"The thirst of a knowledge seeker is unquenchable."
- Habib Ali Zaenal Abidin al-Hamid
Masjid Mu'adz bin Jabal
28 Dec 2012
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Habib Ali expounded on the meanings of the first six verses of Surah Al-Imran.
"Alif Lam Mim
Allah: There is no God but He, the Alive, the All-Sustaining.
He has revealed to you the Book with the Truth,
confirming what has been before it,
and has sent down the Torah and the Injil
earlier to give guidance to mankind
and has sent down the Furqan (the Criterion of right and wrong).
Surely those who have rejected the verses of Allah,
for them there is a severe punishment.
Allah is Mighty, the Lord of Retribution.
Surely, Allah is such that nothing is hidden from Him,
neither in the earth nor in the sky.
He is the One who shapes you in the womb, as He likes.
There is no God but He, the Mighty the Wise."
Habib Ali said: Indeed it is Allah who gives life. All that a man could do is put his seed in a place. And Allah grants life to the seed. It is not man who makes it alive. Man (human) do not live on their own essence (zat). Allah is Qayyum. Everything stands on that attribute of His. Everything relies on Allah. We cannot depend on our intellect, body, power, wealth, except Allah. He may withdraw anything from us because everything is His.
Notice that in the earlier part of the verse, Allah refers to the Qur'an as a kitab - meaning that which is compiled. Also take note that a different verb is used when Allah refers to the descent of the Qur'an and both Taurat and Injil. For the Qur'an, the term nazala is used, meaning there were many revelations spanning a period of 23 years. Whereas for Taurat and Injil - anzala was used - meaning its descent happened just once. What's the wisdom behind it? That the Qur'an took a longer period of time?
The Qur'an is multi-functional. It serves as a remedy for a sick/despondent heart, as a cure for one's behavior, beliefs (aqidah) and so on. Prophet Muhammad [s.a.w] turned to the Qur'an when he was feeling down. There is a verse in the Qur'an where Allah acknowledged the Prophet's despair: "Their words have made you crestfallen. Don't you be sad..."
Later in the verses, the term Furqan was used instead of kitab. Furqan means a tool/means to separate the haq from batil - the right from wrong. Why? Because Allah knew that the Qur'an would be challenged. But Allah is Aziz. He cannot be defeated.
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Upon concluding his weekly tausiyah last Friday and prior to introducing Habib Kazim al-Saqqaf who was the guest of honor that evening. Habib Ali said: "We're grateful to be meeting Habib Kazim again. We should take advantage of his presence and his knowledge. We should heed the advice Sayyidina Luqman al-Hakim gave to his son: 'O son, sit with the ulama, bring your knees close to theirs.'
Indeed, Allah will enliven a person's heart with knowledge, just as He moistens the earth with rain. Vegetation springs forth as a result of the rain. Similarly, when you sit with ulama, you will be granted knowledge InshaAllah. Just sitting in their company will give you barakah, what more learning from them.
We are grateful that Habib Kazim is visiting us. We are thirsty for his knowledge for he has learned from many prominent scholars in and outside of Hadramaut. We are all seekers of knowledge. And none can be satiated with knowledge. The more we acquire knowledge the more thirsty we become. That is what's special about knowledge. Food and drinks may satisfy us but not knowledge. Knowledge makes our thirst unquenchable."
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To read notes on Habib Kazim's tausiyah click below:
http://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2012/12/habib-kadhim-al-saqqaf-at-masjid-muadz.html
Pic credit: Darul Murtadza
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