Irshaad Sedick – #13 Tarawih – Surah Nur
AI: Summary ©
The importance of balancing discussion on believers and disbelievers in Islam is highlighted, with some struggle with their actions and others struggle with their actions. Successful deeds are based on having a strong faith and foundation of faith. The success of Islam is measured by having connections with nature, particularly for children who may not get opportunities to connect with technology.
AI: Summary ©
In the previous verses, Allah
gives us the example of light and how
believers
can attain that light. How we are supposed
to access the nur of Allah
Now immediately following from that, Allah speaks about
the the disbelievers.
And this is
a this is a normal occurrence in the
Quran. You will always find a balance between
a discussion on the believers and then a
discussion on the disbelievers.
The inhabitants of Jannah and then the inhabitants
of Jahannam.
This is a healthy balance for us to
have. So how do the disbelievers then manage
to get by if they don't have access
to the the light from Allah,
the Noor. So Allah says,
as for those who disbelieve, in verse number
39,
their
deeds,
is like a mirage.
Right? What's a mirage? When you drive and
you see something in the distance, it looks
like a puddle on the water, and you
drive closer, and there's no puddle. That's a
mirage.
In a lowland,
A thirsty person, when approaching a mirage from
a distance, thinks there's water there, and they
proceed with eagerness to go and drink of
the water.
Until he gets to the water, or what
he thinks is water,
and he finds that there's actually nothing there.
But then he finds
and then Allah pays him out in full,
his due, his account.
And Allah is swift in reckoning.
This verse puts into perspective
what is the outcome of a disbeliever when
they do good deeds in this life. And
it's a question that a lot of believers
struggle with. Right. I know someone. This person
is very very good. They're not Muslim. They
don't believe in Allah. They don't believe in
a God, but they do so much good
deeds.
Case in point,
America.
Right?
We will support and support and support Israel,
and then we'll send down aid
to the people in Gaza.
What is that? So if you look at
the same type of situation with anybody else,
any individual,
they could do good deeds.
On the surface, it's good.
But remember, in Islam, even if you're Muslim,
your good deeds mean nothing if you are
not motivated by
by a good intention.
And clearly, if your actions
contradict
an apparent intention,
then those are not good actions. So when
they get to the akhira,
what do they find?
They find that all those good deeds are
in vain.
There's nothing there. There's no substance to it.
There's no reward for it. And this is
the case of the disbeliever. Instead,
Allah will pay them out in full
because of the disbelief.
So from an Islamic orthodox perspective,
the minimum requirement to be successful in the
is that you must have iman.
If you don't have iman, you can come
with a world of good deeds. It means
nothing, because you don't have the
the basis
of success in the in the afterlife.
Allah makes another example.
Now this verse, verse number 40,
some people embrace Islam as a result of
this verse because it's mentioning something
that is a scientific
truth that would have been impossible for anybody
in the time of Rasulullah salallahu alaihi wasalam
to know about.
It says
or the example of the disbelievers
and their access to nur is actually like
darkness.
In a sea, in an ocean.
In a deep ocean.
Covered by a wave,
minfulkihi,
from on top of it. Mujun, there's another
wave. Minfulkihi,
on top of that. Sahab, there's a cloud,
murky waters.
Darkness is
layer upon layer.
Should that person put their hand in front
of them,
they would not be able to see their
own hand.
This,
parable
is speaking about
the depths of the ocean.
If you go deep enough in the ocean,
now to go this deep,
you need equipment.
Right? You need equipment.
To go deep enough into the ocean where
the light from the surface
doesn't reach as deep as that. There's nothing
blocking the light except the water itself, but
because it's so deep,
you put your hand in front of you,
you won't be able to see your own
hand.
That exists.
But it's impossible even for you and I
to reach those depths
without, very expensive and sophisticated equipment. But the
Quran speaks about this so confidently
that there are layers of darkness in the
ocean. This is the example of the disbeliever.
And whosoever Allah does not make for them
a light,
they will have no light.
This is the example of the the disbeliever.
So Allah is the light of the heavens
and the earth. We have access to that
light. The disbelievers have no such access. Then
Allah asks us a question, now
this section from verse 41 and a few
verses that follow
mentions a beautiful theme of the Quran
that
anyone,
no matter what your level of education,
Islamic knowledge,
etcetera
is, anyone will be able to draw benefit
from reflecting on this particular theme. And that
is
reminding us of the favors of Allah
where Allah speaks about natural phenomenon,
beauty in creation.
And there's a lot that one can just
sit and ponder and reflect, and
the benefit of reflecting on this theme
is that you become closer to Allah on
your day to day. You drive around, you
see a bird flying in the sky. Because
you read a verse that speaks about it,
it reminds you of Allah. So this verse
reads,
do they not see that Allah
sings His praises, glorifies
His praises,
Everyone in the heavens, everyone on earth,
and the birds saw
the
wings spread out.
Each and every creature.
Each and every creature knows their form of
prayer, and they know their form of glorifying
Allah.
Every single creature, besides human beings
and jinn,
are constantly
in the praise
and vigor of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
So when we
voluntarily remember Allah,
we actually become in sync or synchronized
with the rest of Allah's creation,
And it's a beautiful synergy that takes place.
Now this doesn't mean that, you know, sometimes
you get a tree that makes, it looks
like it's making ruku,
or a bird that's maybe got something written,
or looks like something's written on the wing
of the bird, and it may be made
out to say Allah in Arabic or something
of this sort. This type of thing happens,
and Allah knows best how much you should
really focus on that as a sign.
Because the reality is you don't need the
tree to be bent like that in order
for the tree to be in the obedience
of Allah.
All trees,
all plants, all animals, all living beings
is in the remembrance of Allah
and Allah is well away of what they
all do. For
Allah
belongs the kingdom, the dominion of the heavens
and the earth.
And to Allah
is the ultimate
return.
This gives us an opportunity to remind ourselves
that even as our social etiquette has been
defined by laws
and by social customs and interactions and rules
and regulations,
as with the beginning of the Surah,
let us not
divorce
ourselves
from the natural world.
We must have some connection with nature, whether
that be in the form of gardening or
hiking or running or walking.
Just go out and be with the creation
of Allah.
And the reason why we are so at
peace when we are in the creation of
Allah is because we are around
the remembrance of Allah
Even though, as Allah says, even though you
don't know, you don't perceive
that they are in the remembrance of Allah,
but they are consistently in Allah's remembrance.
And it's essential
that even as we raise our children,
don't let them just be
so
engrossed in technology and screens that they never
get an opportunity to connect with Allah's creation.
It's essential for their upbringing, for their fitra
that we keep our families in contact with
with nature. Allah grant us the understanding.