Mohammad Badawy – Youth Against All Odds – Lessons from Surah Kahf
AI: Summary ©
The transcript discusses the historical significance of Surah Al-Kahf, the author of the Bible and his connection to the world. It highlights his actions and story, and touches on the use of AI and how technology is changing people's lives. The speakers emphasize the importance of protecting one's faith, investing in their health, and making small changes to their lives. They also give advice on making small things small and encourage people to take action. The importance of early youth is emphasized, and the recap of Surah Al-Kahf is given.
AI: Summary ©
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.
Bismillah wa alhamdulillah wa salatu wa salamu ala
rasool Allah.
Allahumma salli ala Muhammadin wa ala aali Muhammad
kama salayta ala Ibrahim wa ala aali Ibrahim
naka hamidun majeed.
Allahumma baraka ala Muhammadin wa ala aali Muhammad
kama barakta ala Ibrahim wa ala aali Ibrahim
naka hamidun majeed.
Rabbi shahli sadri wa yasirli amri wa ahlul
aqdatan min al isani yafqa wa qawli.
We begin in the name of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, the Exalted, the Sublime.
The king of kings and the creator of
all things, the most merciful and the one
who bestows all mercy.
And we ask him to send his timeless
choices, most abundant peace, blessings and mercy upon
our dear beloved Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam and his wives and his family members
and his companions and all those who follow
their example till the day of judgment praying
that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala includes us
in their legacy.
Allahumma ameen.
So it is from the sunnah of our
Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has said in
the hadith to recite surat al kahf weekly
as many of the scholars said between one
Friday to the next.
In the hadith he said sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam that whoever does that, it will be
a source of light for them meaning guidance,
forgiveness, blessing, mercy throughout the whole week.
And as many have said that it's to
be recited on Friday but it could actually
be recited throughout the whole week.
So this surah is so important, the lessons
in it are so pertinent that we should
be reciting it weekly.
We should be going through this entire surah
weekly.
And I want to just gleam some lessons
from the first story, the main story that
the surah is named after, the people, it's
called surat al kahf, the story of, what's
a kahf?
What is a kahf?
It's a cave, right?
It's a cave.
So it's the people of the cave, ashab
al kahf are the people of the cave.
So we're just gonna gleam the story a
little bit and see why Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, some of the reasons why Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala want us to go
over this story so frequently.
And as many of you may already know
the story is about a group of young
men who are tried in their faith and
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala makes their story
a sign, an ayah, a miracle for people
to remember him, to recognize him for all
of history in eternal life in the Quran.
Why was the surah revealed?
Anyone know?
Why was the surah revealed?
A lot of times the Quran is revealed,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reveals a new
ruling or a new surah to his Prophet
shallallahu alayhi wa sallam spontaneously, meaning it just
comes down and he says shallallahu alayhi wa
sallam to the believers, to the sahaba, here's
a new revelation.
And a lot of times it's prompted in
response to people's questions or an event that
happened.
So Allah sends the ayat as a response
to clarify some confusion.
So why was this surah revealed?
What about Quraysh?
So they go to the Jews of Medina
and they tell them, you are people of
revelation, you believe in prophets and angels, they
didn't really have those beliefs in Mecca, the
polytheists of Quraysh, they didn't really believe in
prophets.
They saw Ibrahim a.s. as some ancient
patriarch, they had some twisted beliefs about angels,
but it's nothing like this revelation.
This revelation came similar to what the Jews
and Christians believed, what they had in their
revelations and in fact the same prophets and
some of the same stories.
So they go to the Jews of Medina
and they tell them, you believe in the
same paradigm of prophets and revelation, give us
questions that will prove that he's not a
prophet.
How do we stump him?
And this is one of the first lessons
that we stop at.
People who ask questions to stump, people who
look for questions to pick holes, they don't
get guided.
They don't benefit from the answers even if
the answers are correct.
Because the very intention is faulty in the
beginning.
Just like Allah s.w.t says in
surah an-Naba' What are they asking about?
The greatest news, the news of this revelation,
the day of judgment.
But they're not asking to benefit.
Just like when some of the people asked
him, when is this day of judgment?
When is Allah going to bring the punishment?
They weren't asking to benefit and so when
the answer came, it made no difference for
them.
They didn't increase in guidance.
And this is one of the central themes
of the entire surah and even specifically the
story of Ashab al-Kahf that we're going
to get into.
So they tell them, the Jews tell Quraysh,
ask him about the soul.
Ask him about the people of the cave.
How many were they?
These are the questions that they ask.
How many were they?
How many people were in that story?
And how long did they sleep for?
And then ask him about Dhul-Qarnayn and
a few other things, the stories of surah
al-Kahf.
So they go to the Prophet s.w
.t and he tells them, I will answer
you tomorrow, s.w.t. The next day
comes, no revelation.
Allah doesn't reveal anything.
So they feel proud.
They say, I thought you said the answer
is coming tomorrow.
What happened?
And the Prophet s.w.t himself and
the Muslims, they don't doubt, but then they
just wonder.
And Allah s.w.t responds to this
at the end of the story, don't say
for anything, وَلَا تَقُولَ لَنَّ شَيْءٍ إِنِّي فَعَلْنُوا
ذَلِكَ غَدَىٰ إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ Don't say
about anything that's gonna happen tomorrow, except you
say as Allah wills.
Even you, O Muhammad s.w.t, even
you believers, don't forget to make everything contingent
upon the will of Allah s.w.t.
It's an important lesson here in the beginning
of the story.
And then Allah s.w.t reveals multiple
stories, not just answering how many were they,
or how long did they spend in the
cave, but teaching us the more important lessons
about this entire story.
So a summary of the story is, these
were a handful of youth, young men, that
they lived in a city, in some time
between the Prophet Muhammad s.w.t and
the previous prophets, some say between him and
Isa a.s., in those five centuries or
six centuries between him and Isa a.s.
And their people had initially believed in revelation,
but had strayed from the path.
They had some corruption in their beliefs, and
had deteriorated to the point where, out of
many things, they no longer believed in the
resurrection.
We're never gonna be resurrected.
There's no proof for it.
Doesn't make any sense.
Nothing comes back from the dead.
So there will be no resurrection.
And as some scholars mentioned, they also had
some aspects of idolatry, where they'd worship idols.
So these young men were the sons of
noblemen, elites of the society, who would be
some of the main propagators of this idol
worship, and the government or the religion that
the people had.
So their fathers were big players.
Their fathers were community members who were key
players in this.
But despite that, they themselves denounced this belief
on their own.
And that's not abnormal.
That's the fitrah, the innate disposition that every
human being has to recognize the truth and
to abide by it.
And the more good that a person does,
the more recognition of revelation that they have,
and abiding by it, the more that it
proliferates and grows and becomes more fertile and
more productive.
And the more that they bury it, they
meet the truth and ignore it, they say
later, not now, they suppress it, the weaker
it gets.
The weaker their ability to recognize the truth
and follow it.
But their fitrah was sound.
And Allah ﷻ guided them, where each of
them on their own said, this isn't the
right way of life.
And so they abandoned this way of life,
and they just kind of did their own
thing.
And one day, there is a huge festival,
where they're honoring these idols, worshiping them, venerating
them in some shape or form.
And each of these young men make an
excuse to not join.
And they go off on their own, outside
of the town, leaving all of these festivities
and these ceremonies.
And one by one, they discover each other.
Why aren't you there?
Why aren't you there?
Two of them come together, then three, then
it becomes the six or the seven of
them as we'll get to, their actual number.
And when they get together, they realize that
they all have come to the same conclusion.
And this is not a coincidence.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, he told us, إِنَّ
الْأَرْوَاحَ جُنُودٌ مُجَنَّدًا The souls are like conscripted
soldiers.
You know soldiers, when they get into a
conscription, they say, you hundred, you're brothers.
You ride or die together.
That person next to you, in these hundred
or this two hundred, whatever the battalion is,
there's no one closer to you than that,
not even your family.
They need to do that, so they can
watch each other's back, so that they can
make it through warfare.
This is why they teach them that.
And every single army throughout history, had this
camaraderie and this brotherhood to make sure that
the army stays intact.
So the Prophet ﷺ said, souls are like
that.
When Allah ﷻ created them in the world
of al-barzakh, before they were set into
these bodies that we have now, they clump
together.
Some of them group together over here, and
some of them over here, and some of
them over here.
As Allah ﷻ created them, and as we
have in the ayah and the hadith, He
showed them to Adam ﷺ and so on
and so forth.
There was an experience that they had before
they were here in these bodies.
And that's where the fitrah by the way
comes from.
It comes from Allah ﷻ taking all of
these souls from the loins of Adam, as
He says in Surah al-A'raf, and
having them testify, all of them, all human,
all jinn, أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ أَمَا يَعْنِي يَا لُورِكُمْ
قَالُوا بَلَىٰ They said, yes, we acknowledge that.
So the remnants of that is the fitrah,
is that disposition that we all have to
realize that there's more to life than what
we see here.
To realize when something wrong happens, we all
feel guilty.
When something good happens, we feel good about
it.
Where does that come from inside our souls?
It's a natural disposition, a pre-installed software
if you will.
Because Allah ﷻ wants us to recognize the
truth and abide by it.
He's facilitating it for us.
He knows there's a lot of obstacles and
difficulties that will be in the way.
So He's creating also a system for us
to recognize and accept it.
And the revelation comes and aids all of
that and propagates even more.
So He said ﷺ, those that were similar
to each other and clumped together if you
will in that world, when they meet in
this dunya they do the same.
That's why you meet somebody and right away
you may like them.
Like I like this person.
You have not heard too much about them
or engaged with them too long, but you
just right away you click as they say.
Like us, I hope so.
So you just click right away and then
other people you see them right away and
just like, no, not my cup of tea
as they say.
You didn't necessarily engage with them for a
long time, but you just right away.
There's like a little bit of a barrier.
So anyway, in the dunya now when they
meet, the same thing happens.
And it happens, He said, so I send
the righteous get together and the wicked get
together and they're together before they're in this
world, they're together in this world and inshallah
they're together in the hereafter.
So you want to join me?
Come.
No, change your mind.
It's easier than it looks.
It's okay.
So they discover one another and they decide
that they are going to stick to this
path.
They're going to figure out what to do
despite their environment and despite what they see
all around them.
Eventually, word reaches the king, the ruler of
that town, that there's a group of people
who have their own way of life.
It slips out somehow.
Some of the scholars mentioned maybe they interacted
with their family.
Their family noticed that they're not doing the
same thing.
Eventually, word gets out and the king summons
them in front of him and has them
basically interrogated.
What are you doing?
Why are you following a different way of
life?
Why are you refusing to conform to the
society around you?
They're not harming anyone, right?
They're minding their own business.
But this is how the powers that be
always are.
You must conform to what they believe in.
You must conform to what they believe to
be true because they have a strong benefit
in that.
Their power and their goals all depend on
the conformity of the society that they try
to control.
They're not satisfied with their own goals, their
own greed, their own oppression to others.
Everybody else must conform.
They fed their nafs so much.
They've chosen this path in such a diehard
way that they're not just satisfied with their
own greed, their own lust, their own property.
Everyone else must conform to their way of
life as well.
So he brings them and he has them
interrogated.
And they tell him and the townspeople, Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala has guided us.
We're summarizing and then we'll hit some of
the ayat separately just so that we get
the whole story first.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guided us.
If we say what you're saying, that there
is no resurrection, that there are other gods
besides Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, we would
be saying a grave evil.
And this is the wording that Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala tells us that they said
to the story.
They said in the story, they said, these
people of ours, هؤلاء قومنا اتخذوا من دونه
آلهة.
These people of ours, you townspeople, you've taken
besides Allah other gods.
لولا يأتون عليهم بسلطان بيّن.
Do they have any authority to prove that?
Did they receive revelation that says that?
Can this be traced anywhere going back to
a prophet or something that Allah revealed or
that He actually wants or is it something
that you just made up?
If we say the same thing, that would
be a huge injustice.
It's a very interesting way of saying it.
They didn't say, you guys are wrong, you're
misguided, you're fools.
They said it in this seems complicated kind
of way.
that if we say what you say, if
we call upon any other god besides Allah,
we would be saying something outrageous.
Our people did that, and they don't have
any evidence for it.
If we say what they say, we'd be
unjust.
It's a very like roundabout kind of way
instead of saying, you're wrong.
And the scholars mentioned this shows that they
were thinking of how can we best do
this dawah to our people without conflicting with
them, without having to outright call them out
on it because they're youth.
And they're here in front of the entire
society, in front of the ruler.
They want to try to make sure that
their message is well received.
And sometimes that's warranted.
A lot of times people think that if
you want to say a message, you speak
the haqq brother, don't think twice about it.
Whoever doesn't like it, that's their problem.
Sometimes that is the case.
But most of the time, the default is
you tailor the message accordingly.
That doesn't make you weak.
That doesn't make you foolish or a coward.
That doesn't make you that you are being
wish-washy or you're changing the faith.
Not at all.
Allah ﷻ tells Musa ﷺ and Harun to
go to Firaun, the biggest transgressor in the
face of human history.
The worst creation after shaitan.
And he says, قُولَ لَهُ قَوْلًا لَيِّنًا Tell
him a soft word.
Tell him something nice.
The guy who says, أَنَا رَبُّكُمُ الْأَعْلَىٰ I'm
your Lord the Most High.
He's killing children.
He's subjugating people, enslaving an entire society, ruining
the lives of hundreds of thousands of people
for decades.
Tell him a soft word.
Maybe he'll wake up.
This is what Allah ﷻ says.
So it's not wish-washy to change the
way that you say the message.
The message remains the same.
But you tailor it for the people who
are going to hear it.
So this is what these youth did.
And there are people they reject it.
They refuse to accept it.
And they fear for their own lives.
Because they realize that this king will not
stop until we can conform.
And if we remain here, then he will
force us to renounce this faith that we
found and to accept their way of life.
So they decide that they'll flee.
They flee their town.
They go to a nearby cave in the
mountain side.
And they stay inside.
And when they get there, they fall asleep.
Allah ﷻ says, وَضَرَبْنَا عَلَىٰ أَذَانِهِمْ We struck
upon their ears, and they fell into a
supernatural slumber.
They wake up centuries later.
They wake up three centuries later.
And when they wake up, they turn to
one another.
And they say, how long we've been here?
You know when you sleep, and like you
can't tell what time of day it is.
And you just wonder, have I sleep for
two hours, for seven hours?
Did I miss appointments?
Were there any appointments today?
What day of the week it is?
That happens when you just sleep for part
of a day.
They slept for three centuries.
So at least they had an excuse, right?
What's your problem?
Why does that happen to us?
But anyway, they realize we've been asleep for
a while.
We don't know how long.
They think that it's normal.
So let's send one of us to see
what's going on in the town.
Maybe it was a day or a part
of day that we've been sleeping.
Let's see if there's any update in the
news, and he can bring us food to
eat with.
So that we can rejuvenate ourselves, and he
can scout what's the deal.
So he goes to the town, and when
he tries to purchase food, they say these
are ancient coins.
These are heirlooms, right?
These are artifacts.
This belongs in a museum somewhere.
I don't know if they had museums, but
if they did, they'd put it in there.
So where did you come from?
Who are you?
And they kind of force him to say
the story.
He mentions it.
They say, we heard a myth like this.
This is a legend that we've heard about.
And they say, take us to these people.
So he goes, and he takes them to
the cave.
As the townspeople approach the cave, the youth
are in there.
They hear the clamor, they hear people approaching,
and in their mind they're wanted.
They're going to be killed or forced to
renounce their faith.
So they get afraid, and there's nowhere for
them to go, so they just begin to
pray.
And when the townspeople come across them now,
with their seventh man, when they come into
sight of each other, all seven of them
drop dead.
They all die.
And the townspeople say, this is a sign
from Allah SWT.
This is a miracle that he allowed us
to witness.
We're going to build a shrine over them,
a masjid, a house of worship, to commemorate
this event.
This is the story in brief.
A couple of stops that I want us
to focus on that the scholars have mentioned
as part of the most important points here
in this story.
Number one is that every single stage of
the story there are young men who had
very limited means to change anything.
So when they first accepted the faith, they're
on their own.
They couldn't change their families, they couldn't change
the town.
When they met with one another, they also
had a limited scope to change everything even
though now that they're united.
And then later when the townspeople summon them
and they're in front of the king, they
try to say the simple words that they
can say that doesn't change anything.
Then they realize their faith is in danger,
so they run.
And that again doesn't change anything immediately.
You're not tasked to change it all.
That's not your job.
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la didn't
tell you change it and you must succeed.
He said, change it, do your best.
I'll take care of the rest.
You're only tasked with what you can do.
And we're discussing with some brothers as it
happens every year, every four years the issue
of voting for example.
And they say, will it change anything?
Imagine the audacity of demanding that everything that
you do changes things immediately.
Of course we look into things that will
make progress, things that make sense, we ask
experts, we do shura with each other, we
check what our deen says first and foremost.
But the audacity to demand that every single
action that you take, every single word that
you utter has an immediate change.
Where do we see that in our deen?
Nuh A.S. preached for 950 years.
وَمَا آمَنَ مَعَهُ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ And only a
few believed in him.
After 950 years, Ibn Abbas radiallahu anhu says,
there was 40 believers.
That's one every 25 years.
His own wife and child refused to believe
in him.
He wasn't a failure.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ goes back and forth
with the Meccans for over a decade.
He gets 200 believers.
And they're the minority until the very end.
They look so much further.
They look to fulfill their duty.
He said ﷺ, there are prophets who come
under their judgment.
Some with one, some with two, some with
three, and some with no believers.
They come on their own.
That's not the rubric for success.
He commanded us to act.
To do what we can with the tools
that we have.
To try our best.
To look into the different possibilities.
To look into voting third party for example.
Will it change anything in this election cycle?
Probably not.
But you tried something.
You tried something using the tools that you
had.
And that's so vital for us as Muslims.
Especially in this context that matches these youth.
They're surrounded by disbelief.
They didn't have influence.
They didn't have power.
They didn't have force.
But they did what they could.
They said what they could.
And when their faith was in jeopardy, they
ran.
Not for their lives, but for their faith.
They said, these people, they may try us
in our faith and cause us to return
to kufr because of torture, because of pressure.
And that's the one thing that we can't
have.
This is where we have to run and
escape with our faith.
So they did what they could.
And Allah ﷻ says, إِذْ قَامُوا فَقَالُوا They
stood up and they said.
That's what they own.
That's what they had.
The ability to stand up and say, hey,
I don't believe in this.
To say, here is the truth.
I will call to it.
I will indicate it with my voice.
And Allah ﷻ says, وَرَبَطْنَا عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ We
fastened their hearts to give them that ability.
And that's the second point.
Look at how much they did versus how
much Allah ﷻ did.
When they took that step, when they said,
we believe, when they said, we're gonna try
what we could do, Allah ﷻ says, number
one, وَرَبَطْنَا عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ We fastened their hearts.
You're not gonna falter.
You may still be afraid.
You may still be anxious.
You may still be uncertain at times of
decisions you're making.
But He will not let you break.
He's gonna fasten your heart.
He says the same thing about the heart
of the mother of Musa.
Where she's in the midst of this grand
plan and we spoke about this story before.
Where Allah ﷻ is telling her, throw your
baby Musa ﷺ in the water.
You'll get him back.
She sees that he ends up in the
house of Firaun and she's freaking out.
وَإِن كَدَتْ لَتُبْدِي بِهِ She was about to
expose the whole thing.
That's my child, give him back.
And he's wanted for execution just by virtue
of being born from Bani Israel.
She was going to ruin the whole plan.
Expose the whole thing.
لَوْ لَا نُرَبَطْنَا عَلَى قَلْبِهَا But we fastened
on her heart.
We stopped her from faltering.
Allah ﷻ steps in.
You'll feel that hand on your back guiding
you.
The second thing that Allah ﷻ did out
of many is that He mentions that the
cave that they were guided to that He
created for them to end up in to
take refuge in for centuries.
The sun wouldn't hit it directly and it'll
still get sunlight.
So they were not harmed by being intensely
radiated with sunlight all the time.
Nor were they harmed by having no light
at all.
So He made it in the perfect spot
that they would receive some sunlight but would
be indirect so they're not harmed by it.
He mentions, وَنُقَلِّبَهُمْ ذَا تَلْيَمِينِي وَذَا تَشْمَلْ We
turn them left and right.
All the medical professionals here, what happens if
you don't turn someone who's bedridden or comatose?
What happens to them?
They get bed sores.
They get infected and they die.
If they just stay in one position, how
often you have to turn them?
Every two hours, three?
What's the latest data?
I know it's changing.
Every four hours?
So if you don't turn the body every
four hours for someone who is bedridden, may
Allah protect all of us and our families,
Allahumma ameen.
They get bed sores, their body deteriorates, they
die in a very short amount of time.
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says, we did
that.
He says, يُتَحْسَبُهُمْ أَيْقَاضًا مَهُمْ رَقُودًا If you
saw them, you would think they're awake.
And the scholars mentioned they fell asleep with
their eyes open.
And facing the door of the cave.
So someone came in and they're like, whoa,
someone's in here.
Several people are in here and they're all
looking at the door.
Who lives in a cave?
Thieves, bandits, somebody you don't wanna hang out
with.
So it's like for 300 years, they're facing
the cave in that fashion.
So their own alarm system, their own security.
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala did so many
things to take care of them.
He didn't just preserve their faith, He made
them a sign for other people to have
faith.
So look at how little they did.
They just did what they could.
Look how much Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala
took care of the rest.
This is the formula that Allah Subhanahu wa
ta'ala wants us to memorize for all
time and all places.
Also another point to focus on is that
they are young men, they are youth.
And so much of our cultures if we
see a young person practicing, a young man
or woman, we tell them, why are you
doing this to yourself?
Why are you putting yourself through this?
You're still young.
It's just missing the next sentence which is,
give Allah the leftovers, enjoy your life now.
You'll have something to give Him later.
You're still gonna get married or turn 25
or turn 40 or make hajj or whatever
arbitrary checkpoint that people set in their cultures
or in their minds and you could give
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala the rest.
But that's not why we're here.
The Prophet ﷺ praised people who in the
height of their strength, in the height of
their wealth, in the height of their hopes
and dreams, in the height of their youth,
they give the best of what they have
to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
He said ﷺ, for example, سَبْعَةٌ يُظِلُّهُمُ اللَّهُ
فِي ذِلِّهِ يَوْمَ لَا ظُلَّ إِلَّا ظُلُّهُ Seven
groups of people that Allah Subhanahu wa ta
'ala grants shade on the day in which
there is no shade except the shade that
Allah grants on the day of judgment, when
the sun is about close the distance of
a mile, and the people are drowning in
their sweat.
And at peak terror and anxiety, Allah brings
a supernatural shade underneath His throne for these
seven people.
Who are they?
One at a time.
So the one that we're talking about, شَبٌّ
نَشْأَ فِي عِبَادَةِ اللَّهِ A young man or
young woman who grew up in the servitude
of Allah.
They gave their youth.
What about the other six?
Should we go for it?
A just ruler, Imam al-Adl.
Two for seven.
We could do it without googling.
So رَجُلٌ قَلْبُهُ مُعَلَّقٌ A man whose heart
is hung up in the masajid.
Attached to the masajid.
Three for seven.
A man who gave sadaqah and hid it
such that his right hand doesn't know what
his left hand gave.
A man who remembered Allah, ذَكَرَ اللَّهَ خَالِيًّا
فَفَضَطْ عَيْنَاهِ He remembers Allah in private, and
his eyes or her eyes, both of them
apply for both genders.
Overflowed with tears.
Two more.
Two men that or two people that love
one another for the sake of Allah, they
meet based on that, and they separate based
on that.
And the last one?
A man who was called by a woman
who was beautiful, who had authority to commit
zina and said, I fear Allah Subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
So all seven of them apply to both
genders as the scholars have said.
And they are What's the connecting factor by
the way between these seven?
So again, a just ruler, a young man
who grows up in worshipping Allah Subhanahu wa
ta'ala in their youth, a man who
gives sadaqa such that his right hand doesn't
know what his left hand gave, a man
who remembers Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala in
private and his eyes overflowed with tears, a
man who was tempted by a beautiful and
authoritative woman and says, I fear Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala, a man who his heart
is attached to the masajid, and a man
who is two who love each other for
the sake of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala
exclusively.
Are these seven random people?
Seven random things or is there a connective
factor you think?
I mean not all of it can happen
on daily basis.
None of us are a ruler to be
a just ruler.
In fact most people are not, right?
Some of them could happen on daily basis,
the masjid, the sadaqa, crying for the sake
of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
But some of it is not daily.
It's a good guess though.
So what specific connection do they have with
Allah?
So taqwa is one of them but a
specific manifestation of it.
So that's not for all of them.
For some of them, sure.
The youth, you only get one shot, famously,
if only the youth would return.
It's a famous line that they use and
he'll never return.
So true for some of them but not
all of them.
The scholars say the connective factor between all
of them is that they strongly resisted their
desires.
It's taqwa but a specific manifestation where they
resisted a strong desire that most people fail
at.
A ruler to be just.
The desire to be unjust is huge because
no one will check you.
You're the ruler.
You have the ability to silence any type
of dissonance, right?
And you go through the list and you'll
see that with all of them.
So anyway, these are youth and Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala praised them and He mentioned
that they were youth more than once praising
that they aced this challenge.
Another point that we want to focus on
is that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala mentioned
several times in the story their dog.
That their dog was with them.
They had a dog with them.
He's not a central character in the story.
He doesn't play any role.
He doesn't have any lines.
He doesn't have any type of role to
play in the story whatsoever.
But he's mentioned several times.
Why do you think that is?
Dogs are loyal?
I never had one but I'll take your
word for it.
So the scholars mentioned that just by virtue
of being one of them, being part of
their company, Allah mentioned him.
He was there.
And he's just part of the story.
They simply had a dog.
That's the extent of him in the story.
But if the dog deserved to be mentioned
just by being with them, what about if
a person who joined them took part in
what they did?
That just by virtue of being in righteous
company you deserve a mention.
You deserve a call out.
This is what the scholars mentioned here.
And this is something that our deen mentions,
that our deen highlights more than once.
The Prophet ﷺ said that there's angels that
are constantly scouring the land.
They're searching.
They're on the lookout.
They're looking for They're looking for you.
They're looking for places where Allah is being
mentioned.
Where the Qur'an is being studied.
Where Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is being
remembered.
And when one of them finds such a
gathering like here inshallah, they call out to
the others, We found what you're looking for,
come.
And then they begin to attend these gatherings
far more than the people here are until
they fill it.
And when they fill it, they begin to
stack on top of each other until they
reach the heavens.
How many people you think are here?
100?
Imagine tens of thousands of angels crowding this
space right now.
Your Messenger ﷺ said it's happening.
And they crowd each other until they reach
the heavens all the way up.
And when they reach Allah Subhanahu wa ta
'ala to rush to bring news about you.
He asks them and he already knows.
What are these people doing?
What are my servants doing?
He's not asking to find out.
He already knows.
He wants it to be proclaimed out loud.
He's proud of you.
And they say, We found them mentioning you.
He asks, What are they seeking?
Your forgiveness and your mercy and jannah.
What are they afraid of?
Your punishment and the hellfire.
And he says, You will be my witnesses
that they have what they seek and they'll
be protected what they seek protection from.
The angels complain.
They say, What about that guy?
No one there.
This figurative person.
So I don't point at anybody.
That guy is on their phone.
That sister just happened to pass by.
She didn't seek any of this.
She didn't come for majlis adh-dhikr.
She didn't come to remember you.
He didn't come to remember you.
They came for the free food.
They came just because there's some other reason
they had to be here.
So the angels complain.
Not him.
Not her.
The rest share.
And what does Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala
reply?
لا يشقى بهم جليسهم.
No one that is in their presence will
be denied.
No one that's in their presence that the
mercy is overflowing is gonna come to every
single person that's in that setting.
And we hope that Allah Subhanahu wa ta
'ala grants this setting that Allahumma ameen.
So righteous company is super important.
A good company to be in is where
you feel like you're the least religious out
of all of them.
That you do the least.
If you're in a company where you constantly
feel that I'm better than everybody, that's not
a good sign.
It's not good to be constantly in a
company that doesn't push you forward.
That doesn't align with your goals.
That doesn't give you an example to strive
forward and then try to reach.
So this dog who has no accountability, even
Islamically speaking we know that the traditions they're
not super praiseworthy of dogs.
They're not super praiseworthy characters or creatures.
There's a huge aspect of them that's najis,
that's unclean.
But with that being said, here in this
story it's mentioned in a praiseworthy context.
Another point is that what was the initial
question?
How many were they?
And how long did they spend in their
slumber?
These two details, they come at the very
end of the story in Surah Al-Kahf.
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says the whole
story.
In the beginning He says, We're going to...
We're going to tell you their story and
their information in truth.
While these people are guessing, they have parts
of the tradition, it's a myth for them,
it's a legend.
No, no, no.
The people that Quraysh went to ask, they
don't even know.
They're arguing about their number, they're arguing about
their slumber.
They have no clue.
We will tell you the details because the
truth only comes from Allah Subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
But with that being said, the whole story
is recounted to them the way that we
just did it before Allah Subhanahu wa ta
'ala says they differ, is there four and
the fifth of them is their dog, or
five and the sixth of them is their
dog and seven and the eighth, so on
and so forth.
And then He says, وَلَبِثُوا فِي كَفِهِمْ ثَلَاثَ
مِئَةٍ سِنِينَ وَزْدَادُوا تِسْعًا They stayed in their
cave for three hundred years and add to
that nine.
So He tells us the number.
He doesn't say it directly, but as the
scholars say that He, Subhanahu wa ta'ala
He mentions that they are guessing the numbers
when it comes to سَيَقُولُونَ ثَلَاثُةٌ رَبِعُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ
خَمْسَةٌ سَدِسٌ كَلْبُهُمْ رَجْمًا بِالْغَيْبِ They say that
there are three and the fourth of them
is their dog, and they say that there
are five and the sixth of them is
their dog.
And both of them are just you know,
shooting in the dark.
And then He says, and then they say
that they are seven and the eighth of
them is their dog.
So the scholars say that's the correct opinion,
because for the first two He says they're
just shooting in the dark, they have no
idea.
But this second option or this third option,
He says after that Allah Subhanahu wa ta
'ala knows their exact number.
So Allah the scholars are inferred by that
that the answer is that they were seven
and the eighth one was their dog.
And then He says later they stayed in
their cave for 300 years plus nine.
Meaning Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala saying the
details that you're asking about are the least
important.
You guys are asking about how many they
were, how many years did they spend?
That's not the point of the story at
all.
That is the least important detail that you
need as opposed to their fortitude, their sincerity,
their faith in youth, their standing up to
everyone around them, their doing to what they
could despite having nothing in their hands.
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala supporting them in
so many supernatural ways.
And then finally what's the point that Allah
Subhanahu wa ta'ala allowed them just at
the end of those 309 years they just
died.
What was the point of that?
So what did they achieve?
The town became Muslim on their own.
It wasn't from their da'wah.
What was the point?
What does Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala say?
So He did protect them, but the whole
point of this is these town people they
used to do what?
They used to deny their resurrection.
This is for them to know that the
promise of Allah is true and that the
hour there's no doubt in it.
If He could make them sleep for 309
years and then bring them back to life
and then die just immediately again after initially
creating them you should not doubt their resurrection.
There's no reason why you should doubt that
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is able to
bring you back to life for this resurrection
and for this accountability.
Someone might hear this story and they say,
wow, you really believe all that?
Like what's doesn't really match and it sounds
absurd and they slept facing the cave and
all these weird details.
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the
beginning of the ayat, the very beginning when
He introduces the story, Do you think that
the story we're about to tell you is
the most wondrous of our signs?
Is the most amazing thing?
Is weird?
It's not.
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala has done so
many more wonders than this.
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is able over
all things and if you looked into yourself
you would see wonders every single day.
You would see manifestations of this story and
every story of the Qur'an every single
day.
Because it's not about the information itself.
It's not about the sign itself.
When the questioner is coming with the wrong
intention.
When they're seeking these details for the wrong
reasons.
When they're exploring so that they can stump.
When they're asking so that they can disprove.
They'll never benefit.
As opposed to the person who questions to
find the truth.
Sincerely looking for the truth.
Then whatever they see they'll benefit.
Because the answers of Allah Subhanahu wa ta
'ala are everywhere.
So he wanted us to focus on so
much more than what they differed than what
they were actually seeking in asking the story.
One more point that I'd like to mention
as well is that when they wake up
and they say we need some food we
need some sustenance.
They send one of them and they say
فَبْعَثُوا أَحَدَكُمْ بِوَرَقِكُمْ هَذِهِ فَبْعَثُوا أَحَدَكُمْ بِوَرَقِكُمْ
هَذِهِ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ فَلْيَنظُرْ أَيُّهَا أَزْكَى طَعَامًا Let's
send one of us with some of these
silver coins to buy us some food.
But they don't say any food.
They say أَزْكَى طَعَامًا The purest food that
you can find.
When they choose one of them to go
find out the news they say go find,
make sure it's pure food.
Don't get us no McDonald's, right?
It's on the boycott list, so no one
should be there anyway.
Amongst a ton of other reasons.
But even in this situation, even in their
fear, even in their uncertainty about what's gonna
happen to them, they say, Hey, don't get
us anything haram.
Shows you their mindset that this was not
a phase, this wasn't a trend.
This wasn't like a haphazard decision that they
made.
This is their life.
It's in accordance to their Creator.
The number one question on their mind is,
is He pleased with us?
We're on the run, we're afraid, we don't
know what's gonna happen to us, we're in
the middle of the wilderness in a cave,
make sure you get us some halal food.
The Prophet ﷺ told us, إِنَّ اللَّهَ طَيِّبْ
لَا يَقْبَلُ إِلَّا طَيِّبًۭا Allah ﷻ is the
most pure, the most good.
He doesn't accept anything else, except that which
is good and pure.
And He commanded you, believers, the same thing
that He commanded the Prophets with.
Where He told them, only eat from that
which is pure.
And then He mentions a metaphor, a story,
an example of a man.
Ash'atha Akbar, he is disheveled and dusty.
Yatilus Safar, he is in a lengthy travel,
so he's in need.
He's in a situation where he is appealing
to Allah ﷻ sincerity.
He's dusty, he's disheveled, he's in need, he's
traveling, he's hungry.
يَمُدُّ يَدَيْهِ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ And he's putting his
hands to the heavens and saying, يَا رَبِّ
يَا رَبِّ And he says, مَتْعَمُهُ حَرَامٌ وَمَشْرَبُهُ
حَرَامٌ وَمَلْبَسُهُ حَرَامٌ وَغُضِّيَ بِالْحَرَامِ His food is
haram, and his drink is haram, and his
clothing is earned from haram, and he's nurtured
and sustained by haram.
فَأَنَّى يُسْتَجَبُ لَهُ Why would Allah answer that?
How could that receive an answer?
When He said in the beginning, Allah is
pure, He only accepts that which is pure.
This is the state of this person, willingly
indulging in what Allah has forbid, to sustain
themselves.
Earning that which Allah has forbid, spending on
that which He forbid.
And then when they're in need, they raise
their hands to the heavens.
He's saying, this is a contradiction.
It's not how it works.
Why would you receive a response that's gonna
block the answer to your dua, block your
connection with your Creator?
So it's super important for us to realize
that it's a holistic way of life.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that
when they believed in Allah, when they took
this as a way of life, إِنَّهُمْ فِتِّيَةٌ
أَمَنُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ They were young men who believed
in their Lord.
So what was the response of Allah?
زِدْنَاهُمْ هُدَىٰ We increase them in guidance.
When you take what you know to be
true, and say this is the step I'll
take, no matter what, I'm ready for any
repercussions, I'm not worried about the backlash, I'm
not worried about losing sustenance, I'm not worried
about losing influence, I'm not worried about anything,
this is the command of my Lord, I'm
going to fulfill it sincerely to the best
of my ability.
Just like we said before, He gets your
back, He supports you.
He opens new doors because He's in control.
He would not reward your diligence and your
determination by setting you back, by harming you.
It's not what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
does.
So He focuses, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
focuses on all these lessons, before He gets
to the answer, to the questions that they
asked, is because they asked the wrong questions,
they were focusing on the wrong details.
Not only that, but they were focused, they
were asking for the wrong reasons as well.
So the wrong questions and for the wrong
reasons.
And that is not a formula for guidance.
Ask the right questions, and ask with the
right intentions, and you will always benefit from
the answer.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will always guide
you to that which is correct.
He mentions also that they stayed, just an
interesting tidbit to close out with.
He mentions that they stayed in their cave,
وَلَبِثُوا فِي كَفِهِمْ ثَلَاثَ مِئَةٍ سِنِينٍ وَازْدَادُوا تِسْعَىٰ
for 300 years plus 9.
Why don't you say 309 years?
Anyone know?
Huh?
Say it again?
Yeah, it's the lunar years.
300 years in solar calendar, is 309 years
in the lunar calendar.
Because the people who are asking are those
kind of people to say, so Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala answered them both.
You want to do it solar or 300
years?
You want to do it lunar or 309?
300 years and you can add to that
9.
So answers in case people want to get
nitpicky about it.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala put many
signs in their story, and He wanted us
to adhere to them, and to recite it
weekly.
Not just recite it weekly, but where else
do we recite, where else are we supposed
to recite surah Al-Kahf?
I love when this happens.
Happens everywhere I go.
The kids make the show.
I'm just a side character.
I love it, I wouldn't have it any
other way.
The question was, I forgot the question.
Oh yeah, where else are we supposed to
recite surah Al-Kahf?
So we know every week, as one narration
mentions, from one Friday to another, meaning anywhere
between the week.
It doesn't have to be on the day
of Friday.
And one narration mentions on Friday specifically.
And inshallah, it's a open concept, it's not
super strict.
If you want to recite it on Friday,
that's good.
If you want to recite it throughout the
week, that's good as well, inshallah.
Both will get the benefit by the will
of Allah.
So once a week, specifically on Fridays, where
else were we taught to recite this surah?
What was the guidance of the Prophet ﷺ?
So recite it weekly on Fridays, and then
what else?
There's one more hadith.
When the Dajjal comes.
When the Dajjal comes, the Antichrist, this figure
that will come at the end of times,
that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala will imbue
with supernatural abilities.
And as some scholars have mentioned, maybe they're
not supernatural, but they appear to be supernatural.
And as the way technology is going around
us now, we could see very easily how
it appears supernatural.
There's one hadith that mentions that he'll tell
a person, if I resurrect your parents, would
you believe that I'm God?
And he'll say, yes, of course.
So he resurrects the person's parents, and he
says, I believe that you're God.
With the way AI is going now, it's
not far, maybe a holograph or something, who
knows.
It could be supernatural abilities that Allah gives
him as a test, or it could be
some other explanation for it.
It's a huge possibility, right?
But either way, he will have a jannah
and a nar, and force people into each.
Those who believe in him go to his
jannah, and those who don't, he pushes them
into his nar, or kills them.
And he said, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, that
the majority of mankind will fail.
And one of the signs of his appearance
is that he will no longer be mentioned
on the minbar.
You will not hear him in the khutbah.
And so many times you bring this up
to a gathering to your family, they're like,
who is this?
Is this like a movie character?
They can't believe this is part of our
tradition, right?
It's foreign to them.
And it's not a good sign.
He mentioned, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, that a
man will hear of his advent, and he'll
say, this is a dajjal, I'm going to
set him straight.
So he has the tradition, he has the
knowledge, and he'll go out and end up
as one of his followers.
So there's a fitna will be very very
strong.
So why would we recite surah al-kahf
here?
What's the connection?
Why do you think the Prophet, salallahu alayhi
wa sallam, advised us when reciting surah al
-kahf, should we encounter him?
What's the connection between surah al-kahf and
a dajjal?
Say it again, Mo?
So that isn't the connection of the dajjal
being on the island, and that hadith has
like a little bit of an explanation that
we're not going to get into just because
it's a whole separate thing.
But no, it's not because of where he
is.
He is a temptation, but not just any
temptation.
He said, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, he's the
worst fitna to befall mankind since creation.
It's the worst thing to happen to mankind
that's going to try them in their faith.
It's the advent of a dajjal.
And he said, if one of you hears
that he's coming to your city, and he
said, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, he'll be here
for 40 days.
And in those 40 days, he will not
leave a single settlement where people live, except
that he visits it.
With the exception of where and where?
Mecca and Medina.
But every other place where people inhabit, he
will visit.
He'll do his da'wah, and the majority
of people will follow him.
And they will fail.
And he'll bring with him the treasures of
the earth.
And the places that don't believe in him
will starve to death.
So this is the setting.
So he said, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, if
you hear that he's coming, what do you
do?
You flee, you run.
Don't stand in the face of this trial.
You will not be able to resist.
Your job is to flee.
In one hadith he says, even if that
leads you to the wilderness, biting on the
roots of trees.
Meaning you won't have food.
You'll be in the wilderness alone without any...
That's better for you because if you stand...
Like the man who says, I will set
him straight.
I know this is dajjal.
He'll end up as one of his followers.
Everyone will fail.
The majority of people will fail or be
killed if they are able to resist.
Resist his believing in him meaning.
So the connection is, these people of al
-Kahf had nothing.
They stood in the face of the whole
city and when that was going to try
them in their faith, they ran for their
lives.
They ran for their faith.
So if you happen to come across him,
remember that story.
That when you have nothing and your faith
is going to be tried, it's better for
you to run with absolutely nothing and protect
that faith.
So the story is a reminder of what
you're supposed to do in that time when
you face this problem.
An overwhelming fitna that's going to destroy your
faith.
You do what you can and Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala will protect you.
And that will be the situation of people
in the time of dajjal.
So the story has a lot more lessons.
This is just, you know, a quick glimpse.
And I want us to consider how much
more we would gain if we recite...
How many people recite this surah weekly?
Or at least try to or listen to
it?
Many of us, right?
And those who don't, inshaAllah you can start
it.
Make it a family thing.
Maybe recite it on Thursday nights, maybe Friday
mornings.
Everybody recites a page if the surah is
too long.
Reflects over a bit.
You read the translation or you have something
prepped maybe from a tafsir.
Small reflections if you don't feel like you're
going to know it all or be able
to explain everything.
Just small limited reflections.
And see what you get out of it.
I want us to consider how much more
would we get from stories like this?
Surahs that we frequent.
If we did this a little bit more
often.
Made these connections.
Told our families, you see that the way
that the world is going, you see what's
happening?
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala spoke about this.
He instructed us regarding it.
How much stronger would that be instead of
telling our kids or our family members, Hey,
you don't read any Qur'an, what's wrong
with you?
Read some Qur'an.
As opposed to, let's sit and read the
story and try to reflect, read the translation,
see what Allah wants to tell us.
If you don't know anything at all and
you're not able to do any of this,
at the very least, we can say inshallah
before we do stuff.
That's a very easy part of the story
that we can all get.
It's important to do our best when we
have strength, have life, have youth, as the
Prophet ﷺ said.
That the best sadaqah is when you're sahih,
shahih, when you have your health and you're
miserly about it.
You're miserly about your wealth.
And you have long hopes, he ﷺ said,
for this dunya.
Ideas for investments, ideas for going further, he
ﷺ said, that's the best sadaqah.
When you want to hold on to it
the most.
That you tell them, he ﷺ said, for
example, اختنم خمس قبل خمس.
Take advantage of five things before they become
five other things.
Five situations before they naturally change to five
other ones.
What are they?
Your youth before your old age.
شبابك قبل حرمك.
غناك قبل فقرك.
Your wealth before your poverty.
سحتك قبل سقمك.
Your health before your illness.
So the last one is حياتك قبل مماتك.
Your life before your death.
And what was the one we're missing?
Your time.
فراغك قبل شغلك.
He ﷺ said, take advantage when you're healthy,
and young, and wealthy, and free, and alive.
If you have all five of these, you
are super filthy rich.
Anyone here is alive, everyone here is alive,
probably should have started with that one.
If you're young, and healthy, and free, someone
say, well, maybe I'm not wealthy.
Everybody here is wealthy.
Compared to the majority of human history, like
we said in the khutbah, that's just a
plain objective fact.
Us here in America in 2024, compared to
99% of human history, we have multitudes
more than they ever had.
If it's hot, we turn on the AC.
If it's cold, we turn on the heat.
We wait 30 seconds for the water to
get to the right temperature before we start
using it.
There's no time in human history where they
had this much.
We're all wealthy.
We're all alive.
Most of us look young.
And those, inshallah, everyone's young.
Everyone's relatively young.
I don't want to be mean.
Everyone's relatively healthy.
Generally speaking.
And those who are not may Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala increase them in health.
So, take advantage of these five before they
naturally change because of time, because of the
laws of this dunya, into the next five.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will recognize
that you took that initiative.
That you had the ability to invest it
elsewhere.
And He's the most appreciative, the most rewarding.
He's the shakur.
He'll appreciate that.
Say, I know you could have spent it
there or here or in this or in
that.
I know there was a thousand and one
things telling you it belongs here.
Spend your time and your wealth and your
health here.
And you chose to give that to me.
That's not gonna go unblessed and unrewarded by
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And lastly, to circle back to the very
beginning of their story, do what you can.
Invest whatever you can.
Don't leave any stone unturned in your ability
to affect change.
Even if you don't believe that you'll see
progress for it immediately or ever.
Even if you don't believe that it is
going to change things on a larger scale
or even an immediate one.
Even when everyone around you is telling you,
oh that's pointless.
There's no point.
It's all rigged.
It all makes no sense.
Say, no I'm going to try.
It's an opportunity that Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala gave me.
This is the country where you face the
least repercussions in the whole world today for
speaking up for the sake of your brothers
and sisters worldwide.
Everywhere else in the world you face more
dire repercussions.
Either physically in your own physical person in
terms of freedom or life or in terms
of career and political repercussions or financial.
Here's where you face the least.
These are blessings that are not random.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala put us here
for a reason.
Do what you can.
Don't ever give in to complacency.
Don't ever give in to saying that I'm
just irrelevant or insignificant.
They did what they could.
اذ قاموا فقالوا They stood up and they
said.
And they spoke to their townspeople.
And they tried to word it correctly.
And none of it worked.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala aided them
supernaturally and made them a sign for all
time.
Eternalized their story in the Qur'an so
that we can be saying it weekly.
So that we can remind ourselves of the
importance of doing what we can for the
sake of our Creator subhanahu wa ta'ala.
This is just the first story of Surah
Al-Kahf.
It goes into the story of the men
of the two gardens.
The story of Dhul Qurnayn.
So many other stories that Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala want us again to recite weekly.
What do they have to offer?
In just a quick you know 30-40
minutes we've gleamed just a little bit of
the story.
Not even all of it.
Imagine the rest of the Surah.
Imagine now you go through the tafsir like
I said maybe with your family.
And you just go around each of them
and say what do you think Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala wants us to do differently?
What are the lessons He wants us to
keep close to heart reciting this weekly?
How do our lives change?
How do we ourselves change and our families
and our communities?
The Qur'an has so much to offer
and the least of it as Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala says وَكُلًّا نَقُصُ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ
أَنبَاءِ الرُّسُولِ مَا نُثَبِّتُ بِهِ فُؤَدَكَ And all
these stories of the prophets and the previous
nations that we tell you is so that
we can reassure your heart.
And our hearts could definitely use some reassurance
these days.
Where people feel helpless.
Where people feel insignificant.
Where people feel like nothing is changing.
No, go revisit the story of Nuh a
.s. Go revisit the story of Ashab al
-Kahf.
Go revisit the stories of all the prophets.
And get reinvigorated.
Relocate that enthusiasm and that fuel to fulfill
your duty to the best of your ability
to your creator to live with purpose and
to not fall into complacency in any moment
in your life.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us
the resilience and the determination of Ashab al
-Kahf.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala aid us
the way that He aided them.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide our
steps the way that He guided theirs.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us
a sign and a source of guidance for
others as He did for them.
And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala increase
us in guidance and forgive our shortcomings.
Jazakumullahu khairan everyone.
Subhanaka wa barakatuhu.
Jazakumullahu khairan everyone.
Subhanaka wa barakatuhu.