Mohammad Elshinawy – Surat Al-Duha How To Push Forward
AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses various events and figures related to Jibreel alaihi wa sallam's death, including his promised reward for his actions. The importance of following guidance and not denying the existence of a orphan is emphasized, along with the need to be mindful of one's actions and not regret them. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of empowering Muslims to make a significant difference and stop the current crisis.
AI: Summary ©
Brothers and sisters, when revelation first came to
the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam,
there were some precursors,
some
cues
that it was incoming.
Right at the beginning of Sahih al Bukhari,
you find Aisha radiAllahu anha saying,
the very first thing that happened to the
Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam in this regard
is that he started seeing truthful dreams,
accurate visions in his sleep for 6 months
straight.
Every time he would see something at night,
the very next morning it would come
As clear as day, this is what happened
in my dream. It's not like, you know,
is that a candle or is that the
morning time? She says, as clear as day.
You don't mistaken anything for the daylight.
She said, and then
being alone, solitude became endeared to him. Allah
inspired him with a love of being alone.
And so he would go for days and
nights at a time to the cave of
Hera and spend time there worshiping Allah
attempting to clear himself from the vices of
the city.
And he would come back and pick up
some rations, resources from his wife Khadija radhiallahu
anha's house and repeat.
Until finally, Jibreel alaihis salam came to him
with the truth and said to him, ikra.
He encountered the mighty archangel who said to
him, Recite.
Recite in the name of your Lord who
created. And so he rushed back to his
wife's house and he said, The blanket, the
blankets.
Wrap me up, wrap me up quickly. He
couldn't stop himself from shivering. And he said,
O Khadija, I swear to you I feared
for myself so much. I was so sure
that I was finished. I was gonna die
or I was going to become insane or
something to that effect. I feared for myself.
So she said to him, Absolutely not. Allah
will never disgrace you. You are a man
that speaks the truth. You are a man
that honors your guests. You are a man
that embodies justice. You are a man that
speaks up for those that are being exploited
and taken advantage of. Come with me. And
she brought him to her elderly blind cousin
who was
an expert in the
Hebrew scriptures.
And she said to him, listen to my
husband, listen to Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
And so he listened to him regarding the
incident, the encounter in the cave with Jibreel
alaihi wa sallam and he said, Oh, this
is the namuz, this is the messenger angel.
It's very obvious.
This is the same messenger angel that came
down to Musa alaihis salaam.
Congratulations. You're a prophet. You're a messenger. Of
course he has no idea what a prophet
or messenger is.
And he said to him, And I knew
you were about to emerge. The scripture said
you would come, the final messenger.
But I never thought you would come out
during my lifetime, and I wish I was
younger.
So I can defend you when your people
drive you out.
And the prophet alaihis salam was very confused
like how could they drive me out? Like
I am al Amin, everyone agrees on my
nickname. I am the trustworthy person.
I am a one who the man who
enjoys a consensus.
I am a celebrity in terms of my
integrity. I'm born into the noblest family. How
can this be? No way. He said to
him, no one ever came with your message
except that they were turned into an enemy.
It was always seen, especially by the elites
as inconvenient.
And so a few short days later, Waraqa
himself dies. The man who would have been
his his consultant,
The man who would have been his mentor
passes away.
And then Jibreel alaihis salam disappears.
The revelation interrupted for a period. This is
clear.
Some say it was weeks, some say it
was months but it was clear that it
got interrupted.
And the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam emotionally,
he neared a breaking point.
What happened? Like did I mess up?
Does god hate me now? Like what has
happened? And then the people of Quraysh,
he did not go public with his call
but his closer circles like his uncle Abu
Lahab and his wife Umu Jameen and otherwise
would knew about it and they would hear
this
talk circulating and so they would taunt him.
Where's your devil, oh Muhammad? Meaning Jibreel alaihis
salam.
Looks like your demon has left you.
And so that of course made him feel
even heavier. Did I do something that caused
God to sort of remove from me the
the friendship with an angel that's about to
happen? The communications of the Quran.
And just when he was about to break
salallahu alayhi wa sallam,
Allah reveals to him Surat Al Duha.
He was deeply distressed. He was so anxious.
He was in a dark moment
and then Allah says
by the I swear by the brightness of
the day, Allah says.
And he was so restless every night awaiting
it. Allah says,
and I swear by the tranquility of the
night.
Look at the beauty of what Allah is
swearing by in this context.
And then what is Allah swearing about? He
swears by the brightness of the day, optimism,
and the tranquility of the night. Don't be
restless anymore.
I swear that your lord has not abandoned
you,
and he has not hated you. He's not
detested you. You have not lost favor with
God. That's not what this interruption is about.
And I promise you,
what's what is to come is even better
than what has already come. That one experience
with jibreel, that one
receipt of the Quran, what is coming is
even more. We're just getting started.
So much more good is in store for
you in this world. And then there's the
akhirah of the hereafter, afterlife.
And
your lord will surely give you until you
are pleased.
Allahu akhbar, if you just think about your
Lord will give you until you are pleased
You know Musa alaihi salab, arguably the greatest
single messenger of all time after the Prophet
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam,
when he was given a meeting with Allah,
he was told to bring the best of
his followers.
And then Allah aza wa jen says to
him,
Musa, why did you rush ahead of your
people? Why didn't you come with them? He
raced ahead of the pack.
So Musa alaihis salam says,
They're right here. They're on my trail. They're
coming. They'll be right here, O Allah.
And I rushed to you, oh my lord.
Couldn't help myself. I rushed to you my
lord so that you would be pleased. You,
oh Allah, would be pleased.
But when it came to Muhammad salallahu alaihi
wa sallam, Allah is saying, I'm gonna keep
giving you until you, oh Muhammad, are pleased.
Can you imagine?
What kind of like reassurance?
What kind of consolation?
What kind of honor and rank the prophet
Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam enjoys?
And before I leave this ayah, I must
say
that Ali ibn Abi Talib radiyaAllahu an,
his cousin and his closest of his closest
companions,
members of his household.
Ali radhiallahu an said,
This is actually
Because most people say another verse is the
most hopeful verse, never lose hope in the
mercy of Allah. He says, no. This verse
is the most hopeful verse in the book
of Allah. Allah will continue to give you
until you are pleased
because he will never be pleased until his
entire ummah goes to jannah.
So when Allah promised to please him,
that is hope for every one of us,
not just for him.
And you know that we have this in
the hadith, it is clear. The prophet alaihis
salatu wasalam would stay up at night and
cry for us and say, oh Allah, my
ummah, my ummah. So Allah azzawajal
sent Jibreel alaihis salaam to ask him even
though Allah knows. But they want us to
know this exchange. This exchange is the point
of the question.
He questioned, oh Muhammad, what's the matter? He
said, My ummah I fear for my ummah.
Them going astray, them being lost, them becoming
divided, them becoming misguided. Right? I fear for
my ummah.
O Jibril, tell him,
We will certainly please you regarding your ummah
and we will not disappoint you, oh Muhammad.
And in another authentic hadith, he said,
All of my ummah will get to go
to paradise.
Except those who refuse. They said, who would
ever refuse You Rasulullah,
o messenger of God? He said,
Whoever follows me, accepts to be my follower,
follows my lead, establishes their 5, respects their
parents, gives the charity, stands for justice. Right?
Whoever follows me goes to paradise. And whomever
refuses to follow me, then that is their
refusal.
It's not a verbalized no or refusing to
sign the application. No. You not following me
is your refusal. But everyone who chooses to
follow has chosen
to be part of my ummah and I
have chosen to insist upon my lord, plead
with my lord, get promised by my lord
that my whole ummah goes to jannah. That's
the way it works.
However, brothers and sisters in these last 6
or 7 minutes,
I want us to reflect on a particular
point.
Why is it that the revelation had to
interrupt?
The interim between iqra and between adduha.
What is the wisdom there?
The scholars often point out that of the
most obvious wisdoms
was to
to build longing in the Prophet salallahu alaihi
wasallam, even more longing for the Quran.
That was the wisdom. It was in It
was for his own good
for him to become even more filled with
earnest, and longing, and yearning for the Quran
for it to come down.
You know subhanAllah, so many times we think
we know what's good for us.
And we get so distressed, and anxious, and
restless.
And we wanna suggest to god how it
should be.
Right?
When god disagrees with our expectations,
or god destroys our plans.
What if Allah
destroyed your plans before your plans destroyed you?
What if Allah
departed from your expectations because they're short sighted
and contrary to what you expect
is the path for you to ascend and
excel?
So this was of the wisdom. This would
become even a greater treasure when you have
to wait for it a little bit.
And likewise, let me draw an important parallel
here in this hour. Why does Ramadan have
to end?
Because if Ramadan did not end, it would
not be special.
Right or wrong?
And so Allah aza wa jal of his
great wisdom, even though we say we wish
it could be a little longer, I've heard
people say it, I've heard my own thoughts
say it. We wish it could be extended
a little bit more. Allah
knows.
And when you feel a little down after
Ramadan, remind yourself like this surah reminds us.
You haven't fallen from Allah's favor.
When things slow down even in your worship,
it is alright.
You're not gonna be the same after Ramadan.
Just don't stop though. You know the prophet
alaihis salatu wasalam also felt pain because he
was separated from the Quran. That wasn't by
choice.
So don't you dare separate by choice from
his book now. You know, many people don't
understand where the pain comes from. Yes, there's
a natural pain of loving Ramadan, but a
part of the pain is self inflicted.
It is because you've been standing and praying
and listening and crying and donating, and so
your soul actually came to life.
The corpse doesn't feel pain, but it's actually
because you started becoming alive.
There's much more of this. This is just
the tip of the iceberg.
What's to come is even way more.
Meaning more alive,
more liveliness,
more spiritual invigoration,
more health of your spiritual heart. All of
that is there. It's because of the Quran.
So don't voluntarily
inflict pain on yourself by drifting from the
Quran.
It's not gonna be the same. That's fine.
You're gonna slow down. That's fine. He said,
sallallahu alaihi wasallam,
suggestingly,
fast 6 days of Shawwal. What does that
tell you?
Means remove 80%.
20% of the month, 6 days, fast that
much.
Don't come to a screeching halt.
So like if you're praying 10 rakas,
pray 2 rakas. Bring it to 20%.
If you were praying 2 before Ramadan, make
it 4. That's all.
Ramadan will always be special.
And the way to build
year over year on your Ramadan is just
to be a little bit better no matter
what than you were before Ramadan.
Wa
jal said,
This
fasting
is so that you may glorify god for
having guided you
on the day of Eid and so that
you will be grateful. So, glorification and gratitude.
Now building on that,
the one who guided you through Ramadan can
guide you after Ramadan.
And Surat Al Duha actually,
the very next verses from where we left
off,
speak to this notion that remembering Allah's previous
favors is the way for you
to be your best because you assume of
Allah the best as you walk out into
the future. So many times, you're we're stuck
in our problems
because we don't recall how many previous problems.
Before this one, Allah has already pulled us
out of. All we can see is under
our feet as they say. And so you
miss out on the best of the future,
the best opportunities of the future because you
can't recall
how much Allah has brought about the best
outcome from the past. So the duha continues
and says what? While consoling the prophet shalallahu
alaihi wa
sallam, Hasn't haven't I found you an orphan?
You lost your mom, then you lost your
dad, then you lost your grandpa, then you've
lost your uncle, then you lost your favorite
city. Everything dear to you and I sheltered.
And didn't Allah find you lost?
You didn't know what faith was. You didn't
know what the scripture was, and so he
guided.
And didn't he find
you He found you poor, financially poor, and
so he enriched.
Look at what you've become.
But you know that's not only it.
There is a beautiful nuance that the scholars
point out in this surah that Allah did
not say he found you an orphan.
He sheltered you. He said
so he sheltered. Because he didn't just shelter
you. He sheltered you and the world through
you.
Right?
You've become a source of hope for others.
Not you have a reason to hope for
your own self. You've become a beacon of
hope.
How many orphans are taken care of because
the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, Me
and the caretaker of the orphan are like
this in paradise.
People are donating for 1400 years and marrying
the widows and Why?
Because of
the one that was once an orphan
Right?
And he found you lost, so he guided
He didn't just guide you, hadaka.
He guided you and guides the world through
you.
And he found you poor and he enriched
he enriched the world through you. Salallahu alaihi
wa sallam.
And so look at what Allah has done
for you of guidance,
and expect the best of Allah in terms
of your future guidance. Don't have this grim
perception of the future. How? By recognizing how
bright the past has been. Hindsight is 2020
as they say.
And you know, if I can just recruit
this notion, this principle, not just to build
on Ramadan
but for one more point before I close
which
is look at what Allah has used you
for brothers and sisters in the last 6
months.
Just because it's the easiest example, there is
a very famous Israeli historian. His parents are
survivors of the holocaust. His name is Norman
Finkelstein. Many of you may see his content
circulating.
This man says, I
have been an advocate for this cause. I
gave it my life. The last 50 years
of my life, I've dedicated to the cause
of a free Palestine.
I didn't get married. I didn't have kids.
I don't have savings.
I know my books won't sell because they're
politically incorrect.
And if you were to tell me
6 months ago
that the protest would continue surging
and the individuals boycotting would become entire universities
and countries divesting their investments
from the apart, I would never believe you.
If you told me the youth would still
be in the streets and the numbers are
only increasing, I would never have believed you.
You know why? Because the past 50 years,
the last half a century, he has seen
people wake up and get all loud, and
go to sleep 2, 3 days later. So
now when someone asks why does it have
to be so gut wrenching?
Why does it have to be so raw?
Why does it have to take this long?
The genocide?
Maybe it is because this is what it's
going to take for us to finally liberate
Palestine. Brothers and sisters, may we see it
in our lifetime.
May we see it in our lifetime.
Allah has already shown us
that by his permission we can make a
difference.
It is already at a point of no
return, Alhamdulillah,
Wallahu Akbar.
How long it will take? A big part
of that is for us to recognize
that Allah has chosen us to make a
significant difference.
May Allah accelerate the unity of this Umma,
and accelerate the liberation of Palestine,
and all of the Muslims subjugated in all
over the world. May Allah accelerate the collapse
of the apartheid regime. May Allah
continue to blind the strategies of the Zionists.
May Allah
allow us to never sell ourselves short.
And if I were to give you one
action item, you may have seen it circulating
and I will continue to push it wherever
I can.
The majority of Muslim organizations in this country
nationally
have signed on to a strike for Gaza
until there is a ceasefire.
No life as usual. This Monday,
no school, no work, no spending. I would
lend my voice to that call. Every single
one of you, I highly encourage you to
take part. We're not gonna sleep. We will
not get tired. We will not get disillusioned
especially after Allah has shown us what he
has shown us in the last 6 months.
We're gonna keep pushing, we're gonna max out
like never before
We're going to sustain and we're going to
persevere
and we're going to liberate the lands of
Al Quds,
May Allah forgive us our sins and perfect
his favor upon us and make us instrumental
as forces of good and justice in the
world and cure our sick and have mercy
upon our deceased and accept our martyrs
and forgive us for our shortcomings.