner the fish landed in the holes to be taken out of there the next day i.e. Sunday.
Some others among them again used to spread their fishing nets into the water as well as their hooks. Fish used to be caught in these nets and were taken out the Sunday after the Sabbath was over. They were quite pleased with these plans. When their Ulama and sincere good fearing ones used to prohibit them from these actions, they simply said that Allah had prohibited fishing on the Sabbath and that they are not fishing on that day but on the Sunday. Even through their hearts and minds were telling them it was wrong but because of there crooked temperament they were telling themselves that this plan was okay with Allah.
In actual fact, they were not actually acting according to the law. This was a^deceitful plan devised to by pass Allah's commands. It was a plan of deceit and fraud with which they themselves went astray, trying also to mislead others. Others followed them and so it happened that a larger group of them who acted against the law of the Sabbath. Seeing this a group of God-fearing souls took courage and tried their utmost to get them to stop these acts. However they would not heed the appeal. Then this group got divided into two groups: One group said it was useless to try to get them to stop. They will not listen. If they had considered it a sin there was still a chance of getting them straight. But seeing that they have devised these means of making some wrong into something lawful, you can be sure that Allah's punishment will be near.
The other group, felt it was their duty to call upon the wrong-doers to desist right up to the end. However they did not heed and this group still did not lose hope at all. There was still the chance that they would receive the help of Allah and terminate their bad deeds. The Qur'an records their conversations in the surah an-Nisa [7], verse 164, Allah says, "And when a community among them said, "Why do you advise [or warn] a people whom Allah is [about] to destroy or to punish with a severe punishment?" they [the advisors] said, "To be absolved before your Lord and perhaps they may fear Him."
In the case those who happened to break the sanctity of the Sabbath through their deceitful plans, continued to do so, paying no attention to the words of advice given to them. Initially Allah gave them a chance of mending their ways but at last Allah’s punishment descended on them. In the same manner that they had through their plans managed to change Allah’s commands, He changed their outward appearances and through a simple order, of "Be” , They were transformed into apes. Immediately they were deprived of the honour of being human beings and became an admonition and a lesson and warning for others after them.
When the one group, who always used to preach to them to desist from those prohibited acts, saw that the stubborn and disobedient ones were not inclined to stop their deeds of disobedience, they cut of all relations with them, stopping all social contact with them like eating and drinking with them and went so far as to close their doors to them to avoid any kind of intercourse with them. Thus when an a certain day Allah’s punishment descended on them, these people for several hours did not come to know of it. But when after some time they noticed no movements from their side, they went to investigate and instead of people, they found apes in their places. They said to them: ’’Did we not warn you of this terrible punishment?" Like animals, they shook their heads to admit, while tears were streaming from their eyes in sorrow. The majority of scholars believe this was a real transformation physically. transformed. The transformation brought about such changes in their bodies and constitutions that they could not survire and died soon."
The wayfarer asked, "I'm curious, are apes from humans?" The soldier said, "There is a hadith in Sahih Muslim and Musnad Ahmad, a man asked the Propeth (ﷺ) the same question as yours, and the Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'Verily, Allah did not cause the race of those which suffered metamorphosis to grow or they were not survived by young ones. Monkeys and swine had been in existence even before.'" And Allah know best."
The soldier then said, "Whatever harm and hardship has befallen the people in their wealth or security, individuals or societies is due to their sins and their having neglected the commands of Allah and his prescribed laws, and their seeking judgement amongst the people by other than the prescribed laws of Allah, Who created all of creation and was more merciful to them than their mothers and fathers, and He is the One who knows better than themselves what is most beneficial for them. As for whatever evil has befallen us, whether famine or fear, or whatever else causes harm, then it is due to our ownselves, we are the ones who have wronged ourselves and led ourselves to destruction. Many people attribute the misfortunes which befall them, whether relating to wealth and economics, or security and political affairs to purely materialistic causes, to political causes, economic reasons, or problems due to borders. There are some people who doubt and seek to cause doubts that sins are a cause of misfortunes, like the People of Lot."
The young wayfarer said, "Tell me about the People of Lot!" The soldier said, "I will begin the story when Allah sent Jibril and two other angels, Mikail and Israfil. They arrived, walking, in the shape of young men. The angels were ordered to visit Abraham and give him and Sarah tidings of the coming of Isaac and also of Jacob who was to come after him. When they came to Abraham, he had had no guests for two weeks, and it was becoming unbearable to him to have no one visiting him or receiving hospitality from him. Abraham used to give hospitality to whoever came to visit him, since Allah had made him prosperous and given him ample sustenance, wealth, and servants. So when he saw the messengers, he rejoiced. He saw guests who had more goodness and beauty than any guests to whom he had given hospitality before, and he said, "No one but I myself will serve these people, with my own hands." The angels say, "Salaman!" Abraham replied, "Salamun!" So he went to his house servants and brought fatted calf which he had roasted until it was well done. He offered it to them, but they did not reach out to eat of it. When he saw this, Abraham mistrusted them and conceived a fear of them, since they did not eat his food. They said, "Do not be afraid! We are sent to the people of Lot." Sarah was standing nearby, and when she heard of Allah's command, she laughed, knowing what she knew of the people of Lot. Then they told her of the coming of Isaac and, after Isaac, of Jacob, they told her she would have a son and grandson. She struck her face in surprise and said, "Woe is me! How can I have a child when I am a barren old woman? " Sarah was ninety years old at the time and Abraham was one hundred and twenty. When Abraham lost his fear and heard the news about Isaac and Jacob and the descendants he was to have through Isaac, his fear evaporated and he felt safe. He said, "Praise be to Allah Who has granted me, despite my age, Ishmael and Isaac. Verily my Rabb is One Who hears prayer!"
Then the angels said to him, "We are about to destroy the people of that township, for its people are wrongdoers." Abraham said to them, "Do you think that there are fifty believers among the people of Sodom?" They said, "If there are fifty among them, we will not punish them." He said, "And forty?" They said, "Nor if there are forty." He said, "And thirty?" They said, "Nor if there are thirty." Until he reached ten, and they said, "And even if there are ten." He said, "There is no nation that does not have ten good people in it." When the messengers told Abraham about the condition of the people of Lot, he said to them, "Lot is there." And the messengers said, "We are best aware of who is there. We are to deliver him and his household, all but his wife, who is one of those who is to stay behind."
The young wayfarer asked, "So, who is Lot?" The soldier said, "Lot bin Haran bin Terah, son of Abraham's brother. He is a prophet, as well. Lot traveled from the land of Babylon with his paternal uncle, Abraham, Al-Khalil, believing in him and following his religion. They went to Syria as fugitives, and with them went Sarah bint Nahor. Abraham's father, Terah, went with them, still opposing Abraham's religion and remaining an unbeliever. When they reached Harran, Terah died, still an unbeliever. Abraham, Lot, and Sarah went on to Syria and then to Egypt, which was then ruled by a Pharaoh. It is mentioned that this Pharaoh was Sinan ibn 'Alwan ibn Ubayd ibn 'Uwayj ibn 'Imlaq ibn Lud ibn Shem ibn Noah. It is also said that he was a brother of al-Dahhak, who had appointed him governor of Egypt.
Sarah was one of the best human beings that ever existed. She would not disobey Abraham in any way, for which God honored her. When her goodness and beauty were described to Pharaoh, he sent a message to Abraham asking, "Who is this woman who is with you?" He replied, "She is my sister." He feared that if Pharaoh learned that Sarah was his wife, he would kill him to possess her. Pharaoh said to Abraham, "Adorn her and send her to me so that I may look at her." Abraham went back to Sarah and said, "This tyrant asked me about you, and I told him that you are my sister. So do not say anything when you see him. You are my sister in faith, for in all this land there are no Muslims except ourselves."
Abraham took her to the tyrant and stood up to pray. When she came into the tyrant's presence, he bent forward to touch her, but was suddenly seized by a powerful paralysis. He said, "Pray to your God and I will not harm you." So she prayed for him, and he was set free. Then he reached out for her again, and again, hewas seized by the paralysis. And he said, "Pray to your God and I will not harm you." So she prayed for him and he was released. Then he did the same thing yet again, and again he was seized. And he asked Sarah to pray for him and was released. He called the lowest of his chamberlains and said,"You did not bring me a human being, you rought me a devil. Take her away and give Hagar to her ." She was taken out and given Hagar, and she went away with her. When Abraham saw her coming back, he interrupted his prayer and said, "What is the matter?" She answered, "Allah has protected me from the unbelieving libertine and has given me Hagar as a servant." Hagar was the daughter of a king who was taken prisoner by Pharaoh. She was a woman of good appearance and Sarah gave her to Abraham, saying, "I consider her a clean woman, so take her. Perhaps God will grant you a son from her." For Sarah was barren and had grown old without bearing a son for Abraham. Abraham had prayed to God to grant him a pious son, but the prayer was not answered until he had become old and Sarah barren. So, Hagar bore Ishmael.
Abraham, Lot, and Sarah went back to Syria. Abraham settled in Palestine and settled his nephew Lot in Jordan, and that Allah sent Lot to the people of Sodom. The people of Sodom were disbelievers, and were also immoral, as Allah has said in the Quran, Surah Al-Ankabut[29], verses 28-29, "And [mention] Lot, when he said to his people, "Indeed, you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds. Indeed, you approach men and obstruct the road and commit in your meetings [every] evil." And the answer of his people was not but they said, "Bring us the punishment of Allah, if you should be of the truthful."
Lot called on them to worship Allah. By Allah's command, he tried to prohibit them from doing those things which Allah disliked such as brigandage, committing lewd acts, and entering males in the posteriors. Because they persisted in doing those things and refused to repent of them, he threatened them with painful doom. But his threats did not restrain them, and his admonitions only increased their perseverence, insolence, and provocation of punishment from Allah. They rejected his admonitions, saying to him, "Bring God's doom upon us, if you are telling the truth!" At length Lot asked his Lord for help against them, since the matter was dragging on and on, as was their persistence in sinfulness.Then Allah sent Gabriel and two other angels, they came in the form of young men.
After meeting Abraham, then the angels moved on toward Sodom, the town of the people of Lot. When they reached it, they met Lot's daughter who was drawing water.
[Part 2]
