Wisdoms in the Quran #13 The Hidden Power Of Honesty

Yasir Qadhi

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The concept of bal is discussed as the ability to be fully transparent and to not give excuses to others. He emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and apologizing for one's actions to avoid mistakes, and gives examples of past mistakes as a way to eliminate a mistake. He also discusses the power of forgiveness, including the importance of honesty and forgiveness, and offers a summary of the importance of forgiveness.

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Today's wisdom from the Quran, Surat Al Qayamah

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verses 1516.

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Every single person is well aware of your

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own soul.

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Walawalkama

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athira.

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Even if you can give excuses to other

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people.

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You can give excuses to other people, you

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cannot give excuses to yourself.

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In this profound verse,

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Allah reminds us

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that our conscience,

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our inner soul,

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you cannot deceive yourself

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even if you deceive other people.

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And the word bal, balil insanu,

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this word doesn't have an English translation,

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but it is meant to emphasize,

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it is meant to bring forth as if

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we say, this is the truth, this is

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the real truth, bal. Every time the word

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bal occurs, it is a type of emphasis.

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So Allah is saying, Know one thing, O

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man, that

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you know your own inner

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soul, even if your tongue gives excuses to

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other people.

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SubhanAllah.

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You can fool your friends. If you're caught

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in an act you're not supposed to be

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doing, if something, you know, that is incorrect

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happens to you, if you are caught in

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a crime, you can give an excuse to

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the police, you can wiggle your way out

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of your family, your friends, your children, but

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you know in your own soul. You know

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your inner conscience. Balil insanu ala nafsihi

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basira.

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You are well aware. Basirah means your basar

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knows inner thoughts. You know fully,

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transparently

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what is going on. Walawalkama

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adhira.

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Even if the excuses are coming from your

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tongue, you know in reality

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who you are. And this ayah is applicable

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in so many situations and circumstances.

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And if you look at the works of

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tafsir, you find so many beautiful examples that

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illustrate this point. For example, when you're searching

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for the truth, when you're searching for a

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correct opinion, the fiqh opinion, for example. Our

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scholars mention,

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if you go to multiple ulama

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asking the same question,

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you have to ask yourself, what is your

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niyyah for doing so?

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If your niyyah is to just find the

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easiest one and follow it, that is not

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the right attitude.

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But if your niyyah is genuine research,

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if you want to find out which opinion

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makes the most sense according to what you

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know, the same scenario,

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in one side, it is hunting for excuses,

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in another side it is searching for truth.

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You know inside what is in your heart.

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Also, in this context,

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some of our scholars mentioned, balil insanu alanafsihi

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basira walalqama adhira. When people praise you, when

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people praise you for something, you don't deserve

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that praise. You accept that praise, but you

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know in your heart, well, I'm not worthy

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of that praise. So Allah is saying, you

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know your own inner reality.

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Don't give excuses

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about who you really are. And katada also

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gives an interesting tafsir of this verse, is

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that every insan

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is so eager

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to find false in others,

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and they know their own false and they

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ignore their own faults. They give excuses for

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your own faults. Right?

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You

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always

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find an excuse for the same mistake. If

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somebody else did it, you would make no

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excuse for. So this is another phenomenon

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that this aya is preaching against, and that

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is the phenomenon

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of concentrating on the faults of other people

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as you ignore your own faults, of making

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other people's mistakes your primary concern, even though

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you yourself know your own weaknesses.

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And Allah is pointing out the double standards.

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When you make a mistake, when you act

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in an irrational manner, in an angry manner,

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when you fall and you slip, you give

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every excuse for yourself.

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And the same act if somebody else does,

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your cousin does, your brother does, your friend

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does, you don't find a single excuse for.

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So Allah is saying, look, you will find

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ma'adeer for yourself, you're not gonna find ma'adeer

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for your brother. And our prophet salallahu alaihi

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wa sallam told us, find an excuse for

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your brother. However it might be, find an

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excuse and make an urdur for him. Another

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manifestation of this aya, which is, of course,

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the spiritual manifestation,

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and that is

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on the day of judgment,

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you will not be able to excuse in

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front of Allah what you know that you

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have done.

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This world, you might excuse. This world, if

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the police catch you, the IRS catches you,

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your friends catch you, you might be able

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to wiggle out. You might have a slippery

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tongue and give excuse, but you know in

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your heart what is truth and what is

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falsehood. And on the day of judgment, there

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shall be no excuse accepted.

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No is gonna be accepted because you know

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you had the capacity to do. You know

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the

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from we learned from the Quran

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that the best excuse

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is to admit you have no excuse. The

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best excuse is to own up and to

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confess to Allah that I have made a

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mistake. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is criticizing

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the concept of finding an excuse when you

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are actually guilty. This is one of the

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meanings of this verse. And of course, we

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have a saying in English, honesty is the

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best policy. This is a reality in this

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dunya and the akhirah. It is a reality

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amongst family and friends, and it is a

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reality in the eyes of Allah. Honesty is

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the best policy. You made a mistake, own

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up to it. Don't find an excuse for

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it. You made a mistake, don't wiggle out

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and make an udur. You know you're guilty.

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You know you did something wrong, and so

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do not take the path of finding your

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way out. And we learned this from the

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Sira as well in the famous incident of

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Tabukh in the Sahabi. When he realized he

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made a mistake, he said, You Rasulullah,

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Allah has blessed me with a tongue. And

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if I wanted to, I could find a

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way out, but Allah knows I am guilty,

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and I don't wanna make any excuse. I

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made a mistake because he was honest,

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because he was honest, because of this Allah

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Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala forgave him. And this is

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what the ayah is talking about. Honesty in

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front of Allah, honesty in front of family

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and friends, honesty in front of society. Nobody

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is perfect. And when you make a mistake,

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don't wiggle out and find an udur because

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you know who you really are. You know

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what mistake you fell into. And we learned

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this most importantly from our father Adam alayhi

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salaam. When he made the mistake,

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when he made the mistake,

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he confessed.

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He owned up. He said, Rabbanah

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walamnaanfusana.

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You Rabbi, I made a mistake, and I

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wronged myself. I have no excuse, You Rabb.

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I have no excuse, You Rabb. And this

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is what we learn from the sunnah as

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well. What is the most powerful du'a of

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forgiveness? It is called Sayidu,

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duaalistighfar,

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the queen or the master of all duas

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of isighfar. What is that dua that you

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say? Oh, Allah. I

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Oh, Allah. I have made a

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mistake. O Allah, I admit and I confess

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You have given me everything.

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I admit you gave me everything,

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and I admit I made a mistake and

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I fell short. This is this is the

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beginning. It's a much longer dua. I don't

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have time to go into all of it.

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The beginning is basically an admitting, You Rabbi,

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you gave me every opportunity.

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You Rabbi, you gave me health, you gave

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me wealth, you gave me izah, you gave

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me everything, and I admit

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I made a mistake and I didn't live

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up to that. And then the du'a goes

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on, but the beginning is what? No excuse.

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No excuse. Just like our father Adam, rabbanavalamnaanfusana.

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Contrast this to Iblis. When Iblis was caught

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in his mistake, when Iblis was challenged, Iblis

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says, It's not my fault. You're the one,

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You Rabb. You're the one who deceived me.

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He blames Allah for the circumstances he himself

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did. So this aya is powerful, and the

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summary of it is don't find excuses when

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you know you're wrong. Don't try to wiggle

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out. And this is why on the day

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of judgment, SubhanAllah,

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those who reject Allah, this will apply to

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the evil people, inshaAllah, will not apply to

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the righteous or those that were sinners amongst

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the Muslims. Those who rejected Allah Subhanahu Wa

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Ta'ala, Allah says, on that day, yawmatashhadu

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alayhim alsinatuhum wa idhimwarjuloomimaqano

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yaksiboon

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That on that day, their own limbs, their

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tongues, their skins, their hands will testify

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against them.

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And they will say, how are you testifying

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against us? And their own body is gonna

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say, the one who gave you the power

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to talk has now given us the power

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to talk. You will not be able to

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wiggle out with your tongue on the day

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of judgment. Your tongue will not save you

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because your body will testify to what you

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have done. There is no excuse on the

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day of judgment. And so Allah is saying,

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You know yourself,

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you know your inner heart. Don't wiggle a

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way out. Don't give excuses. If you make

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a mistake, own up to it and confess

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because that is the only way of salvation.

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Oh Muslim, the only way to be forgiven,

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eliminate excuse.

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Confess your sins to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala

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Beg Allah for forgiveness.

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Recognize,

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rabbana valamnaanfusana.

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And when you eliminate excuses,

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we'll continue tomorrow.

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we'll continue tomorrow.