‘He has the keys to the unseen: no one knows them but Him. He knows all that is in the land and sea. No leaf falls without His knowledge, nor is there a grain in the darkness of the earth, or anything, fresh or withered, that is not written in a clear Record’. (6:60)
There is not a thing whose storehouses are not with Us. We send it down only according to a well-defined measure’. (15:22)
‘To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth. He enlarges the provision for whomsoever He pleases and straitens it for whomsoever He pleases. Surely, He knows all things full well’. (42:13)
‘To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth; and as
for those who disbelieve in the Signs of Allah, these it is who are the losers’.
(39:64)
‘To Allah belong the treasures of the heavens and the earth: but this truth the hypocrites cannot grasp’ (63:8)
Through these verses and very many other verses, the Holy Qur’an calls attention to the ultimate sovereign authority and protective power of Allah, the Almighty over the heavens and the earth. He opens the treasuries of provisions, mercy, and knowledge on whoever He wills, and He withholds the same as He alone desires. Indeed, it is Allah Alone who possesses the power to bring blessings of this life- provisions, knowledge, honour and benefits- on anyone. Speaking of this grand Sustainer of the Worlds, Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian once wrote:
Even Prophets of God did not claim to possess the treasuries of God, nor any knowledge of the unseen, hidden realities such as the timing of future events. Nuh (as) told his people explicitly: ‘I am not telling you that I hold God’s treasures, or have any knowledge of what is hidden, or that I am an angel’. (11:32). Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) was also instructed to state the plain reality: Say, ‘I do not have the treasures of God, nor do I know the unseen, nor do I tell you that I am an angel. I only follow what is revealed to me. Say, ‘Is a blind person like one who can see? Why will you not reflect?’ (6:51)
To lead a successful life approved by God, it is
important to ‘see’ like a believer. To gain the spiritual vision and
perception, man needs to turn the gaze to the Guidance of the Prophets who lead
us to the Path, and show us the Way. In rejecting the Signs of God, and in failing
to appreciate God’s absolute authority and control over the treasures of the heavens
and the earth- all provisions and benefits, and honours of life lies in the hands
of God; the disbelievers and hypocrites are myopic visionaries and bound to be
losers in the end. On the other hand, the messengers and the believing servants
of God appreciate the true design of the Creator and they implore and glorify
the Incomparable Majesty of God- they are bound to be the winners with the many graces of God coming to them in this life and in the life to come, in the Hereafter, Insha Allah, Aameen.
Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, recently, in response to a question posed by a truth-seeker seeking an exposition on the Qur’anic concept of ‘the keys of the treasures of the heavens and the earth’, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius called the attention of all believers to the recitation of an invocation in Zikr and Duah practices seen among many Muslims, especially the Sufi Orders. This invocation, which promises many, sublime blessings and graces of God upon the believer, is present in the books of past saints of Islam, and is available in the form of a Hadith:
'It is reported that Uthman bin Affan (ra) requested further information about Allah’s injunction of the keys of the treasures of the heavens and the earth (mentioned several times in the Qur’an).
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) said to him, ‘You have inquired of me something which nobody has ever asked me before. The keys of the treasures of the heavens and the earth are as follows:
La ilaha illallahu wallahu akbar
Wasubhanallahi walhamdulillahi
Wastaghfirullaha
allazi la ilaha illa huwa
al-awwalu
wal-akhiru waz-zahiru wal-batinu
yuhyi
wa yumitu wahuwa hayyun la yamutu
biyadihil
khair
Wa
huwa `ala kulli shai'in qadir
"There
is none worthy of worship except Allah
Allah
the Almighty is the greatest
Allah
is the glorious and praiseworthy
And
I ask Allah for forgiveness
There
is no power to do good
and
no strength to be saved from evil
except
with the grace of Allah
He
is the First and the Last
He
is the Apparent and the Hidden
He
is the Ever-living who never dies
He
imparts and takes away life
There
is blessing with Allah the Almighty
He
is the Ruler over everything"
The
Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) continued, “O Uthman, whoever recites it 100 times
every day will be rewarded ten graces:”
First,
all his previous sins will be forgiven;
Second,
his suffering from hellfire will be written off;
Third,
two angels are appointed to guard him day and night from his sufferings and
diseases;
Fourth,
he is granted a treasure of blessings;
Fifth,
he will reap much blessings as someone who would have set free 100 slaves from
the offspring of the Prophet Ismail,
Sixth,
he would be rewarded of blessings as if he had read the entire Qur’an, the Psalms,
the Torah and the Bible;
Seventh,
a house will be constructed for him in the heaven;
Eighth,
he will be married to a pious heavenly maiden;
Ninth,
he will be honoured with a crown of honour;
Tenth, his recommendation for forgiveness of 70 of his relatives will be accepted.
'O Uthman, if you were strong enough, you would not miss this remembrance on any day. You will be one of the successful ones and you will surpass everybody before and after you.'