Ali Albarghouthi – This is Love #37 Loving To Hear About Allah
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AI: Transcript ©
Good to go?
Today's hadith is hadith 37
in the series,
And the title of this chapter is Loving
to hear about Allah
And the hadith of the chapter
tells us
They said that at the time of the
Prophet alaihis salatu wa sallam
in Masjid Quba so not in Masjid Al
Madina but Masjid Quba
There was an imam or
a man who used to lead them in
the salah.
So he said, So whenever he would be
leading them
in the salah
and he would start
in the rakah after the Fatiha, whatever surah
he is going to read.
He would first read
and then he will read whatever surah he
wants to read after.
And he would do this in every rakah.
So imagine your imam, right, in the salah
doing this
that is in Maghrib.
Asia Fajr. Tuhur and Asar you wouldn't know.
Maghrib. Asha Fajr. Maghrib. Asha Fajr. In every
rakkah where he is the imam, Qulluallahu
Ahad first and then another Surah. Qulluallahu Ahad
then another
He says when you are reading this Surah
you don't see that it is sufficient for
you
and then till you add another to it.
So either you read this alone
or you leave it and you read another
Surah. Some like they're asking Why you always
combine the 2, this and another, this and
another, and you think is
insufficient?
You either do
alone
or you do other surah alone, but not
both.
He says I'm not gonna leave it.
If you wish
for me to be the imam, I'm not
going to leave it. Right?
But if I'm gonna continue to lead, I'm
gonna read it. If not, let go of
me. I'm not gonna lead you in your
salah.
It says, and they believe that he is
their best,
and they dislike that another would lead the
salah instead of him.
The same when the prophet alaihis salam
came to see them as he would do
alaihis salam from time to time
They told them about this,
about this kind of his act and their
disagreement with him.
He says, Oh so and so, what stops
you from doing what your companions are asking
you to do?
And what propels you to read this Surah
in every rakah?
So he said,
He said, O Messenger of Allah, I love
it.
He said your love of it
will admit you to Jannah.
Your love of it will admit you to
Jannah. I don't think we need
to, Ali,
don't bother with the light. Unless we really
need it. Do we need it? Okay. Allah,
let's let go of
it.
So he said,
This is why I'm doing it. So the
prophet
Muhammad said, Your love for it had admitted
you to Jannah.
So if a person were to do it
today, would we say that this is sunnah
or at least allowed?
Yeah. We would say that it's allowed. Why
do we say it's allowed? Because the Prophet
sallallahu alaihi wasallam
agreed
that this is a legitimate action,
right?
Now let's see what we can take from
the hadith and especially the title of the
chapter is loving to hear about Allah Azza
wa Jal. Kind of the question is why
is it that he loved this surah?
Why is it that he loved this surah
and what does that tell us about the
Quran
and about this Surah in particular? But before
we answer this particular question,
as always, like, take few steps back
so that we can kind of contextualize
the emotions in this Sura and understand them
a little better.
So we are most familiar with romantic love.
Why are we familiar with romantic love? Because
if you read novels, if you watch movies,
if you watch TV,
if you read poetry, you're very familiar with
notions within romantic love.
What are those notions?
Notion of longing
for the one that you love
separation from them. You need to be united
with them. You can't wait until that unity
is accomplished.
The excitement
of meeting them, of being with them, of
their prospect
of that unity,
and the agony of separation especially after
unification.
So if you are with the one that
you love and you are separated from them,
that brings
enhanced agony because you cannot withstand that separation.
And have also
the ultimate joy of reunion.
So
those who write stories, those who write songs
and this is not a promotion of these
things. I'm just asserting themes
that people understand very well.
So in songs and in movies and in
theater and in novels and in stories and
in poetry,
you have these themes playing out repeatedly
Those who love each other, those who are
separated from each other, and then ultimately
that separation is either final or they get
to be reunited.
But you understand that the more that you
love someone,
the more that you feel agony when you
are separated,
right.
And the more that you feel excitement and
joy when you are reunited with them. If
you don't care about them, whether they leave
or come, it doesn't move you but if
you truly care about them,
separating from them is the
most agonizing thing, the most difficult thing upon
a heart and reuniting with them is the
ultimate
dream
and that is well understood.
So if we say,
as we were saying,
that Allah's love is the greatest love,
Right.
Potentially, even if it's not the greatest love
in our lives now but it potentially
is.
And in reality those who are able to
achieve it
have realized it to be so. If Allah's
love is the greatest love
then separation from Allah Azzawajal
is the greatest agony and difficulty.
As we said, agony is in proportion to
the love, right?
So if Allah's love is the greatest love,
separating from him should produce the greatest agony
and uniting with him or being close to
him, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
should bring the greatest joy and excitement.
This is all logical or common sense
even if it does not connect with us
emotionally
But that's why in the beginning I said
we understand romantic love, right? We say, Yeah.
You understand how much it could be agonizing
or joyful. We said, Yes.
So for the same reason also,
we say Allah's love, since it's greater, it
brings all of these things or all these
things in greater proportion.
And so
the same thing applies
to what we talk about
and what we like to hear about.
And this is kind of a point I
want you to kind of underline and think
about,
is that how would you discover what a
person
likes?
You don't know them,
and
they're not trying to pretend to be somebody
else.
That's important,
okay?
Because when you
go to a place,
let's say you invite guests
and you immediately pretend that you're somebody else,
right. So you begin to talk about things
that appeal to them
in order not to sound, you know, boring
and just to have a conversation. Or
when you come to the masjid, right, you
adopt a specific persona, and I'm not calling
that hypocrisy, no, But a specific persona, and
it's part of you, but it gets enhanced
when it comes to the Masjid. Right? So
you begin to talk more about religious things
versus perhaps outside.
That's
not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about
what do you talk about
When you have nothing kind of nothing artificial,
you don't have to pretend. You don't have
to put up
a persona.
You. What do you talk about?
What you talk about is what you love.
And what interests you and what you want
to hear about is what you love.
That's the indicator.
Without any artificial,
you
know,
walls,
artificial
attributes, or I am this, and that. So
when you meet somebody for the first time
and again they're not trying to impress you
and they start talking about fashion,
what do you know?
That's what they like. They start talking about
cars.
Or the conversation to them that you're engaging
them in is boring until they start talking
about cars, or sports,
or entertainment and they light up
and they lean in
and they start talking and engaging. What does
that tell you? What do they like? These
things.
So what you talk about
is what you like, what's inside,
and it has to come outside. And if
you don't find that the people around you
are interested in it you go out and
you are gonna go and find people who
are interested in the things that you like
because you have to talk about it. You
have to share it with someone
and then you're gonna tune in,
not tune out, tune in the people who
will talk about the things that you like.
It's just like a radio or a TV
or a channel.
Skip, skip, skip, skip. So it's just like
the people.
Not this person, not this person, not this
person, right? Because he's talking about the things
that I like to talk about. So if
you really want to find out
without, you know,
any wishful thinking, if you really want to
find out what you are about,
discover
or try to find out what you like
to talk about and listen to. This is
who you are.
And that is an honest reflection.
Right?
So
the person here, the companion in the hadith
of the prophet alaihis salatu wa sallam,
what did he like to
hear?
Surat Ikhlas
and repeat.
So I want to generalize this to talk
about the Quran
and then 0 in to talk about Qulhu
Allahu Ihad in particular.
What is
special about the Quran and why should we
consider the Quran to be special?
So if we said remember we said, Allah's
love is the greatest love?
And if Allah's love is the greatest,
then what you receive from that love is
the greatest and what you get deprived of
when you don't have it is the greatest
deprivation
and longing for him is the greatest longing,
what does the Quran do? The Quran comes
to satisfy all of this.
So the Quran is
the actual word and speech of Allah Azza
wa Jal. This is what he spoke.
So if your beloved wrote a letter
and gave it to you, it would be
precious because
this is what he or they said and
this is their handwriting.
If they left you a message, you'll keep
playing it back and back and back and
back
because this is what they are saying.
So you'd like to hear
their voice and what they said and analyze
their words and again hear it again and
then and again and again.
The Quran is Allah's speech.
So if a person loves Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, you wanna be closest to him. What
is closer or what gets you closer to
Allah than His words?
How can you be closer to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala than listening His actual words? Nothing.
So anyone who loves Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
will feel this great pull magnetic pull to
the Quran because if I love him that
is him. In the Quran
Allah is talking. If I miss Allah, if
I long to meet Allah and I will
not be able to see him
or talk to Him directly
until the day of judgment, what is the
closest thing? It's the Quran.
So the Quran
gets those who love Allah Azza wa Jal
extremely excited because that is the closest that
they can come to meeting Allah Azza wa
Jal and talking to him and listening to
him.
And it is the uncreated
speech of Allah Azza wa Jal, meaning it
is what Allah said exactly verbatim.
And you get the honor of listening to
it and reading it and memorizing it.
The Quran also
has in it
the final answer to your questions,
the end of confusion.
It's like
the missing
piece of a puzzle that you're looking for.
So everybody in this life
lives with a lot of questions.
There are big ones there are small ones.
Why are we alive? What's gonna happen to
us when we die? Why is there suffering?
Every person who thinks
must think about these things, must ponder these
things.
And there is really no good answer to
them unless
Allah
tells you, unless you admit that there is
a Creator and unless that Creator gives you
an answer
beyond that or barring that
there's no really good answer to it. You're
gonna keep struggle trying to find an answer,
but it's never satisfying.
But you have also some minor questions.
Am I supposed to study this or that,
work in this or that? Is this am
I skilled or not, am I smart or
not, should I
small questions should I marry this or not,
should I have children or not? Smaller questions
that feed into the bigger questions but there's
still also and they need an answer and
they could be very troubling.
So where do you go for an answer?
Like, really?
Imagine that you don't have the Quran and
you don't have the sunnah, right? Where do
you go for an answer?
You're gonna have to ask another human being.
That human being knows as much or as
little as you do
ultimately.
And if you ask another person, it'll give
you a different answer
and another third person will give you a
very different answer.
And this group of people believe one thing
with certainty, another people believe another thing with
absolute certainty but it's the opposite.
Where do you go? It's very confusing.
Who arbitrates? Who decides
that this is right and this is wrong?
There is an ultimate confusion
and ultimate anxiety because of it. Then the
Quran when Allah comes and says this is
right and this is wrong, do this and
do do that, He settles all of it.
So the believer, the seeker, the thinker,
the philosopher, the poet,
everybody who's looking for certainty, when you look
into the Quran you get the final answer.
This is it I don't have to keep
looking. Allah told me what to do and
even if the answer is not direct it's
indirect in the sense of keep looking in
the Quran or Allah will give you the
answer or use the tools that Allah had
given you in the Quran to discover what
the answer is and Allah will guide you
to it. So even if it's not explicit,
it will be made explicit to you in
time. But you have an assurance that Allah
will guide you.
So it gives you
certainty and it ends your confusion.
It is really the ultimate and the actual
truth and it has eternal wisdom in it.
I don't have to live until I'm a
100
in order to understand life but then it
is too late for me to go back
and do the things that I was supposed
to do. And by the way, when you're
young you're not gonna listen to your elders
because you feel a disconnect.
They're older and they're younger.
So there's feeling of what they've experienced things
differently but I have my own experience, my
own life. Who has the authority to tell
you no this is right no matter what
time and space you're in?
Who knows you more than you know yourself?
It's only Allah azza wa Jal.
And then if a wisdom of elders
and the
knowledgeable comes to support this then you accept
it of course. But you have Allah Azzawajal
who tells you and you accept it before
because Allah Azzawajal is the one who is
telling you.
The Quran also because of this and more,
and let me talk this before I move
to the issue about peace and assurance.
That
piece of the puzzle.
Right?
Like, when you're reading the Quran and this
happens especially if you have a question that
is troubling you
and that question could be an urgent one
or one that you've had for a long
time
and you read the Quran
and you keep reading the Quran
and then one of those days, one of
those moments
Allah opens your eyes to an ayah that
you've read many, many, many times but you
did not think about the way that you're
thinking about today, and you discover in it
an answer to the question a question that
you held for a long time, but now
you discovered it in the Quran, and that
now gives you comfort
because you say oh I was looking for
this
and now I have my answer.
And that is that missing piece
like a big puzzle, right?
And it's incomplete in some areas and that
troubles you because it's incomplete until you find
that missing piece and you put it in
and you say Oh, the rest now makes
sense and I'm comforted now that it's now
full.
Now I have my answer. So this is
what the Quran does. It keeps filling the
more that you read it,
giving you wisdom but filling the pieces of
the puzzle
until you have a better picture of what
Allah wants from you and how to live
and answer to the rest of your questions.
So because of this it gives you peace
and assurance and
removes your anxiety
because you're not confused
and you have answers
but also when it comes to this dunya
and its uncertainties,
Allah, Azawajal, removes
them for you.
So if you're worried about sickness,
worried about poverty,
you're worried about that you're not going to
get a, b, c, or d, Allah Azawajal
fills that anxiety
with promises and assurance. Don't worry about it,
I will give you
and I will give you until you'll be
satisfied.
وَالَدِّ
He said that to the prophet alaihis salatu
wasallam
By the way this is true for everybody
else and Allah will keep giving you until
you'll be satisfied,
Right? So it doesn't matter what is lacking
now. When you read in the Quran that
that's a common theme in the Quran that
if you are pleased with Allah, Allah will
be pleased with you and when Allah is
pleased with you you will be pleased with
Allah meaning that you will have everything that
you want. So nothing will be missing from
your life
if you believe in Him subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And iman gives you this and the Quran
teaches you that. So it takes away your
anxiety. What if I lose this? It doesn't
matter.
Allah Azdul is the guarantor. He will gonna
give you something else and something better if
I believe in Him Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
In the dunya, yes, but also in the
akhira.
So it gives you that
kind of continuous peace and continuous,
serenity.
And for that to happen, the Quran needs
to be
a companion,
not a guest
that comes once a month, right, and leaves.
You're not gonna connect emotionally with someone that
visits you for a month for once a
month,
right.
Hey you still may like them but you
don't really get to know them
but if they are your neighbor and you
talk to them every day and you invite
them to your house and you get invited
to their home and you talk all the
time or if they are a family member
and you converse daily,
you will know them more, right,
and you will love them more.
So the Quran needs to be that companion
of yours,
right,
The daily fuel
that teaches you, that energizes you, that directs
you, that focuses you,
that tells you to believe every single day
because you have to believe here every single
day. By the way, believe in Allah's promise
not the shaitan.
You're fine? Go.
And then you go about the rest of
your day hearing
that ayah in the back of your mind
and the next day because the next day
is a new day and a new whisper
and a new temptation is gonna come.
So again you hear another affirmation from Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, another word of wisdom, another
certainty and you take it and you battle
the shaitan and you battle yourself and by
Allah's
permission you win and so on and so
on. So the Quran needs to be that
daily fuel
and the soul needs to be fed and
we talked about this before
just like the body needs to be fed.
Now we are
very careful
in feeding our bodies,
right?
Some more than others but at least
when you're hungry what do you do?
You go and eat.
You don't typically deprive yourself
and some take it to the next level
paying
greater attention to what they eat. So they
eat something that is wholesome, something that is
natural, something that is organic, they have supplements.
They really care about what they eat because
they really care about their bodies
versus some who don't really care maybe because
they are too young or too foolish.
Still they eat whatever as long as it
tastes good. They consume whatever
but ultimately you understand you're gonna pay a
price for that and when you reach a
point you'll switch into a healthier diet. You
must.
But if you care about your body, you'll
care about what you eat. And if you
care about your body, you'll continuously
feed your body the best. Now the soul
also needs to be fed.
It's always consuming something.
You just don't realize that it's consuming something.
So if you're not listening to the Quran
you have to be listening to something else
because you need to be fed. What are
you listening to then?
So you'll find yourself attracted to music,
to rhythm,
right?
Because
the soul wants a tune,
wants to be moved.
So you didn't give it to the Quran,
so he says well I'm tired, I need
something else, this music sounds fine. You find
yourself attracted to music whereas the opposite would
be true if you're really immersed in the
Quran you wouldn't really find an appetite for
music. You'll find it distracting.
No one has to come and tell you
don't listen to it.
No. You'll say to yourself no I find
it to be kind of opposite to the
Quran. I don't want anything to take me
away from it so I'll just stick to
the Quran.
Sorry I don't need music.
So the soul needs to be fed and
if you're not feeding it the wisdom of
the Quran
what wisdom is it being fed?
If any wisdom at all. Is it eastern
wisdom?
Is it meditation,
right, and mindfulness?
Is it,
just entertainment?
Simply because the soul is tired,
just give me something funny to watch.
I'm too tired.
Right?
Is that what's feeding it?
So the Quran needs to be that companion
to give you the strength
and to grow in you the love of
Allah
and to connect you with Him on a
deep level. But if it's not, it will
not.
So if you
read the Quran,
it will lead you to Allah Azzur.
If you read the Quran,
you love Allah more
and you love you love Allah azza wa
jal more you will read the Quran and
they both form a loop
And we went we last time we talked
about a loop, that how it
feeds
its components,
they feed each other.
So the Quran and the love of Allah
Azawajal, they form a loop.
So Ibnurajib
this is on page 391.
He says the greatest thing that brings
the love of Allah Azza wa Jal among
voluntary
deeds is Quranic recitation
especially with contemplation.
So he's saying among all voluntary
deeds
and by the way all of them bring
on the
love of Allah Azza wa'l, all of them
but he says among all of them the
Quran
ranks the highest
that will bring the love of Allah, Azza
wa'l. He says but in particular with what?
When you ponder it, when you think about
it.
Because you could just
read mindlessly
and not understand what you're reading
and not think about what the ayaas mean
and they want from you
and then finish and feel as if you
have not done much.
It didn't change you
or you could lead
less, fewer ayaas
but you think about them and they will
be very transformative for that day.
And you'll be thinking about it for the
rest of the day and how this could
be applied and how this is affecting me
and how I have failed to achieve this
or how
I can achieve it.
So the more that you read the Quran
the more that you will achieve of the
love of Allah Azza wa Jal and he
says Qalab Numa's 'ud, he continues and he
quotes
he
said
He said, Let not anyone ask anybody about
himself except the Quran. Meaning if you wanna
ask someone about you,
don't ask anybody except the Quran.
If someone loves the Quran, they love Allah
and the Messenger.
Sometimes maybe you'll be prompted, How good am
I?
How do I good how do I know
how good
I am?
That's a good question,
right? How do you know how good you
are?
If you take a test, let's say the
test is fair,
then you'll know how much you know.
Someone is testing you who's supposedly more qualified.
He tells you you have a 100%,
meaning you know it all.
You only have 50%,
meaning you only know half.
Then you know.
Or if you
graduated and you have a degree, then somebody
has testified on your behalf.
He knows his thing.
This this
degree proves it.
Who do you ask about your own taqwa
and your own iman and in particular your
own love of Allah Azza wa Jal? Who
do you ask? Subn Nasud radiAllahu anhu, he
says don't ask anybody but the Quran.
The Quran tells you if you love the
Quran, you love Allah.
That's an honest reflection.
So
if you're close to the Quran it means
that you are close to Allah.
If you're not close to the Quran what
does that mean?
Are you not close? That's honest, honestly.
Don't lie to yourself. Don't wish for things
that are not there. Maybe in the future
they may be but right now
what is your relationship with the Quran that
tells you about your relationship with Allah Azza
wa Jal? You're close to the Quran, you're
close to Allah. If you're close to Allah,
you must be close to the Quran.
If you're distant, then you're distant.
And it forms a loop because you could
kinda
glean that from it meaning
if you get yourself close to the Quran
you're gonna get close to Allah.
So it works both ways.
And in fact, even in life it works
both ways.
Proximity
breeds
love.
Mere proximity,
right?
Let's take any example of someone that you've
known for a very long time and he's
not someone that you
married to
or you gave birth to just somebody that
you know
somebody who sells something from a shop close
to your home
and he or she have been there
for 5, 10 years and you buy from
them every week,
and you exchange few words, and you leave
but you've known them for how long? 10
years.
When all of a sudden they move, what
do you feel?
You're missing someone
and you may regret their move
and you kind of reminisce about the times
that you talked about this and talk even
though they are not essential in your life.
What made them so close to you?
Proximity,
right? Proximity.
So when you're just simply being close to
the Quran
that proximity
gives you love of Allah Azza wa. Love
of the Quran, of course, and love of
Allah Azza wa. So it works both ways.
So kind of if you are lamenting the
fact that oh I'm not so close to
Allah, not so not close to the Quran
what should I do? You say insha'Allah
it's not so difficult. Get yourself close to
the Quran
and that will move you
to Allah Azza wa Jal. And that's the
beauty of it, that there is a solution.
So one of the answers
to the questions that from time to time
we ask ourselves here, how do I know
if I love Allah Azza wa Jal? Ask
yourself if
you love the Quran
and ask yourself if you miss the Quran
Because if you miss Allah Azzawajal
and part of the hadith of the prophet
alaihis salallahu alaihi wa sallam, part of his
dua was
Allah I ask you that I miss meeting
you,
that I would long to meet you,
that I would want to meet you. This
is not asking for death, right?
Death is gonna come anyway.
It's not asking, You Allah, let me die
soon. No. What is it asking for? Let
me have that feeling that I want to
see you.
I can't wait to see you, can't wait
to talk to you.
So this is the longing that we're talking
about. So if I'm missing Allah or if
I want to achieve this and I want
to miss Allah Azza wa Jal, where do
I go to be close to Him?
Quran
and of course dua and of course salah
and of course sujood all of these are
components of proximity to Allah Azzawajal the Most
High. But here we are focusing on the
Quran.
So what makes the Quran so beautiful?
And
what made the Sahabi
love the Surah Al Ikhla so much is
that the Quran
talks about Allah.
It tells you about Him, subhanahu wa ta'ala.
This is the beauty of the Quran.
Even the stories in the Quran
What's the purpose of the story of the
Quran if you were to think about it?
Yeah, it does actually entertain when you're listening
to this event and that event and this
and that, yes. But what is the lesson
from all the stories of the Quran?
They're I want to take you where?
Iman and Allah azza wa jal. Certainty and
Allah. Yaqeen,
Reliance. Tawakkul.
That's the lesson of all the stories of
the Quran. What is the purpose of all
the halal and haram? You know, when you
read the Quran
do this and don't do that, pray like
this, don't do that. What's the purpose of
all of this?
Proper Ibadah.
What is the purpose of proper Ibadah?
To take you to Allah Azza wa Jal.
So the Quran
guides you to Allah Azza wa Jal and
tells you how to love Him.
And that is the most beautiful thing about
the Quran.
And that's why the Sahabi loved it, right?
So the companions of Muhammad
they
loved
Surat al Ikhlas.
So here I have a couple of hadiths
similar to one that we had in the
chapter.
And in the first one, this is on
page 392, it says that the prophet sent
someone
on an army expedition.
And during that time when he was their
leader,
their Imam Indus Salah, he would always conclude
with
and he will read the surah and then
always also read
So when they came back they mentioned this
to the messenger alaihis salatu wasalam.
So he asked them and he said ask
them, ask him
why did he do that? Like in his
salah just like the first hadith but this
one he reads it at the end instead
of the beginning. So he said the prophet
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said ask him why
is he doing this? Why did he do
that? So
he
said,
He
says because it has the attributes of the
Most Merciful
and I love to read it.
He says, Let him know that Allah loves
him.
Let him know. Tell him that Allah loves
So here you have
the reason
of why he loves it. He says, tell
him why is he doing this? He says,
You Allah, it has in it a description
of ar Rahman
and I love it because of that.
So why is he reading it? It's out
of love.
No one is forcing him. No one is
asking him. Actually, he's doing something unlike what
everybody else is doing, but he loves it
so much, and I want you to think
about this
he loves it so much he can't let
go of it.
Like the one in the first, right?
Hadith.
Because they gave him a choice. He said
you either read this or that.
He says, No.
If you want me to be an imam,
I have to read it. Otherwise, let me
go.
He loved it so much he could not
let go of it. Why? Because it talks
about Allah.
That means that he loves Allah Azzawad Al
so much he wants to mention him. He
wants to talk about him. And that's why
he said,
Well, then tell him that Allah loves him.
That's the beauty of it. That's an expression
of love,
right?
And that is then you realize that the
salah could be an expression of love.
When you're standing in salah,
the salah itself could be an expression of
love
that you are loving Allah and
that's why you are praying.
That is a very different emotion
to have when you're praying.
You could pray
because
I have to.
You can pray because I feel guilty if
I don't.
This is good.
You pray because
I want Allah to forgive me. That's still
good.
You pray because I love Allah.
Now think about that. I pray because I
love Allah and this is how I can
love Him even more. I need that.
Not that I have to, I need it.
So you pray because you need it. And
you read the Quran because you need it,
because you love to read it. Not that
you have to, you love to read it.
So there's a difference begins between somebody who
studies because they have to study and somebody
who studies because they love to study.
They're not 2 similar students,
and they don't achieve the same level of
excellence
in their studies.
Have tos versus want tos.
So if you want to something,
it's part of you.
And similar to this,
same page, this is a man of the
from the companions of the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wasallam
would not read a surah in any
salah, in any rakah, whether it's a must
or a voluntary raka except that he will
read after
This was mentioned to the prophet alaihis salatu
was salam and he said why do you
do this? He says because I love it.
So the prophet alaihis salatu wasalam
Allah loves you because you love it.
Allah loves you because you love it. So
when you love the Quran, Allah loves
you and that makes sense. You love the
Quran because you love Allah, Azza wa Jal,
especially when you love a Surah like that.
So
what is so special about this surah?
This surah, though it is very small, it
only talks about one thing, and that is
what?
Allah Azzawajal.
It doesn't talk about anything else. It talks
about Allah Azzawajal.
And for someone who loves Allah Azzawajal, a
surah that talks about just Allah Azza wa
Jal will be at the top
because it just discusses Him and no one
and nothing else just talks about Him
And it tells
them
that Allah
is unique
and that Allah
is the greatest,
most supreme, and most powerful
and that everybody needs Him.
So it feeds all of that
and, of course, all the actions and all
the emotions that follow it. So when you
say
when
you say uhad,
the one and only
and he's absolutely unique. Uhad is not one
but the one and only.
There's no one like Him.
So if a person is ahad, let's say
a human being, is described as a hyperbole.
He is ahad in something
meaning nobody else shares that with him. He's
ahad in heroism
meaning he's the ultimate hero. No one is
as courageous as he is.
So when you say Allah is Uhad, Allah
is completely unique. So here Allah is standing
high and above everything and anyone else.
So you elevate Him
with all the respect, all the veneration, all
the power that comes with this.
The next is Allahu Samad.
And one of the meanings of the Samad
is the one that everyone else needs.
He needs no one
but everybody else needs.
So that expresses
first the greatness of Allah, a zarudalu, He
doesn't need anyone? Yes.
But that you need Him all the time.
So he has a
summit. So if I'm sick, I have to
go to him. If I'm tired, I have
to go to him.
If I'm hungry, I have to go to
him. If I'm empty on the inside, I
have to go to him. If I need
guidance, I need him. If I need to
eat and drink, in fact, I need him
more than food and water.
And the more that a person
kind of contemplates that, the more that he
discovers his need of Allah Azzawajal until he
is more
so than a child or an infant with
his mother.
Can an infant survive without his mother?
She puts him aside and he starts what?
Crying.
He can't withstand that separation.
So that person who knows that Allah is
as Samad, He knows that he is more
helpless than an infant next to his mother.
So he knows that he cannot be without
Allah azaajal for a minute.
He has to have Him all the time
and he knows that he cannot be without
Him for any minute so that's why he
keeps remembering Him and that's why he keeps
praying and that's why he keeps asking
and that's why he keeps repenting.
And the more that you read it, the
more that it feeds that dependence in you
and reliance on Allah
He was not born, did not give birth
to anyone
no one is
equal to him again affirms that if no
one is equal to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
I must not put anyone
beside him, not even myself.
So all humanity
and all the loves that you have start
to fall or start to diminish next to
the love of Allah
and next to the station that Allah
deserves and you read it more and Allah
grows bigger and higher and people grow smaller
and more insignificant.
And the more that you love Allah Azzawood,
the more that you will talk about Him.
And the more that you talk about him,
the more that you will love this Surah.
And the prophet alaihis salatu wasallam, he said
that is
equal
to 1 third of the Quran.
So in the hadith, this is on page
393
ordered by Muslim.
The messenger alaihis salatu wasallam once came out
to the sahaba and he said gather because
I will read 1 third of the Quran
to you. And they gathered
as many of them as could gather and
the prophet alaihis salatu wasallam came out and
he read
and then he went went back into his
home.
And the people said to each other, they
wondered because they thought 1 third of the
Quran. So they're still waiting for 1 third
of the Quran. So they said maybe he
received some sort of revelation and that's why
he went back
before he finished the recitation of the remaining
third of the Quran.
The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam though came
out and he said, I told you that
I will read 1 third and I did
read
and it's equal to 1 third of the
Quran.
This very short surah
is equal to 1 third of the Quran
and
this is the scholars have said that this
is perhaps
because 1 third of the Quran it's talking
about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You have others
that are that is
another third that is stories,
another third that is akham, rules and regulations,
and 1 third is about Allah Azza wa
Jal.
And among the 3,
1 third is stories, 1 third is regulations
and rules,
and 1 third is talking about Allah. Among
the 3,
the best third is which 1?
The one that talks about Allah.
Because the other 2 are all in service
of
iman and taqwa.
They're leading to it. So the basic
message of the Quran,
you'll find it in Similarly
also in Al Fatiha. Why was why is
Al Fatiha so great? Because it encapsulates
the Quran
and the message of the Quran in Surat
Al Fatiha. So they said the rest of
the Quran is as if it's a detail
or an explanation
of what you will find in Surat al
Fatiha.
But let's go back to surat al Ikhlas
1 third of the Quran is there So
it tells you that if you love it,
if
you understand it,
if you repeat it, it will give you
a lot.
And the Messenger
also said about it,
about repeating
it. And this is on page
394. He said,
is that whoever reads
10 times until he finishes them, Allah Azzawajid
will build for him
a house in paradise.
The repetition
of 10 times,
Allah
will give that person a house
or a palace in paradise
that tells you about the merit of And
it doesn't stop there.
Because we understand from the sunnah of the
Prophet alaihis salatu wasalam
that we are to repeat it
or we are recommended
to repeat
with the other Quls as well.
So when do we do this? So the
morning and the evening in adkar include them.
So between Asr and Maghrib
and between fajr
and sunrise,
you are to repeat each 3 times.
That's part of the sunnah, part of the
dikr.
Before you go to bed,
The 3, right? And you blow on your
hand and you wipe
your body.
After each salah,
you say,
And also, you use it for Ruqya.
So we talked about dhikr
but also you use it for protection
and you use it for ruqya.
So, if you want Allah Azadul to heal
you, you use
If you want Allah Azadul to protect you,
you use
and it's Allah's name. And when Allah's name
is there it protects you from the shaitan.
And the merit of
and the benefit that you will receive from
it will be stronger
the more that you believe it and understand
it.
The more that you believe individually what these
words mean and what does this sentence mean
and what you should learn from it, and
the more that you believe it,
the more that Allah will give you in
terms of reward and in terms of protection
when you recite all of these things.
So protect yourself with
true.
But then love Qulawallaahuahad
because it is what?
The description of the Most Merciful
this is who Allah Azzawajal
is
And love the book of Allah Azzawajal because
it is talking about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
and connects you to him
And it will increase your iman and protects
you from temptations.
So if you love Allah,
you wanna hear about him.
And if you love Allah, you wanna talk
about him. And the Quran accomplishes both
because when you're reading the Quran, you're listening
and you are repeating.
And after some time, SubhanAllah,
if you read the Quran
enough,
you'll find yourself so familiar and so close
to it that you repeat the words of
Allah Azza wa Jal
and you will use the words of Allah,
and you will enjoy the words of Allah
whenever you listen to them. You don't feel
distant or alienated from them.
And that is a gift,
to be of the people of the Quran
who enjoy the Allah's company more than they
enjoy the company of human beings.
Imagine whenever you get bored and tired, you
say I want to talk to so and
so because I always feel better when I
talk to them. Do you have someone like
that?
Something happens to you and you say I
need to tell them this and that
because it's always nicer when I share that
with them and I hear their feedback.
Imagine if we could reach a point where
we can think like that about Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. I can't wait to read the
Quran
because that really gives me
happiness.
It really comforts me.
I'm feeling so distressed right now. Talking to
anybody else is not gonna help like talking
to Allah, Azawdulillah let me talk to Allah
and then after half an hour or hour
of reading the Quran you feel to yourself
I really feel much better now.
That I spoke to Allah and Allah spoke
to me.
So this is why we mean we need
the Quran to be our companion
and this is the title of the chapter
loving to hear about Allah azza wa jal
so we wanna be those people who love
to hear about Allah azza wa jal and
when they wanna talk they wanna talk about
Allah, not artificially,
not because we want to impress someone, not
because we want to be people that we
are not, no because naturally
if we are
just who we are, we are just gonna
talk about Allah
without pretense
and we love to hear about Allah without
So this is insha'Allah,
where we have insha'Allah for today. Let me
know insha'Allah if you have questions.
And I'll try, insha'allah, to answer a few
questions from last week with.
But I just give,
priority to you first.
You have question?
This is the
before you go to sleep, so
blow on your hand, wipe over your body,
repeat,
and then repeat.
3.
So, yeah,
so one set, blow,
wipe. One set, blow, wipe. One set, blow
and wipe.
You could read it into and then blow.
Bleed it into and then blow into your
hand.
And by the way, I mean there's
one narration of the hadith like this and
one narration of the hadith like that. One
narration of the hadith you blow first and
you read.
And another narration of the hadith you read
and then you blow. This or that.
Both insha'Allah is fine. Both are reported.
If I'm currently learning the Quran, is it
acceptable to read the English and get the
same reward?
If you are still learning and you're doing
your best to,
learn
the Quran in Arabic,
Allah rewards you the same.
But as long as you keep learning insha'allah
and you ultimately wanna,
at least the basic surahs insha'allah, you wanna
learn that in the Arabic
Insha'Allah.
Okay. It's a good question How can I
tell if listening to the Islamic lectures is
entertainment versus a bada?
So that's a good,
distinction.
How can I tell if listening to Islamic
lectures is entertainment
versus Ibadah?
I often worry if I my love for
listening to lectures is basically
because I enjoy the speaker
more than the subject.
Although I find myself moved to tears when
listening.
Now,
so
it's not often
easy
to separate the 2,
and you don't have always to separate the
2.
There are some types of Ibadas or acts
of Ibadah. Well, can it be Ibadah, but
it could also be entertainment or fun at
the same time?
Possible. So for instance, you know, just an
example that comes to mind
you can go to Hajj
for the sake of Hajj
and also to sell and buy
as long as the intent
mostly is Ibadah.
Right?
So and that is mentioned in the Quran.
That is,
I'm not gonna attempt to quote it right
now
but it's permissible
to have that dual intention. As long as
you're not going to Hajj, simply go and
sell and buy.
So as long as the dominant intention is
Ibadah but also you want some worldly benefit
then that is permissible,
Okay,
so if you're listening to a lecture
it's not often easy to separate between the
two because maybe you enjoy the speaker and
maybe the speaker is a little bit funny
or maybe the speaker is eloquent or maybe
the speaker is this and that as long
as what you are seeking from him is
something that is halal, there's nothing haram about
it and that is mixed with actual intent
to learn
maybe that is fine InshaAllah, I mean
and it's still mostly Ibadah.
Where would become a conflict is when the
subject is not worthy,
is what
is being said is wrong,
and you keep listening to this person because
you admire them.
That's when you'll discover that it's the person,
not the subject.
It's who the
person is not what they're saying.
So when you find yourself defending the person
no matter what they say even when they
are wrong, you know that they have become
a fan of the person,
not really a student of knowledge or a
seeker of knowledge.
So it's really
wise to ask yourself this question from time
to time and say, Am I attracted to
the person or to what he's talking about?
That's really wise.
And kind of refocus yourself so that you
adhere to the truth that he is telling
you more than be connected to the person
who's telling it.
So if you can manage to do this,
then you are wiser
than a lot of people.
But it's a good question, Insha'Allah. But I
think if you both want to learn from
Him but you also like the person, that's
that's permissible.
But again, keep yourself connected to what is
being said, not to who is saying it.
And that's you can ask yourself, If this
person makes a mistake, will I follow him
despite
his mistake or I'll follow the truth even
if it comes from someone that I'm not
I don't really listen to
or I don't particularly I'm not particularly attracted
to?
Will I accept the truth regardless?
That will tell you something.
So if
one has been practicing the fast of Dawud
and missed the fast on the day of
Arafah,
is he missing out on the virtue of
the fasting?
So,
yes, he would be and there is no
need to do that.
So
the fasting of Dawud alaihis salam is alternate
days, right?
So you fast one day but not the
next and then the following but not the
one following and so on. So
Monday but not Tuesday, Wednesday but not Thursday,
Friday but not Saturday, right? It's not clear.
So the fasting of Dawud at the same
time is not rigid.
So suppose, for instance, for whatever reason, you
have to break your fast
on Monday and you didn't fast it,
you can start on Tuesday
or you break your fast on Monday Tuesday.
You could do Wednesday Thursday. So it's not
that rigid that it has to be Monday
and nothing else.
It has to be Wednesday but not nothing
else. I have to skip one day. No.
See the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam you know
was very flexible. He fasted 3 days from
every month, right?
They could be from the middle, from the
beginning or the end.
You Understand the flexibility? It could be any
because sometimes there are more important things that
take place so he has to break his
fast. I say I'll do it some other
day. So the day of Arafat comes You're
not gonna fast it because you fasted the
day before it?
No.
Be flexible.
The day of fasting the day of Arafah
is much better than skipping a day.
So you could combine those days or you
can separate those days or you can do
the fasting of Dawud like what
you traveled.
You couldn't fast in the 1st 2 weeks
of the month.
You come back, you fast the last 2
weeks of a month.
That still counts as the fast of Dawud.
You just kind of combine them in one
time but not
the other.
That still counts, Insha'Allah. So no, fast the
day of Arafah, Insha'Allah. Don't miss the day
of Arafah.
Nam. So Dhul Hijjah is the best day
for, good deeds.
If we sin on Dhul Hijjah, is that
the worst time to sin and stay away
from? So some scholars have said that.
Some scholars have said that if
if the day
or if the time and place are honorable
and virtuous,
sin
will multiply,
not to the amount where good deed is
multiplied, but it multiplies
simply because it's a virtuous place.
Why would you disobey Allah Azzawajal in it?
You have less of a reason to do
so. Or it's a virtuous time.
So why would you be so audacious and
you sin
at that time whereas you're supposed to be
more pious?
That indicates a lack of respect, a lack
of reverence.
So maybe that's why sin could be doubled
and multiplied.
Others other scholars have said no it does
not multiply unless Allah specifies it.
So sin is Mecca is indifferent is different.
But we're not gonna kind of generalize this
to say every day or every month or
occasion that is sacred or virtuous.
So wallahu 'alam,
the
cautious thing
is to avoid sin during blessed times.
So righteous or blessed times
since it could be
the sin in it could be multiplied you
say you have to be extra cautious when
it comes to upsetting Allah azza wa jal
because it could count on more than simply
one sin.
So stay away from it, okay?
So is it from the Sunnah to say
Amin to a dua that
just like in Al Fatiha, right?
Ameen is Allahu mastajib, you Allah accept. So
it's like a du'a
upon a du'a. So he's saying something you
say Allah accept from him. It's not Allah
accept from him. You can say it.
Not not in unison, not together,
and not very loud,
but to yourself.
So it's not loud enough that it becomes
apparent that all the Juma'ah is saying it,
but you say Amin to it. You Allah
accept. You Allah accept.
Yeah, you can say that.
Was there somebody else with their hand up
here?
No?
Okay.
Yeah.
So you say, like,
for the one after between Maghreb and Asia.
Right?
I'm I'm sorry. Between Asad and Maghreb, you
mean?
Nam.
Either way would be fine, Insha'Allah.
Either way would be fine. So whether you
do
had 3 times, this 3 times, and that
3 times, or you separate them
by
and then you go back, this and that,
I don't know of a specific way to
say them then. So whether you say this
or that should be fine, insha'a.
Oh, okay. So you mean
after Fajr and then you say and between,
fajr and, for the morning adhkar.
You're not doing it 6 times.
So between
so for the morning adhkar, you're doing it
3 times.
And after fajr, you're doing it once each.
So let me see. I'm trying to locate,
okay. This is it. So there were a
couple of questions from last week about parents.
So let me read them, Insha Allah.
What should one do if their parents follow
culture over religion in certain aspects
and refuse to hear otherwise.
So if your parents are listening to culture
more
than religion or over religion in certain matters,
and they refuse to hear otherwise.
It depends on what the matter is.
You be gentle with them, you try to
make du'a for them that they see the
truth, you try to gently educate.
You try to bring somebody else to tell
them what the right
matter is.
And
there's nothing else that you can do.
So just to educate and make dua and
it really because the
question is general, I can only give a
general answer. It depends on what the thing
is.
So you understand that because they are your
parents,
they may not be keen on listening to
you because you're just simply your child, their
child, their son.
They
So you have to understand that gap and
that difference and be patient
until they somehow see it.
And if you keep making du'a to Allah
Azza wa Jal that they see it and
you keep
being nice and sometimes
maybe in our eagerness to follow the truth,
we become belligerent
and repulsive because of it. You have to
do it, you are wrong, this is right.
Whereas if you are gentle and kind, people
are more likely to accept and take things
from you.
So following the truth is difficult.
Right? Following the truth is difficult because the
shaitan is against you. Your habit is against
you. Society, the culture is against you. So
for doing the right thing is very difficult.
So don't make it even more difficult by
being
abusive or by being belligerent
or too demanding.
But rather be gentle. And if you're really
truly gentle and kind,
as Allah says,
lower your self to them. If they see
that from you without humiliation, I'm not talking
about humiliation, but being gentle and,
humble,
and more likely to accept things from you,
and then ultimately,
hopefully, Insha'Allah,
they'll change. Again, it all depends on
who the issue is.
It's cutting ties with a parent haram if
they are committing.
So
don't cut ties with them
because Allah
you know said
He says that they strive
to have you
disbelieve in me,
do not
obey them but keep their good company in
the dunya.
So even if they are striving, not only
that they've committed kuford, they want you to
commit that
thing and they are not simply inviting, they
are striving
for you to accept it, pushing you, harassing
you, bombarding you,
asking other people to talk to you about
it. This is what jihad is. They're going
jihad against you
to accept this falsehood.
Even then the prophet Allah Azzawajal said subhanahu
wa ta'ala
don't listen to them. Yes, don't listen to
them but be a good companion to
So
don't disconnect yourself from them.
Keep making du'a for them. Keep giving them
advice.
Sometimes,
yes, some parents, I don't wanna generalize, some
parents could be very harmful
and their company could be very harmful, but
that is a separate
issue. But as long as you can tolerate
their company and as long as
staying close to them
benefits them,
and you ultimately have hope
that you could change them, I would say,
insha'Allah, don't
give up on them.
There's also a question about,
let me see,
Question about someone who said,
I have the habit of
looking and comparing myself to other people
And perhaps because of this feeling
or having feelings of envy and jealousy,
that that constant comparison
kinda kinda breeds into
they have and I don't have. I wish
that I have what they did.
And that kind of breeds this
envy. So how do you treat this?
How do you treat envy?
So first of all, we have to realize
that you're not the only person who feels
like that,
right?
Almost everybody has a sense of envy and
jealousy.
And in a world today where it's easy
to compare yourself to other people because you
have
open communication with everybody in the world
today and you can see what everybody else
has and they also they boast about what
they have, it's easy to fall into that
trap and become very envious
and they feel that you've been deprived and
you don't have what you deserve.
But then how do you treat it? Because
it's more of an illness now apparently than
it was before, though it was always there.
How do you treat that?
So
let's mention as many treatments as possible and
if you come up or you have something
with you, InshaAllah,
let me know about it. First of all,
the hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam don't look.
Don't look at those who have what you
don't have.
Don't look at those who have things that
are above you. Look at those who have
things that are beneath you.
So that begins you know with social media
or when you go outside,
don't visit
the accounts or the locations
or be around people who will make you
feel worse about yourself,
meaning that they have a lot more than
I do.
So you look at their mansions and then
you come back and look at your house.
You look at their,
life in general, their accomplishments, and then you
go back and look at your life. You're
not supposed to do that in worldly matters.
In religious matters, yes. Look at those who
are higher. In worldly matters, you don't look
at millionaires
and then feel sorry for yourself.
You're not allowed to. You understand what it
means? It's not like oh, it's better not
to do it. You're not supposed to.
It doesn't bring you anything
good. So if you stop doing this,
if you unfollow those people, if you don't
look at those who have kind of like
avert your gaze. Just like when you look
at haram, what do you do?
You look the other way.
To look at something expensive, look the other
way.
Something that is gonna spoil your heart, look
the other way,
right? Like your heart is like, I don't
know, I don't have a good example here.
Your heart is like what? It's like a
fish out of water. You're just holding it
with your palms like that
and you're very careful not to drop it
and you wanna rush to put it back
into water, otherwise it will die. That's your
heart.
So you're not gonna have this fish you
know enter areas that you know is gonna
kill it. You're not gonna go into this
shop and that shop. You're gonna directly go
to where you need to go and that's
it. Your heart is like that. You're not
gonna show it things that will disturb it.
You're not supposed to do this to yourself.
So first don't look
and that will actually comfort you, bring you
a lot of comfort.
2nd, don't compare.
Even if you happen to look or somebody
shares with you things that they have done
or they have achieved,
Don't compare yourself to them because they are
living different lives than yours.
They have different opportunities than yours and different
difficulties than yours.
Each person has his own path. Allah gave
you a different one.
Work on your own path.
If Allah wanted you to be them He
would make you them, right?
So you're not this person. So don't compare
yourself to them. You're very different
and understand also that as they have successes
they have failures and as they have
things that make them happy they have also
anxieties and sorrows. Everybody does. So you're only
seeing one part of the picture. You're not
seeing everything.
So stop yourself.
And also whenever you feel envious, so we
said, don't look and don't compare.
Also, whenever you feel envious, and this is
very helpful, make dua for them.
Right.
So somebody just got promoted
and you didn't. You don't even have a
job.
He got promoted.
Instead of being envious, you say
may Allah Azza wa Jal bless that for
this person and may Allah, you know, make
this extra income
a good thing for him, not a bad
thing for him. And may Allah bless his
family, and may he bless his kids, and
may Allah if not, may Allah give him
kids, and may Allah increase him in iman
and make this a barakah for him and
keep making this dua and the more that
you make this dua the better you will
feel about him
and about yourself.
It's just you will feel better and try
it. It's guaranteed. So
keep making du'a for them and you will
feel yourself feeling better.
And if you are an envious person
and we have to understand that envy is
fueled by the shaitan. So if you're an
envious person but you keep making dua for
everyone that you feel envious of,
the shaitan will stop fueling envy
because he understands that whenever he does this
it prompts you to make dua,
which is a good thing and he doesn't
want that
so he'll stop
and maybe then you will develop a habit
of making dua for other people And by
the way, when you make Dua for them,
what happens?
In addition to feeling better,
there's an Angel that says and
for you too
and for you too and for you too.
So now you're getting the things that you
want
and who's making dua for you?
Not you.
Who's making dua for
you? An angel,
an angel is making dua for you. So
here what's better than having an angel make
duha for you?
Okay,
so that's what number 3.
And number 4 also
which is connected to the first one.
When Allah Azzawajal, He tells His Prophet
He says don't extend your gaze to look
at what we have given some of them
of the beauty of this life to test
them with
and the provision of Allah
is better and more lasting.
So he tells his prophet alaihis salatu wasalam
and that is a command that he had
given to him and a command given to
the prophet alaihis salatu wasalam is also a
command given to all of us
and it's honorable obligation on him so it's
also you understand it should be an obligation
on you too. Don't look at the good
things that we had given them to test
them with,
meaning what is this thing that you're admiring
that is making you envious?
Because you usually envy the dunya or the
akhira
when you're looking at people.
The dunya, right? So he's saying this is
a test,
Why are you envious of a test?
You understand?
You're envious of a test.
And how do you know if Allah were
to give that to you, he would not
throw you in * fire because of it?
And how do you know that Allah, because
he gave it to them, he would throw
them in * fire because of it? How
do you know? What are you wishing for?
So he says don't look at that
the provision of Allah is better and more
lasting. What is the provision of Allah azza
wa jal?
It's iman and Quran and taqwa. He says
if you acquire that that's better than what
they are competing to get from this dunya.
So if you focus on the akhirah you'll
be less envious of the dunya. Now you
know it's not easy but it's a struggle.
But that's why Allah rewards you for it
because it's a struggle.
So you're not gonna live a life where
you're not gonna be envy free.
It's never gonna happen.
But you can live a life where you
can fight that envy and win.
And if you are at sometimes weak and
very like you're envious and weak
at least don't say a thing or do
a thing that upsets Allah azza wa jal.
Don't wish for them to lose what they
have.
At least so no harm should generate from
you because of that envy.
But that should not be our
maximum.
That should be the minimum. We should strive
for more and the more that we should
strive for it, I should free myself of
that envy. And I mentioned how and we
can add to it insha'Allah du'a. You Allah,
I feel very troubled, very envious whenever I
hear about this. Take that away from me,
Satisfy
me. Fill my heart with iman. Let me
worry about the next life more than this
life,
right?
Let me love the Quran more than I
love this. Let me love the sunnah and
salah more than I love this. And keep
making that dua. And Allah Azdajal will come
to your aid
when that happens.
Okay.
So that's what I have for dealing with
it. And maybe Allah
if you strive,
Allah will also illuminate.
That's important by the way.
Sometimes when you strive for Allah's sake, Allah
illuminates, he opens something, and he shows you
what you couldn't see before. And he may
show you a medicine
that we didn't talk about that works for
you.
Yeah.
How can you tell the difference if the
the whispers or what you feel,
the talk that you feel, the internal talk
that you feel, is this the nafs or
the shaitan?
No. Actions?
Actions are easier to tell because you're the
one who's doing it. Right? But you're talking
about that internal talk or internal,
rumination that you have.
How do we know if it's the nafs
or the shaitan? It's not easy to tell.
It's not easy to distinguish.
And because
the shaitan jumps on it almost immediately
So even if it's the nafs, even if
the nafs wants it and it begins with
the soul wanting it,
the shaitan does not let go of it.
He immediately kind of
intertwines with it,
right, kind of wraps himself around it. So
you can't really tell, did it begin with
him or with the self?
Right? But sometimes if,
if that whisper or that talk is very
evil,
you can kind of tell it's not from
you it's from the shaitan. It's like very
evil,
right? Coming out of nowhere and it's very
wicked,
very strange.
You know that this is just so strange
that must be a whisper from the shaytan,
right? But sometimes if it's like connected to
things that you love, it's very hard to
know what spurred it. Is it me or
the shaytan? Did He remind me of it
or am I attracted to it?
It may be difficult to tell but a
very wicked idea,
nah, you understand that either the shaytan is
magnifying and amplifying it or the shaytan absolutely
brought it, right? So distance yourself especially when
something is very awful.
Don't say it's me, it's the shaytan.
And even if it's you say well perhaps
is it me, somewhat it's me, It's never
really just you that's bad. It's never really
just you. The shaytan must make it bigger.
So if you suppress it, it goes away.
So I ultimately I don't think it's useful
to think about is it me or the
shaytan? If something is bad, think of the
shaytan.
Because he's involved whatever what, no matter what.
It's the shaitan, so you dismiss it.
Okay. I don't know if we have
are men allowed to post their pictures online
where women admire them?
If men post their pictures online, meaning just
for recognition,
just for a,
a I don't know,
an account, just so that people would know
them, just like you post or just like
a passport picture,
just your actual picture.
That's fine.
If you are posing,
right, in ways that
would attract attention
and admiration,
leaning against an expensive car, for instance, or
after
a haircut or whatever,
stake in the admiration
of people,
then you have to understand what that says
about you,
right? So it's an empty
post and an empty gesture.
So what I would recommend I wouldn't go
as far as to say that it is
haram
because I would need to look into that
and the specific picture and what the person's
intent is and what he's doing with it.
But if it's empty like that, it's not
it doesn't come from
a believing heart.
It doesn't come from a pious Muslim
posting next to things that are expensive, trying
to kind of garner attention and admiration of
people.
Because you don't want to, and this is
not from the sunnah, to try to dress
in a way
or talk in a way
that brings attention where you stand out.
Yeah, and there is a,
condemnation in the sunnah
of what
the prophet salaam alayhi wasalam, if I'm not
mistaken,
called
So a dress that brings attention
or fame.
You enter a place, and everybody looks at
you.
So
that kind of mentality, that kind of heart
that needs that attention to grab that attention
is empty.
So I think the foundation of that post
is very problematic.
That's as far as I can say about
it.
So how to get the children to love
the Quran especially in an age where they
don't understand the importance of it? Connect them
to the stories of the Quran. You
become the translator of the Quran. This surah
talks about this, this, this, this, and you
tell them get them attracted to it through
the stories.
And get them attracted to it through a
wisdom that you can find in it that
they will be able to process. So explain
to them the Quran said this, this, this.
Isn't that beautiful? This is how it teaches
you how to do this, how to be
generous, how to be kind. So things that
are practical,
things that will make them happy,
attach it also to things that they enjoy.
This is how we're supposed to eat, after
we read the Quran we're gonna do this
and that. So if you do a mixture
of all of this Insha'Allah, they'll always have
a positive
association with the Quran. Beautiful stories, beautiful wisdom,
and we always do things around the reading
or the learning of the Quran.
Insha Allah.
Perhaps insha Allah, we're gonna be meeting here
insha Allah next week at the same time
insha Allah.
Perhaps not finally yet, but perhaps insha'allah next
week we'll be talking about the day of
Arafah because it will be the day of
Arafah insha'allah
next Saturday. So perhaps that will be the
topic next week insha'allah. Either way, I'll be
here. Hopefully insha'allah, you'll be here as well.