Quranic Reflections #01 Fulfilling Promises

So I have that I saw someone else read our exact resume along with study I have you know whatever you know what I'm gonna send for a wedding or study level more study more radical to have you know whatever you know homicide sympathy. We want to try this again Inshallah, as we were doing the illuminations Quranic reflections in Miss nebulae and the connection got cut so we wanted to finish in Charlotte, our

reflections of tonight in cello. So we're doing our series of eliminations which is going to be chronic restless reflections after totally in Mecca and Medina, and every night and challenges have reflections over every single portion of the Quran that that's recited or parts of it and shalom. So I wish all of you first of all on Mubarak and the last part that I bless and accept from all of us, mail us content to make this a month that's bless it and brings transformation to our own lives, and allows us to overcome our vices and transform them into virtues and melas Panther to make this a blessing on the entire movement, the Prophet Muhammad Allah Hi guys. So today, today's reflection

was focused on how the Quran starts and how when the Imam recites the first thing that he recites is that hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alameen. All praise is due to the Lord of the Worlds. And this Subhanallah is the foundation and grounding of everything in our faith. It's grounded in gratitude to Allah, it's grounded in being thankful that we're believers thankful that we know our purpose, thankful that we are Muslims, thankful that we are part of oment Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And that's why there's a beautiful statement of the poet, he says that I couldn't describe a happiness more greater than being under the name when you said, yeah, he baddie, oh my servants, I'm under

that, and that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is my prophet. So of course, Al Hamdulillah for such a amazing blessing of being Muslim, and hamdullah for being able to reach from over on how many of us have had family members that, you know, passed me last month that I forgive them, and grant them the highest levels of Jannah. And in His mercy, that they didn't make this Ramadan. I know people who passed away literally yesterday, they passed away the someone lost their mother let it yesterday May Allah grant or the highest of Jana, and she didn't make it. So Subhanallah The reality is that when the Quran starts with Al Hamdulillah, it is, it is it is one of the most emotional and

spiritually uplifting things for us as Muslims, which is to praise Allah subhanaw taala. To think Allah azza wa jal

and showing thankfulness even in the most difficult of times, is something extremely empowering. That's why the Prophet Muhammad SAW said, he said, this beautiful statement, adjuvant the Embley movement, he says, so amazing and strange as the affair of the believer, that if they are given something that they are blessed with, they think Allah subhanaw taala, and that is good for them. And if they are tested, they still say Alhamdulillah and that is good for them. So the Quran starts with a Hamdulillah. And I just want you all to think of something that you're, you've been deeply troubled by this year. And

you made it to Ramadan. And when you just think of that, you said, Hamdulillah, how powerful it is that you're here because Allah wanted to forgive you. You're here because Allah spans that have wanted you to reach this month, and for you to be granted the forgiveness and blessings of this month, and in this month, have certain prayers answered. And I want you to think about some of the prayers that you were making in the past of them about how Allah Subhan Allah has blessed you and accepted those prayers in this month. So it's an overwhelming thing just to see it humbly. And that's why for me one of the most powerful, one of the one of the most powerful things was to always

hear Sheikh Sheikh, Sheikh shuraim is one of the amount of missional haram in Mecca.

When he would start saying hamdulillahi rabbil Alameen he started crying,

the first verses of the Quran, he'd start crying. And the reason why he would start crying is because of the impact of the words that you're thinking Allah's punctata For imagine all the things that you can imagine. And Allah says winter do near amatola He letters that even if you were to try to count the blessings of Allah subhanaw taala, you wouldn't be able to count them innumerable.

And I want to also just to from personal reflection, I want you all to just think about Halal all of the places in the Muslim world that are suffering, that are going through difficulty hardship. And in my contexts, I've lived and grown up with a lot of stand in war. And I just wanted to Subhanallah reflect over the fact that war is over. There is no more war in that country. And this is going to be the first time they're celebrating Ramadan in peace. Hopefully everlasting peace in sha Allah and I

Just want you to imagine what it must be like for some of those people. So I asked asked some, some family and friends, what it must be like to be there now and when it's in time of peace, and as one of my friends actually record some of the reactions of the blondes in their first Ramadan without war. But I remember one thing that that,

you know, a student, he said, he said that,

about Hamdulillah that, that we made it, and I hope that we can get through it. At the end of the day, the fact that we even made it he was just thinking a long time for the opportunity to he made Ramadan in this in this time of peace. So I mean, think of all the things that you could say Alhamdulillah I mean, and that's why the Quran starts with that, that element of just being thankful to Allah, that and just want to share with you all, a hadith of some of you probably heard, and that is that Sahabi saw two other companions of the Prophet Mohammed slice that have been his dream. And they were at the gates of paradise. And he saw one of them come to the gates of paradise. And that

was the one among them that actually died as a martyr as a shaheed. He had had he had passed away in battle and became a Shahida martyr. And his other friend passed away the year after him

as after that,

when they got to the doors of the gates of paradise, the one that died the year after his friend that died as a martyr, was told you can enter and then the other one said, then you come after him.

So he woke up and this this news got to the problem homicide Salem, and the Prophet Mohammed Salah Salem was asked, you know, what is the meaning of this? The how, why would the one that

passed away after enter into paradise first before the martyr the one who loses their life for the defense of Islam, which is one of the highest statuses of faith, right?

And the Prophet Mohammed slice dilemma, he said that did he not did the one who live an entire year after the marver not pray such and such extra prayers,

and made such and such extra prostrations? And they said, Yes. And he says, Did he not reach an extra Ramadan?

And they said, Yes. So you said that the Prophet Muhammad says therefore then the difference between them is like the difference between the sky the earth.

So for that, we said, Hamdulillah, you made Ramadan. And the fact that you even here getting to even fast one day in sha Allah are the ones that who cannot fast but have just entered the space and time and the virtue of Ramadan. That means that Allah Subhan Allah wants to forgive us and grant us that status, out of His mercy and love and that's why you're here. That's why you're so immediately the first verse, of course, is always something very powerful. And from the Latin Blimey, and of course, tonight, the Imam is going to recite social law, which is one of my favorite tools, of course, in the Quran, and socially Bacala kind of describes everything in Islam. And as long as Surah all five

pillars are mentioned in it, five pillars of Islam, all the pillars of Eman are mentioned in it. And it is the longest chapter of the Quran because if you were to leave it and that sort of tobacco, all of Islam is there, public sphere, private sphere and governments family, Marriage Divorce the whole thing everything in Islam is found in South America. The second chapter is second sort of the Quran, and hence why it is so powerful that the motifs and the objectives of Islam are actually found within sort of Bukhara now one of the things I wanted to I just kind of like came to my mind, as the email was reciting is how the solar and in the beginning of it focuses on fulfilling promises,

focuses on what we can say renewing our vows. And that's what this term renewing your vows only tell me what usually what's referred to refer to usually renewing your vows with your spouse, right? There's a concept in the western culture which basically, husband and wife take vows with each other at marriage, saying and death and unhappiness and in sickness until death do us part etc. And then every once in a while they say we should renew our vows. We should renew that promise to each other. Well, you know what Ramadan is like renewing our vows to Allah subhanaw taala it's renewing our promises to Allah to renewing our faith. So in that essence, to remember what it is that we signed

up for when we are Muslim, is in sickness and in health, until not only definitely was part until we meet our Lord subhanaw taala is to renew our vows for what it means to be a Muslim, what it means to fulfill the promises of our Lord. And that's why in this chapter, Allah Sparta speaks about how he has taken from the believers me half Kundalini, that we that we have now coming out right almost progresses when we took from you a heavy covenant, and we felt means a covenant approach.

Hamas, and this covenant that promises faith and to fulfill faith and to live by faith and faith is not just was set on the tongue, not just what's believed in the heart, but it's also what's done with actions. And Allah subhanaw taala, then, you know, in this in the course of the surah describes those who fulfilled and describes those who did not fulfill their vows. And he gives us examples of those who came before us, and what are the steps that they took for those who preserved the vows they had with Allah, the covenants they had with Allah, the faith they had with Allah, and those who essentially failed and why they failed and how they were enticed to failing, mostly by their

desires. So Allah subhanaw taala, in one part of the surah talks about how they failed and what was the reason they failed. And what's behind that it says in Surah, Baqarah, in iron number 86, which was recited tonight, although it can be in a sterile will hire to dunya Bill ACULA. Fella, you have one whom will either what at home your sorrow, they are those who bought the life of this world in exchange for the hereafter. So their punishment will not be lightened for them, nor will they be aided. And the reason for that is because of the what you can say is a sense, like gross consumerism. Right? We talk about capitalism, gross consumerism in this sense is that people have

over indulged in the material world, to the point that it has caused such a detriment to their life, and has brought a spiritual vacuum into their heart. And hence why Ramadan is that spiritual like jolt, to bring people back to that equilibrium, bring them back to the reality that you can't live without spirituality, you can't live without the fact that we are all connected to the Lord Most High, even every molecule of our being is connected to him. So this surah focuses on this component, this component of fulfilling promises, renewing our vows is from Milan, and it starts off with one of the most beautiful sutras honestly. And for those of you who you know, know, Arabic, and when the

Quran is being recited, and especially suited Bukhara, it's like,

it's like a the most amazing tapestry of stories. It's like, you're envisioning everything from the creation of Adam, to him being enticed to what happened to the children of Israel, and how they were misled by their own desires, their vanity, and how they broke their promises, and how they would not fulfill Musa Moses told them. So it's such a beautiful way of description, if we only understand the Arabic And if we don't, then what it requires us, for us to understand that we need to read the translation, to make it a point this Ramadan to read the translation of the Quran, prior to for example, that night of towaway or before you read your own section of the Quran, and try to do a

Hukam of the English translation while you do have some of the Arabic. So you have those two together Shaolin that was one of the best ways to kind of reflect and you can also call on journal which is writing down some of your thoughts like for example things that come to my mind you know, I'm not gonna pull up my phone during this middle salon so writing but ideas these thoughts come to my mind and in this collective Quranic reflection inshallah series that we will have together. This time is in my library, but inshallah we'll be hopefully have a better connection when we do it for message number one Mr. Hollom in our series of illuminations, chronic reflections from the Haramain

the two sacred cities Mecca Medina, I hope you join us to channel Attallah in this journey, and hopefully have better internet connection inshallah. We'll also do some q&a later on Inshallah, but I wish you all a Ramadan Mubarak, I wish you all a blessed month I wish you all a month of transformative blessings and also a month inshallah that we remember the less fortunate and draw awareness to all of the people that need our prayers as well as our generous giving as the Prophet Muhammad SAW said was described as being the most generous in the month of Ramadan. May Allah bless you all. We will see you all tomorrow inshallah after Salloway for day two and day two of

Subhanallah day two of the reflections that is day one of the day one of the actual fasting for most of us, some of you might be fasting on Sunday, like in Indonesia and New Zealand, so don't worry shall you'll have your day one reflectance tomorrow. Salah mela is part of the blessing except from all of you. And Ramadan, Mubarak will see torch off so what's the lesson Have you been on a read Mohammed, while he also his money was somewhat equal.