Maryam Amir – The Quran as Your Safe Space
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Allah
tells us, walila Hill, Asmaa,
Allah, to Allah belongs the most beautiful names. So call upon him
by those names. Why was this ayah revealed? It was because the
pagans in Mecca were hearing the Muslims called to Allah, sometimes
by the name Allah, and sometimes by the name a Rahman, and other
times by the name Al Qadir. And so they said he the Prophet, saw
someone is telling us that we can worship all of these idols, and
yet they're worshiping, worshiping all of these gods. And so Allah
revealed this ayah that Allah, subhanho wa Taala is one, but he
has all of these beautiful names, and to Him belong to all of these
names. So call upon him by them. As we're closing upon Ramadan,
some of us have tried to connect with the Quran, and some of us
have tried to feel that spiritual connection with his words. And
many of us have tried to finish it, but we've fallen short, and we
haven't necessarily felt connected. And maybe we feel like
that's a reflection of the state of our Amen. And we take from this
ayah that the Quran, in it, is a way for us to know who Allah is.
The Quran is our safe space. And today, Inshallah, we're going to
close by talking about how to make the Quran our Safe Space coming
out of Ramadan. So the Quran talks about the names of Allah's panel
to Allah, three of which we're going to take quickly inshallah.
The first one is Allah, please. Allah says, in Surah, Yusuf.
Yusuf. Alaihi salam says, In Arab, be in rabbi in a place. Who is
Latif?
Latif
is the one in the definition who knows your inner most secrets. He
knows your secrets. He knows the things that you struggle with. But
the secondary meaning to that is the one who, because he knows your
struggles and because he knows your hardships, he's protective
over you,
and he is Abu rathib. You've probably heard many times
something to the effect of Allah is watching you, and that's often
connotated in this very kind of scary way, like, Don't commit
sins, because Allah can see you. But Iran, who may Allah have mercy
on his soul, we believe, was here writing words that inspire us.
Until today, he explains the somebody who watches over
something that they love in a protective way. So who is Lal
please? Who is Al lalif and Al RAQ? He is the one who knows the
struggles that you're going through, the mistakes that you
constantly make, and so he's protective over you, and he's
watching over you. And he is also a Shakur, the one who is
constantly grateful for everything that you do. And Imam Ashoka and
irahi Mullah, he explains that a Shakur is the one who is grateful
for everything that you do, and because of your gratitude, he
increases that in what you're grateful for. So when you say
Alhamdulillah, but Allah bless me with coming to mashallah Aqsa, he
brings you back to national AQ inshaAllah because you're grateful
for it, Alhamdulillah for the one who inshaAllah allowed me to
witness Layla. Inshallah, He will bless you again with witnessing
Laylatul Qadr, because of your gratitude for every time you're
grateful, he increases you in what to be grateful for.
So we know that Allah is also a Shakur, and these are just three
of so many of Allah's names in which he calls to us to call upon
him by
but when we're going through something that we sometimes feel
shatters us, when we feel broken because of or maybe we feel
apathetic and we wish we felt something, but we feel nothing. Or
maybe we're just super happy in all of the different circumstances
in our lives, whatever we're going through. How do we take those
names? How do we go to the Quran and have that connection, despite
the fact that maybe the messaging we're receiving from the community
is that the reason you're going through hardship is because of the
fact that you are not pious enough. I can't tell you how many
people have spoken to me about going through depression or going
through extreme difficulties in trials, and the messages that
they're often told is, well, you just need to pray more. Well, if
you read my Quran, you wouldn't be going through that. One of my
friends got into a car accident, and the first thing her mom said
was, well, you don't read the Quran, and that's why.
But we look again in Surah, Yusuf, Yusuf alaihi salam, who was from
Philistine, the land that we are in. Yusuf alaihi salam in the in
his story.
Morning, we hear about his father, Yaqub, alaihi salam, so yaqob, we
know that he cried over Yusuf alaihi salam for decades. For
decades, he cried over Yusuf alaihi salam, and when his sons
were like, are you still crying over Yusuf? He said in school that
the wahozni ilo I only cry the saddest to Allah, and I know from
Allah, which you don't know. So yeah, go by lay his Salam. He
didn't cry for a couple of days. And he was like, I have real
blood. Allah's mentalities decree, he has real and Allah's decree,
he's can tell us Allah's decree, because he knows that Allah knows
what is best. But as a human being, as a father, he was
shattered, and he cried for decades, one narration, 40 years
of crying, 40 years of sadness. And we're not going to tell ya
salam that his Iman isn't strong enough. His Iman is stronger than
all of us on earth combined. But Yaqoob alayhi salam shows us that
it's okay to show this very real emotion with Allah, and that
sometimes it's okay even when you're struggling with what Allah
has decreed to cry to him about that. And at the same time, what
does the Quran tells us for how we need to work through healing,
through our difficulties? Does anyone know what tool the Quran
teaches us to use?
Shukr? Definitely.
What's another one?
Patience? Yes,
prayer, therapy. Therapy is what's what I'm saying
for, and this is because Allah SWT tells us this we spoke about the
other day in the in the class we had a Quran
Allah says about
asking questions if you don't know,
victory in quantum ask those who know if you don't know, and those
who know are people who are qualified to know, like
therapists. So if you're going through something, many people
tell me, I feel like I can't talk to a therapist because I feel like
I'm not really going through the test that way. Allah put tools in
your toolbox for a reason. You're going through the test. But seek
therapy too. And we see from the Prophet sallay Salam that he
sought comfort in Khadija radila, that he asked advice from um
Salama, radiAllahu anha. So we recognize that seeking the tools
is an important process when we're going through hardship, but also
in the space of going through hardship, we go back to the Quran
and use it as a means of helping us feel safe. Some of the scholars
talk about what to think about when you're reading the Quran.
They say, think when you're reading the Quran that Allah loves
you, that he hears you, that he sees you, that he speaks highly of
you
and that He rewards you. This is the definition of a friend who is
validating what you're going through, who says, I see you and I
see what you're going through what says, I will listen to what you're
going through. I'm going to say you're trying your best. You're
trying your best. I'm going to praise you, Allah, when he praises
you, he praises you to the angels. He spreads that praise amongst the
earth that he praises you and that he loves you. Because of it, when
you go to the Quran,
and how do we practically apply making the Quran a safe space for
us, hasn't irahima Allah, he said, Oh, you people who are reading the
Quran, you read from the beginning to the end. They say, I've read
every single letter. But look at their actions. That doesn't
reflect the Quran in any way. So when we look at how to actually
apply the Quran, there's two very important parts. The first one is
reading it in a language that we understand. So reading the Quran
in a language that you understand, I know sometimes, unfortunately,
the messages that were given is that we have to read the Quran in
Arabic. And of course, Abu hurao Ano explains that if you read the
Quran in your home that shayate leave, they run from the home in
which the Quran is recited, and the angels come in are present in
the home in which the Quran was recited. So the Arabic, of course,
is so blessed and it's so important. And at the same time,
the Quran was revealed in Arabic to Arabs, it wasn't revealed in
Japanese to Arabs. There's a reason, because it's supposed to
transform our hearts. So when we look at what our understanding of
the Quran is, how many of you really, I'm asking you, like,
raise your hands and tell me when you read the Quran in Ramadan. How
many are you trying to how many of you are trying to read at least
half of it, or maybe all of it? Raise your hands really high.
Okay, look around. That's most people. Okay. Put your hands down
now.
How many of you understand what you're reading when you're reading
it in Ramadan? Raise your hands again.
So like not even 10 people, how many of you intentionally read the
translation in Ramadan so you can understand?
Okay, that's a few more hands, but the majority of us read the Quran
in Arabic in Ramadan, which is wonderful. May Allah reward you
for that. But the Quran is supposed to touch us. It's
supposed to heal us and transform us. And while that can definitely
be done in the Arabic, because the Quran is as she sat at the same
time, it's so important for us to understand what we're reading. So
let me give you an example from the Companions from the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and from those who came after the
companions. What did it look like for them to use the Quran as a
safe space? The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, he was reported
to recite over and over and over again
in into a viable home for in
my Bedok into a viable home for in
Bedok into a
viable in my Bedok. If you punish them, then they are your slaves.
And if you forgive them, then you are the mighty and you are the
wise. Allah's panel to Allah is to alayhi salam is talking to Allah
about the people who worshiped Isa. And Allah swt is asking him
about their worship, like, did you tell people to worship you? And
Allah is talking back to Allah, and he's saying, If you punish
them, you are able to punish them, and if you forgive them, then
you're the most worthy of the one to the most worthy of forgive or
forgiving them. The Prophet saw them, was reciting this ayah over
and over and over, the beginning of this ayah, over and over about
the punishment. He was weeping and so emotionally
hurt by this verse. Hurt is, I'm not the wrong the wrong is the
wrong word. But emotionally affected by this ayah, because the
Prophet SAW Islam, look at who he's talking to. He's talking to
us, he's telling the Quran to us. And so imagine what that must be
like, that the responsibility on the forms of the Prophet.
Similarly, you and me, when we struggle with ourselves or with
our loved ones. So many of you have spoken to me, and I know this
pain of someone that you love so much and you want so much the best
for them, and yet they don't see it necessarily. And it's so hard
to experience that, especially when it's someone you love so so
so much. Some of you are converts, and that's very, very tough to not
know what's going on with your family and their Amen. Some of you
see that your your family never, ever prays, and you're worried
about that, or maybe do other things, and that's concerning. And
so you go like the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and
you recognize like that responsibility is such a burden
and it's such a pain. But then what did the Prophet sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam do with that? He was merciful to people. He was
soft with people. He showed people dawah, through his actions of good
character, he made people want to love him, sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam, because of who he was. So you take that from the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, when you're struggling with someone
that you love, yes, you connect with this ayah like the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, known for the only one who can forgive
and the only one who punishes. It's all the only one for whom
there he could choose whether or not to punish. It goes to Allah,
but your responsibility in that is like the Prophet salallahu alayhi
wa sallam, praying for the people that you love, being merciful with
the people that you love, and constantly showing them through
your character what a connection to Allah looks like. Saeed Ibn
jubeel Will the Allahu an he would recite over and over and over,
what took oh yo man to jehonafi, ila Allah,
what took away Allah,
what
takuyo men, so conscious of that day that you're going to return
back to Allah subhanahu wa. He would take that one ayah, and he
would recite it over and over and over and over. And that recitation
over and over, when you focus on that one verse, it starts to
impact your heart, and it starts to make you think about the fact
that this life is short, so the problems that I'm going through,
they are hard, and I can recognize that. I can say Alhamdulillah for
the difficulties that I go through, but I can weep about
them. I can say Alhamdulillah for the tests that I go through
without needing to say yes. Other people are tested so much more.
Yes they are, and we recognize it, and we pray for them. But that
doesn't end.
Validate the pain that you are going through too. So you say
that, and you recognize, like Saeed radila one, but that
hereafter, that's where we're gonna go. And the real the real
God, the real fear, the real good consciousness, that fear, I don't
feel like using that word for taqwa, but this awareness of
Allah, that you are afraid of him, not because you're afraid of him.
Subhanallah to Allah, you're afraid because you're afraid of
gaining his displeasure, because you love him so much. How do we
inculcate that? And the hardships that we go through are a journey
to help us develop that relationship with Allah at times
that sometimes have you ever in the midst of the most difficult
time of your life made a dua that you still remember today, in which
you tasted a sweetness that you've never tasted before. Has that ever
happened to you? Yeah, some of you are nodding that sweetness in the
moment of that trial. You don't ask for trials. We never ask for
hardship. We never want to be tested. Wait no, let bless us with
riding the wave of Mercy forever and mean,
may Allah still bless us with being with the people who we love,
the types of tests that they went through. We never want, but we ask
Allah that we love them so much. Oh, Allah, let us be blessed with
being with them, even if we didn't experience what they thought, what
they've gone through. But the point is that we want Allah's
love. We want to love him, and because of that, we run out of
we're afraid of getting his displeasure, because we want so
much to be the people that he
loves. Asmaa radiah Ho I know the daughter of Abu Bakr all the
Allahu, and she would recite over and over and over upon either the
SAMU, to
take a moment and think about the person that you love the most in
the entire world. Maybe this person has already passed away.
May Allah bless them and have mercy on them. Maybe this person
is with you right now in this life at some place, may Allah SWT
protect them.
And maybe you don't have a person that you love more than anyone,
and may Allah SWT bless you anyway. But if you do have
somebody, I want you to put them in your mind for a second, and I
want you to close your eyes
so imagine that you are in Paradise, and
in front of you is a river,
and it's made out of honey. And you're like, so PA, don't know
that's a river, honey. I've got to be in paradise.
And you look around and you see mansions made of pearls. You see a
flower that's bigger than the biggest hotel you've ever stayed
in, and you're like, subhanAllah, that's a flower. You're just in
awe looking around at everything that you see around you.
And as you're looking around, you're saying, subhanAllah, I
can't believe I'm here. All of a sudden, somebody comes from behind
you, and they put their hands on your eyes,
and you touch their hands,
and you're like, I know these hands.
And then you remove those hands from your eyes, and you turn
around,
and it's the face of the person who you love more than anyone.
It's the face of the person who you have been missing in the
grave, who you've missed through the Day of Judgment,
who maybe they've passed away wrong before you didn't miss them
every single day of your life, and there they are with you in
Chennai,
and you turn around,
this is the moment that we've been begging Allah for our entire
lives. Allah honored us, and He blessed us, and when you read Ayat
like Asmaa radiAllahu anha did.
Allah gave
this huge blessing to us. He honored us, and He protected us
from the punishment. He protected us from the terrible punishment
Asmaa Radi Allahu Aj is reciting it over and over and over, when
you find a verse in the Quran, live it that's taking the Quran as
a safe space. Then when you lose somebody that you love, then when
you feel like you can't connect with the person that you love, and
you're so concerned when you recite an eye you imagine what
kind of afuel you want with that person. Excuse me, please say
still. Panola like 500
times. Say it now, subhanAllah,
so sorry.
Okay.
And finally.
The last ayah that we're going to take
is Hassan Al bahima Allah. He would say over and over until Fajr
would come
in, wainsu Ha.
Wainsu Ha, if you tried to count the blessings of Allah, you would
never, ever be able to count them. There's no way we can count the
amount of blessings of Allah. Please forgive me for my voice.
I'm so sorry. So hard to reset Quran like
this. Has a Rahima Allah, He said every single time he recites the
ayah, he finds that in his life is more blessings. The more he
recited that ayah, the more blessings he found.
So when you're looking for those blessings in your life, when
you're trying to find a particular job, when you're trying and
struggling in marriage or trying to get married or with kids or
with risk, or with family, or with Islamophobia, whatever you're
going through, the Quran is your safe space. These ayats have a
direct impact on the way that you live your life,
and that is why somebody that I know told me about someone that
they know, this person got into a major car accident,
and Subhanallah, they were paralyzed from the waist down,
may Allah bless them and protect everybody. That is
a massive trial.
When the doctor went in to give the news, the doctor was a Muslim,
the person that told me destroying you, the doctor
and the person who had been in the accident was given the news that
they were paralyzed when we stopped.
The doctor was so concerned about what kind of reaction this person
was going to have, because this person was somebody who would
constantly be in the masjid, constantly organizing events,
constantly volunteering. They were constantly, constantly out and
working for the sake of Allah. Their whole life was worship and
activism.
When he was given the news that he was no longer going to be able to
walk, his reaction was, Alhamdulillah,
we finally have time to focus on the Quran.
Having that type of outlook that no matter what you're going
through, you're never alone
and you're never unloved,
you're always heard, you're always seen, and Allah praises you,
because when you try to connect with even one ayah of the Quran,
and you think about it, and you reflect on it, and then you see
the way it impacts your actions, even in the
most difficult of our times, we understand why you must Salam in
the belly of a whale was able to call out
and all
praises to
You in Me, conto Mina poll, mean I was of the wrongdoers. And that
doesn't mean that you're going through hardship because of a sin
you've committed. The prophets. Alayhi wa salam, they went through
hardships that none of us, none of us,
none of us, are at the level of piety of the prophets. And yet
they went through the types of hardships we go through, and so
much more.
But no matter what they went through, they connected back to
Allah, and that's how they got through them, and that's why in
the Quran, their stories are there for us over and over and over
again. Make the Quran your safe space coming out of Ramadan. Find
a particular amount of verses you're going to read every single
day. Maybe it's two verses in translation with two verses in
Arabic. Maybe it's one page, whatever it's going to be for you
every single day. And think about those verses in the way that they
apply to your life and Inshallah, by the next Ramadan, may Allah
bless you with being in Aqsa or Mecca or Medina, Inshallah,
wherever you are Inshallah, you hopefully will reflect back and
think about how in that entire year, your life has transformed,
because the Quran isn't just a book for us to read so quickly,
but rather a book to cure us and to mend our hearts back together
after they've shown May Allah make us of the people of the Quran who
love Him and who he calls his people.
Modification as.