To Be Worthy Successors

God the Almighty has given us – in the Qur’an – a lot of recorded-stories (qasas) about different peoples before us. All stories in the Qur’an which were told to us contain important lessons: “Indeed, in the stories of those people there is a lesson for those who are endowed with insight…” (12:111).

In the Qur’an (Surah Yunus) we are told that God has destroyed generations, in ancient times, because they have been doing wrong deeds, and because they had no belief (or no real belief) in God:

“And indeed We have destroyed generations before you, when they did evil, and their messengers brought them all evidence of the truth, but they were not the ones who would believe. This is how We punish the guilty people. Then We made you successors in the land, so that We see how you would act” (10:13-14).

What is the lesson we can get from these two ayat?  Let us first have a glance at the people who listened or read  these ayat during the time of their revelation to the Prophet (may God’s blessings to him), and these ayat, or even the whole Surah  revealed before Hijrah to Medinah. This means that these two ayat were inciting them to prepare themselves to become the competent successors in the land,  by performing all God’s ordinances as good as possible, to engage themselves to a deep faith in God, to be convinced that they were created and established on earth to be good vicegerents and to be good successors of those ancient generations before them. And when they went to Yathrib (later on called Al-Madinah) God revealed Surah Al-Baqarah where they find, in ayah 30, an information from God as follows: “Behold! When your Lord said to the angels: I am going to create on earth a vicegerent …” .  From this ayah they became more sure that the aim of their being on earth is to be vicegerents of God. They are given the power of initiative with independent actions which should reflect the will of God, their Principal. And in ayah 31 “And He imparted unto Adam the names of all things …”.

“The names of all things” means, as Muhammad Asad put it, the faculty of logical definition and, thus, of conceptual thinking. And it means also, as Abdullah Ali Yusuf put it, the inner nature and qualities of things, and things here would include feelings. These qualities were put by God into the nature of human being so that he obtains the power of disposition as the vicegerent of God on earth to be tested.

As for us today, those two ayat certainly contain an excellent lesson so that this generation of Muslims should prepare themselves to become good successors. This miserable Ummah needs a great reformation. The new generation should be guided to perform properly the ordinances of God; they should act their good deeds with the full belief that God is watching their every step in all domains of their life, and they should deepen their belief in God.

In the Collection of Hadith by Imam Muslim, he reported that the Blessed Prophet Muhammad used to say in the opening of his prayers the following dou’a: “I am directing myself toward the One who created the heavens and the earth, sincerely submitting myself, as I am not among those who associate others with God. Indeed, my acts of worship (=rituals), and my living, and my dying, are all for God, the Lord of the Worlds. No associate has He. And to this, I have been commanded, and I am the first of those who submit”.

Let us contemplate on this. Why does a Muslim say this in the prayer, before Surah Al-Fatiha?. I think this is to assure himself of what really is  his aim during this act. What is the aim of his prayer,  and of his living in this World?

If we go back to the Qur’an, Surah Al-An’am, we will find the following: “Say: Behold, my Lord has guided me onto a straight way through an ever-true-faith – the way of Abraham, who was a hanif (a one who turned away from all that is false) , and was not of those who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him. Say: Behold, my prayer, and all my acts of worship (=rituals), and my living, and my dying, are all for God, the Lord of the Worlds. No associate has He. And to this, I have been commanded, and I am the first of those who submit. Say: Am I, then, to seek a Lord/Sustainer other than God, when He is the Lord/Sustainer of all things? And whatever (wrong) any human being commits rests upon himself alone; and no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another’s burden. And, in time, unto your Lord you all must return; and then He will make you (truly) understand all that on which you were wont to differ. For, He it is who has made you (His) agents, inheritors of the earth, and has raised some of you by degrees above others, so that He might try you by means of what He has bestowed upon you. Verily your Lord is swift in retribution; yet, behold, He is indeed Much-forgiving, a Dispenser of Grace”  (6: 163 – 165).

And, if we contemplate on those ayat in the latest paragraph of Surah An-An’am, we will find that we, as was the Blessed Prophet, are the followers of the Great Prophet Ibrahim. In the same Surah, we find the true story of Ibrahim’s struggle in establishing a way of life aiming to become a real God’s agent (khalifah) on earth. For that, the Great Prophet Ibrahim explained to his people, by clear reasonable dialog that we have to submit only to the One God, and to put all our living for Him alone (see Surah Al-An’am: 74-81).

Why Ibrahim? Let us see also God’s decree: “Verily, Ibrahim was a man who combined within himself all virtues, devoutly obeying God’s will, turning away from all that is false, and not being of those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God, for he was always grateful for the blessings granted by Him who had elected him and guided him onto a straight way. And so We gave him in this world good, and in the Hereafter he will indeed be among the righteous. Then We revealed to you (o Muhammad), (saying): Follow the creed of Abraham, a hanif (who turned away from all that is false), and was not of those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God” (16:120-123).

The Great Prophets Ibrahim and Muhammad (God’s blessings on them) had devoted themselves completely to God and, each of them, had the ambition to be the first one to submit himself to God, the first in achieving success in his life as the vice-gerent of God on earth.

This ambition should be seeked by every Muslim: his prayer should be a real means in his contact or communication with God, the Almighty, and not just an ordinary tradition to be acted. All rituals he does should be really for God’s seek. All his life, all parts of time in his life should be used for achieving God’s contentment.

And if we reflect on the last ayah of Surah Al-An’am ((He it is Who has made you (His) agents, inheritors of the earth, and has raised some of you by degrees above others, so that He might try you by means of what He has bestowed upon you)). This means that we are in fact in competition during our life. Each of us has been granted certain gifts and talents. The competition may realize a lot of developments and great achievements. These achievements will be for the benefit of individuals and societies in this life, and for the successful and great benefit for pious individuals, who succeeded in performing the ordinances of God exclusively, in the life to come.