Life-Lessons: Juz 17

Hold on to the Hope

Surah Al-Anbiya Ayah 83-90

وَأَيُّوبَ إِذْ نَادَىٰ رَبَّهُۥٓ أَنِّى مَسَّنِىَ ٱلضُّرُّ وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ ٱلرَّٰحِمِينَ 83

And ˹remember˺ when Job cried out to his Lord, “I have been touched with adversity, and You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.”

فَٱسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُۥ فَكَشَفْنَا مَا بِهِۦ مِن ضُرٍّۢ ۖ وَءَاتَيْنَـٰهُ أَهْلَهُۥ وَمِثْلَهُم مَّعَهُمْ رَحْمَةًۭ مِّنْ عِندِنَا وَذِكْرَىٰ لِلْعَـٰبِدِينَ 84

So We answered his prayer and removed his adversity, and gave him back his family, twice as many, as a mercy from Us and a lesson for the ˹devoted˺ worshippers

وَإِسْمَـٰعِيلَ وَإِدْرِيسَ وَذَا ٱلْكِفْلِ ۖ كُلٌّۭ مِّنَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ وَأَدْخَلْنَـٰهُمْ فِى رَحْمَتِنَآ ۖ إِنَّهُم مِّنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ 86-85

And ˹remember˺ Ishmael, Enoch, and Ⱬul-Kifl. They were all steadfast. We admitted them into Our mercy, for they were truely of the righteous.

وَذَا ٱلنُّونِ إِذ ذَّهَبَ مُغَـٰضِبًۭا فَظَنَّ أَن لَّن نَّقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَنَادَىٰ فِى ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ أَن لَّآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنتَ سُبْحَـٰنَكَ إِنِّى كُنتُ مِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ. فَٱسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُۥ وَنَجَّيْنَـٰهُ مِنَ ٱلْغَمِّ ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نُـۨجِى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ-87-88

And ˹remember˺ when the Man of the Whale stormed off ˹from his city˺ in a rage, thinking We would not restrain him. Then in the ˹veils of˺ darkness, he cried out, “There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except You. Glory be to You! I have certainly done wrong. So We answered his prayer and rescued him from anguish. And so do We save the ˹true˺ believers.

وَزَكَرِيَّآ إِذْ نَادَىٰ رَبَّهُۥ رَبِّ لَا تَذَرْنِى فَرْدًۭا وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ ٱلْوَٰرِثِينَ . فَٱسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُۥ وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُۥ يَحْيَىٰ وَأَصْلَحْنَا لَهُۥ زَوْجَهُۥٓ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ يُسَـٰرِعُونَ فِى ٱلْخَيْرَٰتِ وَيَدْعُونَنَا رَغَبًۭا وَرَهَبًۭا ۖ وَكَانُوا۟ لَنَا خَـٰشِعِينَ-89-90

And ˹remember˺ when Zachariah cried out to his Lord, “My Lord! Do not leave me childless, though You are the Best of Successors. So We answered his prayer, granted him John, and made his wife fertile. Indeed, they used to race in doing good and call upon Us with hope and fear, totally humbling themselves before Us.

Bismillah .

Before we start contemplation on these really beautiful verses, we pray to Allah to help us to give these verses their due right which is rich in meaning and hope, and a ray of light for believers in times of difficulty and distress. Ameen. 

As we all know feeling hopeless makes life really tough. Fortunately, Islam has given you something special in the form of dua you can do when you feel hopeless to make life better—no matter how bad things might seem. Allah SWT taught us many beautiful duas in the Quran for all those times which would increase and put barakah in our happiness and give hope in times of sadness and grief. 

In these beautiful verses, Allah Almighty narrates really briefly the incidents of some of his beloved Prophets who were in difficult situations, and then they made duas with such beautiful words that Allah made them a part of the Qur’an for the people to make the same duas till the end of time. Allahu Akbar! What are these special duas? Let’s learn together inshaaAllah! 

Dua of Ayub A.S

The first dua was made by Prophet Ayyub A.S when he was inflicted by a severe skin disease that was so worse that even his family members left him. Prior to his illness, Prophet Ayyub was an extremely rich person. He possessed treasures of gold and silver, and he owned land, farms, and cattle. Allah SWT also blessed him with many children.

Scholars say that the illness overtook Prophet Ayyub when he was seventy years old. The illness was so severe; historians have written that not a single limb of Ayyub was free from disease except his tongue and his heart, which he used for the remembrance of Allah. He lost his children and his whole family except his wife who remained devoted to him.

Historians have recorded different durations and the extent of the Prophet’s illness; three years, to eighteen years. Regardless of the exact number of years, we can certainly know that Prophet Ayyub patiently bore his illness for a very long time. He kept praising Allah and nothing despaired him. Allah SWT inspired him with the words to make dua to Him which is mentioned in verse 83. Eventually, his dua was answered and Allah SWT removed his infliction and gave him back his family, wealth and riches, and even more than what he had earlier, as a reward for his patience.

Dua of Prophet Yunus A.S

The second dua was made by Prophet Yunus A.S when he left his people full of anger and hopelessness that they will never believe in the oneness of Allah. The responses of his nation saddened Prophet Yunus. He resolved to leave the city and travel to another location where people would heed his teachings. The mistake he made was he left this nation prior to the permission of Allah SWT. As a result, Allah threw a huge wave at his ship and permitted a fish to consume him so that he may repent of his error. Soon after, the people of Ninveh (where Prophet Yunus was teaching) recognized their error and begged Allah’s forgiveness. They turned to look at the seashore, but it was too late; Yunus A.S had already departed. Prophet Yunus’ life and narrative remain among the most compelling in helping us grasp the concepts of patience, vulnerability, and faith who start repenting in the belly of that big fish constantly after realizing his error. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said about his dua,

“The supplication of Dhun-Nun (Prophet Yunus) when he supplicated, while in the belly of the whale was: ‘There is none worthy of worship except You, Glory to You, Indeed, I have been of the transgressors. (Lā ilāha illā anta subḥānaka innī kuntu minaẓ-ẓālimīn)’ So indeed, no Muslim man supplicates with it for anything, ever, except Allah responds to him.”

(Jami At Tirmidhi:3505) 

Dua of Prophet Zakariyah A.S

And the third dua we learn was made by Prophet Zakariyah A.S. who had no offspring. He had a burning desire to have a child to continue preaching the message of Allah and Islam. Despite his old age, he never gave up hope. 

We learned in the Juz 3 that he was a pious man and also a guardian of Maryam A.S in the chambers of the temple. He noticed that every time he went to check up on her, she miraculously had an abundance of provisions. Some scholars say that she would have summer fruits in the winter, and winter fruits in the summer. 

Hence, Zakariya A.S witnessed such miracles with his own eyes. These miracles inspired him; he realized that Allah would surely respond to his prayers. Without wasting a moment, he immediately made dua out of hope and belief. He prayed to Allah to not leave him alone that is childless and that He is the best of successors. 

Allah says “We answered him and gifted him Yahya “.He made his wife fertile for him so she could bear a child. And Allah says that Prophet Zakariyah and his wife both used to race in doing good deeds and call upon him out of fear and hope. Then why wouldn’t Allah answer to such devoted slaves of His?

Life-Lessons

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala is so Merciful that He did not just create happiness and sadness, He also has created ways to hold on to Him in all circumstances. It is significant that muslim remain steadfast in their time of affliction and grateful while they are blessed.

In general, we have seen when a sickness, e.g. chronic disease, or any other form of hardship prolongs we start becoming more and more frustrated. At the beginning of the trial, we may have turned to Allah. However, when it prevails for some time, our relationship with Allah starts deteriorating. We begin to have doubts about Allah and lose interest in worship, thinking negative thoughts along the lines of ‘Why me?’ and “Why did Allah do this to me?’. And this may eventually lead us away from the straight path. These duas teach us that we should keep raising our hands to Him and make dua to Him only at all times.

Similarly, with the help of Prophet Yunus’ story, we understand the lesson that we should not let anger and frustration overcome us,  no matter how hard it gets not to have succumbed to our emotions. In times of grief especially adhere to Prophet Yunus’s dua. Allah will definitely take you out from the darkness of grief and grant you relief just like he did to His beloved Prophet. 

Generally, sadness and depression are normal reactions to unfortunate events. Islam teaches us that grief should not overcome our lives. Prophet Zakariyah and his wife had no control over their struggles and childlessness. They not only embrace their situation but explore the options they had. And the biggest options they had were to take care of the child of Imran i.e. Maryam A.S who was an orphan and 2ndly sincere dua to Allah SWT for having their own child. Along with medication, one should memorize this dua to have pious offspring.

Lastly, an important factor is, that dua should be based upon full devotion and hope. For those who have abandoned the practice of Dua, remember you are missing something quite important. Remember that wishing is not the same thing as making a Dua as we have a better chance of seeing them materialized when we actually make the effort and ask Allah SWT what we want. He is AS Sami who not answered them by giving what we ask for but rather answer them in the most beautiful manner we ever expect! 

Juz 1 – Evils of Pride  | Juz 2 – He is really near, Call upon Him | Juz 3 – Purity of Intentions

Juz 4 – The Burdens of Sins | Juz 5 – Bounties in the Obedience of Prophet ﷺ | Juz 6 – Be Just |

Juz 7- Beware of Shaitan’s Plan | Juz 8 – Heart Epicenter of Eman | Juz 9 – Dunya over Deen?? |

Juz 10 – Strive in the way of Allah | Juz 11 – Allah is All-Powerful | Juz 12 – Fruits of Patience |

Juz 13 – Peace in Remembrance of Allah | Juz 14 – Don’t be Distressed… | Juz 15 – Being good to your Parents |

Juz 16 – Acceptable Deeds |