One of the commands that were issued to the Bani Israaeel was that they were not to fish on the day of Sabbath (i.e. Saturdays) out of reverence for the day. Allah Ta‘ala tested them by causing the fish to appear in such abundance on Saturdays that they were visible from the surface, while on other days they could hardly be seen. The Bani Israaeel devised a scheme which allowed them to still catch fish without actually fishing on Saturdays. They would cast their nets and rods on Fridays, the fish would then be caught without anyone having to stand by, and would be pulled out on Sundays. The guilty ones were punished by being transfigured into monkeys, as they had failed to respect the day of Sabbath.

In the recent past, Muslims respected the azaan, the Day of Jumu‘ah and the month of Ramadhaan by switching off the television and stopping all sin. Unfortunately the respect even for these symbols of Deen are fast leaving us. Due to the gross disrespect for these symbols of Deen, by continuing to sin in these sacred moments, we are inviting the wrath of Allah Ta‘ala. May Allah Ta‘ala save us from such a punishment on account of this disrespect, that our inner-character is transformed to that of animals, though outwardly we remain as humans.