The Strongest Fiber in the Universe

 THE HOUSE OF THE SPIDER

 29:41. The parable of those who
Take protectors other than God
Is that of the Spider,
Who builds (to itself)
A house; but truly
The flimsiest of houses
Is the Spider's house;—
If they but knew.

42. Verily God doth know
Of (every thing) whatever
That they call upon
Besides Him: and He is
Exalted (in power), Wise.

43. And such are the Parables
We set forth for mankind,
But only those understand them
Who have Knowledge.

Allah (SWT) has provided us an amazing guidance in the Qur’an.  No other religious text is like it.  No other book contains such a wealth of wisdom.  It is sad that today we take so little time to understand it.  If we took the time to do so, we would again be the best of Ummah in the World raised up from among mankind.

Here Allah (SWT) uses the parable or example of the house of a spider.  A familiar thing to all of us, is the house of the spider.  How many times in our lives have we easy ripped one of these houses from its anchors on a door threshold or crevice near the ceiling. 

Science tells us some interesting things about the substance from which the spider builds her house, her web.  The silk of the spider is incredibly strong.  In fact, pound per pound, it is stronger than steal.  Its tensile strength is stronger that the rebar we use to build concrete structures.  And some of our da’is who talk on Qur’an and Science have noted this.  Yet Allah (SWT) says that the house of an ankabut spider is the flimsiest if we but knew.  

BUILDING OUR HOUSE OF THE STRONGEST FIBER

Let us examine this parable in more detail then to see the amazing understanding Allah is trying to give us.  First, Allah (SWT) uses this parable to show the position of one who commits shirk.  What is it to commit shirk?  It is to set up partners with Allah, to think that anything or anyone or any being has power and control along with Allah.  The people of Ibrahim used to worship the sun, moon and stars as well as idols they made themselves out of wood or stone.  The Quraish used to worship stones and bones and all kinds of idols they fashioned for themselves.

The ankabut similarly builds her own house.  She builds it out of silk which she produces from her own body.  She makes it up so to speak, just as partners of Allah are mere inventions of people, produced by their imaginations from their own minds.  People invent all kinds of partners with Allah (SWT).  People think their bosses gave them their jobs and pay, or that their teachers gave them knowledge.  Knowledge and risq/wealth come from only one source – Allah (SWT).  That is the true meaning of tawhid al- rububiyyah – the oneness of Lordship.  Allah alone is Lord, Provider and Guide of us all.

So our ankabut builds her house out of her own silk produced from her own body.  How strong is that house?  On paper, it should be very strong.  The tensile strength of spider silk is more than that of steal, as we mentioned, but… What looks good on paper may not look so good on reality.  The spider’s silk is strong on a micro scale, but on the scale of reality, it is flimsy.  You or I can tear it easily in an instant.  Even a wind can cause it to shake and wobble.  It is exceedingly flimsy. 

Actually the spider wants it that way.  She knows that her prey has come by detecting the slightest movement of her web.  She wants a flimsy and unstable home.  Similarly, the house built of partners invented by mankind is just as flimsy and unstable, subject to the effervescent nature of wood and stone, or the whims and fancies of a boss.  The difference is that the person deludes himself into thinking his self-created fantasy house is stable.  Then he is shocked when Ibrahim breaks the idols or his boss fires him and he no longer has his wealth or status.  His house crumbles and falls.

29:60. How many are the creatures
That carry not their own
Sustenance? It is God
Who feeds (both) them and you:
For He hears and knows
(All things).

When adversity comes to them, they cry not to their partners, but to Allah (SWT).

But after the adversity is past, they go right back to their foolish beliefs.

29:65. Now, if they embark
On a boat, they call
On God, making their devotion
Sincerely (and exclusively) to Him;
But when He has delivered
Them safely to (dry) land,
Behold, they give a share
(Of their worship to others)!—

And the spider’s silk tensile strength is a deceit.  It looks strong, it should be strong, but only on the smallest level.  On a larger scale, it is weak.  The mushrik thinks his wealth, health and knowledge will always be there.  He has wealth and sons.

57:20 Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children, as the likeness of vegetation after rain, thereof the growth is pleasing to the tiller; afterwards it dries up and you see it turning yellow; then it becomes straw. But in the Hereafter (there is) a severe torment (for the disbelievers, evil-doers), and (there is) Forgiveness from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure (for the believers, good-doers), whereas the life of this world is only a deceiving enjoyment.

29:67. Do they not then see
That We have made
A Sanctuary secure, and that
Men are being snatched away
From all around them?
Then, do they believe in that
Which is vain, and reject
The Grace of God?

Do they not see that Allah (SWT) has given us a secure sanctuary – which is this deen, this belief in Allah and worship of Allah in tawhid.  And that men are being snatched away by death all the time all around us.  So how can we believe in such vain and flimsy things and reject the stability and security of the one who created us, the source of all – Allah (SWT).

29:68. And who does more wrong
Than he who invents
A lie against God
Or rejects the Truth
When it reaches him?
Is there not a home
In Hell for those who
Reject Faith?

29:16. And (We also saved)
Abraham: behold, he said
To his people, "Serve God
And fear Him: that
Will be best for you
If ye understand!

17. "For ye do worship idols
Besides God, and ye invent
Falsehood. The things that ye
Worship besides God have
No power to give you sustenance:
Then seek ye sustenance
From God, serve Him,
And be grateful to Him:
To Him will be your return.

Islam is a process, a path, a journey toward Allah.  We will all return to Him, but how will be that return?  Many of us seek knowledge, but that is not the end of the journey.  Knowledge is useless unless it is understood.  Understanding is the second stage of the journey and with understanding comes Iman or faith and love of Allah.  When we study our Qur’an instead of just mouthing the words or learning the translated meanings, we will develop an understanding that will increase our faith in Allah and drive us forward to grow in our relationship with Allah.  The next step then is to “stand under” the shade of the Qur’an , to develop ihsan.  To have ihsan is not only to understand but to internalize and live according to the Qur’an.  Aisha once said that the Prophet was like a walking Qur’an.  He put all of its teachings into perfect practice.  We who follow him, may fall short, but we are capable of doing better.  As he was human, so are we and his legacy calls to all of us, reminding us of that of which we are capable. 

Let us build our houses of the strongest stuff – the strongest handhold – the deen of Islam and taqwa of Allah (SWT).

BUILDING OUR CITIES FROM THIS STRONGEST FIBER TOO

29: 41. The parable of those who
Take protectors other than God
Is that of the Spider,
Who builds (to itself)
A house; but truly
The flimsiest of houses
Is the Spider's house;—
If they but knew.

42. Verily God doth know
Of (every thing) whatever
That they call upon
Besides Him: and He is
Exalted (in power), Wise.

Despite its famed tensile strength, the house of an ankabut or spider is indeed flimsy.  Engineering-wise, the spider’s silk is the strongest organic fiber on earth.  It is stronger than steal, but you or I can come along and wreck it easily.  The mithlu or similitude is apt.  We build structures around us, not just physical ones, but structures of family, friends, co-workers.  We think we are safe in these structures; they seem so strong, but the smallest of winds can take them out.  If any maseebah or difficulty blows our way, “fair weather” friends run away.  Our structures collapse around us.

We pray to Allah that we will never be in the position to discover which friends are real and which are only “fair weather,” but how much better to build ourselves stronger structures in the first place.

We first need to build strong relations with each other as fellow brothers and sisters in Islam.  We need to follow our deen and not our cultures and leave behind backbiting, slander and the creation of fitnah or disharmony amongst ourselves.  We need to treat each other well and with respect and love.  And we need to extend this character to our non-Muslims friends as well. 

A spider’s web is a network of fine silk between many anchor points.  We need to build our webs not out of flimsy spider silk, but out of love and respect, and from the strongest fiber in the universe. 

What is the strongest fiber in the universe?  Is it Zylon, carbon nanotubes?  Allah says, 

29:22. Whoever submits
His whole self to God,
And is a doer of good,
Has grasped indeed
The most trustworthy hand-hold
And with God rests the End
And Decision of (all) affairs.

Islam is the strongest fiber in the universe!  This fiber consists of submission to Allah.  Allah SWT uses the term yuslim wajhahu – submits his face.  This is very important.  When we refer to “face” we are not talking about the physical face, but one’s honor, dignity, public reputation.  In embarrassing situations, we often seek a way to “save face.”  And it is this “face,” our honor, our hayaa that we must fully surrender to Allah.  We must place it voluntarily in His Hands and trust He will never humiliate us.  We must grasp tightly to Him and realize everything we are, our physical strength, mental ability, knowledge, and reputation comes from Him.  To Him is tawhid al-Ruboobiyyah.  Only He is our Rabb. 

In a time when we were gathered before Him with all of the progeny of Adam, He asked us, Alastu Rabbakum, Aren’t I your Lord?  We said Bala – ofcourse.  We cannot deny His Lordship, and how can we do anything other than surrender to Him.

Salama means to cease hostilities.  We must cease fire with Allah, cease to make war on Him by our disobedience, and submit our whole face, everything we are, to Him.  And then we must be a muhsin.  We must have ihsan – to worship Allah SWT as if we see Him, or at least to know that He sees us.  

Many of us forget about this aspect of Islam.  We remember what it is to be a Muslim or Mu’min, but what about being a Muhsin. 

To be a Muslim is to cease fire with Allah SWT; to be a Mu’min is to Amana to “believe,” “to have trust in Allah,” to love Allah.” To be a Muhsin is to Amala Salihaat – to do works of reconciliation.     

Islam is the strongest fiber in the universe!  Let us grasp it with both our hands.