Adnan Rajeh – Surat As-Saff and Al-Jumuah Summaries
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of committing to what we do when we become Muslims and offering services and priority to others. The importance of trust and unity in every domain of life is emphasized. The importance of signing a contract and showing one's honesty and loyalty to the culture is also emphasized. The importance of practicing the spiritual teachings of Jesus Christ during the pandemic and leaders in driving change and empowering people to live their own lives is emphasized. The importance of leaders in building society and empowering people to live their own lives is also emphasized.
AI: Summary ©
Surah Al-Jumu'ah and Surah As-Suf
and Al-Jumu'ah In the name of
Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of
the worlds.
Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barak ala nabiyyina
Muhammadin wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'in
wa ba'd.
Today, insha'Allah, I will talk about two
surahs.
I will talk about Surah As-Suf and
Al-Jumu'ah, insha'Allah.
And they're in the cluster of surahs from
Al-Mujadalah wa Al-Tahreem, the 28th juz'
of the Qur'an, that talks about organizational
aspects of the life of Muslims within their
societies.
It organizes Muslims' relationships with each other, with
Muslims who don't live with them, with non
-Muslims living with them or not living with
them, with those who are in war with
them, with those who betray them, with citizens
who are living with them, with their spouses.
It talks about aspects of leadership, of
domestic issues and domestic laws.
And that's all within this juz' that's very
dynamic and it's all madani.
Every surah here is revealed in Madinah.
Surah As-Suf today is a surah that
offers a contract.
It talks about the importance of us committing
to what we agreed to commit to when
we became Muslims.
As Muslims living in a Muslim society, to
hold the unity of the group and to
commit ourselves to the message of this group.
And the whole surah just revolves around a
verse that actually offers a contract.
If this juz' is going to talk about
organizational aspects, well, if we're organizing lives of
a large number of peoples, then a contract
is a good way to do that.
And it's one of the few places in
the Qur'an that Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala talks about our commitment to his teachings,
our commitment to our ummah, our commitment to
our society and to our nation, in the
form of a contract.
And I'll explain that in a moment.
The surah begins, as most surahs in this
juz', أُسَبَّحَ لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ All exalted
is the one who every creation in the
cosmos of the earth praise him.
And then he says, يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
لِمَا تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ كَبُرَ مَقَةً عِنْدَ
اللَّهِ أَن تَقُولُوا مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ Why is
it that you say what you do not
do?
It is a very bad sin, it's a
very major sin in the eyes of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala for us to say
that which we do not do.
Which is a very scary thing because we
all fall into that trap once in a
while.
But the concept here is from a society
perspective.
You've said, لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ
اللَّهِ You've joined the Muslim ummah, you've committed
yourself to working for the best interest of
this ummah, for the prosperity of this ummah.
Why is it that you say what you
don't do?
That's what the surah revolves around.
If you truly believe in this ummah, in
the prosperity of it, in the message that
it carries, and what Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala taught us to be for it, then
we must work on keeping the ummah united.
We have to work on offering services to
this ummah.
We have to work towards allowing this ummah
to succeed in every discipline, in every domain.
So the surah starts right away.
Why is it you say what you don't
do?
You said that you commit yourself to this.
Why aren't you doing it?
It's a horrible sin for you to say
something and then not do it.
Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, إِنَّ
اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الَّذِينَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِهِ صَفَّةً كَأَنَّهُمْ
بُنْيَانٌ مَرْصُوسٌ Indeed, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
loves those who when needed will go to
war for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, standing as a firm building.
صفة, they're in one line with full equality
amongst them as if they're a firm wall,
as if they're a firm building.
An example is given in qital.
And I've talked about this concept a number
of times in the Quran.
Not because that's all we're asked to do.
It's almost never what we're asked to do.
And that's been repeated many times in the
surahs we've talked about.
But whenever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants
to give an ultimate example of giving your
time and life, it gives the example of
the requirement of going to combat.
Because that is when you really prove that
you're able to, that you're willing to sacrifice
and give everything that you have for this
ummah.
Because that's what we agreed to when we
said, لا إله إلا الله.
That would be a part of an ummah
where the best interest of the ummah is
before the best interest of myself.
That's why this surah asks at the beginning,
why do you say what you don't do?
Indeed Allah loves those who are willing to
stand and lie in like a firm building.
As we do stand in prayer.
صف أنهم بنيان المرصوص.
The صف is a symbol.
It's a row, but it's a symbol to
oneness, to unity.
That we stand together, that we stick together,
that we work together, that we care for
one another, look out for each other.
That's the idea that exists in this ummah.
And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives
examples with Musa.
When Musa tells his people, يَا قَوْمِ لِمَ
تُؤْذُونَنِي وَقَدْ تَعْلَمُونَ أَنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ فَلَمَّا
زَاغُوا أَزَاغَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ Why is it that
you harm me?
How did they harm Musa?
Now there are different narrations in the books
of Tafsir that I'm not interested in because
they're very specific and they lack authenticity.
But rather let's take the bigger, the more
common.
What's the more common mistake that Banu Israel
made in the Qur'an?
That the Qur'an talked about at least
25 times.
فَيَنَا اخْتَلَفُوا إِلَّا مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ الْعِلْمِ
اختلفوا, they divided their own camp.
They divided amongst themselves.
They lost the unity.
They became more egocentric than the nation-centric.
They stopped looking at the bigger picture and
look at the best interest of the ummah.
They start looking at the best interest of
themselves.
فَلَمَّا أَزَاغُوا When they lost their way by
doing that, أَزَاغَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala sent their hearts far away from
them.
And then Isa says the same thing with
قَالَ عِيسَ بِنِ الْمَرْيَمَ يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِنِّي
رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ
الْتَوْرَاهِ وَمُبَشِّرًا بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِي مِنْ بَعْدِ يَسْمُهُ أَحْمَدٍ
Indeed, I brought you the teachings of Musa
alayhis salaam before me and the teachings of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that I have
with me.
And I'm telling you that a new prophet
that's going to...
the final prophet that's going to come after
me his name is Ahmed.
And that's where the Prophet alayhis salaam Muhammad
was named Ahmed, that's the only place in
the Quran.
He was named Ahmed in the Injil, in
the Bible before he was named Muhammad sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam.
And then when...
فَلَمَّ جَاءَهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنِيَاتِ قَالُوا هَذَا سِحْرٌ مُؤْمِنٌ When
the Prophet alayhis salaam brought forward what Isa
told them he was going to bring forward,
they refused it.
Why?
Because they became more self-interested in their...
they became more...
they became oriented towards their self-interest more
than their ummah.
Their Prophet told them, in order for the
bigger picture to work out when Muhammad comes,
when Ahmed comes with the teachings, follow him.
That means you have to give up something
of yourself and they didn't want to do
that.
Putting yourself before your nation.
Which is what Surat al-Suf is saying.
No, your nation, your ummah, working for it
comes before your self-interest.
And the Surah is giving examples.
Why do you say what you don't do?
Now stand in line firmly with the...
with the interest of the nation before the
interest of yourself in the example of combat.
And show the example of the people of
Musa who refused to do that.
And then the example of the people who
followed Isa who was refusing to do that.
Coming towards the main ayah in the Surah.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ تِجَارَةٍ
Can I tell you about a contract?
A business proposal.
تُنْجِيكُمْ مِّنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ Indeed, it will save
you from a painful punishment.
تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَتُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ
بِأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَنفُسِكُمْ You'll believe in Allah and His
Prophet.
And then you exhaust all of your resources.
All of your energy.
You exhaust all of your energy.
You use everything you can for the service
of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and His
Prophet.
You use your wealth and you use your
time and you use yourselves, your lives.
And if you do that, the proposal goes
like this.
يَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ مِّنْ ذُنُوبِكُمْ وَيُؤَخِّرْكُمْ إِلَىٰ أَجَلَةٍ تَجْرِي
مِنْ تَحْدِهَا أَنْهَارُوا وَمَسَاكِنَ طَيِّبَةً فِي جَنَّاتِ عَدْنِ
You'll have your sins forgiven and then you'll
enter the paradise in the highest ranks.
وَأُخْرَىٰ تُحِبُّونَهَا And something else that you love.
نَصْرٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَفَتْحٌ قَدِيرٌ You'll be offered
victory and prosperity as well in this dunya.
That's the contract.
As Muslims, we are asked to sign that
contract.
To put the ummah before ourselves.
This surah is extremely important in what it
organizes for us.
It organizes for us our relationship with our
nation, with our ummah.
That the strength, the unity of the ummah
is more important than my personal self-desires,
what I want and what I don't want,
what I like and what I don't like,
whether I'm happy or not.
What matters is the ummah is doing well.
And the contract is right in the Qur
'an.
Have you signed it?
Here's the business proposal.
You offer that to Allah.
He'll forgive your sins and you'll enter paradise.
And you'll see prosperity at the end.
Prosperity will come to this ummah if we
do that.
The last verse in the surah.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا أَنصَارَ اللَّهِ Be
advocates of God.
Stand by Allah.
Don't just say, I believe and pray your
prayers.
No, no, no.
Be Ansar of Allah.
Ansar means those who stand by, those who
fight by, those who strengthen, those who advocate
for.
That's why the Prophet ﷺ when he went
from Mecca to Medina, the people in Medina
were called Al-Ansar because they advocated for
him ﷺ.
And they stood by him and they strengthened
him.
Allah ﷻ is telling us, asking us, كُونُوا
أَنصَارَ اللَّهِ Be the ones who stand by
Allah ﷻ.
كَمَا قَالَ عِيسَىٰ بِنُ مَرْيَمَ لِلْحَوَارِيِّينَ مَنْ أَنصَارِىٰ
إِلَى اللَّهِ قَالَ الْحَوَارِيُّنَ نَحْنُ أَنصَارُ اللَّهِ As
Jesus ﷺ spoke to his apostles, asking, will
you stand by the word of God?
Will you support it?
Will you put everything for it?
And they said yes, and they did.
Some people accepted, فَآمَنَ الطَّائِفَةُ مِن بِسْ بَنِ
إِسْرَائِيلَ وَكَفَرَ الطَّائِفَةُ Some people continued to do
that from Bani Israel and some people didn't.
فَأَيَّدْنَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا عَلَىٰ عَدُوبِهِمْ فَأَصْبَحُوا ظَاهِرِينَ And
those who accepted the contract, signed it and
lived by it, they were the ones who
prevailed eventually.
And that's what Surah As-Saff explains.
Surah As-Saff.
اليوم نشرح إن شاء الله الصف والجمعة وهما
سورة تانية ضمن هذا الجزء الثامن والعشرين المحور
من المجادر إلى التحريم ومحور يتحدث عن تنظيم
العلاقات للمسلمين ضمن مجتمعاتهم مع بعضهم مع سواهم
من غير المسلمين مع أعدائهم مع الخونة مع
الأولياء مع الفقراء مع المنافقين تتحدث عن القيادة
تتحدث عن وحدة الصف تتحدث عن العلاقات الاجتماعية
والأحكام الأهلية جزء ينظم حياة المسلمين بأشلوب ديناميكي
حركي لأن هذه الصور كلها نزلت على النبي
عليه الصلاة والسلام وهو يحيش حياته في المدينة
مع الصحابة فكانت هناك أمور كثيرة تحدث وجب
أن يتم مقاربتها من قبل القرآن حتى يتعلم
الناس كيف يتعاملون معها واليوم سورة الصف تتحدث
عن قضية في منتهى الأهمية تعطيك عقد عقد
اجتماعي العقد الاجتماعي إذا درست علم الاجتماع تجده
عند كل المفكرين من الكبار العقد الاجتماعي ما
العقد الاجتماعي الموجود في الإسلام؟
أن تضع مصلحة الأمة فوق مصلحتك الشخصية هذا
هو المطلوب تبدأ السورة بعتاب يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ
آمَنُوا لِمَا تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ مَا لَذِي
قُلْنَاهُ وَلَمْ نَفْعَلْهُ قُلْتَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ
مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللهِ نعم إذن أنت الآن وضعت
مصلحة الإسلام فوق مصلحتك قولك لا إله إلا
الله هذا ما يعنيه يعني أن مصلحة المسلمين
ومصلحة الإسلام قبلك أنت فلما تقول ما لا
تفعل؟
كَبُرَ مَقْتًى عِندَ اللَّهِ أَن تَقُولُوا مَا لَا
تَفْعَلُونَ خطير هذه الآية والله إِنَّ اللَّهِ يُحِبُّ
الَّذِينَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِهِ صَفَّةً أعظم دليل على
تقديم الإسلام والمسلمين على النفس هو القتال أنك
تذهب للقتال إذا اضطررت إلى ذلك تقدم روحك
فالله أعطى هذا المثال يُحِبُّ الَّذِينَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي
سَبِيلِهِ كَيْف صَفَّةً صف واحد كَأَنَّهُمْ بُنْيَانٌ مَرْصُوسٌ
هذا التراص هذه وحدة الصف بين المسلمين يعني
يجتمعوا على مصلحة أعظم من مصالحهم والشخصية مصلحة
الأمة فيتوحدوا ويتراصوا ويتجاوزوا كل منهم يعني عقبة
نفسه وكبريائه واستعلاء ذاته على الآخرين يتجاوز هذا
ويتواضع ويتنازل من أجل مصلحة المسلمين الكبرى ثم
يعطينا أمثلة سبحانه وتعالى موسى يقوم لماذا تؤذونني
وردت في تفسير هذه الآية معاني كثيرة كيف
آذى قوم موسى ولا يعنيني الغوايات الكثيرة التي
فيها ضعف وإنما ننظر إلى الصورة الأعظم في
القرآن كيف آذى بني إسرائيل مما هو ذنب
بني إسرائيل الأعظم وما أكبر ذنب لبني إسرائيل
لو نظرت في القرآن هو أكبر ذنب بني
إسرائيل فَمَا اخْتَلَفُوا إِلَّا مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ
الْعَلِيمُ فَمَا اخْتَلَفُوا إِلَّا مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتُهُمُ
الْبَيِّنَاتُ بَغْيًا بَيْنَهُمُ في القرآن أكثر من عشرين
مرة The children of Israel were divided, and
they will not be like those who were
divided and divided.
This is the repetition of the Quran.
And those who were given a book did
not divide fully, their greatest sin was that
they were divided and divided.
They harmed their prophet when they were divided
and divided.
So when they strayed from the straight path,
from presenting the interests of the children of
Israel for their own interests, Allah strayed from
their hearts.
He turned them away from Him, Glory be
to Him.
The example of Jesus, peace and blessings be
upon him, is the one that touches us
the most.
Jesus, peace and blessings be upon him, said,
I am the Messenger of Allah to you,
confirming what is in my hand of the
Torah.
I have come to complete what Moses brought,
and to give glad tidings of a Messenger
who will come after him.
His name is Ahmad.
And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon
him and his family and companions, in the
Gospel, is called Ahmad.
And he is with us, Muhammad.
And he is Ahmad and Muhammad.
And he is the one who will come
after him.
Abu al-Qasim, peace and blessings be upon
him.
So Jesus, peace and blessings be upon him,
asked his followers, if Ahmad is sent and
he came to you with clear proofs, to
present the interest of the Ummah on your
personal interests.
To leave what you have of religion.
To leave your religion.
This is what you have lived in for
many centuries.
And you have built meanings in it.
And you have written books in it.
And you have built temples in it.
But when Muhammad came, you withdrew from all
of this to present the interest of there
is no god but Allah on that.
And you follow Ahmad.
But they did not.
And who is more unjust than one who
invents a lie about Allah?
Then came the central verse in Surah al
-Aqid.
O you who have believed, shall I show
you a trade?
Trade.
A contract.
It does not need to be settled.
It is not a matter of doing it
and then talking about the account afterwards.
No.
Trade.
This is a contract.
To save you from a painful punishment.
This contract is in the interest of saving
you from punishment.
What is the contract, O Lord?
You believe in Allah and His Messenger.
And you strive in the cause of Allah
with your money and yourselves.
You believe.
Then you present all that you have.
Your time and wealth.
You present it to the Ummah.
You present it to Allah and His Messenger
and to the religion.
You present this.
So if you present it, He will forgive
you of your sins.
And He will admit you to gardens beneath
which rivers flow.
And good dwellings.
And others you love.
A victory from Allah.
A victory from Allah.
And a near victory.
On the other hand, if you present all
this and give yourself and your wealth in
the cause of Allah.
Allah will forgive you of your sins.
And He will admit you to Gardens of
Eternity.
And you will save the Ummah.
Allah will open for this Ummah.
And the Ummah will be victorious.
This is what you love.
And others you love.
You love to see victory.
And victory will come to you, O Shaykh.
But first, present what you have.
Present the unity of the class over the
pride of the self.
Stand in a row.
See the prayer.
And pray it in one row.
None of us should be late.
Because the interest of the Ummah is above
the interest of all.
So we present what we have.
Or else we say what we don't do.
The surah ends with the call of Jesus,
peace be upon him, and his followers.
O you who believe, be helpers of Allah.
It is not enough to only believe in
Allah.
And to pray.
And to fast.
And to purify.
And to stay away from the concerns of
the Ummah.
And its problems.
And its backwardness.
And its delay.
And the ongoing injustice in it.
And the harm that will befall the people.
And discrimination.
And discrimination.
It is not good.
You must be helpers of Allah.
The helper is the one who stands with
him.
And helps.
And his concern is like the concern of
his helper.
The one who helps them.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, emigrated to
Madinah.
And the people of Madinah stood with the
helpers.
So the matter is to be helpers of
Allah.
As Isa Ibn Maryam said to the disciples.
Who are my helpers to Allah?
This is how his disciples called Jesus, peace
be upon him.
Who are my helpers to Allah?
Our disciples said, we are the helpers of
Allah.
So there was a group of Israelites who
believed in what he said and did.
And there was another group who did not
believe.
So Allah supported the believers against their enemy.
And they became manifest.
And we are asked to be helpers of
Allah.
And this is the meaning of the word,
al-Saf.
To present the benefit of the Ummah over
the benefit of itself.
To present the unity of al-Saf over
our pride and our souls.
And this social contract in Islam.
The second surah I'm going to talk about
today is surah al-Jumu'ah.
Surah al-Jumu'ah is a very well
-known surah.
And it's named after the most important and
most powerful ritual that we have in Islam.
Which is the prayer of Jumu'ah.
What does it really talk about?
It talks about leadership.
Jumu'ah is a system that's embedded in
Islam.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala designed Islam with
an embedded system of leadership in it.
You get the package of Islam, leadership comes
with it.
It's already installed.
You just need to activate it.
That's why any 2, 3, 4 Muslims, anywhere
in the world.
Up in Alaska or somewhere in the jungles
of the Amazon.
Wherever you want to put a couple of
Muslims, they will find each other and they'll
build a masjid and they'll have a Jumu
'ah.
Because that's how we roll.
That's how we function.
And the person who's going to give Jumu
'ah every week is going to be the
person who's going to make some decisions for
us.
And that's how leadership works in Islam.
It works, it's designed, it's installed through Jumu
'ah.
How we've messed that up is beyond me.
We are professionals, wallahi.
We have to be professionals at messing things
up because it's impossible.
It's installed in our deen.
You cannot every single week we group up
and gather.
Can you imagine that tomorrow around a billion
people in different time zones are going to
come and gather to listen to a message?
Do you imagine if those messages were of
any benefit at all?
Had any structure to them?
Had any unity in them?
How is it that we're not making any
progress as Muslims?
It's something that is jaw-dropping.
How could we possibly not make this work?
No groups on earth gather weekly in the
same intensity that we do.
We're the only group that can do this
every single week.
Even during COVID, we still find ways to
do it virtually.
Jumu'ah is always there.
And it's an installed system of leadership.
That's why in this surah, Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala says, هُوَ الَّذِي بَعَثَ فِي الْأُمْنِيِّينَ
رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ Indeed, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
sent amongst the illiterate a prophet from amongst
them to do four things.
He talks about the four basic reasons Allah
sent prophets to humanity.
Why?
Because those are the same four things that
the khatib of Jumu'ah is going to
talk to you about.
Going to remind you of.
Because the khatib of Jumu'ah, the person
who is offering Jumu'ah, is taking the
role of the prophets because they're not around.
It's the same role.
The role of the prophets and their leadership
and what they did is exactly going to
be taken by the...
You're not supposed to have been given a
paper to read from.
You're not supposed to be talking about issues
that aren't relevant to the people in front
of you.
You're not supposed to...
The Islamic narrative has to change.
Not away from, but actually back to what
it was.
You have to take it back to what
the Prophet ﷺ and the early sahabah did.
It was a means of leadership of communities.
It happened through Jumu'ah.
We don't need to have other types of
meetings.
We don't need even to fundraise.
We have Jumu'ah.
Everything we need, everything that is necessary for
us as an ummah can happen at Jumu
'ah because everyone's there.
You're obligated.
Allah ﷻ took upon Himself the responsibility of
gathering people.
Just offer a message that is worth listening
to.
I'm giving a halaqah.
How many people are listening to me now?
10, 15, 20 people?
That's it.
That's how many people I can get to
listen to me.
But then I give a khutbah of Jumu
'ah and the message is full.
The message is full.
They're there for me?
No, they're not there for me.
Because Allah ﷻ obligated to come.
That's why I'm obligated to make sure I
offer a good message.
And we're obligated to offer leadership.
And when we don't, we're gonna be held
accountable for that.
That's why Allah ﷻ in this surah gave
the same...
This is what I sent the prophets to
do.
So you better be doing the same thing.
That's why it's called Jumu'ah.
It's a very clear connection, association.
يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ
وَالْحِكْمَةَ Tell them about God.
Help them purify themselves.
Teach them the rulings.
And give them the wisdom to practice those
rulings properly.
That's how you do it.
You don't overcomplicate.
You don't go into details that are controversial,
people don't agree upon.
You talk about the basic values.
You explain to people who Allah ﷻ is.
You help them change themselves to be better.
You teach them the values of the deen
and how to practice these values.
Those are the four things that we need
to do.
And if we don't, مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ حُمِّلُوا التَّوْرَاتَ
ثُمَّ لَمْ يَحْمِلُوهَا كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارَ I mean, Arabs
usually use the word donkey to describe someone
who's not using their mind.
Even though donkeys are very smart animals.
But the example that's given here in the
surah is if those who are given the
Torah, who are given the Book of...
and then didn't really live by it, didn't
really contemplate or reflect upon it, didn't practice
it in their lives, what happens?
كَمَثَلُ الْحِمَارَ يَحْمِلُوا أَسْفَارَ It's like you have
a donkey, you have some books on top
of the donkey.
Look, a lot of knowledge there with the
donkey.
Yeah, but doesn't know any of it.
Doesn't understand any of it.
Just because you come from a long lineage
and heritage of people who were scientists and
people who brought religion and science together the
only time in history that it's available for
us, as the Muslims, doesn't mean that somehow
you're superior.
If what you have you don't read, if
what you were taught you're not willing to
understand and contemplate and reflect upon, if there
are more than 300,000 Islamic books written
but you've read none of them, what's the
point?
If the Qur'an has been there for
1400 years but we still don't understand what
it's trying to teach us, I need to...
And that's what happens when Jumu'ah dies
off, when the narrative, when the Islamic narrative
is destroyed and Jumu'ah doesn't do its
job anymore, people are Muslim because that's just
how they were born.
They don't understand any of it, they're not
relating to any of it, they don't feel
connected to any of it because the narrative
is dead, because we killed it and we're
not treating it properly, we're not showing it
the respect that it deserves and we're not
using it the way Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala commanded us to use it.
You can obviously see that this is a
pet peeve of mine and I get upset
about it because when you think about it,
how could we not make progress in any
society when we have Jumu'ah?
When we have this system that's already there,
how?
I don't understand how.
But week after week, you just watch it
become more and more meaningless to youth and
to people and they come because they have
to.
You can only depend upon that for so
long before people start getting frustrated and they
stop doing it.
Surah Al-Jumu'ah talks about the system
of leadership that's embedded within our deen.
It's already there, just stop for grabs, just
use it properly.
Then the verse is after, قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا
الَّذِينَ أَهَدُوا إِنْ زَعَمْتُمْ أَنَّكُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ لِلَّهِ مِنْ
دُونِ النَّسِيءِ فَتَمَنَّوا الْمَوْتِ Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala is using the followers of Musa as
the example for us to listen to.
Just because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave
you guidance doesn't mean that you're chosen over
others.
If you don't take the guidance that you're
given and you live by it, then it's
not gonna do anything for you.
You're not an ally of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala just because you were born Muslim
and you can speak Arabic doesn't mean anything
if you're not gonna follow it.
فَتَمَنَّوا الْمَوْتِ Okay, hope for death then.
And you hope that you die, then come
and we'll talk to you, and we'll see
whether you're actually an ally of Allah or
not.
وَلَا يَتَمَنَّوْنَهُ أَبَدًا بِمَا قَدَّمَتَ أَيْدِيهِمْ But no,
no one is gonna ask for death because
everyone knows how far away they are in
terms of their practice.
قُلْ إِنَّ الْمَوْتِ الَّذِي تَفِرْضُونَ مِنْهُ Indeed, death
will find you one way or another.
So you better prepare for it.
You better use the time that you have
here wisely so that when we do finally
pass away, we have something to show for
it.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نُوْدِيَ لِلصَّلَاةِ مِنْ
يَوْمِ الْجُمْعَةِ فَاسْعَوْا إِلَىٰ دِكْرِ اللَّهِ O those
who believe, once you hear Allah...
See, this is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
doing His part.
I'll take care of gathering people for you.
This one verse, over a billion people every
single week gathering Masajid all over the world.
Maybe not now in the pandemic obviously because
we're talking about a very specific exception to
the general rule.
But outside of this last year where things
changed, a billion people around the globe.
And that is a...
I'm being very generous with the estimate.
I'm saying that half Muslims don't go to
Jumu'ah.
A billion people...
Imagine, imagine a message that is being given
to a billion people.
That have so much in common.
How is it that we can't seem to
make the progress that we want to make?
It's just...
It's baffling really.
إِذَا نُوْدِيَ الْإِصْلَةِ When you hear the call
for the prayer on the day of Jumu
'ah, فَاسْعَوْا إِلَىٰ دِكْرِ اللَّهِ Go to the
remembrance of Allah.
وَذَرُوا الْبَيَّعِ Leave your work and your jobs
and leave whatever...
تجارة you're doing.
Just leave it, leave it.
Leave the selling and the buying.
You can do that later.
فَإِذَا قُلْدِيَةِ الصَّلَاةِ So once the prayer is
over, فَإِنْ تَشِرُوا فِي الْعَبْدِ Go back to
your...
Go into the earth.
And work.
After you heard this message, go and ask
for Allah's bounty on earth as you learn
from the message you listened to.
وَذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا Remember Allah the whole time
as you're doing it.
And then the surah points out a mistake
that the sahabah...
وَإِذَا رَأُوا تِجَارَةً أَوْ لَهْوًا إِنْ فَضُّوا إِلَيْهَا
وَتَرَكُوكَ قَائِمًا At the beginning of Islam, the
Prophet would be giving a khutbah.
And if their caravan came in with the
goods, the people would leave him standing alone.
It took time for the sahabah to be
taught that this is something that is more
important than your livelihood, more important than your
tijara, more important than whatever distractions exist around
you.
وَاللَّهُ خَيْرٌ رَزِقٍ Allah is the one who's
going to give you rizq.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will provide for
you.
You just make sure that your priorities are
straight.
If your leader is standing there and speaking
to you, listen, we've taken leadership out of
Jumu'ah.
We've taken general narratives, proper narratives out of
Jumu'ah.
We've left it as a skeleton of what
it once was.
InshaAllah, we can go back to that one
day.
But until we do, leadership is out.
And this is a surah in the middle
of this juz' that's organizing lives.
That's very clear.
You need to come to this.
Not because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala enjoys
gathering people, but because there's going to be
benefit for you.
That's how you're going to build your society
and strengthen it.
أَمَّا سُورَةُ الْجُمْعَةُ فَاخْتَصِرُوهَا لَكُمْ بِخَضِيَّ بَسِيطًا This
surah talks about leadership in Islam.
Islam is a religion in which the meaning
of leadership has been pre-determined for it
to enter people.
Before Muslims became Muslims, leadership was part of
religion.
Leadership in it is pre-determined.
It exists.
We have a system for leadership.
Every week, a billion Muslims gather and listen
to the preaching.
Or they listen to the advice.
Or they listen to the speech.
Or they listen to what they need to
do in the coming period.
It's known that those who preach on Friday
in the past were the Caliphs and the
Umar.
The people don't know.
It's the leaders in the communities who preach
on Friday.
So that the communities don't get lost.
So that people's interests don't get lost.
We've corrupted the meanings of Friday.
A person stands with a piece of paper
and reads from it.
Or he preaches on a topic that doesn't
concern anyone.
And he repeats a word that people have
heard a thousand times.
So the people come and sleep in the
mosque.
Allah gathered people in the mosques.
He provided them with a service that they
benefit from.
They benefit from it before they get bored
and get frustrated.
They get rid of coming to the mosque.
That's why in the first surah he's the
one who sent the Umayyads as a messenger
from among them.
He recites his verses to them and purifies
them and teaches them his book and wisdom.
This is the work of the prophets.
It's as if the preacher of Friday holds
the position of the prophets in the people
when he speaks to them.
It's a great responsibility.
And if we don't use Friday well, we
become like the Children of Israel, like the
donkey that carries a saddle.
Yes, we have a book that is all
knowledge and wisdom.
But we don't understand anything from it.
The speech is dead.
Friday is corrupted.
No one understands anything.
Don't think that just because you're a Muslim
you'll be saved.
Say, O you who are Jews, if you
claim to be allies of Allah other than
the people, then wish for death.
They are the Jews.
They say, we have the Torah, so we
are allies of Allah.
They don't understand the Torah and don't apply
it.
So they say, if that's the case, then
wish for death so that I can judge
you and see.
This is also for us.
Allah advises us.
He speaks about the mistakes of the Children
of Israel to advise us.
Do you have the Qur'an?
Are your affairs good?
No.
Unless you apply what's in it.
This comes from the good use of Friday.
It's amazing, I swear.
Look, O you who believe, if we are
called to prayer on Friday, then seek the
remembrance of Allah.
Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, guarantees the
coming of people to prayer.
People don't attend classes.
20-30 people listen to this.
But on Friday, thousands.
Not because they like listening.
But Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, ordered
them to come to my house.
So they come.
So we have to provide them with services.
And when the prayer is over, they spread
out on the earth and seek the grace
of Allah.
Take this message.
Go.
Walk on the earth.
Seek the grace of Allah.
Remember Allah a lot.
Jumu'ah.
Surah Al-Saf.
It talks about the unity of the class
and presenting the interests of the Ummah to
one another.
Surah Al-Jumu'ah.
It talks about organizing leadership in society.
I ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted, to be
in our benefit.
This is beneficial.
Glory and praise be to Allah.
I bear witness that there is no deity
but You.
I seek forgiveness and repentance from You.
And peace and blessings be upon our Prophet
Muhammad and his family and companions.
Jazakumullahu khairan.
Wabarakallahu feekum.
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.