Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera – Qur’anic Reflections How to Acquire Intense Love for Allah Part 1

Now there's a really really important question that raises

here right? A very important question that look human beings

have an actual have an intelligence at the end of the

day. If it was that it's these idols that people are worshipping

right now, okay? If they if they're taking the lead as, as as

something, then the leaders that can be understood that they're

human beings and so on so they might see a bit more efficacy or a

bit more effect and a bit more ability coming from human beings

because they are living walking and kicking people. However, when

you're talking about idols, are you serious? I mean, were these

people just so dull? Were they just so dumb? Were they just so

silly about this that even though they had an intellect, I mean,

these people were very intelligent people. These weren't people have

totally, you know, degenerated intellect. I mean, they, they knew

what to do in many other parts, many other aspects of life. So how

is it possible that they could love these people like they love

Allah? Especially when they believed in Allah anyway? Right.

So how is it possible that they would have loved their idols just

like they love Allah? How is it possible that we can love money

even though we know that money can only take us so far? How can it be

that we can love position? Even though we know it can only take us

so far and eventually it's going to come because everybody knows a

mortality? Everybody knows that humans will eventually die.

Smilla Rahmanir Rahim Salam Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

are all the winner Humana Shavon Raji maybe Smilla Rahmanir Rahim,

Armenian nurse he may talk to me Do we need

daddy your hipbone a hunger have been

one Latina man or a shed do hope burnin

whether we are on lady you know whatever who is your own either

but and then with any hegemony.

What en la Shaadi do lie the

dear listeners Dear Brothers dear friends dear sisters,

we are looking at verse 165, Psalter Bacara. It's a very, very

profound verse I've thought of this verse many, many times.

And it's very profound because it tells us something very, very

important regarding our success in this world and the Hereafter, and

it's about our Creator. So what Allah subhanho wa Taala says here

is that among people are those who

adopt and who take

other than Allah subhanho wa Taala as equals to him, as parallel to

him as associates with him, they can be multiple translations here.

They take other people besides a lot of other things besides Allah

objects and so on. Like Allah subhanaw taala how they should be

with Allah, that's how they treat these people, your head bone or

hunger Billa and they love them, the way they love Allah or the

they, I mean, literally what it means is, they love them like the

love of Allah. So if we keep it general like that, I'll be able to

explain to you what exactly it means that they love them like the

love of Allah. Then Allah subhanho wa Taala he singles out the videos

it says that those people who believe they are intense and

ardent, most ardent and intense in their love for Allah. That's how

believers should be there after that Allah subhanho wa Taala

discusses the punishment and ALLAH subhanaw taala being intense in

punishment. So we want to discuss this first part today insha Allah.

Firstly, the word here that Allah subhanaw taala uses for equals to

Allah is and dad, the plural of NID need done, it's an Arabic word

obviously, and multiple meanings of Nidan here as to what it refers

to the one of the opinions, which is probably the stronger opinion

saying that this is referring to their idols. So in the context of

where the Quran was revealed in Makkah, the people, this was their

problem, we have different problems, we have different idols.

So this is the idols that they had taken as their gods, and they

would make offerings to them, they would somehow have some kind of

trust in them and feel some kind of emotion towards them and

feeling a liking towards them and be attached to them. Today we've

replaced those idols with different idols, we have virtual

idols and multiple other types of idols, we've got many, many more

they probably had a 360 or whatever it was, right? And they

had their focus on them and they represented past people and, and

so on and so forth. So

according to one understanding of this, this is referring to the

idols that they used to take us there gods and what it means Gods

it means they're intermediaries to Allah Himself. So they believed in

Allah they believed in Allah himself, but they would believe

that these are kind of the more

eminent and more closer people that they can or closer objects

they can see. So they used to attach themselves to that. And

they used to intend from them harm and benefit. So they literally

used to think that there's harm and benefit coming from there. And

they used to go and make petitions, and please, and

give offerings, and then ask for things from these things. And they

used to even make vows on them, that if so, and so happens, I'll

go to lat and I'll go to Rosa and SOA and all of these others that

they had that I would go and visit them, and I would go and give an

offering to them. So that's that's what they would do.

The other opinion is that this isn't necessarily referring to

Gods anymore, this is actually referring to their leaders. And I

think this is very relevant, to be honest, that this is whenever you

take any of your leaders as gods themselves as those who give the

ultimate legislation as who tell you what's right and wrong. I

think that is very, very, I mean, above relevant today. I mean,

people made other items today, like money is a major idol, right?

Money is a major idol. And it dictates what we do and what we

don't do, and how much effort we put in and how we tire ourselves

and how much sacrifice we make and how less we worship in place of it

and how we miss prayers and so on. Right. But for other people who,

for example, are very politically motivated, or are really, really

intense in some kind of following of an individual or something like

that. So it's like that, that they will follow these people, they

will follow their style, they will follow whatever they say they take

their word to be the Holy Grail, they take their word as final.

Right, it's just complete blindness with regards to with

regards to that they don't see a more higher power than that. They

think that that is all that's the end all of everything. So that is

another opinion that

this you're referring to people who you follow, right? And you

take them and you make halal and you consider permissible what they

say it's permissible and bad and unlawful and evil, what they say

is bad and evil. Most people are like sheep, so they just follow

something or someone without any kind of critical assessment.

Now, there's a really, really important question that raises

here, right? A very important question that look human beings

have an Apple have an intelligence at the end of the day. If it was

that it's these idols that people are worshipping right now, okay,

if they if they're taking the leaders as as something then the

leaders that can be understood that they're human beings and so

on, so they might see a bit more efficacy, or a bit more effect and

a bit more ability coming from human beings because they are

living walking and kicking people. However, when you're talking about

idols, are you serious? I mean, were these people just so dull?

Were they just so dumb? Were they just so silly about this, that

even though they had an intellect, I mean, these people were

intelligent people. These weren't people have totally, you know,

degenerated intellect. I mean, they, they knew what to do in many

other parts, many other aspects of life. So how is it possible that

they could love these people like they love Allah? Especially when

they believed in Allah anyway? Right? So how is it possible that

they would have loved their idols just like they love Allah? How is

it possible that we can love money even though we know that money can

only take us so far? How can it be that we can love position, even

though we know it can only take us so far, and eventually it's going

to come? Because everybody knows a mortality? Everybody knows that

humans will eventually die.

So how is that possible?

So these people, they would know that these are idols, these are

stones. They're motionless. They can't really harm they can't, you

know, you can topple them over. In fact, some of them they would

bake, and then they would eat if they got hungry, because it was

made out of dough. These things can't really listen to they don't

even make a movement. They don't even respond. They can't

understand they can't think for themselves.

And they they believed at the end of the day, they did believe that

it was God and it was ALLAH SubhanA wa Tada who did things in

this world, they definitely believe that right? He was the

ultimate

will ultimate, the one to have the ultimate will and decision for

this world. They knew that so that's why Allah subhanho wa Taala

says in Surah blooper man verse 25, whether in the human heart of

a center where it will lay a golden Allah, that if you do ask

them who created the heavens and earth They will say, Allah subhana

wa Tada. So they did believe in a God.

So if they hold this belief, they held this belief, then how is it

possible that they could love these idols the way they love

Allah subhanaw taala so the other thing is that

Allah subhanaw taala makes it very clear that insert is Zuma verse

three

That man Agudo home Illa yo curry buena Illa Allah Islam for we only

worship them so that they can make bring us closer to Allah subhana

wa Tada. So they, they see them as intermediaries. They see them as

intermediaries. So how is it possible that they still believe

all of these things about that?

And at the end of the day, if that was the case, that they worship

them to get them close to Allah, that means that they were actually

doing all of this failed worship, right? They were doing all of

this.

For the pleasure of Allah. That's another question that arises,

then, that they must have done all of this for the pleasure of Allah.

So how can then if they if they if they're worshipping these idols,

how is it possible that they're worshipping them the same as

Allah? How is it that they can love these idols the same as they

love Allah, even though they know Allah is their ultimate pleasure?

You know, they're seeking Allah's ultimate pleasure. So how is it

possible that they're there you hit buena home girl Billa, that

they love these things as much as they love Allah subhanaw taala.

So

that just is not rational, it just doesn't make sense of how that can

be possible.

So that one of the possibilities

of one of the ways to reconcile that and to understand that is

that what they mean by they, they love them the way they love Allah

is meaning they love to obey them, and magnify them, and revere them

the way they do to Allah. So they clearly can't think that they're

the same as Allah and that they love. They love these things

exactly, for the same reason as they love Allah. But in some

aspects, they're doing exactly that. And equating both of them,

if not actually giving the ideas more of that, which is that they,

in terms of what they're offering, it seems like the entire focus of

devotion and a bar and worship is for them, meaning for these idols,

and not for Allah, most of their time is spent for that. So while

ideologically, rationally, they do believe that God is supreme, as

many, many Muslims do as well, right? However,

what the issue is, is that the amount of time that we spend the

amount of devotion we show the amount of sacrifice we make is for

everything else, but Allah subhanaw taala. That's why there's

a recent very wise man who's passed away. Now he said that

money is so attractive today as a god, that everybody's after it.

We're very lucky as Muslims, he says that

once a week, for those who pray once a week, at least the Friday

that they get reminded of God, that there is a God that exist and

you do worship Him. So we go to the masjid. And for those who pray

five times a day, well, they're lucky here. They're more

fortunate. So they remember five times a day that there is a God

that you worship. And that's obviously if we have some

concentration in our prayer. Otherwise, even in our prayer,

we're probably thinking about who owes us and how has that person

paid, and how we can make a bigger sale and how many orders have come

in today. And there's a good deal going here and so on Subhan, Allah

may Allah subhanaw taala accept us may Allah subhanaw taala accept

us. The point of a lecture is to encourage people to act to get

further an inspiration, and encouragement, persuasion. The

next step is to actually start learning seriously to read books

to take on that subject of Islam and to understand all the subjects

of Islam at least at the basic level, so that we can become more

aware of what our Dean wants from us. And that's why we started

Rayyan courses, so that you can actually take organize lectures on

demand whenever you have free time, especially for example, the

Islamic essentials course that we have on that a ceramic essential

certificate which you take 20 Short modules, and at the end of

that inshallah you will have gotten the basics of most of the

most important topics in Islam and you'll feel a lot more confident.

You don't have to leave lectures behind you can continue to live,

you know, to listen to lectures, but you need to have this more

sustained study as well as local law here in Santa Monica when I

had to live record