Ramadan Lecture Series 1445 A.H.

Presented by Al-Sayyid Abdul Malik Badruddin Al-Houthi

Lecture Seventeen

Sunday, 21 Ramadan 1445 A.H. (31 March 2024 A.D.)

Through the Story of Adam in Surah Al-Isra, Taha, and Sad
(The Last Part)
The Destiny of Humans and Jinn Is Determined by Their Adherence to Divine Guidance!

I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the outcast.

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

Praise is to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. I believe that there is no god but Allah, the Sovereign and the Manifest Truth, and that Muhammad, our master, is His servant, Messenger, and Last Prophet.

O Allah! Confer Your salat and blessings upon Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad as You conferred Your salat and blessings upon Ibrahim and the Family of Ibrahim. You are Owner of Praise, Owner of Glory! And be pleased with Muhammad's good companions and all Your righteous servants and mujahidin.

O Allah! Guide us and grant us acceptance, for You are the Hearing, the Knowing; accept our repentance, for You are the Relenting and the Merciful.

Brothers and sisters, peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

We conclude in today's lecture the story of our father Adam (PBUH), the father of humankind. Seeking the guidance of blessed verses from surahs Al-Isra, Taha, and Sad, we continue the discussion that previously centred on verses from surahs Al-Baqarah, Al-A'raf, and Al-Hijr.

Allah (the Almighty) says in Surah Al-Isra, {'And when We said to the angels, "Prostrate to Adam," and they prostrated, except for Iblis. He said, "Should I prostrate to one You created from clay?"'}. We have previously discussed what this prostration means—that Allah intended it as an honour for Adam (PBUH). This act was both a tribute to Adam (PBUH) and an act of worship to Allah (the Almighty), as it embodied submission to His command and obedience to His will. The command included Iblis because he was among the ranks of the angels, worshipping Allah alongside them and residing in their midst. He was encompassed by the command, and it was clear to him that he was ordered to prostrate with them.

However, Iblis refused to prostrate and tried to justify his disobedience, though he had no valid reason to defy Allah's command. It was his arrogance that led to his refusal. {'He said, "Should I prostrate to one You created from clay?"'} His words reflected disdain for Adam (PBUH) and a claim of superiority—that he was too elevated in status and rank to prostrate in honour of Adam!

{'He said, “Do you see this one you honoured above me?"'} That is because he, like the rest of the angels, knew that the prostration meant honouring Adam (PBUH), but due to his pride, he refused to do so. {'He said, "Do you see this one you honoured above me? If you delay my end until the Day of Resurrection, I will certainly take hold of his descendants, except for a few"'}. Iblis considers that he was more deserving of that honour. Perhaps he wished and desired that the angels prostrate to honour him. He was also very angry that Allah (Glory be to Him) was angry with him and expelled him when he refused to obey Allah’s command to prostrate. This pride then turned into a very deep grudge, directed towards Adam and all his descendants. He wants to seek revenge on everyone and drag them with him to the Fire, the great loss.

{'If you delay my end until the Day of Resurrection, I will certainly take hold of his descendants, except for a few.'} Here he threatens and vows that he will strive for complete control over the descendants of Adam (PBUH), except for a few: {'except for a few'}. He threatens and vows arrogantly that he will strive to control the majority of humanity, then drag them with him to the fire of Jahannam, lowering them from the level of honour Allah has granted them. Iblis, driven by his grudge, seeks to make humans lose the honour they received and deny the blessings of Allah (Glory be to Him). The phrase {'I will certainly take hold of his descendants'} means exercising complete control over them and leading them with him to the Fire (We seek refuge with Allah).

{'Allah responded, “Go! Whoever of them follows you, Jahannam will surely be the reward for all of you, an ample reward”'}. {'Go!'}—He expelled him! Allah (Glory be to Him) also illustrated His self-sufficiency. He is the Praiseworthy, the Self-Sufficient, needing neither Adam’s descendants nor their worship or obedience. The consequences of good or evil fall solely on them. {'Whoever of them follows you'}—that is because Iblis has no authority over humans, nor can he compel them. He cannot force anyone to disobey Allah (Glory be to Him). His methods are limited to temptation, deception, and making sin appear appealing. Thus, the danger lies in people willingly choosing to follow Satan. {'Whoever of them follows you, Jahannam will surely be the reward for all of you, an ample reward'}—a fitting punishment, marked by terrible torment and disgrace (We seek refuge in Allah).

Iblis seeking to exploit various human capabilities and resources to lead humans astray!

{'And incite whoever you can of them with your voice, mobilise against them all your cavalry and infantry, share with them in wealth and children, and make them promises. But Satan promises them nothing but delusion. “You surely have no authority over My servants.” And sufficient is your Lord as a trustee'}.

{'And incite whoever you can of them with your voice, mobilise against them all your cavalry and infantry, share with them in wealth and children, and make them promises.'} This blessed verse reveals that Iblis moves to influence humans, employing their own capabilities and resources in the process of leading them astray, pursuing falsehood, committing sins, and distancing them from the teachings and guidance of Allah (Glory be to Him). Consequently, this has negative consequences for them. When they follow him, he turns a lot of their capabilities into tools for deception, tools for temptation, and tools to ensnare them in transgressions and sins.

The phrase, {'And incite whoever you can of them with your voice,'} indicates that the voice of Satan encompasses every sound that lures towards falsehood and corruption. Any voice that is used as a means of tempting people into falsehood or corruption, calling people towards corruption, and negatively influencing them to corrupt or mislead them, is considered a Satanic voice that serves Iblis. Indeed, he exploits it to mislead the children of Adam. The term {'incite'} refers to the temptation that drives people to respond to Satan and act foolishly, recklessly, and ignorantly according to his desires, far from prudence, wisdom, and the essence of faith, morals, and values. That Satanic temptation resulting from misleading and corrupting voices drives a person away from prudence, values, morals, principles, and faith towards foolishness, ignorance, and recklessness. As a result, he starts to respond to Satanic temptation.

{'Mobilise against them all your cavalry and infantry.'} It is a battle Satan is engaged in to mislead humans, using various means that vary from one person to another according to their vulnerabilities. As we spoke earlier, some are influenced most by fears in their lives, so he seeks to instil fear in them: He seeks to instil, for example, fear of poverty in them or to make them fear to take a position that leads to the pleasure of Allah (Glory be to Him) by exaggerating the consequences or challenges that may arise from such a position, or the sacrifices required. He also seeks to frighten them with threats from the enemies of Allah and those who stand with him. He might influence some people through anger; others through various desires or through aspects like seeking praise, love of power, and so forth.

{'Mobilise against them all your cavalry and infantry, share with them in wealth and children, and make them promises'}. When Satan resolved to mislead humanity during his respite granted by Allah, he did not have a pre-planned budget or specific material resources for his misleading effort, which requires resources. Instead, he chose to rely on humans themselves and their own capabilities, twisting them into tools for temptation and corruption. This allows him to share them: {'Share with them in wealth.'} Money acquired through forbidden means or spent on sin and corruption—whether earned illegally or squandered on sin—becomes a shared endeavour with Satan.

In today’s world, many nations, regimes, and organisations allocate vast budgets to lead people astray, mislead them, and corrupt them. For example, there are TV channels dedicated to moral decay, pumping out obscene content that corrupts souls and normalises depravity and vice. Billions are spent on such channels! Satan shares in any wealth that is funding the corruption and misleading of people.

The same applies to the human potential that serves Satan in any field, including the military field. Indeed, whenever people’s potentials or acquired skills are used in such a way that serves Satan, then this allows Satan to exploit such potentials and skills as a partner.

In the process of misleading and tempting people—which is a continuous process aimed at making a person consume his life, time, and effort in sins, transgressions, and bad and evil deeds—Satan relies on the very capabilities people possess. He does not need to secure such capabilities himself and work hard to provide massive budgets and heaps of money for that purpose.

Satan’s promises are nothing but delusion and deception!

Satan's promises are full of delusion: He promises happiness, comfort, dignity—the very things people aspire to, and even beyond what they hope for—but it is based on deception. We already read how he whispered to Adam about that tree: {'Your Lord has forbidden this tree to you only to prevent you from becoming angels or immortals'}. See how he presents an illusion—a vain deception to humans. Satan lures people with deception and false hopes, and on the Day of Resurrection, he breaks his promises to them: {'Indeed, Allah has made you a true promise. I too made you a promise, but I failed you. I did not have any authority over you. I only called you, and you responded to me'}.

{'You surely have no authority over My servants. And sufficient is your Lord as a trustee'}. Satan has no power to compel or force humans onto his path; he merely whispers and invites: {'I only called you, and you responded to me'}. He strives to deceive humanity with empty promises and relies on temptation, adornment, and other tactics to lure people astray.

Through the story of Adam (PBUH) in Surah Taha

Allah (Glory be to Him) says in Surah Taha, {'And We had given a directive to Adam before; however, he forgot, and We did not find in him a firm resolve'}. Allah (Glory be to Him) gave him clear instructions: He warned him against eating from that tree or approaching it, and He also warned Him about Satan and his intention to expel him from the garden. Therefore, there was no shortcoming on the part of Allah (Glory be to Him). This stands as one of Allah's ways of guiding His servants, clarifying matters for them, and establishing proof against them. There is no shortcoming whatsoever on the part of Allah. {'However, he forgot, and We did not find in him a firm resolve.'} Adam's determination weakened in adhering to those instructions, committing to them, and remaining cautious of Satan. He was influenced by the magnitude of Satan's whispers, lies, deceit, and false oaths.

{'And when We said to the angels, "Prostrate to Adam," and they prostrated, except Iblis; he refused. So We said, "O Adam, indeed this is an enemy to you and to your wife. Then let him not remove you from the garden so you would suffer"'}. This was a clear explanation to Adam (PBUH), as it made clear that Satan (Iblis) was an enemy to him and his wife, Hawwa (Peace be upon them). It also illustrated that Iblis was seeking to expel them from the garden and that was his goal from the beginning. {'So you would suffer'}—in other words, if he left that garden, where he resided and had all life necessities without hardship, he would suffer. He would move to a difficult state, facing harsh conditions where he must toil and exert great effort to secure essential needs, especially as he would be starting from scratch.

{'Here it is guaranteed that you will never go hungry or unclothed, nor will you suffer from thirst or heat'}. In that garden where he was, he would have all the necessary requirements of life:

• Food is abundant, which is one of the most fundamental human necessities—Allah said to them, {'And eat therefrom in abundance from wherever you will'}.
• {'And You will never go unclothed'}—similarly, clothing was provided, so he would not need to exert effort to obtain clothing.
• {'Nor will you suffer from thirst'}—water was also available and could be reached easily and without effort or hardship.
• {'Or heat'}—likewise, he would not need to toil under the sun, enduring its heat.

{'But Satan whispered to him, saying, "O Adam! Shall I show you the Tree of Immortality and such power as will never disappear?"'}. Satan went ahead with a plan to expel Adam and Hawwa (Peace be upon them) from that garden, using whispers: He whispered to them about the tree that Allah forbade and commanded them, {'But do not approach this tree.'} He used deception to present a false, baseless idea about that tree, as if there were a marvellous secret about it: {'O Adam! Shall I show you the Tree of Immortality}—he called it the tree of immortality, suggesting that whoever eats from it won't die but will live forever—{and such power as will never disappear?'} He claimed that this would give him everlasting dominion. He claimed this would make Adam live forever as a king over his descendants, continuing in this kingship without decline or any tiresome on the part of people—his reign would have all the necessary factors to remain strong and enduring.

That is the Satanic method: deceiving humans and using lies and deception to make things appealing. He whispered that to him about the tree and swore to him and Hawwa (Peace be upon them), as mentioned earlier in Surah Al-A'raf. In the end, {'And they ate from it'}—after persistent efforts by Iblis to influence them. {'And they ate from it. So their nakedness became apparent to them, and they began to fasten over themselves from the leaves of the garden'}. It became clear that the tree did not signify anything he had mentioned, and it possessed none of those moral qualities.

{'And if there should come to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance will neither go astray nor suffer. And whoever turns away from My reminder will certainly have a miserable life, and We will raise him on the Day of Resurrection blind. He will say, "My Lord, why have you raised me blind, although I used to see?" Allah will respond, “It is so, just as Our revelations came to you and you neglected them, so today you are neglected”'}. The very important summary of this lesson in Surah Taha is that everyone's destiny is linked to his attitude towards Allah's guidance and teachings. A person who follows Allah's teachings and adheres to them will triumph, succeed, and be saved; the result will be in his favour: {‘Whoever follows My guidance will neither go astray nor suffer’}—he will be secured from deviation and misery. {‘And whoever turns away from My reminder}—whoever turns from the guidance of Allah (Glory be to Him)—{will certainly have a miserable life, and We will raise him on the Day of Resurrection blind.'}

Iblis went astray and fell into wretchedness due to his disobedience; both misguidance and wretchedness befell him. Similarly, Adam faced hardship because of his disobedience, as he was expelled from the garden into the challenging conditions of earthly life. He started from scratch, toiling and striving to meet his needs with extra hardship. It was beyond the natural difficulties of life that one usually faces, as Allah says about that, {'O mankind, indeed you are laboring towards your Lord with exertion and will meet it'}. Human life inherently involves fatigue, toil, hardships, and difficulties.

However, there's a significant difference between the two cases:

• Experiencing hardships within the realm of beneficial, fruitful, and good activities that bear no negative consequences
• and facing unproductive hardships that have adverse effects and dangerous outcomes, with difficulties exceeding the normal challenges of life.

So Iblis went astray and suffered—both misguidance and misery came together for him. Adam, too, faced hardship by transitioning to a difficult life, starting from zero, as we have mentioned.

The destiny of humans and jinn is determined by their response to Allah’s guidance

The destiny of both humans and jinn is intertwined with their attitude towards the guidance of Allah (Glory be to Him). For those who follow the guidance that comes from Allah through His prophets, messengers, and scriptures, they are led away from error and misery and ultimately succeed. In contrast, turning away from this guidance results in a miserable, constricted life where true happiness is never experienced.

This hardship is not limited to material conditions. Some people may live a strained life due to extremely difficult circumstances and immense suffering—conditions of hunger, fear, and the lack of blessings and goodness. This is suffering that goes beyond ordinary hardship, the expected and natural toil of life; it is excessive suffering beyond that.

Some people may lead miserable lives but not because they lack material resources. In fact, they may have plenty of them, but they do not find true joy in what they have. Despite having substantial financial means and material resources, they do not experience happiness, inner peace, or mental comfort. Instead, they live lives filled with anxiety, turbulence, and tension. They neither perceive nor appreciate the value of their lives, feeling lost and as if their existence is utterly pointless. They lack that sense of calm and mental serenity, failing to recognise the human dignity and worth that Allah has granted to mankind, nor do they experience a sense of closeness to Allah, the Almighty. This is exactly what is happening in Western societies.

In many Western societies, even though material comforts and the necessities for a luxurious lifestyle are widely available, people still find themselves overwhelmed by anxiety and severe psychological distress. Many even resort to suicide, never truly feeling content with their circumstances. One major reason is that they commit numerous sins that ultimately bring suffering into their lives. For example, they do not enjoy family stability, as chaos and sinful behaviours erode any sense of security in their domestic lives, whether between husband and wife or between parents and children. Their reality is entirely different.

Their family life has become a kind of living hell—devoid of trust, reassurance, and bonds of mercy, solidarity, cooperation, and warmth. These essential values are missing from the lives of many, leaving them in a state of misery and suffering. Consequently, a large number of them turn to alcohol and drugs in an attempt to combat their overwhelming depression, only to end up suffering even more.

Thus, while the forms of misery and dismal living may vary from one society to another, they are ultimately the inevitable result of turning away from the guidance of Allah and His teachings. And as for the Hereafter, the result will be nothing but blindness and misguidance, leaving no means for a person to save himself.

Through the story of Adam (PBUH) in Surah Sad

Allah (Glory be to Him) says in Surah Sad, {' when your Lord said to the angels, "Verily, I am going to create a human being from clay. So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My soul, then fall down to him in prostration." So the angels prostrated, all of them entirely, except Iblis; he was arrogant and became among the disbelievers. said, "O Iblis, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My hands?"'}. Allah was the One Who initiated the creation of humankind. He is the Creator of man and the One Who began his creation. Man was not simply a creation made by someone else, nor did he naturally branch off from other creatures, as suggested by the evolution theory, which claims that man evolved from monkeys! That theory is completely baseless, contradicts established scientific truth, and clashes with Allah's revelations as well as with the traditional knowledge passed down through generations about the origins of human existence.أعلى النموذجأسفل النموذج

{' said, "O Iblis, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My hands?"'} Allah created man by His own power, initiating him as an independent being rather than as an offshoot of another creature or animal. {'Were you arrogant , or were you among the haughty?'}. He asked if the reason behind that was arrogance or his belief that he was too superior to bow down and obey Allah's command by prostrating in honour of Adam.

{'He said, “I am better than he is: You created me from fire and him from clay"'}. Yet this in no way justifies his actions. There is no excuse for anyone to defy Allah's commands or to arrogantly reject the truth. This is not a matter of personal pride to raise questions regarding who is better. Before Allah's commands, His guidance, and the truth from Allah (Glory be to Him), one must comply without ever resisting. His perspective was entirely misguided and false.

{'Allah commanded, "Then get out of it, for you are truly an outcast"'}. He became lost, miserable, exiled, and humiliated; his conceit and arrogance served him nothing. He gained no status or significance—he has neither importance nor value, and he is not respected by anyone. {'And indeed, upon you is My curse until the Day of Judgment'} (We seek refuge in Allah). In the previous lectures, we warned against many sins that incur Allah's curse: the expulsion from His mercy.

{'He appealed, "My Lord, then give me respite until the day of their resurrection." He replied, "Indeed, you are of those who have respite until the day of the appointed time" Satan then said, "By Your Glory, I will certainly mislead them all"'}. I swore by Allah's glory, fully aware that this is a serious oath. In fact, he deliberately chose to invoke this very oath. As we have mentioned before, Iblis does acknowledge Allah, His lordship, and His divinity. He believes in Allah his god and lord. He is addressing Allah with the phrase 'My Lord!' He acknowledges all these truths. He believes in the resurrection, Jannah, and Jahannam. Yet, merely knowing and acknowledging these truths did not suffice for him, nor did it elevate him to a state of purity, righteousness, or uprightness. Instead, he became overwhelmed by arrogance, which ultimately led him to this downfall.

{'Satan said, “By Your Glory! I will certainly mislead them all, except for Your sincere servants among them"'}. Here, he swears that he will strive to mislead the vast majority of human society. He is well aware, however, that there are some upon whom he can have no influence at all. That is why he immediately sets an exception: {'except for Your sincere servants among them'}. These are the people who have been purified of the inner flaws—the vulnerabilities that provide Satan with openings to affect human behaviour. As we have discussed earlier, there are various flaws in practical life that give rise to sins. Take for example stinginess, which is a kind of psychological flaw that can lead to denying others their rightful financial claims and withholding generosity. A stingy person might evade spending money and giving zakat and other forms of charitable giving. Similarly, greed is a dangerous flaw within a person that gives rise to numerous sins. Some other examples include spite, arrogance, and conceit.

Many things are considered very serious flaws in humans. When they grow, take root, develop within individuals, and dominate them, they give rise to many sins. However, faith-based instruction cures individuals and delivers them from those flaws. This is why Allah refers to His guidance (the Holy Quran) as a healing, saying, {'and healing for what is in the breasts'}. This is because the Holy Quran heals individuals from those moral and psychological flaws that affect them and make them vulnerable to Satanic influence.

{' said, "The truth , and the truth I say, I will surely fill up Jahannam with you and whoever follows you from among them, all together"‘} . This is an oath made by Allah, the Self-Sufficient (Glory be to Him). It does not trouble Him if many people turn to disobedience and align themselves with their enemy, Satan, who employs humans’ capabilities, turning them into extensions of his activities to tempt the rest. Consequently, the result is this: {'I will surely fill up Jahannam with you and whoever follows you from among them, all together'}—in all their types and forms. This is because there are many groups and formations that follow Satan through various causes and paths of misguidance and a variety of paths of corruption and corrupters. Their abode will be Jahannam where they will suffer punishment, misery, shame, and humiliation (We seek refuge with Allah).

The inevitable outcome for those who succumb to Satan’s whispers!

Therefore, Iblis is doomed to loss, so are those who follow him. We must take lessons from the blessed verses we have heard: We should understand that when a person turns away from the guidance of Allah (the Almighty) and succumbs to the whispers of Satan, the inevitable outcome is misguidance, misery, and loss, culminating in eternal loss in the fire of Jahannam.

In this life, a person has one of two options:

• Either he follows Allah's guidance and valuable teachings in this life;
• or he submits to the influence of Satan and his whispers, along with his followers, as the blessed verse from Surah Al-Isra, which we previously mentioned, states, {'And incite whoever you can of them with your voice, mobilise against them all your cavalry and infantry, share with them in wealth and children, and make them promises'}. Therefore, when speaking about the danger of Satan and guarding against his influence, one should realise that Satan now has extensions and formations among humans themselves working for him: {'Share with them in wealth and children, and make them promises.'} There are humans who move in the same path of Satan, linked to him. There is a human front of various formations that moves in the intellectual, cultural, political, economic, and military fields as an extension of Satan and his path.

That is why when we warn of Satan, we also warn of all his formations and extensions that strive to keep us away from Allah's guidance and teachings and to mislead and corrupt us. Such entities serve as extensions to Satan, and they all fall under that category in the Holy Quran: {'the devotees of Satan'}.

Therefore, we should realise that Satan, with all his formations among humans and jinn, as Allah affirmed in the Holy Quran, has no authority to compel us to sin, to deviate from the guidance of Allah (Glory be to Him), or to transgress against a divine command or prohibition: Allah (Glory be to Him), {'He certainly has no authority over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord. His authority is only over those who take him as a patron and those who associate partners with Him'}. A person becomes vulnerable to Satanic influence only when he chooses to follow the path of falsehood and distance himself from the rulership of Allah (the Almighty) in terms of His guidance and care and into the rulership of Satan by following him (Allah forbid).

We ask Allah (Glory be to Him) to grant us success in seeking what pleases Him. O Allah! Have mercy on our virtuous martyrs, heal the wounded among us, set free our captives, and grant us victory. You are the Hearer of Prayer!

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.