The Israelite Scholar | Episode 3

Dear viewers of Im Hussein TV, welcome yet to another episode of the series titled Quranic Stories that change lives where we delve into the verses of the Holy Quran, the beautiful stories that Allah subhana wa ta'ala has mentioned within these holy Qurans and try and take some lessons that we can take from those stories and implement them within our daily lives. The story that I would like to discuss today is a story that reminds us the importance of protecting what is most important to us. You know, you and I in this world have become somewhat of experts when it comes to protecting ourselves physically and digitally. For example, our smartphones will have two factor ID authentication codes. We, for example, would have cameras all over our dash cams in our car, in our offices, uh outside our doors in order to protect ourselves. We would even go far to an extent of putting air tags within our luggages so that we're not able to lose our luggage in transit. The question that I must ask myself is and the question I must invite yourself to reflect upon is yes we have become experts into protecting what is most important on a physical dimension and on a digital dimension but how many of us wake up in the morning thinking as to how am I going to be protecting my faith today? How is shan going to try and pollute my faith? What am I going to do to stop shan from taking my faith? And so the story that I wish to discuss today with yourselves is a story that makes us think that none of us are immune from the tricks and the traps and the nets that Shayan has laid out in front of us. Yes, sometimes you and I may think that I pray, I fast, I go to the massids, I may even shed a tear when I hear the name of Abdah Hussein, I may even teach others, I may even lead others in prayers. Shan's not got going to come to me. He's got bigger fishes to fry. He's not going to come close to me. But this is an illusion that Quran shatters in its entirety. In fact, Shayan's not necessarily going into the nightclubs and the casinos and the discos because those are probably individuals that he's already converted. In fact, Shayan is going to knock at the doors of the rightful believers of Allah subhana wa tala the hardest because that's where the damage is to be done. And therefore the story that I speak of tonight is a story of an Israelite scholar. A scholar from the people of Bu is and again this scholar would al may also have thought to himself that I am a teacher of the religion of Mus Alisam. I am close to Allah subhana wa tala. Shayan is not going to come to me. But yet, just as Allah subhana wa ta'ala shattered that illusion for that individual, that's a lesson for you and I to take when we continue with this story. And therefore, the story that I'm about to narrate from the Holy Quran is not a story that you and I can therefore look down to that individual, but rather it's a story so that you and I are able to look inwards. It's going to be a mirror for us. The story teaches us that faith, the belief in Allah subhana wa tala, staying steadfast in Allah subhana wa ta'ala is not a one-time trophy that you and I need to win and attain in our life, but it's a rope that you and I need to consistently hold and pull closer to ourselves. The verse in question is from surah chapter number 7 vers 175 to 176 inshallah Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala starts the story and relate to them oh prophet so he's addressing Allah and saying that look this is a story that you need to relate to the people so that you and I are able to take lessons from relate to the people What the story of the one whom we gave our signs to. Now many a times Allah subhana t will mention individuals when the holy Quran by name and many a times he will not mention names and this is one of those instances where Allah subhana ta does not mention the name of the individual in question. However, we look into the a hadith, we look into the tapas, we look into our books and we understand that this verse and the individual in question is a individual by the name of Baln or in a more latinized English version he is known as Balam the son of B. Now who was this individual by the name of Balam Bur? Like I said, he lived during the time of either prophet Musam or his successor Nun Balam was an Israelite scholar. So not only was he religious, not only did he have the and the certainty in the belief of Allah subhana wa ta'ala, but he was also a scholar of the religion of Musa Alisam. And he was a scholar that not only did he have a thousand students, not five, not 10,000, but 12,000 students would learn under his tutilage. And he would teach a class of 12,000 students. And Allah subhana wa ta'ala says the individual whom we gave our signs to. What does this mean? Imada in a tradition has been quoted to have said that when Allahh says that we gave him from our signs denotes that had the knowledge of the knowledge of the greatest name of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala such that if he was to recite any dua to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that ya Allah I have this dua for the sake of your greatest name his dua would not be rejected. So not only was it was this individual a believer in Allah subhana wa ta'ala was not only he a scholar of the religion of Musai but he had a in such a state that every time he would ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for any dua his dua would be accepted and here is where the story gets interesting. So Allah subhana he continues the story we gave him our signs and this sign that he had of knowing the knowledge of the isam the entire community the entire village the entire city knew and the king of the time the pharaoh of the time the ruler of the time also had knowledge that has this power of that none of his dua rejected so he calls balam and he says look balam I am in a conundrum I am in a situation where I need your help. While says what can I do? The king says look the prophet of the time so either Musa you bin he is to come with his followers and he is to settle in this city. Now as a king he of course never wanted the prophets of God with his followers coming into the city. Not only that but settling into that city. Why? Because suddenly the shift of power will be shifted to this prophet. Suddenly all the reputation all of the attention will go to the prophet and therefore the king will not be able to rule as he has been ruling previously and so we'll have to follow the prophet and the people will follow him. So for him he of course didn't want the prophet and his followers to settle into the city of this king. So he says balam look I know you have the knowledge of the knowledge of the greatest name of Allah subhana tala I wish for you to recite a dua so that this prophet something happens along the way that he doesn't come into this city that he diverts his road he gets killed or whatever whatever but he does not come into my city now if you were in Balam's position what would you do naturally balam says what by no way by Allah I will not do this he believes in Allah he's a scholar. He has yin on and Allah he knows he cannot pray against a prophet of God. So he says to the king by no way am I going to do this. So he leaves his courtroom. Now the king understands that he needs to influence Balam if not him directly than those around him. And Shayan works in mysterious ways those that we already know how he works. And so the king approaches those individuals that are around Balam. He goes to his wife and he says to the wife that look I wish for Balam to recite this dua for me. Whatever you want I will give it to you. If you want wealth, you will have wealth. You want fame, I will give you fame. You want land, you want riches, you want my treasury, you want power, I will give you all that you ask for, you need to convince Balam to say this dua so that the prophet doesn't come here. Now the wife she thinks she reflects and he goes to Balam and she says look balam and and and this is the trick ofan that the worst of actions he'll make it and package it in a way that makes it look the best to you. And so the wife goes into Balam and she says, "Look, Balam, imagine what good we'll be able to do with all of this wealth. Imagine how many poor people we'll be able to feed. How many orphans we'll be able to raise, how many shelters we'll be able to build for the homeless individuals? What's going to happen if the prophet comes?" When the prophet comes, he will bring nothing but fitna and facade and confusion for the people. And the people wouldn't know who to follow. Should I follow the word of the king and my ruler and my pharaoh or should I follow the prophet? The wife tries and tricks Balam in using different arguments saying look why don't you do this dua. Balam again is very staunch in his decision that never am I going to perform a dua against the prophet of my time or the successor of that prophet. However, the story is lengthy and the story continues in a way that Balam says very well. I am now going to go and pray for against that prophet that he doesn't come in. And so on the appointed day he mounts upon his donkey and he goes out towards the outskirts of the city from the entrance from the roots that this prophet is meant to come. When he reaches the boundary of the city the donkey stops and so Balam infuriated thinking that why is this donkey not moving? So he pushes the donkey forward. The donkey refuses to move. He takes out his stick. He beats the donkey. But yet the donkey donkey doesn't move forward. Infuriated, infuriated, frustrated. Bam says, "How dare this donkey not move when I, the Israelite scholar is mounted upon it?" And so this he out of his anger and frustration, he beats the donkey to death. And as soon as this happens, the power of the isam that he had, Allah subhana t takes it away from him such that now he raises his hand to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala ya Allah against this prophet that he doesn't come and doesn't settle into this town, this village, this city, his dua is not answered. And so we now continue and so Balam let go of this entire his entire because of a few promises by this king. So now let's go back to the verse in question verse number 175 where Allah subhana wa tala says and relate to them oh prophet the story of the individual whom we had given our signs to but he detached himself from those signs. You know the word used here is that he detached himself not because it was detached from him. No, out of choice. He himself detached himself from the signs that were given from Allah subhanaa tala. And generally this word is used to describe the shedding of the skin of an animal. More specifically, the skin that a snake sheds and Allah subhana t using this word is providing a powerful analogy that when it suited balam he would have the skin of the scholarly figure that he was a pious individual but when he got the opportunity just like a skin would be shed by the snake he would take the skin of this robe of religion iosity and go back towards the path of soan Allah continues in the same verse. So Shayan took hold of him. Shayan pursued him fully. You know when Shayan makes you his project you are his only project. He does not look at here or there. He makes sure that you are able to become overpowered. So Allah continues. Soan took hold of him and he became of those who became astray. And in the following verse verse number 176 if we had willed we would have elevated him with our signs should have chosen to stay in the path of Allah subhana tala. But he clung to this life following his evil desires. And then look how Allah subhanaa tala look how the holy Quran compares him. His example is that of a dog. Why? If you if you chase it away, it lols out its tongue. It pants. It's breathless. If you leave him, the dog again lols out his tongue in the way that the dog the dog is never satisfied. Whether you leave him alone, whether you chase him away, he's always panting, he's always chasing, he's always never content. Allahh finishes off the verse verse saying this is the example of those people that deny our signs. So narrate to them the stories of the past. So the people are able to reflect and so in this story what is it that went wrong for Balam thought that he cannot be corrupted because he was this religious scholar and so he let his guard down for shan to pursue him he allowed external influences for example in this instance his wife to get close to him to influence him take him away from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala number three he knowingly ly detached himself. He knowingly detached himself from the signs of Allah subhana wa tala. He chose the worldly interests over truth. Number four, instead of submitting to Allah subhana wa ta'ala's command, he followed his loves. He preferred status, power, and comfort over the and finally. Yes, his story may have started being steadfast in the path of Allah subhana wa ta'ala, but he never remained steadfast until the very end. Although his journey was full and it began and the middle was full of the y that he had in the path of Allah subhana wa tala, he let go of what he had towards the end of his journey. And therefore the question that you and I must ask myself ask ourselves and I asked this question myself and invite you to do the same is how can you and I protect ourselves from the fate of and if you remember I started the before narrating the story I mentioned a couple of points that we are not going to narrate this story uh in order to look down to Bal to look he was not able to protect his faith but rather it's an opportunity for you and I to look inwards Because if someone with such a high stat status, high spiritual rank can fall then you and I are not immune to that risk. Number two, the fact that Bal fell shows that no one is too religious, no one is too knowledgeable, no one is too pious to slip if they stop checking on their intentions. And finally, his story like I mentioned earlier teaches us that faith is not just trophy. guidance is not a trophy that we win one time and keep it. No, but it's a rope that we consistently have to keep on holding until the very end. And therefore, we come back to the question that I asked. How is it that we can protect ourselves from the fate of the first and foremost lesson that you and I are able to take is to never get comfortable with ourselves against the tricks and the traps of Shayan. You know this is not a hidden thing. It's not a secret but Shayan is not a hidden enemy. As Allah subhanaa says in the most famous of our verses in chapter number 36 number 60 and 61, Allah declares him as an open enemy. Did I not charge? Did I not enjoin in you all children of Adam that you shall not serve is your open enemy? Surely without a doubt and that you should serve me. This is the right path. This is the right way. And therefore, yes, sometimes we may think that I already go to mosque. I already perform my salah. I already go for zarat. I already have performed my hajj. I've already gone to omrah. I already do this this and the other. But the idea is that Shayan has not just got a year or two. He's got our entire lifetime and more. He's got an experience of many lifetimes. He knows he is patient. He is not going to continually make sure that we trip up right at the beginning of our journey. No, he knows that he may be able to get towards in the middle of our journey. He may even get us towards the end of our journey. Like I said, Shayan is going to knock at the doors of those individuals that already believe in Allah subhanaa tala the hardest because if he's able to convert those individuals then the damage done to Islam to the religion just like it was done by is a much greater damage that can ever be done and therefore we need to be constantly vigilant and we need to constantly remind ourselves that Shayan is there out to catch us and He's there to throw his net of traps. One of the most powerful weapons that Shayan can ever lay down against us is the weapon is the net of riyar showing off. Sometimes you and I may already reach a stage where we think alhamdulillah we are immune for example uh from the traps of shaitan and this is exactly what shan wants that when we get too comfortable with our belief when we get too comfortable with our religiosity this is when shan throws away throws towards us his most powerful of traps the trap the net of riy kari and as soon as an individual steps into this net of riyakari all of the good deeds that we've been doing they convert and they become deeds that we are now ashamed of. What do I mean? Imaff as has been narrated in Kafi has said that any form of any form of showing off amounts to shik such that on the day of judgment when an individual goes to Allah subhana t ya Allah I perform mountains of good deeds Allah will turn back and say you didn't perform them for me you performed them from so and so and so go to so and so individuals and take your reward from that individual never should we get comfortable able with the traps of Shayan even when we think we're getting comfortable with our sh uh with our faith. Allow me to end with a beautiful story that perhaps brings this entire uh point home. There was once a worshipper that had recognized within his own heart that he has this vice of riyakari of showing off to other people that yes he is already a religious individual. Yes, he recites, but sometimes it so happens that he recites for other people. And so he acknowledged that and he said that, you know what, today at midnight, I'm going to go not to the main mosque, but I'm going to go to the mosque that's at the boundary of our city. It's a dilapidated ancient old mosque that's in need of a lot of maintenance because not many people go there. Inshallah, I'll spend the entire night and worship Allah subhanana wa ta'ala. Now, it's a night full of thunder, lightning, and rain. He goes inside the mosque and he starts worshiping and he hears thunder in the background. Now whilst he is worshiping whilst he's reciting the holy Quran and praying salat and his duas and from the back of uh from from the corner of his eyes he feels that someone is has entered the mosque and there's some sort of noise that alerts him there is now someone behind him at the mosque and so his issue was always showing off his good deeds to other people and so again he starts reciting his duas and monats and salats and the holy Quran with slightly more tune with a better way with more eloquence and when fud salah comes he prays of salah thinking that he's now recited a very good ibadat the entire night and surely the individual who would have noticed him would have been extremely impressed and so to understand exactly who it was from the corner of his eyes he's looking around as to where the individual is he realized that in the corner sat a cat or according to another version of the story, a dog who had come inside the mosque to seek refuge from the thunder and the lightning and the rain and suddenly he says to himself, "Ya Allah, I just spent my entire night worshiing not for your sake but for this cat who had come inside this mosque." This is what you and I need to take that never get comfortable with our religion because even when we think we've got this belief in Allah subhana t his prophet and his uh and the immaan will use that to ent trap us. Therefore whenever you and I want to give charity let's try and not give it for the people but give it to Allah subhana yes Allah says give charity privately and publicly. If publicly we're giving and if we think that's going to encourage other people then give it publicly. But if you think that may spoil our intentions, let's do it privately. Yes, if I am helping someone, let me not. I don't need to post it on social media, I can help them. Yes, if I'm reciting the holy Quran, yes, if I'm going and supporting such individuals, allow me to do it for the sincerity of Allah subhana tala and not showcase it, showcase my worship to Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala. And therefore, if I was to wrap this up as part of a second lesson as to what we learned from the story of in addition to being vigilant of the trips of tricks of shaitan, the other lesson I would give and I would take myself and reflect invite you to reflect upon the same is to understand that you and I are who we hang around with. You and I have probably heard of the saying more times than we can count. You are the average of the five people that you spend the most time with. Oh, this is a quote from a famous individual, a motivational speaker by the name of Jim Ron. Similarly, there's another quote that says, "Show me your friends and I will show you your future." Balam allowed his close individuals to influence him against the right path of Allah subhana wa ta'ala and take him towards the path of shan. Whatever he did in his entire life and he sacrificed his entire for the few moments of this world. And therefore, not only do we need to be vigilant about the tricks of Shayan, but we need to be vigilant of who we hang around with because this makes and breaks our life. Now, how many times have you heard our parents say, "Look, don't hang around with those friends. Make sure you hang around with good people." And sometimes we brush it off. But this is where we really need to understand that is my friend circle, the average of the five people that I'm hanging around with, are they taking me towards Allah subhana wa tala? Are they taking me away from Allah subhana wa ta'ala? If they're constantly reading Quran, going to the mosque, then I will be drawn to the mosque. If they're constantly gossiping, talking about other people, always thinking that let's go um to this place and that place where we're not meant to supposed to go to, then suddenly we'll be inclined towards them. And this was the story of the Israelite scholar by the name of Balna. Not only did he had in Allah subhana wa tala but he had the most powerful of the names of isam but he gave away his because he was influenced by the trips tricks and the traps of shaitan and let does this let this be a lesson for us that faith is not a one-time trophy that we win but a rope that we have to continuously hold towards and continue becoming stronger. Alhamdulillah.