Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah,
I continue my Friday sermon on the same subject as my previous sermons, namely,
on the Messengers and Prophets of Allah.
Throughout the history of the prophets, we have seen that they all brought a single message: Worship Allah alone and do not associate any false deities with Him in His worship.
When the Messengers of Allah came with His
[Allah’s] message, they faced numerous difficulties, problems, and
persecutions. They had to confront their own people, who turned rebellious
against them when they proclaimed that Allah spoke to them and raised them as
His Prophets and Messengers. Some received Books of Law, while others continued
the mission of the law-bearing prophets.
We have seen that in the lineage of Hazrat
Ibrahim (as), Allah had raised many prophets. He has blessed his descendants in
such a way that from his two lineages through Hazrat Sarah (ra) and Hazrat
Hajra (ra), he had two extraordinary sons: Ishaq (as) and Isma’il (as). Here, I
mention Isma’il (as) in second position despite him being the elder brother
because I wish to first discuss the lineage of Hazrat Ishaq (as) before moving
on to the most important and fascinating stories of prophets through Hazrat
Isma’il (as) and consequently his descendant, the Seal of the Prophets, Hazrat
Muhammad (pbuh).
In the Quran, Allah speaks of many prophets who
came from the Bani Isra’il (i.e. Children of Israel). Isra’il is the title
given to Hazrat Yaqub (as), the son of Hazrat Ishaq (as). Allah describes
Hazrat Ishaq (as) in the Quran as a prophet filled with knowledge – a scholar.
The good news of his birth brought further good news that Ishaq (as) would
subsequently produce other children in his lineage who would also be prophets.
Allah granted him Hazrat Yaqub (as), who was also a person of great wisdom. It
is through him and his children that today the Jews, Christians, and even
Muslims of his direct lineage are known as the Bani Isra’il (Children of Israel).
This is because Hazrat Yaqub (as) had twelve sons in total, each representing a
tribe of the Bani Isra’il, the most important of those children being Hazrat
Yusuf (as).
Imam Bukhari mentions a Hadith from Ibn Umar
(ra) whereby he narrated that Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said:
الْكَرِيمُ ابْنُ
الْكَرِيمِ ابْنِ الْكَرِيمِ ابْنِ الْكَرِيمِ يُوسُفُ بْنُ يَعْقُوبَ بْنِ
إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَلَيْهِمِ السَّلاَمُ
Al-Karim Ibn Al-Karim Ibn Al-Karim
Ibn Al-Karim Yusuf bin Yaqub bin Ishaq bin Ibrahim, Alayhimis-Salaam.
Translation: The Generous, son of the
Generous, son of the Generous, who was the son of the Generous Yusuf, who was
the son of Yaqub, who was the son of Ishaq (pbuh), who was the son of Ibrahim (pbuh),
may peace be upon them all.
In another Hadith, also found in Bukhari and
reported by Abu Huraira (ra), the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) described Hazrat
Yusuf (as) as the most honourable among all the prophets, and he mentioned his
ancestors (Yaqub and Ishaq), up to Ibrahim, the Friend of Allah.
Allah describes the life of Hazrat Yusuf (as)
in the Holy Quran, in Surah Yusuf, in an extremely fascinating manner. Allah
states that among all the stories found in the Quran, this is the most
beautiful story – the life of Hazrat Yusuf (as). According to the information
Allah provides in the Quran and what we can also understand a bit from the
Bible (based on information that corroborates what the Quran says), Hazrat
Yaqub (as) had ten sons from his first wife and two sons from his second wife,
the mother of Hazrat Yusuf (as). That is to say, Hazrat Yusuf (as) had 10
half-brothers and 1 full (younger) brother from the same mother. Allah tested
Hazrat Yaqub (as) through the wickedness and jealousy of his ten eldest sons,
and through their jealousy, He also tested him through separation from his son
Hazrat Yusuf (as). When he was still very young, Hazrat Yusuf (as) used to have
extraordinary dreams, and he used to share them with his father, and his father
knew through those dreams that Allah had chosen Yusuf (as) to be His prophet,
and that the plots his other children were making against him would one day be
overturned by Allah, and He would bestow great honour upon Yusuf (as).
So, this is indeed what happened. Allah
honoured Hazrat Yusuf (as). All the events that transpired in his life led him
to this honourable destiny. His half-brothers conspired against him, but their
plot turned into a path for him towards honour and wealth. However, before he
could attain this great reward from Allah, he had to endure the most severe
trials, starting from his childhood. He faced the cruelty of his half-brothers
who threw him into a well. From that well, Allah revealed Himself to Yusuf
(as), keeping him confident in his destiny because Allah was with him.
Thus, this young boy was picked up by slave
traders who considered him a worthless commodity - not worth much in their
human trade. Then, Allah arranged for a great minister in the court of the king
of Egypt to buy him. Instead of making him a servant, the minister adopted him
as his son. Yusuf (as) grew up in his house with respect. However, because
Yusuf (as) was extremely handsome, the wife of Al-Aziz, the king’s minister,
was attracted to him and tried to lead him into sin. But once again, Allah
saved His prophet.
Despite everyone knowing that he was innocent
and had not tried to seduce his benefactor’s wife (Al-Aziz), they conspired to
send him to prison so that people might forget this story. To protect his own honour,
Al-Aziz accepted to send an innocent man to prison.
But what ultimately happened? Through the
patience of Hazrat Yusuf (as), the gift of dream interpretation granted to him by
Allah, and his immense wisdom and knowledge, Allah caused the Pharaoh of that
era to take him into his service and appoint him as the Treasurer of all Egypt.
Allah established him as a great Minister, where he also earned the title of ‘Al-Aziz’.
After many years of suffering and separation, when his father had grown old and
blind, Allah reunited Yaqub (as) with his son Yusuf (as). Allah extinguished
the fire of conflict between him and his half-brothers. Allah mentions his own
brother as innocent in this entire story, and ultimately, after many years of
separation, Yusuf (as) took responsibility for his younger brother and brought
him close to him.
Similarly, we see that Allah blessed the Bani
Isra’il (i.e. Children of Israel). Whenever their rights were violated and all
hope seemed lost, Allah raised prophets upon prophets to guide them back to the
right path. Over the centuries, they too lost the true teachings of their
Patriarch Hazrat Ibrahim (as), but then Allah restored their hope through
Hazrat Musa (as), Hazrat Dawud (as), Hazrat Suleiman (as), and Hazrat Isa (as),
among many others. I have mentioned these prophets because Allah has detailed
their stories in the Holy Quran and has spoken of the revelations He granted
them.
Thus, the prophets of the Children of Israel
are those who descended from the lineage of Hazrat Yaqub (as) – the children of
Yaqub (as). This lineage, by definition, traces back to Hazrat Ishaq (as) and
consequently to Hazrat Ibrahim (as). The prophets of the Children of Israel
include Yusuf, Musa, Dawud, Suleiman, and Isa (as), as mentioned in the Quran.
There are many others, but we will focus only on these, as Allah has mentioned
them more frequently than the rest of His prophets. Here, I do not mention Hud
or Salih because these prophets came much earlier, in times closer to that of
Ibrahim (as).
We know that when Allah established Yusuf (as)
in Egypt, and when a great famine struck his homeland, Allah made Yusuf (as)
bring his entire family to settle in Egypt. This occurred after his
half-brothers repented and abandoned their life of disobedience to Allah. They
lived during the reign of a just Pharaoh, with Yusuf (as) serving as a prophet
and holding an honourable position as the treasurer of the country (more
commonly known today as a Finance Minister). In the capacity of prophet, Yusuf
(as) brought the necessary reforms and transformed Egypt into a prosperous
nation.
But over time, with the rise of new Pharaohs,
the descendants of Hazrat Yaqub (as) and Yusuf (as) were eventually reduced to
slavery by a Pharaoh who was a tyrant on earth. Allah describes this Pharaoh in
the Quran as His enemy. It was during that era or period that Allah decided to
send His greatest Israelite prophet, Musa (as). Musa (as) was the greatest
among all the Israelite prophets because Allah revealed His Sacred Book, the Tawraat
(Torah), to him. Musa (as) enjoyed an unparalleled honour among all the
Israelite prophets, as Allah spoke to him directly without the intervention of
angels. There were occasions when angels came to Musa (as), but most of the time
it was Allah Himself who spoke to him. The Quran specifies the love Allah had
for Musa (as). From his very birth, Allah manifested miracle after miracle in
his favour.
Insha-Allah, I
will delve more into his life before concluding with the lives of Hazrat Isma’il
(as) and the Seal of the Prophets, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). May Allah enable me
to present this clearly to you and raise the honour of these great prophets who
have contributed to our presence here as Muslims. It is our duty today to
continue honouring them as they deserve and to firmly uphold the truth of the
Quran and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as the greatest prophet this
universe has ever known. Insha-Allah. May Allah increase our knowledge
and grant me and all those who sincerely believe in me the ability to bring the
honour of Islam to its pinnacle. Insha-Allah, Ameen.
---Friday Sermon of 06 September 2024 ~ 02 Rabi’ul Awwal 1446 AH delivered by Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius.