The Pen That Wrote 50,000 Years Before Creation

Tonight inshaallah we are going to be speaking about a very different topic than we usually are as many of those who are astute listeners of mine albeit few they are astute and very dear to me those who follow all of the programs and all of the lectures that i give we usually on when tuesday nights we will speak about zed and as you may see tonight i have no book in front of me and that is because i have been missing for many weeks i've been missing in action m.i.a as they say the reason for that is tragedy had visited us at our home in my family it knocked on the door tragedy forced its way in and i've had to take a few weeks off in order to address some of my familial issues which i'd to share with the listeners tonight this is not something that is very common for me i don't usually talk about things that are personal to me the reason for that is that there are much greater men much greater women who are more worthy of being mentioned than myself and my petty problems i say that with honesty and the utmost of humility and i do not say that with any kind of with any kind of disregard for other people's hardship when we look at the scholars of islam oftentimes we find that they rarely rarely whether it be contemporary scholars or whether it be more specifically scholars of old of ancient scholars of ancient times we find that they rarely speak about themselves they rarely speak about things that had occurred with them or to them they rarely speak about their own problems in their books they rarely speak about their own experiences unless they are writing a book on history one of the scholars that comes to mind that does this a lot is a very interesting individual he mentions often in his book in bidet when he is a book that is a book of history which speaks about all of the history of the prophets and messengers all the way up until his own death which he did not document of course but he wrote the history of islam the biography of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam the companions etc etc all of the prophets that proceeded the creation of the heavens and the earth all the way up until his death and then he has a final volume which he called and nihaya which speaks about the end times and what's interesting about ibn kathir is that even kathir was a very personal man he liked to write and he liked to share anecdotes he liked to share little stories and so sometimes you'll find in his book al-birdaya with nihalia which is a wonderful book on history and as a matter of fact it is of such significance that it's been translated by non-muslims into german and english actually he mentions things arjuba so he'll put a title for a chapter and he'll say a strange occurrence and then you read what he's talking about and he'll speak about something that he saw or something that he witnessed someone of extreme intelligence or someone of immense idiocy whatever it is that he mentions but this is very rare amongst the scholars of islam usually the scholars of islam focus on those who have preceded them and this is an issue of humility it's an issue of humbleness because my problems my issues my struggles not only are they mine and not yours and i should not burden others with them however as well there are men and women who have preceded us that have given much more and are much more worthy of our time and breath to speak about than our own selves so it's very rare for me and i do this why simply because i wish to try to follow the scholars of islam as much as i can i do not consider myself a scholar i am not of that caliber i do try to follow their tracks in the tasheb as the scholar as the poet says that imitation of the noble is a type of nobility i have been missing an action because my mother had actually taken a tumble my mother is 63 years old and the reason i'm telling this story is not just for you know because i'd to vent or use this venue for that this venue is is is for the prophet.

[Arabic recitation]

My personal venting session however the reason i am telling this story is because during the past few weeks through the different levels of grief that i have gone through and during the different levels of pain and joy that we have experienced as a family and as individuals i have learned a lot and i'd to share some of those lessons i've done a lot of reflecting a lot of contemplation i've learned a lot about myself a person who has not experienced true pain does not know himself a person who has not experienced hunger does not know the level or extent of his generosity a person who has not experienced war does not know the level or veracity of his courage a person who has not experienced poverty does not know the level of his patience a person who has not experienced pain does not know what is truly in his heart i truly believe this and i'll explain as we continue inshallah my mother took a tumble we bought this house probably when i was about five years old maybe six years old she has walked up and down these same steps probably hundreds of thousands of times and she fell off of three steps you could say maybe about two feet and somehow as allah subhanahu wa ta'ala had written it 50 000 years before the first creation and this is our first lesson the first lesson of this evening is a statement of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam which is collected by imam ahmed and others in which i believe it is also collected by atlan if my memory serves me right don't quote me on that but it is an authentic narration in which some individuals from yemen came to the prophet salallahu and they said to him we would to ask you about the first of this creation they said we came to ask you about the first of this creation and what it what they were speaking about with regards to the first of this creation meaning this reality this this universe of ours allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's name is that is one of his names it doesn't just mean the one who creates but it's the one who is in constant creation and so it doesn't mean that we are the first of allah's creation that has always and eternally been his name and he has always been the creator there has been creations that have preceded us and there will be creations that will follow as he says as he has brought you forth from the offspring of a another people likewise allah subhanahu wa says and he will create and he continues to create that which you all are unaware of and that which you all do not know the first lesson is that these individuals came to the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam they came and asked him about the beginning of this creation and again what i mean by the beginning of this creation has been cathedra tells us in the beginning meaning this creation because the scholars of islam differ what was created first was it the heavens and the earth or was it the throne or was it the water that the throne was upon what was created first and the correct answer is that allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala created water which is the source of physical life he created the throne and then he created the heavens and earth after which he ascended above his throne in a manner that is befitting of his majesty and supra rationality subhanahuata now the prophet salallahu alaihi wasallam said can allah he said the beginning of this creation is that there was a and there was nothing else meaning that allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala was always there and there was nothing along with allah what does that even mean we're not sure we don't know we can't fathom that as human beings we understand the meaning don't get me don't get me wrong we understand what that means but we don't comprehend how that can be when i tell you allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has no beginning he always was and he is a brute fact and he has no end what does that even mean to us as human beings we understand the words we understand the concept yet as allah subhanahu wa ta'ala yet they will never encompass allah in their knowledge we will never understand something this and so he said can allah.

[Silence]

That there was allah and nothing else allah then created the pen and he said to the pen right and the pen said what shall i write and allah said write everything that is to be until the day of resurrection and so at that moment the pen began to write and the prophet salallahu he said and this incident took place 50 000 years before the creation of the heavens and the earth it is absolutely unfathomable the power the beauty of allah the fountain of knowledge that the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam has brought us to bathe in if we truly think about it and its magnificence and its magnitude you can't help but stand aside and cry a widow and so everything that occurs every breath that i take every thread on your clothing every movement every thought everything that pen wrote fifty thousand years before the first creation and that pen will continue to write and the pens of the decree of allah continue to write in the narration of abi in musa muslim it's mentioned that the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam ascended when he ascended to meet allah subhanahu in the tenth year after hijrah that he reached a place where jibril said i am not allowed to go past this point you must go alone and the prophet salallahu alaihi wasallam was brought so close to the throne of allah that he said he said i was brought so close to the throne of allah that i heard the writing of the pens the scholars of islam tell us that the writing of those pens that those are the pens of decree that they are writing and will continue for eternity to write everything that is to be it is documented in nadali kafikitab in all of that is in a book and that is all very easy upon allah allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala says regarding this incident here this 50 000 years before the creation he says he said that no hardship or crisis no tragedy no misfortune occurs in the earth anywhere or in yourselves in your lives except that it has been written before we have created all of this creation now what does that mean does that mean that we don't have a choice does that mean that we should say as some of the padaria have said that we are devoid of free will no that's not what's intended we have free will but that is the that is the issue there that many people misunderstand and that is that there is a difference between free will and decree decree is that allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows documented what he knows that he subhanahu wa ta'ala allowed and willed for it to happen and that he created the means for those choices to be made that's what decree is four levels that the decree of allah when we say predestination when we say that the articles of faith are six man this came out of the mouth of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam muslim in the narration of umar and the narration of jibril came to the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam and he asked him he said yeah.

[Silence]

Came to him and asked him explain to me what are the pillars of faith what are the articles of belief that make you a muslim he said to believe in allah to believe in the angels to believe in the books to believe in i'm sorry to believe in the books to believe in the prophets to believe in the last day the day of judgment and to believe in decree good and bad the good decree and the bad decree what does that mean good decree and bad decree that means that it all comes from allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala good is good for good sake but evil decree or bad decree is not for evil sake it is for some wisdom that we cannot always see and so fifty thousand years before the creation allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala wrote what is happening right now every breath every molecule of my body every time the neurons in my brain fire allah has written that in detail allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala wrote this from his knowledge we said the levels of decree with ala sunnah are for in order for you to understand decree and understand free will you must understand these concepts number one allah knows he always has known he knows all that was all that is all that is to be and all that would have been had it been subhanahu wata'ala second of all that allah wrote all that was to be this is written in what is called the preserved tablets in the quran allah subhanahu wa allah says.

[Silence]

That i have just mentioned they all make reference of elohim is that narration that the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam explained to us he said he created the pen and he said to the pen right the pen said what shall i write he said right all that is to be until the day of resurrection and from that moment on the pen has been writing where did the pen get that knowledge it got that knowledge from allah subhanahu and that is written in the preserved tablet that will never be changed nothing that has been written in that tablet will change why because it has come to us and it has come from the from the knowledge of allah and if we were to say that allah wrote something and then changed it and then came back and changed it again this reflects deficiency in allah's knowledge and we know that this is disbelief this is kufur everything that happens and occurs to us has been written in that sense meaning allah knows what we are to do with our free will and he documented it and he wrote it now what about paradise what about the hellfire is that documented as well the answer is yes the scholars of islam when they look at all of the broad picture they have mentioned that there are eight things that are eternal of this creation eight things there are eight things which are eternal of this creation meaning they have a beginning but they have no end number one is paradise it has a beginning it has no end number two is the hellfire it has a beginning it has no end number three is the pen that we spoke about number four is the preserved tablet number five is the soul of the human being number six is the final vertebrae which is referred to as the coccyx or the tailbone of the human being because that is what we will all be resurrected from number seven is the throne of allah and number eight is the footstool of that throne these are eight things that the scholars of islam have mentioned have no end and of those scholars is shaykh islam he has mentioned these things i believe in the book which is a book regarding the paradise and so these eight things they have a beginning but they have no end and so as we are all in paradise and i pray sincerely and earnestly to allah that everyone listening gin or human to me right now including myself that we will all be in paradise together and that the pen will be continuing to write everything that we do and say and speak in paradise so this is the first lesson 50 000 years before the creation allah created the pen this is the second level which is called al-kitab the third level is called el erada what is the will of allah allah first knows always did he then wrote this is of his actions number three he willed for what he wrote to happen because nothing happens without the will of allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not one thing takes place without allah allowing it to happen every time your heart beats allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given it permission to beat every time do not take that for granted as we are disobeying allah and i am the first of all of you for someone to to to to to to take this admonishment with regards to our disobedience we are all guilty in god's court and it's not about being innocent it's about trying to be innocent it's about asking for forgiveness that's what it really is about that every time your heart beats to provide your mind and your body with oxygen in order for you to sin you must know that allah has given that heart permission just think about that next time anyhow nothing occurs in this earth nothing occurs in the creation of allah without his will he wills for it to happen a person may now ask what about evil does allah will evil to happen and the answer is yes because nothing happens without allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's will but there is a difference between when allah wills good and when allah wills evil or bad evil there's a couple of reasons why number one there is no such thing as pure evil that no good comes as a result of there is pure evil for example the worship of idols is pure evil is it not yes but the action of worshiping idols some good is caused by that even if only the sending of the messengers to humanity the communication of god to man this is a great good that has only come about because we need guidance etc etc even the creation of the devil himself iblis even the creation of iblis has good in it as a matter of fact allah wrote in one of his books that he listed more than 20 benefits for the existence of iblis and i know this sounds a little bit absurd to some people but we have to think about these things because some people think that good comes from god and evil comes from man and that is not correct because allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says time and time again throughout the quran allah is the creator of everything is iblis considered part of everything yes he is is evil considered part of everything yes it is there is a narration on the authority of ibn omar collected by a daily and this narration off has been authenticated by some scholars of hadith honestly i believe it is a statement of one of the companions any time you hear a narration that has been collected by a daily daily live that if allah did not desire that evil exist he would not have created iblis but there is a difference between evil for evil sake and evil which a good comes as a result of it because we live in a world of contrast we consider thirst to be something evil and we considered a drink of water to be something that is good and pure but you can only enjoy that good if you first experience that evil there has to be a contrast and if you can imagine with me the amount of people that will enter paradise simply as a result of disobeying iblis it is staggering that alone is enough because when iblees and his troops assail the believer from all sides.

[Silence]

And scream and yell and raise your voice and try to intimidate into submission as many of my servants as you choose try and send your calvary against them and send your foot soldiers against them and try to form partnerships and take a portion of their wealth and their children and promise them whatever you want but the promises of iblees are all lies and false hopes allah subhanahu wa ta'ala after saying to iblis this he said he said indeed my true servants you will have no power over them not with all your calvary and all of all of your men you will have no power over them and it is enough of a protector and a disposer and rectifier of affairs that allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala is beautiful the quran is and so allah subhanahu wa ta'ala creates good he creates evil yes evil things happen and they are by the will of allah however they are not evil in an entire way okay there is an element of evil to them but there is an overwhelming amount of good that comes from them most of the time we don't know what it is as human beings why do volcanoes happen why do tsunamis happen why is it a six-year-old boy is riding down the street and gets hit down by a car and dies why did the good die young and the wicked live old why why why these questions that come to us and the answer is the human brain weighs only about three pounds you cannot figure out the cosmos with three pounds of gray matter you must know your limitations and we have to understand that we do not know why allah does always we don't always know why but we do know who he is and this is all we need to know that's faith true faith is not understanding always why true faith is understanding who and if we go home tonight with nothing but that we will have a wealth of wisdom what does that mean what i am saying is that allah describes himself and says he is not asked about what he does yet they will all be asked he says yet he has also told us who he is he is he is a rahim he is a shakur all of these names of allah so he told us who he is he didn't always explain to us why he does what he does but he told us who he is and so we have to take whatever we do not understand of his actions and we have to apply them to those names and if we do that and if we can have the courage and the hope and the reason and if we can have the audacity to do that that is true faith that is exactly what faith is is when you don't understand why allah is doing but you understand who allah is and that is enough for you that's what tawakkul is and when we look at the story of khadr and musa what did he say he said to musa if you want to follow me and you want to learn from me my one condition is that you don't ask me why i am doing what i am doing musa said fine sure it's human nature that we want to understand why are you doing this but allah described al khadr to musa before he met him he said that musa came upon a man who was referring to as al-qaeda a man whom we have given from us particular mercy an additional portion of mercy and we have taught him knowledge directly from us now if you think about that allah described al khadr to us he described al-khadr but he did not explain his actions and musa alaihis was he couldn't help but ask and then we learned we learned that what looked bad actually was a blessing and what was a what looked a blessing was actually a curse we saw that and this is a very small microcosm meaning or a microcosm of a parable of who allah subhanahu is to us we don't know why he does what he does we don't know sometimes we do he's explained some things to us he's explained things why do wicked people live so long and so prosperously in naman he explained it but he didn't explain everything and when tragedy knocks on your door and it will knock on your door that is part of our lives when it does remember allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's names and attributes do not try to figure out allah because he is beyond anything that we can comprehend we've spoken a lot tonight and there is hadith i do not to go over 35 minutes but this is a very important issue that we spoke about this will be enough for tonight we will try to continue this next week if we get permission to do so i believe it is a very important a very important topic that we are discussing yes we've come off the subject a little bit but this is something that if many of us and more of us would understand more of us would have a lot more wisdom and a much easier life we ask allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that he bless us all with paradise that he teach us of wisdom that he bathed us in his fountain of knowledge subhanahu wa'ta'ala and that he forgive us for our sins and that he not cause our sins to be a barrier between us and himself allah wherever there's a.