Presented by Al-Sayyid Abdul Malik Badruddin Al-Houthi
Lecture Two
Tuesday, 2 Ramadan 1445 A.H. (12 March 2024 A.D.)
On the Importance of Attaining Piety and the Events of the First Blow!
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.
Our discussion is about the importance of piety, which is the spiritual outcome of the obligation of fasting, and what piety means to us. This will clarify the extent of our need for piety and what it means to us so that we can focus on it and strive to attain this outcome through our performance of the holy obligation of fasting and by seeking to benefit extensively from the blessings of the holy month, the blessed month of Ramadan.
Allah (Glory be to Him) has clearly explained to us in the Holy Quran the importance of piety for us and our need for it. In reality, striving for piety, being eager for it, and caring about it is natural for humans. By their nature, humans love goodness and seek safety for themselves, as Allah (Glory be to Him) has said about them, {'And indeed, he is excessive in his love of wealth'}. Indeed, a human loves goodness and desires it for himself. That is why, along with the innate nature (which is influenced by the effects of this life; our ignorance about what constitutes protection, well-being, and goodness for us; what we suffer from misguidance, misunderstanding, and false perceptions of what brings us goodness and provides protection from evil, misery, hardship in livelihood, disgrace in this world, and torment in the Hereafter), we need the guidance of Allah (Glory be to Him), and with it, we need conscious faith through which we can achieve piety.
Indeed, Allah (Glory be to Him) has outlined for us in His instructions, teachings, commands, and prohibitions what constitutes protection for us in this world and the Hereafter: In this world, from misery, hardship in livelihood, disgrace, oppression, injustice, humiliation, and all forms of evil; and in the Hereafter, it protects us from the immense punishment, from severe reckoning, from the great loss (the loss of Allah's pleasure, Jannah, and the eternal bliss), and from heading towards the eternal torment (We seek refuge in Allah).
What Muslims lack, despite their affiliation with Islam, is piety. This deficiency has a serious impact on their lives in all aspects: politically, economically, socially, in terms of security, etc. It is evident how extensive the loss of Muslims is due to this lack of piety. If Muslims were to maintain piety and build their reality based on it, their situation would be entirely different from what it is now, and they would not have experienced such tragedies, disasters, and woes. However, this does not mean that one would not face any suffering or sacrifices in his practical pursuit, for such challenges are normal in the circumstances of this life, which is a field of testing and responsibility. Nonetheless, the situation is very different when sacrifices and hardships lead to fruitful outcomes and very significant results compared to when suffering and tragedies beget more suffering and tragedies and lead to such a chain of disasters, tragedies, and woes that the Ummah has experienced throughout its history.
Indeed, the deficiency of piety is severe and impactful. Moreover, what is more dangerous than its consequences and impact in this life are the serious consequences in the Hereafter. Therefore, through contemplation of the verses of Allah (Glory be to Him) in the Holy Quran, we realise the great importance of addressing this deficiency and striving to overcome it.
The immense loss resulting from neglecting piety!
Indeed, the danger that leads a person to fall into great calamities and extremely severe consequences is disobeying the instructions of Allah (Glory be to Him). That is because they are what provide us with protection and encompass various aspects of our lives. Hence, when individuals, communities, or nations disobey them, there are inevitable consequences, dangers, damages, effects, and punishments, some of which manifest in this worldly life, while the greater, more significant, and dangerous portion is in the Hereafter.
Muslims have neglected many of Allah's teachings that serve as a protection for them from weakness, humiliation, fragmentation, disgrace, oppression, and injustice. They have neglected Allah's teachings and instructions that are meant to build them as a strong, honourable ummah.
Allah (Glory be to Him) commanded them in the Holy Quran to hold firmly to His rope and warned them against division; however, they became divided and neglected these teachings. Allah commanded them to strive in His cause and to be an ummah that maintains equity among His servants and on His lands. He asked them to shoulder responsibilities that hold honour for them and grant them prosperity, dignity, strength, and leadership among nations. However, they neglected all of that. Instead of being the ummah that takes action within the framework of these great responsibilities and is granted Allah's help and support in fulfilling them (in calling for goodness, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and striving to save humanity and reform its reality), they have neglected that. Indeed, they have neglected jihad in the cause of Allah and neglected their civilisational role and presenting the Islamic civilisational example, which builds this life based on the guidance and teachings of Allah and based on great values and ethics. They neglected all of that and failed to prepare the strength they were capable of. Thus, the consequences were severe for them because their neglect extended over centuries, over hundreds of years. The direction was a decline among nations: Other nations rose, grew stronger, and flourished, whereas our Islamic Ummah descended on a trajectory of decline throughout history due to its continued negligence and its habit of letting this deficiency in piety worsen and grow and persisting in it. Therefore, the result in this life was extremely regrettable. After centuries of negligence, the reality of the Ummah changed, and it descended in its status among nations, fueling the greedy ambitions of its enemies.
Allah (Glory be to Him) promised Muslims and believers who adhere to piety to gain illumination and criterion so that they may become the noblest ummah in their awareness, wisdom, insight, understanding, and knowledge. However, they have neglected piety and so lost all of that. Instead of being an ummah that sees with the light of Allah and possesses high awareness, consciousness, wisdom, and understanding, they lost all of that. They have become an ummah that lacks awareness and whose enemies are able to deceive it, mislead it, and cause it to be lost in various directions, inclinations, and confused ideas that add to the humiliation, disgrace, and weakness it experiences. Allah (the Almighty) has said, {'O you who have attained faith, if you become mindful of Allah, He will give you a criterion'}. They lost criterion, and as a result, matters have become confusing for them and their enemies have been able to influence them in their perspectives, convictions, and thoughts in a way that serves these enemies' interests while having a negative impact on them.
Allah promised them that if they adhere to piety, He will be with them. And this is an all-encompassing promise that includes all goodness, triumph, and honour: {'Allah is with those who maintain piety'}, {'Allah is with those who are pious'}, and {'Allah is with those who maintain piety and those who are good-doers'}. So they would not be harmed or affected by the conspiracies of their enemies, no matter how they might be: {'And do not grieve over them and do not be in distress over what they conspire. Allah is with those who maintain piety and those who are good-doers'}. He promised them, as He promised other nations before them, that adhering to piety can grant them blessings and goodness in their provisions, in their livelihood, and in the necessities of their lives: {'Had the people of the towns believed and feared Allah, We would have opened for them blessings from the sky and the earth'}.
Many promises are mentioned in the Holy Quran relating to this worldly life and also the Hereafter, including the ultimate recompense, a fair and easy reckoning, salvation on the day of the greatest terror, attaining the pleasure of Allah (the Almighty), reaching Allah's bliss, the highest levels of bliss (Jannah), and being saved from Allah's punishment and from the eternal suffering and torment.
Therefore, piety holds great importance for humans and is a necessary requirement. The alternative to piety is experiencing misery, torment, humiliation, disgrace, calamities, and evils. Thus, piety is of utmost significance for humans. If a person chooses to disregard piety in his calculations regarding misery and evils in this life—that is, he chooses to take the risk without caring about himself or thinking about that—then what about the Hereafter? What about the eternal torment, everlasting suffering, regrets, remorse, psychological torment, and extremely terrible physical torment in the Hereafter? Can a person think of it as something trivial, something insignificant, and take the risk of involving himself in it?! This is something we should also reflect upon through the Holy Quran.
The consequences and punishments in the Hereafter are extremely dreadful, terrible, and severe. The repercussions, consequences, and punishments of neglecting piety, as a means of protection, in this world go beyond the evils and calamities that humans face in this life in terms of wickedness, misfortunes, and dangers. Rather, the extremely dangerous aspect is that they extend into the realm of the Hereafter, in a very terrifying manner that is beyond anyone's imagination. They are not limited to this worldly life but extend into the Hereafter, with a tremendous and immense recompense that demonstrates the importance of the responsibility one bears as a human, the significance of his deeds, and the recompense resulting from his deeds. The magnitude of the recompense indicates the importance of deeds, their effects, and their results for humans.
Having firm faith in the Hereafter helps one maintain piety and righteousness.
Therefore, belief and certainty in the Hereafter are among the most important factors that help one adhere to piety and righteousness in this life. That is because he then realises that the level of punishments and consequences for neglecting piety is extremely serious, as well as formidable and terrifying, not only in terms of the evils, pains, dangers, damages, and misfortunes that may befall humans in this life, but much greater—it is tremendously frightening. This serves as an incentive for him to maintain righteousness in this worldly life. So this is an important matter.
That is why Allah (Glory be to Him) said in the Holy Quran, describing the qualities of the pious: {'And they have firm faith in the Hereafter'}. They have reached a level of faith in the Hereafter that is characterised by certainty. Certainty has a profound impact on humans when they firmly believe in all the details about the world of the Hereafter that Allah (Glory be to Him) has mentioned in the Quran and realise that they will be heading towards them. If they experience those details and reach them by neglecting piety and disregarding the instructions of Allah, it is an extremely serious state.
Humans are in need of this faith and this certainty and in need of mindfulness because, in our reality as a Muslim Ummah, we state our belief in the Hereafter, a belief by statement. We need, first and foremost, our faith to be one of certainty, firm belief, awareness, and insight. At the same time, we need to bear in mind and remember what Allah (Glory be to Him) has mentioned about the world of the Hereafter through reciting the Holy Quran. This relationship with the Holy Quran, in terms of paying attention to its recitation, should be a lasting, permanent relationship that continues on a daily basis. In fact, the Holy Quran contains an extensive discourse about the world of the Hereafter. When a person recites the book of Allah, recites His verses, and observes those highly impactful and extremely significant details, this increases his inclination towards piety and enables him to constantly realise its importance. Heedlessness, lack of mindfulness, forgetfulness, and inattentiveness harden the heart. And when a person's heart hardens, he becomes audacious in deviating from the instructions and teachings of Allah, which serve as a protection for him. Consequently, he disregards piety, and this is an extremely serious state.
In clarifying how His triumphant servants who are pious recall the Hereafter and have this level of belief and certainty, Allah (Glory be to Him) said about them, {'We fear a gloomy, dismal day from our Lord'}. This remembrance and this mindfulness served as a practical motivation, and it was a vibrant feeling they carried in their hearts, feelings, and conscience.
He speaks about the people of Jannah in Jannah—about the pious who did not neglect piety and so achieved the ultimate goal and eternal happiness—as they are talking about the reasons for their salvation in the worldly life, saying, {'When we were still with our families, we used to live in fear'}. They do not experience a state of constant and prevailing heedlessness, turning away, ignoring, and being careless. Instead, they experience a sense of fearfulness, being careful not to incur the wrath of Allah and His torment and punishment.
Allah (Glory be to Him) also has mentioned how vivid the feelings of His angels and prophets are and how they live a state of vigilance against violating the instructions and teachings of Allah. That is because they believe that such transgressions would lead them to punishment and jeopardise their state of piety, the state that serves as a protection for them: Allah says even about His angels themselves, {'They fear their Lord above them, and they do what they are commanded'}
He also speaks about His prophets and their sense of fear: {'They hope for His mercy and fear His punishment'}. They fear the punishment of Allah (Glory be to Him) and carry feelings of fear of neglecting His instructions and teachings, for they realise that would mean neglecting what serves as protection for them.
Allah says about the Seal of the prophets and the Master of His messengers, Muhammad ibn Abdullah (PBUH&F), {'Say, "Indeed I fear, if I should disobey my Lord, the punishment of a tremendous Day"'}. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&F) carries the feelings of fear that he may fall short in piety, that he may violate the teachings of Allah, and that he may disobey Allah, for he understands the immense punishment that lies behind that. These are Allah's angels and prophets, so how about us? How should be the state of ignorant, heedless, careless humans who fail to realise the great danger that arises from neglecting piety?!
The Day of Resurrection and its horrors are anticipated and awaited, and it is not regarded as an easy matter, neither in the heavens nor in the earth. It is a tremendous day that deserves the attention of humans. It is important to them and concerns them. That is why Allah says about the Day of Resurrection and the Hour, {'It is too tremendous for the heavens and the earth'}. It is of tremendous significance and comes as a truly awe-inspiring scene anticipated by the angels of Allah and all of His creation. It is inevitable and will have monumental consequences. Due to its immense importance, one of the most significant roles, responsibilities, and duties of the messengers and prophets was to be bearers of glad tidings and warners to establish the proof against people. That is why Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {' messengers as bringers of good tidings and warners so that mankind will have no argument against Allah after the messengers'}. That is because what is to come is a terrifying and incredibly significant matter.
Therefore, the world of the Hereafter and the Day of Resurrection are not unknown. In fact, the Holy Quran has provided an extensive account of its details and its stages, stage by stage, in a remarkably detailed discourse. This account gives one, at least in an approximate sense if one reflects on it, a vivid glimpse of a terrifying scene. It makes clear that ignoring this inevitable future, which is your inevitable destiny, will lead to nothing but a great loss and is foolishness. It is the destination you will inevitably head towards, and it is where your life in the eternal world, the everlasting life, will also be determined, either purely good or purely evil.
The world of the Hereafter and the worldly life are connected and intertwined. And since the beginning of creation, it has been part of Allah's plan to create two worlds, not just a single world: the world of life (the first world) and the world of the Hereafter. Similarly, since the beginning, it has been part of Allah's plan to create humans for two lives: the first life and the Hereafter, separated by a very short break, which is death. And at the time of resurrection, humans will realise how short the break of death was, which they might perceive as merely an hour or a short time of a day. Thus, since the beginning and according to the divine plan of Allah (Glory be to Him), humans have been created for two connected lives: a limited life with a finite term, very short compared to the eternal life, which has no end. Therefore, considering that humans' destiny in the Hereafter is determined according to this life and their actions in it, it is essential for humans to take into account their future life and not solely focus on this life without paying attention to the eternal future. Human calculations and concerns should be built upon his foundation.
Speaking about the Hereafter and the end of this life comes in the Holy Quran in highly significant titles that clarify for us the awe and magnificence of that impending future: the Resurrection, the Hour, the Inevitable Event, the Striking Event, the Supreme Calamity, the Deafening Blast, and the Inevitable Reality. These are names that express the awe of the second stage of existence: this upcoming stage with its two parts, the end of this first stage and the beginning of the next stage in the first blow and the second blow, the first cry and the second cry.
To be close is what you should know about the Day of Resurrection and the events of the first blow!
At the forefront of what we should know about the Day of Resurrection and its horrors, is that it is approaching, and its time is very close; it is closer to us in this era than any previous time: We are the last nations, so we are really close to the time of the Hour, the end of the first stage of the existence and the coming of the second stage, which is in the Hereafter. We are, as the people of the earth in general, closer than all the previous generations in history to the end of this life, to the Day of the Resurrection and the Hour, and to the end of history. We are in the epoch of the end of history, in the very late stages, and this is affirmed by Allah in the Holy Quran. That is why Allah sealed His messages with the Seal of the prophets, the Master of messengers, Muhammad ibn Abdullah (PBUH&F). He was the last prophet, and his message marked the end of divine messages. The reason is that humanity is close to the Day of Resurrection, to accountability and recompense.
And as it approaches, it will come suddenly. There is no specific time so that one can imagine the Hour will happen on a certain day, at a certain hour, whether during the night or the day. It will come suddenly, at an unexpected time. To come suddenly means it will come in a stage, at a time, at a moment that human society does not anticipate, despite what humans possess in this era in terms of technologies, capabilities, and advancements in various fields of science, including astronomy and other sciences. Humans have developed means, technologies, and advanced capabilities, yet it will come at an unexpected time, beyond calculations and predictions. Even though humans have astronomical observatories and mathematical calculations for the movement of celestial bodies, planets, and the earth, it will come suddenly, at a moment they never expected. This is affirmed by many verses in the Holy Quran. No one except for Allah (Glory be to Him) knows the moment when it will occur, when the Hour will arrive, when the Day of Resurrection will take place: {'Say, "Its knowledge is only with my Lord. None will reveal its time except Him. It is too tremendous for the heavens and the earth. It will not come upon you except unexpectedly"'}. Therefore, it is near, as Allah described it: {'The Approaching Day has approached. Of it, besides Allah, there is no remover'}.
The first blow, the first cry, as both referred to in the Quran, will disrupt the system of our world including its heavens and earth. It will utterly destroy the entire earth with a tremendous, comprehensive earthquake that will crush all its mountains. Despite the abundance of mountains on the earth and their might, with their rocks and as they serve as pillars for it, these towering mountains, stretching over vast areas, will be completely obliterated as a result of that great earthquake. They will turn into dust, into particles scattered in the air and cease to exist. That is why Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {'Then when the horn is blown with one blast. And the earth and the mountains are lifted and levelled at one stroke'}: This means that not every mountain requires a separate blow, a separate cry, or a separate incident, as if it would start with one mountain and then proceed to the next, crushing mountain after mountain until it reaches the last mountain on the earth. Rather, in a single blow, all the mountains will be shattered, demolishing every mountain on the earth. {'Then on that day, the Occurrence will occur'}.
That earthquake destroys the entire earth, along with all its mountains, let alone the constructions built by humans! If mountains, with all their might, towering height, weight, size, multitudes, and solid rocks, will be destroyed and demolished in an instant, in a single blow, in a single cry, then what about the constructions, cities, villages, and human-made facilities on the earth?! All of them will be demolished. It is beyond human imagination to comprehend this terrifying state, this devastating scene of destruction that obliterates all the cities and towns on the earth in an instant. In a single moment, everything on the earth, including cities, facilities, constructions, buildings, and everything that humans have built, will be destroyed, and all the features of life on the earth will cease to exist. That is why Allah says, {'When the earth is shaken with its earthquake and the earth discharges its burdens, and man says, "What is with it?" That day, it will report its news because your Lord has inspired it'}. Initially, humans will be struck with astonishment, bewilderment, and fear; however, they will perish. All human beings who are alive when the Hour comes will perish, and all living beings on the face of the earth will come to an end. They will all die; they will all be destroyed.
{'Everyone upon it will perish'}: All living beings on the earth will perish, the earth that was once teeming with diverse living creatures on land and in the sea. Every living being will die; everything on the earth will perish, and no living being will be left on the surface of the earth. The mountains will be demolished in their entirety, and all the signs of human civilisation on the earth will be erased, as Allah (Glory be to Him) said, {'And We will certainly reduce whatever is on it to barren ground'}.
Even the seas and oceans, which cover a vast portion of the earth, will evaporate and vanish: {'and when the seas are erupted'}, {'and when the seas are filled with flame'}. They will disappear and perish. There will be no water, no mountains, no constructions, and no sign of any features of life that once existed on the earth. The earth will turn into a flat expanse, a barren landscape with no vegetation, no forests, no signs of life, no water—nothing at all. {'And We will certainly reduce whatever is on it to barren ground.'} There will be no vegetation, no life!
Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {'And they ask you about the mountains, say, “My Lord will wipe them out completely, leaving the earth level and bare, You will not see therein a depression or an elevation”'}—you will not see any of that on the earth, for it will be completely transformed into a flat and level surface with no mountains, valleys, ravines, rivers, seas, or any features of life. All features of life and all constructions disappear, and it becomes a barren ground, a perfectly level and bare ground, with nothing else in it.
{'You will not see therein a depression or an elevation'}: Indeed, the earth will be completely flat in its entirety. It will undergo a complete transformation, including its features, appearance, and shape. Everything will change. Currently, the earth has its own shape and colours, with seas and oceans enveloping its surface, along with forests covering certain areas, and parts of it have features of human-made constructions, such as cities and villages. All of that will abruptly cease to exist. Consequently, there won't be any farms, plants, or anything else. It will be in a completely different shape.
The end of the heavens and the earth as a prelude to the resurrection and reckoning!
The situation will not be limited to these changes that will occur on the earth at the end of the initial stage of existence, as a prelude to the second stage. In fact, the sky will undergo transformations as well. The sky, at its inception, splits apart: Allah describes it, saying, {'when the sky breaks apart'}, {'when the sky has split apart'}, and {'The sky will split apart, for that day it is infirm'}. Its colour alters, as a holy verse mentions that it will {'will become rosy, like hide'}. Subsequently, it will be folded up, fading away and ceasing to exist, as Allah (Glory be to Him) said, {'The day when We will fold the sky like the folding of a sheet for the records'}: In fact, it will be folded, contract, and disappear.
The sun, which is a blazing, burning, raging, super-massive, and vastly large star, will perish: {'when the sun is put out'}. And the stars will fall down: {'and when the stars fall'}. In addition, their light will extinguish and fade away, and the world will be engulfed in complete and absolute darkness. The sun and the moon will collide with each other: {'And the sun and the moon are joined'}.
Thus, this world comes to an end, along with everything within it, and Allah recreates it. This marks the beginning of the second stage of existence, as Allah (Glory be to Him) said, {'Watch for] the day the earth will be changed into a different earth and the heavens as well'}. Allah will reconstruct and reshape the earth. The heavens and the earth will be reshaped for a different purpose. When Allah has changed the state of the earth, there will be no mountains, seas, or vegetation. It will transform into a completely level plain because it will have a new mission, distinct from its previous one: the mission of being the ground for gathering and reckoning, as a prelude to transitioning to the world of recompense.
Actually, the break between these two stages, the stage of the Resurrection and the Hour—between the first stage (which signifies the end of existence and the disruption of the world's order for its reconstruction and reshaping) and the second stage, where this world is recreated, marking the beginning of a new stage, the Hereafter, in which people are resurrected and gathered for the transition to the realm of the Hereafter—is not very long in comparison to the time that has passed. Thus, Allah (Glory be to Him) said, {'On the day the blast will convulse , there will follow it the subsequent '}. This is to illustrate the proximity between the first blow of the trumpet and the second blow. Allah knows best how long this duration is in relation to time.
Allah (Glory be to Him) said, {'The trumpet will be blown and all those in the heavens and all those on the earth will fall dead, except those Allah wills'}: This exception applies to the beings outside of the earth. As for the earth, Allah has described it, saying, {'Everyone upon it will perish'}. {'Then it will be blown again and they will rise up at once, looking on '}. That is, after reshaping the earth, heavens, and the world, there will come the second blowing, the second cry, the cry of resurrection, the cry of gathering and resurrection, on the Day of Gathering, on the Day of Resurrection.
We will briefly continue the discussion in light of some blessed Quranic verses about the stage of gathering, resurrection, reckoning, and recompense, as well as Jannah and the Fire in tomorrow's lecture, Allah willing.
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.