Yaser Birjas – The Purpose And Message Of The QurAn
AI: Summary ©
The title of the Quran is a guide for understanding the structure of a book, with multiple topics and scenes. The title includes a subtle message about finding happiness and happiness is a result of finding the right thing in life. The importance of understanding the meaning of "The words" and finding permission at specific times of the day is emphasized. The importance of morality and the need for people to seek permission at specific times of the day is also emphasized. The title provides guidance on living life, including understanding the message of "The Quran" and finding answers to philosophy and design for research. The title is a manual for life and provides guidance on what to do when faced with difficult situations.
AI: Summary ©
Let's begin with our discussion inshallah part 4
is the purpose and the message of the
Quran the first thing we know about the
Quran It is the book of guidance It's
a book of guidance.
So what does that mean?
It's not a menu and it's not a
story and it's not your regular book Because
when people open a book, what do they
expect?
There is a forward there is introduction there
is chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 There's
a specific sequence of these chapters until the
end But if you open the Quran, it
doesn't build up like this, right?
It doesn't build up from the beginning to
the end in that fashion Even though the
Surah Al-Fatiha is a very logical start
of the Quran Because of the opening and
spokes about you know The prayer of Allah
subhanahu wa'ta'ala and guidance and du'a
and we read Surah Al-Fatiha and Salah
17 times every single day at least Right,
so it makes sense to put Surah Al
-Fatiha at the very beginning But then you
have Surah Al-Baqarah and then Surah Al
-Imran and then so So that order does
not necessarily mean it's building up like any
other book That's an indicator that the Quran
is not the regular book where you just
open to read from cover to cover Regularly
so you can have a build-up of
specific topic or theme.
No Anywhere you open the Quran you will
find guidance Anywhere if you open any random
page of the Quran and read it You
will find something right away and it doesn't
have to be connected to the one chapter
before No, every chapter of the Quran gives
a specific form of guidance The other thing
the Quran is not a storytelling, you know
book Because even though the Quran has stories
and one of the most beautiful stories of
the Quran is the story of Yusuf alayhis
salaam But again, the Quran is not a
storytelling book So it's not like have the
story from the beginning to the end Just
like Yusuf alayhis salaam story was mentioned in
entirety in one single chapter Surah Yusuf But
you find the story of Musa alayhis salaam,
which is longer than the story of Yusuf
by the way Was divided to multiple chapters
and multiple scenes Because again, it's not a
storytelling book.
The Quran is trying to help you focus
on guidance from these aspects of that story
like I said as If you are zooming
out and then go back to the story
to zoom on another scene of that story
So sometimes the zoom is on the the
magicians the zoom is on the under the
round himself the zoom on the conversation Zoom
on the household of Musa alayhis salaam the
zoom of Bani Israel Multiple angles and multiple
lenses so that you realize when it come
to reading a story from the Quran Don't
miss any part any details of what was
mentioned in the Quran because nothing in the
Quran is random There is there is importance
to it So even if Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala speak in a story of Musa
about his sister Qussi, go after him Look
after him.
What's the purpose of that?
Although the story of the sister of Musa
wasn't mentioned very much in the Quran But
what do we learn from this when he
talked about When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
sent Musa to Bani Israel What was the
first thing Musa told Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala?
What do you guys what do you know
what he said to Allah Azza wa Jal?
Allah told him you're gonna be a prophet
What did he say?
So he said my lord, this is so
beautiful.
Can I have my brother as well, too?
Like can he not know that's true.
That's what he said He said Harun Akhi,
he speaks better But why would Musa, you
know, tell Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
I want my brother with me That's something
the ulema they say so look when it
comes to the relationships we have in our
lives There's a subtle thing about the stories
when it comes to our relationship in our
lives we have relationship with our spouses with
our children with our relatives friends and so
on and Usually usually our relationship with our
sibling outlasts any other relationship in our life
it will most likely be longer than your
relationship with your parents and Relationship with these
children and even your spouse because your relationship
with your sibling or your siblings most likely
most likely will outlast your relationship with your
parents if they pass and it started way
before you get married and Way before you
have children So basically it's like outlast many
of these relationships.
However, unfortunately, it's the most undervalued and the
most understudied relationship in our life So here's
Musa at the moment.
He became a prophet.
He knew there's so much khair in there
So what did he say my lord?
Can you bring my brother in?
He was looking for the khair for his
brother How many of us can say I
look after my brother or sister in my
life?
Because I know anything good I see I
want this for my brothers and my sisters
So something like this the ulama subtle messages
of guidance you will find in the Quran
So remember the Quran even though it's a
book it's a book but it's not like
your random or regular book where you have
a Sequence of chapters that lead to specific
build-up at the end of the story.
No, it's not It's a book of guidance
because everywhere you book you open it's alhamdulillah.
It's a beautiful thing The other thing is
that you have to keep in mind Whenever
you open a book reading a book is
not like giving a lecture Given a lecture
has a specific, you know connection with the
people, right?
But when you open a book and read
from it when you read to the audience,
it's not the same It is not the
same the Quran is different Because the Quran
is an actual Vocal speech of Allah subhanahu
wa'ta'ala.
So when you read it Allah is talking
to directly It's not in the second person
pronouns.
It's the first person person's pronoun.
He speak to subhanahu wa'ta'ala So therefore
it's a it's a book.
Yes in terms of understanding it as a
book But definitely the message of it is
all about guidance type the second thing To
bring about and elevate the truth What does
that mean that's the purpose of life the
hook To elevate the truth and Allah subhanahu
wa'ta'ala made it clear in the Quran
what will happy and Zalma what will happy
nasal He said subhanahu wa'ta'ala.
We have sent down the Quran in truth
and what the truth has come down So
what's the purpose of the Quran to bring
the truth a truth about what?
everything The truth about everything when I say
everything I'm talking about everything in the general
terms, obviously so like what?
What's the purpose of this life, what's the
purpose of my creation?
Who is Allah?
Who is this?
Who's all these things?
What is right?
What is wrong because now how do people
in our Western society?
How do people look for the truth?
What do they use exactly?
Philosophy The philosophy is all about trying to
find the truth, right?
Like you're questioning everything until you find the
truth and then they come to the realization
If you would like to be a true
philosopher, what does that mean?
You're gonna always challenge the truth Always challenge
the truth, which means what there is nothing
nothing called truth.
What is truth for them in philosophy?
in whatever that you come up with Like
keep investigating keep challenging the truth until you
get to the truth of having no truth
So when you get there, what happens to
you?
You lose your mind Because we're not designed
to live with that purpose We were designed
to have that purpose.
So Allah says that like look I've given
you the truth.
So this statement Defies the Western principles of
philosophy in terms of there is no such
thing as truth and you keep challenging every
single truth Until you get to know to
the bottom of things what you realize there
is no such thing Keep challenging it.
No, Allah is mentioning it clearly in the
Quran So there is something called truth and
Your job is to make sure that to
go to that truth and that would be
the the highest thing you reach you reach
to So stop stop over praising the human
intellect and reason to the level of giving
it beyond Allah Subhanahu wa'ta'ala's haq that
he has given you You have to subject
your reason to the divine word of Allah
subhanahu wa'ta'ala Not the other way around.
Are we clear on this?
He says subhanahu wa'ta'ala, especially about the
Quran Allah says He is the one who
sent the Messenger with guidance and the religion
of truth to show it to the whole
religion That he has sent his Messenger sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam with guidance and the religion
of truth With guidance, which is the purpose
of the Quran, and also the religion of
truth So Islam is the religion of truth,
to show it to the whole religion, to
become to over Overwhelm every other religion which
means becomes of course the superior one.
So with truth we sent and with truth
it was sent, next one of the purpose
of the Quran as well too is a
reflection and Reflection and remembrance So Allah subhanahu
wa'ta'ala spoke about the Quran Qal kitabun
anzalnahu ilayka liyadabbaru ayatihi wa liyatadhakkara ulul albaab
This is a blessed book, which we have
revealed to you, O Muhammad So that they
may contemplate its verses and people of reason
may be mindful of it Another ayat, Allah
subhanahu wa'ta'ala says, afala yatadabbaruna alquran And
he says, da'allakum tatafakkaroon And he says
ta'qiloon, so there is a aql, tafakkur,
tadakkur, tadabbur Different words, Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala,
different verbs, Allah azza wa jal, he used
in order for us to connect with the
Quran So the purpose of tadabbur, tafakkur, ta
'qul, tadakkur, all of this To have that
personal connection With the Quran.
My question to you is, do you have
that personal connection with the Quran?
Like, I know that we have halaqat with
the shuyukh and the ulema and tafasir and
so on and so on, but on a
personal level Do you have that personal connection
with the Quran?
And if it is, at what level are
you?
So the first thing is at tadakkur Tadakkur
means to remember Remember means what?
You always have a daily connection with the
Quran Whether listening, reading, studying, memorizing, reviewing, in
whichever capacity That you always have a connection
with the Quran Number two, at ta'qul,
ya'qiloon, ta'qiloon Ta'qul means the
use of reason, the use of reason.
So here, what does it mean when we
say the use of reason?
Comprehension and understanding.
So not just remembering it.
No, we understand it as well too, ta
'qiloon So it's about understanding and it's about
Comprehending the meaning of the ayat.
Number three at tafakkur At tafakkur, al ulama
sayyid qal, imalul fikr fi ayatillah azawajal Which
means you you deliberate the proofs and the
evidences in the Quran in your heart and
your mind You know, you don't just Remember
it.
You don't just understand it.
Now, I'm using the verses of the Quran
The challenges of the Quran, the stories of
the Quran to deliberate and go back and
forth back and forth try to get to
specific You know the truth The truth behind
it.
So I'm not just reading or understanding.
I'm going beyond the understanding.
What is the purpose?
What is the purpose?
That's called tafakkur And then we have tadabbur
Tadabbur has come as in the Arabic language
to get to the dhubr of everything which
means the back end of everything So what
does that mean here?
Qal at tadabbur fil awaq, which means the
action items like I need to know after
I Remembered and understanding it and I know
now the meaning of it and the true
purpose of this Okay, what is that?
What do I need to do about this?
That's now where you come to a tadabbur
when you understand the action item that is
required from you When it comes to the
Quran.
Abdullah ibn Abbas radiyallahu anhu wa rada, he
says If you hear in the Quran, Allah
says O you who believe, listen to it.
Pay attention, listen to it.
Allah is ordering you to fulfill or a
prohibition of something wrong to stay away from
it.
Are we clear?
So we have these four things Tadakkur, taqqul,
tafakkur and tadabbur Tadakkur is when you remember
it on daily basis Taqqul is understanding what
you recite Tafakkur is when you deliberate the
proofs and evidences so you can go beyond
the obvious meaning Get to the purpose And
tadabbur to go way beyond to the application
of it That's what it means when it
comes to the dabbur of Quran How can
I apply this in my personal life?
Now, these four of course, it's not like
it was mentioned by the Prophet ï·º by
the way This is just an understanding of
ulema tafsir and the Quran So there are
some ulema they add more And some of
course they say, you know, not in the
same order But eventually, this is just for
you to understand That you need to have
a personal connection with the book of Allah
SWT How to do that?
These four levels for you The first, the
basic one Is never ever let a day
pass without having a connection with the Quran
Tadakkur So you don't become ghafil or tansa
So forget The second thing I want to
go beyond just remembering it I want to
understand it So what do I do?
I need to start learning tafsir Learning Arabic
language Reading translation The third one right now
Okay, I want now to go tafakkur How
can I go beyond just understanding the meaning
of the word?
Why would Allah mention surah al-Imran in
this way?
Why would Allah SWT mention surah Yusuf in
one single chapter But never elsewhere in the
Quran?
These subtle things, I want to know the
details The meaning of them, right?
And that's when we come to tadakkur How
should this reflect in my life and practice
this?
People at different levels would come to the
Quran Make sure to keep upgrading inshaAllah Let's
move on One last point here about the
purpose of the Quran Or the message of
the Quran Is to understand that the Quran
answers the major existential questions Major existential questions
we have in our time, in our culture
Once again, because of the western philosophy The
society got really really really lost And got
messed up as a result of that Because
they don't have the answer to these existential
questions Who can help me?
If you guys have studied philosophy in school
or in college Or even in high school
even What are some of the major philosophical
questions That you see in philosophy that we
can really find answer for?
Yes Morality Morality How to define morality?
I mean is there anything about even morality
That we need to look into what makes
something moral, something immoral?
The answer is yes For the Muslims, it's
all mentioned in the Quran Didn't Allah SWT
teach us the adab?
Like Surah An-Nur There is adab in
Surah An-Nur that is very very unique
What adab is that?
Surah An-Nur Something that you don't even
Like why would the Quran even focus on
this?
But that's just to tell us that morality
On the micro level is as important as
it is in the micro level as well
too Like what that adab is?
Say it again When it comes to seeking
permission to enter people's homes Look can you
imagine the divine message from God Talking about
knocking on the door before you come in?
Why would God even bother about this issue?
That to tell us that even at the
micro level You are responsible to have a
moral code of ethics A rule of engagement
At that level you can imagine at the
higher level as well too Also when Allah
SWT is telling us about how to eat
Are you allowed to eat from the same
plates or not?
Is it okay to eat you know cafeteria
style?
Or you have to eat you know These
tiny little things we don't even expect that
the Quran would even bother teaching us these
things But it gives us a code of
morality The children Allah SWT is telling us
that kids They need to seek permission at
specific times of the day When it comes
to entering the private quarter of the house
Right?
Where mom and dad are Until they reach
a certain age Then they have to seek
permission every time of the day and the
night All these little things Give us an
answer to that code of morality What else?
Who are we as humans right?
And Allah SWT mentioned very clear You are
made of mud You are made of clay
You are made of water You are made
of dust You are made of many things
And sometimes they would say wait a minute
I mean are we made of dirt or
water or what?
Why Allah SWT is talking about us Made
of many different elements For the ulama they
say look When Allah says about us We
created you from clay Mud Water Like pottery
All these like clay and sounding clay What
does that mean?
He is talking about the stages of your
creation So you were created from first of
all Dirt That was mixed with water When
you mix dirt with water They become what?
Before clay they become what?
Mud And if the mud starts losing moisture
what happens to it?
It becomes lazab, sticky mud More or a
little bit with that it becomes what?
Clay Now with the clay you can shape
it And then when you burn that clay
Expose it to fire or heat What happens
to it?
It becomes pottery which means When you knock
on it It becomes salsal Remember the Arabic
language Makes words from the sounds of things
So when you hit When you knock on
a piece of pottery What is the sound
that gives you?
Ringing sound Like salsal That's what's called salsal
in the Arabic language So now And of
course obviously all these different stages Of the
human being So Allah is telling us the
origin of mankind Where we came from It's
not a matter of guessing right now for
us What else?
Existential questions We need answers for The purpose
of our life It was made very clear
in the ayah Look I created you to
worship me As simple as that There is
no again beating around it No fighting against
it Allah says you are to worship me
Some people they would say but I didn't
sign up for this Why would I have
to be part of that?
I don't want to be part of this
plan Well too late for that Because he
made it very clear in the Quran You
can't question him But he's going to be
questioning everything about you So my job is
I have already been created And I'm already
born into this world Stop worrying about why
I'm here You've been given why you're here
So just deal with it Work on it
right now There's another thing that people Yes
Death.
What happens after death?
Is death the end of it?
Or just a transition period?
So the Quran answers this as well True
but those who don't Believe in God they
don't believe in the story at all So
you're referring to the story of Allah mentions
in surah al-araf Allah has taken all
The offspring of Adam from their back And
then he says I'm your lord And they
testify to that That becomes the fitrah So
that's why we feel it in our heart
all the time But even those who don't
believe in God Say well I don't believe
in that story And I'm not interested in
that Say it again It's not a good
argument of course It's not going to happen
But the point I'm making here for you
Is the Quran answers to every existential question
That philosophy is trying to give you an
answer for I will never give you an
answer I'll give you an example Why are
we so anxious?
Because we're weak?
But why are we so anxious?
I mean, what brings us Anxiety anyway?
Yes The fear of the unknown The fear
of the unknown So why are we so
anxious then?
Say it again Because we don't have control
Why are we still anxious?
Yes There's always an answer to survive Like
this helps you to live the life But
why do people then commit suicide then?
Well that means they're very anxious That they
lost hope and everything Yes Say it again
What's this from the shaitan?
I don't believe in the shaitan Someone tells
you that So why am I anxious then?
Say it again They lose their purpose Have
like no purpose Yes but believe it or
not We are actually anxious by design We're
anxious by design Like Allah created us Anxious
On purpose To be anxious on purpose Where
is that from?
Allah says Allah says That
man was created We
created panicky Like anxious creatures When we are
afflicted with a calamity We freak out And
if you are blessed with prosperity We also
freak out Okay we understand We freak out
when we have some calamities Death, illness, sickness
Loss of jobs Why would we become panicky
When we have prosperity?
Fear of losing it So we're always freaking
out So he said Except those who pray
Which means those who connect So why are
we anxious?
We're anxious in order for us to always
need him Because if you're always certain About
everything You're certain about your food You're certain
about your safety You're certain about your peace
of mind You're certain about fulfilling your desires
If you're certain about everything Where would you
be living?
In Jannah And you won't need God anymore
So we're by design We've been created anxious
In order to fulfill that purpose To always
feel the need for God And Allah says
Because Anxiety comes from living with the unknown
The uncertainty So he says you worship your
Lord Until you meet your certainty What certainty
Is he talking about over here?
Death The thing that everybody agrees on The
number one certainty we all agree on Even
the atheists Agree with us on death Then
we disagree on what?
What happens next?
But we all agree on death So the
most certain thing And Allah says to us
You worship your Lord until you meet your
certainty Now in retrospect What does that mean?
You're going to live the life of what?
Uncertainty So your life is going to be
Uncertain until you meet your certainty He says
But that's scary right?
How are you going to live your life
Uncertain all this time He says He gave
me the solution You worship your Lord And
you will find certainty So my dear brothers
and sisters One of the most essential questions
Of this time is really Why we all
were so anxious?
What's my purpose?
Who am I?
All these questions bring anxiety Because there is
no clear answer to them The Quran says
It's there I'll give you the answer for
this So if you can help yourself and
help others Find these answers That would be
great I would love for one of you
guys To make a research, if you study
philosophy Go to every single question about philosophy
And find the answer to it in the
Quran Ask about it And design that So
that you have it ready Any questions before
we move on?
So if someone says First of all I
do believe in Allah And Alhamdulillah I pray
regularly but I'm still anxious Why am I
so anxious right now?
Now it depends on the level of their
Iman Because what is the highest level of
Iman?
What is it called?
Ihsan And what is Ihsan?
You worship Allah as if you see Him
That's the certainty of sight The sight of
the mind by the way If you couldn't
get that level of certainty Then you're certain
that He sees you You see, when it
comes to certainty Which defies anxiety Again, anxiety
comes from what?
Dealing with the unknown, dealing with uncertainty So
certainty Is what gives us peace and tranquility
Because I'm certain, right?
So how do you get to that level
of certainty?
It was described in Surah At-Takathur Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says When
it comes to certainty There are three levels
There is a certainty of knowledge Certainty of
sight And certainty of experience So certainty of
knowledge Is the basic one That we all
wish We can get enough certainty from this
Give an example Let's say we're sitting here
right now Suddenly some brother or sister Comes
through the door and says Oh my God,
it's snowing outside It's snowing outside Would you
believe that person?
What if it was Abu Isa?
I wouldn't believe it at all, right?
Right?
Because it's one of his pranks probably But
seriously If anyone comes through the door And
tells you it's snowing outside What is the
most likely thing we're going to do?
Go out and check it out You're looking
for what?
Ayn al yaqeen So the first one is
called ilm al yaqeen The second is ayn
al yaqeen The certainty of sight, I need
to see to believe So ilm al yaqeen
Ilm al yaqeen, to get certainty From just
basic information knowledge Depends on what?
Huh?
The reliability of the source The reliability of
the source So if you believe in that
individual You have no problem Right away If
you believe in the Quran to be truly
the word of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala
At that level of certainty You will have
absolutely Nothing to worry about Because you submit
yourself to the word of Allah azza wa
jal But our problem comes because Yes we
say we're Muslims, we believe in God But
how much do we know of our deen
To give us that level of certainty?
How much information do I have To give
me that certainty?
Because knowledge expels All these actual things And
expels all apprehensions If you have the proper
knowledge obviously So in order for that Purpose
of the knowledge to provide you With that
certainty You have to trust the source And
the one who delivers that Which is why
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala In the first,
if you remember we talked about the Mecca
Quran He was highlighting the authority And the
credibility of who?
Muhammad the messenger salallahu alayhi wa sallam To
the extent that when The prophet went on
his Isra wal Mi'raj journey And Abu
Jahl came to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and
he tells him Your man is saying he
went to Jerusalem And came back in one
single night Do you believe that?
What was the answer of Abu Bakr as
-Siddiq?
He said if he said that I believe
it He didn't even need to go and
confirm with Muhammad Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam He
said if he said that Then I believe
it And Abu Jahl is just like are
you serious?
He goes listen man, I believe in him
He's telling me that he's getting revelation From
God from seventh heaven You don't want me
to believe in him going to Jerusalem and
coming back again?
That's easier for me So that's actually the
reliability Of the source And obviously, tangent over
here Obviously a husband and wife They wish
their relationship Is all based on ilm al
yaqeen Like if I tell you something just
trust me Right?
Every husband and wife they wish They're at
that level Like if I tell you something
Just trust me But she would tell him
no I need to see before I can
believe We need ayn al yaqeen Now ayn
al yaqeen Or the certainty of sight, there
are two types of sights The sight of
the mind Or the heart And the sight
of the eyes So al ihsan Al ihsan
an ta'bud Allah You worship Allah as
if you see him What sight are we
talking about over here?
The sight of the eyes Or the sight
of the mind and heart?
The heart and mind Like you got enough
knowledge I don't even have to verify I'm
there already, I believe it Like I have
enough Knowledge to get that level As if
I see him Subhana wa ta'ala Because
Allah says in surat al takathur Kalla law
ta'lamuna ilm al yaqeen If you have
the certainty of knowledge Latarawunna al jaheem You
shall see the fire of * What kind
of sight he's talking about over here?
The sight of the mind And then he
said thumma latarawunna ha ayn al yaqeen And
the day will come to see it With
the sight of your eyes That's on the
day of judgment now So in the dunya
you reach that level Remember the story of
What's his name?
Hadith When he came to the Prophet Complaining
Ya Rasulallah We sit with you, we listen
to your talks And suddenly we feel that
as if we see Jannah and * with
our own eyes And then we go home
Fa idha afasal awlada wal azwaj We intermingle
with our spouses, our children Naseena katheeran We
forget a lot of that That's what we're
talking about, the certainty of knowledge You sit
with the Prophet, he's talking to you Your
iman starts soaring so high Your certainty level
is going so high That as if you
see jannah and jahannam With our own eyes
You leave as a human being Our level
of knowledge drops right away Because our tadakkur
Is not there, we're not at the level
of remembering Everything in that moment So that's
why there are three levels of certainty Like
we said, ilm al yaqeen The certainty of
knowledge Number two, ayn al yaqeen, the certainty
of sight And number three Number three Yes,
we heard someone coming in saying It's snowing,
so we're going out And we look through
the window And we see some white fluff
Coming from above And what is the most
likely Thing people are going to do next?
Touch it Like it's not enough to see
it So I need to do what?
Verify it with the experience Like, is that
really snow?
Or not?
So some people Are at the level of
ilm al yaqeen You tell them, qala Allah
They'll say, sam'ana wa ta'ana Other
people, they keep saying, why?
Why is that?
I mean, I need to know, I need
to understand So they have to see miracles
To believe And other people, no They need
to live the miracle before they can start
believing So at different levels But the believer
really, if you have enough Proper knowledge from
the right source And you believe in it
It's enough to give you that level of
certainty We're talking about here I don't know
if we're getting to the tangent But I
hope it's also complemented to the question Of
having existential questions Answers, insha'Allah Let's move
on quickly, jama'ah, before the end of
the time We have eight minutes here on
the clock So, in order for us To
understand the message of the Quran By the
way, these four points I mentioned Earlier, they're
not just the only Purpose of the Quran
No, they're just examples And samples So in
order for us to understand the message of
the Quran We need to understand the different
categories Of information Allah SWT is Embedding in
the Quran Now, these three points over here
They're not from the Prophet It's a classification
of the ulama So they say the message
of the Quran Or the ayat of the
Quran Can be divided into three major Themes
Three major themes of the Quran Number one,
the first one Is tawheed and monotheism Like
it's theology Basically, talking about God Himself One
third of the Quran Covers the subject of
aqeedah Who Allah is, who the Prophet was
Talking about the Day of Judgment Worshipping Him
SWT and so on So the existence of
God Who is He SWT His attributes, the
purpose of this life Worshipping Him Divine plan
for this creation Which includes the Day of
Judgment and hereafter and so on All these
things will be covered Under the first category
The second part of the Quran The second
third of the Quran Talks about instructions Which
means do and don't That's what we call
the fiqh or sharia Halal and haram What
is right, what is wrong in terms of
practice Or worship of Allah SWT The third
category Is talking about history and seerah Why
is that?
So that at least we connect the whole
creation together And we realize we're not any
different From the people from before So Allah
is teaching us lessons from the people from
before Like listen, heed the reminder Learn from
their mistakes Make sure you don't repeat the
same mistake like they did So teaching us
all these stories Now some ulama They add
a fourth category Who can guess what could
that fourth category be?
Anyone can guess?
A fourth category?
Yes?
Ghaib?
No It falls under the first category Say
it again Science?
No Now it falls under the proofs of
the aqeedah In general But there's one particular
category No, the hereafter will fall under the
first category Huh?
Beautiful, akhlaq and manners Huh?
True but in terms of fiqh, sell and
trade And marriage and divorce But akhlaq and
manners Some ulama they say it falls under
the first category And some they say it
falls under the second category Believe it or
not So those who say akhlaq and manners
Falls under the first category Why is that?
Because of the attributes of Allah That we
share with the people, right?
Well, no It's not for that It's because
when Allah spoke to us about The purpose
of sending Muhammad And the purpose of sending
Musa to the pharaoh He mentioned the exact
same reason He says, when he talked about
Musa What did he say?
So shouldn't you Purify yourself?
And when he talked about the prophet Purifies
them So it's about purification Purification of what?
The nafs and the akhlaq and the manners
And the etiquettes and so on So that's
why they put actually akhlaq and manners Under
aqeedah This is how serious Behaving In good
manners Is in Islam It's just like part
of your aqeedah Part of your divine message
that you have to fulfill It's part of
your worship in that sense That's what it
means Some other ulama know They include the
subject of morality and akhlaq In the second
category Do and don't Because it's instruction Behave
this way, don't behave that way So they
say it actually falls under the second category
So either way, but I just want you
to understand That akhlaq, manners, morality Is embedded
in the aqeedah And the practice of our
deen This is how serious and important this
subject is We
talked about the revelation We talked about the
preservation of the Qur'an We talked about
these technicalities And how the Qur'an came
right now As we hold in our hands
as a mushaf We talked about all these
details But now, the essence of it What's
the purpose of it?
What does it mean?
And as a Muslim, how should I understand
the Qur'an?
And when I talk to non-Muslims What
exactly should I tell them about the Qur
'an?
So this is going to be our discussion
Insha'Allah, beginning this morning Starting with the
first question That I want you to discuss
With your neighbors next to you What do
you think the main purpose Of the Qur
'an is?
What is the purpose of the Qur'an?
I'm asking this, no Discuss this with your
neighbors Go ahead So you have one minute
to discuss The purpose of the Qur'an
What's the main reason and the main purpose
of the Qur'an?
Alright, let's hear from you now As-salamu
alaykum Okay guys, let's hear from you What's
the purpose of the Qur'an?
Yes To teach us how to worship Him
So what do we call that in one
word?
Guidance Is there any doubt in that?
I mean, the first part of Surah Al
-Baqarah Makes it very clear Alif Lam Mim
Zalika al-kitabu la rayba feehi Hudan lil
-muttaqeen This is a book, there is no
doubt in it He says subhanahu wa ta
'ala And by the way, this statement at
the beginning of Surah Al-Baqarah Is very
powerful It's a big challenge No author, when
you read books Authors always In the foreword
of the book or introduction of the book
They always say what?
I want to thank my spouse, I want
to thank my editor, I want to thank
this, I want to thank that I want
to thank these people And if you have
any questions or anything that you see Please
send this email or send to this For
example, this office address and so on So
everybody is apologetic before Even they start writing
that book But here's Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala saying to us At the beginning of
the Quran This is the book, there is
no doubt in it Like there is challenge
here It's not like, well look I mean,
this is the best I could do If
I did a mistake, you know, I want
to thank Jibreel a.s, Muhammad s.a
.w No, Astaghfirullah, nothing Because Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala These are his words, his wisdom
That's his divine words subhanahu wa ta'ala
He says there is no doubt in it
So stop worrying about By the content of
the Quran He said what?
Guidance for the righteous So he's made it
very clear Subhanahu wa ta'ala that the
main purpose Of the Quran is guidance What
else?
He said subhanahu wa ta'ala What about
the purpose of the Quran?
What else?
Yeah, uh
-huh So tell us about the story Of
the Quran, what's the purpose of that again?
Teaching us How to behave Like there's a
rule of engagement Rules of engagement, how to
deal With, you know, in regard to your
friends Your enemies, your families, your fellow Muslims
Non-Muslims and so on Again, like manual
of behavior I like to call this like
a rules of engagement Or the manual for
life The blueprint, how to live your life
Based on the Quran, what else?
Yes About Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala He's
introducing himself to us in the Quran Who
Allah?
So he's always explaining himself Subhanahu wa ta
'ala To give you purpose And what is
the main purpose for us in this life?
To worship him I've created man and jinn
But to worship me, yes Say it again
To confirm the message From before So at
least we know this is nothing new It's
just completing the message And refreshing it And
of course, you know, put the seal on
it as well too What else?
Yes What's halal and haram?
Manual for life again What to do, what
not to do What else?
Yes So it's a challenge, it's a challenge
for the world Until the day of judgment
Until this day, the challenge still stands If
you can produce something similar to the Quran
What else?
What is the message?
Which means healing And mercy for the believers
There's so many things That Allah mentioned to
us about the purpose of the Quran You
need to know What that purpose is Otherwise
if you're unable to identify it yourself You
will have trouble So the second question right
now for you that we're going to ask
Is How do you think the Quran Delivered
that divine message of Allah?
How?
The delivery right now We know that it's
about guidance It's a manual for life, it's
a blueprint It's to tell you what's right,
what's wrong It's healing, it's mercy All these
now beautiful things How did the Quran deliver
that message?
In what format?
In what exact styles of the Quran?
Talk to your neighbor next to you It's
about the style of the Quran And delivering
the message Alright Let's hear from you
right now Let's hear from you guys So
we said the Quran is for guidance It's
a manual It's healing, it's mercy All these
beautiful things What was the style of the
Quran?
How did Allah deliver that message to us
in the ayat of the Quran?
How?
Yes Stories, parables and examples Something
that connects with us as humans Beautiful What
else?
Yes Say it again Tarheeb and Tarheeb Like
giving you good news And warnings So it's
kind of provoking your mind with things That
will please you and will warn you as
well too What else?
Yes Just as straightforward Just do this So
there's no ambiguity in there Just immediately start
to do this, stay away from that What
else?
Come on guys I need you to understand
the style of the Quran very well Yes
Poetic way Like sometimes you listen to things
just like You just kind of enjoy listening
to this And as well of course the
message that comes with that as well You
remember when the poetry I recited to you
the other day You know even the sound
of sigh At the end of every line
Of poetry Is an indication that there's something
painful in there So you can imagine when
the Quran recites In a certain rhythm like
Surat Ar-Rahman for example It's so beautiful
But there's a very powerful message In saying
Like even when you say Like this The
sound of it as well too It's just
like there is Remorse, there is regret There's
feeling of Prolonging the pronouncement of that word
All these are beautiful things that can be
delivered Through of course provoking emotions We could
say Provoking emotions with that Yes Say it
again Repetition, the story of Musa And Firaun
was mentioned multiple times Even though it's one
story But why was it repeated multiple times
Because Allah SWT And that's one of the
miracles of the Quran Refocusing in the same
story On different aspects of it Like imagine
when you talk for example You focus on
Musa one day One time you focus on
Firaun One time you focus on the dialogue
between them One time you focus on the
mother of Musa One time you focus Which
is the household of Musa One time you
focus on Musa and his brother Harun Like
multiple aspects, multiple scenes Of the same story
Nowadays you know they have Redo of many
movies From the 1980s, 1970s And they want
to do something in the 2000s The same
movie Why would anyone redo the same movie
Because they want to focus on different angle
of the story Imagine the Quran doing that
Because now it tells you this story Is
very important So you have to study every
aspect of it What else?
So facts Allah SWT delivers scientific facts Those
scientific facts Maybe were not very clear To
the tradition before But it is for us
And I'm sure there's so much more in
the Quran We today probably won't be able
to comprehend But the generation that comes after
They would say wow The people before us
didn't understand anything And we thought we got
everything about the Quran But still There's so
many hidden gems in the Quran Let's move
on to the last question How do you
think the Quran Or actually what makes a
translation Of the Quran a good translation I
want to talk to your neighbor about this
What is your favorite translation Why, what does
make A translation of the Quran a good
translation Bismillah, go for it Alright As-salamu
alaykum That's it from you guys What's your
best translation, why?
Huh?
You haven't chosen one yet?
The clear Quran By Dr. Mustafa Khattab Why?
Because it's clear as it sounds, right?
It's clear as it sounds Okay, what else?
Yes So it understands the audience, what does
that mean?
So you're saying that That Ali's translation is
Old-fashioned?
Thou, thy, thus And those, and God knows
what else That's old-fashioned You won't even
be entertained if you read that But the
British, they love it That's their language So
You say it has to be understandable by
the people, right?
Yes So you don't have one single translation
To have everything all together Just like a
tafsir Not every professor covered everything So sometimes
you have to have multiple translations Because the
focus is different Yes Why?
Yeah So
in the process of making it simple and
easy for the audience He still did not
remove The power of the authority of the
Quran Coming from Allah SWT Yes, that's all
Uh-huh For example, I think if Bani
Anar studied Arabic in depth As an emergent
Studying international was my favorite Because I could
read an ayah in English And an ayah
in Arabic And I felt like I was
following the flow Because the word follows so
closely Okay So basically you're saying that It's
different from one place to another It has
different purposes Different purpose But is that the
purpose of the translator?
To make you closer to the Arabic language?
Okay, so they said we want to keep
the Arabic and English next to each other
so at least you relate to the Arabic
not just the English Very good.
Yeah, so this basically for learner for those
who would like to learn the Arabic language
translation for those who like to learn the
Arabic language Anything else from the sisters?
Yes, uh-huh Uh-huh, uh-huh
Compare well, that's what we do also with
the tafsir by the way Tafsir don't just
read one time.
We're going to talk about tafsir towards the
end inshallah ta'ala But tafsir you don't
have to stick to one tafsir one single
tafsir You usually start with one like translation
for example my recommendation read the full translation
from the beginning to the end Just read
from cover to cover finish it Once you're
done go back again right now with other
translations if you want to compare Same thing
with tafsir take one single tafsir a short
tafsir and read from cover to cover and
then start expanding Start expanding on reading other
tafsir for each ayah or each surah and
so on.
So that's something we'll talk about later inshallah
ta'ala So it comes to translation.
We're also going to discuss that later inshallah
azza wa jal