Why does Allah seal some hearts.
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Dear
Burhan,
Allah
wants all of us to believe in him and be right and straight in faith. He
created everything and affirmed everything to worship no one but him. But
explain me the following; why would some hearts and minds be sealed if He
wanted everyone to follow Islam; worship only Him?
Allah
Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 25:
25
Of them there are some who (pretend to) listen to thee; but We have thrown veils on their hearts so
they understand it not and deafness in their ears; if they saw every
one of the Signs not they will believe in them; in so much that when they come
to thee they (but) dispute with thee; the disbelievers say: "These are
nothing but tales of the ancients."
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
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Answer:
Why does Allah seal
some hearts
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 90 Surah
Balad verses 4-9:
4 Verily We have created man into toil and
struggle.
5 Thinketh he that none hath power over
him?
6 He may say (boastfully): "Wealth
have I squandered in abundance!"
7 Thinketh he that none beholdeth him?
8 Have We not made for him a pair of eyes?
9 And a tongue and a pair of lips?
10 And shown him the ‘two ways’?
The Truth is that Allah has allowed and guided mankind to
chose one of the ‘two ways’: one is of
the guidance to Allah’s Way, and the other is the way of Shaitaan. He has clearly shown man the two ways, and
guided mankind by appointing Messengers and sending the Book of Guidance. And Allah has given mankind the intelligence
and the free will to choose between the Right and the
Allah says in the Holy Quran in Chapter 67 Surah
Al Mulk verse 2:
He (Allah) created death and life that He may
test you, to see which of you is the best in deeds.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 18 Surah
Kahf verse 29:
Proclaim, “This (Quran) is the Truth from your
Lord: now whosoever wills may accept it,
and whosoever wills may reject it.”
Thus, it is not as
if Allah Subhanah pulls out 5,000 names a day and declares that these 5,000
must be guided, whether they like it or
not!; or pulls out 5,000 names and
declares that they must not be guided!
Whoever amongst mankind chooses, with his own free will,
reasoning, and intelligence to follow the Right Path of Allah, he is guided
aright. Whoever chooses, with his own
free will, to follow any other way, then he has chosen the path of Shaitaan,
and has thus gone astray!
Thus whoever accepts the
guidance sent by Allah, and chooses with his own free will to follow the path
shown the appointed Messenger of Allah(saws), Allah is pleased with this person
and allows him to follow that Path.
And whoever rejects the guidance
sent by Allah, and follows any other path than that shown by the Messenger of
Allah (saws), Allah is dis-pleased with
this person, but still allows
him to follow his chosen path! And
that is because Allah has put mankind through a test in this worldly life!
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 35 Surah
Fatir verse 8:
Is he then,
to whom the evil of his conduct is made alluring so that he looks upon
it as good, (equal to one who is rightly
guided)? For Allah leaves to
stray whom He wills, and guides whom He
wills. So let not thy soul go
out in (vainly) sighing after them: for
Allah knows well all that they do!
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah
Zumar verses 36-37:
36 Is not Allah enough for His servant? But they try to frighten thee with other
(gods) besides him! For such as Allah
leaves to stray, there can be no guide.
37 And such as Allah doth guide,
there can be none to lead astray!
Is not Allah Exalted in Power (able to enforce His Will) Lord of
Retribution?
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 30 Surah
Rom verse 29:
Nay!!!
The wrong-doers (merely) fellow their own lusts being devoid of
knowledge. But who will guide those whom Allah leaves astray? To them there will be no helpers.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 45 Surah
Jathiya verse 23:
Then seest thou such a one as takes as his god
his own vain desire? Allah has knowing
(him as such) left him astray, and
sealed His hearing and his heart (and understanding), and put a cover on his sight. Who
then will guide him after Allah (has withdrawn Guidance)? Will ye not then receive admonition?
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 17 Surah
Israa verse 97:
It is he whom Allah guides that is on true
guidance; but he whom He leaves astray for such wilt thou find no protector
besides Him. On the Day of
Judgment We shall gather them together prone on their faces blind dumb and
deaf: their abode will be Hell: every time it shows abatement, We shall increase for them the fierceness of
the Fire.
Whatever path man chooses of his
own free will, Allah will allow him to take that path and
complete his test; and only in the
Hereafter the results of success or failure will be declared.
Thus it is not that Allah
Subhanah forcefully guides or misguides anyone amongst mankind….. but it is the
condition and principle of the test Decreed by the Lord All-Just that He allows
those who wish to be guided to be guided aright, and He allows or leaves
those who wish to stray to be left astray for the period of the test.
Please allow us to relate a
simple example which would clarify your very important question, Insha
Allah.
Just as when one gives an
examination in a school or university, during the time the exam is actually in
progress, the teacher may come behind and see the answers being written by his
student; but it is the very nature and sanctity of tests and exams, that the
teacher neither encourages (although he could!)
the student who is writing the correct answers, nor stops (although he
could!) the student who is writing the
wrong ones; but rather the teacher allows
each student to fulfill the test according to the stipulated time. It is only after the exam papers are
submitted at the end of the stipulated time, will the teacher mark the papers
and let the students know who has passed and who has failed the exam.
Similarly, whoever accepts the
guidance sent by Allah, and chooses with his own free will to follow the path
shown the appointed Messenger of Allah(saws),
Allah is pleased with this person and allows him to follow that Path.
And whoever rejects the guidance
sent by Allah, and follows any other path than that shown by the Messenger of
Allah (saws), Allah is dis-pleased with this person, but still allows him to follow his chosen
path! And that is because Allah has put
mankind through a test in this worldly life!
He has guided mankind aright by sending His Messengers and revealing His
Books, and given man the free will to choose whichever path he wishes to take:
the Path of Guidance, or the path of misguidance. Whatever path man chooses of his own free
will, Allah will allow him to
take that path and complete his test; and only in the Hereafter the results of
success or failure will be declared.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah
Anaam verse 25:
25 Of them there are
some who (pretend to) listen to thee; but We have thrown veils on their
hearts so they understand it not and deafness in their ears; if they
saw every one of the Signs not they will believe in them; in so much that when
they come to thee they (but) dispute with thee; the disbelievers say:
"These are nothing but tales of the ancients."
When one becomes so obstinate in his disbelief, that he
refuses to see the manifest Signs of Allah and ponder over them, or listen to
the good counsel of those who seek to help him save himself from the Wrath of
Allah, it is as if they themselves have decided and chosen to close their
sight, and their hearing, and their hearts to the Guidance of Allah
Subhanah…..and because man is involved in a test for a period of this one short
transitory life, The Lord Most High allows
them this path of obstinacy which they have chosen for themselves!
It is not that Allah Subhanah has Commanded that their
eyes or ears or hearts be sealed, but because they themselves chose to close
their sights, and their hearing, and their hearts to the Truth, Allah Subhanah allowed them and gave them
permission to do so…..One can awaken one who is sleeping; but how can one wake
one who is awake but pretends to be sleeping???
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 18 Surah
Kahf verse 57:
57 And who doth more wrong than one who is reminded of the Signs of his
Lord but turns away from them forgetting the (deeds) which his hands have sent
forth? Verily We have set veils over
their hearts lest they should understand this and over their ears deafness. If thou call them to guidance even then will
they never accept guidance!
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verses 6-7:
6 As to those who reject Faith it is the same to them whether thou
warn them or do not warn them; they will not believe.
7 Allah hath set a seal
on their hearts and on their hearing and on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they (incur).
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any
other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be
assured of being led astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
