Wednesday, September 11, 2024

The Lineage of Ibrahim (as)

 

'The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers. They believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His messengers. (They proclaim) “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” And they say, “We hear and obey. (We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord! And to You (alone) is the final return.” (Al-Baqara 2: 286)

 

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.