The Book of Guidance #04
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Channel: Abdul Nasir Jangda
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AI Generated Summary ©
The history of Islam is discussed, including the introduction of the phrase "has been testped" in the Quran and the translation of the verse "will test you" in Arabic. The definition of fear is a small fraction of what Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala said, and the different levels of study in the Arabic language are discussed. The importance of testing people for fear and rewarding them for their actions is emphasized, along with the importance of learning from the Prophet's teachings and patience in learning. The segment ends with a brief advertisement for a book and a video of a speaker.AI Generated Transcript ©
With our series on the tafsir of the
Quran,
the meaning and the explanation of the book
of Allah
We're going to be continuing from where we
left off. So we'll be
today covering,
Surat Al Baqarah, number 2, I number
155.
And as we always do, I'll recite the
verse.
I'll then share a translation of the verse.
And after that, we'll go into the explanation
and the meaning of the verse.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says
that indeed
we will test you
with some elements
and indeed we will test you with some
elements of fear,
famine,
a loss of wealth,
a loss of life,
and a loss of fruits,
and give good news to those who are
patient.
This is continuing
from in the passage where Allah
previously said,
Oh you who believe,
seek the assistance of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
through patience and prayer.
Indeed, Allah is with those who practice patience.
And do not say to those who were
killed in the way of Allah
that they are dead or lifeless,
rather they are living,
but you do not fully comprehend
their state of life.
And now here Allah
is saying
that indeed we will test you.
And the idea and the concept of the
test,
and there are many different words that are
used for this in the Quran and in
the Arabic language in general.
There is the,
word that is used, which is
and then this particular word which is
And this is something that Allah speaks
about,
many different places in the Quran.
And Allah
tells us that this is a reality
of life.
A reality of the life of this world
is that Allah
will test us and tests are built into
our existence in this life and in this
world. Allah
in surah number 21, Surah al Anbiya number
35 says,
We will test you
through
things that you do not enjoy.
We will test you through difficulties.
Means Sometimes it can mean bad things, but
here it's not referring to evil
More so it means that Allah will test
you. Allah is saying we will test you
through things that you do not enjoy, you
do not like.
And we will even test you by giving
you things that you do enjoy and that
you do like
And all of these will be a means
of purifying you, of bringing out the best
version of you.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in surah number 8,
surah al Anfaal aye number 17,
when he talks about
the battle of Badr, for example,
where the Muslims were only 313
and they were going up against a 1,000
of the enemy where the Muslims were
completely unequipped.
They didn't have any weapons. They didn't have
swords. They didn't have anything.
They were holding sticks in their hands and
the enemy was armed from head to toe.
And they had to go into the battlefield
to face off against this. This was a
test and Allah says,
That Allah
arranged
this whole situation. Why? To test the believers
in a very beautiful way that they would
go into the battlefield
and they would stand firm and they would
stand tall and they would put their trust
in Allah and the outcome would be beautiful,
but they had to pass the test.
So Allah
throughout the Quran,
time and time again, Allah
informs us and tells us that this life
is full of tests.
And so here, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
probably in the most amount of detail, Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala is telling us about the
different ways in which we will face tests
in this world. So number 1, Allah
says
in the Arabic language means fear.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying that
you will face situations and circumstances
that will be extremely
intimidating.
You will face intimidation.
You will face all different kinds of fear
where you will be fewer in number or
you'll be outnumbered. You'll be outmanned. You'll be
outgunned.
All these different kinds of situations.
But there's something very beautiful and profound here.
And when we study the Quran, this is
something I try to explain to the students
as well, like in the seminary
at the different levels of tafsir that we
study,
there's a lot more detail and nuance here,
but I'm going to,
summarize it
At a very basic level or in a
very summarized manner,
there are 3 levels of studying the Quran.
Number 1 is to study what Allah has
said.
We study the message. We like we talked
about the translation. Allah is saying, we will
test you with some elements of fear. That
is what Allah said.
Number 2
is to study how Allah said what he
said,
but how did Allah say it?
So what's really fascinating here is Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala
says two things. When he says that Allah
will test you through fear
that you will be afraid You will deal
with situations
that are intimidating,
intimidation, fear.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala puts 2 nuances.
Allah has put 2 nuances in that wording.
Number 1, Allah says
The word in the Arabic language means like
something.
And it's a way in the Arabic language
to say like a little bit of something,
A little bit of something. So Allah did
not say,
We will test you through crippling fear.
Such intimidation that it would break you. No.
No. No. That's not what Allah said. Allah
said, We
will test you with a little bit.
A little bit. And then secondly, Allah then
didn't just say
but Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala said
In the Arabic language,
also means
a little bit of something.
So the word means a little bit.
Means a little bit.
So this kind of like repetition
what it does is it intensifies the meaning
of it.
And so essentially,
effectively what Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is saying
here is, we will test you with a
very small
tiny fraction of fear.
So that's very interesting. Now we understand not
just what Allah said, but how Allah said
what He said. Because Allah
is giving us good news
even when telling us about some difficulty that
is coming our way. That don't worry, the
difficulty
will not break you.
The difficulty is meant
to bend you but not break you.
So it won't break you.
It won't devilitate you.
Have faith.
Have trust.
Remember who Allah is.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is Most Merciful, Most
Compassionate.
Allah is most kind,
most generous.
Allah is forgiving, Allah is loving.
So Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will not break
you.
Just like imagine,
and there's a little
point here,
Nothing compares to Allah.
The most exalted of examples belong to Allah.
Nothing compares to Allah. But like in a
hadith of Sahih Muslim, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam, when he wanted to give us a
little bit
of an idea
of exactly how kind and how merciful
Allah is
to give us some kind of an idea
as human beings,
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wasallam rather gives us the example of a
mother
with her newborn baby.
That think about the kindness, the affection, the
care
that a mother has for the newborn baby.
Think about it.
And how profound it is?
How amazing it is? How miraculous it is?
That she sacrificed herself completely
for the sake of that innocent baby.
And she's willing to put everyone else aside,
put everyone else on hold
because her baby needs her.
And that's
the
the mercy, the compassion that a mother has
for a newborn baby. And then the prophet
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, Allah is
infinitely more merciful
and infinitely more caring and compassionate
upon His servants than a mother is towards
her newborn baby.
And so Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will not
break us.
So so to use that example now that
the prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam gave us,
if I'm trying to
teach my children something, if a parent is
trying to teach their child something
and you're trying to teach them a lesson,
you might give them a little bit of
work to do.
But the objective is to teach them.
It'll make them exert themselves a little bit
but you will never break them.
And if a parent went to the point
of breaking their child, there's something wrong with
that parent.
There's something deficient. There's something wrong.
There's something
unnatural.
So if a parent would not do that
to their child,
Allah would never do that to his servants.
So Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says, even when
you deal with
fear,
it will be tough
but I will not break you.
Just a little small amount of fear,
intimidation.
The second thing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,
in the Arabic language quite literally means hunger,
starvation or hunger.
And that refers to now the circumstances that
create hunger.
So it's talking about
which basically means drought or famine.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says that
your circumstances
could become difficult,
where it doesn't rain,
the crops don't grow,
the business doesn't turn a profit
and you are now restricted in your means.
And you will deal with those circumstances.
And you will deal with a loss in
your wealth.
Now, that's interesting. We just talked about livelihood,
right? Because of food.
But Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is talking about
food insecurity
separately than loss of wealth. Because there are
some kinds of wealth that you can't eat.
Right? Especially, historically,
classically, traditionally,
the the most recognizable form of wealth was
property,
land.
So someone could have a lot of land
but still not be able to eat. But
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala here is saying that
you might even have a loss of
property, assets, wealth.
You might lose your land.
That could happen. And Allah is saying, I
will test you with that.
Allah has already told us the playbook.
We know exactly what's coming.
And then Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says,
which means literally
is a plural of the word which means
fruit, fruits.
Now
a one translation
says that loss of fruits, meaning agriculture harvest.
But Allah already talked about food insecurity.
You'll have drought and famine.
Allah already talked about loss of wealth.
So then why again mention loss of those
fruits?
And this is where something very beautiful, very
profound.
So there's actually
a narration from the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam.
Abu Sinan,
he is a tabiri
who are the students of the Sahaba, the
students of the companions,
the 2nd generation of Muslims.
Abu Sinan,
he says,
My son
passed away.
My son
passed away.
I lost my boy.
I lost my baby boy.
And I just finished bearing,
praying the janaza
and bearing my baby boy
Sinan. He was called Abu Sinan.
And I just finished laying him to rest.
A great tabi'i, a great student of the
companions, Abu Talha Al Khawlani
He said he came to the janazah.
And he was there,
And he was standing at the edge of
the grave
making dua.
And he was there for us.
When I was about to turn around and
now leave the graveyard,
we had finished bearing my son,
my baby boy.
And I was turning to leave.
He grabbed me
by my 2 hands.
Like he grabbed my hands.
In a very loving affectionate kind of way
like he grabbed my hands and held them.
And
he kinda gave me some
some spirit,
some courage.
He encouraged me and gave me some
courage and spirit in that moment because I
was struggling.
He said,
shall I not give you some good news?
O Abu Sinan?
He called me by that name.
Shall I not give you some good news?
And then he said,
Abahaq is one of the great students of
the companions.
He's one of the main people whose name
you hear in the narrations of Hadith and
in the books of tafsid.
He says, AbbaHaqq, the great teacher, AbbaHaqq.
He said to me,
that the great companion of the Prophet
Abu Musa Alaihi Wasallam Abu Musa Alaihi Wasallam
said,
that the Prophet of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam
said,
That when the servant of God,
when a believer
loses his child,
When a believer,
a believing man or woman loses their child.
Allah says to His angels,
You took the soul
of my servant's
child.
You took the soul of my servant's child.
The angel say, yes, our lord.
It was your will, your decree.
And then Allah says,
listen to this wording now. And then
Allah
says,
You took
You took the fruit of his heart.
So again,
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says to the angels,
you took
the soul of the child of my servant.
The angels say, yes, oh Allah. And then
Allah says, you took, you didn't just take
the soul
of a child.
You took the fruit
of that person's heart.
And the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam referred
to a person's child
as
The fruit of their heart.
You took the fruit of his heart.
They say, yes, our Lord.
It was your will. And so that's what
we did.
And then Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala asks the
angels. He knows everything but for our benefit,
Allah asks
the angels.
What did my servant say
when you took the fruit of his heart?
They say,
He praised you.
He said, Alhamdulillah.
And he said,
To Allah do we belong and to Him
do we return.
And
Allah Subhana Wa Ta'la says
to the angels in that moment,
Build a palace in paradise for my servant.
And name that palace
the palace of the praise of Allah,
the home of the praise of Allah.
That is the reward
of my servant
who has
lost something so powerful and so precious and
so dear.
And so for this reason, Imam al Shafi'i
he says that in this verse when Allah
says, Indeed We will test you
with
some elements of fear. It'll bend you, but
it won't break you.
We will test you
with loss of food and provisions,
food insecurity,
drought, and famine.
We will test you with the loss of
your lands.
And then lastly, when Allah says that, We
will test you with the loss of life.
And then Allah says, We will test you
with the loss of fruits. Imam al Shafi'i
said,
This actually refers to people
losing their innocent children.
That even such tragic scenarios and circumstances
will come upon people
where parents will have to bury their children.
The most
tragic thing that can ever happen in this
world
is a parent having to pray the janazah
of their child.
And this is something so
powerful.
The prophet of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam, Muhammad
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, The beloved of Allah,
the chosen of Allah.
He was blessed with 7 children in his
lifetime.
6 out of his 7 children passed away
in his lifetime.
Think about that.
The prophet
had to pray the janazah of 6 of
his children.
Think about what the heart of the Prophet
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam went through. And that's why
whenever I reflect on this, I always think
to myself,
you know, sometimes it's an unfortunate kind of
but understandable, but unfortunate reaction that we have.
That if I'm going through some difficulty
and my brother tells me, be patient, brother,
be patient.
Your reward is with Allah.
Sometimes we become agitated.
Easy for you to say.
Easy for you to say, be patient.
You don't know what I'm going through. You
don't know what my heart has been through.
But
when the prophet of Allah, Muhammad
tells us to be patient,
Be patient.
Be grateful. Be patient. Be humble.
Because that man knew more pain
than anyone
has ever experienced or felt.
And so that's the lesson here.
And as great of a tragedy as this
would be,
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says,
That give good news, congratulate, give glad tidings,
congratulate
those
who practice patience
consistently.
Not just when it's easy, but especially when
it's difficult.
And
this particular lesson from this Ayah
is
particularly
powerful and
and profound
in light of what we've been witnessing
over the last 6 months.
With the tens of thousands
of children taken from their parents
in Hazza.
May Allah
grant them victory.
May Allah give them strength.
But subhanallah,
sometimes we wonder,
why?
And this is the part. Remember I said,
there's 3 levels to studying the book of
Allah at a very in a very summarized
way.
What Allah said? We talked about that.
How Allah said what he said? We talked
about that.
And the third level is why.
And this is the why.
These lessons are constantly renewing
and it's helping us to
understand
why this is happening.
Because Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is building
that
palace and paradise for all those people.
And Allah
tells the angels,
call it the house of the praise of
Allah
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala grant them Jannatul Firdausul
Allah. And may Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala build
them these palaces in paradise. And may Allah
reunite them with their loved ones in the
highest stages of paradise.
We'll stop here and pause here. I apologize
then we'll start.
then we'll start.