Ammar Alshukry – Lessons From Surah Al-Kahf
AI: Summary ©
The transcript discusses various topics related to Islam, including the origin, importance of seeking mercy from the king, the sh pattern of Islam, the importance of affirmations and verifications, the sh pattern of calling people to shatter and apologise, the use of shdoounds, and the importance of knowing the elbow and the "hask." The transcript also touches on the confusion surrounding the use of shdoounds and the importance of knowing the "has", emphasizing the importance of knowing the truth and the power of the Q centers of authority.
AI: Summary ©
Alhamdulillah wa salat wa salam ala rasool Allah
wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallim wa
ala alihi wa sallim wa ala alihi wa
sallim wa ala alihi wa sallim wa ala
alihi wa sallim wa ala alihi wa sallim
wa ala alihi wa sallim wa ala alihi
wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi
wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi
wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi
wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi
wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi
wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim
wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim
wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi
wa
sallim
wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim
wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim
wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim
wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim
wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim
wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim
wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim
wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim
wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa alaihi
wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi
wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi
wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi
wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi
wa sallim wa
alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa
alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa
alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa
alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa
alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa
alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa
alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa alaihi wa
sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa
sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa
sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi
wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi
wa sallim wa
alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa
alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa
alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa
alaihi wa sallim wa alaihi wa sallim wa
alaihi wa sallim idh
awal fityatu ilal kahf when the people went
to the kahf and Allah Subhanahu wa ta
'ala calls them fitya and during the khutbah
today for those of you who were there
we said that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala
praises their youth twice in the Quran twice
in the surah that they were fitya that
they were young people idh awal fityatu ilal
kahf idh awal fityatu ilal kahf they were
young that is the plural of fata and
so Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is describing
them as young, and in that description is
praise for these young people.
Because young people are those who were with
Rasulullah ﷺ.
So, there's praise of the Sahaba as well.
You know Abu Bakr radhiAllahu anhu was younger
than the Prophet by 2 years.
So, when the Prophet ﷺ is given the
Risalah, Abu Bakr is 38 years old.
And you have people like Sa'd ibn Abi
Waqas who accepted Islam, 17 years old, 15
years old.
You have Talha ibn Ubaidillah, 14 years old.
You have Ali ibn Abi Talib, 8 years
old.
The Prophet ﷺ is surrounded by a bunch
of teenagers.
He's surrounded by a bunch of teenagers.
And they said that there was only 2
people who were senior with Rasulullah ﷺ, and
that was Abu Bakr and Umar.
And Umar is 10 years younger.
And so, Allah is praising the Sahaba who
were with Rasulullah ﷺ, that they're young.
And Allah is praising Ashab ul Kahf that
they're young.
اِذْ أَوَىٰ الْفِتْرِ فَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا آتِنَا مِنْ لَدُونْكَ
رَحْمَةٌ They're entering into the cave and they're
asking Allah to grant them mercy.
And so, the story that the Mufassireen fill
in is that these people were either Christian,
they were Unitarian Christians, or they were Jewish
before the arrival of Christ.
And Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى knows best.
Because if they were Christians, then the Jews
of Medina would not be narrating the story
to the Prophet ﷺ because that wouldn't be
part of their community.
And so, Allah knows best whether they were
Unitarian Christians or whether they were before Christ.
But in any case, Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى,
the Mufassireen they say, that these people, they
believed in Allah.
Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى guided them from amongst
their people.
They were an idolatrous people.
Allah guided them.
And then they got up and they spoke
to the king.
And they called the king to Islam.
They called their community to Islam.
And then they were threatened with persecution.
The king told them, listen, you have a
number of days to change your mind.
If you don't change your mind, then I'm
going to punish you.
So, إِذْ أَوَى الْفِتْيَةُ إِلَى الْكَهْفِ When they
went to the cave and they said, رَبَّنَا
آتِنَا مِن لَدُنْكَ رَحْمًا O Allah, grant us
mercy from amongst yourselves.
And so here, the great lesson is that
even as they're going to the cave, who
are they seeking mercy from?
They're seeking mercy from the king.
They're seeking mercy from Allah rather.
They're not seeking mercy from the king.
They're not seeking mercy from an international body.
They're not seeking mercy from any sort of
legislature.
They're seeking mercy from Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى
Their hearts, even as they're fleeing persecution, they're
not begging at the feet of anybody.
They are seeking mercy from Allah.
رَبَّنَا آتِنَا مِن لَدُنْكَ رَحْمًا وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ
أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا And provide for us, رَشَدًا And
رَشَدًا is guidance.
And رَشَدًا رُشْد is the greatest thing that
a person can ask Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى
for it to be guided.
وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا فَضَرَبْنَا عَلَى
آذَانِهِمْ فِي الْكَهْفِ سِنِينَ عَدَدًا Allah says, فَضَرَبْنَا
عَلَى آذَانِهِمْ فِي الْكَهْفِ سِنِينَ عَدَدًا So then
when they entered into the cave, we cause
them to go to sleep for many years.
The idea of striking their ears, obviously we
all know the importance of closing your eyes
to go to sleep, but the idea of
having a sound sleep also being reflected here
in your sound, being uninterrupted, that's also a
manifestation of soundness of sleep and Allah سُبْحَانَهُ
وَ تَعَالَى knows best.
But Allah doesn't say we struck their eyes,
Allah says we struck their ears.
And Allah knows best what the reality is
of that.
Uh-huh.
ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَاهُمْ لِنَعْلَمَ أَيُّ الْحِزْبَيْنِ أَحْصَى لِمَا لَبِثُوا
أَمَدًا And then Allah says, ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَاهُمْ and
He doesn't say ثُمَّ أَيْقَذْنَاهُمْ أَيْقَذَ would mean
to wake someone up from sleep, but Allah
سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى says بَعَثْنَاهُمْ which is resurrection.
And so we see here the motif of
resurrection being played out amongst Ashabul Kahf because
the people of Mecca did not believe in
resurrection.
They would say, after we turn into dust,
are we going to be resurrected?
And so because this revelation is coming to
the people of Mecca, it's a Meccan surah,
Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى is using this to
symbolize the resurrection.
And also the Jews as well who have
their own beliefs with regards to resurrection and
how long people will stay in paradise in
the hellfire and what have you.
And so the hereafter in general.
And so Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى is using
the word بَعَثَ resurrection.
ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَاهُمْ So that we may know or
we may see which one of them is
more aware of how long they stayed asleep.
Keep going.
نَحْنُ نَقُصُ عَلَيْكَ نَبَأَهُمْ بِالْحَقِّ إِنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ آمَنُوا
بِرَبِّهِمْ وَزِدْنَاهُمْ هُدًى Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى says,
نَحْنُ نَقُصُ عَلَيْكَ نَبَأَهُمْ بِالْحَقِّ We are the
ones who are narrating to you this story
in truth.
And this, I want you to appreciate something.
Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى in the Qur'an
always speaks from a position of strength.
You know, when you are asking someone, when
you're quizzing someone, you're placing yourself as an
authority, you're in the one who's in a
position of authority.
And so the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
is being asked by the mushrikeen a question
to see if he knows the right answer.
Is he a prophet or is he a
soothsayer?
As if to say that we're the ones
who hold the keys to the correct answer
and we based on what you answer, we're
going to judge on whether you are correct
or not.
But Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى says, نَحْنُ نَقُصُ
عَلَيْكَ نَبَأَهُمْ بِالْحَقِّ You are not quizzed يا
رسول الله about anyone.
We are the ones who tell you the
truth.
Allah is the one who knows the reality
of their affair.
And anyone who comes after you, you are
the one who's going to judge over them.
Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى speaks from a position
of power.
And you find that throughout the Qur'an.
So much so that I remember a brother
had once converted and he converted when he
opened up the second page of the Qur
'an.
You know today we had a brother who
accepted Islam and he said that he read
the entire Qur'an from cover to cover.
And right now he's doing his third khatmah
of the Qur'an.
He accepted Islam today but he's doing three,
he did three readings of the Qur'an
already.
And he fast Mondays and Thursdays and he
puts us all to shame I know.
But the point is that this brother who
accepted Islam, he said that, I read the
second page of the Qur'an and when
I got to أَلِفْ لَا مِمْ ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ
وَلَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ This is the book about
which there is no doubt.
He said, this could only be coming from
God.
Human beings don't talk like this.
Because anytime you read a book from an
author, if it's nonfiction, what are they saying?
They're saying, this is what I have been
able to research with my resources and I
hope that this will be something that will
inspire future study and please forgive me for
all of the shortcomings that are inevitably will
be found in this book and what have
you, right?
So the author, speaking from a place of
humility.
However, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, the beginning
of Surah Al-Baqarah, ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ وَلَا رَيْبَ
فِيهِ This is the book about which there
is no doubt.
He said, nobody talks like that.
The only one who talks like that is
God.
And so he accepted Islam based on that.
And so you see Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta
'ala removing from the mushrikeen any sort of
authority that they might have even with regards
to the question that they posed to Rasulullah
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, نَحْنُ نَقُصُ عَلَيْكَ نَبَأَهُمْ بِالْحَقِّ
إِنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ آمَنُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ نَحْنُ نَقُصُ عَلَيْكَ نَبَأَهُمْ
مَلْفٌ We are the ones who are telling
you the story and truth.
You are the one now who's going to
know the truth of this story.
They don't know the truth of this story.
إِنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ آمَنُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ They are a group
again of youth, Allah mentions.
آمَنُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ They believed in their Lord وَزِدْنَاهُمْ
هُدَىٰ And we increase them in huda.
We increase them in guidance.
And this is a proof that Iman increases
and decreases which is the position of Ahlul
Sunnah wal Jama'ah.
Allah says we increase them in guidance.
وَرَبَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ And we fast in their
heart.
رَبْطْ is to fast in your heart.
And the رَبْطْ can be number one, that
a person believes in the deen.
That you believe in the deen of Islam
until you die.
And that is a great gift.
Our Islam is not guaranteed.
Ibn Umar in the mu'tah of Imam Malik
he says, standing on the day of Arafah
he says, Oh Allah, as you guided me
to Islam.
On the day of Arafah his dua was,
Oh Allah, as you guided me to Islam,
then do not let me die except with
my Islam intact.
And that's Ibn Umar, one of the companions
of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam who was the
most haris, the most committed to the sunnah
of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.
He lived his entire life following the sunnah
of the Prophet and his goal, his dua
was, Oh Allah, allow me to die upon
Islam.
The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, greater than him,
greater than Ibn Umar.
One of his most constant duas was, Oh
Turner of hearts, make my heart firm upon
your deen.
Okay.
And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
says, Oh Turner of hearts, so the first
manifestation of rapt steadfastness is that a person's
heart be firm upon the deen until you
die.
A second is that you believe in the
promises of Allah.
That you believe in the promises of Allah.
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, He
promises the believers many things.
He promises them Jannah.
You believe in the promise of Allah.
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la promises
us, وَمَن يَتَّقِي اللَّهِ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ
يُسْرًا وَمَن يَتَّقِي اللَّهِ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا That
whoever has taqwa of Allah, Allah Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la will provide for him
a way out.
Whoever has taqwa of Allah, Allah Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la will make their affairs
easy.
Whoever has taqwa of Allah, Allah Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la will provide for them
from where they do not expect.
There are so many promises of Allah that
affect us every single day.
Part of steadfastness is that you believe in
the promise of Allah.
A person may make tawbah, as a question
was asked to me today.
A person may repent to Allah Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la and because they repent
to Allah, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A
'la may make your business not do better.
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la can
make your business collapse.
Person quits selling something that's haram, quits doing
haram, and they finally have tawbah.
Finally.
And they think Allah says, وَمَن يَتَّقِي اللَّهِ
يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا وَيَرْزُقُ مِنْ حَيْزُ لَا يَحْتَسِبْ
They're like, Oh my God, I'm about to
become a billionaire.
I just repented to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa
Ta-A'la.
And then what ends up happening?
They see their bank account diminishing every single
day.
And they're like, What happened to my tawbah?
You know Ka'ab ibn Malik رضي الله
عنه in his famous story of tawbah, the
sin Bukhari and Muslim and others.
Ka'ab ibn Malik story begins with him
saying, I never had more wealth than I
had when this story started.
And then he committed a sin and he
repented to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A
'la.
It's a long story.
But by the end of this story, after
he was boycotted for 50 days, he did
not own another garment other than the one
that he was wearing on his back.
And so when a person came to give
him the glad tidings that his tawbah was
accepted after 50 days.
Because imagine if a person is boycotted for
50 days by the Muslim community and basically
the entire society around you, what business is
gonna survive?
What harvest is going to survive?
And so Ka'ab ibn Malik repented to
Allah and it took 50 days for his
repentance to be accepted.
And along the way, all of his wealth
is being consumed by loss.
And so that's the reality.
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la may
test the person.
Do you believe in the promise of Allah
or not?
Even as you see destruction and turmoil and
you see calamity and you see genocide and
you see all of these things, do you
still believe in the promise of Allah?
Has your heart wavered when Allah Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la says, قَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَأَغْرِبَنَّا
أَنَا وَرُسُلِي Allah says that, I have prescribed,
I have written that I will win and
my prophets.
When Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
says to Bani Israel at the beginning of
Surah Al-Qasas, Allah says, إِنَّ فِرَعَوْنَ عَلَىٰ
فِي الْأَرْضِ وَجَعَلَ أَهْلَا شِيَعًا يَسْتَضِعِفُوا طَائِفَةً مِّنْهُمْ
يَذَبِّحُوا أَبْنَاءَهُمْ وَيَسْتَحْيِي نِسَاءَهُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ
الْمُفْسِدِينَ Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
describes Firaun at the beginning, that first opening
scene of Surah Al-Qasas, Allah Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la is presenting Firaun and
he says that he transgressed in the land
and he's sacrificing, he's slaughtering the children of
Israel.
He was one of the transgressors.
وَنُرِيدُ أَنَّ مُنَّ عَلَىٰ ٱلَّذِينَ سْتُضْعِفُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ
وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّ وَنَجْعَلَهُمُ الْوَارِثِينَ وَنُمَكِّنَ لَهُمْ فِي
الْأَرْضِ Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
says, and we wanted, even though Firaun, this
incredible villain is being presented, we wanted to
bless those who were oppressed and to make
them leaders in the land and to make
them those who inherit.
Now if you were to walk up to
one of the children of Israel who's enslaved
in Egypt and you say to him, listen,
this Firaun that's being worshipped and your people
that have been enslaved generation after generation after
generation, it's about to end.
You might find that they don't believe in
the promise of Allah.
And that's what they said to Musa.
They said, we were harmed before you arrived
and after you arrived.
The idea here is the second meaning of
Rabt is to believe in the promise of
Allah.
A third meaning of Rabt is to be
able to give da'wah to Allah Subh
'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la.
That requires steadfastness, that requires patience.
And number four is for a person to
argue on behalf of the deen of Allah.
You know, people who are able to debate
and people who are able to challenge and
people who are able to speak.
These are special people whom Allah Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la needs to give steadfastness
to.
We watch them on CNN and we cheer
for them when they come online, but it's
a very difficult circumstance to be in.
And so it requires steadfastness from Allah Subh
'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la and the manifestations
of Rabt are much more than that.
But Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
gives steadfastness to people.
He gives them strength in their heart and
courage in their conviction.
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says,
وَرَبَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ When did Allah Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la give them steadfastness?
He says, إِذْ قَامُوا فَقَالُوا رَبُّنَا رَبُّ السَّمَوَاتِ
الْأَرْضِ When they stood up.
And when did they stand up?
The Mufassireen mentioned four scenarios.
They said number one, when they stood up
in front of the king.
Number two, when they stood up in front
of their people.
Number three, when they stood up in the
marketplaces.
And number four, when they stood in front
of the cave.
All of these different scenarios, they were standing
up and they were calling to Allah Subh
'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la and they were
saying, our Lord, the creator of the heavens
and the earth, we're not going to call
anyone other than Him.
And a manifestation of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa
Ta-A'la's guidance for these people is
that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
guided them without a prophet, without revelation.
We have no evidence to indicate that they
received any, they read any book or anything.
But Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
can give life to a dead heart, even
amongst a sea of dead hearts or an
ocean of dead hearts.
Okay?
Yes, Fadhal.
So calling to other than Allah Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la would be shatata.
And of course, calling on other than Allah
is the greatest sin.
And they're saying, where, how come there's no
authority?
Like what revelation do they have?
What proof do they have to call upon
other than Allah?
You know, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A
'la, he says, there's a verse that's called
an escalation of sin.
Okay?
Allah says, قُلْ إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَبِّي الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا
ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ Say, my Lord has
forbidden Al-Fawahish.
Fawahish are sins that are born out of
lust.
Al-Fawahish, مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ Everything
that's indecent, everything that's scandalous, everything that's lustful,
that which is hidden, and that which is
apparent.
وَالْإِثْمَ وَالْبَغْيِ And sin and transgression.
And transgression, now you're transgressing against the rights
of other people.
بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ Without right.
وَأَنتُوا شِرِكُوا بِاللَّهِ And that you commit shirk
with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, what He
did not give any authority over.
وَأَنتَ قُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْدَمُونَ And
that you say about Allah what He gave
you, what you do not know.
And that you say about Allah what you
do not know.
So my question for you is, what is
the greatest sin?
What is it?
Shirk.
Okay.
So then why in this verse that the
scholars call the escalation of sin, Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala, beyond shirk He says, وَأَنتَ
قُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْدَمُونَ And that
you say about Allah what you have no
knowledge of.
Why does that get placed above shirk which
we all know to be the greatest sin?
What do you think?
What do you think?
I'm sorry, what were you saying?
You mislead others by lying to Allah, by
lying about Allah.
Okay.
What else do you have?
Anything else?
You guys all agree?
Yes, sir.
False prophecy.
Okay.
Framing Allah in your own image.
So, yes, you're spreading it to others.
Excellent.
So shirk is one person but if you
speak about Allah what you have no knowledge
and you're spreading it to others.
For any shirk to happen, what must happen
before it?
For shirk to happen anywhere on earth, any
manifestation of shirk, whether it's the worship of
the Greek gods or whether it's the worship
of Jesus Christ and his mother or whether
it's the worship of the stars and the
moon or whether it's the worship of anybody,
what first must have happened before people worshiped
those idols, those false idols?
Someone lied.
Someone along the way had to lie.
Someone had to say, Jesus Christ is the
son of God.
Someone had to say that Zeus is the
god of, what was he?
The god of the sky?
He was the god of lightning?
Nobody knows, huh?
I forgot, man.
He was the god of the heavens.
Sidon was the god of the seas and
Hades was the god of the underworld.
So, the point here is that Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala is saying that why didn't
they come with Sultan al-Bayyin?
Why didn't they come with clear authority?
And who is worse than those who iftara
alallahi kadhiba?
Those who invent lies about Allah.
Subhansana.
هؤلاء قومنا اتخذوا من دونه آلهة لولا
يأتون عليهم بسلطان بيّن فمن أظلم ممن
افترى على الله كذبا So, I guess I
just explained that verse.
هؤلاء قومنا is what I want you to
pay attention to.
When they say هؤلاء قومنا these people are
people.
What does that communicate to you?
Our people.
They weren't separatist.
They didn't see themselves as being not of
those people but they saw them to be
their people.
There are people.
There are families.
There are tribe.
There are city, our village or what have
you.
And that's important.
You'll find that all of the prophets when
they're speaking to their people in the Qur
'an that they will call by that endearing
term of قومي, my people.
Oh, my people.
You're my people.
And so it's important when you're a person
of da'wah that you don't come off
as being separate from the people that you're
giving da'wah to.
It's also an endearing term.
It indicates a sort of affinity with those
people.
And some people, when they talk about the
communities that they're in, they talk with such
a harshness and a hatred that you wonder
how are you ever possibly going to call
these people to Islam.
It seems like you want them to enter
into the hellfire more than you want them
to enter into Jannah.
But these people are saying, هؤلاء قومنا, these
are our people.
And an interesting note, the only prophet in
the Qur'an who doesn't address his people
by saying, who addresses his people but he
doesn't use قومي is who?
Who knows?
Isa Ibn Maryam.
And the reason why Isa doesn't say, يا
قومي, and instead he says, يا بني إسرائيل,
because your قوم is established through your father.
And Isa's father is not from Bani Israel
because he has no father.
But even when it comes to his mother,
Maryam, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says, فأتت
به قومها تحمله.
That Maryam was from Bani Israel.
They are her qoum, but they were not
the qoum of Isa.
And so you'll find that Isa Alayhi Salaam,
in the Qur'an he always says, يا
بني إسرائيل, O children of Israel.
In any case, and that shows you the
precision of the Qur'anic language, but Allah
Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, He says, لو إلا
يأتون عليهم بسلطان مبين فمن أظلم ممن افترى
على الله كذبة.
Go ahead, continue.
وإذا اعتزلتموهم وما يعبدون إلا الله فأو إلى
الكهف ينشر لكم ربكم من رحمته فأو إلى
الكهف ينشر لكم ربكم من رحمته ويهيئ لكم
من أمركم مرفقا.
And so Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says
that they said, go to the cave.
فأو إلى الكهف ينشر لكم ربكم من رحمته
that your Lord will spread out for you
mercy.
And so this is a cave where they
are expecting the mercy of Allah Subhanahu wa
Ta'ala.
And that highlights their incredible optimism in Allah
that they're going to a place that's dark
and cold and barren.
There's no blankets, there's no pillows, there's no
AC, there's no heat, there's nothing to protect
them other than the fact that it is
a cave.
And yet they are going with such optimism.
They say, ينشر لكم ربكم من رحمته that
we're going to go there.
We're going to expect the mercy of Allah.
ويهيئ لكم من أمركم مرفقا And He's going
to make your affairs easy.
Your مرفق in Arabic is your elbow.
And it's called the مرفق.
Imagine if you didn't have the ability to
bend your elbow, how would your arm be?
How difficult would life be?
And so the مرفق is that which makes
it easy.
And Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says, يهيئ
لكم من أمركم مرفقا He will make your
affairs easy.
And so just having that optimism in Allah
Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, we learned that lesson
from Ashab al-Kahf.
They're persecuted, yes.
They have no direction, yes.
But they're expecting to go to one shot,
one place, and they're expecting Allah Subhanahu wa
Ta'ala's mercy.
And so even as you're going through difficulty
and confusion in your own life that you
continue to expect the mercy of Allah.
And they said, ينشر لكم Allah Subhanahu wa
Ta'ala will spread that mercy for you.
They're expecting to be enveloped in the mercy
of Allah.
وَتَرَى الشَّمْسَ إِذَا قَلَعَتْ تَزَاوَرُ عَنْ كَهْفِهِمْ ذَاتَ
الْيَمِينِ وَإِذَا قَرَبَتْ تَقْرِضُهُمْ ذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ وَهُمْ فِي
فَجْوَةٍ مِّنْ ذَلِكَ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ مَنْ يَهْدِي
اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ وَمَنْ يُبْضِلْ فَلَنْ تَجِذَ لَهُ
وَلِيًّا مُرْشِدًا So Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala
then describes the cave and he says that
you see the sun rising from the east
and the west over the cave.
And some of the scholars, they looked at
that and they tried to determine what direction
was the cave facing.
But in any case, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta
'ala says وَهُمْ فِي فَجْوَةٍ مِّنْ and that
they're inside the cave.
And so Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala describes
the movement of the sun over the cave
and Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says ذَلِكَ
مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَهُمْ فِي فَجْوَةٍ مِّنْ ذَلِكَ
مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ مَنْ يَهْدِي اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ
Whomever Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala guides, they
are the ones who are guided.
And Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is showing
to us the manifestations of His guidance that
these people, they could not have been guided
to the cave.
Otherwise, they could not have been guided into
that place.
They did not know the calculation of the
sun and the placement of the sun over
the cave.
They didn't know that.
But Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala guided them.
They simply exited their city.
They were guided to the cave.
And Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala took care
of everything with regards to their preservation.
And we see that in this verse.
Keep going.
وَتَحْسَبُهُمْ أَيْقَاضًا وَهُمْ رُقُودًا وَنُقَلِّبُهُمْ ذَاتَ الْيَمِينِ
وَذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ وَكَلْبُهُمْ بَاسِطٌ ذِرَاعِهِ بِالْوَصِيدِ
لَوِ اطْطَلَعَتَ عَلَيْهِمْ لَوَلَّيْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِرَارًا وَلَمُلِئْتَ مِنْهُمْ
رُعْبًا So Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala mentions
and we turn them right and left.
Why do you think Allah Subhanahu wa Ta
'ala turned them?
What do you think?
Allah says we turn them right and left.
وَكَلْبُهُمْ بَاسِطٌ ذِرَاعِهِ بِالْوَصِيدِ And the dog that
was with them, he had his arms laid
out in front of the cave.
لَوِ اطْطَلَعَتَ عَلَيْهِمْ If you had seen them.
لَوَلَّيْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِرَارًا You would have fled from
them running.
وَلَمُلِئْتَ مِنْهُمْ رُعْبًا And you would have been
terrified from them.
So why do you think Allah Subhanahu wa
Ta'ala is turning them right and left?
What do you think?
Some scholars said to preserve them.
To preserve their bodies.
Imagine you're laying on one side for 300
years.
You'd be crushed.
Other side, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is
turning them.
Other scholars said, no, it's not about the
preservation of the bodies at all.
Because Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is obviously
going to preserve them miraculously.
But Allah, and Allah even mentions with regards
to the dog, the dog is preserved.
But Allah doesn't mention that he turns over
the dog left and right.
And so it's obviously a miraculous preservation.
But yet the idea that Allah Subhanahu wa
Ta'ala is turning them right and left
indicates his constant care over them.
Constant care over them.
He doesn't leave them in the cave for
300 years until it's time to resurrect them.
But they are constantly being tended to by
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.
They are constantly under his nurturing eye.
وَكَلْبُهُمْ بَاسِطٌ ذِرَاعِهِ And their dog has his
hands extended.
The ulama mention something beautiful.
They say, this dog was mentioned in the
Qur'an because of the company he kept.
The company that you keep can lead you
to paradise, can lead you to the hellfire.
The company that you keep in the past
led to a dog being mentioned in the
Qur'an.
That is how crucial your friends that you
choose can be.
And so Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says,
if you had seen them, you would have
fled from them in terror.
Their eyes were open as they slept.
Keep watching.
وَكَذَلِكَ بَعَثْنَاهُمْ لِيَتَسَاءَلُوا بَيْنَهُمْ قَالَ قَائِلٌ
مِّنْهُمْ كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ قَالُوا لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ
يَوْمٍ قَالُوا رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ فَبْعَثُوا
أَحَدَكُمْ بِوَرِقِكُمْ هَذِهِ إِلَىٰ الْمَدِينَةِ
فَلْيَنظُرْ أَيُّهَا أَزْكَى
طَعَامًا فَلْيَأْتِكُمْ بِرِزْقٍ مِّنْهُ وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ
وَلَا يُشْعِرَنَّ بِكُمْ أَحَدًا So they said, Allah
says وَكَذَٰلِكَ بَعَثْنَاهُمْ And as such, We بعثناهم
Again, He uses the word بعثة which means
what?
To resurrect.
لِيَتَسَأَلُوا بَيْنَهُمْ That they may ask amongst each
other.
قَالُوا كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ How long were we asleep?
قَالُوا لَبِثْنَا يَوْمٍ أَوْ بَعْضُ يَوْمٍ Said we
were asleep for a day or a part
of a day.
قَالُوا رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُوا بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ They said, your
Lord knows better how long you slept.
فَبَعَثُوا أَحَدُّكُمْ So send someone out to go
get us some food.
Now this is a beautiful etiquette that we
learn.
They're debating how long they slept.
Does team A say, do they know how
long they slept?
Yes or no?
Does team B know how long they slept?
Yes or no?
So how long do they argue?
It ends quickly by them saying, رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُوا
بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ I want you to think of
your group chat.
You're debating a topic.
This guy doesn't know what he's talking about.
And this guy doesn't know what he's talking
about.
How long does the argument last for?
MashaAllah.
All weekend, passionate debate.
Both of you don't have information.
And so we learn here that if you
don't have information, keep it moving.
رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُوا بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ Let's move on to
something that's more productive.
Let's go find some food.
فَبَعَثُوا أَحَدُّكُمْ بِوَرِقِكُمْ هَذِي So let's send one
of you with this currency that we have
إلى المدينة, to the city.
فَلْيَنظُرْ أَيُّهَا أَزْكَى طَعَامًا Let them see which
of the food is أَزْكَى, the most pure.
And some scholars said أَزْكَى means the most
pure.
Some said that it means the most plentiful.
Some said that the most حَلَال, obviously.
And some said the cheapest.
And I don't know about the cheapest, but
all of the other meanings are included in
this.
أَزْكَى طَعَامًا And فَلْيَأْتِكُمْ بِرِزْقٍ مِّنَهُ And let
them bring رِزْق from it.
وَلْيَتَلَطَّفُ يَتَلَطَّفُ means let them be subtle.
Let them be gentle.
Let them move in silence, so to speak.
وَلَا يُشْعِرَنَّ بِكُمْ أَحَدًا And let none of
them sense your presence.
Something that we see here from أصحاب الكاف
is that they were not seeking conflict with
their community because they knew that they could
not withstand that conflict.
They're young people.
They have no resources in the society.
They're trying to preserve their deen.
Guess what?
They cannot afford a clash with the security
apparatus.
They're not trying to create commotion.
They are wise when it comes to how
they're moving.
And that's something that sometimes young people have
a sense of immortality and strength.
And so even though Allah SWT mentions twice
that they're young people and Allah praises them
for being young, Allah SWT at the same
time, we're seeing the wisdom of them as
the next verse is going to illustrate.
But they say, وَلْيَتَلَطَّفُ And some scholars who
have counted the words of the Qur'an,
they said that in the exact middle of
the Qur'an is this word يَتَلَطَّفُ Let
them be gentle and subtle.
And that's a manifestation of Allah SWT's name,
اللَّطِيف and Allah SWT knows best.
Is it time for the adhan?
So they
say
that you gotta be subtle.
You gotta move in silence.
You gotta let nobody notice you.
Why?
Because if يَظْهَرُ عَلَيْكُم If they have authority
over you, if they get you basically, then
يَرْجُمُكُم They're gonna stone you.
أو يُعِيدُكُم في مِلَّتِهِم Or they're going to
force you to rejoin their deen.
وَلَن تُفْلِحُوا إِذَا أَبَدَى And then you'll never
be successful.
But I have a question for you.
Why would they make a statement like that?
Like we all know that if a person
is forced to accept a faith that they
don't truly believe in, that they're forgiven, right?
We are forgiven for what we do under
duress.
Someone puts a gun to your head and
says, declare that you disbelieve in Islam, for
example, you'd be allowed to do that to
save your life.
And so why are they saying that if
you are forced back into your religion, you'll
never be successful?
Why is that the case?
Yes, Sheikh Ahmed.
Excellent.
So this was the sharia before Islam.
Meaning that this ability for a person to
outwardly profess kufr, while internally maintaining faith, was
a license that was given to the Ummah
of Muhammad ﷺ.
The other ummahs before us, they did not
have that license.
They would have to be patient with iman,
no matter what the consequences were.
And so we hear the story of Ashab
ul-Hudud.
They were thrown into pits of burning fire.
They were not allowed to leave or profess
anything other than what they believed.
We know the story of the Mashita, of
the daughter of Firaun, the hairdresser of the
daughter of Firaun, and how all of her
children, one by one, was killed in front
of her.
And she did not leave her faith.
Or Asya, the wife of Firaun, how she
did not leave her faith.
Again and again and again, we see these
stories.
They were not allowed to alter their religion,
even simply just publicly or outwardly.
Whereas when it comes to the Muslims, Rasulullah
ﷺ says, إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ تَجَاوَزَ عَنْ أُمَّتِي
الْخَطَأُ وَالْنِسْيَانُ وَمَسْتُكْرِي وَعَلَيْهِ That Allah Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la has forgiven and pardoned
for my Ummah Al-Khata'a, mistakes, Wal
-Nisyan, what we forget, and what we do
under duress.
And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
knows best.
So they said, وَلَنْ تُفْرِحُوا إِذَنْ أَبَدَى You're
never ever going to be successful if you
are forced back into your previous religion.
Tawbah Shaykh.
وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَعْثَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ
وَأَنَّ السَّاعَةَ لَا رَيْبَ
فِيهَا إِذْ
يَتَنَازَعُونَ بَيْنَهُمْ أَمْرَهُمْ فَقَالُوا بِنُوا عَلَيْهِمْ بُنْيَانًا
رَبُّهُمْ أَعْلَمُوا بِهِمْ قَالَ الَّذِينَ غَلَبُوا عَلَىٰ أَمْرِهِمْ
لَنَتَّقِذَنَّ عَلَيْهِمْ مَسْجِدًا And so Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala says وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَعْثَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ And as
such, we cause them to be discovered so
that their people might know that Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala's promise of...
This is the translator.
He says, know that the people may know.
So you have to remember that every translation
of the Quran is tafsir.
Every translator of the Quran is tafsir.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala simply says so
that they know.
And then the question becomes, who's they?
Is it talking about Ashab al-Kahf or
is it talking about the people themselves?
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says لِيَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ
وَعْضَ اللَّهِ حَقٌ That they may know that
the promise of Allah is true وَأَنَّ السَّاعَةَ
لَا رَيْبَ فِيهَا And that the hour is
surely going to come to pass.
So then the question becomes Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala wanted Ashab al-Kahf to know
that the promise of Allah is true or
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wanted the people
to know.
So the story here is this, is that
after they had sent this person to go
and come with currency to go search for
some food he shows up in the marketplace
and when he does, they're looking at this
currency and they're like, where did you get
this currency from?
And he's like, what do you mean?
I got it from yesterday.
And they're like, no, this currency they bring
somebody who's familiar with antiques, antiquity and this
guy says that this currency is from the
nation of such and such over 300 years
ago, where did you get this from?
And so quickly this person becomes discovered.
He's sticking out like a sore thumb.
And then that takes them back to the
cave and they find everybody else.
And so Allah says, we made them discover
so that they may come to know أنّ
وعد الله حق that the promise of Allah
is true.
Their town had now become Muslim.
309 years later, whereas before they were fleeing
persecution from this town and their town seemed
to be the most non-Muslim society ever
within 300 years, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
had transformed their condition and Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala's promise is true.
And so these people were resurrected.
They were brought to life after 309 years
or they were awakened that they may come
to know that the promise of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala is true.
And so the promise of Allah is true
in every time and place.
And this is important for us.
You read this surah every single Friday to
remember that the promise of Allah is true.
That whatever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says
is going to come to pass, that is
going to come to pass.
No matter how dark it seems, you may
look at the Muslim world and you say,
subhanAllah, how is it that this band of
people within this place that's 12 miles long
of Gaza cannot have a single Muslim army
protected?
A single Muslim one?
Not even pressure that is realistic or believable.
But this will pass.
This weakness will pass.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will free
those who are occupied and Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala will bring tranquility and Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala will replace us after our
fear with security.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has promised that
in the Quran.
And so I believe that it's going to
come to pass.
Even if it's not something that's seen within
my lifetime, I hope that it's something that
will be seen within my lifetime.
But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's promise is
true.
And my responsibility is simply that I continue
to work for that promise until I meet
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And if a person enters into Jannah, then
that is the greatest success.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in
the story of Ashab ul-Uqdood, in Surah
al-Buruj, the only place in the Quran
where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions is
after a massacre.
Allah mentions that these people were exterminated.
The only reason why they were hated is
because they believed in Allah, the praiseworthy and
the mighty.
And then later on in the Surah, He
says, That people, when they believe and they
do righteous deeds, they enter into Jannah.
And that is the great win.
That is the great success.
That is the great victory.
And that's the only place where Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala mentions the great victory because
there is no victory that is greater than
entering into Jannah.
There's no military conquest that is greater.
There is no expansion of empire that is
greater.
There is no freeing of an occupied land
that is greater than me simply entering into
Jannah.
However a person enters into Jannah, whether that's
through shahada, or whether that's through patiently persevering
in the worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala for a lifetime until you meet Allah.
And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, they started
to debate over them.
Some of them said, some of the people
said, let's build for them a structure.
Those who had authority over the discussion, the
people who were in power, they said, let's
build for them a masjid.
Now is it allowed for you to build
a masjid over the graves of people?
No.
So how do we understand this verse?
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, that those
who had authority, they said, we're going to
build a masjid over them.
Because they died.
By the way, sorry, I forgot to mention
that.
They died.
It was a couple of days and then
they passed away.
So let's answer the masjid question and then
we'll talk about the pass away question.
Someone comes up to you and says, I
have proof from the Quran that it's allowed
for you to build graves over, masjid over
the graves of dead people.
Look.
Those who were given authority, they said, we're
going to build a masjid over Ashab al
-Kahf.
Demise, their graves.
What do you have?
The decision of the people of authority doesn't
mean that it is permissible by Allah.
Okay.
It's as simple as that.
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la narrating
something that happened in the past does not
mean that it is good.
Just like the Prophet ﷺ saying that something
will happen in the future does not mean
that it's good or bad.
These are akhbar.
It doesn't mean legislation.
It's information.
Information does not mean legislation.
So when the Prophet ﷺ says, for example,
in the future something will happen, that does
not mean that it's necessarily a good thing
or a bad thing.
So Rasulullah ﷺ says, for example, that I
was talking to one person, a shaykh one
time and he said, he used as evidence
that it is allowed for you to say,
Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah, right,
that make that dhikr like that.
And he said that Rasulullah ﷺ said, the
hour will not be established until there's no
one left who says Allah, Allah.
And this is an evidence that it is
allowed for you to say Allah, Allah.
I said the Prophet ﷺ is simply informing
us of something that will happen in the
future.
He didn't say, say Allah, Allah.
He didn't say that.
He didn't do Allah, Allah.
He never did that as a dhikr.
Otherwise, we would all be doing it.
But the Prophet ﷺ simply informing us of
a state of people at the end that
the day of judgment will not be established
until there's no one left on earth saying
Allah, Allah's name, even Allah's name repeatedly.
That is not the Prophet ﷺ giving license
or encouraging this action.
He's just informing us of what will happen
or what the state of people will be
before the day of judgment.
In any case, Allah ﷻ says, Go ahead,
go to the next verse.
أَعْلَمُوا بِعِدَّتِهِمْ مَا يَعْلَمُهُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ فَلَا تُمَارِي
فِيهِمْ إِلَّا مِرَاءً ظَاهِرًا وَلَا تَسْتَفْتِ فِيهِمْ
مِنْهُمْ أَحَدًا So Allah ﷻ says, they'll say
that it's three and the fourth is their
dog and they'll say that they're five and
the sixth is their dog.
رَجْمًا بِالْغَيْبِ They're literally casting stones into the
unseen.
They're just, as we would say in English,
what we say?
We say casting.
What is it?
We have a phrase.
No, not casting stones.
Something with straws.
Do we say casting straws?
Clutching at straws.
That's what we say, right?
Grasping straws.
So, similar to that.
So, the idea here is you're grasping at
straws or you're casting stones into the unseen.
You don't know.
You don't know.
And they will say seven and the eighth
is their dog.
Say Allah ﷻ knows better.
None knows them except for Him.
So, do not argue with them.
إِلَّا مِرَآءًا ظَاهَرًا وَلَا تَسْتَفْتِحِنُوا And do not
ask anyone regarding them.
So, here this is an important element when
it comes to the Qur'anic story.
Allah ﷻ does not tell us many of
the details of these stories because the details
do not matter.
So, where are these people?
I think every country in the Muslim world
might have a cave that they claim is
the cave of Ashab al-Kaf.
Allah ﷻ didn't tell us where it is.
Is it in Jordan?
Is it in Turkey?
Is it in Morocco?
Allah didn't tell us and He could have
told us.
But the point is not the place.
The point is not how many there were.
The point is not the dog and what
type of dog was it.
That's the time period, which tribe they belong
to, what king was the king.
Allah ﷻ doesn't even tell us the name
of Pharaoh.
That's not important.
What's important is the lessons.
The Qur'an isn't a book of history.
The Qur'an is not a book of
science.
The Qur'an is not a book of
anything other than guidance and science.
And so, what's beautiful for us then is
that we get the lessons without the distractions
in the Qur'an and we get the
lessons without the details that might create liabilities
for us.
You know, one of the challenges when you're
reading the Bible or when you're interacting with
people who read the Bible is that there's
so much detail that creates a lot of
liability for them.
And so, I was...
What to say?
Anyway, let me just move on.
So, keep going, Shaykh.
وَلَا تَقُولَنَّ لِشَيْءٍ إِنِّي فَاعِلٌ ذَلِكَ غَدًا
إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهِ وَاذْكُرْ رَبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيْتَ
وَقُلْ عَسَىٰ أَن يَهْدِيَنِ رَبِّي لِأَقْرَبَ مِنْ هَذَا
رَشَدًا So, you're asking Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta
'ala to be guided to Rashadah just like
the children or the people of Al-Kahf
asked Allah for Rashadah at the beginning.
And we said that Rashadah is one of
the greatest things that a person can ask
for if not the greatest thing to be
guided in your life.
And so, Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam because he
didn't say Inshallah at the beginning when the
revelation came to him, when the questions came
to him rather.
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam didn't say that Inshallah
I'll answer your question tomorrow.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala corrects him with
this etiquette and he says, and do not
say to anything that I will do this
tomorrow except that Allah wills.
وَذْكُرْ رَبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ Remember your Lord if
you forget.
And then the last verse Inshallah and we'll
end here.
وَلَبِثُوا فِي كَهْفِهِمْ ثَلَاثَمِئَةٍ سِنِينَ وَزْدَادُوا تِسْعَى قُلِ
اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثُوا لَهُ غَيْبُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ
أَبْصِرْ بِهِ وَأَسْمَعْ مَا لَهُمْ بِالدُونِهِ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ
وَلَا يُشْرِكُ فِي حُكْمِهِ أَحَدًا Allah then says
they slept in their cave for 309 years.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala knows better how
long they were there for and we see
the theme again of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta
'ala saying that I'm the one who knows
the unseen and no one else knows the
unseen except for Allah.
That establishment of authority when it comes to
the official account of these events that are
going to come in Judeo-Christian sources at
the end of the day, the Qur'an
is what has the truth.
And this is an attitude that the Muslim
should always have that we are the ones
who have the truth at the end of
the day.
You know I was just at an interfaith
event a couple of days ago and I
was asked to describe Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta
'ala.
I described Allah reciting Ayatul Kursi.
Then I was asked to describe the attributes
of Allah and I described Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala with Surah Al-Ikhlas.
And people were coming up to me and
saying man, you made more sense than anybody
here.
Sometimes we forget that we're the ones who
have the truth and the truth is so
simple and the truth is so powerful and
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in the Qur
'an is always speaking from that space.
It's always coming from that position of authority
and that position of strength.
And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala knows best.