Hearing and sight are two abilities that Allah has given to mankind. It is important that mankind uses these abilities to please Allah ﷻ .
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Allah ﷻ has invited mankind to look into the sky and consider the creation of the heavens and the earth around him/her. He has also commanded mankind to listen and to obey. Commands of this nature require two distinct abilities that we cannot fully appreciate without examining them carefully. So when Allah tells us to look into the sky, He is indirectly refering to our ability to see. And when He commands us to listen, He is indirectly referring to our ability to hear. But in other places of the Qur’aan, Allah clearly instructs His creation to think deeply and reflect over their bodies and the abilities that they have been given. Allah ﷻ says:
وَفِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ءَايَـٰتٌۭ لِّلْمُوقِنِينَ (٢٠) وَفِىٓ أَنفُسِكُمْ ۚ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ(٢١) ( سورة الذاريات : ٢٠ -٢١ )
“An on the earth are signs for the certain. And in yourselves, then will you not see?” (Soorat adh-Dhariyaat : 20-21)
In this verse Allah ﷻ has redirected our attention to ourselves in order for us to better appreciate His mercy, recognize His blessings, and witness His oneness. There is truly nothing more familiar to us than our own bodies and their many abilities and functions. And from the most wonderful of Allah’s many blessings upon us is that He has given us the ability to hear and see. Allah ﷻ says in His Book:
وَٱللَّهُ أَخْرَجَكُم مِّنۢ بُطُونِ أُمَّهَـٰتِكُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ شَيْـًۭٔا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلسَّمْعَ وَٱلْأَبْصَـٰرَ وَٱلْأَفْـِٔدَةَ ۙ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ( سورة النحل : ٧٨)
“And Allah has extracted you from the wombs of your mothers not knowing a thing, and He made for you hearing and vision and hearts (intellect) that perhaps you would be grateful.” (Soorat an-Nahl : 78)
Allah ﷻ specifically mentions hearing and sight in this verse because of their obvious excellence and superiority. But Allah has also mentioned these two abilities because they represent two of the ways that a human being can leam, comprehend, and communicate. Information, advice, and instruction are primarily communicated through the use of hearing and sight. A person’s ability to hear whatever has been said; helps that individual to communicate verbally, while the ability to see helps people to communicate visually which in most cases involves reading and writing.
Anyone who has been granted the ability to hear and see should be grateful to Allah ﷻ for receiving such a blessing. People can show their thanks to Allah by utilizing their hearing and sight in the obedience of Allah. However, when a person uses his hearing and sight to disobey Allah ﷻ , then this person has essentially exchanged a wonderful blessing for wretchedness which is an evil practice that will eventually harm him/her.
This is because Allah ﷻ has made us responsible for the way that we use our ability to see and hear. If we use our hearing or our sight to perform actions that are pleasing to Allah, then we will be rewarded. But if we use our hearing or our sight to perform actions that are not pleasing to Allah ﷻ , then we run the risk of being punished since on the Day of Judgment, our hearing and sight will be evidence for us or against us. Allah says:
وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِۦ عِلْمٌ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلسَّمْعَ وَٱلْبَصَرَ وَٱلْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْـُٔولًۭا ( سورةالإسراء:٢٦)
“And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart – about all those [one] will be questioned.” (Soorat al-Isra : 36)
So it is upon everyone to remain thankful for the ability to see and hear since being grateful may help to avert the removal of these two wonderful blessings.
Learning from the lesson
- It is a great blessing that Allah ﷻ has given people the ability to see and hear.
- Our hearing and sight help us to learn and communicate.
- Being thankful to Allah ﷻ involves using your hearing and sight to please Him.
Discussions
- Discuss why you think Allah invites mankind to consider the creation of the earth. Why do you think He invites mankind to consider the creation of themselves?
