Session 446 Chapter 3
Verse 118
O you who believe, do not take your confidants from others than yourselves;
they will spare nothing to ruin you. They are eager to see you in distress.
Hatred has already shown itself from their mouths, and what their chests hide is yet worse.
We have certainly made the signs clear for you, should you apply reason. (Chapter 3: Verse 118)
When you hear "You who believe," you should pay attention because what comes next
is a mandate from Allah. In fact, the phrase "You who believe" is the master key of faith.
How, you may ask? We answer that Allah does not issue the commands of "do" and "do not do" to
all humankind; He only addresses those who have willingly believed and declared faith in Him.
When you profess your faith in God, you entrust Him with your affairs.
Only then does He address you with "do this" and "do not do that." Allah does not impose on anyone.
Thus, each time you hear a verse beginning with "You who believe," know that Allah is
addressing you personally, and He is using your faith as the reason behind the command
or prohibition to follow. God does not assign any duties or prohibitions to the disbelievers
because they did not seek Him. He only invites them to think about all the wondrous creations
surrounding them. He reminds them that the sky, the earth, animals, night, day, and countless
other signs point toward a magnificent Creator. Listen to the following verse:
Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and earth, in the alternation of night and day,
in the ships that sail the seas with goods for people, in the water which God sends down from
the sky to give life to the earth when it has been barren, scattering all kinds of creatures over it,
in the changing of the winds and in the clouds that run their appointed courses between the sky
and earth, there are signs in all these for those who use their intellect. (2:164)
I fast the month of Ramadan not because it makes me experience the hunger of the poor but because
God, my trusted Lord, instructed me to do so: He says, "You who believe,
fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you."
If someone asks, "Why do you do the Wudu ablution before you pray?" The simple answer
is "My Lord instructed me to do so." He says, "You who believe, when you are about to pray,
wash your faces." In other words, your faith in God is the answer.
Let me clarify with an example. A man who is diagnosed with cancer is free to use his intellect
to research the best doctor and hospital for his treatment. However, once he chooses a doctor and
entrusts him or her to treat the disease, he should follow the doctor's orders even if some
of them do not make sense to him. If the doctor orders the man not to drink any orange juice,
then the man will obey because the command came from his trusted doctor. If the man argues and
wants to know the exact reason behind each and every order, then he has no faith in his doctor.
The only person who can argue with the doctor is someone who holds the same medical degree.
Now, suppose that a friend comes to the hospital to visit this sick man and asks, "I know you
love orange juice, so I brought you some. Why aren't you drinking any?" The patient answers,
"The doctor told me not to." This simple answer should satisfy everyone. So we ask:
shouldn't the answer "I do this act because Allah told me to" be enough to satisfy everyone?
When Allah commands you to pray, you should do so without delay,
not because it is a good form of exercise for the body or a chance to relax the mind.
No! You pray because the command is from the All-Wise Who knows what is best for you. More
importantly, the wisdom behind acts of worship can only be understood after performing them. You will
never know the true peace and tranquillity of the night prayers until you perform them.
Listen to God's words in verse 282 of surah Al-Baqarah; He says,
Be mindful of God, and He will teach you: He has full knowledge of everything.
Did you notice the order of events? You have to be mindful first, and only then will God teach
you the wisdom. In other words, do not search for a convincing reason before you obey God's orders;
start by doing the work, and the answer will come. Muslims did not know the reason behind the
prohibition of pork meat for almost fourteen centuries. Did that mean they should have
postponed the implementation of God's orders until science supported it? No. Believers do not delay.
We implement God's teachings and pass them to our children because they are from our Lord,
the All-Wise, All-Merciful. No matter how knowledgeable we become,
the collective human mind will never get close to God's knowledge and wisdom. He says:
You have only been given a little knowledge. (from 17:85)
Lastly, I would like to address a verse that comes up frequently when explaining the phrase
"You who believe." Listen to God's words in verse 136 of Chapter 4:
You who believe, believe in God and His Messenger and the Scripture He sent down to His Messenger.
Some people have wondered, how can God call onto the believers,
then order them to believe? We answer that Allah wants you to be steadfast in your faith
and perform the duties of Islam daily to the best of your ability. In essence, you should renew your
faith in God through your actions. So, when Allah asks you to do something you are already doing,
know that He wants you to remain steadfast because He loves your actions. Your circumstances are
constantly changing, so make your daily choices in the light of faith. God says, "You who believe,
believe in God and His Messenger and in the Scripture He sent down to His Messenger."
The prophet peace be upon him said: "Convey my teachings to the people
even if it is only a single verse. Please take a moment
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