Episode 2
Episode 2: The People's Threat and the Messengers' Reply
โณ Audio is being processed โ you can listen online for now.๐ PDF
The townspeople did not only deny; they also threatened the messengers with an ugly stance. They even considered the messengers' coming a bad omen. Allah said, "They said, 'Indeed, we consider you a bad omen. If you do not desist, we will surely stone you, and there will surely touch you, from us, a painful punishment'" (Qur'an 36:18). Taking things as omens (tathayyur) is a belief of ignorance that ties misfortune to something powerless. The messengers set it straight: "They said, 'Your omen is with yourselves. Is it because you were reminded? Rather, you are a transgressing people'" (Qur'an 36:19). The messengers affirmed that their "bad luck" in fact came from themselves โ from their disbelief and transgression, not from a reminder that brings good. To reject counsel and then blame the counselor is a sign of a heart gone astray. Reflection: believing in "bad luck" and "fortune" in created things is a form of minor shirk that weakens tawhid. All that befalls a person is the fruit of deeds and the decree of Allah, not because of an object or event thought to bring bad luck. Source & Note: evidence from the Qur'an, 36:18-19. The concept of "tathayyur" (taking omens) rejected in this verse is the Qur'an's own text; its prohibition is also affirmed in many authentic narrations.
Next โ
Episode 3: A Believer Comes Running from the Edge of the City