The Living Miracle Of Islam: Divinely Preserved Guidance

The Preservation of Islam — A Living Miracle

And this is because Allah has ordained for Islam to be the religion until the end of times. So it is not possible for Islam — or the true Islam — to be eclipsed by heresy or misguidance. And that's why when scholars discuss the miracles of the prophets, they specifically point out that the reason the Prophet ﷺ was given the Qur'an — obviously there's the aspect that it was a literary miracle, and at the time of the Prophet ﷺ eloquence in these things was very common — so Allah granted him a miracle that was in line with his context. But along with that, the Qur'an will serve as a miracle for Islam and for the prophethood of the Prophet ﷺ till the end of times.

Because the miracles of other prophets came to an end when that Prophet left this world. So Musa عليه السلام had his staff that would turn into a snake, and his white hand — it's not possible for us to see those anymore. Isa عليه السلام could cure the blind and the leper — again, we can't see that anymore. But the miracle of the Prophet ﷺ is such that even today we can witness it.

And all of this is because Allah promised Himself the preservation of this deen. Allah Himself says in the Qur'an:

That surely We are the ones who have revealed this remembrance — referring to the divine guidance given to the Prophet ﷺ, whether it was something that is recited like the Qur'an, or something that is not recited like the hadith — and Allah Himself says that I will be the protector of it.

And this is why Islam is the only religion that can claim this. Because there are other religions that have withstood this test of time — Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, these are all ancient religions — but none of them can factually claim that their religion is in the same pristine form that it was first revealed. Even those people who are against Islam attest to this fact. Because what's one of the biggest criticisms that Islam gets? The fact that our principles are "backwards," that we're "still living in the stone ages." Well, what does that really mean? That means that the same principles we had before, we still have them. So even a non-Muslim will attest to the fact that Islam has preserved its values.

Islam Must Permeate Every Aspect of Life

Now, when it comes to the factors that result as catalysts for a deen leaving its trajectory and sort of compromising its values and principles, there are many. But the one I wish to focus on is the effect of people restricting their religion to the spiritual aspect of their lives, and completely divorcing it from other aspects. That our faith is just something that's ritualistic — you come to the masjid, we have these yearly festivals, we have Eid, we have the month of Ramadan, we get together. That's where religion really stays. Beyond that, we're all the same; we all interact with the world in the same way, we all perceive the world in the same way, there's no difference.

But Islam actually promotes the fact that our religion should permeate every aspect of our lives. And to illustrate this, I'd like to mention a hadith of the Prophet ﷺ which at face value may just seem like a very simple suggestion, but if we really ponder over it, there's a much deeper meaning behind it.

The Prophet ﷺ instructed the sahabah رضي الله عنهم. He said to them:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 432; Sahih Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 203)

Pray a portion of your salah in your homes, and do not make them into graveyards. So apparently all this hadith is saying is: those sunan and nawafil — those extra prayers we pray before and after our obligatory prayers — the Prophet ﷺ is telling us that you should pray those in your homes as well. But the deeper meaning behind this hadith is that the Prophet ﷺ is instilling in us that Islam is not something that stops at the doorway of the masjid. It's something that must go home with you when you leave. It's not just a ritual that we come for Jumu'ah, we come for our salawat, but when we go home, there's no semblance of Islam left on us.

Technology and the Godless Vision

And for this hadith specifically, I want to relate it to the advancements we see in our times. A lot of times we just consider that these are technological advancements that are happening, and it's just something that everyone deals with the same way — it's not something I have to look at from the point of view of Islam. And specifically when it comes to the technology vision, what's the purpose behind it? Generally speaking, the sort of techno-vision that we see in our day and age, it's a godless vision. There are no boundaries set by religion or faith, there are no limits.

And that doesn't mean that everything it produces is evil or inherently bad or going to cause problems. Because obviously technology has improved medicine — there are so many surgeries that were not possible before but are possible now, and Allah has used it as a means of saving countless lives. But that also doesn't mean that it is inherently good.

One of the incentives behind technology is ease — we want to make things more accessible for people. Communication should be easier. If I want my basic necessities, I should be able to get them delivered. If I just want to figure something out quickly, I should be able to search it up. So all of this is a push for ease. And the reason it's presented this way is because people view ease as inherently good. What's wrong with something being easier than it was before?

The issue is not with making something easier. The issue is that if that's the only purpose in our mind — to go as far as we can for ease, ready to push any boundaries, ready to cross any lines — that's when the problem becomes apparent. And this obsession with more, more, more — when it comes to ease or anything for that matter — is what Allah alludes to in the Qur'an, and He mentions it as a source of destruction for people. In the ayah that was recited in the beginning, Allah says:

That this constant need and this craze that people have of just increasing more, more, more — it will lead to your destruction. Now this doesn't mean that we should stop all progress, that any progress is bad, that we shouldn't be moving towards ease or developing better things. No. The problem is when these progressions do not have any guardrails or boundaries. If it is done within the boundaries of Islam and religion, it can be a cause for us to flourish. But if it's done with this godless vision in mind — by any means necessary, we must achieve it — that's when the problem arises.

The Prophet's ﷺ Fear for His Ummah

And this is also what the Prophet ﷺ alludes to in a hadith where he says:

I don't fear poverty for you — speaking to his ummah and his sahaba — it's not that I'm scared you won't have resources, ease, or amenities. Rather, I actually fear that the world will be handed to you and spread out for you just as it was made very easy and accessible to those before you. And what does that result in? Then you'll start competing with each other — this same craze of more, more, more, progression, progression, progression — and it will destroy you just as it destroyed those before you.

The Trials of the End of Times

So the point to take from all this is that when these things are not done within a specific boundary, it completely blurs the lines between what's okay and what isn't. And this is something that the Prophet ﷺ constantly reminds us — in a hadith that near the end of times, the lines of goodness and evil, righteousness and wickedness, will become blurred. In a hadith narrated by Hudhayfah رضي الله عنه, the Prophet ﷺ says:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 231)

That such trials will be cast upon a person's heart like a straw mat — the same way the wooden pieces in a straw mat come one after another, that will be the nature of these trials, one after the other. And some scholars give other interpretations: the same way that when a person sits on a straw mat it leaves a mark, the same way when a person is living in these times, even if he tries to stay away, it will leave a mark on him. And just as a person takes something that's natural like wood but the straw mat itself is man-made, the same way these trials will be man-made.

And then the Prophet ﷺ explains the effect: any heart that just accepts it with open arms — no hesitation, no fear, no remorse, no thinking about what Islam says about this — then a black dot will be placed in his heart. And that person who denies and goes against this flow of trials, then a white dot will be placed in his heart. Until hearts will become of two types: a heart that is pure and white, and because of its constant resilience against these fitan it will build up an endurance against them; and the other heart will be dark and murky — the same way sand and water mixed becomes muddy and you can't tell what's pure water and what's not, a person's heart will become like that. They won't be able to differentiate between goodness and evil. It will be like a jug that's flipped over — anything you pour into it, nothing enters. There's no point in talking to them anymore. It will not recognize something good as good, and it will not recognize something evil as evil.

Hasten Towards Good Deeds Before the Trials Come

In another hadith, the Prophet ﷺ says:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 186)

Hasten towards good deeds before such trials come that are like the stages of the night — the same way it just gets darker and darker with no period of light in between, the same way it will just get worse and worse. And it's something you can't even perceive — if a person walks back after Maghrib it's still pretty light outside, but by the time you get home it's completely dark and you don't even realize. That's the nature of these trials. And what's the effect? In the morning a person will be a believer, and on that same evening he'll be a disbeliever. And in the evening a person will be a believer, and the next morning he'll be a disbeliever.

How to Respond: Vigilance, Preparedness, and Seeking Guidance

So the point of mentioning all this is not that we approach any innovation or anything new that comes out with fear or anxiety. The point is to approach it with vigilance and preparedness. The first thing is realizing that this is something that can have an effect on us. It's not, "well, these things will take a long time before they become common, there's nothing for us to worry about right now." That's not the case — we see examples of that in front of us.

When the internet first started, there was the corporation IANA — the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority — they assign different addresses for each person to surf the web. When they first started out, they had only a certain number of addresses and weren't scared of them being used up, because how much was the internet really going to flourish? But within a few years, 4.3 billion addresses were completely used up. So these things boom faster than we can realize.

So the first thing we have to take into consideration is that this is something that can affect us, and the second thing is preparedness — we have to prepare ourselves and our families to meet these things, so that we can leverage whatever benefit is in them and curtail whatever harm is in them.

This comes from Hudhayfah رضي الله عنه — he is a sahabi who narrates many of these hadith that talk about the trials near the end of times. He himself explains the reason:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3606; Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 232)

People used to ask the Prophet ﷺ about good — the triumphs of Islam, when Islam will flourish, these things. And I used to ask him about the evil, because I had a fear that it would afflict me and I wouldn't be ready.

And the third thing we need to do is ally ourselves with those people who can guide us with regards to these matters. And Allah has promised this nation that there will always be a group of people who will be on the truth and can guide those who go astray. As the Prophet ﷺ says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3641; Sahih Muslim, Book 20, Hadith 170)

There will always be a group from my nation that will be steadfast on the truth. Those who forsake them will not harm them until the Day of Judgment comes and they will remain on the truth.

So the point is for us to realize the need to learn about these innovations that are happening, and the second is to approach those who have knowledge about them and can guide us about how Islam views these things.

We ask Allah that He gives us all the opportunity to act upon what has been said. Ameen.