Story of Trust in Allah (SWT): Trader who placedhis Tawakkul

During the time of Noble Prophet Muhammad (saws)there lived a trader
who, in all affairs, always placed his trust in Allah (SWT). Trader
used to travel from Syria to Madinah for trade and during one of his
trips, he was confronted by a bandit who drew his sword and intended
to kill him.
"If it is my wealth that you desire, come and take it and leave me
alone," pleaded the trader. "Killing you is a must, for if I let you
go free, you will identify me to the authorities," said the bandit.
"In that case give me respite till I have offered a two Rak'at
prayer," requested the trader.
The bandit agreed and the trader engaged himself in prayers. Having
completed the prayers, he raised his hands and beseeched: 'O' Lord! I
have heard from Your Noble Prophet Muhammad (saws) that whoever places
his trust in You shall remain protected. I have no helper in this
desert and Your grace is my only hope.
Having placed all his trustin Allah (SWT), trader hadhardly completed
his supplication when a rider on a white horse loomed in the distance.
When he came close, the rider confronted the bandit and killed him
with one stroke of his sword. Then, turning to the trader, he said:
"O' You, who places your trust in Allah (SWT)! I have killed the enemy
of Allah (SWT) and He has delivered you from him."
"Who are you that you have come to my assistance in this desert?"the
trader asked. "I am your Tawakkul." Allah (SWT) brought me out in the
form of an Angel and I was in the heavens when Angel Jibril
(Jibreel,Gabriel) called out to me and said: "Hasten to the assistance
of your master and exterminate his enemy", and here I have come and
eliminated your enemy." Having saidthus, he disappeared out of sight.
The trader fell down in prostration of thanksgiving to Allah (SWT) and
acquired a stronger conviction with respect to the instructions of
Noble Prophet Muhammad (saws) regarding Tawakkul.
On arrival in Madinah, trader approached NobleProphet Muhammad (saws)
and narrated what had transpired. "Indeed! Tawakkul raisesa person to
the pinnacle of success and the rank of a person who possesses it, is
equivalentto the ranks of the Prophets, the friends of Allah (SWT),
the righteousones and the martyrs," said Noble Prophet Muhammad
(saws).
"... Put your trust in Allah,certainly, Allah loves those who put
their trust (in Him). If Allah helps you, none can overcome you; and
if He forsakes you, who is there after Him that can help you? And in
Allah (Alone) let believers put their trust." Noble Qur'an (3:159-160)

Sonar Inside a Dolphin’s Skull

A dolphin can distinguish between two different metal coins under
water in complete darkness and up to 3 kilometers away. Does it see
that far? No, it does this without seeing. It can make such accurate
determinations by means of the perfect design of an echolocation
system inside its skull. It gathers very detailed information on
shape, size, speed and structure of near objects.
It takes some time for a dolphin to master the skills needed to use
such a complicated system. While an experienced adult dolphin can
detect most objects through a few signals, a juvenile has to
experiment for years.
Dolphins do not use their echolocation just to detect their
surroundings. Sometimes they group during feeding and emit
high-pitched sounds so powerful that they dazzle their prey, which are
then ready to be picked up. An adult dolphin produces sounds inaudible
to humans (20,000 Hz. and above). The focusing of soundwaves is done
in several areas of the dolphin's head. The melon, which is a fatty
structure in the dolphin's forehead, serves as an accaustical lens and
focuses the clicks of the dolphin into a narrow beam.
Therefore, the dolphin can directthe clicks at will by moving its
head. It can direct these waves at will by moving its head.
The clicks immediately echo back when they hit any obstacle.The lower
jaw acts as a receptor,which transmits the signals backto the ear. On
each side of the lower jaw is a thin bony area, which is in contact
with a lipid material. Sound is conducted through this lipid material
to the auditory bullae, a large vesicle. Then the ear forwards the
data to the brain, which analyses and interprets the meanings. A
similar lipid material also exists in the sonar of whales.
Different lipids (fatty compounds) bend the ultrasonic(sound waves
above our range of hearing) sound waves traveling through them in
different ways. The different lipids have to be arranged in the right
shape and sequence in order to focus the returning sound waves. Each
separate lipidis unique and different from normal blubber lipids and
is made by a complicated chemicalprocess that requires a number of
different enzymes. This sonar system in dolphins could not possibly
have developed gradually, as claimed by the theory of evolution. That
is because only by the time the lipids would have evolved to their
final place and shape, couldthe creature have made use of this crucial
system. In addition, support systems like the lower jaw, the inner ear
system and the analysis centre in the brain would all have to be fully
developed. Echolocation clearly is an "irreducibly complex" system,
which for it to have evolved in phases is simply impossible. Hence, it
is obvious that the system is another flawless creation of God.

THE HEREAFTER: PAIN FOR UNBELIEVERS, HAPPINESS FOR BELIEVERS

Everything which the human being desires lies waiting for him in the
Afterlife, providing hespends his life in this world pursuing the
pleasure of Allah. In the life of Paradise, there will be the
blessings of infinite abundance and beauty. At the same time,
believers will also experience enormous spiritual joy in Paradise and
will feel such emotions as happiness, love, joy,peace and security in
a far more powerful manner than in their earthly lives. Unbelievers,
on the other hand, will experience pain and unimaginable torment in
Hell, described in the Qu'ran as a fire "fueled by men and stones."
Allah has revealed in the Qur'an that the Hereafter will be full of
severe torment for unbelievers but full of blessings for the
believers:
When Our signs are recited to such a person, he turns away arrogantly
as if he had not heard, as if there was a great weight in his ears. So
give him news of a painful punishment. (Surah Luqman, 7)
Their Lord gives them the good news of His mercy and good pleasure and
Gardens where they will enjoy everlasting delight. (Surat at-Tawba,
21)
The sufferings the unbelievers will experience in the Hereafter will
be incomparably greater than those in this world. Unbelievers will be
punished with a torment they have never imagined and the like of which
they have not previously experienced. The expression "blazing fire" is
used in several verses of the Qur'an in order to describe the
fierceness of the flames of Hell. In other verses, that fierceness is
described as follows:
But no! It is a Raging Blaze. Stripping away the limbs and scalp.
(Surat al-Ma'arij, 15-16)
Unlike this fierce torment in Hell,a very happy and peaceful
environment has been prepared for the people of Paradise. Allah, in
His mercy, has created Paradise for His faithful servants in the best
and most perfect manner. Allah is pleased with them and will reward
them witheternal joy. In the Qur'an, the following is stated:
Allah has promised the men andwomen of the believers Gardenswith
rivers flowing under them, remaining in them timelessly, for ever, and
fine dwellings in the Gardens of Eden. And Allah's good pleasure is
even greater. That is the great victory. (Surat at-Tawba, 72)
Allah has revealed the difference between Paradise and Hell in another verse:
An image of the Garden which ispromised to those who guard against
evil: in it there are rivers of water which will never spoil and
rivers of milk whose taste will never change and rivers of wine,
delightful to all who drinkit, and rivers of honey of undiluted
purity; in it they will have fruit of every kind and forgiveness from
their Lord. Is that like those who will be in the Fire timelessly, for
ever, withboiling water to drink which lacerates their bowels? (Surah
Muhammad, 15)
Imam Ghazali has invited people to think rationally on this matterby
considering in his commentaries the sharp differences, as regards to
pains and blessings, between Paradiseand Hell:
Know that there is another home (And that is Paradise) in contrast to
sorrow and sadness (i.e. flame), the abode of Hell youknow. Consider
the blessings and joys it will impart. That is because he who is far
removed from one of these will definitely find a decision in the
other. Think long and hard about the terrors of Hell and fix them in
your heart. Also think long and hard about the eternal
blessingspromised to the people of Paradise and fix a hope in your
heart. Drive earthly desires with the whip of fear and bring them to
the true path by means of hope. In this way you will attain a great
existence and be saved from a painful torment. Considerthe people of
Paradise, on whose faces is the beauty of the blessings of Paradise.
Souls are permanent, thereby finding what they desire. In Paradise
they neither fear nor are downcast. They are free of the fear of
death.
Then consider the chambers of Paradise and the height and variety of
the degrees of Paradise. That is because the Hereafter is the greatest
in terms of degree and in terms of virtue. In the same way that in
this world people are different in terms of external religious
observances and esoteric pleasing moral values, so there will be
differences in the rewards and punishments people will receive for
their deeds in this world. If you wish to attain the highest degrees
in Paradise then try to ensure noneexceed you in worship of and
obedience to Allah." (Imam Ghazali, Kalplerin Kesfi [The Discovery of
Hearts], pp. 534, 535, 539)
As we have seen, a person has two alternatives for the Afterlife:He or
she will choose either Hell, with nothing but eternal and
indescribable suffering, or Paradise, with the greatest happiness and
beauty. All rational people will of course choose Paradise, "a place
full of happiness and infinite blessings." That is because nobody
wishes to spend all eternity without the possibility of salvation
except by the will of Allah, in a place devoid of all physical and
spiritual beauty, in a state of constant suffering, sorrow and regret.
Any normal individual will prefer to live in happiness for all
eternity with those he or she loves, in a place consisting solely of
blessings and happiness, and where no difficulty, trouble, evil or
imperfection is created.
The Hereafter is an absolute reality revealed by our Lord. In order to
be saved from terrible suffering in the Hereafter and to attain a
happy and prosperous end, people need to apprehend this truth. They
must spend the time allotted to them in the life of this world in
doing good deeds to gain the approval of Allah and trying to attain
the moral values beloved of Him.
Let us also note that nobody must rest content with what he or she has
already performed. Nobody can be certain that his or her past deeds
will be sufficient for salvation. From that point of view, a person
must both be joyful out of a hope of entering Paradise and also
increase the level of godly deeds performed out of a fear ofHell. As
revealed by Allah in the verse:"Wealth and sons are the embellishment
of the life of this world. But, in your Lord's sight, right actions
which are lasting bring a better reward and are a better basis for
hope." (Surat al-Kahf, 46)
In the knowledge that a constant effort is nearer to gaining the
approval of Allah, a person must continue to engagein godly works. As
in the words of the prayer of Prophet Ibrahim(as) revealed in the
Qur'an,"And make me one of the inheritors of the Garden of Delight,"
(Surat ash-Shu'ara', 85), a person must pray to be rewarded with
Paradise by Allah.

THE TRUE SPHERE OF LIFE: THE HEREAFTER

We have so far concentrated on the way that the world is a temporary
and deceptive place, full of seductive delusion and false baubles. It
has also been explained that it is the eternal life in the Hereafter
that will be the true abode. In this chapter, we shall be seeing how
the Hereafter, the true sphere of life which every human being will
come to after death and live for all eternity, will be a very
different thing for believers and unbelievers.
THE ORIGINALS OF ALL THINGS ARE IN THE HEREAFTER
The definition in the Qur'an of the Afterlife as the "true life" is
amatter which all people should consider, which all people should
reflect upon. This expression in the Qur'an reveals that everything we
imagine to be real in the life of this world is in fact very
different. This life welive, the values which people spend a lifetime
following, and all the beautiful things they seekto acquire are all
"false" in comparison to the Hereafter. In other words, this world is
full of false passions, false emotions, false successes, false loves
and false friendships for those who do not seek the approval of Allah.
Believers, on the other hand, willexperience in this world the
happiness of hoping for Paradise, joy in the Afterlife and the "true"
and "complete" versions of such emotions as joy and happiness. That
being the case, a person needs to ask him or herself this: "If
everything I experience in this world is false and I can only
encounter the originals of them in the Hereafter, why should I make
dowith what is transitory and deceptive and lose, because of them,
their eternal and original counterparts? Why should I not strive to
attain beauties which will never fade and which will exist for ever?"
If a person asks him or herself that question with all due sincerity
and answers it with thesame sincerity, then he or she will strive for
the truth and live ahappy life in this world and also in the next. The
answer to these questions that every rational person will give is, of
course, "My most important aim in this world is to abide by the
approvalof Allah and to strive for my truelife, which will last for
all eternity in the Hereafter." Another question which every person
capable of seeing this must ask him or herself with thesame logic is
that addressed by the person to his people, as revealed in the Qur'an:
"Why indeed should I not worship Him Who brought me into being, Him to
Whom you will be returned?" (Surah Ya Sin, 22)
Human beings will eventually be directed to Allah and will encounter
the original counterparts of all worldly things in the Hereafter. For
that reason, they must sincerely consider the Hereafter, revealed as
the "true life" in the Qur'an, and to live by the moral values of the
Qur'an by giving thanks toour Lord, Who gave human beings such a great
blessing with His infinite mercy and kindness.