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For whom the heavens and earth weep

For whom the heavens and earth weep
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April 04, 2023
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Laylatul Qadr – the Blessed Night

Surat ad-Dukhan contains the unique verse:

‘Indeed, We sent [the Quran] down on a blessed night,’ [44:3]

This of course is referring to Laylatul Qadr. We can connect it with the ayah in Surat al-Qadr:

‘Indeed, We sent [the Quran] down on Laylatul Qadr.’ [97:1]

In Surat-ad Dukhan, Allah Almighty uses the word mubaraka, blessed. He doesn’t call it the Night of Power, this is wrong. If you want to translate the name of it, you can call it the Blessed Night.

Neither the sky nor the earth wept for Firaun and his followers

This surah again has part of the story of Musa (peace be upon him) and Firaun. This time it’s the part where Firaun and his followers sink into the sea. We have different numbers: some scholars say Musa (peace be upon him) and his people were six hundred thousand, and Firaun had a similar number. Another opinion is that Firaun had as many as two million. But regardless, at least six hundred thousand people – more than half a million – all perished.

In the surah, Allah says,

‘Neither the sky nor the earth wept over them.’(44:29).

This is so strange. A person weeping, we could understand. But how can the sky and earth be weeping?

Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) as saying:

“Every believer has two gates, one by which deeds ascend and one by which his provision comes down, and when he dies they weep for him.” That agrees with God’s words, “Neither the heaven nor the earth wept for them.”(44:29) [Tirmidhi]

Allah Almighty says:

‘To Him good words ascend, and righteous deeds are raised up by Him.’ [35:10]

Thus your good words and deeds will go through that gate. But if it wasn’t a good deed or good word, then it won’t be lifted. That gate will be closed.

The places where you do good deeds will miss you when you die

The same hadith then says:

‘When the believer dies, that gate is closed; it misses him and weeps for him, and the place of prayer on earth where he used to pray and remember Allah also weeps for him. But the people of Firaun left no trace of righteousness on the earth and they had no good deeds that ascended to Allah, so the heavens and the earth did not weep for them.’

The earth where you do good deeds will miss you when you pass away. And not just your space in the mosque – at your work, in school, in the hospital, wherever you were active in doing good things. But if you didn’t do good deeds, the earth will not miss you and the heavens and earth will not weep for you.

Be sure to be among those whom the heavens and earth will weep for when you die. Leave a good legacy behind. We ask Allah to make our words and deeds righteous. Ameen.

Shaykh Haytham Tamim – Ramadan Night 14

Transcribed by Hana Khan

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Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.

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