When Muslims Work Together 2 The Balanced Big Picture

In this lecture, Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan delves into an explicit explanation of the verses of Surah Al-Hajj.

In the first part of the verses discussed, Allah is displeased with humanity. The pagans are calling upon false gods. They don’t even understand the simplicity of tawheed. They don’t appreciate Allah as he deserves to be appreciated.  Humanity is in serious trouble.

Allah says in the Qur'an - “No doubt it those that you are calling upon other than Allah (meaning false Gods). They won’t be able to create a single fly even if they all got together for that purpose.”

So the example Allah gives is the powerlessness of idols and the powerlessness of false kings who claim themselves to be gods. Allah says whether they are idols or humans false gods because of their kingdom or power (or whatever the case maybe), ‘they cannot create a single fly.’

Why mention the example of a fly? These verses were revealed in Makkah. The Mushrikoon used to worship idols. In pagan cultures, people sacrificed animals or left sweets, milk, honey, and flowers, etc. In front of these idols as a show of devotion. A fly eats from these things and the statues can’t do anything. So even though the foundation of their faith is that this idol is sacred and it has to be shown respect, it gets disrespected in the highest temple by a lowly thing such as a fly! And they can’t do anything about it. Allah teaches us that He can teach the lessons of His oneness and His power even through a fly. That’s one of the miracles of the Qur'an - it changes human perspectives. 

Allah says - If you care about each other, you would be worried about the ultimate destiny of your fellow human beings. By default, humans care about each other and are full of compassion. But this feeling has been eroded or even taken out of our system gradually and slowly in our time. We have become desensitized. 

Who is responsible for this task of telling humanity that they are going to stand before Allah one day and answer for their deeds? Who is going to let them know? The messengers are done. The final Messenger (s) is gone. The companions have played their part. It’s on our shoulders now. So let us begin with ourselves.