Hamza Yusuf – Sacred Text Messages S02 E10 – Do Americans Know Anything About Qadr?

			This has been our man Rahim masala anissina Mohammed Wiener and he was happy to send him to stay
Magus era. Lambda Linda saramonic Omar Abdullah he will Ricardo Al Hamdulillah we're in the first
week of Ramadan and
		

			I got the news today that our dear brother he mom suhaib Sorbonne passed away. So I just want
inshallah for view buddy could pray for him and for his family may Allah subhana wa tada give him a
high place in Jenna. It's a sign, I think of a Boolean shala that he was accepted with a lot to die
on the day of Juma in the first week of Ramadan, which is a time of immense blessing and Rama. And I
know he was well loved I visited him when he at Princeton, he invited me for any event and he was
just a beautiful person very hospitable host I mean, you hear this about people sometimes but with
him genuinely so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he really was just a very beautiful soul
		

			and people who knew him I think recognize that so Allah subhana wa tada bless him and make it easy
for his family I know he left behind a wife and
		

			and and a dependent so May Allah subhana wa tada make make that easy for them inshallah.
		

			Ramadan is an immense blessing for this community. I think everybody feels a kind of excitement when
Ramadan comes and
		

			and despite all of the difficulties and tribulations that happen around the world, there's just a
great blessing in the the time that we're in in the month when it comes on us. But one of the most
important aspects of this month is it's a month of the Koran. It's a month when we really are
supposed to go back to the Quran and to
		

			to become intimate with the Quran. I hope inshallah, I'm going to be looking at a mum of these
extraordinary work called Johann Quran which are the essences or the jewels of the Quran.
		

			And he, I think, just had incredible insights that were clearly openings from Allah subhanaw taala
and this is true of many of our great scholars, Allah subhana wa tada in the Quran. In Surah kamar
the text message I wanted to look at today and sought after comma is the 17th verse, Allah subhana
wa tada says, What up at the Sunnah or an early decree van Mehmood Decker
		

			that we have made this Quran we facilitated this poron as a reminder, and is there anyone that will
really take this to heart that will internalize that fact? And it's it's a rhetorical question, but
it's an important question that Allah subhana wa tada is posing to us because I think one of the
things that we tend to forget is that
		

			this is an open invitation from Allah subhana wa tada the deen the transaction with Allah is an open
transaction with Allah subhana wa Tada. So he's asking us but hadn't been more deckchair
		

			that
		

			in this verse, Allah subhana wa tada is telling us that he's facilitated the Oran, and he's
facilitating a lot of different ways. One is into our, one of the most extraordinary things if, if
you notice that learning foreign languages is very difficult for people. But generally people can
actually recite the Quran, you'll find people from Pakistan or from India, who speak Arabic with a
real strong accent, but when they recite the Quran, they can recite the Quran as good as the Arabs.
And so there's a type of facilitation just in the the reading of the Quran, which is quite
extraordinary that people can learn how to read the Koran properly. I mean, obviously, some people
		

			do have difficulties with some of the letters because Arabic has unusual letters that aren't found
in a lot of languages like the ain and often the BA and avant. And the law.
		

			There's actually a book one of the scholars wrote on the difference with him BOD and law, because
people tend to conflate those for that or not, even some of the Arabs do that. But the Allah
subhanaw taala has facilitated the learning of, of the Quran, the Tila of the Quran, but also he's
facilitated the meme memorization of the Quran, the health of Quran, and this is why children can
memorize the Quran. If you give a child something like the Constitution of the United States, and
they'll really struggle to memorize it. They can do it
		

			But they'll struggle whereas if you give them a page of the Quran, it's quite stunning how quickly
people can memorize a good portion of the Koran. But he's also made it relatively easy to understand
it's not a difficult book. It has multiple dimensions but at one level the Quran is, is written in a
very, very unusual language. It's a completely
		

			it's unique in its in its presentation there's no Arabic like it before or after, and Arabs even
Christian Arabs, they know when the Quran is being recited. If you recite a verse of Quran,
generally people will will can identify it even if they're not that educated, they can identify it
as as the Quran, the difference between the Hadeeth and between the Quran is stunning, because given
that they both come from the same source, the province ICM is clearly a vehicle for the Quran, the
expressions that he gives in his Hadeeth are from him. So it's the language of the Quraysh. And you
will find sayings of Sahaba that are similar to Hades, I mean, the prophet sighs and was undoubtedly
		

			the most eloquent of the people that spoke Arabic. But the distinction between the Hadeeth and
between the Quran is absolutely remarkable for anybody that ponders that the Quran brought new ways
the Arabs had never heard anything like this. And this is not an exaggeration. This is simply a
statement of fact, they had never heard anything like it. It's hard for us today, especially people
that don't have access to the Arabic to understand this. And also because the Arabs grow up with the
Quran, and they've heard it since they were children. They also don't understand the newness of the
language. But they do recognize even even if they're not terribly educated, they do recognize that
		

			it has a distinct distinctiveness that differs from other language. And and in that way, it's,
		

			we can honestly say that it's when they said this is not the words of a bunch of they were not
exaggerating and saying that it's not the words of human being because they had never heard anything
like it. Things like letter zero was a rotten wizard or aura.
		

			That that is such a beautiful statement. And yet if you said it, if somebody tried to say that in
another way, there's something besides high points out and I thought it was a really nice
		

			illustration of this point. If you say for instance, mural, Hamilton Hamilton O'Hara, if somebody
said that in a speech, it would just people wouldn't. They just wouldn't.
		

			It would, it would seem ridiculous.
		

			Because when when Allah says that, it just there's something about that language that's so powerful
that even Lebanese Christians or Palestinian Christians will study the Quran purely as a literary
masterpiece, and really appreciating the language of it. But if you try to speak in a Quranic
language, and use the types of idioms that the Quran uses, he, nobody would take you seriously. And
this is something very remarkable about the Quran. The fact that it is it's so profoundly serious in
its presentation and in its language and yet, any attempt to use the types of
		

			idioms that the Quran uses would not work in normal human language.
		

			So, so, the language is is fascinating, and and very difficult to I mean, there is an argument that
it's it cannot be imitated, but there are some examples of lines that people try to like, for
instance, mill Salem at a cadaver lab. He actually tried to imitate some of the, the verses of the
Quran and he put it in the idioms of the Quran. So he used the type of structures of the Quran uses
but it ended up sounding ridiculous. And this is remarkable that he could not replicate the Quran.
And there's two different opinions about sort of anthologies Did, did Allah remove the, the
possibility or is are simply people incapable of it. Most of the scholars inclined towards the that
		

			it's simply a jazz it's a Marchesa in that way that it prevents people from mimicking it but the
newness of the language to the Arabs was just stunning. And this is a good example what up at the
Asana or an early victory the hangman wood deck here
		

			that is clearly
		

			Nearly a pyronix statement, it does not sound like a Hadeeth it is clearly from the Oran and this is
the way the Quran speaks to us. It's it's just a very interesting language. So it's, it's
facilitated the Quran, Allah has facilitated it in many ways in its teeth, in its remembrance, but
also in its understanding that the Quran has a remarkably sparse vocabulary. There's about 1720 odd
		

			words, or in the root system of the Koran. So the trilateral or the quadrilateral, literal words in
the Quran, there, there are not that many, you can learn on vocabulary in a relatively short period
of time. But the richness of the language, the nuance of the language, the nuance of the words, and
the semantic fields that the Oran creates, are quite stunning. And that's why potentially there's
just an immense amount of possibility for,
		

			for meaning to to emerge the the meanings of the Quran, Latin, or the idea of a who the wonders of
the Koran will never cease. But also we've been facilitated to actually implement the Quran and and
to practice the Quran, this is all possible and so people have to, in essence, empty their minds and
really to,
		

			to to enter into the Quran autofest Cilmi katha enter into this system, enter into the state of
submission, which is to submit to the word of Allah subhana wa tada
		

			really set aside your preoccupations.
		

			One of the the buzzwords that that is used constantly today is mindfulness. This idea of mindfulness
of people being mindful, there was no human being who has ever existed on this planet that was more
mindful than the Prophet size and prophetic mindfulness is a Sunnah the practice of mindfulness the
prophesized sum was mindful in every single human action that he that he participated in. He when he
got up he had a prayer when he first woke up he he immediately remembered Allah subhanho wa Taala
when he woke up was the first thing he said when he woke up super Hannah, Lydia, Yanni. But imagine
he waited in the shore. So handily the journey but imagine he was in a leafy Vickery. Allah Homer
		

			geography, Alvin ofili Sani Nora is in or a feeble serene or focalin or attacking or a new me, and
you mean inaudible and she Mati Nora, Allah Allah also be Nora along with Gianni Nora Aloma Athenian
aura. I mean, this was a do as it he, he said every day, every morning when he woke up, then he
would recite the ends of the last eyes of Sora Ali embrun, which is about looking into the heavens,
that he would actually go outside, look up into the stars, and then recite these verses. And then
when he put on his clothes, he was mindful, he always put on his set while sitting down. When when
he went into when he went to relieve himself. He had a prayer when he came out, he had a whole
		

			Veronica, he had a prayer when he ate he had a prayer. When when he
		

			when he finished his meal, he had a prayer. When he saw
		

			people he said on why they come that's a prayer. When he left people he had a prayer when he started
walking towards the masjid, he had a pro when he went into the soup. He had a prayer. When he bought
something he had a prayer, where if he bought new clothes, he had a prayer for it live is to a
higher God than where is to him. He then wanted to shahida it's just stunning. The entire life of
the prophesized him is a testimony to prophetic mindfulness, which is being in a state of presence
is being present, is being aware. And so the Quran is is a book that brings you into the presence.
In fact, one of the secrets of the banaba of the Quran, which is in Arabic is called lt fat. Which
		

			which is it's, it's, it's a technique you don't really find it much in, in. I have I've rarely seen
it in western literature. I have seen it strangely enough in in some of the poetry of
		

			Dylan who won the Nobel Prize for Literature, he actually uses empty fat in his in some of his
poetry.
		

			They walked along by the old canal a little confused, I remember well, so when you talk in the third
person, then you go to the first person that's called lt fat. So if you look in the, in the in the
in the in Surah Fatiha Allah subhana wa tada begins that is, according to you, Mom, Shafi and
Bismillah R Rahman Rahim mm nafion begins
		

			Al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil alameen and the Hadith in Sahih Muslim Sahih al Bukhari begins with Al hamdu
Lillahi Rabbil aalameen. But he begins if you begin it with Bismillah R Rahman r Rahim al hamdu
Lillahi Rabbil aalameen Ar Rahman AR Rahim, Mehdi kiyomi de iaca, that's lt fat to move into the
going from the hot tub to the hot that going from the third person to the first person, or the
second person, in this case, yak and Abu so it's going from a type of as you enter into the prayer,
you're moving into presence, and then you become present with EOC and Abu where he can step in. So
the Quran pulls you into a type of Divine Presence. If you read it with attentiveness, if you read
		

			it with mindfulness, if you read it with presence, and this is what Allah Subhana was, as for
henneman with Decker, you know, he Are you going to really take this, this, this, this,
		

			this word, and, and and and make it part of your, of your very being. And obviously memorization is
one of the best ways to actually bring it into your very it I mean, it becomes all of your synaptic
connections in your own brain become
		

			enlightened with the the memory of the heart. And so if you if you recite a verse from memory, that
means that it's lodged in your consciousness in your mind. So this is what we're being told to do,
to really reflect deeply to take this upon ourselves to enter into this extraordinary gift that we
have been given this is called the the duvet Allah, the Allah subhana wa tada has invited us to the
banquet and the Quran is his banquet. And Matt daba is in one rewinds Matt dooba, which is a banquet
and others met Devo, which is the place where your discipline where your soul is discipline. And so
the Quran is essentially teaching us how to respond, and how to react to the world. And that's
		

			what's really important because if you look at, at Allah Subhana, Allah says, In the Quran, of
Muhammad zeca, rockethub and the Sahaba, that a person has had success, who
		

			there's a difference of opinion about the verse, is it God is a cow? Or is it the person actually,
willfully and I think both of them are, are sound meanings because, well not to show on your
language a lot. You can't do anything except Allah wills at first. And so this is completely
compatible, but that other flamin zecca that he has had success, the one who Allah has caused his
soul to grow zeca at Ischia
		

			work on harbor Mendoza, and he has failed the one who failed to or who allowed his soul to be
stunted. So the growth of the soul.
		

			One theologian said that you have to think of God more as a gardener than a mechanic, that that and
this is obviously metaphorical.
		

			You have to you have to think of Allah subhana wa tada as one who nurtures you That's why roble and
amin is the Mora be, Allah is the one you rugby an alameen he's the one that nurtures the world that
causes them to grow. And so the way Allah subhanho wa Taala, it's not like a mechanic who just is
going to fix your problems? No, this is this is done through nurturing. So two things are happening.
One is that you're born with all these default settings as a human being, you come into the world
with all these default settings. So one of the default settings, is that you you, you're selfish,
there's a default setting. So one of the things we have to teach children is to share
		

			we had out of the five children that that that I had,
		

			we had one that just naturally shared, but the other ones had to learn that and we know in the story
of how Timothy who was was the most generous, generous of the pre Islamic Arabs, his he had a tent
that he lived in, but then he had a tent for hospitality. So anybody that came to him, he would they
could send the tent as long as you want it and he would feed them and take care of them. In fact, it
said that once he had a beautiful Falcon, and and he had a guest come and he didn't have anything to
serve him. So he ended up sacrificing the Falcon which was worth a lot and and feeding
		

			About the Falcon then when we asked the man, you know, did did he need anything he said he came to
buy his fat, his famous Falcon. And he had just fed him the Falcon, but the many stories about how
to apply. But it said that his his brother wanted to because everybody praised Hatem for being so
generous that in fact, the Arabs, Edward Newman had a more generous than had them a pie. And so the,
the his brothers set up a tent of hospitality, and his mother visited him. And when she saw the
tension, what are you doing, and he said, I want it because Hatem has a tent for hospital, I want to
have a tent for Rosie, she said, Don't waste your time. And he said, Why, he said, when I circled
		

			you, you used to put hat, push, hat them away. And when I circled hat them, he would pull you to my
other breast. In other words, this was fifth era in him, so you do find those people, but I don't
think she was fair to him, because I think people can work on themselves and get better at it. So
and that's, that's the important point is that we have to nurture our souls out of these default
settings. And so cowardice, a lot of people are afraid, but you can overcome your fears. It takes it
takes work. And and in fact, one of the most courageous spiritual acts that you can do, is to live
joyfully, because it's very easy to be depressed. That's easy. Anybody can be depressed, or you look
		

			at the world, that what the world doesn't make you depressed. If it doesn't, you're you're dead, you
have no heart. But it takes courage to, to live joyfully despite that, despite everything in the
world. In fact, a very wise philosophers have, as a teacher of my father once said that, he said
that
		

			he was asked, Can a kind of a person be happy, knowing all the things wrong with the world? And he
said, Oh, indeed, the truly happy person is happy, in spite of everything he knows about the world.
And, and part of the reason why he's happy is because he feels an obligation to be happy, because
one of the reasons why the world is such an unhappy place, is there so many unhappy people in it?
And so why would you want to contribute to the unhappiness of the world and we all know to be around
people that are joyful, it has an effect on us. I mean, that's one of the reasons like people that
say Turner, everybody missed a mom's aid, because he moms aid when he comes around people, he has a
		

			joyful presence. And so people always feel joyful around he makes me feel joyful. And and that's a
gift that Allah subhana wa tada game, but it's also something that we can work on in our own cell.
Some people have it naturally, his personality is sanguine, and it's, it's, it's a, it's a beautiful
temperament to have. But you can work on that in yourself to not be a downer, to not be the wet
towel, to not be the person that people walk away, feeling relieved that they're out of your
company. So that's, that's very important. So
		

			it's, it's a courageous act to be joyful, in an incredibly depressing world. Because you're bringing
joy to a place that needs more joy.
		

			I mean, that's, that's just something really important. So, so one of the things that the Quran
teaches us, and I think this is really, really fundamental to the Quranic teaching, it teaches us
how to respond appropriately, in order for us to grow spiritually, in order for there to be Ischia
of the self in order for the self not to be stunted. And one of the greatest gifts
		

			that our our masters have given us is the teaching of our best at
		

			Mercy. And everyone in Egypt knows about our best and mercy. His his mom is in Alexandria, and and i
actually witness a clear miracle in that place. And she has not been my father was with me as a
witness, but he was an extraordinary spiritual master. And he was the teacher of Ivanov de la, the
great
		

			scholar who wrote the heck out by ear.
		

			But even after Allah who was quite accomplished, jurist fapy, an alum and well known he wasn't just
a mystic, but he really was an accomplished scholar. He was feeling the weightiness of the world on
his shoulders and sometimes we we have that experience.
		

			He went to visit about abus mercy. And when he came in he told him there are only four states in the
world. There's only four states. And there's only four responses to each one of those states. And
this is purely ironic. So he said and he put it some of them have versified it he said labdoo fi
nanometer nobody yet your corner out it no matter see it. So Abdu Finnair, matana Oh buddy at your
corner Alta attend almasi at a
		

			servant is either in blessing or tribulation. So those are those are two states you're either in
blessing or you're in tribulation
		

			or you're kunaal Tomasi at or you're in obedience or disobedience. So those are the four states. You
cannot it's it's like a Boolean, algebraic.
		

			It's like a Boolean algebraic
		

			presentation, like he's exhausted the states of the world. So here you are the four states that are
back on Medallia alley. So the well of this world are for as long as time exists is one of these
four. Well, nocturnal, happy within a Harley and what
		

			necessitates the truth, demands in each one of these four states are the appropriate responses and
Yesh. cotulla. To be grateful to Allah for the NEMA
		

			and Yesh called Allah Allah while Spira and to be patient for the tribulation.
		

			Well, yes, had an minetta while you're stung Fira and to witness the blessings went when you're in
obedience, to see the minute that this is the monastic Allah one of the names of Allah is Alma Nan,
the one yamano alayka he reminds you of his blessings. So when you're in obedience is to see the
minute the the trophy, the success that Allah subhanaw taala has given you to be in that state.
While you're stuck furor and to be in a state of repentance of Toba
		

			of his default, to ask Allah subhana wa tada forgiveness when you're in disobedience, those are the
appropriate responses. So somebody was telling me the other day about he was in a living with some
Muslims and he felt like he was an outsider and they were mistreating him and he didn't feel
comfortable. And and I told him, Allah subhanho wa Taala tells us we are unable to complete Baba and
fitna, we made some of you tribulation for others apostrophe. Ron, will you show patience? Will you
show patience? Cannot ibuka basura and Allah sees all things. So whenever you're in a situation, the
default setting is to think the worst of people. The way you personal one is actually difficult,
		

			because it's not the default setting. The default setting is always to go to the worst of people. So
somebody could be having a bad day. And you come in and they and they mistreat you and you think
they were mistreating you because you had a turban on or you're a Muslim. Now that could very well
be the case they could have been a racist or they could have not like but they could have just been
having a bad day. You it's your inward state it's going to determine how you respond to those
circumstances. And the Quran tells us is our ability as an returner wrong with a right
		

			return a wrong with a right this is what Allah subhanaw taala tells us. So the Quran is giving us
all of the means by which the circumstances that Allah subhana wa tada sends to us because all of
this is from God. And if you think it's from other than God, you you don't understand the creative,
the Muslims, everything is from God. All of the tribulations in your life are from God. In fact,
		

			according to see the Amazon rule, all of the diseases of the heart revolve around at the Maria bar.
We are Khadija
		

			being discontent with the decree of Allah subhanho wa Taala. And this does not negate freewill. But
we believe in in an extraordinary paradox of determinism and freewill, that everything is decreed
and yet Allah has made us free within that decree. But when things happen, you cannot escape your
destiny. If you are destined to be
		

			to die in a place Allah will bring all the circumstances about to bring you to that place at that
time that you were destined to be there. And there's no way that you can do that. I mean, I'll tell
you a really interesting story that happened to me when I was in Saudi Arabia, right?
		

			After 911
		

			I had gone I was in I was in Jeddah, and I just arrived from the airport. And, and then I was at the
airport, they have these drivers that drive you, because I was picked up at the plane, and then they
drive you, too. So there was a this man, he was from one of the veteran tribes, you know, they have
these tribes, the melodic Benny monic. And, and the Japan and
		

			different, many hodl you know, how to be people. And I really liked him. I've always enjoyed
conversing with them. But he asked me this was right after 911. And he said to me, can I ask you a
question? He asked me where I was from, I said, America, so can I ask you a question? He said, Sure.
He said, Why did Americans hate us? Which made me laugh? I said, actually, you know, I think they
think that you hate them. He said, The I don't know. He said, I don't hate Americans. I like
Americans. And he said, Why do they hate us? And I said, Well, I think some of them the ones that do
maybe is because they think that most of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. So they think
		

			somehow, Saudis did this to them. And he's, and then he asked me a really interesting question. He
said, Do they know anything about other?
		

			And I said, I think most people there would deny the other unless they're Amish. And I didn't say
that. But I said, just said most people would deny the other. And then he said, No, no, you, he
said, there's him to animal animal cutter, you have to teach them about the cutter. Because he said
it will remove hatred from their hearts.
		

			In other words, when you see that things are from Allah, you're able to live in this world in a
completely different way. Where you don't have that kind of animosity towards people. And this does
not negate like that there's long there is oppression, there's all these things in the world, but
they're there as a test.
		

			And so it's not that you don't oppose oppression and try to remove oppression you do. But you do it
with that deep knowledge that this is these are the circumstances that God has given me to see how I
behave. And then it enables you to turn your enemies into your friends because you don't hate them.
You see them as vehicles of the Divine and the good and the bad and the ugly, and the beautiful, all
these things. So this is this is time to get back to the Quran. Allah subhana wa tada inshallah
bring us back to the Quran and make us people of the Oran a hamdulillah. May you have a blessed
month in Shall I hope some of you will join me in the Jawahar Parana for law gives me the ability
		

			inshallah. And then again, I just really Please pray for our brother, your mom. So hey, so Tony's he
was a really genuine gift to the community. Well, anybody who knew him knew knows exactly what I'm
talking about. May Allah make it easy for his family and May Allah give him a hi welcome in in
genitive for those inshallah. Sarah Marie calm Rahmatullahi wa barakato