Yousuf Raza – Changing The World With The Quran #7

Yousuf Raza
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the complexities of Islam, including its creation, completion, and importance in achieving good health, strength, and presence. They emphasize the importance of acceptance and embracing reality in life, avoiding Yo dealt, and taking responsibility for one's actions and work towards their values. They also discuss the importance of understanding and enrolling in Islam, with a focus on diversity and commonalities. They stress the importance of learning from different cultures and bringing in commonalities for future growth.
AI: Transcript ©
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I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed

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Satan, in the name of Allah, the Most

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Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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address the very core of what it means

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to be a believer.

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Iman in Allah.

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Tawheed as these ayats and these surahs, how

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they address that very central issue.

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Our relationship with Allah basically.

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We saw Yusuf a.s. in the previous

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surah, his iman, the level of ihsan with

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which he lived his life, the sabr that

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he was able to manifest in the face

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of all kinds of suffering.

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And then what was demanded of Rasulullah s

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.a.w. and the Sahaba r.a. also

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in the face of their suffering.

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How do you get that kind of iman?

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How does it develop?

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How do you have that relationship with Allah

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that it's such a living reality?

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That it has a greater influence on what

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you do, on your choices than any other

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relationship in your life.

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Absolutely nothing else matters as much as your

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relationship with Allah s.a.w. matters.

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And to prefer, to give priority to this

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relationship with Allah does not mean to ignore

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and neglect every other responsibility in your life,

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every other relationship in your life.

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To the contrary, every other relationship of your

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life becomes honored, becomes sanctified, becomes more worthy

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precisely because of this relationship with Allah.

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It is a demonic relationship.

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It is a relationship with shaitan.

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Shaitan has that characteristic where he demands that

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come to me and forget everybody else.

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That listen to me and then he makes

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promises and as we fall for his seductions,

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he abandons.

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That is characteristic shaitan.

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He drives you down a path away from

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everybody else and then he leaves you stranded

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on that path.

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And he says, إِنِّي بَرِي أُمِّنكُمْ I got

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nothing to do with you.

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إِنِّي أَخَافُ اللَّهِ I am afraid of Allah.

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We will even come across those ayahs in

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these few surahs that we will study inshaAllah.

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With Allah it is different.

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It is much different.

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To give him priority paradoxically means that everything

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else falls in place as well.

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So how do you develop that sort of

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relationship?

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That relationship is developed through the ayahs of

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Allah.

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What are signs of Allah?

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What is a sign?

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A sign is something that reminds you of

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someone.

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A sign is something that stands for something

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else.

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What it stands for, what it ultimately stands

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for, what all ayahs ultimately stand for is

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Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

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They are ways of knowing Him.

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They are means of knowing Him.

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The ayahs in the Qur'an in the

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most miraculous fashion from Rasulullah ﷺ transmitted across

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generations.

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The same surah al-Ra'd that was revealed

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upon Rasulullah ﷺ in the middle of the

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Meccan period.

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Down to the last dot, this is the

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same surah that we're studying today.

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Again, no other religion, no other people of

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scripture can lay this claim that what they

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have is exactly down to the last vowel

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what was revealed to their Prophet.

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No one can lay that claim.

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What we have an opportunity to experience are

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ayahs that Rasulullah ﷺ experienced.

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Ayahs after experiencing which him and the Sahabah

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ﷺ and generations of Muslims to follow.

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The way they would then experience the world

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outside, the way they would experience rain, the

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way they would experience thunder, the way they

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would experience just looking at the sky.

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It transforms.

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It becomes an act of worship.

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It becomes an act of relating with Allah.

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It becomes an act of remembering Him.

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Just looking at the trees, just hearing the

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birds.

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All of that, to dwell on that, to

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focus on that, to reflect on that and

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to see where it's taking us.

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And where it's taking us is recognizing Allah.

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So alif, laam, meem, raa.

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Again, haroof al-muqatta'at, these disjointed letters.

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Even in the alphabet of any language, there

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are ayahs of Allah.

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Who knows to speak other than the human

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beings?

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The language that we have the capacity for,

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that no other creature of Allah does.

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Their tasbihat, their language, their speech is very

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primitive, it's very primordial, it's very basic.

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The level to which human speech has been

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developed.

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And what we've been able to do on

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the basis of that speech is what has

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resulted in human beings taking more responsibility than

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any other creature of Allah.

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Allah testifies to that in Surah Ahzab, how

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much responsibilities human beings took.

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And then how our distinguishing feature even before

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the angels was the ilm al-asmaa, the

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ability to give terminologies for words, for language.

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And how that same language that humans have

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such an incredible ability for, Allah chooses to

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articulate His kalam, His message in that language.

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And that's as explicit as it gets, that's

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as clear as it can get.

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filka ayatul kitab These are the ayat of

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the book.

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waladhi unzila ilayka min rabbika alhaq And what

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has been revealed to you from your Rabb

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is the truth.

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That the truth, the ultimate truth, ya Rasulullah

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is being revealed to you.

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walakin aksaran naasi la yu'minoon But most of

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the people do not know.

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Again, in retrospect, it's easier for us to

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see how that truth manifested itself when it

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was just a claim of one person and

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a handful of people who believed in him.

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And no one could have imagined, no one

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could have imagined that less than two decades

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after that claim, he would be the uncrowned

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king of the Arabian Peninsula.

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It is mind-boggling even still to consider

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how that happened.

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Nothing, no political dynamic, no social dynamic, no

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economic dynamic that you could work out at

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the time of the revelation of this, these

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ayat would lead you to believe that that's

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what would have happened.

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Nobody could have predicted that.

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But Rasulullah's salallahu alayhi wa sallam's iman and

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what he's being asked to believe in and

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what that belief does.

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But most people do not believe.

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Allahu alladheer rafa'a assamawati bighayri amadin tarawnaha

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Allah is the one who raised the heavens

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without any visible support.

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You have doubts about this revelation coming from

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Allah, that this kalam being the kalam of

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Allah, that these ayat being the ayat of

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Allah.

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Whereas in your daily life, you look at

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the sky and its grandeur, and its elevation.

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How is it just there?

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Allah is the one who did that.

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Thumma istawa'a alal aqsh Then he established

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himself on the throne.

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And yeah, you can go into the aqeedah

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and the different interpretations of that, but ultimately

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what does it all boil down to?

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He took control.

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He created and he took control of everything.

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Every single thing that happens, Allah is not

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distant from it.

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These are actions of Allah that we're experiencing

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every moment of our passing life.

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Wasakhara shamsa walqama And he subjected the sun

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and the moon.

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Who did he subject the sun and the

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moon to?

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To the human beings.

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That ultimately, ultimately, which species of Allah gets

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to maximally benefit from this particular order of

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the sun and the moon.

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And when we say sun and the moon,

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we're talking about millions and billions of light

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years of galaxies.

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And the only one in which we understand

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life to be possible.

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And how delicate a balance.

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How you had to be at just the

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right distance from the sun.

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And the moon had to be just the

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right distance from the earth for anything to

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take place really.

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Wasakhara shamsa walqama He subjected it for you.

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Ad-dunya khuliqa lakum The Prophet ﷺ tells

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us.

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Dunya has been created for you.

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Antum khuliqtum lil-akhira And you have been

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created for the hereafter.

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Kullun yajri li-ajalim musamma Each running its

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course for a definite time.

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Yes, it's been subjected to you.

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But it has a deadline.

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It's not going to be there for an

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eternity.

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And even now, whatever astrophysics tells us, it

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tells us straight off the bat that each

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galaxy, each solar system, there's not an eternity

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for it to live forever.

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It has a point in beginning and it

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has a point of ending.

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Where all of whatever we see is going

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to fall out of orbit.

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And then what happens is going to be

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utter catastrophe.

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And what that deadline says, what that limit

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on its existence, what it tells us, is

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that there is a sense of urgency.

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That there is a responsibility that is to

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be fulfilled.

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That there is something that you're created for

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that you have to do before your time

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runs out.

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Yudabbirul amr Allah arranges each matter.

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Every single thing that goes into human existence

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becoming possible.

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Allah arranges it, plans it very meticulously.

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Every single detail.

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Yufassilul ayat And He spells out the signs,

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the ayat.

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La'allakum biliqa'i rabbikum tuqinoon So that

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you may have a firm conviction that you

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will ultimately meet your Rabb.

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That through all of this, you see His

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Rabbiyah.

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And in His Rabbiyah, you see a meaningfulness.

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And the ultimate meaning being there is going

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to be meeting with Allah subhanahu wa ta

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'ala.

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This is not a meaningless creation.

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This is not a purposeless creation.

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The incredible existence of the human being with

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all our abilities and creativities, and language, and

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ability to understand, and ability to raise monuments

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really.

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Whatever it is that we're capable of doing

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is not meaningless, it's not random, it's not

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purposeless.

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To say that is the greatest offense.

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To understand your life to be meaningless is

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the greatest offense against Allah, against His creativity.

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Waj'ala feeha wahuwa allathee maddal arb He

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is the one who spread out the earth.

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The way the language in these ayat you

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see is one of hospitality.

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One of a host.

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Laying it out, the way you would lay

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out a carpet.

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The way you would lay out a table

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spread.

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At your service.

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Wahuwa allathee maddal arb He is the one

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who spread out the earth.

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Waj'ala feeha alrawasiya wa anhara And He

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sat there upon mountains and flowing rivers.

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Wa min kulli thamarat waj'ala feeha zawjayn

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itnayn And He created all types of fruits

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in pairs.

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Two and two.

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And how that pairing of fruits allows for

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this self-sustenance.

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And this cycle continues.

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Again, we like to understand or explain whatever

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cannot be explained by God.

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So we would explain that which has no

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understanding or no mechanics that you can understand.

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We say that's because of God.

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The Quran's narrative is not that.

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The Quran does not say that wherever you

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lack an explanation that is Allah.

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The Quran says wherever you do have an

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explanation that too is Allah.

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The mechanics that you understand the cause and

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effect that you have some idea of how

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the water cycle works, how plant life works,

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how fruits come about all of that you

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understand.

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Good for you.

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But understanding it doesn't mean that's excluded Allah

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from the explanation.

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And that He only comes in where there's

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some miracle to be explained.

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Whether it's the routine experiences that you do

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understand to whatever degree or it's the inexplicable.

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All of that is one creator, one Allah.

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وَهُوَ الَّذِي مَدَّ الْأَرْضَ وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا رَوَاسِيَ وَأَنْهَارَ

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وَمِن كُلِّ السَّمَرَاتِ جَعَلَ فِيهَا زَوْجَيْنِ اثْنَيْنِ يُغْشِي

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اللَّيْلَ النَّهَارِ He covers the day with night.

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He makes time move.

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He makes the day pass into the night,

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the night pass into the day.

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Again, a movement, an alternation that is something

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that human beings have a very unique perception

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for.

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Our relationship with time, our relationship with past,

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present and future.

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What we understand of it experientially is something

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that gets corrupted when you go to 6th

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grade physics.

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Your 6th grade physics understanding makes time really

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unreal.

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It puts it on a line, a straight

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line that goes in one direction.

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And it's predictable, everything upon it is expected.

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But what you experience it in yourself, within

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yourself, every day, every passing moment, it is

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one of the greatest challenges for the human

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mind to get a grasp on what this

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is and how this is.

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To the point that the greatest of thinkers

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have said that time is an illusion.

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It's not real.

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It's another dimension of space, X, Y, Z.

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All of these different explanations that have been

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given for the Quran, for the Muslims specifically.

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The phenomena of time is our closest experience

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that we can get of Allah's involvement, Allah's

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intimate involvement in our lives.

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And how making it real, He's involved, actively

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involved, dynamically involved, closely involved in this movement

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in every second.

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إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ And all

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of this is ayaat.

00:19:15 --> 00:19:17

But will everybody be able to appreciate these

00:19:17 --> 00:19:18

ayaat?

00:19:18 --> 00:19:18

No.

00:19:20 --> 00:19:25

لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ For people who commit themselves, for

00:19:25 --> 00:19:26

a group of people, for a community of

00:19:26 --> 00:19:30

people who commit themselves to reflect on it,

00:19:30 --> 00:19:33

to think about it, to pay attention to

00:19:33 --> 00:19:33

it.

00:19:34 --> 00:19:37

وَفِي الْأَرْضِ قِطَعٌ مُتَجَاوِرَاتٍ And on earth there

00:19:37 --> 00:19:39

are tracks side by side.

00:19:40 --> 00:19:43

There are pathways for you to go on.

00:19:44 --> 00:19:49

وَجَنَّاتٌ مِّنْ أَعْنَابٍ And gardens of vine, grape

00:19:49 --> 00:19:50

vines that you see all around.

00:19:51 --> 00:19:57

وَزَّرْعٌ وَنَخِيلٌ صِنْوَانٌ وَغَيْرُ صِنْوَانٍ And date palms

00:19:57 --> 00:20:02

originating from single roots, or otherwise, يُسْقَى بِمَاءٍ

00:20:02 --> 00:20:05

وَاحِدٍ All of them are irrigated by the

00:20:05 --> 00:20:06

same water.

00:20:07 --> 00:20:11

The same water that irrigates the date palms,

00:20:11 --> 00:20:15

that irrigates the grape vines, that irrigates your

00:20:15 --> 00:20:15

crop.

00:20:16 --> 00:20:20

Yet you see the diversity in the creation

00:20:20 --> 00:20:21

of Allah.

00:20:22 --> 00:20:26

وَنُفَضِّلُ بَعْضَهَا عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ فِي الْأُكُلِ Yet we

00:20:26 --> 00:20:29

made some of them excel over others in

00:20:29 --> 00:20:29

taste.

00:20:30 --> 00:20:34

Same soil, same water, but different taste.

00:20:35 --> 00:20:38

The spontaneity and diversity that you see in

00:20:38 --> 00:20:38

creation.

00:20:39 --> 00:20:41

Because if you want to explain creation in

00:20:41 --> 00:20:47

mechanical ways, then mechanical ways cannot explain novelty,

00:20:48 --> 00:20:49

newness, diversity.

00:20:50 --> 00:20:53

If you have a closed jar, and in

00:20:53 --> 00:20:57

that closed jar, you have four elements, let's

00:20:57 --> 00:20:59

say, then there's a finite number of ways

00:20:59 --> 00:21:02

that those elements can interact with each other.

00:21:03 --> 00:21:04

And it's predictable, and it's going to be

00:21:04 --> 00:21:07

the same over and over and over and

00:21:07 --> 00:21:08

over again.

00:21:08 --> 00:21:10

But what we have in human experience is

00:21:10 --> 00:21:12

something far different than that.

00:21:12 --> 00:21:16

That the diversity that you see, the different

00:21:16 --> 00:21:19

types of crop that come about, same soil,

00:21:19 --> 00:21:22

same water, different crop, different fruit.

00:21:22 --> 00:21:24

Within the fruit, different taste.

00:21:25 --> 00:21:26

How is that taking place?

00:21:26 --> 00:21:28

How is that happening?

00:21:28 --> 00:21:31

And that is telling you about the diversity,

00:21:31 --> 00:21:34

the spontaneity, the choices that Allah is making

00:21:35 --> 00:21:36

with each fruit.

00:21:37 --> 00:21:39

How He's sending one in one direction and

00:21:39 --> 00:21:40

the other in the other direction.

00:21:41 --> 00:21:46

How He's involved in its development from scratch

00:21:46 --> 00:21:48

all the way to when it's served to

00:21:48 --> 00:21:50

you on your plates.

00:21:50 --> 00:21:54

إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّلقَوْمِ عَقِلُونَ Indeed, there

00:21:54 --> 00:21:57

are many ayat, many signs, for who?

00:21:57 --> 00:21:59

For people of aqal.

00:22:00 --> 00:22:00

Use it.

00:22:01 --> 00:22:03

For you to use your aqal.

00:22:03 --> 00:22:05

Again, the Quran is not a text that

00:22:05 --> 00:22:07

says put your aqal aside and then come.

00:22:08 --> 00:22:10

No, bring it.

00:22:11 --> 00:22:12

Empower it.

00:22:12 --> 00:22:13

Develop it.

00:22:13 --> 00:22:14

Nurture it.

00:22:14 --> 00:22:15

Mature it.

00:22:16 --> 00:22:19

وَإِن تَعْجَبْ And if you are amazed, ya

00:22:19 --> 00:22:23

Rasulullah, فَعَجَبٌ قَوْلُهُمْ Then amazing is their comment.

00:22:24 --> 00:22:27

What is the Prophet ﷺ amazed by?

00:22:28 --> 00:22:31

He's amazed by their inability to understand the

00:22:31 --> 00:22:31

Quran.

00:22:31 --> 00:22:33

They're saying, this is not from Allah.

00:22:33 --> 00:22:35

This can't be from Allah.

00:22:36 --> 00:22:39

Allah is responding that everything that you've needed,

00:22:40 --> 00:22:41

physically you've gotten.

00:22:42 --> 00:22:44

Whatever you needed for your protection, you have.

00:22:44 --> 00:22:47

Whatever you needed for your nourishment, you have.

00:22:47 --> 00:22:49

Whatever you needed for your going from point

00:22:49 --> 00:22:51

A to point B, you have.

00:22:51 --> 00:22:54

All of that meticulously provided for you.

00:22:54 --> 00:22:57

Everything that you need to survive, not just

00:22:57 --> 00:23:00

survive, but thrive, is there for you in

00:23:00 --> 00:23:01

one form or another.

00:23:02 --> 00:23:04

But then what you need even more than

00:23:04 --> 00:23:06

all of that for physical survival, which is

00:23:06 --> 00:23:10

your own guidance through life, what to do,

00:23:10 --> 00:23:11

what not to do, how to do it,

00:23:12 --> 00:23:13

how to relate with Allah, how do we

00:23:13 --> 00:23:14

know what we're supposed to do.

00:23:15 --> 00:23:17

You think he's gonna leave that unaddressed?

00:23:18 --> 00:23:22

He made arrangements for everything, down to the

00:23:22 --> 00:23:23

last dot.

00:23:24 --> 00:23:28

He's hosted you on his earth with that

00:23:28 --> 00:23:29

level of hospitality.

00:23:30 --> 00:23:32

You think he's going to neglect the most

00:23:32 --> 00:23:36

important aspect of human living?

00:23:36 --> 00:23:39

What are human beings supposed to do now?

00:23:40 --> 00:23:42

You think he's gonna leave that unaddressed?

00:23:43 --> 00:23:45

So for that too, that's what this Quran

00:23:45 --> 00:23:47

is, that you're rejecting.

00:23:48 --> 00:23:50

So if you're amazed, ya Rasulullah, that they

00:23:50 --> 00:23:53

cannot accept the truth of the Quran, فَعَجَبٌ

00:23:53 --> 00:23:57

قَوْلُهُمْ Amazing is their qaul, their comment when

00:23:57 --> 00:24:01

they say, أَإِذَا كُنَّا تُرَابًا When we're dust.

00:24:01 --> 00:24:04

أَإِنَّ لَفِي خَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ Could we then be

00:24:04 --> 00:24:06

raised to a new life?

00:24:07 --> 00:24:09

That's like them denying what's all around them.

00:24:10 --> 00:24:11

That's like them saying, oh this is easy.

00:24:13 --> 00:24:18

This heavens, earth, fruits, plants, water, diversity, that's

00:24:18 --> 00:24:18

easy.

00:24:19 --> 00:24:21

Being raised all over again, that's really hard.

00:24:21 --> 00:24:22

That's impossible.

00:24:22 --> 00:24:23

That's inconceivable.

00:24:24 --> 00:24:27

How did you conceive of one to be

00:24:27 --> 00:24:29

easy and the other to not be as

00:24:29 --> 00:24:29

such?

00:24:30 --> 00:24:33

Because you've experienced one, you can't see that

00:24:33 --> 00:24:34

happening all over again.

00:24:34 --> 00:24:36

It's supposed to be harder the first time.

00:24:37 --> 00:24:39

Anything that you do, it's supposed to be

00:24:39 --> 00:24:40

harder the first time.

00:24:41 --> 00:24:42

Repetition is easy.

00:24:43 --> 00:24:46

أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ These are the ones

00:24:46 --> 00:24:46

who deny their Rabb.

00:24:47 --> 00:24:50

Because what is accepting the hereafter?

00:24:51 --> 00:24:53

What does accepting resurrection entail?

00:24:54 --> 00:24:56

Understanding the Rabubiyah of Allah.

00:24:56 --> 00:24:58

That all of this development, me going from

00:24:58 --> 00:25:00

one stage to another, to another, to another,

00:25:00 --> 00:25:02

comes with a responsibility and I have to

00:25:02 --> 00:25:03

relate with that Rabb.

00:25:03 --> 00:25:05

I have to be an abd to that

00:25:05 --> 00:25:05

Rabb.

00:25:06 --> 00:25:09

I have to worship Him, love Him, and

00:25:09 --> 00:25:11

live like He wants me to live.

00:25:11 --> 00:25:14

Understand that purpose that He has for me.

00:25:15 --> 00:25:16

Reject all of that, that's convenient.

00:25:17 --> 00:25:19

Now I don't have to worry about anything.

00:25:19 --> 00:25:21

I can live life the way I want

00:25:21 --> 00:25:21

to.

00:25:22 --> 00:25:25

أُولَٰئِكَ الْأَغْلَالُ فِي أَعْنَاكِهِمْ These are the ones

00:25:25 --> 00:25:27

who will have iron collars around their necks.

00:25:27 --> 00:25:29

Why will they have iron collars around their

00:25:29 --> 00:25:29

necks?

00:25:29 --> 00:25:31

Because that's how they're behaving with the ayat

00:25:31 --> 00:25:32

of Allah.

00:25:32 --> 00:25:33

This is their arrogance.

00:25:34 --> 00:25:37

An arrogant person would be looking down at

00:25:37 --> 00:25:39

everything over their nose.

00:25:40 --> 00:25:42

That's the arrogance that is going to be

00:25:42 --> 00:25:46

quite literally embodied in who they're going to

00:25:46 --> 00:25:49

become with these iron collars around their neck.

00:25:50 --> 00:25:52

وَأُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ And these are the companions

00:25:52 --> 00:25:53

of the hellfire.

00:25:53 --> 00:25:54

These are the people of hellfire.

00:25:55 --> 00:25:57

Why is hellfire necessary?

00:25:58 --> 00:26:00

Because well, nothing else can melt away arrogance.

00:26:00 --> 00:26:04

Again and again and again and again to

00:26:04 --> 00:26:08

break through that arrogance that you've locked yourself

00:26:08 --> 00:26:08

in.

00:26:09 --> 00:26:11

هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ And they'll live therein forever.

00:26:13 --> 00:26:16

وَيَسْتَعْجِلُونَكَ بِالسَّيْجِئَةِ قَبْلَ الْحَسَنَةِ And they urge you

00:26:16 --> 00:26:19

to bring about evil rather than good.

00:26:20 --> 00:26:23

So they were challenging Rasulullah ﷺ repeatedly that

00:26:23 --> 00:26:25

where's this punishment that you're promising?

00:26:25 --> 00:26:26

Bring it on if you're truthful.

00:26:27 --> 00:26:28

Let's see what you got.

00:26:28 --> 00:26:29

Let's see how true you really are.

00:26:30 --> 00:26:31

Let's see if you're really a prophet of

00:26:31 --> 00:26:31

God.

00:26:31 --> 00:26:33

Let's see if God's got your back.

00:26:33 --> 00:26:34

Why isn't He punishing you?

00:26:34 --> 00:26:37

Punishing us for doing what we're doing to

00:26:37 --> 00:26:37

you.

00:26:37 --> 00:26:39

We've tormented your followers.

00:26:39 --> 00:26:39

We've tortured you.

00:26:40 --> 00:26:40

We've boycotted you.

00:26:40 --> 00:26:41

We've done this.

00:26:41 --> 00:26:41

We've done that.

00:26:42 --> 00:26:42

We don't see nothing.

00:26:44 --> 00:26:45

No punishment came to us.

00:26:46 --> 00:26:48

We're still the leaders of the land.

00:26:48 --> 00:26:50

We're still the most powerful people in Arabia.

00:26:51 --> 00:26:53

They're urging, they're hurrying on.

00:26:54 --> 00:26:56

They're impatiently urging you to bring about the

00:26:56 --> 00:26:59

evil and not the good which is for

00:26:59 --> 00:27:01

them to accept, which is for them to

00:27:01 --> 00:27:01

respond.

00:27:01 --> 00:27:05

وَقَدْ خَلَطْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمُ الْمَثُولَاتِ While similar punishments

00:27:05 --> 00:27:06

have already been there before them.

00:27:06 --> 00:27:08

Why do they think they're invincible?

00:27:08 --> 00:27:11

When so many more stronger than them were

00:27:11 --> 00:27:12

never invincible.

00:27:12 --> 00:27:14

They all had their fall.

00:27:14 --> 00:27:17

وَإِنَّ الرَّبَّكَ لَذُو مَغْفِرَةٍ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَىٰ غُلْمِهِمْ And

00:27:17 --> 00:27:19

your Rabb is full of forgiveness for mankind

00:27:19 --> 00:27:21

despite their ghulm.

00:27:21 --> 00:27:22

This is Allah's hilm.

00:27:24 --> 00:27:27

That He continues to tolerate so many opportunities,

00:27:27 --> 00:27:31

so many ayat يَمُرُّونَ عَلَيْهَا that we just

00:27:31 --> 00:27:32

pass by.

00:27:32 --> 00:27:37

See the sky, the birds, the trees, the

00:27:37 --> 00:27:38

fruits.

00:27:38 --> 00:27:39

Eat them.

00:27:40 --> 00:27:42

Devour them really.

00:27:43 --> 00:27:45

And not once remember God.

00:27:46 --> 00:27:47

Not once remember Allah.

00:27:48 --> 00:27:50

So many ayats of the Quran we hear

00:27:50 --> 00:27:52

and we don't really hear.

00:27:55 --> 00:27:58

That don't get translated in our lives.

00:27:59 --> 00:28:03

If Allah wanted, the first time we ignored

00:28:03 --> 00:28:05

Him, the second time we ignored Him, the

00:28:05 --> 00:28:09

200th time we ignored Him, the 1000th time

00:28:09 --> 00:28:11

we ignored Him, could have been the last

00:28:11 --> 00:28:12

time.

00:28:13 --> 00:28:14

Yet we're here.

00:28:16 --> 00:28:21

Yet we get another opportunity to hear more

00:28:21 --> 00:28:24

ayats of the Quran, to connect with them,

00:28:25 --> 00:28:26

to relate with Him.

00:28:28 --> 00:28:31

How much of His hilm do we continue

00:28:31 --> 00:28:33

to take advantage of?

00:28:33 --> 00:28:35

How much of His maghfirah?

00:28:37 --> 00:28:40

He covers it up as if it didn't

00:28:40 --> 00:28:40

happen.

00:28:42 --> 00:28:44

But He tells us He can't continue to

00:28:44 --> 00:28:47

do that for an eternity.

00:28:47 --> 00:28:49

There comes a limit where He says enough.

00:28:50 --> 00:28:52

Now if I continue to do that, then

00:28:52 --> 00:28:58

that's unjust to those who do respond, to

00:28:58 --> 00:29:01

those who do accept, to those who are

00:29:01 --> 00:29:02

not arrogant.

00:29:03 --> 00:29:07

وَإِنَّ الرَّبَّكَ لَشَدِيدُ الْعِقَابُ For your Rabb is

00:29:07 --> 00:29:09

stern in punishment.

00:29:09 --> 00:29:12

As much as forgiveness, maghfirah, is part of

00:29:12 --> 00:29:16

His rabubiyah, being shadeed al-'iqab is part of

00:29:16 --> 00:29:17

His rabubiyah.

00:29:19 --> 00:29:23

وَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ لَا أُنزِلَ عَلَيْهِ آيَةٌ

00:29:23 --> 00:29:26

مِّن رَّبِّهِ And the disbelievers say, why is

00:29:26 --> 00:29:28

there no sign sent upon Him from His

00:29:28 --> 00:29:28

Rabb?

00:29:29 --> 00:29:30

Allah continues to tell us that these are

00:29:30 --> 00:29:33

all ayaat, the Qur'anic ayaat, the ayaat

00:29:33 --> 00:29:34

in the world that you're walking around.

00:29:35 --> 00:29:37

But they want to know very specific ayaat.

00:29:38 --> 00:29:39

They're saying, we're going to tell you what

00:29:39 --> 00:29:40

an ayaat is.

00:29:41 --> 00:29:43

We're going to set the standard for God

00:29:43 --> 00:29:44

to fulfill.

00:29:44 --> 00:29:45

Ma'azallah, it's like a hoop that we

00:29:45 --> 00:29:46

want Him to jump through.

00:29:47 --> 00:29:48

We designed the hoop.

00:29:49 --> 00:29:50

We're going to say what it is, and

00:29:50 --> 00:29:52

we're going to demand for it to be

00:29:52 --> 00:29:52

fulfilled.

00:29:53 --> 00:29:54

So why no miracle?

00:29:55 --> 00:29:56

Why no miracle the way we want a

00:29:56 --> 00:29:57

miracle to be?

00:29:58 --> 00:30:02

إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ مُنذِرٌ Allah says, no, you're just

00:30:02 --> 00:30:03

a warner.

00:30:03 --> 00:30:05

All you can do is warn them.

00:30:05 --> 00:30:08

You're not here to reinforce their arrogance.

00:30:08 --> 00:30:11

You're not here to feed into their demands.

00:30:12 --> 00:30:14

Allah has bigger plans.

00:30:15 --> 00:30:19

Allah has, on previous occasion, with previous nations,

00:30:19 --> 00:30:24

responded with their demands, fulfilled it, given them

00:30:24 --> 00:30:26

ayaat of their liking.

00:30:26 --> 00:30:28

The miracles that they wanted.

00:30:29 --> 00:30:30

They never responded.

00:30:31 --> 00:30:32

They never responded.

00:30:33 --> 00:30:36

And you, of course Rasulullah ﷺ being the

00:30:36 --> 00:30:39

last and final prophet, this door is being

00:30:39 --> 00:30:39

closed.

00:30:40 --> 00:30:46

Humanity is being weaned off of this institution

00:30:46 --> 00:30:47

of prophethood.

00:30:47 --> 00:30:48

It has to be closed.

00:30:48 --> 00:30:51

And it is necessary to close it for

00:30:51 --> 00:30:54

the maturity of other dimensions and other aspects

00:30:54 --> 00:30:55

of human society.

00:30:55 --> 00:30:58

To continue to give in and to continue

00:30:58 --> 00:31:02

to let these ayaat flow on human demands.

00:31:03 --> 00:31:06

And those two insolent humans are not going

00:31:06 --> 00:31:07

to respond.

00:31:08 --> 00:31:12

Allah has something else planned for humanity.

00:31:13 --> 00:31:16

He wants human beings to become stronger than

00:31:16 --> 00:31:17

that.

00:31:17 --> 00:31:19

Other than that, more righteous than that.

00:31:19 --> 00:31:23

وَلِكُلِّ قَوْمٍ هَادٌ And for every people, there

00:31:23 --> 00:31:25

is a guide.

00:31:25 --> 00:31:27

اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَحْمِلُ كُلُّ أُنثَ Allah knows

00:31:27 --> 00:31:29

whatever every female carries.

00:31:30 --> 00:31:33

وَمَا تَغِيظُ الْأَرْحَامُ وَمَا تَزْدَادُ How much the

00:31:33 --> 00:31:34

wombs fall short or exceed.

00:31:35 --> 00:31:37

How premature is the labor.

00:31:37 --> 00:31:41

How much the labor extends beyond its time.

00:31:42 --> 00:31:45

وَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ عِنْدَهُ بِمِقْدَارٍ Everything with Him is

00:31:45 --> 00:31:47

precisely measured.

00:31:47 --> 00:31:51

عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ الْكَبِيرُ الْمُتَعَالِ Knower of the

00:31:51 --> 00:31:52

seen and the unseen.

00:31:52 --> 00:31:54

He is the Great, the Highest.

00:31:55 --> 00:31:57

سَوَاءٌ مِّنْكُمْ Of you it is all the

00:31:57 --> 00:31:58

same.

00:31:58 --> 00:32:01

مَنْ أَسَرَّ الْقَوْلَ وَمَنْ جَهَرَ بِهِ One who

00:32:01 --> 00:32:05

speaks secretly and one who speaks aloud.

00:32:06 --> 00:32:07

Allah hears all.

00:32:07 --> 00:32:11

وَمَنْ هُوَ مُسْتَخْفٍ بِاللَّيْلِ And the one who

00:32:11 --> 00:32:12

is hiding by night.

00:32:12 --> 00:32:15

وَسَارِبٌ بِالنَّهَارِ Or walking around in daylight.

00:32:16 --> 00:32:18

Allah sees everything.

00:32:18 --> 00:32:22

لَهُ مُعَقِّبَاتٍ He has protectors.

00:32:22 --> 00:32:25

Which are understood to be angels.

00:32:26 --> 00:32:26

Supervising.

00:32:27 --> 00:32:29

مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ From before him

00:32:29 --> 00:32:30

and behind him.

00:32:31 --> 00:32:35

يَحْفَظُونَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ They guard him by

00:32:35 --> 00:32:36

Allah's command.

00:32:36 --> 00:32:39

That every single human being has protectors, has

00:32:39 --> 00:32:40

guards.

00:32:40 --> 00:32:44

And there are experiences that time and time

00:32:44 --> 00:32:47

again all of us would have had where

00:32:47 --> 00:32:49

we would be sure that that was such

00:32:49 --> 00:32:50

a close call.

00:32:51 --> 00:32:53

I just got saved by an inch.

00:32:54 --> 00:32:56

If that car was just here.

00:32:57 --> 00:32:59

If it was just two seconds earlier.

00:32:59 --> 00:33:01

If it was just two meters here.

00:33:01 --> 00:33:03

If it was just so many times.

00:33:03 --> 00:33:05

I don't know how I survived that.

00:33:05 --> 00:33:07

The car got totaled.

00:33:08 --> 00:33:10

How did that happen?

00:33:11 --> 00:33:15

And then an even more delicate balance that

00:33:15 --> 00:33:16

runs inside of us.

00:33:16 --> 00:33:18

And for us to realize how delicate that

00:33:18 --> 00:33:23

balance is when somebody experiences an imbalance and

00:33:23 --> 00:33:24

their life comes to an end.

00:33:25 --> 00:33:26

We come to understand how much is going

00:33:26 --> 00:33:28

on that we have no idea about.

00:33:29 --> 00:33:32

How minuscule the measures are.

00:33:34 --> 00:33:38

And so this protection from Allah for every

00:33:38 --> 00:33:40

single human being.

00:33:45 --> 00:33:48

It's absolutely incredible.

00:33:48 --> 00:33:50

One who has such meticulous control.

00:33:51 --> 00:33:56

Such precise control of the smallest atom in

00:33:56 --> 00:33:58

the entire universe.

00:33:59 --> 00:34:02

But when it comes for a people to

00:34:02 --> 00:34:07

change their condition for a people to change

00:34:07 --> 00:34:09

the way they are as a society, as

00:34:09 --> 00:34:11

a community, as an Ummah.

00:34:12 --> 00:34:16

Allah says, Allah never changes a condition of

00:34:16 --> 00:34:20

people until they themselves change what is within

00:34:20 --> 00:34:21

themselves.

00:34:23 --> 00:34:26

Allah honors, Allah respects human freedom.

00:34:28 --> 00:34:30

And He would not sidestep it.

00:34:31 --> 00:34:33

He would not overstep it.

00:34:34 --> 00:34:38

He wants human beings to take control, take

00:34:38 --> 00:34:38

charge.

00:34:39 --> 00:34:41

He says, I got everything else taken care

00:34:41 --> 00:34:42

of for you.

00:34:43 --> 00:34:45

Everything else I got taken care of for

00:34:45 --> 00:34:45

you.

00:34:46 --> 00:34:50

You're living proof of how much meticulous care

00:34:51 --> 00:34:55

your survival, your life takes.

00:34:56 --> 00:34:58

All you gotta do is take control of

00:34:58 --> 00:35:00

a very minuscule fraction.

00:35:00 --> 00:35:01

And that's your own spirituality.

00:35:03 --> 00:35:05

That is what is within your control, as

00:35:05 --> 00:35:07

your choices in your society.

00:35:08 --> 00:35:09

You want good?

00:35:10 --> 00:35:10

Do good.

00:35:12 --> 00:35:13

You want strength?

00:35:13 --> 00:35:17

You want to be in a better place?

00:35:18 --> 00:35:18

Work hard.

00:35:20 --> 00:35:23

That sunnah of Allah is not changing.

00:35:24 --> 00:35:25

There's no cheat codes.

00:35:26 --> 00:35:30

There's no cheat codes around effort.

00:35:31 --> 00:35:33

Around sacrifice.

00:35:34 --> 00:35:35

The Prophets had to do it.

00:35:36 --> 00:35:37

The families of the Prophets had to do

00:35:37 --> 00:35:38

it.

00:35:38 --> 00:35:40

The beloveds of Allah have had to do

00:35:40 --> 00:35:41

it.

00:35:41 --> 00:35:44

No one gets a get out of jail

00:35:44 --> 00:35:45

free card.

00:35:47 --> 00:35:51

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيْجِرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيْجِرُ

00:35:51 --> 00:35:56

مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ Even that change which comes for

00:35:56 --> 00:35:58

you after your effort is Allah bringing about

00:35:58 --> 00:35:59

that change.

00:36:00 --> 00:36:02

But He says the ball is in your

00:36:02 --> 00:36:02

court.

00:36:04 --> 00:36:05

You gotta play the shot.

00:36:07 --> 00:36:09

Whether it lands or does not land, Allah

00:36:09 --> 00:36:10

will take care of it.

00:36:10 --> 00:36:11

You gotta play the shot.

00:36:11 --> 00:36:12

But if you don't play the shot, you're

00:36:12 --> 00:36:13

definitely gonna miss.

00:36:16 --> 00:36:19

So of all His power, do not let

00:36:19 --> 00:36:25

His power waylay you or misguide you into

00:36:25 --> 00:36:27

thinking that you have no responsibility.

00:36:28 --> 00:36:30

Because what that does is that makes your

00:36:30 --> 00:36:33

life meaningless which again Allah takes very personally.

00:36:33 --> 00:36:37

How dare you say that your creation is

00:36:37 --> 00:36:37

meaningless.

00:36:40 --> 00:36:43

Not even if you're doing that exalting my

00:36:43 --> 00:36:43

power.

00:36:45 --> 00:36:47

Not if you're doing that exalting my knowledge

00:36:47 --> 00:36:48

and wisdom.

00:36:48 --> 00:36:49

No.

00:36:51 --> 00:36:53

I did not create this abbas.

00:36:53 --> 00:36:55

I did not create this batil.

00:36:55 --> 00:36:57

This is haq.

00:36:57 --> 00:37:00

And so you gotta do your part.

00:37:01 --> 00:37:06

وَإِذَا أَرَاضَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا فَلَا مَرَدَّلَ When

00:37:06 --> 00:37:09

Allah decides to inflict people with a catastrophe,

00:37:10 --> 00:37:13

with an ill, with evil, no one can

00:37:13 --> 00:37:13

turn it back.

00:37:14 --> 00:37:17

وَمَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِّنْ وَالٍ And nobody,

00:37:19 --> 00:37:24

no one, can, they have as a protector

00:37:24 --> 00:37:27

other than Him.

00:37:28 --> 00:37:35

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَانِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالِمِ If there's

00:37:35 --> 00:37:37

comments or questions, please.

00:37:41 --> 00:37:41

Please.

00:37:58 --> 00:38:00

So it goes across the board.

00:38:01 --> 00:38:02

It goes across the board.

00:38:02 --> 00:38:09

Spirituality, religiosity, economic condition, social condition, political

00:38:09 --> 00:38:10

condition.

00:38:11 --> 00:38:15

Across the board, human beings have to take

00:38:15 --> 00:38:17

charge of whatever is in their domain of

00:38:17 --> 00:38:18

responsibility.

00:38:20 --> 00:38:23

We cannot say as we have been saying,

00:38:24 --> 00:38:28

that we take care of the spirituality and

00:38:28 --> 00:38:29

we will not have to take care of

00:38:29 --> 00:38:30

anything else.

00:38:32 --> 00:38:34

As far as what we see from the

00:38:34 --> 00:38:36

Qur'an and what we see from the

00:38:36 --> 00:38:39

example of Rasulullah ﷺ and the Sahaba, that

00:38:39 --> 00:38:39

is not the case.

00:38:41 --> 00:38:43

Allah does not say that spirituality is my

00:38:43 --> 00:38:47

domain and the political domain or the social

00:38:47 --> 00:38:49

domain or the economic domain belongs to some

00:38:49 --> 00:38:50

other God.

00:38:51 --> 00:38:53

Those are sunan of Allah in those domains

00:38:53 --> 00:38:54

as well.

00:38:55 --> 00:38:57

And those sunan have to be understood and

00:38:57 --> 00:39:00

complied with and acknowledged and worked in accordance

00:39:00 --> 00:39:00

with.

00:39:01 --> 00:39:03

This is something we're gonna see in Surah

00:39:03 --> 00:39:04

Bani Israel very expressively.

00:39:06 --> 00:39:13

That whoever makes a dua, وَيَدْعُ الْإِنسَانُ بِالشَّرِّ

00:39:13 --> 00:39:20

دُعَاءَهُ بِالْخَيْرِ Insan makes dua of sharr, asking

00:39:20 --> 00:39:21

for khayr.

00:39:22 --> 00:39:23

He thinks it's khayr for him, but what

00:39:23 --> 00:39:25

he's asking for is sharr for him.

00:39:26 --> 00:39:29

Nevertheless, when it comes to making an effort,

00:39:29 --> 00:39:31

it is clear.

00:39:32 --> 00:39:36

The one who makes the effort for it,

00:39:36 --> 00:39:39

the way it deserves for the effort to

00:39:39 --> 00:39:39

be made.

00:39:40 --> 00:39:42

Allah says that's the one, that's the person

00:39:42 --> 00:39:42

we're gonna reward.

00:39:43 --> 00:39:45

That's the one who's gonna get the fruits

00:39:45 --> 00:39:45

of their action.

00:39:46 --> 00:39:48

So it is across the board.

00:40:02 --> 00:40:10

So if it's a punishment, evil, so sharr

00:40:10 --> 00:40:12

exists.

00:40:14 --> 00:40:16

And the attribution of that is not to,

00:40:17 --> 00:40:21

it is the absence of khayr, yes, but

00:40:21 --> 00:40:26

there are, so the one who experiences the

00:40:26 --> 00:40:31

ultimate catastrophe, Allah's final punishment, that's destruction and

00:40:31 --> 00:40:33

then they go in the hellfire.

00:40:34 --> 00:40:36

That would be for them, in their context,

00:40:37 --> 00:40:38

evil.

00:40:38 --> 00:40:41

Although from within that context, that individually for

00:40:41 --> 00:40:44

that particular person who's condemned, is evil, there

00:40:44 --> 00:40:47

is khayr for the rest of humanity in

00:40:47 --> 00:40:49

the grander scheme of things.

00:40:53 --> 00:40:55

In Allah's hands is khayr, of course.

00:40:56 --> 00:40:58

But it has to be for grander, we

00:40:58 --> 00:41:00

have to take the grander perspective in mind.

00:41:00 --> 00:41:03

For a specific individual person who's condemned, who's

00:41:03 --> 00:41:05

damned, whose heart is sealed, and who's now

00:41:05 --> 00:41:07

going to face the punishment of Allah for

00:41:07 --> 00:41:11

an eternity, now that's a done deal.

00:41:12 --> 00:41:13

Does that make sense?

00:41:32 --> 00:41:35

So there is the meaning that we share,

00:41:36 --> 00:41:39

being the ummati of Rasulullah ﷺ.

00:41:40 --> 00:41:44

There are obligations and responsibilities that we incur,

00:41:44 --> 00:41:46

that we take on as a result of

00:41:46 --> 00:41:46

that.

00:41:48 --> 00:41:52

The pillars of Islam, the amr bil ma

00:41:52 --> 00:41:55

'ruf, the nahiyan al-munkar, those responsibilities that

00:41:55 --> 00:41:58

we have, the hudud that Allah has asked

00:41:58 --> 00:41:58

us to maintain.

00:42:00 --> 00:42:02

And then within our individual lives, within our

00:42:02 --> 00:42:06

context, societies, wherever we are, what will that

00:42:06 --> 00:42:08

amr bil ma'ruf, nahiyan al-munkar look

00:42:08 --> 00:42:08

like?

00:42:09 --> 00:42:11

What is it that I can do that

00:42:11 --> 00:42:13

will improve the human condition?

00:42:13 --> 00:42:15

That will improve the condition of the ummah

00:42:15 --> 00:42:16

of Rasulullah ﷺ?

00:42:17 --> 00:42:19

Something that I'm gifted with.

00:42:20 --> 00:42:21

Something that I have the resources for.

00:42:22 --> 00:42:24

Something that I have the opportunities for, or

00:42:24 --> 00:42:26

the opportunities to create opportunities for.

00:42:27 --> 00:42:28

Right, so there is that which we share,

00:42:28 --> 00:42:30

and then there is that which is unique.

00:42:31 --> 00:42:33

To take responsibility for that.

00:42:34 --> 00:42:37

I have been created by Allah, there is

00:42:37 --> 00:42:40

definitely a meaning, a purpose in my creation.

00:42:41 --> 00:42:44

It is unique, as well as communal.

00:42:45 --> 00:42:47

And I have to realize that, understand what

00:42:47 --> 00:42:49

that is, and put in my effort in

00:42:49 --> 00:42:51

that direction as best as I can.

00:43:18 --> 00:43:19

Thank you very much.

00:43:20 --> 00:43:23

I'm trying to understand, what is it really

00:43:27 --> 00:43:28

like?

00:43:28 --> 00:43:38

And how are you better than out of

00:43:38 --> 00:43:39

context?

00:43:39 --> 00:43:40

No, no, no.

00:43:40 --> 00:43:46

So, there is diversity across Allah's creation.

00:43:47 --> 00:43:48

Right?

00:43:48 --> 00:43:49

And that includes the human beings.

00:43:51 --> 00:43:53

There is diversity in language.

00:43:53 --> 00:43:56

There is diversity in appearance.

00:43:57 --> 00:43:59

There is diversity in abilities.

00:44:00 --> 00:44:07

So people from certain tribes, cultures, will have

00:44:07 --> 00:44:09

some abilities that others don't.

00:44:10 --> 00:44:10

Right?

00:44:10 --> 00:44:14

So there will be, there will be, perhaps

00:44:14 --> 00:44:18

in the context of, we see the Arabs,

00:44:19 --> 00:44:21

they're very practical people.

00:44:22 --> 00:44:24

They're very hands-on people.

00:44:25 --> 00:44:27

And so for them to be the primary

00:44:27 --> 00:44:31

recipients of the Quran, it means they heard,

00:44:31 --> 00:44:32

they understood, they enacted.

00:44:34 --> 00:44:37

The gap between hearing, understanding, and enactment wasn't

00:44:37 --> 00:44:38

as much.

00:44:39 --> 00:44:42

As when you see the other nations and

00:44:42 --> 00:44:47

tribes, Persians for example, they are more a

00:44:47 --> 00:44:51

people of intellection, and reflection, and thinking, and

00:44:51 --> 00:44:53

so the Prophet ﷺ points to Salman al

00:44:53 --> 00:44:55

-Farsi and say that even if ilm is

00:44:55 --> 00:44:59

on Sirius, a star, a person from his

00:44:59 --> 00:45:00

nation is going to go get it.

00:45:01 --> 00:45:05

So they're more erudite in terms of not

00:45:05 --> 00:45:10

just practical application, but before practical application, intellectual

00:45:10 --> 00:45:11

development.

00:45:12 --> 00:45:14

Even spiritual development for that matter.

00:45:16 --> 00:45:17

Languages too.

00:45:18 --> 00:45:23

There's a saying in Arabic that that things

00:45:23 --> 00:45:25

are known by their opposites.

00:45:26 --> 00:45:30

So much is recognized in contrast.

00:45:31 --> 00:45:33

That we understand things in contrast.

00:45:34 --> 00:45:37

So for you to know each other, I

00:45:37 --> 00:45:41

know me, I know me better.

00:45:41 --> 00:45:46

If I know a person of another race,

00:45:46 --> 00:45:50

of another nationality, of another tribe, of another

00:45:50 --> 00:45:52

background, there's so much about myself that I

00:45:52 --> 00:45:53

would not be aware of.

00:45:53 --> 00:45:56

Goethe said, he who knows one language knows

00:45:56 --> 00:45:56

none.

00:45:57 --> 00:46:00

Because when you know two languages, then you're

00:46:00 --> 00:46:03

able to appreciate the nuances in both languages

00:46:03 --> 00:46:04

and different languages better.

00:46:05 --> 00:46:10

And also commonalities would become more clear in

00:46:10 --> 00:46:12

how we understand them.

00:46:13 --> 00:46:18

So that diversity to enhance human understanding of

00:46:18 --> 00:46:22

themselves is at least one dimension of it.

00:46:22 --> 00:46:23

There's a whole lot more to it.

00:46:24 --> 00:46:28

What is to be condemned, what is to

00:46:28 --> 00:46:33

be curtailed in that understanding is that you

00:46:33 --> 00:46:37

do not make that a sense of privilege

00:46:37 --> 00:46:40

or Allah has favored or Allah loves one

00:46:40 --> 00:46:42

more than the other, period.

00:46:42 --> 00:46:43

And the other doesn't have a chance.

00:46:43 --> 00:46:46

That one is lesser human and one is

00:46:46 --> 00:46:47

greater human.

00:46:48 --> 00:46:49

Because one is whiter.

00:46:50 --> 00:46:53

So there's no room for racism there.

00:46:54 --> 00:46:55

Or a superior race.

00:46:56 --> 00:46:58

That door is being closed off.

00:46:59 --> 00:47:05

Identity, understanding, relating, that relationship takes place across

00:47:05 --> 00:47:05

differences.

00:47:05 --> 00:47:09

You can't relate without differences.

00:47:10 --> 00:47:12

Differences have to be there for relationships to

00:47:12 --> 00:47:13

be taking place.

00:47:14 --> 00:47:15

I hope that makes sense.

00:47:34 --> 00:47:35

For sure.

00:47:36 --> 00:47:40

And how a Norwegian will then practice Islam,

00:47:41 --> 00:47:44

he will bring that commonality with the ummah,

00:47:44 --> 00:47:48

but then there will be a new flavor

00:47:48 --> 00:47:48

as well.

00:47:48 --> 00:47:54

A new beauty that you will see expressing

00:47:54 --> 00:47:57

from a Norwegian's Islam for that matter.

00:47:57 --> 00:47:58

And we see that.

00:47:58 --> 00:48:00

We see that more here, which is a

00:48:00 --> 00:48:02

multicultural context.

00:48:03 --> 00:48:06

The diversity that we see in understanding fiqh

00:48:06 --> 00:48:07

for that matter.

00:48:08 --> 00:48:10

Understanding spirituality for that matter.

00:48:10 --> 00:48:12

It helps us understand and learn from each

00:48:12 --> 00:48:13

other as well.

00:48:13 --> 00:48:18

I may bring some detrimental aspects of where

00:48:18 --> 00:48:19

I come from.

00:48:19 --> 00:48:21

There are some bad habits of my culture.

00:48:22 --> 00:48:24

For example, we tend to be very lazy.

00:48:25 --> 00:48:26

Right?

00:48:26 --> 00:48:31

We have this, you know...

00:48:33 --> 00:48:33

Yes.

00:48:35 --> 00:48:36

For sure.

00:48:40 --> 00:48:40

For sure.

00:48:44 --> 00:48:46

And let's see.

00:48:48 --> 00:48:50

It makes us a particular way.

00:48:50 --> 00:48:53

But I have to be cognizant of that.

00:48:53 --> 00:48:55

It can get in the way.

00:48:57 --> 00:49:00

The more I appreciate it, the more I

00:49:00 --> 00:49:02

can overcome it, the more I can learn

00:49:02 --> 00:49:06

from other cultures where they are perhaps better

00:49:06 --> 00:49:08

in certain areas.

00:49:09 --> 00:49:12

There is, for example, there is a mindset

00:49:12 --> 00:49:17

of scarcity that South Asians are particularly prone

00:49:17 --> 00:49:17

to.

00:49:18 --> 00:49:20

And that has a historical context as well.

00:49:20 --> 00:49:23

30 million or more people died in famines

00:49:23 --> 00:49:24

orchestrated by the British.

00:49:25 --> 00:49:27

Now, trans-generationally, we grow up with this

00:49:27 --> 00:49:29

fear of poverty.

00:49:30 --> 00:49:31

Where are we going to eat from?

00:49:31 --> 00:49:33

You have to become a doctor or engineer,

00:49:33 --> 00:49:34

otherwise you are going to die of hunger.

00:49:35 --> 00:49:36

You have to...

00:49:36 --> 00:49:37

There is very limited resources.

00:49:37 --> 00:49:40

You have to compete with everyone else in

00:49:40 --> 00:49:41

order to grasp those resources.

00:49:42 --> 00:49:44

In order to make sure you succeed, you

00:49:44 --> 00:49:45

have to climb this ladder.

00:49:46 --> 00:49:48

And if you have to climb this ladder,

00:49:48 --> 00:49:49

you have to push other people off this

00:49:49 --> 00:49:49

ladder.

00:49:50 --> 00:49:51

This has a history.

00:49:52 --> 00:49:53

And that history has...

00:49:53 --> 00:49:54

It's a traumatic history.

00:49:55 --> 00:49:56

And it's something that we need to be

00:49:56 --> 00:49:57

wary of and understand better.

00:49:58 --> 00:50:00

People who don't have that background, for them

00:50:00 --> 00:50:02

it will be easier to say, tawakkalallah.

00:50:04 --> 00:50:04

It's okay.

00:50:05 --> 00:50:06

There are multiple professions.

00:50:06 --> 00:50:06

You will not die.

00:50:06 --> 00:50:07

You are not a lesser human being if

00:50:07 --> 00:50:09

you are not a doctor or an engineer.

00:50:10 --> 00:50:13

We have a colonial history that we need

00:50:13 --> 00:50:14

to be wary of.

00:51:01 --> 00:51:05

So, different tribes, different nations, there will be

00:51:05 --> 00:51:08

commonalities and there will be differences.

00:51:08 --> 00:51:13

I wouldn't say opposites necessarily, but commonalities and

00:51:13 --> 00:51:13

differences.

00:51:15 --> 00:51:17

So there will be those that will help

00:51:17 --> 00:51:21

us understand each other better, understand ourselves better

00:51:21 --> 00:51:24

and relate with each other from that context.

00:51:24 --> 00:51:27

For example, the Quran says that from the

00:51:27 --> 00:51:30

Bedouins, the Quran creates a distinction now.

00:51:31 --> 00:51:32

There are the city dwellers, there are those

00:51:32 --> 00:51:34

in Medina, there are those in Mecca.

00:51:34 --> 00:51:36

But then there are those who are Bedouins.

00:51:37 --> 00:51:41

More harsh, more strict, more blunt, more offensive,

00:51:42 --> 00:51:45

more likely to apostate.

00:51:46 --> 00:51:48

And that's what led to the apostasy wars

00:51:48 --> 00:51:48

as well.

00:51:49 --> 00:51:53

That it was those nations, Allah identifies in

00:51:53 --> 00:51:54

Surah At-Tawbah that you need to recognize

00:51:54 --> 00:51:58

this limitation, that you need to recognize this

00:51:58 --> 00:52:02

fault and you need to send people over

00:52:02 --> 00:52:05

to benefit from Rasulullah ﷺ and learn from

00:52:05 --> 00:52:07

him and then go back to your people.

00:52:08 --> 00:52:11

So that difference too is a difference to

00:52:11 --> 00:52:13

be acknowledged and overcome and transcended.

00:52:14 --> 00:52:17

Something that the people around Rasulullah ﷺ, they

00:52:17 --> 00:52:19

didn't have that challenge as such.

00:52:19 --> 00:52:21

Again, the difference between people of Mecca and

00:52:21 --> 00:52:22

people of Medina.

00:52:23 --> 00:52:26

Umar ﷺ says that, Ya Rasulullah ﷺ, ever

00:52:26 --> 00:52:28

since we've come here, our wives talk back

00:52:28 --> 00:52:28

to us.

00:52:28 --> 00:52:30

They never used to do that in Mecca.

00:52:31 --> 00:52:34

They've gone along and they've gone around these

00:52:34 --> 00:52:38

women of Medina and now they're more blunt.

00:52:38 --> 00:52:41

And you need to do something to curtail

00:52:41 --> 00:52:42

this.

00:52:42 --> 00:52:43

But that's a difference.

00:52:44 --> 00:52:45

That is a difference that is now coming

00:52:45 --> 00:52:47

to the fore which wasn't there before.

00:52:48 --> 00:52:51

And you would see again similar South Asian

00:52:51 --> 00:52:52

women versus Arab women.

00:52:53 --> 00:52:56

The culture, there is a clear difference.

00:52:56 --> 00:52:59

You would find that Arab women are more

00:52:59 --> 00:53:02

likely to be teachers of religion in the

00:53:02 --> 00:53:03

United States.

00:53:03 --> 00:53:05

Take stage, talk about it.

00:53:05 --> 00:53:07

South Asians, not so much.

00:53:08 --> 00:53:09

Would not do that.

00:53:10 --> 00:53:13

We have a history of muhaddithat as Dr.

00:53:13 --> 00:53:16

Akram Nadvi has shown, 11,000 or more

00:53:16 --> 00:53:18

teachers of a hadith.

00:53:18 --> 00:53:19

Women.

00:53:20 --> 00:53:22

11,000 throughout our history.

00:53:22 --> 00:53:23

And he says, there are so many more

00:53:23 --> 00:53:25

I wasn't able to, I had to finish

00:53:25 --> 00:53:27

it otherwise it would have kept going.

00:53:28 --> 00:53:29

Women who taught in the haram.

00:53:31 --> 00:53:32

Taught men.

00:53:33 --> 00:53:36

Imagine in this masjid a woman is sitting

00:53:36 --> 00:53:37

in front of you instead of me.

00:53:38 --> 00:53:44

Again, something that's culturally very alien to us

00:53:44 --> 00:53:45

although it's part of the same tradition.

00:53:46 --> 00:53:48

Part of the same tradition.

00:53:48 --> 00:53:50

It has its own justification.

00:53:52 --> 00:53:53

There's that diversity.

00:53:54 --> 00:53:56

So much to learn from there.

00:53:56 --> 00:53:58

I think we're extending into Isha.

00:53:59 --> 00:54:00

Please, please, please.

00:54:17 --> 00:54:20

That's again, in this particular ayat, it is

00:54:20 --> 00:54:21

generally for humanity.

00:54:22 --> 00:54:24

Every human being.

00:54:24 --> 00:54:25

Every human being.

00:54:25 --> 00:54:27

And the angels have two functions.

00:54:27 --> 00:54:30

As we understand from the Quran and the

00:54:30 --> 00:54:31

sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.

00:54:31 --> 00:54:32

One function is protection.

00:54:33 --> 00:54:35

The other function is documentation.

00:54:36 --> 00:54:38

Scribes or whatever it is that we're doing

00:54:38 --> 00:54:40

to keep a record of our actions.

00:54:43 --> 00:54:46

So there's those and then there's the protectors.

00:54:46 --> 00:54:49

Protectors front and back and the scribes right

00:54:49 --> 00:54:50

and left.

00:54:58 --> 00:55:00

Angels, angels are...

00:55:00 --> 00:55:02

There's a lot of convert stories that you

00:55:02 --> 00:55:05

will hear who talk about how they had

00:55:05 --> 00:55:08

some sort of experience like that after which

00:55:08 --> 00:55:10

their search for the divine, their search for

00:55:10 --> 00:55:12

Allah began and they found Islam.

00:55:13 --> 00:55:15

So that's again, their own religious experiences.

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