Adnan Rajeh – Surat Ghafir Summary
AI: Summary ©
The Surahs in the title of the Quran are a series of verses that summarize the concept of sincerity, submission, and belief. The importance of shotes and shotes to draw people closer to Allah's command and bring them closer to his deeds is emphasized. The importance of knowing who Allah is and why he is serving others is also emphasized. The transcript is a jumbled mix of disconnected sentences and phrases, making it difficult to summarize a coherent summary.
AI: Summary ©
Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem, walhamdulillahi rabbil alameen,
Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barak ala nabiyyina
wa habibina Muhammadin wa ala alihi wa sahbihi
ajma'in wa ba'd.
Today insha'Allah we will talk about Surah
Az-Zumar, which is the last Surah in
this cluster of Surahs from Lahzab to Zumar,
talking about istislam or submission to the will
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, followership and
obedience to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, which
is basically us giving up our free will
to His will jalla jalaluhu, which is a
more difficult decision that we sometimes think it
is.
Surah Az-Zumar is the last Surah in
this cluster and it ends this cluster in
a very suitable way.
It talks about the ultimate form of submission.
It talks about mental and spiritual submission.
It dives deep into the concept of obedience
and followership of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
and acceptance of His commands and rulings within
our lives and it talks about the concept
of ikhlas, talks about submission to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala through achieving sincerity, through achieving
true sincerity within ourselves.
I cannot emphasize the importance of the concept
of sincerity in Islam.
No matter how much I talk about it,
there is always a feeling that you should
talk about it more because there is really
nothing that comes remotely close to the level
of importance that it carries within our deen.
Of course, one of the final Surahs in
the Quran is called al-ikhlas, sincerity, and
you'll see that in Juz Amma, all the
small Surahs, they summarize the bigger ones.
They summarize sometimes a cluster of Surahs that
talked about an issue in detail and you'll
find a small Surah in Juz Amma that
kind of breaks it down into a couple
of words just to give you a summary
of it or a basic sense of what
it's talking about.
In Surah al-Ikhlas, you can see it's
one of the most important Surahs in the
Quran.
We recite it all the time and it's
echoing a number of Surahs in the Quran
and Surah al-Zumar is definitely the main
one.
And you'll see, all I'm going to do
is go through the verses and show you
how many times Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
focuses on the concept of al-ikhlas.
It's unparalleled in the Quran.
He begins subhanahu wa ta'ala by saying,
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ Indeed, We have
revealed to you the Book through righteousness.
فَاعْبُدِ اللَّهَ مُخْلِصًا لَهُ الدِّينُ أَلَىٰ لِلَّهِ الدِّينُ
الْخَالِصُ So worship or serve Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala with full sincerity regarding your relationship
with your religion.
Indeed, to Allah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
owns sincere faith.
He's not interested in faith that is not
sincere subhanahu wa ta'ala and you'll find
that in the hadith of the Prophet alayhi
salatu wasalam many, many, many times where he
continues to explain to us alayhi salatu wasalam,
raising awareness and warning us and kind of
raising a red flag for us all.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not interested
in faith that is not sincere for him.
If you associate anyone with Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala openly, clearly, shirk or subtly in
a subconscious way or on a subconscious level,
then you're looking at the same consequences.
You're looking at the same outcome, yawm al
qiyamah.
Obviously, if it's open shirk, it's going to
be much swifter and much more difficult.
But subtle shirk where we fail to be
sincere to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when
we perform our deeds, when we fail to
actually have Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's satisfaction
and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's rida and
happiness with us being the only goal that
we actually have in our lives and the
only goal of our deeds, we are playing
a risk that is extremely dangerous.
You can just continue the verses, وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا
مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءٌ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى
اللَّهِ زُلْفَةٌ And those who choose with Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, associates of any kind,
whether we're talking about idols, rock idols that
don't exist today or we're talking about other
things.
Anyone that you give full authority over your
life, anyone who can command you to do
something equally to how Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala can command you to do something.
Anyone who when you listen to what they
have to say, you will put it in
the scale with Allah's command and somehow there
will be some equilibrium there.
Anything or any agenda or any self-desire
that somehow outweighs or is equal to the
command of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is
something that you have associated with Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, period.
I cannot emphasize that sentence enough and that
is as simple as I can put it.
And what the people who associate with Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, others say, مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ
The only reason we serve them, إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا
إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَةٌ We're using them as means
to draw ourselves closer to Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
We need someone between us and Allah to
draw ourselves, no you don't.
You don't need anyone between you and Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
The Prophet ﷺ is what you needed and
he came ﷺ and he established our relationship
with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and through
his love ﷺ and through his teachings we
know Allah and we learn about Allah.
But now there's a relationship between you and
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that we all
need to maintain.
And if you continue the verses of the
first page, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, all
throughout Surah Az-Zumar you're going to find
verses that speak of his greatness.
خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بِالْحَقِّ يُكَوِّرُ اللَّيْلَ عَلَى
النَّهَارِ وَيُكَوِّرُ النَّهَارَ عَلَى اللَّيْلِ وَسَخَّرَ الشَّمْسَ
وَالْقَمَرَ خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنْهَا
زَوْجَهَا وَأَنزَلَ لَكُم مِّنَ الْأَنْعَامِ ثَمَانِيَةَ أَزْوَاجَ خَلُقُكُمْ
فِي بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ خَلْقًا مِّن بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ فِي
ظُلُمَاتٍ ثَلَاثٍ ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ لَا
إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَأَنَّا تُصْرَفُونَ You'll find throughout
this surah verses that speak of His greatness.
Why?
Because if you're going to be able to
be sincere when you do anything, if we're
going to be able to achieve sincerity in
our lives regarding our relationship with Allah SWT,
we have to know who Allah SWT is.
We have to establish in our minds that
no one comes close to Allah SWT.
No one is equal to Him in any
way.
So the opinion of others, the opinion of
people about us, how they view us, our
reputation amongst people and our reputation in the
eyes of Allah SWT and the opinion of
Allah SWT cannot be treated equally ever.
All we should ever care about is how
He views us SWT.
And if I care about how people think
about me, I will care only because He
asked me to.
When He asked me, take care about how
your parents view.
Okay, then I'll do it because you asked
me to care about my parents and how
they view me.
Care about how you treat Muslims and make
sure you're kind to them.
Okay, because you said that I'll do it,
but nothing else.
Because there is no equality.
How do I equalize a creation that is
just as weak as I am to someone
who created the cosmos and the earth?
He continues to circulate the night around the
day and the day around the night.
And He has put at our service the
skies and the earth and the sun and
the moon.
Everything is moving by His command SWT.
He created us all from one nafs.
And He descended to us livestock and animals
for us to use and benefit from.
He creates us within the wombs of our
mothers.
One creation after the other within that darkness
so that we may be presented the way
Allah SWT presented us.
That is your Lord, the One who has
sovereignty.
There is no deity but Him.
Why would you look elsewhere?
These are the verses of Surah Az-Zumar.
You'll find these cluster of ayats here and
there repeated all over the Surah.
Because He's reminding you, why would you care
about anyone else?
Why would you consider serving anybody else?
Why?
Look at the difference.
This is Allah.
This is everything else.
Everything else is completely useless and worthless when
you compare it to Allah SWT Himself.
So how could you care about the eyesight
of anyone else but Allah upon your heart?
How and why?
It makes no sense.
We are rigged by nature to want people's
approval and to want people's satisfaction.
But as a Muslim, you work your life
learning to shed that off your back and
not care.
As long as Allah SWT is satisfied with
you, as long as you know who you're
serving and why you're serving Him SWT, and
you feel in your heart that you're doing
the right thing to please Him, then it
doesn't matter.
Everyone else can do whatever they want.
And they can have whatever opinion they want
to have.
It doesn't make a difference.
Because they're just creations like you.
But Allah SWT's opinion of you is the
one that's going to matter.
And if you show true gratitude to what
He gave you, that is what will satisfy
Him SWT.
وَإِذَا مَسَّ الْإِنسَانَ ضُرٌّ دَعَى رَبَّهُ مُنِيبًا إِلَيْهِ
And when a person is in difficulty, he
turns to Allah and he asks Him for
help with full sincerity.
مُنِيبًا إِلَيْهِ He has no one else in
his mind when he's asking Allah when he's
in difficulty.
ثُمَّ إِذَا خَوَّلَهُ نِعْمَةً مِّنْهُ Once Allah SWT
gives him a relief of this musibah that
he was in, نَسِيَ مَا كَانَ يَدْعُو إِلَيْهِ
مِنْ قَبْلِ He forgets what he was making
dua for previously.
He forgets the times he spent speaking only
to Allah.
Once he's given the relief from Allah SWT,
he forgets about it.
وَجَعَلَ لِلَّهِ أَنْدَادَ And he goes back to
giving Allah SWT associates and equalizing others opinions
with the opinion of Allah SWT.
لِيُضِلَّ عَن سَبِيلِهِ And that would guide him
astray.
قُلْ تَمَتَّعْ بِكُفْرِكَ قَلِيلًا إِنَّكَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّارِ
Say, enjoy your kufr for as long as
it lasts.
You're going to find yourself amongst the people
of punishment.
وَلِيَعَدُ بِاللَّهِ أَمَّنْهُ وَقَالِتُنْ آنَا الَّيْلِ سَاجِدًا وَقَائِمًا
يَحْذَرُ الْآخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُو رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ How can you
compare that to someone who whether they're in
difficulty or not in difficulty, they continue to
stand and make sujood and read the Quran
for the sake of Allah, asking for His
mercy and fearing His punishment.
قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
Are they equal, the ones who truly know
Allah and those who don't?
They're not equal.
You cannot equalize between someone who truly knows
Allah, and someone who doesn't.
أَمْثِلَ لِلْآيَاتِ فِي سُورَةِ الزُّمَرِ تَتَحَدَّثْ عَنْهَا كل
السورة فقط أمثلة ونماذج للإخلاص تُعَلِّمُنَا كَيْفَ نُخْلُصْ
لَللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فَيَقُولُ إِنْ تَكْفُرُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ
غَنِيٌّ عَنْكُمْ وَلَا يَرْضَى لِعِبَادِي الْكُفْرِ قضية رضا
هو لا يحب لنا الكفر ما خلقنا لنكفر
لا يحب الكفر لنا لا تفرق كفرت ولا
ما كفرت ما تغير شيء في حكم الله
لا تزيده ملكا ولا تنقصه ملكا إذا كفرت
أو آمنت لكنه لا يرضى لك الكفر وإن
شكرنا يرضى هذا لنا يرضى لنا الشكر لأنه
هكذا خلقنا ثم يعطينا المثال هذا الذي يدعو
ربه منيبا إليه في ضر وعنده ضائقة ثم
لما يعطيه ربه نعمته ينسي ما كان يدعو
إليه من قبل كم منا يفعل هذا كم
مرة فعلنا هذا ذهبنا إلى الله بكل جوارحنا
وقلوبنا إذا ما احتجنا إليه ثم لما أتت
النعمة نسينا نسينا الله واشركنا معه غيرهم ممن
جعلنا آراءهم ونظرهم إلينا أهم من نظره إلينا
سبحانه وتعالى كيف؟
كيف؟
قل هل يستوي الذين يعلمون والذين لا يعلمون
كيف يستوي من عرف الله حق المعرفة ومن
أخلص دينه لله والذي لم يفعله لا سواء
يا أخواني لا سواء He continues قل إني
أمرت أن أعبد الله مخلصا له الدين وأمرت
لأن أكون أول المسلمين قل إني أخاف إن
عصيت ربي عذاب يوم عظيم قل الله أعبد
مخلصا له ديني فاعبدوا ما شئتم من دونه
Say I was commanded to worship Allah with
full sincerity in my religion for his sake
and I was commanded to be the first
Muslim first means not in time sequence first
means the first in achieving things if it's
a race I always want to be the
first Muslim to get something done not in
historical sequence Say I sincerely fear the punishment
of a great day from Allah Say Allah
is the only one whom I serve with
full sincerity of my religion repetition of the
same idea just looking at it from different
just bringing the words in different sequence trying
to say this is what you're supposed to
say this is what you're supposed to think
this is what you're supposed to feel the
number one difference between us and the Sahaba
between us and the Prophet ﷺ is the
amount of Ikhlas that they had and the
amount of Ikhlas that we lack I cannot
simplify that more that's really the difference between
us and between them the level of Ikhlas
that they had was overwhelming and the level
of Ikhlas that we have, unfortunately there's no
comparison when they did something, when they said
something when they took a decision or made
a decision they did it because they believed
that this is what would please Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala and they differed amongst each
other and they held to their positions because
they weren't doing it despite one another they
weren't doing it because they had personal agendas
or they had self-desire they did it
because when they thought of it this is
what was going to please Allah and they
were willing to give their lives for it
because they truly believed that this is what
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would want sincerity,
it's as simple as that we continue the
verses just examples of how sincerity affects us
and it looks at sincerity from a personal
perspective the whole surah until we come to
the end when it looks at sincerity from
a communal perspective but the whole surah just
looks at it as how you're going to
deal with it as a human being أَفَمَنْ
شَرَحَ اللَّهُ صَدْرَهُ لِلْإِسْلَامِ فَهُوَ عَلَى نُورٍ مِّن
رَّبِّهِ how about the person who Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala opens up his heart and
eases him towards Islam can you compare that
person to someone who commits shirk on a
daily basis who doesn't care for Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ مِنْ ذِكْرِ
اللَّهِ to warn those who hearts are hardened
when they hear the remembrance of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala اللهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ Allah
has descended the best the best of words
the best of narratives the best of books
the best of speech كِتَابَ نَبُك مُتَشَابِهَا everything
in it strengthens everything else in it meaning
it's not contradicting itself مُتَشَابِهَا here means it's
not contradicting itself it's repeating the same ideas
مَثَانِيَا verse after verse تَقَشَعِرُ مِنْهُ جُلُودُ الَّذِينَ
يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ ثُمَّ تَلِينُ جُلُودُهُمْ وَقُلُوبُهُمْ إِلَىٰ دِكْرِ
اللَّهِ those who actually fear Allah when they
hear it goosebumps fill their body and a
shiver runs up their spine when they hear
the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
and then their hearts and their skin and
their bodies it repents and it comes back
closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that
is ذَٰلِكَ هُدَىٰ اللَّهِ that's the guidance of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he gives an
example in Surah Az-Zumar وَلَقَدْ اضْرَبَنَا لِلنَّاسِ
فِي هَذَا الْقُرْآنِ مِنْ كُلِّ مَثَلٍ indeed we
have given people within this Quran every example
they need قُرْآنٍ عَرَبِيًّا غَيْرَ ذِي عِوَجٍ لَعَلَّهُمْ
يَتَّقُونَ a Quran that is in Arabic, the
proper language there are no mistakes in it,
it does not go astray in any way
and the purpose is for us to find
piety what is the example ضَرَضَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا
رَجُلًا فِيهِ شُرَكَاءُ مُتَشَاكِسُونَ وَرَجُلًا سَلَمًا لِرَجُلٍ هَلْ
يَسْتَوِيَانِ مَثَلًا بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ he gives
an example of the following a man who
has 4 or 5 or 10 or 15
masters or 2 masters and these masters don't
agree and each master is pulling him in
a different direction and another person who has
one master are they equal in the quality
of their lives forget about the concept of
slavery in this verse and that's not what
the verse actually says, it doesn't talk about
slavery it talks about having a master that
master could be a person or it could
be just ideas it could be just something,
desires in our heads if you have in
you contradicting and conflicting needs and desires that
are pulling you in different directions you live
a life that is difficult you are unhappy
you're unsatisfied, you're unfulfilled because all these forces
are pulling you in different directions you can't
seem to find but if you have only
one source of commands only one source of
rulings only one source of a way of
life of methodology then you're much...
هل يستوياني مثلا are these two people the
same the person who has conflicting masters pulling
him in different directions and the one who
has one of course not the peace and
ease that the person with one master has
is incomparable to the other one who has
conflicting desires doesn't know which way to go
مثال عظيم في سورة الزمر يضربه الله لنا
رجلا فيه شركاء متشاكسون ورجلا سلما لرجل الرجل
الأول له سادة كثر يتأمرون عليه كل منهم
متشاكس متشاكس مع الآخر أي مختلف فكل منهم
يسحبه في اتجاه فهذا إنسان مشتت متعب والآخر
سلما لرجل أي يملكه رجل واحد وهذا الرجل
الواحد الذي يملكه يأمره بأمر واحد هل يستوياني
مثلا هل حال الرجلين مستوين انثى قضية العبودية
معي المثل يتحدث عن أن يكون لك سادة
هؤلاء السادة قد يكونوا أشخاص قد تكون أفكار
قد تكون أجندات قد تكون أي شيء الذي
عنده مجموعة من الغرائز والشهوات والشبوهات والرغبات والأجندات
والفلسفات كل منها تشده في اتجاه هذا إنسان
مشتت متعب غير سعيد يعاني حياته كلها معاناة
أما الذي له مصدر حكم واحد مصدر إلهام
واحد مصدر منهج واحد هذا إنسان متحصالح مع
نفسه مرتاح في ذاته لأن مصدر الوحي عنده
شيء واحد والله أما إذا كان ثم تكثر
يتعب يتعب لما الأب والأم في البيت يختلفان
ويأمر كل منهم الطفل بشيء مختلف الطفل يعني
مشتت الذهن ومريض نفسه لأنه ما يستطيع الإنسان
أن يحيا وهذا يشده في هذا اتجاه وهذا
يشده ما ينفع يجب أن يتوحد الأمر حتى
تصلح التربية وعند الله أمر واحد فإذا هو
هو أصلا الإخلاص قضية عملية قائمة هو ما
فيش غيره تفكر في غيره ليه هو ما
فيه غيره أصلا وما فيه أحد تاني كان
الله ولا شيء معه وهو على ما كان
عليه كائن وهو الأول والآخر نحن كلنا ظلال
في ملكه سبحانه وتعالى كلنا كل المخلوقات توجد
لساعات ثم تمضي وهو ما زال جل جلاله
سرمدي أزلي أبدي لا ينتهي فليس تم تغيره
أصلا يعني هو ما فيش غير الله جل
جلاله حتى يفكر بغيره الواحد كيف تفكر في
غيره أصلا ما فيه غيره اللي يشايفهم حاوليت
مثلك معذبين مثلك خيفين مثلك تعبنين مثلك نفس
الوضع اللي أنت فيه كيف تهتم بغيره سبحانه
وتعالى مثل عظيم في سورة الزمر you continue
the verses and I just continue you know
pounding that point it's easy so the zoomer
I don't need to give you a lot
of examples because it's just the theme of
it is just so clear of how it's
explaining things to all of us الله يتوفى
الأنفس حين موتها والتي لم تموت في منامها
فيمسك التي قضى عليها الموت ويرسل الأخرى إلى
أجل مسمى الله سبحانه takes your life when
you sleep basically when you sleep you're half
dead and then he gives it back to
you if you don't die within your sleep
he gives it back to you to a
certain time and if your time is up
he will hold on to your spirit you'll
stay with him your spirit is property سبحانه
وتعالى he'll give it to you when he
wants he'll take it back when he wants
and that's why the ayah after it أَمِتَّخَذُ
مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ شُفَعًا they're looking for others
to intercede for them besides Allah why are
you looking for anyone?
أَوَلَوْ كَانُوا لَا يَمْلِكُونَ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَعْقِلُونَ none
of the people you're looking for none of
the parties that you're hoping will intercede on
your behalf own anything or know anything no
one has وَإِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُشْ مَأَزَّتْ قُلُوبُ
الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ however, those who don't
believe with Allah when you tell them Allah
and only Allah they're repelled from this they're
disgusted that's what the ayah says they're disgusted
when they hear لا إله إلا الله but
if they hear that there's other associates they're
happy, that's what they want they don't want
it that only one rules them they want
to be more they want to have something
of their own they want to have their
own group that they can belong to and
someone that they agree upon that has command
upon them as well they don't want Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala to have full sovereignty
over them it's an issue of arrogance and
vanity that the human heart can have that's
why we need to be مخلصين we just
have to completely be sincere and know that
we belong to Allah and only Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala يُؤْمِنُ جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ فِي الْأَنثِرَةِ
فَإِذَا مَسَّ الْإِنسَانَ ضُرٌّ دَعَانَهُ ثُمَّ إِذَا خَوَّلْنَاهُ
نِعْمَةً مِّنَّهُ قَالَ إِنَّمَا أُوتِيتُهُ عَلَىٰ عِلْمٍ يَمَسُّهُ
الضُّرُّ فَيَعُودُ إِلَىٰ اللَّهِ فَلَمَّ يَعْطِيهِ رَبْنَا سُبْحَانَهُ
وَتَعَالَىٰ مَا يُرِيدُ يَقُولُ أُوتِيتُهُ عَلَىٰ عِلْمٍ بَلْ
هِيَ فِتْنَةٌ هَذِي فِتْنَةٌ أنت الآن تفتن بأنك
سمحت لنفسك أن تفكر بهذه المسألة هو ليس
إلا الله يعطيك أَوَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْسُطُ
الرِّزْقَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَقْدِرُ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ
لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ Some of the most beautiful ayat
in the Qur'an start from this ayat
to the end of the surah some of
the most beautiful but hands down if you
were to ask a Qara to choose the
most beautiful verses in the Qur'an because
it's a one time deal he'll start with
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا
تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ Say, O my servants
tell them, O my servants the one who
have sinned beyond their ability to fix anymore
have gone beyond the norm of what sin
can be tell them, do not ever lose
hope in the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala never lose hope indeed Allah can
forgive all sins He is the all-forgiving
and all-merciful subhanahu wa ta'ala وَاتَّبِعُوا
أَحْسَنَ مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَأَنِيبُوا إِلَىٰ
رَبِّكُمْ the verses start to go and turn
back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and
submit to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and
follow the best of what you've been taught
by Allah and here in Surah Az-Zumar
you have something interesting He says الَّذِينَ يَسْتَمِعُونَ
الْقَوْلَ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَةً those who hear what Allah
has to say and follow the best of
it and then another time again in Surah
Az-Zumar it's only three times in the
Quran twice in Surah Az-Zumar وَاتَّبِعُوا أَحْسَنَ
مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ follow the best of what
Allah revealed the best is there the worst?
of course not of course there isn't now
what does He mean?
He means the best at that moment you
see, He has a lot of commands subhanahu
wa ta'ala which command at this moment
will truly serve Allah and only Allah and
which command there's a part of it that
is self-serving and not only Allah serving
subhanahu wa ta'ala at a certain moment
when you tell your child حَدِيثَ بِرِّ الْوَالِدَيْنِ
are you actually teaching them for the sake
of Allah or is there something in it
for you as well?
when a husband goes to his wife and
starts reading to him all the hadith of
how wives should listen to their husbands is
that sincere for the sake of Allah?
or are you doing that because it's self
-serving?
you see, at every given moment we have
the choice to follow Allah has many commands
which commands we choose we have to choose
the best we have to choose the command
that is most sincere for the sake of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Himself that's what
we have to choose that's why these verses
are in Surah Az-Zumar to choose the
best at that moment someone made a mistake
sometimes we give nasihah openly and strongly and
sometimes we give nasihah quietly and secretly which
one are you going to do this time?
openly?
and you can argue that that's correct you
can argue that there's a hadith that tells
us we should be very vocal about defending
Islam true, but is that why you did
it?
is that why you openly told someone they
made a mistake and stood up and spoke?
is that why?
because you are sincere you wanted to only
serve Allah or is there something self-serving
in it?
where you're trying to get your boost your
ego a little bit being able to choose
to do the right thing that will please
Allah the most which is what Surah Az
-Zumar teaches it comes to the end of
it وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ زُمَرًا a
very interesting ending of the Surah I'm sorry
we're running out of time there's more in
Surah Az-Zumar to explain but I'll leave
you with this the whole Surah is talking
about sincerity and it's looking at it from
an individual perspective and the Surah itself is
called Az-Zumar groups why?
because your struggle for sincerity will be done
within your group you will not struggle for
sincerity and Ikhlas alone you will struggle with
a group and the group you struggle with
for sincerity is the group you will enter
Jannah with يوم القيامة and the group that
you use to lose your sincerity with and
to care about their opinions more than Allah
SWT the person will enter Jannah with them
that's why وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ زُمَرًا
وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا رَبَّهُمْ إِلَىٰ جَنَّةِ زُمَرًا both
groups are going to Jannah and Jannah will
go in groups you're not going alone no
one's walking to Jannah by themselves where are
your friends?
they're going to Jannah well go join them
you can't achieve Ikhlas alone you need people
there you need those to help you achieve
Ikhlas so it's almost is this a paradox?
it's not a paradox we're sincere for Allah
but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala we need
our groups to help us achieve that and
that's the end of this cluster of surahs