Ahmad Kutty – Deciphering The Signs Of God
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AI: Transcript ©
My respected to you, my beloved brothers and
sisters and children.
Once again, I have the pleasure of welcoming
you
to the Islamic Institute of Toronto today. Salatul
Jumah. May Allah
bless us. May he accept our prayers
and our supplications
inshallah.
We have a few important announcements.
Number 1,
today marks the end of our summer camp.
As you know, we have been running the
summer camp for about 28 years now since
the inception of IIT,
and this is the last day of the
summer camp.
Children have been engaged
in a summer of fun and learning for
the past 7 weeks.
Alhamdulillah,
we have also been able to employ
a number of counselors, a number of youth,
who served as counselors for the camp. So
today, I wanna give a a big shout
out to all of the volunteers, all of
the counselors,
the supervisors,
the organizers,
and the children who attended the camp.
May Allah
bless you. We hope that your time here
was enjoyable and beneficial, and we hope that
you can take some of the knowledge with
you, insha'Allah.
The second announcement is very important,
and I think that,
it is important that we understand
that our actions have an effect and sometimes
a very negative effect on others.
And this is a parking issue that we've
had
with some of our congregants who have been
parking
and blocking the entrance of our neighbors. So
we have the the
we have the church at the side of
us, and we also have the factory in
front of us. We have received a complaint
from the owners of the factory
that some of the congregants have been blocking
the entrance to the factory,
and their trucks cannot get in at the
time of Jummah.
I think this is really serious,
and I think that I'm sure none of
you here is doing that. Maybe those who
might be coming later, but please
share the word around. I'll repeat this.
We are not allowed to do this. We
will be having
a strategy
to ensure that you cannot park and block
the entrance of the neighbors.
Trucks, large trucks, need some space to get
in and get out, so you cannot park
close to the entrance or the exit. So
please ensure
that if you're coming to IIT,
ensure that you're parking in a designated
spot
and that is not negatively
impacting others.
I also wanna mention that there is a
bus going downtown tomorrow,
for the protests.
As you know, our brothers and sisters in
Gaza are still suffering from a genocide
that is continuing
unabated.
Destruction of schools,
destruction of refugee camps,
killing of children
and women and men
in a manner,
without impunity.
We have to continue
to speak out against it, and we cannot
be desensitized
to this. So please
check,
our sister Afrah in the,
in the,
in the lobby. The protest is actually on
Sunday and it's downtown.
We have a bus leaving here at 2
PM. So if you're interested,
please sign up and make sure that you
go with that bus. It will be returning
here back at IIT in the evening.
Again, we are looking forward to the start
of a new school year. Alhamdulillah.
We have all of our teachers in place.
We have one position
that is vacant, and we will be advertising
it soon, and that is the vice principal.
So if you know someone
who has the experience
as a vice principal, who has experience as
a teacher,
and would like to,
would like to be in that role, then
please let them check us. They can send
their resume and cover letter to [email protected].
We're also starting the fall semester with a
number of courses and programs for adults and
children,
our Friday night class, our weekday evening madrasah,
the courses by our shayuk,
Arabic language courses, and Tajweed courses. We will
update our website very soon, Insha'Allah, and there
will be registration links. I'd like to ask
our volunteers to come through the line, Insha'Allah.
Please,
donate generously.
I wanna
give you the good news that last week
we,
asked you to support the,
the
Bukhari Center, and, alhamdulillah,
they were able to raise over $14,000
for their mussala. May Allah
reward all of you. The donations that you
give during the line collection goes towards maintenance
of this facility,
and it goes towards some really,
important,
projects and programs. So please ensure
that you donate every week, and may Allah
reward you every week for your donation.
Our khatib today, inshaAllah, is, Sheikh Ahmed Khutty.
May Allah
reward him once again. Before he begins, I
would ask you to come forward
as much as possible
and to fill the spaces tightly.
There's a lot of space here, brother. I
don't know who's there. Maybe there's some people
here, but if there's a space in front
of you, please fill it. There are spaces.
Just come close together. Feel the love amongst
yourselves.
And if there is a space in front
of you, just turn to the brother. If
there's a space at the side of you,
turn to the brother at the back and
ask him to come forward inshallah because we
will have a lot of people. We may
have to lead the prayer from the classrooms.
All praises to Allah,
the creator, sustainer, and tradition of the worlds.
Allah describes his relationship with his creation.
All of the 7 heavens and the earth
and everything in it
within them,
glorify
him
and sing his praise.
There is nothing out there in the creation
that does not sing
the glory of Allah
But you don't understand
the mood and the manner
of their glorification of Allah.
And Allah
reminds us about his book,
a majestic
book.
You know, this phrasing
in the Arabic grammar,
It's a majestic book, a mighty book
that we have revealed.
And to you, oh, Muhammad,
that is blessed.
Why?
So that they reflect
what his verses.
So that the wise
among humankind
can receive the admonition, the advice,
the counsel.
And then another important thing for us is
we have to call Quran.
1 part of the Quran explains the other.
Allah
says
You look at the mountains
and you think they are firmly fixed.
But
but
they are passing, they are moving like the
clouds.
The artistry,
the fine work of Allah who
perfected everything he created.
Wherein he is well aware
of everything that you do.
So today, I want
to take your attention
to reflect
on some of the miracles
of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
as revealed in the
scripture, the nature, the book of Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala in nature.
The Islam teaches us. Allah teaches us.
In the earth,
there are countless signs for those who seek
conviction,
certainty
of faith.
Of your own
and within your own souls,
don't you discern?
Don't you reflect? Don't you see?
So the question I must ask is,
what do we owe
to the book of Allah?
What do we owe to the creation?
What do we owe to ourselves?
That is
deciphering the signs of Allah
in
the two books, the book of nature and
the book of revelation.
Allah
describes himself with all of the beautiful attributes.
Muslims,
unfortunately,
today
are carried away.
We chant. We read.
Yes. We do so. We chant the Quran,
and we read the Quran.
But, of course,
Allah warned us
to ponder and reflect the verses
and make a double reading,
join reading.
The scripture must be read
in conjunction with the scripture book of nature,
book of the creation, book of the universe.
So there are signs within ourselves that want
us to ponder. There are signs in the
scripture,
and there are signs in the nature, in
the universe.
All of them work together.
If we ponder them, if we reflect them,
surely, we will be conformed in our faith,
and we will sing the glory of Allah
spontaneously
when we walk
and observe that little
beer bee or little insect
or little flower or little leaf,
we will be moved
to say, Subhanallah.
Glory be to you, Allah.
So
let us go.
Of course,
this topic is very deep,
but I want to take you to the
few verses.
The first five verses of our Surah Al
Rahman.
Al Rahman
is one of the most beautiful names of
Allah.
Allah tells us,
Call upon Allah
or call upon Al Rahman.
And you know if you read carefully,
because Allah
describes his book as
everywhere
out there
is phrased,
is placed
with beauty and precision.
There is nothing superfluous there.
Nothing out of place.
You cannot change one word with the other.
You cannot
place one before the other.
The same is the case with the universe,
the creation of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Allah is a rahman.
He is the rahman of dunya anakhirah.
Allah created a human being
to manifest his rama.
And everything out there,
if you do reflect, is a manifestation of
the divine Rahma, divine mercy,
indescribable,
unfathomable.
Human beings created
the most helpless
the most helpless creature on the face of
the earth,
and he's in need of the mercy of
Allah
So Allah
reminds us
that
because Allah is merciful to us,
he's all compassionate
and all merciful.
He taught the Quran.
He taught the book.
And then Allah says,
He created the human being, humankind,
and he taught him the art of articulation
in speech.
You may ask
why
Quran is placed on top and then the
creation of human being,
next.
And then the art of articulation,
next.
And then Allah talks about the balance and
the harmony in the creation, and don't upset
this balance.
Yes.
Careful.
Work your reflection.
Why?
Because Quran is placed first.
Because human beings, as you are, you and
me,
we have temptations
within. We have desires.
We have inclinations.
We have weaknesses.
We have strengths.
Human being
is a miracle, actually.
But we have to know that
if we don't have that GPS,
if we don't have that the law, the
divine law,
the divine constitution to conduct ourselves,
we will be lost in the rough waters
of life. It is like a ship without
an anger,
swayed by right and left.
So
Quran says,
before Allah, Allah wants to place that GPS
in front of us.
And then he says,
He created a human mind.
Human being is a miracle of miracles.
They say we have gone to the moon.
1st, study yourself.
That's high for the signs of Allah
as revealed in your own creation.
Out of a tiny drop,
we are created.
And I am here now walking and talking
and expressing myself,
articulating,
persuading,
thinking, reasoning
what a miracle human being is.
Look at the
connection of the various faculties
interconnected,
how they are functioning
without any input from me and you,
how
the food is taken inside,
digested,
burned, and then spit out.
You know, like,
just like you take that lemon or orange,
squeeze it,
and the rest is discarded. So elimination.
Yes.
The whole process
very, very intricate.
Everything working together
in balance and harmony
with precision.
The human brain,
this is the most complex mechanism
system created in the universe,
human brain itself.
And then think about the human mind.
Think about the conscience
in our ability to think, to reason, to
love, to express emotions.
Yes. And our spirit capacity for moral capacity,
our spiritual capacity,
this is
human being is a miracle of miracles
and brain is a miracle of miracles.
Scientists say
there is no
nothing more complex than the human brain.
And the next miracle is.
Miracle of miracles.
They say
plants communicate.
The bees communicate.
Insects communicate.
Crows communicate.
I still remember as a child,
in my farmland, in my,
we had big land.
The crow
one crow is dead.
Then
the mother or the father calls the
community of cows.
They gather
to perform that ritual of funeral ritual.
And Allah want us to learn from the
Quran. Allah send the Quran to teach the
son of Adam.
We have to learn from the birds. We
have to learn from the bee. We have
to learn from the insects.
Yes.
So this communication they are able to Plants
communicate,
bees communicate,
insect communicate.
But human communication is much more complex.
There is nothing comparable to God in the
entire creation.
The ability of human being to communicate
the art of speech.
You see,
Allah counts it as one of the great
miracle
if only we reflect on it.
Reading, writing,
creating civilization,
library, science,
analyzing,
thinking,
reasoning,
articulating,
writing, composing, poetry, music, everything.
All of this thing
reveals the divine
power and wisdom.
When I stand here, when I mention
how
Allah
want us to connect
the scripture
with the signs of the creation.
In the earth, there are countless signs for
those who seek conviction of
and
with your souls.
And of course, then the scripture
is
calling us to reflect.
When I stand here, I remember 1 orientalist.
He was commissioned
to translate the Quran.
I don't remember the name of that,
but which language? Also, I don't remember,
but it is a fact.
He was commissioned
to translate the Quran,
and he spent decades
on it,
several years.
And then he concluded his research.
2 things
he said,
unquestionable
conclusion,
that this book has the stamp of the
creator of the universe.
Why?
Because the moral laws and the natural
laws
are aligned
in harmony.
Yes.
This is wonderful. And the second observation he
made is,
this is the same book recited by the
messenger Muhammad
So at the end of his research,
he himself believed in the divine revelation of
the Quran.
And brothers and sisters, the next point in
Surah Al Rahman is
look at the balance in the creation.
Look at sun and moon and everything out
there,
interconnected,
Just like human being is within himself so
many systems
functioning in balance and harmony,
the entire universe, the complex of galaxies, the
most gigantic galaxies,
and the simplest
snowflake itself,
revealing the divine,
the symmetry, the platter, the artistry.
No 2 snowflakes are the same,
and no 2 tombs are the same. There
are 1,000,000,000 and 1,000,000,000 of human beings.
But why
thumb? Why? Because no two thumb's the same.
Yes.
This is the artistry,
the wonderful creation of Allah who
perfected his creation.
So what do we owe to the Quran?
Reading, chanting?
No much more than that.
To reflect, to ponder,
to think about the these verses that we
read.
And, of course,
Says,
you are going to face fit
and will engulf.
Crisis after the crisis is going to engulf
the Muslim Ummah.
Ayn Al Maqaraj, the question is asked, where
is the fire exit?
When the fire the whole thing is on
fire,
what
where did they escape
from that
burning and destruction?
The
book of Allah
So let us flee to the book of
Allah
Let us read and reflect
and take lessons
and,
of course, deepen.
Use your
heart.
Imam Ghazali tells us, you have to be
sensitive.
Rumi said you have to approach the Quran
gently.
Of course, the example, you may like it.
As you would approach a bride
gently, generally, generally,
then the wisdom and the depth will be
revealed to you.
Muhammad Asad,
he spent a whole lifetime
studying the Quran. At the end of his
life, the journalist asked, how do you what
do you think of the Quran? He said,
Quran reveals
layers and relayers
of the depth of meaning,
but human mind has to develop that capacity,
receptivity,
to probe the depth of the revelation.
So let us move beyond
chanting and reading
to reflect
and study the depth of the Quran.
Brothers and sisters, first of all, I pray
I ask, Allah Subhanahu Wa'ala, I ask you
all
to, of course, to continue to pray for
our brothers and sisters in Gaza, Palestine,
and all over the world wherever there is
persecution and occupation
and torture.
Of course, genocide is going on in front
of our eyes, unabated, as brother Farhad mentioned.
So continue
to do everything within your means,
and we can do a lot. Complain
and take to the street, express, protest,
and, of course, do creative things that we
can help. And most importantly, pray to Allah
because Allah is in charge, and
Allah has the ability
to turn the table against them. May Allah
make the destruction
through their own plans.
You Allah, defeat them. You Allah.
Those bachelors, men and women,
Guide them to find righteous partners.
Let us help them find them.
Okay.