Salaam Britain’s Journey with the Quran

Assalamualaikum and welcome back to salaam, Britain. Now it's time for one of my favorite parts of the show reflections with the chef Yaga Ibrahim assalamu Alikum walaikum salam

thank you as ever for joining us once again from the literally the other side of the world and we'll continue with our journey through setup occurs. let you take it away Alhamdulillah wa Salatu was Salam ala Rasulillah Salam Allahu Allah you are Salam Well, that, as always we begin with the praise of Allah, we send our prayers a peace upon I want to be Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa salam. He is a Rama and morada he was the one who was sent as a mercy to all of Allah's creation, but also as a source of inspirational, divinely sent guidance for us. And of course, the Quran, the message of our NABI sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is one that is intact and remains with us. And from the very

beginning, the instructions of ALLAH SubhanA wa Tada in the Quran are the first repository, the first place that we turn to and look for discovering the knowledge that leads us in life. Now for us as human beings, generally speaking, there's, you know, two camps when we consider where we receive information and knowledge from. So there is, you know, the first kind of construct is that of the thinking man, that if you just sit there and if you deliberate and you know, Plato and Aristotle, they talk about the one who sits in a cave and just thinks that they can come to an ultimate truth. For us. Of course, as Muslims, we recognize that that is not correct, that there needs to be

something that is beyond just one oneself and one's own mental faculties. There is what we believe, also the necessity for the revealed knowledge. And therefore when we look through Surah Al Baqarah. The very input of it, is that right after we unlock the Quran through Surah Al Fatiha after it's short seven verses introduces to the theology, the belief, the mindset of submission to Allah subhanho to Allah, Allah begins to establish rules, regulations, through parables and discussions of those who came and lived before us. We're at verse number 21. Today. Now for those of you who remember last week, we spoke about Allah warning about hypocrisy, Allah warning us to be

introspective to look into our heart, to not be self delusional, to not be deluded by the shaytaan, against the magnificence of Allah and the creation that he is created, to basically not make ourselves our own gods, that whatever we feel is what we do, but rather that we are guided by a greater view of life, that we recognize that the times that we live in today, the transient moments of life, lead us to a greater truer existence in the hereafter. We come to verse number 21, where Allah begins speaking in Surah, Al Baqarah. In the Quran, really as the very first command. It's really the first place where Allah speaks directly to humanity. Now, this is an important area. And

number 21 is one of those foundational verses in all of our tradition as Muslims. It's where Allah subhanho wa Taala gives us his expectations. It's where Allah sets the tone for everything else that's going to come in the Quran. Allah wants you and I to know who he is and what He expects of us and how we are meant to fulfill it. Allah says yeah, a Yohannes O mankind now notice it Yeah, Johann NAS. It's not yet a Johann Levine and Mendel, it's not just oh, ye who believe this discussion is for everything and everyone who has a conscious awareness of obligation. Yeah. Yohannes the toll in the dark in the short and not and you know that those who have lived before us and those who are

going to come after, from the moment that this was revealed, oh mankind, oh humanity in your multiplicity, irrespective of your political outlook, your socio economic state, whatever it is, oh mankind, or boo Rebecca,

give your service of worship, meaning that totality of your love, of your fear and your hope only to Allah or Buddha worship

If your Lord are up Baco, the One Who is your Lord, whether you acknowledge it or not, that's ultimately the reality, that there is a greater power than you. There is a greater force than you. There is one who is ultimately able to give and to withhold, to elevate and to humble. There is a ROB back of the One Who is your Lord and Levy, hello Paco. He is the one who originated you, who brought you into existence, when loving them in public and all of that which has come before you. Now let come to tattooed very, if you worship Allah, if you give your service to Him, if you understand your relationship with this, with Allah in the way that it should be, perhaps you will

gain a greater conscious awareness of the ultimate pneus of your life, the totality of your very purpose and existence, very early on human beings have always asked, you know, who am I? Why am I here? Shakespeare would say, To be or not to be, to exist or not to exist to live on or not, for us, you know, it is the pursuit of the pleasure of Allah subhanho wa taala. Through the normalization and harmony of our existence with others, or goo Rebecca, there's a few important words to clarify and to give ourselves a greater understanding of the depth of flavor of the Quran. And the bad that is defined, the concept of worship for us is defined as commanded. It is a completion of one's love.

And that's why Allah warns us in other places of Surah Al Baqarah, do not love each other in an unconditional way, anything or anyone other than Allah, that there are those who make that mistake who fall into loving and coveting and worshipping other than Allah through their devotion through their love, through their ultimate leaning of the heart, that they cannot live without that concept or without that thing or without that pursuit in a way that only Allah should be pursued. And love when levena M and I should hope and believe that those who believe are those who hold on more severely and strictly in their love for Allah subhana wa Tada. There are things that our heart may

desire, our very essence may seek out but if it ultimately is in contradiction in contravention to the word of Allah, to the dictates that were sent to us by the prophets, I send them as a command from Allah than what our heart fonds or yearns for me means for seeks out must be curtailed and controlled by our essence of worship of Allah that we love a lot more than we love ourselves that we love his Nabi SallAllahu. Either you send them more than we love ourselves. The prophets I sell them says it really plainly. Let me know how I had to Hakuna I have a lathe. You cannot complete your faithfulness to God until I have met I seldom can become more beloved to you, then your father, your

mother, your spouse, even your children, even an alien epsy Even the love that you would hold for yourself and what you hold dear or boo commandment.

It is a completion of love. Well who do what do and it is to give yourself over it is to be obedient it is to be devoted to Allah subhanho wa Taala in a way that no one else is deserving. Al Imam Abdul Karim has a little bit of a variance in the in the definition. He says La Bader is one gem as seen within with other scholars is one Jeremiah you couldn't be my you hippo hula mean polling, I will toss it out there it is. Everything that is loved by Allah worship of God is everything that is loved by Allah, whether it's something you say, or do or even just a feeling and a belief that you have in your heart. And sometimes that's the weakest sign of our faith that our heart has an

attachment or love or a fear or a hate or something that we're commanded to love, fear or hate, by the command of Allah Subhana Allah or Buddha or Baku, serve your Lord. The word Rob is really important in the Arabic language or up that comes from the concept of something that increases so the one who is or is the one who is vested their interest in that which they want to increase and want to flourish and want to

become better than what it is now. So when Allah says He is Rob buco, He is our Lord. It's as if Allah saying I've sent you this Quran I've sent you this Nabi Muhammad, so I sent them because I want you to be

better than you are now. I want you through the guidance that I sent to grow and to nurture to increase it to flourish and to become a better, truer, more sincere, more devote devoted person than you are today. And the more you absorb in your life of the orders of Europe of the orders of Allah, the better and more increase and flourish in harmony we find in our existence within ourselves and with others, and let the Halacha cool. It is because I am the One who created you. Allah says in surah Al Malik, la alum woman Hala the 67th chapter of the Quran is not the one who created most knowing of what his creation means is not the one who destined us upon this earth knowing what it is

that is best for us. La I love woman color well who will people here yet he remains subtle in his influence in our life, allowing us at times that disastrous choices that we make that can become inshallah educational moments in our life as we move forward into our future, when loving them in public will look to those who came before you in the past, travel the Earth. Look at that testaments and the castles of the kings who ruled the world that now lay empty. Look at the pyramids that now are a symbol of power of the past that is of no consequence in our present and certainly not into the future. Perhaps it will all allow us to gain Taqwa at trueness and a piety of heart at trueness

in our conscious awareness of our obligations to each other as we are before the Almighty Allah subhanaw taala to Adam, I repeat the idea may Allah subhanaw taala make it a foundation in my understanding of faith in yours? Yeah, Johan Ness, oh man calm. Yeah, your hand, sir poodle, Raka. Turn in complete worship and devotion to your Lord. And let the Halacha como la vie them political, the One who created you and created all that which came before you, let them take the whole. Perhaps in so doing, you may raise your awareness of the trueness of life and its purpose. May Allah Subhana Allah give us an awakening of heart, make us of those who are devoted in our love for the prophets.

I send them by following his example, and making him sweat and has the best of examples in our life to model after him to follow his modality. May Allah subhanho wa Taala honor us with the strictness of faithfulness in our dealings with each other as we are before at the sight of Allah subhana who was suddenly jumping Miranda so using that when it be event when

I mean to all of those who are Shanaya was listening in to your this one burst that you're explaining and breaking down and sort of just sort of randomly, just that, like you said that one birth is like a foundation, almost. But it comes in in Surah Baqarah, which is one of the longest, which is the longest Surah of the Quran, but just goes to show her every single one of the verses of the Quran needs breaking down and explaining and understanding and really need to take the time to understand the meanings that I've seen and go through each word. You know, you explain why you are not one race, and how expansive it is, you know, the word worship what you mean. You know, I'm just

sitting here grateful that you know, you've come on and share this one snippet. And just, I guess, you know, maybe he could share with us a little bit about how important it is for us as Muslims to take time out, and the words of our greater our Lord. Well, I think one of the most important messages as it relates to the Quran is its practice and practicality. Many of us we kind of look at the Quran as a book of information, not really as a book of knowledge. And there's a huge difference between the concepts that underpin information, and the practice of knowledge. You know, my wife isn't an attorney, attorney, she's a lawyer. Now I can Google just about anything I want about the

law or the Australian Constitution or, you know, the Finnish constitution, for that matter. Everything's on Google at the moment, but not because I have access to that information, that it's practice and practicality is known and is able to be implemented by there is that need for one to model oneself and one to be trained in what it is that we study and we seek and therefore the Quran was not sent as a document that dropped out of the sky, but was sent in the living person of the profit and that's it seldom. So the more you and I as Muslims move away from looking at the Quran, as this is a verse, this is in this surah it's in this chapter. You know, this is a story

that's found in the Quran, to then taking it and putting it into a practice into a practical implementation of our life and utilizing its ethos and its ethics and its morality and understanding the creedal implications of it, and truly absorbing the Quran. We kind of fail in our capacity to enrich our life with the Quran, the more we ingest of the Quran in knowledgeable practice, and move away from just a being just another book on the shelf, the greater we find solace and comfort and healing of the heart, Allah says, and that'd be deeply talked about England, hello. Surely it is with that which reminds you of your place with God that heals the sick heart. May Allah make the

Quran a healing for our hearts, the Prophet used to make dua, Allahu

Allah Houma in there now there'll be a minute at midday, Oh Allah, I asked you to protect me to protect us from knowledge that is not beneficial meaning from something that we know, but we don't enact and put into our life and practice.

This this one verse I feel covers a lot of that, in what which one? Would you have spoken about in terms of you spoke about the fact that, you know, we were talking about Riyadh, the creation of Arab, you know, we can reflect on that brush for a long time, but also reflecting on those who came before us. You know, we see the evidence of people who are no longer here and the great empires they've built. But what meaning does it bring to us? You know, there's that verse itself kind of helps us to implement what you're talking about shift? Absolutely. One way, in one way, shift we have about a minute. And I just wanted to ask you next week, obviously, every single verse, you're

going to go through one verse list for the next verse list for the next verse. And next week, what because I might not be here, that's what I'm trying to say. What can I try hopefully listening on and then on next, what you find is in the very next set of verses, Allah says, I am the one who has provided all of this for you. And Allah subhanho wa Taala is not seeking to curry favor and say, Look what I've done for you. But Allah Subhana Allah wants us to recognize that we were not created for the earth, but the Earth was created for us. We were not created to be here in permanency. There's something beyond this life. So Allah says, I made this earth Jana Anika will outlive your

Asha that this earth is made to be at a place of rest and repose and comfort for you, the guardians of it everything Sahara liquid, it's been made for you. So take advantage of the time that you have and live life for the moment but never lose sight that you are not meant to live here in a permanent state. That it is your deeds that you push forward to the era that will truly matter not what you amass in this dunya

great reminder to end this thank you for your time for your efforts and I pray that Allah rubs you the agenda blessings for everything that we learned here on Islam channel and of course in all your other works as well does that for lack of your time was there but I've certainly sat here and I'm it's a great thing for me to this to India and taking that moment to almost absorb myself in 20 minutes of learning and inshallah we continue to learn post this session as much as I feel like

it's a pleasure and for those of you will be here at the top of the hour I have Islam q&a For noon on Islam channel inshallah. Inshallah Schefter worry, I thought that reminder to tell everybody as well, which is like a lifetime reminder for us as well. Please do stay tuned and call in and ask all your questions. But for now, we are going to head to another commercial break and off. You don't want to go anywhere, because we're gonna have a live cooking segment with Chef stars.