Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
After coming to the world, Allah Ta‘ala had blessed Nabi Aadam (‘alaihis salaam) and Hazrat Hawwaa (‘alaihas salaam) with many children. These children would be born as twins, with each pair of twins consisting of one male and one female.
Since Nabi Aadam (‘alaihis salaam) and his children were the very first people on earth, and there were no other people, Allah Ta‘ala commanded that the children of Nabi Aadam (‘alaihis salaam) of one pair were not allowed to marry each other, but were allowed to marry a twin from another pair.
Among the sons of Nabi Aadam (‘alaihis salaam) were Haabeel and Qaabeel. Qaabeel used to grow crops, while his brother, Haabeel, used to raise livestock. Haabeel was younger than Qaabeel in age.
When the time came for them to marry, it was decided that Haabeel will marry Qaabeel’s twin sister, and Qaabeel will marry Haabeel’s twin sister. However, since Qaabeel’s twin sister was more beautiful than Haabeel’s twin sister, Qaabeel did not want to marry Haabeel’s twin sister, but wished to marry his own twin sister.
Nabi Aadam (‘alaihis salaam) explained to his son, Qaabeel, that this was not allowed in their Shari’ah. Qaabeel became enraged and turned hostile towards his brother, Haabeel, and continued to insist that he marry his own twin sister.
In order to remove the division between both brothers, Nabi Aadam (‘alaihis salaam) proposed that they both should offer a sacrifice for Allah Ta‘ala. The one whose sacrifice is accepted, will marry Qaabeel’s twin sister. Nabi Aadam (‘alaihis salaam) was certain that the sacrifice of Haabeel would be accepted by Allah Ta‘ala, but in order to make his son, Qaabeel, understand, he presented this option before them.
At that time, a sign for the sacrifice being accepted was that a fire would come down from the sky and raise it to the heavens, while the sign for the sacrifice not gaining acceptance was that the fire would not touch it.
Haabeel offered a superior quality lamb as his sacrifice, while Qaabeel offered an inferior quality of grain as his sacrifice. As was customary with them, a fire came down from the sky and raised the sacrifice of Haabeel to the heavens, while leaving the sacrifice of Qaabeel untouched.
In this way, the sacrifice of Haabeel was accepted, and the sacrifice of Qaabeel was rejected. Hence, the verdict was clear before both brothers that Haabeel should marry Qaabeel’s twin sister.
Overcome by disgrace, Qaabeel was further angered with his brother, Haabeel. Instead of him coming to his senses and submitting to the command of Allah Ta‘ala, he became jealous of his brother and addressed him saying, “I am going to kill you!”
Haabeel did not respond to him with hostility and violence, but gave him a word of advice saying, “Allah Ta‘ala only accepts from the muttaqeen (those who fear Allah Ta‘ala).”
In other words, if you adopt taqwa in your life and obey Allah Ta‘ala in His commandments, even if it goes against your desires, then Allah Ta‘ala will accept you and be pleased with you. However, since Qaabeel’s heart was bent on evil, he did not heed the advice given to him, but looked for an opportunity to vent his anger upon his brother, Haabeel.
When Nabi Aadam (‘alaihis salaam) went for hajj to the Baytullah, Qaabeel found the opportune time to kill his brother, and thus, the jealousy and envy in his heart had the better over him, and he mercilessly killed him. (Bidaayah wan Nihaayah 1/86)
In the Mubaarak Hadith, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) mentioned:
لا تقتل نفس ظلما إلا كان على ابن آدم الأول كفل من دمها لأنه أول من سن القتل
“There is no person who is killed unjustly, except that the first son of Nabi Aadam (‘alaihis salaam) (i.e. Qaabeel) will have a share in the blood (i.e. in the sin of killing a person unjustly), as he was the first person to initiate this crime of murder in the world.” (Saheeh Bukhaari #3335)
From the abovementioned incident of Haabeel and Qaabeel recorded in the Qur’aan Majeed, we understand that mankind commenced with Nabi Aadam and Hazrat Hawwaa (‘alaihimas salaam) and then continued through their progenies in the world. This incident disproves the Big Bang theory and Darwin’s theory of evolution, as these theories claim that there is no creator for any creation, but rather everything came about on its own through a bang, and thereafter man evolved through monkeys. Hence, anyone who believes in these theories will be rejecting the Qur’aan Majeed and will leave the fold of Islam.
The Acceptance of Good Deeds is Based Upon Sincerity and Taqwa
In the conversation that took place between Haabeel and Qaabeel, one sentence was mentioned which is regarded as an important principle of deen. This important principle is that the acceptance of a person’s good deeds and acts of worship depends upon his taqwa and his fear of Allah Ta‘ala. The person who does not have taqwa in his life, his actions will not be accepted by Allah Ta‘ala.
It is for this reason that the Ulama of the Salaf (the pious predecessors) mentioned that this verse of the Qur’aan Majeed is an important warning and reminder for those people who exert themselves in ibaadah and in carrying out good deeds, that they should ensure that the good deeds they carried should be coupled with taqwa.
Hence, it is mentioned that when Hazrat Aamir bin Abdillah (rahimahullah) was on his deathbed, he began to weep. The people who were present said to him, “Why are you weeping, where as you were a person who remained engaged in ibaadah and carrying out good deeds throughout your life?”
Hazrat Aamir bin Abdillah (rahimahullah) responded, “On the one hand, you are telling me this (that I have spent my whole life in good deeds and ibaadah), but on the other hand, the words of Allah Ta‘ala are now ringing in my ears. Allah Ta‘ala says, ‘Allah Ta‘ala only accepts from the people of taqwa.’ Hence, in light of this verse, I do not know in the least as to whether any of my worship has gained acceptance by Allah Ta‘ala, as I do not know whether I had the level of taqwa which Allah Ta‘ala has mentioned.”
It is reported that Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas’ood (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) said, “If I come to know with certainty that Allah Ta‘ala has accepted just one of my good deeds, then this bounty will have such value, that even if the entire earth is transformed into gold and given to me, I will not attach any value to it compared to this bounty of my good deed being accepted.”
It is similarly mentioned that Hazrat Abu Dardaa (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) said, “If I have certainty that just one salaah of mine has been accepted by Allah Ta‘ala, then this bounty will be greater in my sight than the entire world and all its bounties combined.”
Once, Hazrat Umar bin Abdil Azeez (rahimahullah) wrote a letter to a certain person in which he mentioned the following advices. He said, “I emphasize to you the importance of taqwa, without which no action of yours will gain acceptance. Besides the people of taqwa – no other people receive the special mercy of Allah Ta‘ala, and without taqwa, a person will not receive any reward for his good deeds. There are many people who deliver lectures about taqwa, but few are those who inculcate taqwa in their lives.”
It is mentioned that Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) once said, “Any good deed which is small does not remain small once it is coupled with taqwa, and when a good deed gains acceptance from Allah Ta‘ala, then how can it be regarded as something small?” (Ma’aarif-ul-Qur’aan 3/113-114)
May Allah Ta‘ala grant us the tawfeeq of inculcating taqwa in all our actions we carry out throughout our lives, and may He bless us to remain firm upon the sunnah until the end of our lives.
