A simple formula for success vs refusing to believe
Surat al-A’raf mentions the stories of six prophets: Nuh, Hud, Salih, Lut, Shuayb, and lastly Musa (peace be upon them), whose story is the longest. In fact, the story of Musa (peace be upon him) is the longest in the Quran, and is repeated in many surahs. In verse 96, Allah says:
وَلَوۡ أَنَّ أَهۡلَ ٱلۡقُرَىٰٓ ءَامَنُواْ وَٱتَّقَوۡاْ لَفَتَحۡنَا
عَلَيۡهِم بَرَكَٰتٖ مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَلَٰكِن
كَذَّبُواْ فَأَخَذۡنَٰهُم بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكۡسِبُونَ
If the people of the towns believed and feared Allah, We would have opened for them blessings from the heavens and the earth, but they disbelieved. So We took them (with punishment) for what they used to earn (polytheism and crimes). [7:96]
The simple formula for success
Allah is giving us a very simple formula: if all these prophets’ peoples had believed in Him, He would have given them endless reward in this life and the afterlife. That is a clear message from Allah to his servants, but it has to be their choice – Allah will not force it on them. He will clarify the consequences of accepting the truth or rejecting it, then leave everyone to their own decision.
In all the stories of these prophets, if the people had believed in Allah, that would have been straightforward and the end of the story; they would have saved themselves and received blessings and eternal bliss. But instead, in their arrogance they rejected and argued and twisted the messages.
They didn’t want to submit; they wanted to show they could do something different than what they were told. But sometimes, when you do something different, you burn yourself. This is why in the ayah, Allah talks about what they earned, taksibun.
Al-Kasb: what you earn
In aqeeda we have a special topic called al-kasb, related to what you earn. This doesn’t mean money, but what you earn by your actions and choices – i.e. the path to Jannah, or elsewhere.
Scholars have written books on this topic, and it has two dimensions. The first is belief, and the second is related to transactions. In the second century after Hijra, the scholar Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ash-Shaybani, a student of Imam Abu Hanifa, wrote Kitab al-Kasb, The Book of Earning a Livelihood. In it, he talks about transactions and economics, but it is also full of spirituality.
Allah is telling us that if those peoples had believed, they would have saved themselves, their families and communities, their lands – and most importantly their akhirah. But they didn’t. It was a threat to the people of Makkah who were receiving this revelation: are you immune from the punishment of Allah?
Willfully refusing to believe
After the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) left Makkah and migrated to Madinah, there were still retaliations and wars against him from the Quraysh. One day he made dua, “Oh Allah, help me against them with seven years of drought, just like the ones given during Yusuf’s time.” Allah responded by sending a severe drought on the people of Makkah.
عن عبد الله بن مسعود رضي الله عنه أن
النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال:
(اللهم أعني عليهم بسبع كسبع يوسف) رواه البخاري.
Abdullah bin Masoud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “O Allah, help me against them with seven like the seven of Yusuf.” (Bukhari)
The Quraysh went to the Prophet (peace be on him) and begged him on the strength of their family ties to ask his God to relieve them. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) out of his mercy asked Allah to remove his suffering, and it immediately started to rain. Yet still, the Quraysh refused to believe. It was almost like they were insisting on putting themselves in Hell, and doing nothing to get out of it.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) said:
عن أبي هريرة رضى الله عنه أنه سمع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول ” إنما مثلي ومثل الناس كمثل رجل استوقد نارا، فلما أضاءت ما حوله جعل الفراش وهذه الدواب التي تقع في النار يقعن فيها، فجعل ينزعهن ويغلبنه فيقتحمن فيها، فأنا آخذ بحجزكم عن النار، وأنتم تقتحمون فيها ”
My example and the example of the people is that of a man who made a fire, and when it lighted what was around it, moths and other insects started falling into the fire. The man tried to pull them out, but they overcame him and rushed into it.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) added: Now, similarly, I take hold of the knots at your waist (belts) to prevent you from falling into the Fire, but you insist on falling into it.”[Bukhari and Muslim]
It is a simple equation: believe, and Allah will open the barakah of this dunya and the afterlife for you. Disbelieve, and receive the opposite.
We ask Allah to make our hearts and limbs, and our families and loved ones submit to Allah, and that we receive the barakah of this dunya and the hereafter.
Delivered by Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 10th Ramadan 2025. Transcribed by H Khan.
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