The Throne, and Six Short Stories of the Prophets

Allah (swt) then mentions a number of other matters. From verse 54, briefly: Allah (swt) speaks of certain cosmic notions, of the creating of the heavens and the earth in six days. Then Allah (swt) speaks of the ʿArsh, which is a great symbol of His might. For in a hadith the world, set beside the kursī alone, the footstool, is as a ring cast into a vast desert. A ring in a vast desert: there is no comparison. Such is the size, the physical size, of the ʿArsh. And that ʿArsh is the roof of the highest Paradise — the penthouse. So great is it; there is much real estate up there. It should be remembered that the last man out of the Fire, the greatest sinner in the world who is at length forgiven, will have up to ten times the size of this world. There is much real estate up there which Allah has kept for us. Allah (swt) then mentions a number of other matters.

And finally, the last few sections of this chapter concern the various prophets. Simply different prophets, and told as short accounts — brief anecdotes from some five or six prophets, that we may learn from them. The prophets, then: the first begins at verse 59.

Laqad arsalnā Nūḥan. So it speaks of Nūḥ, very briefly — no long account, and no detailed one. Nūḥ, then Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Lūṭ, Shuʿayb and Mūsā. And what are the wisdoms in it? One may go through it oneself and reflect upon them. The wisdom is to show that most of these prophets were harmed by their people, opposed by their people, slandered and given much difficulty. So although we are not prophets, we too may expect to be harmed by people — and especially as a man becomes more practising. It is a sunnah of the prophets, so to put it. There are many women who do not wear the hijab, and when they begin to wear it, the worst time is the beginning, the first few weeks. Their own friends, their own families: what are you doing? They begin to feel guilty. They begin to feel guilty, and so they say, in effect: why are you doing this, you are making us feel guilty — though they would not put it so. A man will meet with much opposition. Remember only that this is the way of the prophets. One does it for one's īmān. It is therefore almost a given that some difficulty will come. May Allah grant us ʿāfiyah. But difficulty will come for one's faith, and that is simply the ordinary way of Allah with those who do good and who believe. That is one of the benefits.