Sikander Hashmi – Cure for the Hearts KMA Friday Message

Dear brothers and sisters,

my young friends, As

we know, SubhanAllah,

it is one of the coldest days of

the winter today,

and it is the day when you can

say in many vehicles,

in cars, trucks, and vans,

their weaknesses become apparent.

So if your car has a weak battery,

you're probably gonna find out today.

If there's an issue with the oil being

too thick,

or the heating being too weak,

or your wipers being too old,

or your tires being too poor,

you're likely to find out when the weather

is

as extreme as it is today.

Similarly, my brothers and sisters,

our hearts

are tested

when the spiritual cold sets in.

When

our iman

is being challenged

and haters

are running am running amok,

and there are plots

against us,

and there is division

and discord.

And the overall environment

is

unhealthy

and toxic.

And it is especially at such times

that the hearts of the Muslims

are tested and their weaknesses become

apparent.

And especially at such times

that we need

a spiritual boost

and some TLC.

Now, there's different things we could that we

can and we should do, of course,

so we can repair

the state

of our prayers,

can come to the Masjid,

reconnect with the Masjid more often.

We can listen to good and inspiring lectures

that revive

our faith.

Of course, we can increase our remembrance

of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. All of these

things are good and important.

But at the root

of it all

is the book of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.

Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says,

That, oh people, oh humanity,

indeed, there has come to you

a warning from your Lord

and a cure,

a shifa, a cure

for what is in

the hearts,

and a guide and a mercy for the

believers.

So Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala

in this one short ayah

in Surat Yunus ayah number 57, Allah Subhanahu

Wa Ta'ala

gives us

a few key characteristics

of the Qur'an. Allah

tells us that

it is

It is

a warning from your Lord.

And

a cure for what is in the chest,

meaning in the heart.

Wahudan,

a guide,

walrahma,

and

a mercy,

lil mumineen

for the believers.

And in Suratul Isra Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala

in I number 82, he says,

That we send down the Quran

as a healing

and mercy for the believers.

But

for the wrongdoers,

for the Dalimeen,

for the oppressors, for those who do wrong,

it increases them in their loss.

Now, ibn Kathir Rahimahullah in his tafsir, he

writes

regarding this verse that the Qur'an is a

cure

and a mercy for the believers. Meaning,

that it takes away whatever is in their

doubt, in their hearts

of doubt,

of hypocrisy,

of shirk,

of confusion

and inclination towards falsehood.

So what does it do for the believers?

It removes,

takes away whatever is in their hearts of

the believers

of doubt,

of hypocrisy,

of shirk,

of confusion,

and inclination towards falsehood.

The Quran cures all of that, he writes.

It is also a mercy through which one

attains faith and wisdom

and seeks goodness. This is only for those

who believe in it and accept it as

truthful.

It is a cure and a mercy only

for such people.

Meaning, it is possible for

or it is possible that a believer

becomes susceptible

to these spiritual ailments

and starts getting affected by them. Because you

still who is being talked about here?

It's the hearts of the mummi.

So it is

possible the people who profess to believe,

who claim to believe, and who do indeed

believe,

they start getting affected by these things

and these ideas

which perhaps are

floating around them that they are being exposed

to.

And as a result,

they start finding

weakness

in their faith.

They start feeling some uncertainty about the things

that

they had firm and profound belief in previously.

Maybe they start having some doubts.

Some questions start arising.

And that's when you know that you need

to rush to the Quran

and grasp it tightly.

That's a sign.

That's a signal

that something is amiss.

And you need the book, the words of

Allah

to refresh

that iman, that yaqeen, that certainty, that conviction,

that passion,

that zeal that perhaps you once had.

Now the benefit

that a reader of the Quran derives from

it

depends

on the intention

and attitude towards the Quran.

The benefit

that a reader of the Qur'an derives from

it

depends on the intention and

the attitude towards the Qur'an.

What do we learn in ayah number 7

of Surah Alay Imran? Allah says,

He is the one who has revealed to

you the book meaning, oh prophet

He is the one who has revealed to

you the book meaning oh prophet he is

the one who has revealed to you the

book of which some verses are

precise.

They are the, you can say foundation of

the book.

While there are others

that are elusive.

Those with deviant

hearts.

Those who have deviant hearts,

they follow the elusive verses

seeking discord or seeking to spread discord

through

their interpretations which are false.

They're false interpretations.

But none

grasp their full meaning except Allah Subhanahu Wa

Ta'ala. Meaning of these verses

that are mutashabihat

that have elusive meanings,

none

nobody grasps no one grasps their full meaning

except Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala because this is

revealed from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.

As for those who are who are well

grounded

in knowledge. What do they say?

They say that we believe

in this book, in this Quran.

It is all from our Lord.

And finally, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala said, tells

us,

But none will be mindful of this except

people of

reason. So what do we learn from this?

We learn a few things. First of all,

we learn that there are 2 types of

verses that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala Himself has

categorized in the Qur'an.

Ayatul Makhkumat

who are

Describe the verses which are described as foundational

verses or Umul Kitab,

foundation of the book

and

the mutashah we had. The verses which are

elusive in meaning. So Allah himself has given

this category

that there will

be teachings in the Qur'an, there will be

verses in the Qur'an

that will

be absolutely clear. They are precise

and they are the foundations

of the book.

So the essential message,

the integral message of the Quran

will be clear cut, will be precise,

will be simple to understand.

There'll be no two ways about it.

And then there will be verses of the

Qur'an, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala tells us himself

that are going to be a little bit

perhaps confusing for people,

or

they are going to be

elusive in terms of their meaning, meaning for

human beings.

So this is a given. Allah subhanahu wa

ta'ala has made that clear.

And what we learn is that when we

read the Qur'an, my brothers and sisters,

we need to approach it

with humility

and this recognition.

That while the Qur'an makes the fundamentals clear,

not all of its intricacies and wisdoms will

be understood.

And this is something

that only the people of reason and intelligence

understand. This is what Allah tells us.

The Prophet

instructed us,

Quran Abu Umama, Bahili

He narrates that our heard

saying

that read the Quran.

Read the Quran as it will come

as an intercessor

for its companions

on the day of resurrection.

That was recorded in Sahih Muslim.

So for starters,

the best book

a person can read, and the burst best

thing that a person can listen to my

brothers and sisters, and my friends,

is the Qur'an.

Let's just make that clear.

Now a lot of people, mashallah, are into

reading, you know, different types of books,

different categories of books,

and there's of course a lot of literature

that exist in the world.

And people make a point in spending, you

know. They tell you, if you want to

be successful in life, then you should read

at least 30 minutes a day or whatever

the case may be.

Right? So, inshallah, many people will be going

through different books, different novels, different biographies, you

know, different types of literature

that is out there and that everyone's talking

about.

And there's nothing necessarily bad about that. It's

a good thing to read. Right? As long

as you're reading positive material.

Right? But the absolute best thing that we

you and I can read

is the Qur'an.

And a lot of people listen to a

lot of things.

Right? Maybe listening to podcast, maybe watching YouTube

videos,

or listening to the radio, listening to music,

whatever you're listening to.

Right? And some of it may be beneficial,

some of it might be very beneficial.

But the absolute best thing that a person

can listen to is the speech of Allah

Right? So if you're reading anything else

or if you're listening to anything else,

then make some time for the Qur'an,

if not the most time.

But it actually deserves

the most amount of time. But even if

you're not able to give it the most

time,

at least give it some time like you

are giving to everything else that you are

consuming, that you're finding time for to watch,

to listen to,

and to read.

Secondly, my brothers and sisters,

many of us recite the Qur'an.

Many people, many Muslims,

they recite the Qur'an

for the entire life sometimes. And Insha'Allah, they

will receive

the reward for every single letter that they

have recited. And insha'Allah, it will be at

least 10 times

for each letter as the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi

Wasallam has told us.

But

sometimes they spend years,

decades,

even entire lifetimes

without ever wondering or reflecting upon what their

Lord is saying.

Uh-huh. Imagine a person

who recites,

who reads for the entire life. Mashallah.

It's a good thing. I'm not belittling that

in any way.

There is even benefit in the Qur'an, in

reciting the Qur'an even without understanding. No doubt.

But the purpose that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala

sent us the Qur'an

is not simply

to recite and to keep reciting without reflecting.

Because the Qur'an

as we have learned is a message.

It is a warning. It is a guide.

But how will that be if you've never

explored its meaning and reflected upon it?

It's like you've received a very very important

document

and you value it.

A courier has come,

has delivered a document to you, and it

was signature required, so you know that it's

important. Otherwise,

maybe you just find it outside or something.

No, but you know it was a very

important document.

So you get that envelope, you get that

package,

right? And you look at it and you

say, Okay, it's a great thing. I'm going

to hold it. It's valuable for me. But

you've never actually explored

what it's saying and what it's about.

So, brothers and sisters, let's try to find

opportunities

to read the authentic books of tafsir,

the good translations.

And it's not to derive rulings or to

be able to argue with people.

That is the absolute wrong intention to read

the Qur'an with.

That, oh, I want to read so that

next time I'm in a gathering, I'm able

to make some points as others are doing.

That's not why you want to be trying

to understand the Qur'an.

That's the absolute wrong intention. Allahu sangha tala

to protect us from all wrong intentions.

So not to derive rulings even on our

own because we know that's the whole science

behind it. There's a whole system of doing

that.

And we're not capable of doing that. So

it's not to derive rulings, it's not to

be able to argue with people, or make

like really good points,

but just to feed

our own hearts.

Because the Qur'an, the book of Allah

my brothers and sisters, is your best companion

at all times,

in all situations.

So keep turning to it,

keep reciting it,

keep reflecting upon it. It is a cure

for our doubts, for our confusion,

for our weakness,

for our despair.

But we have to read it

and reflect upon it with humility,

and with sincerity,

and with yearning.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us for

amongst the companions of the Qur'an.

May Allah

grant us the full benefits

of his beautiful words. May Allah

cure our hearts and guide us out of

our

situation,

and our challenges, and our struggles.

Ameen