05-16-2003, 01:05 PM
Praise be to Allah, a praise which is adequate to Your graces and favors, Praise be to Allah abundant and special gratitude, we send prayer and peace on the best Messenger to the worlds our Prophet Mohamed, his family members, companions and whoever followed them until the day after. I seek refuge of Allah’s Complete knowledge from my ignorance, “O my Lord! expand me my breast;* Ease my task for me* And remove the impediment from my speech* So they may understand what I say”.
Again we shall ponder on some Ayas of the noble Quran and their deep meaning.
Look at Allah saying:” It is God who made your habitation homes of rest and quiet for you; and made for you, out of the skins of animals, (tents for) dwellings, which ye find so light (and handy) when ye travel and when ye stop (in your travels); and out of their wool, and their soft fibres (between wool and hair), and their hair, rich stuff and articles of convenience (to serve you) for a time.”(Quran 16:80). Here the Ayah explains about using animal skins for making residence places as people lived in tents at the time of the Messenger of Allah (PAPBUH). It carries on explaining also about utilizing other parts of the animals for making (the word in Arabic is Athathan of which the literal translation would be furniture). Then it terminates by saying that this shall be the case for a certain time. Using animal skin to make dwellings certainly ended now as well as using the other products to make furniture. Yes we do include of course wool and fibers in our textile which is in turn used for upholstery. But we do not use them as basic product for making furniture no more. So the word until a certain time with which the Ayah ended was very precise and to the point. I wonder if the companions at that time imagined that one day will come when people use bricks and cement for the construction of their dwelling rather than animal skin. Sobhan Allah the All Knowing. While as the Quran is valid throughout the times, the Ayah may be also understood as that we shall benefit of such articles and items for a limited time until we depart from this world. In fact our use of them is only temporary. That is another meaning the Ayah confirms. It reminds us that the enjoyment is only temporary.
Praise be to Allah and prayer and peace be upon His Messenger Mohamed, his family members and companions.