Dr Osama Al-Azhari
Minister of Awqaf
(Charitable Endowments)
Dear readers, honourable Egyptian people, and all daughters and sons of the Arab and Muslim nations, welcome to a new journey with the Ever-Glorious Qur’an in which we delve into the depths of part seventeen of the Ever-Glorious Qur’an.
We extract pearls from its treasures, true guidance from its light and lofty values and great principles from its eloquence which Allah Almighty has placed within it.
The first verse at which we pause is the saying of Allah Almighty: “And We have made the heaven as a roof well-preserved, and (yet still) from its signs they are veering away.” [Qur’an 21: 32].
Whoever reflects upon the Book of Allah Almighty will find a great number of Qur’anic verses that call upon the Muslim intellect to turn its gaze toward the sky.
The Qur’an sometimes speaks of the moon and its phases. Other times, it speaks of the sun, even linking worship itself to the movement of the sun, as Allah says: “Keep up the prayer at the sinking of the sun to the dusk of the night and (the reading) of the Qur’an at dawn; surely the reading of the Qur’an at dawn has been witnessed.” [Qur’an 17: 78].
Allah Almighty also directs attention to the stars in the sky, saying: “And way marks; and by the star they are guided.” [Qur’an16: 16]. At times, He invites you to repeatedly gaze at the sky, saying: “Have they not then looked at the heaven above them, how We have built it, and adorned it, and (how) in no way has it any rifts?” [Qur’an 50: 6].
It is as though Allah Almighty is saying to you: How many signs have I placed in the sky? How many proofs, evidence, wonders, and miracles have I deposited there? But sadly, you turn away from this astonishing, precise, perfectly ordered universe, mighty in its creation and craftsmanship.
You instead become preoccupied with the narrow confines of your own worries, with anger, or with problems between yourself and your neighbours, or between yourself and your colleagues at work.
Thus, Allah Almighty directs the Muslim intellect to rise above, to transcend, and to elevate itself beyond the small and constricted concerns of daily life. He directs our gaze to the heavens so that we may reflect, create, discover, and invent.
When the Muslim intellect was at its clearest and most creative –during the building of civilisation– it grasped this Qur’anic signal and began to think in this way.
How many great brilliant Muslim scholars of astronomy were born in our history! How many distinguished scientists emerged in the mathematical sciences! How many astronomical observatories were established in Baghdad, Cairo, Kairouan, and Damascus!
The astrolabe was invented, astronomical tables were compiled, and stars were given names.
One of the great scientists of physics, astronomy, and space science, George Nelson, once said: “During the golden age of Muslim civilisation, Muslims laid the foundations of modern civilisation, in mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and engineering.” He also said: “I spend entire sleepless nights thinking: how many secrets of the universe could this Muslim civilisation have discovered, but it suddenly came to a halt – ceasing to produce civilisation and becoming absorbed in the burdens of daily life and subsistence.”
I also recall the words of the great genius Dr Ahmed Zewail, who said: “When I went forward to receive the Nobel Prize, I said in my speech: Today, I deserve the Nobel Prize.
But if we were to go back several centuries in history, we would find five hundred or six hundred Muslim scholars, each of whom deserved a Nobel Prize for an invention or discovery he produced and immortalised.”
The second reflection is with the saying of Allah Almighty: “And Dawud (David) and Sulayman (Solomon) as they gave judgment concerning the tillage, as the sheep of the people roamed therein, and We were witnesses to their judgment. So, We made Sulayman to understand it.” [Qur’an 21: 78-79].
The Lord of the Worlds –Glorious is His Majesty– granted our master Sulayman understanding and illuminated his intellect so that he might grasp the case presented to him and to his father, our master Dawud. Never imagine that this distinction granted to Sulayman (PBUH) implies any deficiency or shortcoming in the status of his noble father, the Prophet David (PBUH).
Each of them was granted judgment and knowledge, but Allah favoured one understanding over another.
The scholar Abbas Mahmoud al-Aqqad authored a book entitled “al-Tafkir Farndah Islamiyyah (Thinking Is an Islamic Obligation.)” Thus, we say: Thinking is an Islamic obligation, understanding is an Islamic obligation, and civilisation itself is an Islamic obligation.
I myself wrote eleven articles in Al-Ahram newspaper under the title: “Civilisation Is an Islamic Obligation.”
The third reflection in this part is concerning the saying of Allah Almighty: “And in no way have We sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.” [Qur’an 21: 107].
This means to all people – Muslims and Christians alike; to humans, jinn, and angels; to animals, inanimate objects, and all that exists.
When we reflect upon this verse “And in no way have We sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.” and return to the beginning of the Ever-Glorious Qur’an, we find Allah saying: “Praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds.” [Qur’an 1: 2].
It is as though Allah is saying: Pay attention! From the very first part of the Qur’an, there is a connection that binds you to all worlds – a moral law that links you to all creation. This law is: “And in no way have We sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.”
The fourth reflection in this part is on the saying of Allah Almighty: “Have you not seen that to Allah prostrate themselves whoever are in the heavens, and whoever are in the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the mountains, and the trees, and (all) beasts.” [Qur’an 22: 18].
This is an invitation to contemplation, to releasing the intellect so it may observe, soar across the horizons of the sky, and reflect upon the universe created by Allah Almighty.
The fifth reflection is on the saying of Allah Almighty: “And announce to mankind the Pilgrimage; they shall come up (hurriedly) to you on foot.” [Qur’an 22: 27].
Here, the Lord of the Worlds commands our master Ibrahim to raise the foundations of the Sacred House and to proclaim the pilgrimage. People will come from every place and will witness benefits for themselves.
Consider this powerful illustration of people’s attachment to the Sacred House and the benefits Allah promised them:
On the African continent, one or two months before the Hajj season, a state of fervent movement and tireless activity would begin.
Caravans would depart from all African tribes and regions, each pilgrim dreaming of reaching the Land of Kinana (Egypt) to accompany the Egyptian Mahmal (ceremonial caravan) that departs from Egypt carrying the covering of the Holy Ka’aba, Egypt’s gift to the Sacred House.
Thus emerged a route known as the African Pilgrims’ Path, alongside another route known as the Maghrebi Pilgrims’ Path, which began in Marrakech in the far west of Morocco.
Pilgrims from West Africa would join this Maghrebi route along the coast, passing through Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. This route alone could include up to fifty thousand pilgrims, giving rise to trade, social interaction, and even intermarriage among people.
As for the African Pilgrims’ Path, it began at the sources of the Nile – from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. All would travel northward along the Nile, stopping at the city of Qus.
Some would cross the desert and the sea towards the Sacred House, while others would continue to Cairo, joining the Maghrebi pilgrims and the Egyptian Mahmal, and then proceed together to the Sacred House.
How many markets flourished, how many trading cities arose, how many goods were exchanged, how many profitable trades were concluded, and how many households were sustained – all by the blessing of this divine command: “That they may witness (things) profitable to them!”
In summary, we began with the sky and its signs, the celestial bodies moving through it, the concept of understanding, the message of mercy to all worlds, and the pilgrimage. Although Hajj is a sacred ritual, an act of worship and an obligation in Islam, it also resulted in countless forms of benefit – economic prosperity, flourishing trade, and the opening of livelihoods.
We ask Allah Almighty to widen our understanding, so that we may behold His signs in the expanses of the heavens; to grant us understanding; to make us a mercy to all worlds, following the example of our Prophet (PBUH) and to make us a source of benefit for all creation.
Until we meet again, stay noble; stay safe.
