Muiz Bukhary – Drowning in Lifes Challenges- The Story of the Prophet Yoonus
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AI: Transcript ©
Ali,
All
Praise and thanks be to Almighty Allah Abu Asmaa, mean, the Lord of
all worlds, the Exalted, the majestic, and we ask him to send
his choices to blessings and salutations upon our beloved
Prophet, Muhammad, sallAllahu, alayhi wa alahi wa sallam, his
family members, his companions, and every single individual who
embraces the Prophetic teachings, who embraces the prophetic path,
with the class, with sincerity, until the end of time, my dear,
respected elders, Brothers and Sisters in Islam, sisters, because
Perhaps they may listen to the recording later on, I admonish
myself. And then all of you, all gathered here to adopt a life of
taqwa, and that is to instill the consciousness of your maker, of
Allah, Azza wa jal during every single second of your lives. And
oh, my congregation, O believers, O menoun, you must do this if you
wish to attain victory, if you wish to attain success in this
world, as well as the hereafter, may Allah subhanaw taala make us
all from the people of taqwa, and May He make us from the victorious
and successful ones, my
dear brothers and sisters,
imagine for a moment that you are engulfed by darkness. You know as
human beings, we find it difficult. We find it difficult.
There are even those of us, many of us who have
phobias, fears of being in dark spaces, dark enclosed spaces. So
just imagine you are engulfed by utter darkness. There is no light,
no sound, only
the deafening silence, the suffocating silence of isolation.
You are trapped, and you are all alone,
deep down
in the belly of a sea creature.
You can't move much, you can't see and you have no idea as to whether
you, you you know, stand a chance of escaping, surfacing, making it
out. Now this is where our story begins, within the depths of the
ocean,
where a man found himself imprisoned in the belly of a great
sea creature. How did he get here? What led to this unimaginable
situation and what could possibly happen next. Let me take you to
the beginning, a righteous man, my dear brothers and sisters, a
righteous man worshiping Allah subhanahu wa in Jerusalem in
Baitul makodis.
He was from the Banu, Israel. He was from the children of Israel
Yani. He was from duria Ya, the children of Yakub, alaihi, salatu,
Salam. He was pious. He was righteous. He was full of taqwa,
fearing Allah subhanahu wa and who was he? His name was
Yunus. His name was Yunus, Yunus Ibn Mata.
Yunus, the son of MATA
he alahi Salatu was Salam now was commanded by Allah subhanahu wa
taala. A mission was thrusted onto his shoulders,
a mission, a great mission, where he is now being appointed as a
prophet of Allah subhanahu wa and he was commanded by Allah azza wa
jal to go to the people of nainawah.
He was commanded to go to the people of nainawah. Now nainawah,
it exists today also. It is a city in Iraq. It is one of the oldest
cities
along the Tigris River,
and at that juncture.
He was commanded to go nine hour consisted of a population,
approximately 100,000 people.
Now this great mission that was on his shoulders, he goes and he
starts to fulfill the commandment of Allah azza wa jal, day after
day Yunus Ali, Salatu was Salam called the people who were
engulfed in a different form of darkness. They were engulfed in
associating partners Unto Allah. They were engulfed in falsehood.
They were engulfed in lying. They were engulfed in worshiping so
many things,
either in place of Allah or along with Allah subhanahu wa, sin out
there. So he goes to them, and day after day, he calls them to the
truth. He urges them to turn away from their false gods, to turn to
Allah subhanahu wa, to return to the ibadah, to the worship of one
true creator, one true maker. But the people of nine hour were
stubborn. They were stubborn, as is human nature. They were
stubborn. They made a mockery out of this great prophet, out of the
Prophet Yunus alayhi, salatu wasallam. They ridiculed Him. They
ridiculed his message.
They ridiculed the teachings of Allah subhanahu wa. They rejected
his pleas.
Some of us might be thinking at this juncture, how bad a people
they were,
how bad a people they were, almost as if
we are not guilty of this,
intentionally or unintentionally, unintentionally. Do we not make a
mockery out of the teachings of the Quran
when you know it is a sin to lie,
do you not lie through your teeth?
Then are you not making a mockery out of the Quran? Are you not
making a mockery out of the teachings of the messenger?
SallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam?
When you know that you have to be just as a believer,
you choose the path of injustice. Are you not making a mockery? Are
you not heedless that Allah
would punish you, that you have to stand in the court of Allah? You
pride yourself over escaping worldly courts, worldly offices of
law. But how, how
yami scheme.
Are you going to escape the court of Allah? How are you going to
escape the justice of Allah? How are you going to escape on the Day
of Judgment?
So let us not remove ourselves. Let us not think high and mighty
of ourselves. Oh, they were a people who mocked, ridiculed. But
we do not mock. We do not ridicule. The Quran is on a high
shelf in my house, the Quran, yes, gathering dust. But are the
teachings in our lives, very far from it, very far from it. Then
you are mocking the Quran. You are ridiculing the Quran. You are
ridiculing the teachings of the messenger, sallAllahu, alayhi wa
alayhi wa sallam.
So be wary, O believers. So
the Prophet was sent, and remember after Muhammad, sallAllahu, alayhi
wa sallam, no prophet is going to be sent.
So do not drift too far away from Sarat al mustaqeem, may Allah keep
us on the straight path. I mean,
so he urges them, he please, he begs that they should turn back to
Allah subhanahu wa taala. He calls them as per certain reports for
10s of years, and it was said that he was persistent on his mission
for 30 years, 30 years and across 30 years, no one believed it was
said, except for two people.
Two people believed in his message after 30 years of calling,
calling, begging and pleading unto them that they should turn to
Allah subhanho wa taala. Now, after this long period, Jibreel
Ali Salah to salaam comes suddenly and informs the Prophet Yunus,
alas, to warn his people that the punishment of Allah subhanho wa
Taala
is going to descend upon them in three days. Countdown begins in
three days, the destruction of Allah, the Doom from Allah,
punishment from Allah, is to descend on them.
He wants them left, right and center, but he thinks to himself,
perhaps.
Perhaps I called them for 30 years, three decades, I called
them and they didn't believe as if these three days are now going to
make a difference. Where are they going to listen to me? So he wants
them, and in a moment of despair, he makes a decision that would
change his life forever.
He abandons the city. He abandons his people, believing that they
were beyond redemption, that they stood no chance. They are going to
be destroyed. That is it over, and he leaves the city of nine hour.
He walks away having no idea of the trials that now await ahead of
him. He makes his way towards the river Tigris because he wanted to
get as far away as possible from this city, from the punishment of
Allah, from the destruction of Allah, from these wretched people.
So he makes his way towards the river Tigris.
Allah mentions his story in many a place, in the Noble Quran, for
example, in Surat Safa, which is the 37th chapter, ayah number 139,
Allah, Subhanahu, WA, he states, WA in
unusala, Minal, murusali, Morsani,
idabhorkin, Mashu,
Faisal, Hamma, kanamin al mudah haudi,
you lose wainusa, Lamin al mursalin, and indeed, Jonah Yunus
Ali salatu. Salaam was one of the messengers if Abba Ko ilful Kill
mashun, and when he fled, when he ran to the laden ship.
Now pause for a moment.
Yunus, alas making his way to the river Tigris, as Allah mentions in
the Quran. Now what's happening in 901?
Day one of the three days approaches 901.
The skies are dark,
thunder, lightning, and this is why even the messenger sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam, when the skies were gloomy, when it was dark,
when there was thunder and lightning, he used to immediately
turn to the worship of Allah subhanho wa taala, fearing the
anger of Allah azza wa jal.
What do we do?
Some hot chocolate, a nice blanket, Netflix, a nice movie.
The weather is nice for that.
The Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam, used
to turn to Allah, fearing the anger of Allah. Azzawajal,
so day one, gloomy, dark, thunder, lightning. Now the people were
trembling. They all come out, and they settle upon a realization
that it is the punishment of Allah, what Yunus Ali sloth was
salam said, was true. And they are gripped with fear. They gripped
with fear. They ask one another. They are screaming. They are
crying out. And they want to know, what do we do, what do we do? And
then someone suggests find Yunus. He will know what to do. Let us go
to the Prophet Yunus. They rush to his house. They rushed to the
Prophet Yunus house, only to find out what he has left.
Oh, Yunus has left. The Prophet Yunus has left. Now, they're
clamoring, they're trembling, they're scared, they're worried.
They don't know what to do, until finally, some of them suggested,
even if Yunus Ali Salat was Salam is not amidst us. Let us heed His
message. Let us turn to Allah. Let us turn to Allah in tawba. Let us
seek the forgiveness of Allah. So men, women, children, all of them
clamoring out, 100 or 1000 people clamoring out and begging and
beseeching Allah begging for the forgiveness of Allah Ya, Allah
Ya Hai, Yu ya ka u
LA, Ilan, ha, Ilan,
there is no de.
No one worthy of worship other than you, Ya Allah, we leave our
wretched ways, Ya Allah, we abandon our wretched ways, Ya
Allah, forgive us. They beg for the forgiveness of Allah. They beg
and cry and plead for the forgiveness of Allah, Subhanahu wa
and something amazing happens, something that has not happened in
human history.
Allah azza wa jal accepts the Toba of this nation. Why? Because it
was the entire nation. Not a single person was left behind, all
of them begging for the forgiveness of Allah. As Allah
says in Surat Yunus, chapter 10, ayah number 98 fellow,
aha imanuha, illa kauma, you knows, the exception was made for
the people of Yunus, where they were forgiven and the punishment
was removed, or the punishment was halted,
they were forgiven. You
know, Sally salad was not aware of this. He thought that his people
were beyond redemption. There's no chance for them, but Allah forgave
them.
Now he's made his way to the river Tigris. He wants to get as far
away as possible. There is this ship full of people. They look at
him and they see him to be a righteous individual. They offer
him to come aboard. He boards the ship, and the ship is now in the
middle of the sea. It is in the middle of the sea.
And now the dark clouds that had approached the city were affecting
the sea as well a storm,
a violent storm, descends upon them, and now the waves rise like
mountains, tossing the ship like a tiny toy in the vast ocean. Now
the crew, they're desperate to save themselves. The captain of
the ship cries out, throw aboard your belongings. Throw aboard your
belongings. Otherwise we are all going to drown. They want to make
the ship light so they throw away as much of their belongings as
they can. But still, it's almost about to capsize the storm, the
waves, the water, until finally, at one juncture, they are forced
to make a decision. Some of us have to jump aboard if some of us
are to survive, it's a tough call. Some of us have to jump aboard if
others are to survive, if we all remain, we are all going to die.
Now, obviously, no one wants to willingly jump aboard. It's the
vast ocean, the middle of the ocean. So they decide to draw
lots. Draw lots,
you know a method to choose names. You draw lots. For example, you
put the names of everyone, and you pick names. And they pick names.
The first name to be picked was Eunice Allah. Akbar,
the captain and the crew look at Yunus Alisha Salam and say, No
way, you are a righteous individual. We cannot throw you
aboard. Let us draw lots again. They draw lots again, again, the
name Yunus, again, the name Yunus, they say, No way, we cannot throw
you aboard. Let us draw lots again, and they draw lots again,
the name Yunus. Why? My dear brothers and sisters, the storm
was not targeted at the ship.
The storm was not targeting the people of the ship. The storm was
targeting one individual, one individual, because his journey
could not continue. He had to be turned back to his mission. He
left on his own accord. He had to be turned back the plan of Allah.
So, you know, salatul, Salam now starts to realize something's up.
He willingly comes forward, and he is thrown aboard. No sooner he
hits the water, Allah had commanded and decreed that oft the
sea creatures that lurk within the depths of the ocean, my dear
brothers and sisters, you may be thinking of a whale. You may be
thinking of a massive creature that you are aware of, but you
should know that there are depths in the ocean that man has still
not traversed to there are creatures lurking in those depths,
in utter darkness only machines can go and even machines cannot
withstand the pressure so deep, so deep pitch, utter darkness,
a creature was commanded to surface and swallow, you know,
sarees, la Salaam in whole. Now, scientifically, if you think of
it, scientifically, there are so many factors. How could he
survive? There's not going to be much oxygen inside the belly of
the sea creature. And even if there was oxygen, the digestive
acids inside.
If the sea creature would have crushed him to bits. So how did he
survive? How? Because it is through the power of Allah. Allah
decreed the fire not to burn. Ibrahim alaisla to Salam. So it is
no big deal for Allah to decree that a sea creature should swallow
him whole without him being harmed. Now the sea creature with
him almost like a submarine. It goes down into the depths of the
ocean, and he is inside. He does not know what to do.
Now you come to the beginning of the sermon. Imagine yourself in
that darkness inside the belly of the sea creature. He has no one to
turn to, except Allah
subhanahu wa he mentions in the Noble Quran
Surah Al abiya, chapter 21 ayah, number 87
within
and
remember when the noon, the noon, he was known as the noon as well,
when the noon went off in anger
for one all naqdi ra Alaihi, and he thought that we would not
decree anything upon him. Allah Now mentions he is in the
darkness, okay, at this juncture, he's in the Darkness of the belly
of the sea creature Allah mentions,
Subhan,
He cries out, Ya Allah,
La Ilaha Ilan,
there is no God, no deity worthy of worship other than you. Ya
Allah, Subhanak, glory be unto you. Ini, kuntumina, Wali, mean
indeed I have been of those who have
done oppression. Yani, I have been of the wrongdoers. I have
oppressed myself. I have wronged
he cries out, glorifying Allah, seeking the help of Allah.
Subhanho wa taala, My
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islam, a period passes Allahu
Alam, Allah knows how long. Allah knows how long we don't have in
the Quran, there is no mention of it. There is no accurate
report to state that he stayed this long inside the belly of the
sea creature. But after a period of time, Allah commands the sea
creature to surface to surface, and Yunus Ali salatu assalam is
now brought a show, again by the people of Nainoa. By the people of
Nainoa, he is brought a show. His weak, skin to bone,
he's sick, and he drags himself on the shores, as Allah mentions
earlier in the ayat that I mentioned, WA am BATNA Allah
subhanahu, WA says, wambathna alayhi Shah jaratan, mean yakutin.
And what did Allah do? He caused a goat tree to grow to provide him
shade and so that he could eat from the tree. And there was a
deer that would come and give him milk on a daily basis. So slowly,
he regains his strength, he regains his vigor, and he is able
to now get up and walk. He makes his way to the city of Nainoa to
find, to his astonishment, to find, to his surprise, that the
entire city had turned to Allah, subhanho wa Taala had mended their
ways, his people that he thought stood no chance of redemption.
Allah gave them a second chance, and they had all mended their
ways. He now spends time with them, teaching them, guiding them
towards the teachings of the Quran, towards the teachings of
Allah subhanahu wa up until there was a period of time where he had
fulfilled His mission, He seeks the permission of Allah Azerbaijan
to perform pilgrimage. He performs pilgrimage, and afterwards he
seeks the permission of Allah to travel the world. He travels the
world, and eventually passes away and moves on to the Mercy of Allah
subhanahu wa
obviously, because of the brevity of time,
I have to summarize quickly the story, but I want to end with a
few powerful lessons by your brothers and sisters in Islam.
Now you might be thinking,
it's a nice story, obviously,
many lessons to deduce, but how do I relate to the story
this entire con?
Progression.
We are all drowning.
We are all drowning.
None of us here can say, Hold on, Sheik, I'm not drowning. We are
all drowning,
drowning. How? But I know how to swim. I'm not drowning.
You're drowning in life's challenges. You are drowning in
life's challenges. You may not be trapped
in the belly of a sea creature, but you're trapped within life's
challenges. Think of the overwhelmed teenager.
Consider the example of the plight of a teenager today.
You have got the pressures of school,
the expectations of parents, the expectations of the Father,
expectations of the mother. Teenage. Teenagers in the crowd
will relate the influence of peers
and the constant barrage of information from social media, be
it YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, so much of information
back and forth.
So many teenagers today, they feel lost. They feel suffocated by the
weight of it all, and they feel like they're drowning in
expectations that they cannot meet.
And they feel like they're drowning in a world that feels
confusing, that feels unforgiving. Think about the student before
before an examination, standing at the brink of a crucial exam, the
anxiety, the fear of failure, the countless hours of study, all of
it can feel like a heavy burden, like waves, like mountains ready
to crash over them. They feel like they're drowning in their books.
They feel like they're drowning in the fear of disappointing their
loved ones. They feel like they're drowning in the pressure to secure
a bright future. Think of the young professional looking for a
job. He's trying to navigate the complexities of a demanding career
the corporate world, the pressure to perform, to meet deadlines, to
climb up the corporate ladder. All of this can seem as if he's
drowning, drowning, uncertainty of his career path, challenges at
times, fear of losing his job, balancing work and personal life
he is drowning the parent trying to provide. Consider the father
working tirelessly to provide for the family, the rising cost of
living, the rising prices, the pressure to ensure that the
children are educated, the need to keep his family safe and secure,
these can all become extremely overwhelming. Parents might feel
like they're drowning in a sea of financial responsibilities, the
struggle to both be a provider as well as a nurturer, all the while
trying to maintain one's own well being, one's own sanity, whilst
doing all of this, it can be as if you're drowning the person
battling mental health issues. There are those who have panic
attacks, there are those who have anxiety. There are those suffering
out of depression. There are those who are going through other
psychological struggles, the darkness that they are in might
seem as if it is
something that they cannot break out from, just like the belly of
the sea creature, no light, no way out. There are those struggling
with suicidal thoughts. They are drowning in all these thoughts.
They feel isolated. They feel all by themselves, as if no one
understands their pain, as if no one can relate to them. And each
day, they feel as if they are sinking deeper and deeper.
Think of our brethren in Philistine,
the refugees, oppressed individuals. They are displaced by
war. They're displaced by poverty. They're displaced by persecution.
They're fleeing from conflict. They don't know where to go. Their
houses have been taken. Their wealth have been taken. Their
business have been taken. Day after day, they lose loved ones.
They've lost lost children, lost their spouses. They feel like the
world has forgotten them. Each day is a struggle to survive, to find
safety, to put a meal on the table, to find their loved ones
who have been misplaced. They're drowning. SubhanAllah. So as you
can see, my dear brothers and sisters, when you reflect on the
story, the analogy to the story of Yunus alayhi, Salat was salam, we
arrive at this moment of realization that there is so much
that we can relate to
so as we drown my dear brothers and sisters, just like the Prophet
Yunus alayhi, salatu assalam, we must acknowledge our mistakes. We
must seek the forgiveness of Allah, and we must place our trust
in Allah, Subhanahu wa it was this sincere trust that he had in
Allah.
Allah that brought him out of the depths, out of the darkness and
back into the light. So likewise, when we are drowning in life's
challenges, we must remember that Allah is always near. No matter
how overwhelming our situation may be, no matter how deep we feel we
have sunk. There is always hope. Just as Allah subhanahu wa
responded to the dua of Yunus Alayhi Salatu assalam. He will
Azerbaijan. He will respond to us when we call upon him with the
khlaas, with sincerity and faith. So my Dear Brothers and Sisters in
Islam, take lessons from the story of Yunus Alayhi Salatu assalam. Do
not give up. Do not lose hope. Place your trust firmly in Allah
subhanahu wa, turn to him, Allah azza wa jal, and he will help you,
O my dear brother, O my dear sister, to serve us, to serve us
and to navigate through the problems and challenges of life.
May Allah subhanho wa Taala ease the affairs of each and every one
of us, may Allah forgive our sins, may Allah accept our good deeds.
May Allah ease the affairs of our brethren and Philistine, may Allah
ease the affairs of every brother and sister struggling with any of
life's challenges. May Allah protect our younger children, our
our younger generation. May Allah protect our youth. May Allah
protect our women folk. May Allah protect the Ummah of Muhammad,
sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam, and just as how he united us here, may
unite us in the gardens of Jannah, in the companionship of our
beloved prophet, Muhammad, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam,
Amin, amin, wamin.