Mustafa Abu Rayyan – 28 Tafseer Surah alBaqarah Verses 148150
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of following the Bible's commandments and not criticizing them, especially in the face of negative thoughts and rushing towards something. They stress the need to be mindful of commandments and not let anyone doubt them, and emphasize the importance of positive thinking and positive outlook. The speakers also discuss the importance of reciting the Quran and learning to be mindful of Allah's words and actions, and stress the importance of not denying or denying blessings. The importance of gratitude and not being a disbeliever is emphasized.
AI: Summary ©
Surah Al Baqarah.
We were we started the 2nd Jews,
and we were speaking about the one of
the first
legislations,
that was revealed upon the Ummah after they
moved to Madinah.
And we've mentioned many times before
that Makkah, the Makkan period of the prophet
and the Sahaba
was the cultivation
period,
where mainly
the verses related to Makkah
speak about Tawhid.
The prophet and the Sahaba are being given,
Allah
is telling them the stories of the past
to find solace
and to find comfort.
They are being reminded of Achera. They are
being reminded of patience because this is the
situation they were in. So there were not
a lot of legislation. So they haven't
they haven't It's going to be difficult looking
this way a lot because,
so,
Afaan if I don't face this way,
It would be easier if others were this
side but it's fine.
So
So the
verses, if you read them, if if you
open up any chapter and it is you
can tell from the theme
if it is a or a
is emphasizing
on patience, and there's not a lot of
new legislation.
It is the Madani Surahs speak about different
aham related to marriage, and divorce, and transaction,
and and prayer, and Hajj, etcetera.
So,
Baqarah
has a lot of hakam in it.
One of the first
that we come across is the of the
changing of the qibla.
And there's many others that will follow.
Now it wasn't only a it was also
an abrogation.
1st the Muslims were told to pray towards,
and then they were told to change it
to the Kaaba.
And this caused a reaction
from the Mushrikeen,
from the Munafiqeen,
and from the Yahud, and from the Muslims.
What does the true believer's reaction?
Whatever Allah commands us we do. And what
was the reaction of the?
How dare you change your qibla?
This you have lost all legitimacy now, oh
Muhammad.
Because the only thing that legitimized you to
begin with, was the fact that you honored
our
when you were facing towards.
But now that you've changed it, you've lost
your way. What was the criticism from the,
from the,
Mohammed,
when he was facing towards Jerusalem to begin
with, you have,
left the way of your forefathers,
that which was built by Ibrahim, the Kaaba,
etcetera.
So and when he changed the back it
was well you've you've come back to the
Kaaba, you might as well come back to
either worship.
And the would
be saying, look at Muhammad he can't change
his mind. One time he's facing this way,
other time he's facing that way. So these
were the criticism that Rasool Allah Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam was facing from these types of people.
And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
explains,
in the ayahs that we covered
why the prophet
and that isn't up to him. And wherever
Allah tells him to face, he will face.
For
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the whole theme of
is following the commandments of Allah
and not doubting
and not questioning,
but being true believers and true submitters.
And the the the qibla change was a
clear example of that. No matter what Allah
tells you, will you be okay and will
you be willing to do it?
And also
an understanding that
we as Muslims, and we covered
the previous verses before the Qibla chain, he
was talking about the most exemplary
Muslim which was of course, prophet Ibrahim alayhi
salam where Allah says he is the epitome.
He is the greatest example
of someone that has fully submitted to Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. And Allah says
When Allah said to him submit, he said
I submit to all of the worlds.
So submit when Allah tells you to pray,
submit when Allah tells the situation of alone,
Submit when Allah changes the qiblah. Right? And
you have to remember that theme. And it's
especially relevant
because after this,
we're going to enter into many verses that
speak about legislation.
Starting with the Ayas, I will talk about
fasting
that will come across quite soon and verses
related to other ihqam as well. So Allah
is preparing us
that our mentality should be one where we
are willing to do whatever Allah commands us
to do,
and not be like the yahood who didn't
do that.
Do what you're being commanded.
So, verse 147 is where we're starting today.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,
the truth comes from your Lord.
The truth is from your Lord. Whatever that
truth is, and here is an important principle
that we must understand of every single thing
we read in the Quran. The Quran can
generally be split in 2 things. Statements of
fact,
commandments from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So commandments
and prohibitions, you can lump them together. Things
we ought to do or not to do.
Right? So the do's and don'ts
and the statements.
Allah being 1 is a statement.
Angels existing is a statement. So, Akbar. Statement
is Allah is telling us. Things Allah is
telling us about the past, about the future,
about the world of the unseen.
So the Quran is Allah sent the Quran
And the word of your lord has been
completed.
It's truthful.
In its statements. Whatever Allah tells you is
truth.
And it is just in its commandment and
prohibitions.
So the do's and don'ts are built upon
justice,
the statements are built upon truth. So no
one is allowed to deny something Allah told
us, and no one is allowed to think
that one of the commandments of Allah isn't
just or good.
This is the why also in Surah Al
Bayina, when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,
reciting
purified scriptures.
What's in it?
In it
is commandments
that are that are upright, correct and perfect.
So this is the the mentality of the
true believer.
So Allah is saying that the qibla changed
and all of it, the truth comes from
your lord.
So do not be and do not be
from those who doubt it. So yes, the
and the and
the they're all talking from the side of
their mouth,
trying to to to
criticize the change in this new commandment.
Don't listen to them, and don't let them
doubt you. And then Allah says,
And every nation had a qiblah, every community
had its own direction of prayer.
So you're not the only one who was
given or assigned a Iblah, and you will
not so so the Allah subhanahu wa'ala is
telling us, it's just another command that you've
been given.
So what are we supposed to do then?
Rush towards all that is good. Hasten towards
that is good.
Interesting that Allah is using the word hasten,
and that comes across quite often. Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala says,
and hasten towards the forgiveness of your lord.
Rush towards that which is good. The believer
isn't someone that just walks towards that which
is good. You must rush towards it. You
must hasten towards it. This is why there's
a specific virtue in praying in the front
row. Right?
And the concept that you wanna rush towards
that which is good. I'll give you guys
an example that you'll find a sort of
prophet
Musa alaihi salam was ordered to go and
receive the Torah from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
And he brought with him,
how many men who can tell me? How
many men went
with him?
70. 70. Right? And,
they they go with him. 40 was the
amount of days. Right?
So
as they are going on the mountain poor,
Musa Alaihi Salam
is rushing to in front of them. They're
all going.
And then Allah says,
Why did you come quicker? Why did you
rush oh Musa? What do you say?
Oh Allah, they are coming. They're right behind
me.
And I rush towards you. Why?
So that you can be pleased with me.
You know, they were all going,
but
there was a sense of urgency in Musa
alaihi salam that was not in his ummah.
And this is a very important
That you have a sense of eagerness
and a sense of rush towards all that
is good.
Allah
be pleased with us.
So that's an important so Allah is saying
whenever whenever it's someone there's a call to
charity.
There are a of Allah out there. People
that are close to Allah and they've been
given this gift.
The first person that that gives charity.
The first person that that that that Think
about it. Go to any local masjid.
The people that pray in the front row,
they're regulars.
They are regulars. Any masjid, the people that
pray in the front row
are most of the time regular. I can
I know every This masjid, I can name
you or I know the faces of all
of the regular brothers and uncles that pray?
This is a gift from Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala grant us
this eagerness to rush towards all that is
good. Similarly,
when it comes to cost towards charity, when
it comes towards
when when it comes towards anything that is
good. So Allah is commanding us don't just
do good, but what? Rush towards it.
So what is the context here of as
it
relates to the qibla? It means
the qibla has been changed.
So don't believe that it is good, act
upon it, face towards it, and also rush
to all that is good. And and all
that is good come from Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala. So that means all of his commandments
including the qibla change.
And for every community and every nation, there
was a direction that they faced towards.
So rush towards that which is good.
Raise
to
good
deeds.
Wherever
you are, Allah
will gather you together. This is referring to
the day of judgement. Wherever you are, Allah
will gather you all together.
So since Allah is going to gather you
together, for what? For judgement,
what should you do?
Rush towards goodness, good luck we mentioned earlier.
Allah is capable of doing everything.
Allah has power to do everything.
Then the prophet, the prophet is being commanded
again.
And wherever you may go, or wherever you
may travel to.
Turn your face in the direction of the
sacred mosque.
So wherever you may go, turn towards the
qibla. This is the new law. This is
the new commandment.
From now on the direction of prayer is
the Kaaba.
Oh prophet, wherever you may have sorted out
or wherever you may go, turn your face
towards the direction of the second mosque.
And this is the truth from your lord.
This is the truth from your lord. Again,
earlier Allah said, it is the truth from
your lord. Again now, it is the truth
from your lord. They ask the question, why
is Allah emphasizing?
Once,
twice, because
Because there were so many people
that were using the qibla change
as a point of criticism of the prophet
so that Allah is affirming this fact.
Face those wherever you may be. It is
the truth from your lord.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said,
and Allah is not unaware of what you
are doing for everyone. Those of you that
are criticizing, those of you that are hesitating,
those of you that are not following, Allah
is not unaware of what you do. And
similarly, Allah is not unaware of what you
do that which is good. So those of
you that
are doing kayy, Allah is also unaware of
that. So a lot of times the
way we
the way we
think about Allah Almighty.
For example, this verse, and
Allah is not unaware of what you're doing.
The first a lot of people will come
to mind is watch out, don't sin. Allah
is not unaware of what you're doing. Correct?
But
do a lot of good,
For Allah is not unaware of what you're
doing. Allah will reward you for it. So
having that positive mindset as well. Right?
Do a lot of good because Allah is
aware of it. Does that make sense? And
I remember one of our sheikhs, my alhamris,
he died. Sheikh Ali Hassanal Halabi.
He
he said,
one time, I think was he I he
was either called for a talk
or
an event or he was asked a question.
Someone
asked a question related to the punishment of
the grave.
And he said, why are you calling it
punishment of the grave?
Why don't you say the blessings of the
grave?
Aren't people blessed in the grave as well?
But often we name it the punishment of
the grave.
He said, just like there's an isn't there
a name of the isn't there a blessing
of the grave? Aren't so many muslims now
enjoying their grave and and being rewarded by
Allah and they cannot wait for their judgement?
Isn't that the case? So he said even
though your language and how you speak about
it, try and have a positive outlook and
say, Sheikh, how
regarding our belief in the blessings of the
grave. Often people will say regarding the punishment
of the grave. So it is important that
we always try and have a positive outlook
on things. Does that mean we, we don't,
we completely forget about
the the negative or the no, not. But
it is about the mindset of the believer
and having
hope just like you have fear.
And the prophet said, hadith, or
your and positivity and optimism is something I
like. So this is something to always keep
in mind.
So Allah is not unaware
of what you are doing, for those that
are criticizing and those that are doing good
as well. Because Allah is aware of everything.
Then Allah
says in verse 150,
and wherever you go,
turn your face towards the masjid of Haram,
the sacred mosque.
Again, it is being repeated.
Allah then
says,
oh believers wherever you are.
Turn your faces towards
the sacred mosque as well. So now Allah
is speaking to the prophet and the believers.
Why did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala adjust the
prophet and the believer separately? Which we'll find
in
the Quran, is often Allah addresses the believers
separately, and then Allah might sometimes mention the
prophet separately, and sometimes
mentioning them together.
And the reason for this is although every
although there's a general principle, if Allah tells
our prophet something by extension it involves us
as well. Right?
Right? And when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells
the prophet salallahu alayhi wasallam to have patience,
we should also have patience. Right? So, the
general rule is that if the prophet has
planned something then we are included as well.
And when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commands the
believers something, the prophet is among the believers.
He would pray 5 times a day everything.
Right? Sometimes though there is a distinction and
the prophet is told something that we are
not told.
And and we we are required to do
things that the prophet isn't. Right? And the
rulings sometimes change, but generally it's the same.
But here, because the issue of the qibla
change was such a
big change,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala emphasized it. So, the
the following verses that we repeated were mainly
actually, like some of the scholars of Tafsir
say referring to when you are traveling
So when you are traveling face the qiblah.
And when you are not, also face the
qiblah. Prophet of Allah face the qiblah. Believers
also face the
It is almost ensuring
that explaining it in detail to ensure that
every single person
or every single,
idea that might come up which goes against
the commandment is, discussed. This is not only
for the prophet, it's for all the Muslims.
This is not only when you're in the
wherever you go.
Face, turn your face towards the sacred mosque.
We spoke about the Masjid Haram, the sacred
mosque.
We are required to face the Kaaba if
we can see the Kaaba, which is why
the prayers are circular. The lines
when you're outside
of the
the complex, then you face the mosque. When
you're when you are outside of the country,
you face the general direction. So as you
get closer, you have to be more specific.
Then Allah says,
all believers wherever you may be.
Then turn your faces towards it, towards it,
towards the
So that the people may not have an
argument against you.
Follow this commandment
and do it, so that the people
may have no argument against you. Who are
these people that may have an argument?
It is referring to the Mushrikeen,
the polity at Salmakkah,
who
may have an argument, would have an argument
against the believers
if the prophet kept on facing towards Baytul
Maqaddas, kept on facing towards Jerusalem,
that
they would have said we will never follow
Muhammad. He abandoned the faith of his father
Ibrahim Alaihi Salam. We will never follow Muhammad.
He's abandoned the Kaaba. Right? So that they
may not have an argument against you. The
has been changed. This is leading to the
wisdoms behind it.
Or
as some have said, this is referring to
the who
in their books,
it's said that the final prophet will for
some time face Baytul Maqdis and then his
will be changed to Makkah. Right? So
so
face to qibla so that they will not
have an argument against you because if the
prophet kept on praying to his way to
Makkah they would say actually you're not the
real prophet. Why? Because the prophet, the last
prophet was told that he would change his
qibla. So no matter what you So, so
Allah is saying so that this doesn't happen.
They have no khudya against you. This is
why we ordered you to change to face
towards the, the Kaaba.
So the people may have an argument against
you, accept the wrongdo among them. So the
oppressive among them, the unjust among them,
regardless of your argument
and of its truthfulness,
they will refuse you anyway.
So what is then the command from Allah
regarding these people?
Do not fear them.
Fear me instead. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said
do not fear them but fear me.
The word
is not the same as the word which
is not the same as the word, wajil,
which is not the same as the word
rahab.
Right? These are all variations
that all mean,
some type of fear.
And this is the beauty of the Arabic
language. English is just fear. Right? But, Allah
subhanahu wa'ala uses so many different words.
And for example, Allah uses the word hoof.
Hoof is fair. Right? Allah in the Quran
says, Fear me. Right? The word,
fear your Lord. Right? Hoaf is to be
afraid.
And hope, to be afraid, there's a natural
fear. Right?
And then there's a fear related to Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala that can only be given
to him. So what is a natural fear?
Something, I don't know if men with guns
come in right now and would be afraid.
Then that's fine. This kind of fear is
natural.
And you're not told to So when Allah
says in the Quran do not fear them,
fear
me, it is not related to that type
of fear. Regular fear.
Right? And you are, this is perfectly fine.
This is why you'll find, Prophet Musa, alayhi
salam, in the hafu and yaftulun. Okay. I'm
afraid that he will kill me. This is
a regular fear. Right?
Then you have
the fear as it relates
to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And that is that you know
that Allah has complete and full authority
over you. Complete and full power over you.
The one who's keeping you alive is Allah
and he can take it away. The one
who's blessing you is Allah and he can
take it away. The one who can punish
is Allah and the one who can reward
you is Allah. So that type of fear
is only for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Right?
If someone is afraid of other than Allah
in that manner,
this is shirk.
Does that make sense?
And that type of fear is actually
you're rewarded for it. You are rewarded for
it. I'll give you an example. Why did
you not pray fajr? Why why do you
wake up in the middle of the night?
Or or or why do you wake up
to pray fajr?
I wake up because I know if I
sleep I'm afraid of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Allah reward you for the fear and for
the prayer. Does that make sense? And this
is why the fear is
an action of the heart. Right?
And
in fact it is among the greatest
There is a Have you all heard of
the story of the 3 men from Benoit
Israel that were
that a they were they went into a
cave because it was a rainy night, and
then a rock stumbled and it blocked them
from the entrance and they could not leave
and they thought they were going to die.
That
then
they supplicated to Allah through their actions.
Now one of them supplicated to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala
of
his kindness to his parents.
And another one, subjugated to Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala through his,
trustworthiness.
And another one so what that means is
what what do I mean by supplicating to
Allah's reactions?
Each one of us, I hope, and inshallah
that's the case, that you have a
a good deed that you've done sometime in
the past.
And if you ever want to make dua
to Allah, among the ways you can do
it is you can invoke Allah through a
good deed that you've done. Oh Allah,
you know I've done this and this and
this. Oh Allah, I've done it only for
you. Through this, please, oh Allah, help me.
Aid me through that that I've done. Right?
So you invoke Allah. It's called
to supplicate to Allah through a good deed
that you've done. Invoke Allah through a good
action that you've done. So one of these
men,
and this is the point I'm telling you
this story,
he
it's a long story. I'll summarize it. He
was in love with a woman,
and this and then and she was in
desperate time, in desperate need.
And he approached her, she refused,
and she wasn't she was desperate for money.
And then he said, I will give it
to you, but if you allow me to
be with you,
of course, through Haram means.
And at first she refused, but through her
desperation and through the need for her children,
and she had no she had she had
she felt she had no other option, she
agreed.
But she was extremely hesitant
and she hated it, but she felt like
she had no choice.
And this man insisted
and at the moment where he was about
to do,
what he wanted,
at that moment,
she
shivered.
She shivered.
And he said, I haven't harmed you. And
one of the rewai, he said, I haven't
harmed you or anything like that. So what
was going on? She said, I am afraid
of Allah.
And then this,
remember the person, that say this this is
going to be this person, so far he's
not a good person.
But this is what he will be using
for Allah as a supplication. Then he said
he stopped himself.
He stopped himself from that word. He said
I fear Allah.
And then he said you
you have this fear in you
while you are this desperate for the money.
And then he said,
while you're in need, can I not be
So he said, I should be more afraid?
So this stopped him and then he had
fear of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then
he left her alone and he gave her
the money anyway.
And he said, oh Allah, I did that
for you
and,
then the the rock moved.
The rock moved and all of them it
moved. Each one it would move slightly until
they had enough to to
to leave.
So that that is fear of Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala. The fear that stops you from
doing a sin. Allah rewards you for that.
The fear that encourages you to do hayk.
Allah rewards you for that. Right? And you're
not allowed to have that type of fear
from anyone but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Now then you have something called
rahaba.
Allah mentioned in the Quran. Right? Allah was
talking about the prophet and his prophets and
he said
they would call upon me. Allah mentioned in
Surat Al Anbiya. It's called the prophet because
it speaks about many many prophets. Allah
says that they would call
upon me
in a state of fear and hope.
So in fear and in hope, these are
the prophets of Allah. But Rahab,
it's
fear
coupled with action.
So,
They were not just afraid
but their fear led them to do good
deeds or stay away from bad deeds. So
this is
then you have which is in this
verse.
Allah
says
is some
It is fair
coupled with knowledge.
Right? This is why Allah says in the
Quran,
Those who truly have
are the scholars,
the knowledgeable.
For it is with your knowledge that you
gain
when you know who Allah is, what Allah
wants, what Allah doesn't like. When you know,
when you have the knowledge of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala and you this is a fair
couple of knowledge. And similarly, so Allah is
saying,
don't fear the people that are criticizing.
Don't fear the people that are against the
prophet. Don't fear them. And then as a
result, do anything or or or or don't
face fear Allah with
knowledge.
Allah said,
so this was the command from Allah have
khashi of Allah. And some of them they
say Khashi is a level higher than hof,
and Allah knows best.
So,
So why was the kibla changed?
Why was the kibla changed?
Why did Allah command us anything?
So that I may complete
my favor upon you.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is teaching us here
that the reason
why Allah commands us, the change, the prayers,
everything.
To perfect my favor upon you. Here we
learn something,
That remember
Allah says
guide us to the straight path.
And then we describe
the people on the path.
The path of those.
All you've blessed. Those whom you have favors
upon. Right?
This favor that we mentioned, they've been favored.
They've been blessed. What is it?
This favor and this blessing that the prophets
and the right people have
is Yes, it is Allah being pleased with
them. Yes, it is going to Jannah, but
it is also the receiving of revelation and
guidance.
This is the blessing.
To know where to pray to, who to
pray to, how to pray, to know what
to do, what not to do. This is
all blessings from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Right?
So what you're learning here is
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's commandments
are not a chore nor a burden.
They are a favor upon Allah from from
Allah upon us. Right? It's not a burden.
This is why,
when you learn
or,
or there's a statement used
for the act of verses that we do.
They are called takalif.
This is why they say who is the
mukalaf? Who is the burden? Mukalaf, takalif is
to be burdened.
Right? Allahumma,
what does that?
Allah does not burden a soul except that
which it can bear. So the word is
burden is used.
So
when the scholars use the word
to describe acts of worship.
Right? Takalif, the the the burdens. Right? You
gotta do this, you gotta do this. And,
you have,
you have,
for example, this is something that
some of the ulama didn't like, this this
the usage of this word. Because it implies
something difficult and hard and what have you.
Nkaim, for example, said that he does not
like the usage of the word,
to to,
as it relates to worship
because it has a negative connotation, doesn't it?
Right? You're burdened with something and
and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's
commandments
are never a burden, rather they are a
blessing and a favor. Allah saying, and
similarly, if you look at the one of
the last verses that were revealed,
When all of the religion was revealed, Allah
said today I have completed my religion for
you.
And I have perfected
my favor upon you. So this is a
blessing. It is a favor. We should never
look at it any other way. So Allah
is saying that the kibla change
and all of it
is
It is so that I can complete my
favor upon you or perfect my favor upon
you.
So that you may be guided.
So commandments of Allah, what do you benefit
from them? You benefit from them? It is
a favor from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It
is guidance from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala which
you are desperate for.
So that you may be guided. May Allah
guide us all. And Allah is now describing
this of the Ni'mah and this this this,
Hidayah.
I have
the the
the qibla change as an example,
and Allah is saying that it is to,
complete my favor upon you. It is just
like
me completing my favor upon you and commanding
you is a blessing and a favor
similar
to or just like. Right?
Just like we have sent to you, just
as we have sent among you a messenger.
So the sending of the messenger, the changing
of the
and every other commandment, all of it are
what?
And blessings.
Just like we have sent to you a
messenger.
And what's so special about the messenger?
From amongst you. From amongst the Arabs, from
amongst humanity.
And what is the function of this prophet?
Three things.
He recites upon you our verses or ayaat,
our signs.
He purifies you.
And he teaches you the book.
And the wisdom. Here it means
the sunnah. And he teaches you something that
you did not know. So this Allah subhanahu
wa'am is describing to us what prophet Muhammad
is doing for us. Allah is describing us
in detail what this niyama, what this favor
is.
If you guys remember
in
the previous lessons that we had when we
spoke about the dua of prophet Ibrahim,
And we mentioned
that the prophet salallahu alayhi hadith, Anada'ut Ibrahim
of Bushra'i isa b'neuriam. The prophet
said, I
am
the prayer of Ibrahim
and I am the gila tiding
of Isa alaihi salam. How is the prophet
the prayer of Ibrahim? When prophet Ibrahim was
building the Kaaba,
Allah speaks about a dua that he made.
Why he was building the Kaaba? So when
he was building the Kaaba, who was with
him? Prophet? Ishmael. And as they are building
the Kaaba, Allah mentions
Prophet amongst them. And what does this prophet
do? Or Allah send one that
He will decide upon them your verses.
And He will teach them the book.
And He will purify them.
So this is their dua. Right? They Ibrahim
and Ismail asked Allah to send to the
people of Makkah a messenger that will do
what? Recite upon them, teach them and purify
them. Here Allah
is saying that
among his blessings are that he sent us
a messenger
from amongst, the people that will do what?
Recite upon us,
purify us, and teach us. Now what's interesting
is the order's a little bit different.
Their du'a was, oh Allah send them a
prophet
that recites upon them your that
teaches no. Teaches them and purifies them. So
the order
that the dua of Ibrahim was was,
recites,
teaches,
purifies.
The order Allah mentions when he's talking about
the prophet is, he will recite upon them
my ayaat, he will purify them and he
will teach them.
Also, why why why did the order change?
Why was purification mentioned before knowledge here? But
when they were making du'a they mentioned knowledge
then purification.
Scholars they say that when Ibrahim was making
the dua,
he mentioned it in the order that it
should be.
The source of guidance is the Quran, so
he will recite that.
And after that he will teach it. And
through that teaching they will gain purification.
And the purification
is the purpose. Right?
The purpose of
our
of our seeking of knowledge,
all of it, the purpose
is
to find that
To be purified
from sin, to be purified
from your ego, from your ignorance, from your
arrogance, and to be someone that becomes a
true abd to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This
is the outcome
of the learning,
of the sending of the prophet, of everything.
It is the
the the point of it all.
The point of it all is to become
to have this tazkiyah.
Right?
So
in how does teskia come?
A lot of people, they wonder
how do I,
become closer to Allah? How do I purify
my heart? How do I get rid of
these bad habits of sin? What can I
do? Here's the recipe.
Recite the
Quran. Recite the Quran.
Just recite it? No. Learn about the Quran.
So learn the Quran. Big difference between reciting
it, there's barak in it, there's khair in
it, there's hidayah and shifa in it,
guidance and healing, but not just recite it,
learn it.
Why what what does Allah say? Why does
Allah say it? What does the prophet say?
Learn the Quran.
And then you will find purification
and his skill. And through what? Acting upon
it as well.
So when prophet Ibrahim said it, it was
the order of how it happens. Recitation,
and then
learning and implementation, and from that you will
gain the tazki that you're looking for. When
Allah
is mentioning it in this verse, Allah
says, just like, so we have complete we
the purpose of it all was
to complete my guidance
Just like we have sent you a messenger,
from amongst you
to do what? To recite upon you my
ayaat
and to purify. Why is purification mentioned? Because
Allah wants to mention the the goal.
It is to emphasize on the goal.
So
the reason Allah mentioned it is to
tell you the purpose of it all is
a tskih, a wizakihim. And then we are
alli mumul kitaba. How is tskih achieved By
teaching the kitab and the hikmah the sunnah.
And I mentioned
previously,
those that try to say we only follow
the Quran
will never
follow
the Quran.
Because in the Quran,
it is repeated often that the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam is here to teach us
the Quran and the hikmah. The hikmah meaning
the understanding
and and the clarification of the Quran. And
how is the Quran clarified Through the prophet's
life, teachings, and sunnah. So you can't separate
the 2. You can never separate the 2.
If you separate the 2, how are you
gonna pray? Because the amount of salawat and
the amount of raka'at
and how to do it, that's not in
the Quran, is it?
How are you gonna give zakat?
How much to give and what to give.
It's not mentioned in the Quran, is it?
So there are many many things that are
not in the Quran, and the Quran gives
us the foundations and the sunnah explains it.
And they are both from Allah, by the
way. Common misconception is that they say the
Quran is from Allah and the sunnah is
from the prophet. Both are from Allah Both
are from Allah Both are
revelation. Both are revelation. The prophet didn't make
the sunnah up. Right? He can't.
He doesn't speak of his own accord. Everything
is revelation.
But there are, of course, differences. The Quran
is the literal word and speech of Allah.
While while the sunnah is inspired by Allah
but the wording is the prophets. The Quran,
you pray with it when you are reciting.
You can't recite you can't recite hadith
while praying. Right? And there are differences of
course, but what do they have in common?
They're all from where? From Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala. So
Allah says,
just as we have sent
with to you, Rasulan,
a messenger,
from amongst you,
reciting upon you, or aayat,
and purifying you,
and teaching you the book,
and the sunnah
and the wisdom,
and the understanding.
And he will teach you
that which you do not know. And here
is another favor being mentioned here.
Every single thing that we learn is fadr
from Allah.
Like Allah said about the prophet himself.
When When Allah was speaking to the prophet
he said,
and he taught you that which you do
not which which you did not know. Right?
So the prophet, Allah gave him this favor
of teaching him the truth and guiding him.
Right?
And the virtue of Allah upon you is
great.
The father that Allah has given you. Similarly
now, Allah is telling us about the the
that which we should be grateful for.
Allah said the prophet, all of the information
he gave us, all of the guidance he
gave us is something that we did not
know previously. So we should be thankful to
Allah and appreciate his favor. Among that is
the changing of the qiblah, which then we
should do
happily,
submitting to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and understanding
that every coming from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
is a favor from Allah upon us.
So now that we've understood that, look at
these two final
statements that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says to
us.
Now that you've understood
that the changing of the qiblah is a
command from Allah that must be followed and
you understood the blessings that Allah has given
you, the numerous ones.
What should you do? Fathukurooni
adkurkum
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said fathukurooni
remember me.
At the Kurukum, I will remember you.
Wish Kuruli and be grateful to me and
thankful
and never be ungrateful.
Remember me.
You are conscious of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
throughout your day. You make dhikr through your
5 daily prayers
afterwards. You make dhikr by mentioning Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, by making tawba to Allah, by
making by reading the Quran. This is all
And what do you gain from So much.
So much. First of all, your heart will
be content.
Indeed, with the remembrance of Allah, do hearts
find tranquility.
What else do you gain from it? Allah
subhanahu wa sallam said the one who remembers
Allah and the one who doesn't
is like the one who is alive versus
the one who is dead. What do you
gain from it? It is one of the
greatest acts of worship. The prophet said in
a beautiful hadith, so I'll not mention to
you the best actions you can do.
The prophet said in a long hadith, a
beautiful hadith. Shall I not tell you the
best of your actions? That which is the
most pure and beloved to Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala. That which is better than giving gold
and silver. That which is better than fighting
for the sake of Allah and and, you
you losing your life.
And then the prophet said, what is it?
The Quran. Remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
This is something that we often neglect.
What is the advice of the one that
wants to be among
with
the Those who remember Allah a lot?
And
for men and women,
and Allah has prepared for them a forgiveness
and a great reward. Do you want to
be amongst those? What should you do? How
can you be among those that mention Allah
often? One more hadith by the way. The
prophet Isahabi asked him, there's too many rebadat.
I don't know which one to do. The
prophet has given a beautiful advice.
Let your tongue never cease to be moist
with the remembrance of Allah
This was the prophetic advice
that he gave to the Sahabi. So,
1st and foremost, iqwanifillah.
Your daily salawat.
Never delay them, that's your remembrance.
Secondly, your daily adkar.
Think about it ikhwanifillah. Imagine if someone just
acted upon that which is in the fortunes
of the Muslim.
When you wake up, as you open your
eyes, you say
don't just say it, you actually say it
with intent. I thank Allah to all who
has granted me life after I died because
our sleep is like
somewhat like a death, like mentioned in the
Quran. Right? Your soul leaves you when you
go to bed.
Just like the soul would leave you.
Like Allah says in Surat Zumr,
So, you thank Allah, and then as every
time you eat, you genuinely say Bismillah in
the name of Allah and when you finish
eating you genuinely thank Allah. When you leave
your house, you read the dua, when you
come into it. And you know, when you
read the dua, imagine every time you make
this dua, you're actually pondering over what you're
saying. You're actually thanking Allah. Every sip sip
you take of water,
you genuinely thank Allah. This means being mindful
to Allah.
So start applying that. Start doing your daily
adkar.
Your morning and evening adkar.
Right? After salawat, do your dikir. Give time
to it. This is And then finally, the
third advice,
make the recitation of the Quran part of
your life.
Recite the Quran. A daily portion, a page,
2 pages, half a page, a verse. Anything
you can.
Make reciting the Quran because that's the greatest
a a portion,
of your life. So those three things is
how
can implement
in your life. And what happens when you
do that? Allah will remember you. What does
it mean that Allah will remember you? Because
Allah does not forget. It means Allah will
mention you. In a hadith, Allah
said,
When you mention Allah, Allah mentions you. And
when you mention Allah in a gathering,
Allah, the most merciful,
Allah mentions you in a better gathering
among the angels.
Every time you do this, think about this,
So
this is another reason why you should be
doing the for the kurun adkurkum. And Allah
said, wash kuruli, be grateful to me. Be
thankful to me.
And do not be
a kafir.
Do not be a kafir. Now what does
that mean? Be grateful to me and do
not do kufr upon me. Kaf kufr
And I mentioned this before. Linguistically kufr means.
It is to cover something.
To cover something. In fact, cover and kufur,
they sound the same because they come from
there are a lot of English words that
are traced back in Arabic.
Kafur,
cover.
Right?
To cover something. So what are you covering?
You're covering the truth when you deny it
and reject it. So those that deny the
prophets, they are kafirun
because they rejected the truth. They hid it.
They covered it. That's what they wanted. Right?
And also, it is to hide or to
not recognize
the blessings Allah gave you. This is why
there's a type of kufur that doesn't take
you out of the fold of Islam. And
that's
To deny, reject
the blessings Allah has given you. This is
called kufr.
To to appreciate it is called shukr.
Right? Shukr and kufr. Shukr is to appreciate
the blessings Allah has given you. Kufr is
to to not appreciate them. Right? So
the hadith where the prophet mentioned
that that among the problems with the the
woman folk is that the prophet
They are they do upon their husbands. How?
By
not being grateful for what they do. Right?
And similarly,
Allah mentions in the Quran,
Everyone, all the believers, all the people. If
you are grateful, I will give you more.
And if you don't appreciate the if you
don't appreciate the blessings, does that make sense
if you want. So what does kufr
can also mean denying, rejecting, not appreciating the
blessings Allah has given you. Right? So here
Allah is saying
be grateful to me
and do not reject or deny or do
not forget to appreciate my blessings. Do not
be ungrateful. That's what it means. Walatakfuroon,
do not be ungrateful. It doesn't mean here,
walatakfoolun, don't be a disbeliever.
Here, in this context, what does it mean?
Do not be
ungrateful.
So, how can we be grateful?
Being grateful
has 3 levels.
1st, where you are grateful to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, and we're gonna conclude here,
is you are grateful to Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala by appreciating in your heart the niram
Allah's given you. You are a Muslim.
Be grateful to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Genuinely
appreciate it. And recognize the one who gave
it to you.
Recognize the one who gave it to you.
You have children. Be appreciative and recognize the
one who blessed you with it. You have
a job. Be be appreciative and recognize the
one who who has given it to you.
It is who? Allah almighty.
Right?
Then it is also
to
to thank Allah.
Don't just recognize it. Actually thank Allah. Oh
Allah, I am grateful to you for what
you've given me. Oh Allah, I'm grateful to
you. And you can be be grateful by
saying Alhamdulillah.
All praise and gratitude gratitude
and thanks
belongs to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So we
are grateful.
And we are grateful to Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala. So actually say it.
Then you have through your actions,
through your actions.
Right? Allah says to
to that
2 acts of gratefulness. How?
Your prayer is a sign of gratefulness.
Your zakat is a sign of gratefulness. Your
sadaqa is a sign of gratefulness. Show your
gratitude
through your actions.
Right? So,
your amal,
your speech,
and your heart.
Be grateful to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Be grateful to Allah for the commandments.
Be grateful to Allah for the guidance. Be
grateful for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Which particular
commandment was the context today?
Which particular commandment is this context talking about?
The changing of the of the qiblah. But
take that as an example and there are
many commandments to follow. Be grateful when Allah
tells us what to do. When Allah tells
us what to stay away from, when Allah
sent us messengers. Those messengers that when they
recite the ayaat upon us, when they give
us guidance, when they teach us, when they
purify us,
all of this deserves
to be grateful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
which is why ikhwanifila.
When you open the mushaf
you open the mushaf.
What is the first word surah? Alhamdulillah
write? Alhamdulillah.
All thanks and praise and gratitude belongs to
who? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's almost that
there was a question before that.
Who deserves praise?
You open, Allah tells you. It is Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala. Then Allah tells you the
rest of the Quran
is an example of why Allah deserves praise.
Allah deserves it because he created us. He
deserves praise because he sent us this Quran
and his messenger. He deserves praise because of
everything good that he's done for us. Allah
deserves praise not just for what he had
done to us for. And this is the
difference, iqwanifilah,
between
hamd and shukr. There are differences.
Hamd is praise,
shukr is gratitude.
And they are used,
they intertwine sometimes and they are used interchangeably,
but they have different meanings.
To praise
is to recognize
greatness.
If someone does a really good job,
someone wrote a beautiful book, someone this translation
for example, if it's really good, I can
praise the author.
Now I can praise someone. They might have
not done something for me though. I might
praise how someone
designed this clock. Right? I might say that's
an amazing work. You praised.
But that doesn't it only didn't directly lose
anything for you.
So it we praise Allah for who he
is. Allah is worthy.
Worthy of our praise.
Allah
is the most worthy of our praise.
And on top of that,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
because he is Allah, he is the most
merciful, he is the most gentle. Because he
is Allah, he did so much for us,
so he's also deserving of our
gratitude.
So praise and gratitude.
And this is why we say
and this is why we say
All praise
belongs to Allah.
All gratitude
belongs to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. May Allah
make us amongst us that constantly praise him
and are thankful to him and never are
ungrateful. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala keep us
firm in our faith. Please conclude here today,
inshallah, we'll continue next week.