Suleiman Hani – Finding Light In The QurAn Overcoming LifeS Challenges
AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses the use of the Quran in protecting against devastation caused by the recitation of Surah Al-Kahf, including measures such as praying for the end of time and avoiding busy schedules during trials. The importance of protecting against evil behavior and the "fit searching" approach to life is emphasized, along with the need for individuals to take care of their health and behavior to avoid negative consequences and avoid reciting the "has been done" label. The speaker emphasizes the importance of learning and practicing to become a qualification for Islam.
AI: Summary ©
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commands us what
is translated as, O believers, be mindful of
Allah as He deserves on His terms as
is His right, and do not die except
in a state of submission to Him.
And if we wish to leave this world
in a state of submission, then surely we
must live upon it as a daily practice.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us
consistency upon Islam and to die upon iman.
Allahumma ameen.
Our khutbah today is about utilizing the Quran
to deal with everyday challenges.
Utilizing the Quran for protection, light, and mercy.
Utilizing the Quran as a preventative means as
well as a therapy, a healing, a guidance,
a resilience when it comes to the fitan,
the trials of this world.
One time there was a companion who was
reciting Surah Al-Kahf, the cave which we
should recite every Jum'ah, every Friday.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us
consistency.
And as he was reciting and reciting and
reciting, he started to notice a type of
cloud descending upon the area where he was
reciting.
And it started to get so close that
his horse nearby started to become afraid and
react.
And then he stopped.
And so the very next morning he told
the Prophet ﷺ about this weird situation.
And the Prophet ﷺ said to him, تلك
السكينة تنزلت بالقرآن Verily that is tranquility that
descended upon the recitation of the Quran.
People pay so much money looking for peace,
looking for relief, looking for happiness.
And sometimes they may have as we all
know everything of this world and still, they
would pay anything to have just a moment
of real tranquility.
The recitation of the Quran here is not
limited to Surah Al-Kahf.
We find there's another hadith with Surah Al
-Baqarah.
And in general, you find that there are
instances that took place when Sahabi was reciting
and a light was descending.
And when he told the Prophet ﷺ about
this, he told him that was an angel
that was listening to your recitation of Surah
Al-Baqarah.
What do we take from this?
So you take in general the Quran as
a light, as a tranquility, as a healing,
as a protection, as a fortress that we
are all in need of no doubt, especially
today in light of all the experiences that
people have locally and globally.
It seems as far as mental health goes,
as far as self-reported happiness goes, that
it's dropping in many ways.
So when you think of the Quran as
a tranquility, as a sakinah, and you know
this and you hear this and it's mentioned
throughout the Quran itself and Allah tells you
this, and then someone decides to cut it
off, what are they doing to themselves in
terms of the source of happiness, source of
real relief?
Interestingly, you find with Surah Al-Kahf another
type of protective measure.
The Prophet ﷺ also informed us, من حفظ
عشر آيات من أول سورة الكاف عصمة من
الدجال Whoever memorizes the first 10 verses of
Surah Al-Kahf is protected from الدجال, the
Antichrist.
This is the general English translation that we
use for الدجال.
الدجال is an entity, a person that will
come at the end of times that Allah
سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى is going to test mankind
with.
And he will have, yes, certain types of
powers, the breaking of the laws of nature,
the customs of people.
And it is the complete opposite of a
mu'ajiza, a miracle.
Because a miracle, a mu'ajiza, one of
its conditions that it's for the prophets to
prove that they are prophets.
الدجال is the rare exception to this example
of the breaking of the laws of nature.
That Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى will test mankind
at the end of times when ignorance becomes
widespread.
And the practice of Islam has decreased significantly.
And in fact, at that time, الدجال will
no longer be mentioned on the mimbar.
People will no longer be talking about the
end of times because they no longer care.
They are not attached to Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ
تَعَالَى.
And in fact, the Prophet صلى الله عليه
وسلم tells us, between the creation of Adam
عليه السلام and the end of times, there
is no greater trial in terms of impact
than الدجال.
The appearance and the rise of الدجال, may
Allah protect our communities from all types of
fitan.
Allahumma ameen.
When you hear of this, the sahaba were
listening.
And there are so many hadith about الدجال
that are authentic.
So they asked about this.
And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said
to them, after mentioning the recitation of the
kahf, if he comes forth while I'm with
you, then I'm going to dispute with him
on your behalf.
But if I'm not with you, if he
appears long after, meaning I've left this world,
then every man must dispute on his own
behalf.
And Allah will take care of you.
Meaning Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى is your caretaker.
Therefore, anyone of you who encounters him should
recite upon him the opening verses of Surah
Al-Kahf.
They are your protection from his fitna, from
his trial.
We hear about الدجال often.
And you notice the sahaba are listening to
these descriptions about this entity and this fitna.
And every prophet warned their people about this
trial.
Their first thought when the Prophet صلى الله
عليه وسلم told them at the end of
times, he said, he's going to be amongst
you for 40 days.
The first of which is like a year.
The second of which is like a month.
The third of which is like a week.
And then the rest of your days.
So their first thought was what do we
do when it comes to salah?
How do we pray our prayers?
Is one salah, like the five prayers, sufficient
for that one year?
The day that's like a year?
And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم told
them, no, basically, estimate to your best extent.
You still have to pray your five prayers.
Look at the concern of the sahaba when
it comes to ibadah.
The very first thought after hearing about الدجال
and all the trials that he comes with.
And then finally the Prophet صلى الله عليه
وسلم told them that eventually after these 40
days, eventually Isa, Jesus, the son of Mary,
peace be upon him, he will descend at
the minaret to the east of Damascus.
And he will catch up to الدجال at
the gate of Lod.
And this is near Al-Aqsa.
May Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
liberate it from the hands of Zionist occupiers
and those who are evil and those who
wish evil for the Muslims around the world.
And he will cause الدجال to be killed.
In other words, don't worry about the end
of الدجال.
But if you encounter him, Surah Al-Kahf
is a protection and oftentimes people don't ask
why.
Of all these surahs of the Qur'an,
why is this specified?
And how is it linked to your trial
today?
How is it linked to the challenges of
your life?
You may be dealing with challenges at work,
with wealth, with health, with family, with a
fitna, with a relative, whatever it may be.
When you think of these trials, Prophet صلى
الله عليه وسلم specified certain virtues.
These are certain gifts that Allah Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la gives.
And every surah has its own type of
impact.
But we only know of the virtues of
specific surah from authentic ahadith.
And this is something we have to be
cautious with.
But Surah Al-Kahf is specified in authentic
reports.
And an example of this, the Prophet صلى
الله عليه وسلم said, whoever recites Surah Al
-Kahf في يوم الجمعة, on the day of
Jumu'ah.
What is the day of Jumu'ah?
It's not equal to Friday rather.
As we know, our day starts at Maghrib.
So last night, Thursday night, sunset, Maghrib, all
the way to Friday, Maghrib time.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم says, whoever
recites it, أضاء له النور ما بين الجمعتين,
will have a light extending for him or
for her between these two Jumu'ahs.
What is this light?
The scholars say this is a light of
guidance.
When people are misguided during the week, this
is a light that will protect you.
Perhaps you're less tempted to go towards that
direction of evil.
This is a light of mercy.
That you are in need of Allah's mercy
that is all-encompassing.
This is a light that prevents you from
falling into a type of fahisha.
Similar to how the salah is a preventative
measure.
This is also a light of forgiveness for
your sins.
This is a light for protection against evil
that you cannot see.
So naturally when you hear that Surah Al
-Kahf has certain fada'il in authentic hadith,
and it's a protection against the trial that
is considered the worst of trials that will
affect mankind from the beginning of time to
the end of times.
We should then wonder, what about this light
that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم tells
us in the short term will help you
from one Friday to the next, from one
Jumu'ah to the next.
Why?
Long story short, Surah Al-Kahf contains four
famous stories.
And I will go into these stories in
future khutbas inshallah ta'ala.
But for now, these four stories are all
about different types of fitan, trials.
The first of which is the trial, the
story of the youth of the cave.
The second of which is the trial of
materialism, the owners of the gardens.
The third is the trial of knowledge, story
of Musa عليه السلام and Al-Khadir or
Al-Khidr, you can say either.
And the fourth is the trial of authority
or power, the story of Dhul-Qarnayn, a
righteous ruler.
When you think of these stories and you
think of the opening 10 ayahs, automatically, we're
introduced to the story of the youth.
And so young Muslims pay attention, your role
is so important that Allah is giving us
a timeless recitation, a lesson that this is
the introduction to your protection against Dajjal.
And like it's your introduction to the protection
against the Dajjal, it will protect you against
the fitan you go through in this life.
These are the young Muslims who are calling
people to worship Allah.
And the king at that time was an
evil king.
And eventually they were being persecuted, so they
fled for their lives.
They left after giving dawah, Allah knows for
how long.
And eventually they found a refuge in a
cave, it was given to them of a
type of wahi, to go to a cave
and hide, meaning they were inclined to do
so.
And you know the story, you know the
miracles of the miracle that Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala caused them to sleep in that
cave for 309 years.
When they had finally awakened by the will
of Allah, they went back to their people
and they found that they were all believers.
They went back to a land that they
were a part of.
And at that time, they had given dawah.
They faced the trial of worship, the trial
of faith.
Are you going to hold on to your
faith when you're being persecuted, when there's a
challenge?
And they came back to this land and
subhanallah, the impact of their dawah 300 years
earlier was a catalyst, a reason for people,
all the people to now be upon tawheed,
the worship of Allah.
So when you think of this story, you're
thinking of persecution, you're thinking of challenges, you're
thinking of hardships.
You're thinking of Muslims today who are fleeing
for their lives.
You're thinking of Muslims who are being shot
and killed.
You're thinking of Muslims in America as you
are thinking of Muslims in Gaza, in Sudan,
in East Turkestan and all around the world.
And as we're thinking about Muslims facing different
types of fitan and trials, you find that
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala introduces in the
surah we should recite every week for this
light, for this strength, for this resilience.
The introduction here is that of the youth,
the young Muslims.
And oftentimes young people, they're going through these
ages and these years in which generally, generally
in society there are a lot of temptations.
There's the building of who you are.
There's the chasing and the pursuit of wealth.
Let me build for a future.
And sometimes it's the endless pursuit of wealth.
There's a sense of figuring out who they
are.
There's a sense of sometimes a need for
validation from others.
Social media is a great component that is
linked to this.
But the lesson becomes clear as we progress
through each story.
As you want to be protected from the
greatest of tribulations, that of a dajjal, look
to the components and the traits found in
these four stories.
Iman, belief in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
righteous friendship, righteous companionship.
Find yourself fortified by the Quran, fortified with
your dhikr and your dua.
They were a young group of people but
they called upon Allah.
They made dua.
This is all in the opening of Surah
Al-Kahf.
So why then is this a light and
what kind of light is this?
In short, it is the light of protection
like it was for these youth.
It is the light of protection like it
was for the man who was discussing with
his friend who had two gardens, the man
of arrogance.
You find for the righteous man, there's a
type of mercy, a type of light, the
light of reality, the light of guidance, the
light of humility.
That it's not about how much money you
have.
It's not about your status and what Allah
gave you in this world.
That's a test for you as well.
It's also a reminder about the light of
authority.
If you have authority over your family, authority
in your household, in your workplace, in an
organization that you use it responsibly.
It is also a light when it comes
to the fitna of knowledge.
And something we should also keep in mind
is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave
kind of a virtue to Surah Al-Kahf
through the day of Jumu'ah.
Because Jumu'ah is considered the best of
days for the Muslims.
A day of Eid, a day of worship,
a day of renewal, a day in which
as we all know, Jumu'ah prayer plus
actually the khutbah itself is mandatory upon men.
Therefore we should ask, what is the link
with Surah Al-Kahf and this great day
of ours?
It is for you to take advantage on
this day to do more than you have
been doing all week.
So what do you do?
You attend the Jumu'ah prayer on time.
You have the recitation of Surah Al-Kahf
from again Thursday sunset until Friday sunset.
You have the last hour of Jumu'ah
in which you should make a lot of
dua before Maghrib.
The dua is accepted.
You also have an increase in salawat upon
the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
And so this is a very special day.
There are many other virtues for it.
When you think of the trial of Ad
-Dajjal, if we had to summarize the link
between the coming and the emergence of Ad
-Dajjal and the stories of this Surah in
particular, we can summarize it as follows.
Every single fitna, trial, that's found in Surah
Al-Kahf is a fitna that will appear
with the rising of Ad-Dajjal.
And so when you think of the very
first type, the trial of faith, the young
Muslims, you have here the example found in
the authentic hadith that Ad-Dajjal will actually
be telling people to worship him rather than
to worship Allah.
And I want you to think about the
people who reject all the clear proofs the
Qur'an is divine.
They reject all the clear proofs that Prophet
Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam is the messenger of
God.
How will it be for these people who
say, I just wanna see something different for
me to believe, and the Qur'an is
not enough for them.
The miraculous, rationally justified proofs of the Qur
'an, not enough for them.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam rationally justified belief
system, not enough for them.
How will it be for these type of
people when they encounter Ad-Dajjal?
There will be many people who fall for
that fitnah.
There will be many people who are waiting
for their messiah, by the way, who will
follow Ad-Dajjal, thinking that's our messiah, that's
our savior, and they will be amongst his
greatest followers.
So when you think of the fitnah of
faith, it's not a light one that even
a Muslim may find themselves in a very
difficult situation at that time.
To see in front of you an entity
breaking the laws of nature by the will
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is a
fitnah.
And so who is going to be protected?
The one who is aware of this.
The one who is attending the Jumu'ah
prayers.
The one who is reading Surah Al-Kahf
and not just reading in the hadith whoever
memorizes, why?
Because oftentimes in a moment of trial, in
an emergency, in an urgent situation, it's not
the things that you want to access on
your phone, in a mushaf that you're going
to find will protect you in that second,
in that moment.
It's the things you committed to memory and
you reflect on every week because you want
to keep it committed to your memory.
So you're always reviewing Surah Al-Kahf.
And in fact there is one report that
mentions not the first ten but the last
ten of the Surah and the scholars say
the best thing you can do is to
memorize Surah Al-Kahf.
Do your best to make it a task,
a habit.
As for the second type of fitnah that
appears with the dajjal at that time linked
to the Surah itself is the trial of
wealth.
There will be many people at the end
of times who are bought out easily in
terms of their faith, in terms of their
allegiance and their loyalty simply because a dajjal
will offer them whatever they want.
You want gold and money and all of
that.
That's an easy thing.
You want rain to come upon this area
that is going through a drought.
That's an easy thing as a fitnah.
And so there will be many people like
we see today who give up all their
values in order to pursue more wealth.
There will be many people who do so
at the time of a dajjal.
May Allah protect us from this fitnah.
And it's a reminder for us long before
then that if you are experiencing this fitnah
today, if that is your weakness, the weakness
when it comes to wealth and the endless
pursuit of more and more and more to
ask yourself eventually until when?
Until when will you cut back and say,
alhamdulillah, I have way more than enough.
Until when do we cut back on those
who are taking shortcuts, those who earn haram
source of income.
May Allah forgive us and guide us to
that which is halal.
When will we cut back and say, I
need to spend time worshipping to be with
my family, worshipping in a ritual sense as
well.
I need time to learn my faith better.
I need time to be with my children.
I need time to just volunteer, to exercise,
to go out in nature.
Until when?
Because eventually the one who chases and chases
and chases an endless amount of wealth and
they have more than enough, eventually they leave
this world and all that money is transferred
to other people.
It doesn't follow us into the grave.
And oftentimes people don't enjoy the reality of
the time that they have in this world
to worship Allah, to be with family until
it's too late.
The third type of fitnah is the fitnah
of knowledge.
And so ad-Dajjal will use different means
including the devils, wal-iyadu billah, to trick
people into thinking that he knows things about
their loved ones who died.
Or to make them come about in an
appearance but it's not really them.
And so people fall for this fitnah.
Now, we know this from the hadith.
So naturally when you know, you already are
equipped with a fortress, with ilm.
So the Prophet ﷺ warns us so that
we don't fall for these trials.
What's an example of this?
There are people deceived today when they see
advancements in military, in civilizations, in organizations, in
countries, nations, states.
And they start to think that's something so
overwhelming, so powerful.
We don't understand its mechanism.
We don't understand how advanced it is.
We don't understand the disparity between that and
the very next thing after it in terms
of status.
In reality, this is the fitnah.
People are deceived sometimes by PR itself, by
the language that's used, by politics, by media.
And you look at certain examples, some more
obvious than others.
And you look at the example of the
federal government of the United States of America.
And you find it talking on one side,
all lies and fabrications and claims on the
one side of equity and Palestinian self-determination.
We care about all people.
We don't want Islamophobia.
And at the very same time, the very
people you are claiming to care about, you
are bombing them.
You're violating the rights.
You're creating policies that make it difficult to
practice Islam, to say certain things that are
supposed to be protected under the freedom of
speech and religion.
And so we start to see through these
lies.
And some people will feel that fitnah.
As many people have today, some people will
feel that fitnah at the time of Ad
-Dajjal and they will be tested with this.
And finally in the last point here is
the trial of power, authority.
Dhul-Qarnayn is mentioned in Surah Al-Kahf
as a good example of how to use
power.
And the opposite is that of Ad-Dajjal.
He will not be able to enter Mecca
and Medina.
According to one hadith, he will not be
able to enter another city as well or
two other cities including Masjid Al-Aqsa.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala liberate it
from the hands of oppressors and occupiers, Allahumma
ameen.
But of course, his armies will destroy many
places or take over many places around the
world.
And so the one who runs into that
fitnah must find themselves protected.
How?
It's not just about reading and memorizing Surah
Al-Kahf.
The Prophet ﷺ in so many authentic hadith
tells us about how to deal with fitnah.
And one of these narrations, he says ﷺ,
العبادة في الهرج كهجرة إليه or كالهجرة إليه.
To worship Allah in a time of Harj
is like migration.
What's the migration?
The actual migration from Mecca to Medina when
you gave up all of the things that
you had, your money, your family, your history.
And you migrate to Medina with very little
of your actual wealth or nothing at all
as is the case for most of the
sahaba.
The reward is so great for the muhajirun,
those who fled for their lives.
So the Prophet ﷺ mentions here Harj.
And he said in another hadith, لا تقوم
الساعة حتى يكثر الهرج The hour will not
take place until Al-Harj increases.
The sahaba said, what is Harj?
What does that mean?
He said القتل, bloodshed.
And of course we are living in a
time in which as the Prophet ﷺ tells
us, the one who kills and the one
who is killed sometimes don't know why it
happened.
We are living in a time in which
there are mass shootings all across the country,
in high schools and colleges and supermarkets and
theaters.
We are living in a time in which
people don't know why they are being attacked.
And the one who is attacking, you diagnose
their situation and they don't know as well.
And this is the reality of the world
that we are in when immorality increases, when
fahisha increases, when injustice increases.
And the Muslim cannot possibly say, I don't
want to try to fix anything.
I don't really care to affect the situation.
I don't think I should be giving da
'wah to my co-workers and my classmates.
When in fact every single believer has a
role in society.
Every single Muslim has their own particular role.
When bloodshed increases, knowledge decreases of beneficial ilm.
And ignorance spreads and the people of ignorance
start to take positions of power.
You will find as bloodshed increases, that a
lot of the situations of the believers and
the disbelievers will be simply summarized with what?
With that of a fitna, a trial.
And the believer should find in that time
as much as you are active socially, politically,
and you are building for something better in
the future, here and around the world, that
we don't neglect the other side which is
that of ibadah.
Ibadah is the fortress.
Ibadah is a preventative measure.
There are a lot of Muslims who are
doing amazing work with social justice causes.
May Allah reward them and keep them steadfast
and guide them to do that which is
correct every step of the way.
But you cannot also neglect what?
The ibadah part.
Because at the end of the day, with
all that's happening politically or socially, if you
are not taking care of the most important
thing, the state of your heart, what happens
when the fitna reaches your door?
Reaches your phone?
Reaches your house?
Reaches your country?
And so the Prophet ﷺ constantly emphasizes al
-ibadah.
Worship in a time of widespread turmoil and
bloodshed, confusion, oppression, is one of the greatest
and most rewarding acts of worship.
Because people neglect it at that time.
They don't pray at that time.
They don't make dua at that time.
They disconnect from the Qur'an at that
time.
And so several examples.
Number one, turn to Allah sincerely and consistently.
Number two, call others to Allah sincerely and
wisely.
Every situation has its own context.
Number three, is to hold on to your
iman.
Remember the trial of iman here.
Hold on to your faith by turning regularly
to the things that Allah mentioned are a
preventative measure.
Like the Qur'an, dhikr and dua.
The young people of the cave, the story
of Musa alayhi salam, the story of Dhul
Qarnayn.
In every situation, every story, there's a reference
to Allah.
There's a reference to dua.
There's a reference to the Qur'an.
It's not just surah al-kaaf in particular,
but the Qur'an in general.
Number four, is take care of your salah.
Take care of your salah with a quality
salah.
With qiyam al-layl as well, the night
prayer.
Number five, make sure you are a righteous
influence, a righteous friend, a family member.
And you choose when you can, when you
choose your friends, to have righteous environments.
This is something that does affect people like
the example of the youth of the cave.
Number six, for those who are parents or
one day will be parents inshallah, is to
make sure you are raising righteous children who
are resilient and worship Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala consistently and prioritize the most important things
in life.
And finally, make the recitation and even the
memorization of surah al-kaaf a goal and
a habit.
That you commit it to memory, eventually all
of it inshallah ta'ala.
And that every single jum'ah you recite
it or teach your family also to memorize
it together, to review it together so you
have the reminder, not just the recitation, the
reminder of these four trials on how to
deal with your own trials in life.
How do you navigate your own hardships in
life?
How do you stay connected to the legacy
of Prophet Muhammad salallahu alayhi wasalam with all
that's happening in the world?
He foretold what would happen.
He told us about these situations.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide us,
forgive us, protect us from every type of
hardship.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us
strength, wisdom, and resilience and beneficial knowledge.
Ask Allah for forgiveness.
He's the All-Forgiving, the Ever-Merciful.
أقول قولي هذا واستغفروا عني ولكم فاستغفروه إنه
هو الغفور الرحيم