Following one's desires and the Fate of Bani Israel

كُلَّمَا جَآءَهُـمْ رَسُوْلٌ بِمَا لَا تَـهْوٰٓى اَنْفُسُهُـمْ فَرِيْقًا كَذَّبُوْا وَفَرِيْقًا يَّقْتُلُوْنَ (70) وَحَسِبُـوٓا اَلَّا تَكُـوْنَ فِتْنَـةٌ فَـعَمُوْا وَصَمُّوْا ثُـمَّ تَابَ اللّـٰهُ عَلَيْـهِـمْ ثُـمَّ عَمُوْا وَصَمُّوْا كَثِيْـرٌ مِّنْـهُـمْ ۚ وَاللّٰهُ بَصِيْـرٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُوْنَ (71)

For the reformation of Bani Israel, Allah Almighty sent Prophets and Messengers and also took a firm covenant from them that they would follow the Prophets and that obedience to the system and Book sent down from the heavens by Allah Almighty was obligatory upon them.

Now their denial and disrespect toward the Prophets is being mentioned, and the reason for it is also explained: it was اتباع الھوی — following desires. Because of اتباع الھوی they denied the Prophets, because of it they killed the Prophets, and because of it they rejected the Messengers.

حضرت تھانوی رحمہ الله mentioned that the root of all sins is اتباع الھوی, following one’s desires. When the lower self dominates a person, then he commits every form of disobedience to Allah Almighty. For this reason, the people of Allah strive to weaken the nafs so that desires may become subdued. They engage in اذکار, اشغال, مراقبے, and spiritual exercises so that the nafs weakens and no action remains mixed with selfish desire.

When the nafs dominates, then the demands of the soul become weak. Acting upon the Shari‘ah becomes extremely difficult, and some people even begin to see it as useless. Then they begin opposing it altogether. This was the condition of Bani Israel. Their desires overcame them, so they began disobeying the Prophets. They did not stop at disobedience; rather, they accused the Prophets of lying, and whenever they had power, they killed them. This was all due to اتباع الھوی.

كُلَّمَا جَآءَهُـمْ رَسُوْلٌ بِمَا لَا تَـهْوٰٓى اَنْفُسُهُـمْ

Whenever a Messenger came to them with matters that their souls did not desire — whether the “باء” here is باء الملابسة or باء التعدیة — meaning whenever a Prophet brought them that Book and law which opposed their desires.

Shari‘ah breaks uncontrolled desires and brings the progress of humanity. Within the human being exists an animalistic side. In certain desires and needs, humans resemble animals: food, drink, shelter, and bodily desires such as شھوۃ الفرج and شھوۃ البطن. In these aspects, humans resemble the rest of creation.

But within man there is also humanity — spirituality — which is connected to the heavenly and divine side. When the earthly side overpowers a person and drags him toward itself, then whichever animalistic quality dominates him becomes apparent. He becomes:

“كالانعام”
or
“فمثله كمثل الکلب”
or
“کمثل الحمار”

But when he adopts the heavenly way, then his animalistic side becomes disciplined and reformed.

The heavenly teaching does not say: do not eat or drink. Rather, it says: do so in a human and noble way. It does not say: do not fulfill desires. Rather, fulfill them according to the way of humanity. It reforms every aspect of life and teaches the path toward Allah Almighty.

Thus some restraint and balance become necessary. Religion does not leave man free to do whatever he wishes. But when a person says, “I have no need for this teaching; my own nature is sufficient for me,” then desires overpower him. Consequently, whoever speaks against his desires and calls for breaking the domination of the nafs becomes his enemy — whether that person is a Prophet, scholar, or داعی. Such a caller appears to him as an obstacle in the path of his “progress,” and his effort becomes removing that obstacle.

فَرِيْقًا كَذَّبُوْا وَفَرِيْقًا يَّقْتُلُوْنَ

They would say: “This person is an obstacle in our way of progress; he is a barrier and must be removed.”

كُلَّمَا جَآءَهُـمْ رَسُوْلٌ بِمَا لَا تَـهْوٰٓى اَنْفُسُهُـمْ

Whenever a Messenger brought them religion and revelation that their souls disliked:

فَرِيْقًا كَذَّبُوْا وَفَرِيْقًا يَّقْتُلُوْنَ

The implied meaning is that they disobeyed them. Then the question arises: what did they do to the Prophets? The answer is given: some they declared liars, falsely accusing many Prophets; and another group they killed.

“يقتلون” is grammatically in the present tense but carries the meaning of the past because it is connected to “كذبوا”. The present tense form indicates that even now, if they had the ability, they would kill a Prophet. Meaning, they also intended harm toward the Prophet ﷺ.

The present tense form suggests continuity: even now they do not refrain from killing people of truth. Whoever opposes their desires becomes an enemy, because their desires have become their god. Whoever opposes that “god” is targeted. Thus Prophets were martyred: Zakariyya and Yahya عليهما السلام were martyred, and they intended to kill Isa عليه السلام as well, though Allah Almighty saved him.

وَحَسِبُـوٓا اَلَّا تَكُـوْنَ فِتْنَـةٌ

When a person commits a mistake while knowing it is wrong, fear may still arise in his heart that perhaps Allah Almighty may punish him. This fear itself is like a hidden warning from Allah: stop and repent.

These people denied and killed Prophets. They knew they were wrong:

“وَ یَقْتُلُوْنَ النَّبِیّٖنَ بِغَیْرِ حَقٍّ”

Meaning, even according to themselves they knew these killings were unjust. Yet they never feared divine punishment. Why? Because they would say:

“نَحْنُ اَبْنٰٓؤُا اللّٰهِ وَ اَحِبَّآؤُهٗؕ”

“We are the children and beloved ones of Allah.” They believed that since they were descendants of Prophets and noble people, Allah would overlook their sins and not punish them.

Allah gave them respite, and they interpreted this delay as proof of acceptance. Similarly, some people today say: “We are Sayyids,” or “We belong to the Ummah of the Prophet ﷺ, and he will intercede for us,” or “We celebrate Eid Milad al-Nabi, so how can our sins remain?” They commit sins boldly, assuming Allah will forgive them automatically.

Thus they create for themselves an imaginary Paradise and a self-issued certificate of salvation. This was the nature of Bani Israel and the Jews.

Likewise, when a student thinks: “I leave my comfort, attend lessons, sit on the floor all day studying, eat simple food — if I watch a movie or waste time, what difference does it make? Allah will forgive me.” Or when a scholar says: “I teach all day and call people toward Allah; if I neglect prayers or waste time online, it will not matter.” Such thinking makes a person bold upon sins, and eventually the heart becomes dark.

Imam Ghazali رحمہ الله in Kimiya-e-Sa‘adat mentioned that one reason people progress deeper into sin is that they become deceived by some of their good deeds and think Allah will overlook everything because of them. Through this deception, Shaytan drags them into sin until the ugliness of sin disappears from their hearts.

وَحَسِبُـوٓا اَلَّا تَكُـوْنَ فِتْنَـةٌ

They assumed no punishment would come. “فتنة” here means punishment, as in Surah Adh-Dhariyat:

ذُوْقُوْا فِتْنَتَكُمْؕ-هٰذَا الَّذِیْ كُنْتُمْ بِهٖ تَسْتَعْجِلُوْنَ

Meaning: “Taste your punishment.”

Or “فتنة” may mean trials, hardships, and severe tests. They assumed Allah would never subject them to punishment or difficulty.

فَـعَمُوْا وَصَمُّوْا

Thus they became blind and deaf — meaning spiritually blind regarding religion and proofs, and spiritually deaf regarding hearing the truth.

But Allah Almighty is Most Merciful, so He did not leave them in that condition. He sent Prophets to them again:

ثُـمَّ تَابَ اللّـٰهُ عَلَيْـهِـمْ

Then Allah turned toward them in mercy.

ثُـمَّ عَمُوْا وَصَمُّوْا كَثِيْـرٌ مِّنْـهُـمْ

Then many of them again became blind and deaf.

One explanation is that initially they became spiritually blind and deaf, so Allah sent punishment through Bakht Nasr, who killed many and imprisoned many others. In captivity their consciences awakened, and they sincerely cried before Allah. Then Allah sent Dhul-Qarnayn against Bakht Nasr, liberated them, and Jerusalem was rebuilt over approximately thirty years.

After that, Prophets again came to them, but they returned to their old ways, denied the Prophets, martyred Zakariyya and Yahya عليهما السلام, and intended to kill Isa عليه السلام.

The first time “کثیر” was not mentioned, indicating almost all had gone astray. Later, “کثیر” was used because some righteous people still remained among them:

“منھم امۃ مقتصدۃ”

Meaning: continue striving for their reform; perhaps Allah may guide them.

Another explanation is that the first “فعموا وصموا” refers to their condition until Isa عليه السلام, and afterward when the Prophet ﷺ came they should have believed in him, but they denied him.

“کثیر منھم” is grammatically a substitute connected to the pronoun in “عموا وصموا”, similar to constructions like:

“اسرو النجوی الذین ظلموا”

and expressions from the pattern:

“اکلنی البراغیث”

وَاللّٰهُ بَصِيْـرٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُوْنَ

Allah sees what they do — meaning not merely seeing, but seeing in preparation for recompense. Allah Almighty will repay them according to their deeds.