Bismillah. So, no baby yet…inshaAllah I will start transcribing Lives of the Prophets (also by Imam Anwar AlAwlaki). I’ve actually heard this one in its entirety, when I first got married, but now that it’s three years later, I’m sure I’ve forgotten everything. Plus, I enjoyed it so much the first time, I have no problem listening to it again

Lives of the Prophets

By Imam Anwar AlAwlaki

(You can buy the set at many Islamic stores and it’s also available loads of places online – including Dar us Salaam.)

I’ll probably organize this one a little differently. Instead of doing it by CD, inshaAllah I’ll post up by the story of the Prophet (and I know some Prophets – definitely Musa/Moses – will need multiple posts because of the length of the stories).

This first post is just an intro – the story of Adam will come afterwards inshaAllah.

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By Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki

So relate the stories, perhaps they may reflect. (7:176)

“We relate unto you (Muhammad SAW) the best of stories through Our Revelations unto you, of this Quran. And before this (i.e. before the coming of Divine Inspiration to you), you were among those who knew nothing about it (the Quran.” (12:3) Allah is the One Who is revealing this to Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and this Ummah. These are the best of stories because they are dealing with the best of creation.

Benefits of Talking about the Ambiya

1. Because RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was commanded to do so. Allah says “relate unto them the stories.” This is a command from Allah to RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. It becomes a duty upon us to convey the message of the ambiya of Allah and their stories. So this is first an ‘ibaadah.

2. “Relate and convey to them so that they may reflect.” (7:176) These stories are not for entertainment; they are to derive lessons, deeply reflect and contemplate.

3. Allah says: “They are those whom Allah had guided. So follow their guidance.” (6:90) Allah is instructing RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. It is very important to have role models. You find that every human being has role models. If they aren’t good, they are going to be bad. It is our make up as human beings – we have to have people that we look up to. If we don’t provide our children and youth with the role models of the sahabah and Prophets, they will find role models somewhere else. If Allah subhaana wa ta’aala is telling the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to follow the example of the ambiya, then what about us? We need to study the lives of the ambiya so that they become our role models.

4. To love them – if you do not know someone, you cannot love them. We all claim that we love the ambiya of Allah. If we do not know them, what they went through, how could we have respect for them?

Vocab – Nabiy vs. Rasool

Abu Dharr came to RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and asked him, “What is the total number of ambiya?” RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “The number of ambiya is 120,000 and the Messengers among them are 315.” We are translating Nabiy as Prophet and Rasool as Messenger.

They are two different things: nabiy and rasool. The plural of nabiy is ambiya. The plural of rasool is rusul.

So what is the difference between the Prophet (nabiy) and Messenger (rasool)? There are a few opinions about this: the rasool is the nabiy that is given a law. But the nabiy, who is not a rasool, is following the law of another rasool. So every rasool is a nabiy, but not every nabiy is a rasool.

An example of this: Musa (Moses) is a Rasool – a Prophet – because he was given the tawrah. Harun is just a nabiy, because he is following the law of his brother.

The Story of Creation

Before we start talking about Adam, let’s look at the story of creation. Narrated in Bukhaari, ‘Imran ibn Hussain said, people from Yemen came to RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and said, “We have come to you to learn our religion and ask how all of this started.” RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “There was Allah, and nothing before Him and His Throne was on water. And He wrote everything in the tablet, and He created the heavens and the earth.” [Also see Bukhaari, 9/93/514]

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says, “The first thing Allah created was the pen, then Allah ordered it to write. So it wrote everything that will happen until the day of judgment.”

We worry about our rizq – our sustenance. We have a problem of paranoia of rizq. We are always in a state of despair, when it comes to wealth. Listen to this – RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says, in a hadith narrated by Muslim, “Allah wrote down the sustenance of the creation 50,000 years before He created the heavens and the earth.” Everything that you will get is already written down – not 50,000 year before this day – but 50,000 years before the creation of the heavens and the earth. It’s a done deal. What you will get is already written down.