By Harun Yahya
Allah Says: "...And those who abuse believing men and women, when they have not merited it, bear the weight of slander and clear wrongdoing." (Surah al-Ahzab, 33:58)
Prologue
Slander is one of the ugly methods used by dishonest and immoral people whose interests have been damaged, and thus are hostile, angry, and full of ill-feeling toward the people with whom they are in competition or whom they desire to hurt. There are many forms of slander, from organized and systematic schemes to a few words squeezed in between the lines. In societies that are far removed from religious morality and so do not live by Allah’s will, slander is frequently used to put others in a bad light.
Most of the people who have probably been slandered to one degree or another or have witnessed others being slandered.
This article is not concerned with the little slanders that individuals hurl at each other. Rather, it deals with an altogether different type of slander: that used by those who do not believe in religion to harm believers, whether physically or spiritually.
The Qur’an reveals that all of Allah’s messengers and other devout people who called their societies to abide by the Qur’an’s morality stood accused of avarice, madness, arrogance, theft, and fornication. Yusuf’s (as) life was full of such examples of slander, as were those of Musa (as), Sulayman (as), and even Prophet Muhammad (saas). Likewise Maryam, the mother of `Isa (as); ‘Aishah, the wife of our Prophet (saas); and his Companions were all exposed to slander. These people always displayed exemplary patience and reliance upon Allah when confronted with slander, disregarded the unbelievers’ such efforts, and continued to live by the morality ordained by Allah and invite people to the righteous path.
No doubt, such determination is exemplary. Allah reveals: “Or did you suppose that you would enter the Garden without facing the same as those who came before you?” (Surat al-Baqarah, 2: 214). In other words, it is one of Allah’s laws that all Muslims, regardless of when and where they live, will be slandered and pressured to abandon the Qur’an’s morality. In another verse, Allah reveals that all believers will hear hurtful words from the unbelievers and will be tested in their possessions and in themselves:
“You will be tested in your wealth and in yourselves, and you will hear many abusive words from those given the Book before you and from those who associate [others with Me]. But if you are steadfast and guard against evil, which is the most resolute course to take.” (Surah Al ‘Imran, 3:186)
Every righteous and devout believer who encounters such a situation desires to display the same patience, trust in Allah, sincerity, and determination as those earlier believers. Therefore, they are not shocked or saddened, nor do they give way to despair, when the tests mentioned in the Qur’an are sent to them. Instead, to the surprise of the slanderers, they show even greater zeal and joy.
Likewise, when another believer is slandered, his or her fellow believers receive it with patience and zeal, and they rely upon Allah. They believe that, provided that he or she shows patience, their slandered brother or sister will earn Allah’s mercy and bounty in this world, as well as our Lord’s good pleasure and Paradise in the Hereafter.
There is a great benefit in revealing another aspect of slander: Unlike other slanders, the logic of “If you throw enough dirt, some of it will stick” does not work on believers. Regardless of its apparent severity, in the end it will be known that these devout people have a pure and good character. Both Maryam and Yusuf (as) once stood accused of illicit relations, even though they are known to history as symbols of chastity. Yusuf’s (as) brothers also accused him of being a thief, but within his lifetime he was recognized as a very trustworthy person and thus was appointed over the stores of Egypt.
All of this shows us a very important reality: It is Allah’s will that every plan aimed against believers is destined to be stillborn, and that every piece of slander will come to nothing. Every hurtful word will return to its speaker in the form of punishment. In other words, every speech, deed, and cruelty directed against believers will cause the slanderer to feel deep regret and great suffering in both this world and in the Hereafter. Allah reveals the fate awaiting those who slander His messengers and devout servants:
“As for those who abuse Allah and His messenger, Allah’s curse is on them in this world and in the Hereafter. He has prepared a humiliating punishment for them. And those who abuse believing men and women, when they have not merited it, bear the weight of slander and clear wrongdoing.” (Surat al-Ahzab, 33:57-58)
The Unbelievers’ Hostility
Throughout history, Allah’s messengers have been made responsible for conveying His message to their people as well as enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong. In times when there are no prophets among the people, believers who have a strong and sincere faith have taken it upon themselves to perform these tasks in order to earn Allah’s good pleasure, mercy, and Paradise. However, throughout history, such people have been subjected to verbal and physical abuse and often threatened with death. Since they have no worldly ambition, they do not approach anyone out of self-interest. On the contrary, they are selfless, modest, and humble. However, they still face hostility and attacks from some people. Allah reveals the identity of these people in the Qur’an, and explains why they do what they do by providing examples from the past.
The Qur’an reveals that the underlying reason for this hostility is their hostility toward Allah and His religion. Due to their vanity, they do not want to acknowledge the existence of the All-Powerful Creator Who created them, gave them life when they were nothing, and then sustained them with endless means of sustenance. They choose denial because of their zeal for life and preference of this world over the Hereafter, and because they seek to escape the responsibility that believing in Allah’s religion will bring upon them. They do not wish to feel answerable to anyone and so ignore the fact that one day they will be brought to justice for their evil, immoral, and sinful deeds. For these reasons, they perceive all who remind them of Allah, His religion, and the Day of Judgment as their enemy.
As a consequence of this hostility, they either try to hinder the believers or try to force them to return to their former religion. As we learn from the Qur’an, people who are far removed from the Qur’an’s morality use various methods to achieve their ambitions. For example, they plot, scheme, and conspire against believers; torture them; and try to hurt them with mockery or slander. By slandering believers, they try to derail them and wear them down. Allah reveals that such hostile efforts have never succeeded:
If they come upon you, they will be your enemies and stretch out their hands and tongues against you with evil intent. They would dearly love [for] you to become unbelievers. (Surat al-Mumtahana, 60:2)
The source of the slanders examined in this book is those who, in the words of the Qur’an, “stretch out their hands and tongues against believers with evil intent.” Over the coming pages, we will see that slander, which has been handed down from generation to generation over thousands of years as if it were an inheritance, is the method used by those who wish to spread immorality and disorder in the world. It is used against religious, sincere, and moral people, as in the cases of Prophets Nuh (as), Sulayman (as), Musa (as), Muhammad (saas), and every messenger in between, not to mention all of the devout people who were with them. In recent history, the great scholar Bediuzzaman Said Nursi was subjected to this type of bullying as well.
However, no slanderer in history, including Pharaoh and Nimrod, has ever achieved his or her goal, and neither have the people who sought to hurt the loved ones of our Prophet (saas) by slandering them. Allah has always cleared His righteous servants of the suspicions cast on them, as we learn in the account of Musa (as):
O you who believe! Do not be like those who abused Musa. Allah absolved him of what they said, and he was highly honored with Allah. O you who believe! Fear [and respect] Allah, and speak the right word. (Surat al-Ahzab, 33:69-70)
Just as all past slanderers against Muslims met with no success, they will not succeed either today or in the future.
®srikandeh
Allah Says: "...And those who abuse believing men and women, when they have not merited it, bear the weight of slander and clear wrongdoing." (Surah al-Ahzab, 33:58)
Prologue
Slander is one of the ugly methods used by dishonest and immoral people whose interests have been damaged, and thus are hostile, angry, and full of ill-feeling toward the people with whom they are in competition or whom they desire to hurt. There are many forms of slander, from organized and systematic schemes to a few words squeezed in between the lines. In societies that are far removed from religious morality and so do not live by Allah’s will, slander is frequently used to put others in a bad light.
Most of the people who have probably been slandered to one degree or another or have witnessed others being slandered.
This article is not concerned with the little slanders that individuals hurl at each other. Rather, it deals with an altogether different type of slander: that used by those who do not believe in religion to harm believers, whether physically or spiritually.
The Qur’an reveals that all of Allah’s messengers and other devout people who called their societies to abide by the Qur’an’s morality stood accused of avarice, madness, arrogance, theft, and fornication. Yusuf’s (as) life was full of such examples of slander, as were those of Musa (as), Sulayman (as), and even Prophet Muhammad (saas). Likewise Maryam, the mother of `Isa (as); ‘Aishah, the wife of our Prophet (saas); and his Companions were all exposed to slander. These people always displayed exemplary patience and reliance upon Allah when confronted with slander, disregarded the unbelievers’ such efforts, and continued to live by the morality ordained by Allah and invite people to the righteous path.
No doubt, such determination is exemplary. Allah reveals: “Or did you suppose that you would enter the Garden without facing the same as those who came before you?” (Surat al-Baqarah, 2: 214). In other words, it is one of Allah’s laws that all Muslims, regardless of when and where they live, will be slandered and pressured to abandon the Qur’an’s morality. In another verse, Allah reveals that all believers will hear hurtful words from the unbelievers and will be tested in their possessions and in themselves:
“You will be tested in your wealth and in yourselves, and you will hear many abusive words from those given the Book before you and from those who associate [others with Me]. But if you are steadfast and guard against evil, which is the most resolute course to take.” (Surah Al ‘Imran, 3:186)
Every righteous and devout believer who encounters such a situation desires to display the same patience, trust in Allah, sincerity, and determination as those earlier believers. Therefore, they are not shocked or saddened, nor do they give way to despair, when the tests mentioned in the Qur’an are sent to them. Instead, to the surprise of the slanderers, they show even greater zeal and joy.
Likewise, when another believer is slandered, his or her fellow believers receive it with patience and zeal, and they rely upon Allah. They believe that, provided that he or she shows patience, their slandered brother or sister will earn Allah’s mercy and bounty in this world, as well as our Lord’s good pleasure and Paradise in the Hereafter.
There is a great benefit in revealing another aspect of slander: Unlike other slanders, the logic of “If you throw enough dirt, some of it will stick” does not work on believers. Regardless of its apparent severity, in the end it will be known that these devout people have a pure and good character. Both Maryam and Yusuf (as) once stood accused of illicit relations, even though they are known to history as symbols of chastity. Yusuf’s (as) brothers also accused him of being a thief, but within his lifetime he was recognized as a very trustworthy person and thus was appointed over the stores of Egypt.
All of this shows us a very important reality: It is Allah’s will that every plan aimed against believers is destined to be stillborn, and that every piece of slander will come to nothing. Every hurtful word will return to its speaker in the form of punishment. In other words, every speech, deed, and cruelty directed against believers will cause the slanderer to feel deep regret and great suffering in both this world and in the Hereafter. Allah reveals the fate awaiting those who slander His messengers and devout servants:
“As for those who abuse Allah and His messenger, Allah’s curse is on them in this world and in the Hereafter. He has prepared a humiliating punishment for them. And those who abuse believing men and women, when they have not merited it, bear the weight of slander and clear wrongdoing.” (Surat al-Ahzab, 33:57-58)
The Unbelievers’ Hostility
Throughout history, Allah’s messengers have been made responsible for conveying His message to their people as well as enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong. In times when there are no prophets among the people, believers who have a strong and sincere faith have taken it upon themselves to perform these tasks in order to earn Allah’s good pleasure, mercy, and Paradise. However, throughout history, such people have been subjected to verbal and physical abuse and often threatened with death. Since they have no worldly ambition, they do not approach anyone out of self-interest. On the contrary, they are selfless, modest, and humble. However, they still face hostility and attacks from some people. Allah reveals the identity of these people in the Qur’an, and explains why they do what they do by providing examples from the past.
The Qur’an reveals that the underlying reason for this hostility is their hostility toward Allah and His religion. Due to their vanity, they do not want to acknowledge the existence of the All-Powerful Creator Who created them, gave them life when they were nothing, and then sustained them with endless means of sustenance. They choose denial because of their zeal for life and preference of this world over the Hereafter, and because they seek to escape the responsibility that believing in Allah’s religion will bring upon them. They do not wish to feel answerable to anyone and so ignore the fact that one day they will be brought to justice for their evil, immoral, and sinful deeds. For these reasons, they perceive all who remind them of Allah, His religion, and the Day of Judgment as their enemy.
As a consequence of this hostility, they either try to hinder the believers or try to force them to return to their former religion. As we learn from the Qur’an, people who are far removed from the Qur’an’s morality use various methods to achieve their ambitions. For example, they plot, scheme, and conspire against believers; torture them; and try to hurt them with mockery or slander. By slandering believers, they try to derail them and wear them down. Allah reveals that such hostile efforts have never succeeded:
If they come upon you, they will be your enemies and stretch out their hands and tongues against you with evil intent. They would dearly love [for] you to become unbelievers. (Surat al-Mumtahana, 60:2)
The source of the slanders examined in this book is those who, in the words of the Qur’an, “stretch out their hands and tongues against believers with evil intent.” Over the coming pages, we will see that slander, which has been handed down from generation to generation over thousands of years as if it were an inheritance, is the method used by those who wish to spread immorality and disorder in the world. It is used against religious, sincere, and moral people, as in the cases of Prophets Nuh (as), Sulayman (as), Musa (as), Muhammad (saas), and every messenger in between, not to mention all of the devout people who were with them. In recent history, the great scholar Bediuzzaman Said Nursi was subjected to this type of bullying as well.
However, no slanderer in history, including Pharaoh and Nimrod, has ever achieved his or her goal, and neither have the people who sought to hurt the loved ones of our Prophet (saas) by slandering them. Allah has always cleared His righteous servants of the suspicions cast on them, as we learn in the account of Musa (as):
O you who believe! Do not be like those who abused Musa. Allah absolved him of what they said, and he was highly honored with Allah. O you who believe! Fear [and respect] Allah, and speak the right word. (Surat al-Ahzab, 33:69-70)
Just as all past slanderers against Muslims met with no success, they will not succeed either today or in the future.
®srikandeh
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