Nouman Ali Khan – What’s an Ayah
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of being open-minded and not just focused on what is valuable in life. They emphasize the need to explore the concept of "roar and wind" in order to see real-life examples of the " roar and wind" concept. The speakers encourage viewers to take a journey into the Quran and explore the concept in order to see real-life examples of the "roar and wind" concept.
AI: Summary ©
Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato. I was digging through my notes and I figured today inshallah Allah share with you some things about the meanings of the word IRA. I'll dig through my older notes, and probably tomorrow or day after we'll talk about the word Illa. So today's just about the word IRA in Sharla. First of all, I wanted to say some things that are maybe a little bit philosophical, but still important to understand the Quran. It's ideas are rooted in this one concept called IRA. And the way if you study the Quran comprehensively, and try to come to a conclusion about what AI is, it's actually it's very hard to say what isn't an IRA. Basically, all
human experience is an ayah. Allah describes history as iaat. Allah describes that they are iaat inside of creation. Allah describes his revelation as iaat. Allah describes what you see inside of yourself and the experiences you have inside of yourselves down to your emotions, like the love felt between two spouses. You know what jalapeno Kumbaya doesn't work? Enough italica ayat, you know, or the ayah so you have it in you know, human experience and emotion in history and knowledge and revelation in the physical world around you and the stars in the heavens and the earth, etc. In other words, all reality, that's really the way to put it all reality is not understood from the
Quran point of view, if you don't see it as an ayah. It's actually the Quran way of unifying our understanding of all of reality is through ayah. Okay, so, now the term itself the word itself, commonly translated as verse or sign, which sign is okay, I think sign is, at least it's part of the meaning of the word. So it's good to look at it that way. But it's also important to note how the Arabs use the word and how you know what origin this word comes from, and inshallah Allah that offers us some insight into the way Allah azza wa jal uses it in the Quran. So first thing is actually the,
the whole of the everything that is a value to you in Arabic is actually also called an ayah. So they'll say for example, if I'll be IoT kazaa, with the with the do this with everything that you have at your disposal, be IoT cutter. So all of everything that matters that has any purpose or meaning. That's why they say for example, they used to have a caravan that traveled and they stopped to get some rest. Right, and when they get some rest, they set up a campfire. And they you know, you know, they roast some meat and things like that. And they eat and drink and sleep or whatever, then it's time to move. When it's time to move. They take whatever food is leftover. They take their
dishes and pots and pans. You know, they'll take everything of value, but they'll leave the firewood that's already burned. They'll leave some stones. So when somebody walks by, they see these are the remains of a group that was here. But nothing of value is still here, everything of value, they took everything that's useless, they left behind. So they'll say Harajuku movie iottie him, the people left with their IRA, which means everything that was valuable to them. In other words alive saying every human experience, every bit of history, every bit of knowledge, everything that he created, actually has value has purpose. Nothing is valueless. You know, people say things like you know,
before I made Toba, I made lots of mistakes in my life, I wasted all those times in my career, I wasted my time in college, etc, etc. As a matter of fact, if Allah brought you to Dubai at a certain time, all of your previous experiences are an idea for you. They have value to you may not be proud of them, but they still have some value. As a matter of fact, maybe their value is that they led you to Toba. Maybe without those experiences your Toba wouldn't be as intense as it is. Maybe without other experiences, you wouldn't be able to relate to someone else who's going through a struggle as you were going through a struggle, etc. Right? So nothing is without value, then it's actually how
to face stiff harm a it's the one of the most powerful words for inquiry in the Arabic language a which is which How do you distinguish something comes from the same root as ayah. So the idea behind it is actually that which is distinct that which gives purpose and gives definition. This is important because in philosophy, you especially in Greek philosophy, you talk a lot about abstracts, right? You talk about forums and you talk about these ideas that don't exist. There's a lot of what if, and you just stay in the realm of what if and have hypothesis. But in Islam in the Quran, Allah wants us to be very distinct and very special.
Pacific and very tangible, he points at reality that exists. The focus in the Quran is not on what if the focus in the Quran is on what is while a philosopher is going to talk to you about? What if this happened? What if life was like this? What if our, what if all reality was just a figment of our imagination? What if, what if, what if, what if, and no Quran will talk about look at the bird, look at the mountain, look at these ruins in history, look at what is instead of what if, right? So it's rooted in that which is distinctive, which is which can be clearly identified, not something that's ambiguous or fuzzy, then they say a small little jihad, the the word he or he also is used
for direction particular purpose. It's you know, you can sometimes you can have a lot of information, and this information leads you in this direction, that information leads you in that direction, that information leads you in that direction. Yeah, but the everything that Allah calls an ayah leads you in the same direction, it actually leads you in the same direction. That's why the verb that is derived from the word is to AI yada, yada, that's the verb from it, which is to, to head in a particular direction. All the art of a law lead in the same direction. The Art of revelation leads you in the same direction, the art of creation leads you back to a line the same
direction, the art within yourselves, your own experiences lead you in the same direction, they all lead you back to Allah, Allah is not leading humanity in different directions. As a matter of fact, if you appreciate his art, all humanity will find one and the same direction, back to him. Subhanahu wa Tada. And that's part of the meaning, or the implications of the word IRA is one that is willing to have a Kalamata job. Mr. Rogers, is actually a word also for being like impressed with something. One of the ways you can say what a guy in Arabic is ideological.
What a dude was, he's amazing. You know, a Kitab actually means what a book, you know what you use that as an expression of how amazed you are. What Allah azza wa jal is saying is that the world around us, if you give it a chance, it's actually amazing.
The revelation he's given you is amazing, the life he's given you is amazing, the opportunity is given you is amazing. In other words, because our entire reality is iaat, our entire reality is something that is optimistic and positive, it's not negative, it's something we find amazing. You know, there are people who have a worldview, where the entire world is dark, and gloomy, and depressing. And there's nothing that's ever good. You know, you have, you know, entire genres of music and art that are dedicated to how ugly life is, you know, they'll post Impressionism and all of it. And this guy paints this big giant painting that they're selling for half a million, and it's
just black,
and patches of gray, and you're looking at it, and you're trying to find meaning in it. Like you actually know what it means. Nobody knows what it means the guy who did it doesn't know what it means.
And then you ask him, he's like, this is the depths of darkness in my soul.
And how there's no hope. I was like, Yeah, I like it, I'll give you a lot of money for that. I want to stay depressed at home. Look at this painting, you know, there'll be entire genres of music that are depressing. life has no meaning it has no purpose, my life sucks, I only have 10 cars, etc, etc. And they'll sing at noon, nothing means anything. No one loves me, no one likes me, etc, I wish I was dead, etc, etc. The entire genres of music dedicated to what nothing impresses you. Nothing amazes you, nothing moves you. And by the way, this is an important side comment to make, because I do want to talk a little bit about, you know, the, the, the times in which we live, we live in what
some sociologists have commented on this. And they say, actually, we live in an age that is of increased cynicism. And what that means cynicism is a hard word, I know, I'll make it easy, inshallah. It's a, it's basically, you're not impressed with anything.
It's very hard to impress you. It's very hard for you to be marveled, like for you to feel marveled by something, you are overexposed to so many special effects, and so many outrageous things, that when amazing things are right in front of you, you just go
you know, there are people before you. And there are people in the world even today. They have like they have meat once in a year
on eat,
you know, and then you're walking around the mall and you're like, Do I want barbecue chicken? Or do I want fried or do I want and this food and this one? You know the sauce could have been a little bit you know?
And if you take one of those guys from one one of those villages, and he has any one of those, he has your leftovers. You'd be like that's the most amazing food I've ever had in my life. That one time I bid that chicken Oh, oh, chicken, you know.
So what's happened to us is we are so inundated with choice
That actually we don't appreciate any of them.
We have so much choice that we don't appreciate any choice. You have so many shoes, you don't appreciate any of them. You want the next pair. You have so many games, you don't appreciate any of them. Kids have so many toys, they don't appreciate any of them.
You know, you you go to so many resorts and vacations and hotels. Yeah. You ever see people sit on the airplane for the first time?
If they take it out and put it on, they almost put the life vest on the air students I got no, that's not that's not a gift. That's not a gift. But that back, you know.
And then there are people who fly all the time.
I mean, yeah, we're 10,000 feet in the air flying through the clouds, looking at the planet below, taking a journey that used to take years now and hours. But then,
you know, we have a view of the earth that no human being before us ever even had. And
you're flying, and you're above the clouds, and it's sunny,
and the plane starts landing and it goes under the clouds and it's raining. You saw two solid sides of the sky
over the course of a few seconds,
and your flights late.
That's all you're thinking. It's so amazing, isn't it that we have these incredible experiences in life. And yet, we're just not moved by any of them. The idea of it is actually you appreciate and you're marveled at things that deserved that you'd be marveled at. You marvel at them. That's ayah you know? And you know, it's part of being cool. Now. It's not just our everyday attitudes, it's actually part of being cool that nothing impresses you. Right, you're, you're the coolest person in school. If you're never excited, whatever.
Yeah, no, you're just too cool to, like, be excited about something or be moved by something. And of course, crying in our day and age crying is a sign of weakness.
If a kid is crying in school in America, everybody picks on it, oh, what happens to Mary, you want to go into mommy.
But crying is a natural human emotion.
feeling embarrassed, is actually an expression of the fact that you have dignity. Feeling sadness is a natural, healthy emotion. But now some of these emotions because you want to be cynical, and you want to be cool, these emotions are being suppressed, they're being denied. So these kids are being denied their basic emotions, right? And when you deny your basic emotions, then you start losing your humanity. And then you wonder why you have shootings inside schools. And you have kids, these people doing things you can't imagine why would somebody do this? It's not revenge. It's not money. It's not. There's no logical explanation. How did they lose their humanity? There are some
fundamentals to this term, this this term is it's supposed to bring you to tears. It's supposed to make you cry. There's nothing wrong with a person crying is nothing wrong with someone seeing something incredible and being moved. You know, that's captured in even inside the word IRA, then it's added to nidaa Mb, that's why the word yada, yada, yada comes from the same origin. Yeah, you have like a urogen. And a is considered a data 10 v means which means it's there to get your attention. Every idea deserves attention. Everything is a value, everything is heading in a particular direction. Everything if you pay attention to it, you will find something amazing in and
it is calling for your attention. When do people when does humanity stop appreciating the IOD when humanity stops paying attention? This is the idea the entire idea of the idea of using your mind is to pay attention to look at the world around you and pay, like pay actual attention. That's why the losers on Judgment a lot. Mila not make us any of us from them. They're like local, non us model owner qilu if we just heard and we thought about it, if we were just paying attention to the world around us. That's why Allah says you know, a lot of zeros, why don't you see? Why don't you think why don't why aren't you looking around? Why aren't you thinking? Why aren't you reflecting the only
kind of people who don't reflect or the people who don't pay attention? And that's why Allah compares these cynical or not, rather, in this case, cynical but heedless people to actually cows. Cows don't pay attention.
Towels just they're just chewing on their thing and standing there and you know there's sometimes cows are near the highway and the car just goes right by and the cow what happens to the cow. Nothing happens to the ghost all jewels thing is just this chillin. Every other animal reacts. A bird flies away a radical
Under your deer runs towards the car obviously is not a smart animal. But, you know, but at least they have some reaction, but cattle law and
they have no reaction, their adult senses, their senses are completely dulled, you know. And so that's the that's it's a danger when we can't even appreciate what an IRA is because if you kind of reach it what an IRA is the entire reality, all of reality loses its purpose. You know the word IE in Arabic, I actually also means Jani meaning, Haverhill. calima a ting calcarea. Right, this word means that you know, it is actually similar to if you want to remember that one, ie in English is like a.
Okay, that is to say, meaning, and you know, what that does? It gives every single part of reality purpose and meaning, not just does it have direction or value it has meaning. It has substance. You know, it's something to be considered no experience in your life is meaningless. No opportunities meaningless. No creation of allies meaningless. You know, and that's again, inside the word, a word like the choice of this word, to make it the central term of the Quran. And through a describe all reality, it's just mind boggling how Allah chose this one word, you know? And just even the meanings of it within the Arabic language. And then of course, I'll keep going. He He, in Arabic is actually
one of the words for Yes, none you guys have heard before. Another way of saying now I'm in Arabic is E.
E.
Okay, you want to go eat food, E. E, but it's actually not I'm Bella shuck? It's Yes. Without a doubt. Yes, absolutely. In other words, the word is embedded in its core meanings. his conviction
is actually Yes, absolutely. You arrive at a conclusion and you are convinced of that conclusion. You know the difference between that and philosophy. When you are convinced of one philosophy today, you are convinced of another philosophy tomorrow, you are convinced of one theory today, another theory tomorrow. But when you arrive at a conclusion using the IOD It is as though you arrive at IE, I'm settled, I'm happy. I'm done exploring. I am completely at peace with where I am. And I'm absolutely convinced. I was talking to some students who were philosophy majors, non Muslims. And they were asking me about my beliefs. And I said, I'm completely settled in my beliefs.
I'm completely happy what I believe.
And I've explored philosophy in my college years. And I arrived at the Koran and through its IR I just and I didn't hadn't read this meaning before I just talking to them and they're like, you're so narrow minded.
You know, you should keep your doors keep keep your options open, and continue to explore and think and I was like, I never said I don't explore anything.
I said, there are certain things though, that I've arrived at, that have given me complete conviction, and there's no reason for me to check those again. It's like you checking whether or not gravity still works every day?
Aren't you keep an open mind and just go off a cliff.
There are certain things that you're settled. If you're good with those, you're not gonna jump off the railing, you're gonna take the stairs.
Right? That's a reality you're comfortable with now, you tried it when you were little, you went to the hospital, you had the cast on your leg? you're done with that you experienced it already. So the in the in the guise of talking about something, oh, just keep an open mind. Know, there are certain realities that nobody keeps an open mind on, they arrive at them, and they're comfortable with them. And that's settled. And that's within the meaning of eating have to arrive at that conclusion, without doubt.
And so I also means that allama aslha actually, they say that the original is that the word was a Yeah. And then it became ayah and it is our llama, it is a sign it is an indication of something. What that signifies to us is every IRA is actually not a goal. It is a means to something else that's like a sign when a sign says you know Jalan this way or that way, or when it says damansara that way or it says you know, whatever they were, you know, Putrajaya that way, the sign is not your destination. The sign is just telling you you're getting closer to your destination. You keep following the signs. The more you follow them, the closer to your destination you get, isn't it? The
idea of a law or like milestones. Every time you reflect on an idea, you're getting closer to a destination and as you reflect on it leads you to other IOD that leads you closer to your destination. These are all signs and signs are part of a journey because without signs you don't know where you're headed. This again goes back to the idea
have an idea being direction jihad, right? You can't go in the proper direction if you don't have the right kinds of signs. So I art are a means to an end they are not the end in and of themselves. This is also very powerful. Because everything in our in our life is not the end, nothing in it is the end everything is the means the Ayat of Allah are a means to reach Allah Himself,
the author, not the end, the author or this this incredible gift from Allah, that means to that end, the same way, all of creation, you know, people get stuck in creation, that becomes their end. They want a beautiful house, that's the end goal, the house, they want that car, like I really love the Panamera. I want to paint tomorrow, but that becomes the end. That's what that's all you want these things in life can never be the end, they have to be a means to something more. And that's, again, within the IRA, because it's just a sign. All of this around you is just signs that lead you to other signs that lead you to other signs, and you finally lead to your destination.
Then, last couple of meanings, inshallah, the iascaigh, the amateur Iota, who is also wired original shark. So it's the identification of something. I actually they say the pert the inner being of someone is their ayah, meaning your actual identity, its identity. So through eye art, we find out who we really are, you correctly identify something and you correctly identify yourself. And it also means possible to have goal to have a purpose to have intent. Without IOD, you and I don't have a purpose in life. We don't have a goal. Because you know, when you have assigned to assign to assign, you have your goal is to get from this side to that side. And then to that side and then to that
side. And without these if you have no goal. That's why the verb to be Marana casada.
And so now finally, I want to just share with you what, what this can do to our study of the Quran. Your learning, like what kind of use of our equity he is totally silent and use of and his brothers they are not in use of his brothers there are now maybe without understanding this, you would think you know, we have to learn a lot of lessons from you so far. They said
he's a prophet, everything he did is valuable. We should pay attention to what he said what he did, how he dealt with situations, all of that's true. But if I didn't say there are I often use only
unless they are I often use of and they acted as brothers, but his brothers are the bad guys. They're the ones who did the whole shirt thing.
And then the whole lying to their dad thing. They did a lot of stuff. A lie saying they're iaat in his brothers. In other words, not don't just pay attention to what you think is valuable. There are things you might overlook, pay attention to those to
the villain will teach you the lesson. fit all that will teach us many if not, we're gonna learn a lot of art from film, we're gonna learn a lot of hyatts from shaitan.
We will that's why he's mentioned in the Quran. If mentioning him was not a value, if we had nothing to learn from him
on what he does and how he acts, there's no reason to mention him in his book. Those are all iaat. But my favorite is actually when Allah mentions things like what daddy it vaudois the winds that sail the winds that blow
the winds that blow are
so valuable, that law swears by them. Now I go outside and I feel the breeze and it's supposed to be something of meaning something of purpose, something that's how does it How does the breeze gonna bring me closer to Allah other than, ah, as a hot day It feels good.
But actually, it's the same wind that when Allah decides to press the accelerator, that same way and can destroy entire cities.
And that same way, and when he holds it back, it can give you relief. And that same wind can bring pollen and bring you life, bring plant life, all of that life around us is actually because of the wind. It's that same wind that's delivering the clouds, the same wind that I'm feeling on my face. As a matter of fact, when I feel the wind on my face, I'm reminded of how I'm being sustained on this planet. And how a lucky login take me whenever he wants. And not just me all of humanity and he doesn't need some special army all he needs is the wind.
He's other before
he's done it before. There are winds that came and took out entire towns
that's happened before you know, tornadoes. So Subhanallah even that wind it changed it changes the way I feel about it. How I think about it, because now that became an ayah that became an ayah you know, so this it's this remarkable terminology of the Quran. That if you pay attention to issues your your view of life changes. Your view of the study of the book changes your attitude towards yourself and the people around you changes. Some of you are in
difficult situations at home. Some of you are in difficult situations financially, your view of even that changes. This even has some purpose. This has some meaning. This is leading me to something bigger, because they're making a lot of money or solving all my problems. That's not my goal in this life. There's something bigger going on, you know, and I have to make the most of these Iok me allows me to make use of those who benefit from his IOD. One last one last comment I want to make a lot actually technically, for the most part with maybe one exception, a lot does not call creation iaat.
A luck Allah says there are ayat in creation in a fiza licola. Okay, with with very little exception, for the most part in the Koran, the mountain is not an ayah there is an there is an ayah inside the mountain. This is very important. That means that everybody who sees the mountain does not see an ayah.
But there are some people who are looking at the mountain to find what
find an ayah and then they will find it in it.
You won't find it around you unless you're looking.
You won't. The sky is not an ayah it has ayat in it. The bird is not an IRA, it has an IRA in it. And not just one IRA has many ions in it. It has many IRA, well, you know, one of my favorite ions. Oh my god. I know I said I will finish.
Oh my God.
He says, you know, we'll have the Tony Omaha tikamgarh, buena shagun. He took you out of the bellies of your mother's and you don't you didn't know anything at the time. So we were inside the belly of our mother. And when we were inside the belly of our mother, we were completely, completely helpless. Yes, as a matter of fact, before we were in the belly of our mother, all we were was a drop that impregnated our mother, just all we were this insignificant thing in this universe, that's her body. Her body is actually this universe and I'm this microscopic thing that exists that is given life by allies in it. Now what happens in the next IOD Allah says, didn't you look at birds
feed job with summer
in the middle of the sky? Have you ever seen birds? And I used to wonder why is this IR right after that? Ayah it's actually reminding you that you and I were so insignificant inside our mother, just like a bird is almost nothing compared to what? The sky so every time you see a bird fly in the air, it should remind you of how insignificant you were as a baby. That's just completely changes how I look at birds.
I don't look at birds the same way against the old baby.
You know, you know, it changes my attitude. This is what Allah does, the way he organizes his art. He makes you reflect on things that otherwise seem completely disconnected. But through his IR that become one whole holistic realities of Han Allah, you know, me allows me to once again make us appreciative of his art and make use of those who look at reality around them and actually find the art in them barakallahu li walakum wa salaamu Alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato Thanks for watching guys, I hope you benefited. I'd like to encourage you to actually embark on a comprehensive journey into the Quran. I've done a video translation and explanation of the entire quarter and it's called
called uncovered a cover. I'd like you to check it on a bayonet TV just do a little bit of it every day and before you know it, you'll have gone through the entire quote in translation with me. Hope you can take part somewhere