Stories from Cananga Tree (1)

"A man asked his friend, 'Do you remember a red-headed woman on a blue-and-white plane flying from Jakarta to Singapore?'

'Yes, I do,' his friend answered.

'What do you call her?' the man wanted to know.

'A passenger,' replied the colleague."

"All praise is due to Allah the sovereign, the One who has control over all things, the Mighty, the Over-powering, the Turner of hearts and eyes, the One Who establishes matters as He wills and likes, and the One Who imposes the day over the night and the night over the day. He cast a veil over the night so it became dark in order to provide rest and concealment. He provided light to the lamp of the day so it illuminated it for movement and spreading out in the land. He appointed the days and nights in order to apportion times for work and calculate ages. He subjugated the sun and moon which move according to a set pattern and course. They follow each other in the milky way according to a set pattern. He made them signs through which the times for the days, nights, months and years of this world are calculated. It is through them that the times for salah, zakah, hajj, fasting, and iftar are established. This is an established proof which leaves no ground for excuses, and demonstrates the absolute wisdom of the All-wise, All-knowing, and All-powerful Allah," said Cananga Tree while looking at the shift of the Moon, after saying Basmala and Salaam. Cananga odorata or cananga tree, is a tropical tree that is native to Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Queensland, Australia. It is also native to parts of Thailand and Vietnam. In Indonesia, cananga flowers can reach full essential oil production, known as 'minyak asiri' (essential oil) when they are around 10 years old. It is valued for the essential oils extracted from its flowers, which has a strong floral fragrance, one of the most extensively used natural materials in the perfume industry, earning it the name 'Queen of Perfumes'. Generally, minyak asiri are applied topically to treat wounds and skin infections, prevent venomous bites, treat coughs, fever, scabies, relieve muscle pain and digestive disorders. Stress, insomnia, asthma, and some respiratory disorders can also be cured through the application of aromatherapy essential oils.

"I praise Him and the sweetness of praising Him increases with repetition. I express gratitude to Him and His bounties on the one who is grateful to Him are sent down in torrents.

We cannot underestimate the morale boosting power of gratitude. Some say 'Gratitude is an Attitude'. It certainly is an attitude, but it is much more. Gratitude has also been depicted as an emotion, a mood, a moral virtue, a habit, a motive, a personality trait, a coping response, and even a way of life.

In an Islamic perspective, give thanks is encouraged, thanking to Allah, relying in all matters upon Him and trusting in Him. Allah says,

قُلِ اللّٰهُمَّ مٰلِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِى الْمُلْكَ مَنْ تَشَاۤءُ وَتَنْزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّنْ تَشَاۤءُۖ وَتُعِزُّ مَنْ تَشَاۤءُ وَتُذِلُّ مَنْ تَشَاۤءُ ۗ بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ ۗ اِنَّكَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ

تُوْلِجُ الَّيْلَ فِى النَّهَارِ وَتُوْلِجُ النَّهَارَ فِى الَّيْلِ وَتُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَتُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ وَتَرْزُقُ مَنْ تَشَاۤءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ

'Say, "O Allāh, Owner of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will. You honor whom You will and You humble whom You will. In Your hand [Allāh states in the Qur’ān that He has certain attributes such as hearing, sight, hands, face, mercy, anger, coming, encompassing, being above the Throne, etc. Yet, He has disassociated Himself from the limitations of human attributes or human imagination. Correct Islamic belief requires faith in the existence of these attributes as Allāh has described them without applying to them any allegorical meanings or attempting to explain how a certain quality could be (while this is known only to Allāh) and without comparing them to creation or denying that He, Subḥanahu wa Ta'ala) would have such a quality. His attributes are befitting to Him alone, and 'There is nothing like unto Him'] is [all] good. Indeed, You are over all things competent.'

You cause the night to enter the day, and You cause the day to enter the night; and You bring the living out of the dead, and You bring the dead out of the living. And You give provision to whom You will without account [i.e., limit or measure].' [QS. Ali 'Imran (3):26-27]

Allah is the Giver, Allah is the Taker, it is His will that occurs and whatever He does not will, does not occur. According to Ibn Kathir (رحمه الله), this ayah encourages thanking Allah for the favors He granted His Messenger (ﷺ) and his Ummah. Allah decides what He wills concerning His creation and He does what He wills. Allah refutes those who thought that they could decide for Allah,

وَقَالُوْا لَوْلَا نُزِّلَ هٰذَا الْقُرْاٰنُ عَلٰى رَجُلٍ مِّنَ الْقَرْيَتَيْنِ عَظِيْمٍ

'And they said, "Why was this Qur’ān not sent down upon a great man from [one of] the two cities? [Referring to Makkah and aṭ-Ṭa’if].' [QS. Az-Zukhruf (43):31]

Allah refuted them by saying,

اَهُمْ يَقْسِمُوْنَ رَحْمَتَ رَبِّكَۗ نَحْنُ قَسَمْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ مَّعِيْشَتَهُمْ فِى الْحَيٰوةِ الدُّنْيَاۙ وَرَفَعْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَجٰتٍ لِّيَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا سُخْرِيًّا ۗوَرَحْمَتُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُوْنَ

'Do they distribute the mercy of your Rabb? It is We Who have apportioned among them their livelihood in the life of this world and have raised some of them above others in degrees [of rank] that they may make use of one another for service. But the mercy of your Rabb is better than whatever they accumulate.' QS. Az-Zukhruf (43):32]

According to Mufti Muhammad Shafi, in verses 26-27 of Surah Ali 'Imran where Allah teaches a special invocation to express this gratitude, Muslims have been taught and prompted to make particular prayers that subtly, indicate that they are going to overpower disbelievers. This has its proof in the background in which these verses were revealed. When the Prophet (ﷺ) promised that Byzantine and Persia would be taken, the hypocrites and the Jews laughed at the idea. Thereupon, these verses were revealed.

These verses were revealed against the backdrop of the Khandaq war. The recurring defeat of the disbelievers of Makkah at Badr and Uhud, and their general failure to register any gains in their hostility against Muslims, coupled with the growing strength of Muslims and the rise of Islam had made them very nervous, almost reckless. The whole thing ended up in a conspiracy. The disbelievers of Arabia, the Jews, and the Christians all joined in a united front against Muslims and resolved to attack Madinah and fight a conclusive battle. This they did, determined to eradicate Islam and Muslims from the face of the earth. The battle is called 'Al-Ahzab' in the Qur’an [so if you recite Surah Al-Ahzab, you will find what Allah says about the disbelievers and the hypocrites], and 'Khandaq', in history, because the Prophet (ﷺ) had decided in consultation with his Companions that a khandaq or trench be dug around parts of Madinah to block the unhindered attack of the enemy during this battle.

According to narrations in al-Baihaqi, Abu Nu‘aim, and Ibn Khuzaimah, when the task of digging the trench was entrusted to the Islamic army, the plan was to allot the digging of a forty-hand-span long trench to a group of ten men each. This trench was several miles long and fairly deep and wide so that the enemy would find it impossible to cross over. Then, the digging had to be completed in the shortest possible time which made the noble Companions put in whatever time and energy they had in this effort, so much so that they found it difficult to leave the job and take time for even the most pressing of their needs. They were working non-stop on hungry stomachs. Surely, a modern army engineering service with its latest equipment would have not found this kind of job any easier to handle. Here, it was the power of faith that made the completion of this difficult assignment possible.

The Prophet (ﷺ) was taking part in this digging operation as an individual like everybody else. By chance, the diggers came upon a huge rock in a certain part of the trench. Those who were assigned to dig that part of the trench tried their best to break it apart, but they became helpless and gave up. They asked Salman al-Farisi (رضي الله عنه) to go to the Prophet (ﷺ), tell him (ﷺ) about the problem and seek his instructions in this connection. The Prophet (ﷺ) immediately came to the spot, took the pick-axe in his (ﷺ) blessed hands, and struck at the rock. The rock was shattered into pieces and from it, rose a streak of light which illuminated the area far and wide. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'In this light, I see the palaces and buildings of Hirah in the country of Persia.' He (ﷺ) struck again and a second beam of light rose. He (ﷺ) said, 'In this light, I was shown the red palaces and buildings of the Byzantinians.’ When he (ﷺ) struck the third time, and the flame beamed its light around, he (ﷺ) said, ’In this I was shown the great palaces of San‘a in Yemen ’ Then, he (ﷺ) said, 'I share the good news given by Jibreel with you that my community of Muslims, will prevail over all these countries.’

When the hypocrites of Madinah heard about it, they found an occasion to ridicule Muslims—just look at these people, here they are all scared of the enemy digging trenches without eating and resting, not knowing for sure if their own lives will be safe, yet they are dreaming of running over Persia, Byzantine, and Yemen!’ It was in answer to a people so unfair and unjust that Allah Almighty revealed verse 26. Appearing in the form of a prayer, this verse so eloquently brings into focus the most perfect power of Allah as it manifests itself in the rise and fall of nations and in the revolutions that rock countries. At the same time, it gives a hint that the prophecy made by the Holy Prophet will come to pass and Persia and Byzantine will fall to Muslims. Here, enemies of Islam have been warned that they have not learned their lesson from the rise and fall of past wielders of power for they judge events and personalities from the material angle while the truth is that all powers and governments of the world are in the hands of the most pristine power of Allah, the One in Whose Hands lies all honour and disgrace. There is no doubt that He is capable of making the poor and the meek sit on thrones and wrest power from kings and monarchs. Why then, should it be difficult for him to choose these ragged believers digging trenches to rule over Persia, Syria, Iraq and Yemen?

Things usually considered bad may ultimately prove not to be that bad. Towards the end of the verse, the expression بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ translated as 'in Your hand lies the good' needs some explanation. It will be noticed that in the earlier part of the verse both giving and taking of power and bestowing of honor and bringing of disgrace were mentioned side by side. It would have seemed in keeping with the occasion if the word, ' sharr' (evil) would have been coupled with 'khair' (good ). But, the text elects to use the word 'Khair' (good ) alone and thereby points out something real and significant in human affairs. The point worth noting is that a person or a people may regard something as unwelcome, and it may even be so for that particular person or people but looked at from the wider angle of the whole community of nations, it may not be evil. The Arab poet, Mutanabbi put it very succinctly when he said, 'The calamities of one group are the gains of another.'

In short, the evil of things we regard as evil is partial. Looking at its relationship to the Creator of the Universe and the Rabb of all, there is and viewed, in the perspective of the totality of the world of our experience, nothing is evil as such. So, given the wisdom, the power, and the consideration of the created universe as a whole, everything is good, 'khair' as the verse sees sufficient to say.

The next verse, verse 27, demonstrates that Allah controls all spaces and heavenly bodies and employs the sun and the moon to make the days longer than nights and the nights longer than the days at His will and command.

Mentioned after that is His unrivaled power of ' bringing the living out from the dead' such as a chick from an egg, or a human infant from the sperm, or a tree from a seed and of ' bringing the dead out from the living' such as eggs from birds and beasts, sperm from humans or fruit from trees and dried grain from plants.

If we were to take 'the living’ and 'the dead' in a broad and general sense, this would become inclusive of the learned and the ignorant, the perfect and the imperfect, and the believer and the disbeliever. It only goes to show that Allah's perfect power exercises absolute control over all phenomena, both physical and spiritual, through which He can make a Muslim out of a Kafir, a perfect believer out of a staunch disbeliever, a scholar out of an ignorant person if He so wills. And if He so wills, He can let a believer turn into a disbeliever or a rustic into a scholar. He brought Ibrahim (عليه السلام) out of an idol-worshipper. He let the son of Prophet Nuh (عليه السلام) remain an infidel. Strange but true, the son of an ‘alim (scholar) can remain illiterate and the son of someone illiterate can become an ' alim.

Imam al-Baghawi reports a hadith from the Prophet (ﷺ) in which he (ﷺ) said, 'Allah promise that anyone who recites after every Salah the Surah al-Fatihah, Ayah al-Kursi, three verses of Surah Ali 'Imran, that is,

شَهِدَ اللّٰهُ اَنَّهٗ لَآ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَۙ وَالْمَلٰۤىِٕكَةُ وَاُولُوا الْعِلْمِ قَاۤىِٕمًاۢ بِالْقِسْطِۗ لَآ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَ الْعَزِيْزُ الْحَكِيْمُ

'Allah witnesses that there is no deity except Him, and [so do] the angels and those of knowledge—[that He is] maintaining [creation] in justice. There is no deity except Him, the Exalted in Might, the Wise.' [QS. Ali 'Imran (3):18]

and verses 26 and 27, He, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, will make his abode in Paradise, and have him placed in the Sacred Enclosure, and bless him with His mercy seventy times every day, and fulfill seventy of his needs, and protect him against every envier and enemy and make him prevail over them.

According to Al-Qurtubi, ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, ‘When Allah wanted to reveal the Fatiḥah of the Book, the Āyat al-Kursi, and 'Say, ‘O Allah! Master of the Kingdom …’ to ‘… without any reckoning’,' they were suspended from the Throne and there was no veil between them and Allah. They said, 'Our Rabb, do not send us down to the abode of wrongdoing and to those who disobey You.' Allah said, 'By My Sight and My Majesty, no one will recite you after every prayer, but that I will make him dwell in the Preserve of Sanctity for doing that and look at him with My hidden Eye seventy times day and grant seventy of his needs every day, the least of which is forgiveness, and give him refuge from every enemy and help him, and nothing but death keeps him from entering the Garden.''

Mu‘adh ibn Jabal (رضي الله عنه) said, ‘One day I was prevented from being with the Prophet (ﷺ) and did not pray Jumu‘ah with him (ﷺ). He (ﷺ) asked, 'Mu‘adh! What kept you from the Jumu‘ah prayer?' I answered, 'Messenger of Allah, I owe the Jew, Yuḥanna ibn Bara, an uqiyyah of gold and he is waiting for me at my door. I feared he would keep me from you.' He (ﷺ) said, “Mu‘adh, do you want Allah to settle your debt for you?' 'Yes,' I replied. He said, 'Say every day, ‘Say, “O Allah! Master of the Kingdom …to… without any reckoning', You are the All-Merciful and Most Merciful to this world and the Next. You give of them to whomever You wish and deny them to whomever You wish. Settle My debt for me!' Even if you owe the like of this world in gold, Allah will settle it for you.''

Allah decides for His creation what He wills, without resistance or hindrance by anyone. Allah brings out the seed from the plant and the plant from the seed; the date from its seed and the date’s seed from the date; the faithful from the disbeliever and the disbeliever from the faithful; the chicken from the egg and the egg from the chicken, etc. Allah gives whomever He wills innumerable wealth while depriving others of it, out of wisdom, and justice.

Allah has the perfect wisdom and the unequivocal proof in all of this, and He gives the prophethood to whom He wills. Allah takes from the length of one of the night and day, and adds it to the shortness of the other, so that they become equal, and takes from the length of one of them and adds it to the other so that they are not equal. This occurs throughout the year: spring, summer, fall, and winter.

Allah then informs us that He attached the calculation of years and reckoning of time to determine the phases of the moon. He says,

وَجَعَلْنَا الَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ اٰيَتَيْنِ فَمَحَوْنَآ اٰيَةَ الَّيْلِ وَجَعَلْنَآ اٰيَةَ النَّهَارِ مُبْصِرَةً لِّتَبْتَغُوْا فَضْلًا مِّنْ رَّبِّكُمْ وَلِتَعْلَمُوْا عَدَدَ السِّنِيْنَ وَالْحِسَابَۗ وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَصَّلْنٰهُ تَفْصِيْلًا

'And We have made the night and day two signs, and We erased the sign of the night and made the sign of the day visible [or 'giving sight'] that you may seek bounty from your Lord and may know the number of years and the account [of time]. And everything We have set out in detail.' [QS. Al-Isra (17):12]

And also,

هُوَ الَّذِيْ جَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ ضِيَاۤءً وَّالْقَمَرَ نُوْرًا وَّقَدَّرَهٗ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُوْا عَدَدَ السِّنِيْنَ وَالْحِسَابَۗ مَا خَلَقَ اللّٰهُ ذٰلِكَ اِلَّا بِالْحَقِّۗ يُفَصِّلُ الْاٰيٰتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَّعْلَمُوْنَ

'It is He who made the sun a shining light and the moon a derived light and determined for it phases - that you may know the number of years and account [of time]. Allāh has not created this except in truth. He details the signs for a people who know.' [QS. Yunus (10):5]

He attached this to making the sun a radiance, and the moon a light. This is because the year and month are calculated by the moon, while the day and week are calculated by the sun. It is through these two bodies that the reckoning of time is carried out. As for the words 'and that you may come to know of the number of years and of the reckoning': since the lunar month does not need to be counted because it is established between two crescents, Allah did not say 'that you may come to know the number of months'. A month does not need a number unless the last day of the month is cloudy [thereby preventing the sighting of the crescent]. In such a case, the number will be unanimously completed [i.e. thirty days] except in the case of Sha'ban if its last day is cloudy. This is specifically in relation to Ramadan, because there are many differences in this regard [whether thirty days will be completed or not]. As for the year, it has to be counted because there is no obvious limit for it through observation. It therefore has to be counted by the number of months. This is especially so bearing in mind that years continue for lengthy periods of time.

Allah made a year into twelve months. He says,

اِنَّ عِدَّةَ الشُّهُوْرِ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ اثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا فِيْ كِتٰبِ اللّٰهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالْاَرْضَ مِنْهَآ اَرْبَعَةٌ حُرُمٌ ۗذٰلِكَ الدِّيْنُ الْقَيِّمُ ەۙ فَلَا تَظْلِمُوْا فِيْهِنَّ اَنْفُسَكُمْ وَقَاتِلُوا الْمُشْرِكِيْنَ كَاۤفَّةً كَمَا يُقَاتِلُوْنَكُمْ كَاۤفَّةً ۗوَاعْلَمُوْٓا اَنَّ اللّٰهَ مَعَ الْمُتَّقِيْنَ

'Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred [the four months mentioned, in which the disbelievers were allowed free movement within the land. Other scholars have interpreted them as "the sacred months," i.e., Muḥarram, Rajab, Dhul-Qaʿdah, and Dhul-Ḥijjah]. That is the correct religion [i.e., way], so do not wrong yourselves during them [i.e., do not violate the sacred months or commit aggression therein]. And fight against the disbelievers collectively as they fight against you collectively. And know that Allāh is with the righteous [who fear Him].' [QS. At-Tawbah (9):36]

This is equal to the number of the signs of the zodiac which, by the movement of the sun, the solar year is completed. When the moon revolves around it, it completes its annual circuit. Allah made the moon the basis of calculation because its appearance on the horizon is not dependent on any calculations. Rather, it is something manifest and seen by the naked eye. On the other hand, understanding the movement of the sun is dependent on calculations and records.

In the following episode, we will discuss these twelve months, from an Islamic perspective, bi' idhnillah."

Before jumping to the next episode, Cananga sang,

Now I know how it’s like

To have a precious love in my life

Now I know how it feels

To finally be at peace inside

I wish that everybody knew

How amazing it feels to love You *)

Citations & References:

- A group of Scholar under the Supervision of Syaikh H. Safi Ur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri, Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged) Volume 2, 2003, Darussalam

- Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi, Ma'ariful Qur'an: A Comprehensive Commentary of the Holy Quran, Volume 2, Translated by Muhammad Shamim, Revised by Muhammad Taqi 'Usmani, 2014, Maktaba-e-Darul-'Uloom

- Aisha Abdarrahman Bewley (Trans.), Tafsir al-Qurtubi Vol. 3: Juz' 3: Sūrat al-Baqarah 254 - 286 & Sūrah Āli 'Imrān 1 - 95, 2019, Diwan Press Ltd.

* )"I Love You So" written by Bilal Hajji, Maher Elzein & Bara Kherigi

[Episode 2]

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