Reflect on the Qur’an #07

Tila Rahim al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil aalameen or salat wa salam O Allah Shafi Lambie, even more saline. Muhammad Rasul Allah is Allah Allah highly highly he was savvy he was seldom at the Sleeman kathira kathira farmaajo.

My dear brothers and sisters Alhamdulillah we are in our class of reflect on the forum

it's a beautiful,

very bright, very sunny day

but the temperature is minus three

Celsius. So if you go out it's freezing cold. But when you look out when I look out my window here, I see this body of water which is a

which is a an inlet from

Long Island Sound.

In front of me, there is an osprey which is watering the sky.

Looking down to see if you can spot any fish there are two girls which are

once in a while they pick up a clam and they bring it to the side of the water onto some rocks and they smash it and eat the mollusk inside

there is a flock of Canada geese

which is

sitting on the other edge and

fire trying to find food I always you know think to myself and sometimes people ask whether there is any proof of aliens

I see that yes, there is evidence there is proof and I've seen them

they asked me what are those and I say birds and insects

birds and even more so insects are so completely different from mammals which is what we are

it's almost like

as if they are beings from another planet

Jeeva Allah subhanaw taala of course is the one who creates everything and

I can afford to say that only if I

have the audacity which of course I don't if I have the audacity to claim that we human beings are the normal and everything else must be defined in relation to us that would be an arrogant statement which of course I don't make but my point is that

you if you use that as a framework and say that if we meaning human beings or even mammals for that matter are the normal then birds and

insects and especially insects they're so completely and totally different. We've just been through the winter we're coming to the tail end of it and hopefully spring is around the corner

and we had during this winter

to twice we had snow storms with

a one time 18 inches of snow and other time while 12 inches of snow and of course we go further north into Canada and so on this looks like fun and games but it's severe enough the 18 inch this time we had 18 inches of snow we also were out of power for almost 10 days there was no electricity because everything all the

lot of electric poles and wires collapsed

because trees fell on them and then it took that much of time take took 10 days to restore power so being without heating without

without refrigeration not a problem because you can you go out and dig a hole in the snow and bury a pot of food in it and it's it's like being in the fridge because you have to find the pot the next day and then of course meanwhile you hope that the coyote or a bed and find it before you

but I mean I'm being a bit dramatic and so on but this these are these are realities for a lot of people I mean,

not necessarily for me, but they aren't these are realities for a lot of people and we had instances of bears coming into South Hadley and,

and Amherst and so on. So which is you know, which is I would say thickly populated in an American sense. I mean,

it wouldn't be a thickly populated in India.

But it's in America, these are already heavily populated places, but still.

And then not but still, but for that reason bears coming because they know that where there are humans that is garbage and where there's garbage is food, and especially if it's America, there's a lot of food, it goes gets thrown into the, into the garbage and

bears eat it.

Which is, of course, dangerous. And that's why if you are, if you live in these parts of the world where there are bears and ensure that your garbage is always covered and secured, meaning give it inside your garage until

the time for garbage collection, and then take it out to the street corner where the garbage truck can pick it up. But definitely do not leave garbage in garbage cans

outside overnight, because raccoons, bears, coyotes, all kinds of things get into it. And once they get habituated, it can become very dangerous, because as far as a bear is concerned, you know, you are also food. There's a saying, in here in North America and Canada, about the three different kinds of bears, you have black bears, you have brown bears, when which includes Of course, Grizzlies, and you have the polar bears, if you will for the North. So they say if you see if a black bear comes for you fight it off, right? I mean, do whatever you can take a steak or giggle you know, you can bite it but giggled, yell at your screams, rowstore, and whatever. So if a black bear

comes at you fight it off, because a black bear is attacking you a black bear sees you as food. And so it comes at you. And so fight it off. If a brown bear comes for you, just lie down and play dead.

Because brown bears don't include in Grizzlies, they will not, you know, attack you. Sometimes the brown bear will come at you because it is inquisitive, sometimes maybe just saw with her cubs, and she might see you as a threat. But if you just lie down and play dead or to run away, and then running is not a great idea will beg and catch you in no time at all and best climb tree. So it's not a great idea. But so don't lie down and you know, play that the grizzly will or the brown bear will just go away. So they say if it's a black bear fighting, if it's a brown bear LIDAR and play dead, and if it's a polar bear Good night, because polar bears are predatory and human beings are

they see them as prey? And

I mean, unless you have a heavy weapon, I mean, there's no way that you're going to get, you know, escape a polar bear attack if it does. So. Now, you might say, Well, what does all of this have to do with reflection?

And I say it has everything to do with this is one of the one of the problems of the way the Coronel Kareem has been presented to us as something which is also alien. Right? Something which has really nothing to do with our world when it's from somewhere else we have done has projected this onto us and our job is to read it memorize it and regurgitate it and repeat it without understanding and of course, we're living by it and practicing it in our lives the question doesn't arise. So this is our This is a very unfortunate way in which the Quran has traditionally been treated. The reason I'm saying all of this is because these all of what I said to you, and of course I can I can talk about

this endlessly. This was my passion. I love it. I love nature. I love wildlife, I love birds, I love mammals, reptiles, you name it, if Allah created it, I love it. And

I tried to learn about it. So I know dinos, I know a good bit about a few things.

Because these open our eyes to Allah subhanho data is creation. So all of the stuff that I mentioned to you the fact that it's a bright, what looks like a hot day, but it's very cold.

is hot, a lot of Allah subhanho that

the sun by itself has no power to heat or not.

Whether that sunlight is hot or not, depends on what Allah Subhana Allah has decreed for that time of year for that part of the world. Because exact same situation. If I take the time, obviously the time difference will be there. What if I say that now it's

what's the time here now? It's 12:35pm.

What was the temperature in Hyderabad at 12:35pm on Saturday, the

sixth of March. You can check that what was the temperature in California

What was the temperature in Texas? What was the temperature in again, river north, in Nova Scotia, or what was the temperature in, you know, in the the Arctic Circle, now the same sun, right, the same sun

is shining, but the temperature is hugely different. And you will find a difference of maybe 2030 degrees or more bit in the temperatures in between different points on the planet. So here's the temperature here, here, here, all up here is not the same, even though the sun is shining from the earth and more or less the distance of the sun to that point on Earth. As I'm saying more or less there is obviously there is some difference. But

really, it's not a marked difference, because it's all on the same planet. And this whole planet is like a grain of sand on the beach. So it's, you know, you're not that significant as we like to believe. So the point is that all of these are the signs of Allah subhanho wa Taala, which he draws our attention to, in many, in many places in the corner.

I want to read to you an incident once a very dear friend of mine invited me to,

to lunch. And then he said, as we were driving, he picked me up from our hotel. And as you were driving, I thought to his house, but we look like we went in different directions. I asked him wherever he went, he said, this is lunch. And

then as we went along further, we use a very kind person he sort of believed in

the death by 1000 cuts, he believed in being kind by telling me a little bit some bad news, one by one after the other. So then he says to me,

this is a gathering, we are going to a gathering together one gathering, I thought of you having lunch, he said, Yeah, we're having lunch. But you know, there's a gathering of

me a whole bunch of people, I want you to just talk to them. Give a short talk, before lunch.

So I said okay, there's there goes, You know, I am a firm believer in the adage, which says, There's no such thing as a free lunch. I've never had one. It's always except in the house of my friend as

well as Allah bless him and his wife and his family. Now, as somebody always says, no talk here, because here it is a free lunch. We married him for lunch. And that's what we were, well, a blessing. But always otherwise is a play. Yeah, please give a talk. So I pay for my lunch and the people who are sitting there pay for their lunch as well by having listened to me. So this very different mindset to me. Please give a talk. I said okay, so now I'm getting used to the fact that this is you know, a little bit of bad news, one by one.

And then he finally hits me as you're getting out of the car, he hits me with the

with a slam dunk.

And he says to me

these all these people are atheists.

So I said what he said there are atheists, who said, What talk Do you want me give them

so they're talking about quantum physics? I mean, I know a bit of that. He's an owner of Islam Islam.

So I did why am I talking to a bunch of atheists about Islam? I'm not interested.

They want to believe there is no God most welcome, please stay there.

Why must I spoil their lunch and my lunch?

He said, No, no, no, you see, these are all actually Muslims. And they are all members of our, of our clan, extended family. So I said this is a stranger in the street every day all Muslim, but they are atheists and they are members of a family what what kind of thing going on here? He said, You know, these already highly educated people. So they are Muslim as in born Muslim, but

many of them are all of them have somewhere, you know, lost their anchor, and we don't know. So, they are definitely not practicing Muslims and most of them or all of them are have

that they have that some anywhere between agnostic to to completely atheist.

Anyway, by then I was hungry enough. And I thought to myself, well, why must I is, you know, let me get over this as quickly as possible. So I began my talk by making a statement and my statement was, I said to them,

that I say to you that it is not necessary to have religion in order to live as a decent, responsible,

ethical, moral,

human being

so there was

absolute shock on the face of the people. Because then I was and I was wearing a turban, I was not wearing a hat I was wearing my usual ama.

So there was this, according to them a molvi with a turban and, you know, toe and mitula and stuff. And seeing that religion is not necessary. So they are the sort of, you know, their eyes opened up in the or woke up.

So, the one of them said, What do you mean, religion is not required for us to live

ethically and morally? So I asked him, I said, Tell me, where do you lie?

You tell lies. I mean, I didn't. I didn't link that with the, you know, atheism. And so I just I said, Did you do you believe that lying is okay. He said, of course. I said, Do you bribe? I said, No. I said, Do you take bribes? He said, No. I said, Do you cheat on your wife? He said, No. I said, Have you stolen anything ever? I mean, did you if you if I if you don't Well, how should I? What? Should I count the spoons?

He loved it. No, of course not.

I said, Well, I'm sure you haven't murdered anybody have you? He said, No, I'm not. So I said you are? Are you a practicing Muslim? Do you believe in God? He said, No. I said, you're an atheist. You said yes. So I said, You're living a responsible life. You are living ethical and moral life and you have no religion. So I'm right. I mean, why why do you? Why do you need religion?

So you look very happy. Now you look around at the people at the sea.

So he's about to do Nigeria.

So now again, they woke up. He said, Just now you said you don't need religion. Now you are saying you do need religion, this content?

Please. Playback your recordings. I said you do not leave. I said You do not need religion.

To live in this world.

As a ethical, moral,

responsible

human being right. I can't even add kind compassionate.

I said You do not need religion for that. Why do you need Hong Kong? Why do you need an order from Allah subhanaw taala to say don't lie, don't cheat. Don't bag by don't slander?

You know, don't be immoral.

Don't be

you know?

Whatever, right? I mean, don't don't murder don't.

Not you I said why do you need that? I mean, you don't you know, that is a sensible thing to do. Don't you know that Alhamdulillah if you live your life, like that, you will just have a decent life and you will you will, you will create a nice, decent, moral responsible society

says yes, that's that's what I said. I don't need religion for this. But you do need religion.

We do need the word of Allah.

This is why

I said I won't tell you.

Let Allah subhanho wa Taala tell you why.

And then

I decided for them sort of the number

and that's what I'm going to do for you. I will recite the surah and I will read the translation.

And forgive me if I make any mistakes. And then we will come to that.

So I said all the human are shaytani r rajim Bismillah R Rahman man Ibrahim.

Maya

follow on in by louhi a lady home v mo hotelli foon girl last.

Michael

moon

What did you buy out?

wahala on Komatsu.

Why john? No my robot Why'd you

leave?

Why john?

Nah wobei Naina

wah

wah wah

wah tema fed jaja Lino horae jivi hub bone

why Jen? Tina.

So I said to them, let Allah tell you why we need religion. And I said, I'm not running

homemade lasagna. What are they asking each other about?

And this is, a lot of anodyne is asking this as a rhetorical question because Allah knows what they're asking what Samuel was here, he is the one who sees He is the one who knows. He's the one who's on a movie that is pseudo. He knows what's in the hearts. But he's asking a rhetorical question.

Then I say what is all this noise? What is this

questioning of each other about the great news? And that news is the coming of Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam with Islam and with the Quran,

one of the great news which brought and the Day of Resurrection,

about which they are in disagreement,

why do we need religion?

Because we do not know what will happen after we die.

We may conjecture we may philosophize,

we may have theories,

but with absolute certainty,

nobody can say what happens after we die, except a lie, you lie the lie

except the one who does not die.

And this is he talking

this called an iscala Mullah. It is his speech. It is his word.

And he's saying what are they arguing about?

What are they disagreed about?

And then Allah said, Can you

know, they will come to know Nay, they will come to know

alleged taking an oath by saying nay surely they will come to know me again they will come to know

colors Ayana, Muna sama colors.

And then Allah subhanho wa Taala describes his scenes and the science.

I began my lecture today with that

description of the creation of a lot

of animals or birds of the scene that I'm seeing a water of the sun, the temperatures.

And this was one identity. Allah said, Have we not? alumna jolly lava mahad Have We not the Have you not made the earth as a bed,

something will lie on something we stand on something we use as a support for us for everything we do, and the mountains as pegs.

Today, we don't like to talk about the geology of the estacio Mountains, which begs the tectonic plates in place, so that there are no earthquakes.

So as Rhonda says, Have We not made the earth as a bed in the mountains as bags and have we and we have created you in pairs, male and female

bahala na kumars word. And we have made your sleep as a thing of rest and and have made the day for livelihood for you to go work and earn a livelihood. And we have built above you seven strong heavens

and have made that in a shining lamp, the sun. And I've sent down from the rainy clouds from rain clouds, abundant water

that we may produce there with corn and vegetation

and gardens of thick growth very early the day of decision.

We come to that to the garden of tea grow. This is where I just stopped there because this and then now think about this Allah subhanho wa Taala describe for us all the things that we can see. And of course it's not restricted to this. Allah is inviting us to look at his creation that we have around us all that we can see all that we can feel with our senses all that we can research and look at and get into the depths of thanks to the knowledge that others rantala gave us and thanks to the tools that Allah subhanaw taala gave us the knowledge to invent microscopes and our telescopes and everything in between. Allah is inviting us to look at the creation using all of these things. So

that we

We can

truly appreciate his glory, and his magnificence. And having seen all that, now, when you see all of this, you know, I know that you didn't create this, and I didn't create this, you know, I know that this thing affects us, every single one of them, affects us if we come into the purview of its influence, if I walk out of this room, I will be affected by the cold, which is out there.

The birds which are swimming on that water and diving in that water, I are protected by Allah subhanho wa Taala, by the way, he created them. But if I dive into that water now, then it's unlikely that I will come out of that alive because our water is so cold.

More than likely, I will die of hypothermia. Unless you know we do. We do various things to save my life. But the bird is doing that all the time the word is doing that in a way even when it's part of it is frozen. And there is an ice sheet on that water. Allah is inviting us to look all around, and to convince ourselves that I did not create all this, this didn't has dropped from the heavens, that tree didn't drop from the heaven and get planted there. The seed just didn't drop there and God and if you say well, you know I know how that happens, the bird eats the fruit and the the seed comes out in the excreta and then the seed grows, but not every single seed that goes into the bird comes

out as a tree.

So unless there is a convinced yourself, look around yourself and understand that there is a creator for all of this, and then Allah subhanaw taala, having drawn our attention first, to all that we can see and feel and know with our physical senses, and our intellect now takes us into a place which is the unperceivable unripe please do not translate otherwise unseen.

What is behind my back is unseen.

But it's not available.

I was able the unperceivable it is what is not possible to perceive right now. And for ever. There is no way that we are ever going to be able to perceive our tribe. If we want to know what is right. We have to listen to what Allah subhanho wa Taala told us, and we have to listen to what is heavy when is NaVi and is also imovel mousseline c'est la mia lumea Muhammad Rasulullah sallallahu Sallam told us

there is no other way. You want to keep Allah and His soul out of the equation you will never know what is as simple as that.

And the reason I'm saying that is because it is the qualification the qualification what is not perceivable today and will never be perceivable I'm saying that that is a qualification news because when the Quran was revealed

all the IR today, which we like to quote in our programs and our our lectures, as I add pointing to the ISO stacee of mountains is pointing to embryology, the development of the fetus is point pointing to astronomical science and so on. All of these were within boards unseen, but they were never arrived

the development of the embryo was visible only after the development of the microscope.

So what am I going to say the island I became the came into the Alma Shahada No, it was never okay. It was unseen unperceivable at that time.

So today, sometimes people ask this question they say, you know, for example, the Quran mentions the wall that dogs are brain built, I enjoy to have

when people say well, you know, how can it be possible?

How can that be possible? Now, that is a very stupid question to ask. And it's also a 17 is a very arrogant question to ask. Because when you say how can that be possible? Go back to when the Quran was revealed. When Allah subhanaw taala talked or embryology did the cyber say how can that be possible?

Because they did not know how it was possible.

They did not know how it was possible, but they did not say how can it be possible. But today, I just give you one example as the wall. People like to say these things about about different things.

If you will take that one Alucard. And let's take that example and say what if you say well, how can that be possible? You know why that is a stupid statement and an arrogant statement? No, Mangia hula

I've used this term to describe you as human beings stupid and and zalim an oppressor and oppressed, meaning arrogant and stupid. You know why that is because you are trying to define something within the purview of the boundaries of your knowledge today.

Now, that is very much like for example, if I take my mobile phone

into

a village, in my country in India,

right into a village in Telangana, which is some of my very dear friends are goans, who live in an Adela district. And secondly, if I give a decade and and show this phone to Syria, for example.

Or if you take this guy this phone into, you know, in Malaysia into a compound,

and then you say to this person, look, I want his phone here. And with this thing, imagine that this person is somebody who's never seen a mobile phone, right. And it's difficult nowadays in this world because of the penetration of, of mobile devices. But just for the, for the example. Think about that. You take this one in there, and you show this one to the person and say, Well, you know what, I am going to talk to my friend,

just Mr. Visa, who lives in California.

And when I call him, Mr. Mirza is in his

in his Tesla, and he's on the highway. And he's doing 90 miles an hour, of course, it should not be doing 90 miles an hour. But you know, let's not go into that. So he's doing 90 miles an hour, which means that his position is changing from point to point second by second. But I am sitting now in India in you know, the boondocks in the middle of the forest, talking to my friend just I'm over in California on the highway in his Tesla, but I don't lose connection. Sound is absolutely clear, even though he's moving and I can communicate this more as I can talk to him while I'm in my car. So I'm also moving he's also moving.

What is this villager going to say?

If the villager used the logic of the people who say how is it possible for Luca night to build that wall? The villager will say how is it possible this cannot happen?

Sorry, I don't believe you are lying.

And why is the villager saying it's not possible because the villager is choosing to divine my technology, my experience

with it within the framework and boundary of his knowledge, which obviously is much less

so this villager now saying, Well, you know not possible Why? Because I don't understand it. Because I don't want to I do not buy knowledge is only this much.

But think about this something more, which is

that if I told you and obviously anyone who's listening to this podcast has that that much of knowledge, if I told you this, you will find it completely unsurprising you would say well, why do I do mention this? I mean, this is we all know this.

And if I ask you do believe it, you see of course I believe it.

Then if I ask you a question and say do you know exactly how that happens? Do you understand the technology of mobile communication of satellite communication, satellite based communication?

Do you like it? Do you understand that exactly how this happens? I can bet you

that more than likely

not one single one of us understands the actual mechanics of that technology yet we believe.

Why?

Because we trust the word of the technologists.

Even though we don't understand it, even though we do not understand it.

We trust the word of the technologist.

I said you have some shame.

Do you trust the word of Allah subhanho wa Taala

when he said that jewel kernighan built that wall. Do you believe the word of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa sahbihi wa sallam, when you when he told us how that happened and what happened?

And how you add us and modules are behind this wall. Do you trust the word?

It is as simple as that.

There's no intellectual gimmickry in this.

Do you trust the word of Rasulullah sallallahu allusion, do you trust the word of Allah subhana wa

dolla dolla dolla Lu

and that's why by further reminder are not asking stupid questions and I call it a stupid question

because it's a question that you and I cannot possibly answer nobody can answer the question because the answer to that question is can come only from Allah Serrano's Allah and Allah is not talking to you and me anymore. He stopped talking to us after us well as a result I've left his word.

So if you ask this question I asked this question, what is the hope of that question being answered zero.

So what to do?

What to do is our own apisa about the court and about the motor shabby had about the things that Allah has mentioned, which we have no way of answering and what do we say we just ran out? We say we hear many of and we obey, we hear and we believe whatever Allah told us, that is how it is. The fact that I don't understand it doesn't matter, I still believe it.

Now, this is not blind faith. This is Faith in the speaker.

Just like we have faith in the speaker with regard to mobile phone technology, mobile communication technology, we have faith in the speaker, we have spare faith in the speaker. When we go to the doctor and he diagnosis something with us. He tells us that we have this disease or he tells us we do not have anything, we are fine. We believe the speaker, even though we do not understand the knowledge that he speaks from.

And that's why my question to myself and you is do you believe Allah? Do you believe a solar cell? So the question is not about Zuckerman's wall, the question is about your email.

So let's reflect

and ask ourselves Do I have email rod because on the Day of Judgment, you will meet Allah subhana wa jal.

And what is the answer one lesson How come you didn't believe when I told you there was a word?

To believe in the Koran reflecting on the Quran is to reflect on the heart of the column of Allah subhanho wa Taala. Huck as in truthfulness, and Huck as it's right.

It is the right of the Quran that we believe it, as it was revealed, that avete which we understand and that of it, which we do not understand, we believe both

with equal certainty

because Allah subhanaw taala told us Our daleel is that it is the Kalam of Allah.

We do not need any more value after that.

I don't need the physics of it or the mathematics of it or the chemistry of it to believe the fact that my rump spoke is sufficient for me Alhamdulillah

right.

We go to the rest of the surah in the next class inshallah, but I'm just saying here, think about this. Allah subhanho wa Taala told us look around you in the vehicle, please

give us the leveleleven

Let's look around you in verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth and they are on the alternation of the day and the night.

organism alternation of the night and the day there is there are signs for people of intelligence or only Alba people are understanding.

You look around you.

Look for those signs

and glorify Allah subhanho wa rahmatullah wa rahmatullah al hamdu

lillahi wa jika as he was photonic

praise Allah subhanho wa Taala. And thank Allah subhanho wa Taala. He gave us this beautiful religion

where he's spoke to us. Respect the column, love the column.

glorify Allah subhanho wa Taala with that column

thank Allah subhanho wa Taala that he that he gave not in not only did he give us the color, but he gave us the man to accept this column as his Gala.

There are a lot of people out there who are studying the Quran, but they are not Muslim.

They take the trouble to learn Arabic we don't even learn Arabic.

But not hamdulillah by all means, please do learn Arabic but my point is that whether or not you learn Arabic as long as you believe in Allah subhanho wa Taala as long as you believe in Islam

As long as you believe that this is true, and as long as you try your best to live by it in sha Allah, we can look forward to the forgiveness of Allah subhanho wa Taala and we can look forward to his mercy on the day we meet him wasana will carry while Allah He was a member of the gamma Haman was Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato.