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Clarification :Heela of Bani Israel

Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dearest Brother Burhanbhai,

Salaam alei kum

Bhai wants to clarify regarding this loop hole: What is wrong if they closed the lagoon area on friday and came back on sunday. They still did not work on the day of Sabbath.

Jazak Allah Kheir

Your brother,

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Heela of Bani Israel

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Firstly, they did not close the lagoon on Friday…. But they closed it on Saturday after the fish had come into the lagoon! Thus, they broke their covenant of not doing any work for material benefits on a Saturday.

What they would do is close the sea area of the lagoon where there were abundant fish on a Saturday, so that the fish could not leave the lagoon area; and then catch them on the next day! In their arrogance and ignorance, they used to boast that they have followed the letter of the law and did not work on a Saturday; and how they were able to circumvent the laws of Allah Subhanah!!!

Allah had taken a solemn covenant from the Bani Israel that they would not do any work for material benefits on the Day of Saturday, and subsequently when they started stretching their covenant, Allah Subhanah tested them for their disbelief.

The way Allah tested them was that on other days of the week, there would be no fish at all in the sea, but come Saturday, there would beabundant fish. So the Bani Israel built something like a canal or a lagoon, which had a sort of a closure at its opening from the sea. They would open this enclosure on the other days of the week, and when on Saturday the fish came into this lagoon, they would block the enclosure so that that the fish could not get back to the seas. They would not collect the fish on Saturday, but waited till Sunday to go and collect the fish; and thus although they did not fully break their covenant of not actually working on a Saturday; they played with the terms of the covenant they had made with Allah Subhanah to their advantage.

Such stretching of the laws may be allowed as a ‘loop-hole’ in the laws of this world; but in the obedience Allah Subhanah Commands from the believers, such stretching of the law would be absolutely illegal and a grave sin. To be obedient in the sight of Allah Subhanah, one not only has to follow the letter of the Law, but he will be required to follow even the spirit of the law.

Another example of such disobedience would be, if a muslim realizes that it is forbidden for him to trade in haraam products like alcohol, etc. He opens an alcohol business in the name of a disbeliever, and whatever profits are made from this business, he collects it from the disbeliever every month! Such earnings would be forbidden to the believer, whether he did it himself or did it in someone else’s name!

When it comes to the obedience of the Laws of Allah Subhanah, He will only accept it when the believers have submitted themselves completely and unconditionally to His Laws, and followed it with all their heart and spirit! If one follows it for the sake of following it, without any heart and without the spirit of obedience, Allah Subhanah is Self-Sufficient and in no need of such obedience!

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan


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