Yousuf Raza – Ramadan Conversations Episode 11 Why dont you give them a miracle Surah alAnaam 3341

Alright, bismillah wa salatu wa salamu ala rasoolillah

wa ala aalihi wa ashaabihi ajma'een.

Okay, so my schedule is a little all

over the place here, so we're not going

on our usual time.

My apologies for that, but we will continue

to do one episode a day, and you

can catch it whenever it is that you

have time.

So today what we're going to be talking

about is one of the most consistent reproaches,

demands that the Quraish would make of Rasoolullah

ﷺ in Mecca is asking him for a

miracle.

So their demand was that you claim to

be a prophet, you say you have access

to God, and you also tell us all

these stories about prophets who brought all these

amazing miracles.

So where's your miracle?

Where is, you know, the earth, the desert

turning into farmland, you know, at the snap

of your fingers or something, or there's like

a river that bursts forth from this earth,

or we see angels coming down, or we

see a book that is, you know, should

give us a book.

You say, you know, that you're getting revelation.

Where is it?

We don't see it.

We want to see it.

And we should see it coming down, or

we should be able to touch it.

And then we'll think about how truthful you

really are.

And this is something that they kept at

repeatedly.

Rasoolullah ﷺ was, this demand was made of

him continuously, and the Quran continued to refuse

that this demand is not going to be

fulfilled.

It was fulfilled before, for previous nations, didn't

turn out very well.

Actually, the consequences for those people themselves were

pretty bad.

They demanded, they got what they demanded, and

they ended up getting the punishment of Allah

because they even then would not believe.

Their refusal to believe is not that there

aren't enough reasons to believe, that there's not

enough evidence to believe.

This refusal to believe is motivated by something

else.

This is coming from somewhere else.

And that motivation is simply the status quo

that they are so used to, the lifestyle,

which is so indulgent.

And the demand of Tawheed, which they see

as all of that disappearing, their authority, their

wealth, their pleasures.

They see that just being taken away from

them, if they accept the prophethood of Rasoolullah

ﷺ, of transgression.

That's what's motivating these demands.

To feed those motivations, to reinforce them, that

is to respond to these demands and fulfill

them.

Allah refuses to do that.

A.

B.

The stage that humanity is in, that infancy

where those physical miracles were necessary, they were

provided.

Whatever the consequences were, there was an understanding

or there was some sense in that fulfillment.

But humanity is not a cyclical process that

one batch comes in and then repeat with

the second batch, with the third batch, with

the fourth batch.

There is progressive development.

There is evolution in human development, human societies.

The ones that come in later, they are

at a different phase of development.

They're in a different place.

And we see this, especially with the messages

that the prophets bring.

There is a difference in those messages in

the sense that, of course, Tawheed remains the

same, but the implications of that Tawheed.

So, for example, with the people of Shuaib

ﷺ, there are economic implications, which you do

not see, especially in the prophets that were

prior to Ibrahim ﷺ.

You don't see that with Nuh ﷺ.

You don't see that with Hud ﷺ, with

Saleh ﷺ.

There are no implications of Tawheed that extend

to the society.

With Musa ﷺ, there were political implications of

Tawheed.

With Shuaib ﷺ, as we said, there's economic.

With Lut ﷺ, there were social implications.

So there's all these additional implications of Tawheed

because the human society is evolving, it's growing,

it's developing.

And with that, where the human beings are

intellectually and spiritually as well, that too is

different.

It is developing.

And with that in mind, with that understanding,

with that recognition, to provide those physical miracles

would undermine, it would defeat the purpose of

a last and final messenger.

Because even prophethood is not going to last

forever.

There is a necessity that for human growth,

prophethood is actually sealed.

That prophethood comes to an end.

It is a dependence that as long as

it persists, there's only so much you can

grow.

And so one of the intents of the

Qur'an is to close this door for

good and empower human beings in other ways,

especially with respect to acquiring knowledge.

That revelation is completed and perfected and no

longer newer versions of revelation are no longer

needed.

So that whatever requirement that the society has

of a revealed text, that is completed with

the Qur'an.

No revisions, no further revelations.

And the nature of the Qur'an is

such that it is capable of this dialogue

with human acquisitions of knowledge in the future.

And so more and more, the emphasis that

the Qur'an places is not on those

physical miracles of the past.

They are alluded to, they are referred to,

they are mentioned, of course.

That was part of history, important phase of

human development.

But the ayats or the miracles that the

Qur'an turns people's attention to are miracles

in nature, commonplace.

They're what you find in the mundane reality

around you, routine.

Look at the leaves, look at the sky,

look at the rain, look at the vegetation.

Those are the ayats.

And so even the word miracle is not

employed as such.

The word that we are now maturing towards

is to understand ourselves as well as people

who comprehend ayats.

We are sign interpreting and sign creating beings.

And so the ayat of Allah, the Qur

'anic ayat and then ayat in nature.

There is a very definitive reason why the

Qur'an uses the same word to describe

its own signs and the signs outside in

the material world.

So as to recognize this continuity, to recognize

this purpose of the culmination of prophethood.

It is to open these doors of exploration

of these ayats in the material world.

And to recognize and know Allah better through

these ayats.

And so the demand as it came to

Rasulullah ﷺ, Allah responds to this and this

is ayah number 33 of surat al-An

'am.

قَدْ نَعْلَمُ إِنَّهُ لَيَحْزُنُكَ الَّذِي يَقُولُونَ Allah says

that we know that you're upset by what

they say.

We know that it hurts you.

فَإِنَّهُمْ لَا يُكَذِّبُونَ But you need to know

that it's not you that they deny.

They're not rejecting you.

وَلَكِنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ يَجْحَدُونَ In fact it

is the ayat of Allah that these unjust

people are rejecting.

Their rejection of you or their abuses hurled

against you, they're rejecting Allah.

It is the ayat of Allah that they

have a problem with.

Ayat, signs that threaten to increase their knowledge.

But that's a threat they cannot take.

Because signs that threaten to increase your knowledge

threaten to change your beliefs.

And they're not in a position to do

that.

They're not willing to accept that.

And so they're rejecting.

They don't want to shed their skins.

They want to continue the way things are.

They're afraid of what that would mean.

To let go of all of these very

fixed, very rigid beliefs that they hold about

themselves in reality.

They've twisted and turned them to their own

ulterior advantages.

Why would they respond to ayat?

So it is the ayat of Allah that

they are rejecting.

وَلَكِنَّ And that's the zulm that they're doing.

Because in accepting that it was, yes, painful

of course.

But ultimately fruitful for their own growth.

And so that's the zulm that they do,

not just with the ayat of Allah, but

with themselves.

وَلَقَدْ كُذِّبَتْ رُسُلُمْ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ And many messengers

before you have already been denied, Ya Rasulullah.

فَصَبَرُوا عَلَىٰ مَا كُذِّبُوا وَأُذُوا But they endured

all the denial and persecution.

They were patient, perseverant.

They had sabr.

حَتَّىٰ أَتَاهُمْ نَصْرُنَا Until the point that our

help came to them.

Help of Allah does not immediately come.

Not at the first stroke of persecution or

difficulty.

Sabr.

They stood strong, they stood strong, they stood

strong, they stood strong.

To the point that they were barely able

to stand.

Then the help of Allah comes.

وَلَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ And there is no

one who can change the words of Allah.

وَلَقَدْ جَاءَكَ مِنْ نَبَأِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ And you have

already received some of the news of the

previous messengers.

So first response of Allah to this demand

that persecutes Rasulullah ﷺ is to console him.

Console him by telling him they're rejecting us.

They're not rejecting you.

Second consolation, previous messengers, they had to bear

through this as well.

They stood strong.

Now, what comes in after this is more

stern.

It is still a consolation, but it is

far more stern.

It is more on the nature of tough

love.

Because right around this time, the situation was

so difficult, and the demands were so persistent,

and so torturous upon Rasulullah ﷺ and the

Sahaba, that they themselves started harboring, okay, why

doesn't Allah give a miracle?

I mean, you know, it makes sense.

How difficult is it for him?

Why doesn't he just respond to their demand?

And we do have narrations, and we have

an entire surah that attests to this as

well, with respect to the cleavage of the

moon, that something to that effect did take

place.

Something to the effect of the demands that

they're making, at least on one occasion, it

was responded to.

But the general response is no, not fulfilling

your demands.

So they did start wondering, why doesn't Allah

just give what they're asking for?

So Allah responds to them, وَإِن كَانَ كَبُرَ

عَلَيْكَ أَيْ عَرَاضُهُمْ But if you find a

reversion hard to bear, if it's too much

for you, فَإِن إِسْتَطُعْتَ أَن تَبْتَغِي نَفَقًا فِي

الْأَرْضِ So if you can, go find, dig

yourself a tunnel in the ground.

أَوْ سُلَّ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ Or a ladder

to ascend the sky.

فَتَأْتِيهِمْ بِآيَةٍ And bring them your sign, whatever

ayah they want, whatever sign they want, whatever

miracle they want, you bring it to them.

So here we see, and it's important within

these conversations between Allah and Rasulullah to bring

these conversations to light as well, that along

with all the reassurances, along with all the

consolations, the love, the affectionate love, there is

this tough love as well.

There are stern reminders as well.

And they became necessary.

And they are necessary in every loving relationship.

This sternness.

And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is in

this place reminding Rasulullah ﷺ very strictly.

This is our decision and this is it.

No conversation, no dialogue on this.

Enough is enough, we know what this yields.

أَوْسُلَّ مَن فِي السَّمَاءِ فَتَأْتِيهِمْ بِآيَةٍ So dig

a tunnel in the earth, take a ladder

to the sky, you bring them a sign.

Of course, none of that is happening.

Rasulullah ﷺ cannot do that.

That's what he's being reminded of.

That is what he is communicating to the

Quraish.

This is the response I got.

Again, I'm not claiming to be God here.

I'm claiming to be a messenger of God.

He remains God.

I just communicate.

Even the scolding that I get, the reproaches

that I get from Allah, I am duty

-bound to present that as such.

Nothing held back.

This is what he said, what do you

want me to do now?

وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَتْجَمَعَهُمْ عَلَى الْهُدَىٰ If Allah

wanted, He could have just united them upon

guidance.

It's not difficult for Allah to guide somebody.

But Allah does not oppress.

Allah does not oppress.

Forced guidance is oppression.

It is taking away human freedom.

If a mother wants, a mother can continue

to carry her child for two years old,

three years old, four years old, five years

old even.

Strong mommies.

They can do that.

They can continue to hold on to their

kids and not let go.

But that is to the detriment of the

child, him or herself.

The child does not learn to walk.

It is important to let go.

To let them stumble.

To let them even get hurt.

So that they develop that strength.

And so the ayats are there.

And you have the faculties and the ability

potentially to see these ayats for what they

are as depicting attributes of Allah.

But if Allah continues to hold you, continues

to send revelation after revelation after revelation, and

that is something that those religions in the

world today that believe in a living prophet,

that is the argument that they make.

Who've had prophets or have prophets in the

previous century, even currently, that's the argument that

they, and that's what it takes away from

human growth, from human development.

What sanctity it takes away from the material

world, from human ability to understand and interpret

this material world, and through this way, through

this route, complement the understanding that comes from

revelation, even improve their understanding of revelation, and

get closer and closer to Allah.

So Allah lets go.

And yes, there's a lot of stumbling that

happens.

There's a lot of falling that happens.

There's a lot of hurting that happens.

Still happening.

But he would rather have that happen than

oppress and take away human freedom.

Because what that would do is it would

make, it would render pretty much everything meaningless.

And Allah refuses to make this universe, make

human life, batil.

That's the one thing that he repeats again

and again in the Quran.

This has not been created batil.

This is haqq.

فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ So Rasulullah ﷺ is

being reminded, and everybody else through him is

being reminded, do not be of those who

get overwhelmed by their emotions.

Being jahil is a very important word.

Typically we say that it's ignorance.

That it is, of course.

But a very particular form of ignorance.

It is a form of ignorance that your

emotions ride you.

You are being ridden by your emotions.

Your better understanding, your better reason cannot keep

those emotions in check.

Those emotions overwhelm you.

The freedom that you're required to exercise in

order to keep those emotions in check, those

overwhelming emotions caused by hurt, caused by anger,

caused by passion, caused by desire, all of

these, they start riding you, they start driving

you.

That's somebody who is a jahil.

What does knowledge do?

Which is the opposite of ignorance.

It helps you, it facilitates that reason, that

intellect, the aqal, so that it can keep

those emotions in check.

So that those who know are not the

same as those who don't know.

Because those who know have the power over

themselves.

More of a position to control themselves.

So being of the jahileen would mean turning

away from this knowledge, ignoring this knowledge, being

arrogant in the face of this knowledge, and

continuing to allow those passions, those desires, those

unbridled emotions to drive you, to control you.

Something that the Quraysh are doing when they're

making these demands to Rasulullah ﷺ, ignoring the

ayat, the ilm, that the Qur'an is

bringing to them.

إِنَّمَا يَسْتَجِيبُ الَّذِينَ يَسْمَعُونَ Allah tells Rasulullah ﷺ,

those who really hear, they will respond to

you.

وَالْمَوْتَ يَبْعَثُهُمُمْ As for those who are dead,

this metaphor of life and death, the people

who are willing to respond to the ayat,

they're willing to grow.

Those people who do not respond to the

ayat, do not accept knowledge when it comes

to them.

They're arrogant in the face of knowledge.

Their claim is, or their choice, is that

whatever I already know is perfect.

No room for improvement.

No room for upgradation.

That arrogance is death.

And so Allah says that these dead people,

Allah will raise them.

Because as hard, or as brittle, as inert,

as dead matter is, you have to...

Physical shock of the highest degree is necessary

to melt or to break through that inertness,

that deadness, that hardness.

وَالْمَوْتَ يَبْعَثُهُمُمْ So Allah will resurrect them.

Allah will raise them.

ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ يُرْجِعُونَ And then to Him, they

will be returned.

وَقَالُوا لَوْ لَا نُزِلَ عَلَيْهِ آيَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِ

And they say, why was a sign?

Why was a miracle?

When they say ayah, they mean miracle.

Not sent down to him from his Rabb.

قُلْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَادِرٌ عَلَيْهِ يُنَزِّلَ آيَةٌ Tell

them Allah is fully capable of sending down

any ayah.

وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ But most of them

do not know.

They don't know what they're asking for.

They don't know the consequences of it, the

implications of it.

وَمَا مِن ذَٰبَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ And there is

neither an animal on earth, ولا طائر يطير

بجناحيه Nor is there a flying creature flying

with its two wings.

إِلَّا أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْ Except that they are communities

like you.

They're asking for miracle.

Allah is saying, look at the creatures, animals

on earth.

Look at the birds flying in the sky.

نَفَرَّتْنَا فِي الْكِتَابِ مِن شَيْءٍ We have not

neglected anything in the book.

This is all from the book of Allah.

It's all sacred knowledge out there.

ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يُحْشَرُونَ Then all of them

will be gathered to their Rabb.

وَالَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا سُمٌّ وَبُكْمٌ Those who deny

our ayat, they're deaf and dumb.

فِي الظُّلُمَةِ Lying in layers of darkness, refusing

to learn, refusing to look at all of

these miracles in the mundane, in the routine

around them.

مَن يَشَأْ إِلَّهُ يُضْلِلْهُ Allah misleads whoever He

wants.

Or an alternative translation of this, whoever wants

to be misled, Allah misleads them.

وَمَن يَشَأْ يَجْعَلْهُ عَلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِينٍ And whoever

wants, Allah puts them on the straight path.

If they make that choice, if they're willing

for it, Allah accepts them.

قُلْ أَرَأَيْتَكُمْ Say, O Rasulullah, have you seen

إِنَّ تَاكُمْ عَذَابُ اللَّهِ أَوْ أَتَتْكُمُ السَّعَىٰ If

the punishment of Allah comes to you or

the final hour comes upon you وَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ

تَدُرُونَ Are you going to call upon anyone

other than Allah?

What happens to all those demands then when

you're in desperate need?

Isn't that a sign for you?

That reflexively, instinctively, you turn to Allah?

أَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ تَدُرُونَ Do you call on anyone

other than Allah?

إِن كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ Honestly say, honestly respond if

you really are truthful.

Who do you turn to when you're desperate?

بَلْ إِيَّهُ تَدْعُونَ In fact, only to Him

you call upon.

فَيَكْشِفُ مَا تَدْعُونَ إِلَيْهِ So Allah removes whatever

you're calling Him for, whatever you're making du

'a to Him for, if He wants.

وَاتَّنْسَوْنَ مَا تُشْرِفُونَ And you'll forget whoever you

associate with Him.

وَآخِرُوا دَعْوَانًا And alhamdulillahi rabbil alaih.