Ahmad Kutty – Lessons From Al-Israa Wa Al-Miraaj
AI: Summary ©
The transcript describes the significance of Islam's spiritual teachings, including the connection between spiritual centers and the types of people. The holy month is highlighted as the final bus for the cycle, with the importance of being receptive to teachings and taking precautions to ensure the well-being of others. The importance of remembering daily prayers of Jesus Christ is emphasized, along with the need to push back against Islam and encourage prayer for families. The segment emphasizes the need to be mindful of one's actions and speak for their respective communities, and promotes buying tickets for the upcoming pre-Ram throat dinner.
AI: Summary ©
Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillahi alladhi biyadihi alkhalku wa allamru, tasabbihu
lahu assamabatu as-sabahu wa al-ardu wa
man fihin, wa in min shayin illa yusabbihu
bihamdihi, walakin la tafqahuna tasbihuhum innahu kana haliman
ghafoorah, ahmaduhu jalla wa'ala alani n'amihul
lazeema wa alaihul jaseema, wa ash'hadu an
la ilaha illa Allah wahdahu la sharika lah,
wa ash'hadu anna sayyidina Muhammadan abdullahi wa
rasuluh, wa khatamu anbiyaihi wa khayratu khalqihi wa
habibuh, al-mubawusu rahmatan lil'alamin, Allahumma salli
wa sallim alaih, wa salli ala alihi wa
sahabatihi, wa man walaahum wa uhtada bi hadihim,
wa istanna bi sunnatihim, wa da'a bi
da'watihim ila yawmiddeen, Allahumma ja'alna minhum.
Amma ba'da.
Ibadallah wa usikum wa nafsih, awwalan bi taqwa
Allah, fattaqullaha fissirri wal-alariya wal-manshati wal
-makrah, la'allakum tuflihoon.
Yaqul subhanahu wa ta'ala fi kitab al
-majeed, bismillahirrahmanirrahim, subhanalladhi asra bi abdihi laylam minal
masjidil haram, ilal masjidil ahsan ladhi barakna hawla,
lidur yuhu min ayatina, innahu huwa assami wal
basir.
All praises to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
the creator who controls the affairs of the
universe, all of the heavens, seven heavens and
the earth, and every creation within them, glorify
and sing the praise of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
But you do not understand, you do not
comprehend, you do not grasp their mode of
glorification.
innahu kana haliman ghafoora, verily he is the
clement, forbearing and forgiving.
You know Quran is very very profound in
meaning.
What Allah is saying in this is, he
invites our attention to the creation of the
heavens and the earth, the cosmos, scientists with
all of their instruments cannot comprehend the expanse,
the immense, the enormous, the sheer size of
this universe.
And Allah is saying, all of this cosmos,
these millions and millions of galaxies, and the
creation that is infinite, human computers cannot calculate
and estimate them.
All of them glorifying Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
All of them obedient to Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
And yet, this tiny speck on the tiny
speck, which is human being, is rebelling against
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So Allah yet reminds us, innahu kana haliman
ghafoora, verily he is forbearing, he is clement,
he is patient and he is forgiving.
So, it behoves me and you to estimate
our position in this universe.
We are nothing.
Look at the whole universe like a huge
globe.
And the earth is a tiny speck.
And human being is a tiny speck on
that globe.
And yet we are challenging Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
So the Quran is indeed profound.
As Muhammad al-Asad said, towards the end
of his life, after having spent a lifetime,
delving in the depth of the Quranic meaning,
he said, everyday he discovers layers upon layers
of meaning.
So brothers and sisters, let us visualize, let
us fill our heart and soul with the
reverence for the creator of Allah, creator.
That is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And let us recognize, no matter what you
see in the universe today, don't let it
distract you from seeing the might and the
power of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
All praises to the lord of the worlds.
And peace and blessings on his servant and
messenger Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, who has
been sent as a mercy for the entire
creation.
So, let us recognize this message and let
us salute the messenger of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
And let us try to understand the beauty
of this message.
Today is the second day of Shaban.
And inshallah, Ramadan will be first of March,
inshallah, because we are going by calculation.
Just as we are going by calculation for
prayer times.
We don't look at the position of the
sun.
When the sun is the middle meridian and
passes the meridian or the size of a
spearhead, things like that.
We left that and we follow the scientific
calculation because sun and moon are not moving
erratically.
Computed orbit.
So, that's why we follow this.
Now, I want to remind myself the beautiful
saying of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam when
he said, Indeed, your Lord
chooses to dispense special graces and blessings in
sometimes more than others, some places more than
others, sometimes more than others.
So, be receptive.
Open your heart and soul to receive the
graces of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So, Allahumma barik lana fi Rajab wa Shaban.
Oballigana Ramadan.
Ya Allah bless us in Rajab and Shaban.
And take us safely to the sacred month,
to the most blessed month, Ramadan.
And give us the honor of witnessing and
fasting and observing the vigils and prayers and
beautiful recitations of the Quran.
Today, I want to take your attention to
this miracle of miracles.
Of course, miracle of miracles given to Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is none other than
the Quran.
The mighty word of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
But Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam have been
blessed with so many other miracles.
And one of the most important of them
after the Quran is Isra and Miraj.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala introduces this to
us in this surah called Al-Isra.
Another name for that is Bani Israel.
Isra and Miraj and Bani Israel have a
connection.
And as those who delve deeper into the
Quranic ocean of meaning, you can understand what's
happening out there and the connection of that
with Isra and Miraj.
And what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, how
he will tackle this rebellion, this atrocities and
genocide committed by the so-called chosen people
who were taken out of that position.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent Muhammad
ibn Abdullah and this Ummah of Islam to
replace them as leaders, blessed by Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
So glory be to him who transported his
servant in a fraction of night from the
sacred mosque of Makkah to the farthest mosque
whose surroundings have been blessed.
Why?
To show him some of our mighty signs.
Why?
Because he is Because he is hearing and
he is seeing what he is being exposed
to, what he is experiencing.
Isra is the night journey.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala described that journey
in a fraction of night.
Laylan.
This is Arabic phrase.
Laylan means Fraction.
So it took ordinarily to travel 2,000
kilometers.
The distance from Makkah to Jerusalem is 2
,000 kilometers.
It will take months.
Go and come back.
And all this journey happened in a fraction
of night on a celestial mount traveling faster
than the speed of light and sound.
Buraq.
And from there, there he is gathered with
the messengers, the prophets in the spirits.
And Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is crowned
with that seal of prophethood.
And he is the one leading them in
prayer.
What's happening here is two things.
Number one, the connection between the two spiritual
centers, Makkah, the first house of worship ever
built for mankind and the next one is
the one in Baitul Maqdis in Jerusalem.
So, the link between the two spiritual centers,
the Abrahamic.
So Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is the
seal.
So in him, the prophethood has been sealed.
And he has inherited the legacy of all
the prophets.
As Imam Shah Waliullah beautifully said, there is
this Jami'ah, comprehensiveness.
All of the spiritual types of these various
prophets subsumed in the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi
wa sallam.
So there is the law of Moses here
and the way of Jesus here.
And different prophets represented different spiritual types.
Because humanity is not one type.
So there is a room for every type.
Rasulullah said, if you want to look at
Isa in this community, look at Abu Dharr.
Of course, Abdul Rahman ibn Auf, reminding us
of Sulaiman alayhi salam.
Of course, spiritual types.
All of these, Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
is an example.
Comprehends all of them.
So because he is the final messenger.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this
ayah, in this surah, connecting.
How, you know, if you read Old Testament,
you will see how Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala chose the children of Israel, which is
repeated in the Quran.
Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us,
because of the rebellion, because of their atrocities,
because of the heinous crime they have committed,
they have been removed from that leadership.
And this mantle is given to the Ummah
of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
The final Ummah.
And that is why I remember one of
the great professors, Netherlands, I think, Holland, I
think.
He was told by none other than one
of the top theologians and priests in Europe.
After he read about the treatises by Badi
Usman Saeed Nursi, he said to this professor,
if we go to *, you are to
be blamed.
Because you did not take this message to
us.
You did not present it in a way
that is compelling for us to hear and
accept it.
So Muslim Ummah bears this responsibility.
So what I'm trying to say is Isra
and Mi'raj happened.
It's a very, very difficult time in the
life of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
He was rejected.
He was ridiculed.
He was banished.
He tried his luck in Ta'if where
he was driven.
He was pelted with stone.
Instead of they receiving him with roses, they
drove him out.
Very darkest moment in the life, in the
face of Islamic mission of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi
wa sallam.
As he described to Aisha, his wife Khadija
died.
The first pillar of support.
And his uncle Abu Talib died, another pillar
of support.
And it was called the year of grief.
Then what happened?
Allah take him.
To see, expose him to the kingdom, the
dominion of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
The mysteries of the universe.
In order to comfort him.
In order to tell him this is nothing.
What you are going through.
Look at the heaven.
Look at the *.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala shows him
the hidden realities.
Al ghayb.
He sees scenes from heaven, from the paradise.
And scenes from *.
And now after that trip, back to the
earth, Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is empowered.
He is energized.
Of course, this story takes us an hour
to describe.
But what I am coming, now let us
come back to the lesson from Isra and
Miraj.
The beautiful gift that Rasulullah brought to us
from Miraj.
Which is, he went beyond Allah, took him
beyond the visible confines of this immense universe.
To the presence of the lord of the
world, the king of the kings and the
judge of the judges.
And Allah directly communicated the five daily prayers.
And that is a gift for me and
you.
The gift Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam brought
from his Miraj.
Yes.
Now we have that honor of experiencing that
Miraj in Salah.
But for that, Salah has to be more
than a form and a ritual.
It has to be a direct communion with
Allah.
Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam in that beautiful
hadith, Describes that Salah is a dialogue between
the servant, the man and the creator.
Allah.
So when you stand in prayer, Allah is
turning to you and me.
So we are communing with him.
So experience Salah like that.
And of course we need to observe this
Salah diligently.
With khushu, mindfulness, awareness of our standing before
Allah.
And we need to teach our children the
beauty of prayer.
Not like a burden.
This is the coolness.
Deepest joy.
It's an oasis.
The young people struggling in their studies.
In the university with schedules and distractions.
Should look at the Salah as an oasis.
Spiritual retreat.
Where you are going to commune with Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
It's spiritual, you know, it's like a battery
charging.
This is how we approach Salah.
With zest and zeal.
And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala help
us to observe the Salah.
And do it consciously, mindfully.
With awareness of communing with Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala inspire us.
To learn about this mighty book.
And its embodiment.
As embodied by Rasulullah s.a.w. in
his character.
Surely Allah will be with us.
Nothing to be worried.
Insha Allah.
8 years ago on January 27.
I think 29.
2 days ago, 8 years passed.
From the massacre.
Where innocent worshippers in the Quebec mosque.
Shot down.
We need to remember them and pray for
their families.
And we need also remember.
That hatred of Islam and Muslims.
And Islamophobia is rampant.
So we need to push back.
It's not enough for us to say what
can I do.
Of course you need to stand up.
Speak against it.
And form alliances.
To work for justice.
So that this hatred.
So we can be safe in our mosque.
We will be safe in the streets.
We can live peacefully.
Peaceful coexistence.
With all of the communities here.
Islam doesn't teach violence.
And we need to stand up for justice
and compassion.
And may Allah help us to do that.
Do our duty.
Push back against hatred.
And stand up prepared.
Armies actually.
Our young people should be trained.
In tackling the media.
And making sure.
That this fake news is defeated.
And we present the truth as it is.
The beauty of Islam.
Beauty of this religion.
Beauty of the Quran.
Beautiful life of Rasulullah.
May Allah have mercy on those.
Who are suffering all over the world.
Those who are oppressed in Palestine, Gaza.
And everywhere.
Myanmar and Sudan.
And Yemen.
Everywhere in the world.
May Allah come to their aid and assistance.
May Allah defeat the oppressors.
Allah will deal with them in His own
time.
This is the lesson from Isra and Miraj
also.
Rasulullah faced the most difficult time.
That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala showed him.
And he was successful.
Defeating the enemies.
So inshallah surely Allah is able to do
that.
We don't need to despair of the mercy
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
O Allah, protect Islam and Muslims.
And shirk and polytheists.
O Allah, help the oppressed in every place.
O Allah, help our brothers in Palestine and
Gaza.
O Allah, all of them are helpers and
helpers.
O Allah, you are responsible for their enemies.
They can't stop you.
O Allah, make their destruction in their destruction.
And make their soldiers as soldiers.
And make their prison as a prison for
them.
O Allah, show us in them the ways
of Your power.
O Mighty, O Powerful.
O Greatest, O Avenger.
O Allah, help us against our enemies.
O Allah, forgive us not our sins.
And forgive us not our worries.
And forgive us not our debts.
And forgive us not our sick.
I am looking at these bachelors in this,
boys and girls.
If we don't encourage our youth to get
married, I am afraid this masjid will be
empty.
So let us encourage.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide them
to find righteous partners.
But I am afraid that but let me
remind you, there is no ideal husband, there
is no ideal wife.
Yes, it comes in a package.
Good and bad.
You should be able to compromise.
So that is the advice I will give.
Brothers and sisters, please ensure that the lines
are straight.
You stand shoulder to shoulder.
Fill all of the gaps.
We have a number of brothers and sisters
coming in.
So fill all of the gaps so that
we can remain tight in the saf.
Inshallah, on February the 15th, Saturday, we have
our pre-Ramadan dinner.
I would encourage you to purchase tickets now
so that you're not disappointed.