Yousuf Raza – Ramadan Nights 2021 Day 27
AI: Summary ©
The importance of Islam and teachings of Islam in relation to life is highlighted, along with the diversity of meaningfulness within creation and shaping behavior to achieve success. The R centers and their potential are also discussed, along with the importance of forgiveness and a focus on forgiveness for people. The speakers emphasize the need for effort to fight their selves and encourage people to be present in front of leaders. The R booked and the need for people to be present in front of leaders are also discussed.
AI: Summary ©
Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, we ask His help,
we ask His forgiveness, we believe in Him,
and we trust in Him.
And we seek refuge in Allah from the
evil of our souls and from the evil
of our deeds.
Whomsoever Allah guides, no one is misguided.
And whosoever He leads astray, there is no
guide for him.
And we bear witness that there is no
god but Allah, alone, no partner for Him.
And we bear witness that Muhammad is His
servant and Messenger.
As for the rest, the best hadith is
the Book of Allah.
And the best guide is the guidance of
Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
And the worst of things is that which
is hidden, and every hidden thing is a
creation, and every creation is a misguidance, and
every misguidance is in the Fire.
Allah says in His Noble Book, after I
say, I seek refuge in Allah from the
accursed Satan, In the name of Allah, the
Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Alif Lam Mim Ra Alif
Lam Mim Ra Ameen, Ya Rabb Al-A
'lameen.
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.
So we start with Surah Ra today, insha
'Allah.
From the very beginning.
Bismillah, I seek refuge with Allah from the
accursed Satan.
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem.
Alif Lam Mim Ra Tilka ayatul kitab These
are the ayat of the Book.
Walladhee unzila ilayka mir Rabbika alhaq That what
has been revealed to you from your Rabb
is the truth.
That the revelation, the ayat of the Qur
'an testifying to the phenomenon of revelation coming
to Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam being true, being
from Allah, from the Rabb of Rasulullah Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam, from the Rabb of Al-A
'lameen.
Walakinna akthar an-nasi la yu'minoon But most
people do not believe.
They're not inclined to believe, they don't want
to believe.
Allahu alladhee rafa'at samawati bighayri amadin sarawnaha
Who is the one revealing this Qur'an
to Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam?
He's the one who has raised the heavens
without any visible support.
Thumma istawa alal arsh Then he firmly established
himself on the throne.
What does that mean, that he has established
himself on the throne?
So much that it can mean, but for
one thing, the control, the dominion of every
single thing that goes around in the heavens
and the earth belongs to him.
And he is the one who has subjected
the sun and the moon Each running its
course for a definite time.
That everything in the heavens and the earth
is set up for a purpose.
Everything set up with a deadline.
Yudabbirul amr And Allah arranges each matter, He
plans each affair.
Meaningfully directed activity that you see in the
universe around you is in continuity with the
message of the Qur'an.
Or the Qur'an is in continuity with
all of that tadbir that you see in
the universe around you.
Yufassilul ayat He explains his ayat.
He explains the ayat.
So that you may have a firm conviction
in the meeting with your Rabb.
So your reflection over the ayat of the
Qur'an, your reflection over the ayat in
the universe, results in a conviction with respect
to akhira, in which all of you, all
humanity addressed in the plural, will meet their
Rabb.
The meaningfulness of dunya contingent on the meaningfulness
of akhira.
That the more you recognize how this is
all going to be brought back to you
when you are brought back to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
Everything that you did is not without consequence.
Wahoo allathee madzal ardan He is the one
who spread out the earth.
Waja'ala feeha rawasiya wa anhara And he
set thereupon mountains and flowing rivers.
Wamin kulli thamarati ja'ala feeha zawjayn ithnayn
And he created all types of fruits in
pairs.
Thoo and thoo yughshil laylan nahaar He covers
the day with night.
Inna fee thalika la ayatill liqawmi yatafakkaroon And
for sure in all of that are ayat
for a people who reflect.
Ayat of Allah.
Again, we've said this from the very beginning.
The Qur'an does not hesitate in identifying
its own verses as ayat.
In identifying the phenomena of nature as ayat.
So in identifying the sources of knowledge as
signs of Allah.
Not just the revelatory sources.
Not just the scriptural sources.
But also material sources as ayat.
The Qur'an is opening doors here.
It is opening doors the way no revelatory
source.
Or no spiritual source has opened doors.
For a relationship between different avenues of knowledge.
As to how there is a confluence.
And how that confluence leads to the recognition
of the rububiyah of Allah.
Of the meaningfulness of life.
Of human life.
Wafil arbi qitaun mutajawirat And on earth there
are tracts.
Side by side.
Wajannatum min a'naab And vineyards.
Wazaraun and crops.
Wanakhilun sunwanun waghayru sunwan And date palm trees
with single roots or otherwise.
Yusqa bima in wahidin All of them are
irrigated with the same water.
Wanufaddilu ba'daha ala ba'din fil uqul And yet
we make some of them excel over others
in taste.
The diversity in the creation of Allah.
There is patterns that we see that are
being followed.
But then again there is so much diversity.
That simple habits or simple rigid laws don't
account for that diversity.
There is this spontaneity.
This element of spontaneity within the creation of
the universe.
Where you see an active planning involved.
Where you see that if it was all
same old, same old, same laws, same patterns.
Then there would be no growth.
There would be no novelty.
There would be no newness.
Something that is a characteristic feature of reality
as you see it, as you experience it.
The diversity that allows for things that weren't
there before at all.
That there are combinations between what already exists
as to how things come together.
That they are able to produce something which
is varied.
Something which is diverse.
Something which is just a slight bit newer.
And then something which is very novel.
All of that is clear for people to
see within their own experience.
وَنُفَضِّلُ بَعْضَهَا عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ فِي الْأُكْلِ إِنَّ فِي
ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ Without a doubt, in
all of this are signs for people of
intellect.
Not only does the Qur'an give a
dignity as a valid source of knowledge.
To the phenomena of nature.
As we said, no other source does.
The Qur'an also gives a dignity to
the human faculties associated with acquiring knowledge.
It would give dignity to the heart or
the intuitive capacity of the human being.
Which is the spiritual and which is the
source of revelation.
Of course it does.
Why wouldn't it?
But then it gives a dignity, a validity.
And a validity and a dignity which is
by no means inferior to what it accords
to the spiritual source.
So it puts the use of aql, the
use of human reason, the use of intellect,
reflective capacity, at par.
And it says straight out that these are
to be held accountable for.
That if you don't use this properly, your
abasar, your vision, your hearing, your intellect, then
you have a lot to answer for.
In fact, and we're going to see this
in Surat Mulk whenever we get there, probably
next year.
The one sin, the dhamm in the people
of Jahannam, and this is Surat Mulk, that
they will acknowledge that they didn't do is
that they didn't hear and they didn't think.
That was their problem.
That was their problem.
So if you are amazed, Ya Rasulullah, and
this is amazing.
Every single thing in creation that is being
mentioned, ayats, in all of these diverse sources.
If you find this amazing, fa ajabun qawluhum.
Also amazing is their comment.
Itha kunna turaban a'inna la fee khalqin
jadeed.
What when we are all dust, could we
really be raised to a new life?
Their amazement at akhira, that they're going to
be raised up again, is amazing, given how
amazing the creation is.
That for your reflection, your reasoning, over the
ayat that you see in the world around
you, and the ayat that you hear, reveals
to Rasulullah ﷺ, akhira makes sense.
It is as amazing as life itself.
And so rejecting it, being stubbornly obstinate about
not being in akhira, we need more proof.
Allah says that's pretty amazing.
Itha kunna turaban a'inna la fee khalqin
jadeed.
When we are dust, would we really be
raised to a new life?
The old life, the life now, isn't it
filled with wonders?
Again, the Qur'an inspiring within this human
being, all of what we start taking for
granted, the Qur'an wants us to reflect
so as to be able to see that
there's a wonder in your existence, in life
as you know it.
There are wonders, amazing phenomena, miracles.
Miracles don't have to be supernatural.
God is not in the gaps.
God is not in the supernatural alone.
He is in the natural.
He is in the mundane.
He is in the routine.
To be able to see the amazing phenomena
around you in all of this.
These are the people who have denied their
Rab.
This relationship of Rabab that has been denied
when you deny the hereafter, when you deny
resurrection.
That all of what is going around in
the universe, the evolution in the universe itself,
the development within a single human being.
And then, of course, the society as it
develops, as it is evolving, as we know
it, as it has evolved for centuries now.
We're not the same species that we were
centuries ago.
There is so much that we've achieved.
There's so much that we've destroyed.
Nevertheless, there has been growth.
There has been development.
And this constant development, this constant growth that
human beings are active participants in, if this
does not allude to the Rababia of Allah,
if this does not lead to the conclusion
of the meaningfulness of human life, and that's
not taken seriously to the point of being
carried out responsibly and recognizing that for that
there's going to be accountability.
That's rejecting Allah.
That's rejecting his Rababia altogether, rejecting the Qur
'an because it points towards all of that,
that it gives you a sharia to live
by.
These are the ones, they will have iron
collars around their necks.
Again, their high-headedness, their stubbornness, their arrogance
in rejecting all of the ayat that come
in front of them.
The preconceived conclusion.
There is no akhira.
There is no meaningful life.
There is no accountability.
There is no Allah being Rab, Allah being
the one with whom you relate, that relationship
of love and that wanting to develop and
become, that you owe it to him to
be a better person.
You owe it to him to grow.
So, not recognizing all of this in your
own life, in the ayat around you, that's
if not arrogance, then what else?
In the face of truth, in the face
of knowledge, turning your eyes away.
These are the people of the fire.
And they will live therein forever.
And they impatiently urge you to bring about
the evil rather than the good.
Goading Rasulullah ﷺ on and telling him to
bring the punishment that the Qur'an is
threatening them with.
Bring it on, they say.
Why would they not ask for good?
Why in the world would they ask for
punishment rather than the khair?
While similar punishments have been given to the
people before them.
And your Rab is full of forgiveness for
mankind despite their dhulm, despite their injustice.
They should have asked for hasana.
They should have asked for guidance.
They asked for sayyah.
They asked for punishment.
And if Allah were to respond, He would
have wiped them out, but He still gives
them a chance.
And He gives them so many chances.
And for sure, your Rab is for sure
stern in punishment, strict in punishment.
But don't think He's going to indefinitely give
these chances.
At some point, He's going to strike.
He's going to take hold of people and
punish them.
And the disbelievers object.
Why is there no sign sent to him
from his Rab?
The ayah referring to a supernatural event, that
sort of a miracle.
But you are only a warner.
And for every people, there is a guide.
Allah knows whatever every female carries.
And He is fully aware of how much
the wombs fall short or exceed in terms
of the pregnancy.
And everything with Him is measured.
He is the knower of the seen and
the unseen.
He is the Great to Highest.
And this is how the reproductive cycle and
the progression and the termination of the pregnancy
is depictive of the measure of Allah, of
the knowledge of Allah, of the hikmah of
Allah.
All the same of you, all the same
is to him, the one who speaks secretly,
and the one who speaks aloud.
So it's all the same to him.
Whether you speak loud or you speak secretly.
And the one who is hidden by night
and walking around in the daylight.
The one who took care of you or
takes care of creation within the wombs of
the mother.
Don't think you can hide from him.
Don't think that you, the secrets that you
think that nobody can find out.
He is unaware of them.
He has these angels that are supervising, that
are securing, that have taken their positions.
From before him and behind him.
Even that person alone at night in the
darkness and secret, nobody can see him.
There are still angels before him and behind
him.
They guard him by the amr of Allah.
This amr of Allah that was regulating the
processes of a fetus, giving protection to something
which was so vulnerable.
Is protecting the human being outside of the
womb as well.
In this world with all the layers of
darkness and all the vulnerabilities there.
All the dangers there.
This protection of Allah.
This grace of Allah as it manifests itself
that the human lifespan is what it is.
That despite all the dangers, despite all the
threats, despite all the possible ways that a
person could and perhaps should have died.
All the near death experiences.
All the dangers, the pathogens from the microbes
to the possibility of calamities.
And right across the middle of the spectrum,
the accidents and every near death experience that
you see here of experience.
Human beings survive against those odds.
It is not a wonder that we survive
all of what we, it is not a
wonder that people die as a result of
these infections.
It is not a wonder that people die
as a result of accidents or in natural
calamities.
It is a wonder that how many of
us don't.
It is a wonder that there is not
more natural calamities than there are.
It is not a wonder that there are
not more infections than there are.
There are so many possibilities of death that
we escape.
This protection, this grace as it manifests itself
when we beat the odds every day.
That being a reflection, that being a sign
of the amr of Allah.
The directive purpose of Allah.
The meaningful course of life as Allah represents
it here.
Angels guarding human beings.
Allah never changes the condition of a people
until they change what is within themselves.
So all the ayat in the natural world
around you.
And then within that natural world, with all
of those ayat, the threats of death looming
over the human being.
Yet the protection that the human being is
given.
And then the invitation for the human being
to change what is within themselves.
That there is within the human society so
much that is out of order.
So much good that needs to be done.
So much that has to be improved.
That is left.
That Allah is not going to improve until
you improve it.
Until you change it.
With all the power that he has, that
he has manifested in creation.
When it comes to human society, he steps
back.
He doesn't fix it.
Why?
Allah never changes the condition of a people
until they change what is within themselves.
He has given human beings that power.
You don't like it, change it.
You are troubled by something.
You are offended by the way things are.
By evil in the world.
Change it.
Do whatever it is that you can to
change it.
He has.
You have these security forces.
Angelic around you.
Keeping you alive.
So that you do.
وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُؤًّا And when Allah
decides to inflict a people with ill, فَلَا
مَرَضَّ لَهُ Then there is no averting it.
There is no pushing it off or turning
it away.
وَمَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِنْ وَالٍ And they
have no protector for him.
Idea being that you don't have an infinity
who decide to do this or not to
do this.
You have to make your choices.
And you have to make them fast.
There is only so many tomorrows that you
have.
وَالَّذِي يُرِيكُمُ الْبَرْقَ He is the one who
shows you lightning.
خَوْفٌ وَطَمَعًا Creating fear and hope.
The lightning is going to bring rain, but
it's also thunder.
وَيُنشِئُ السَّحَابَ ثِقَالً And he also raises heavy
clouds.
وَيُسَبِّحُ الرَّعْضُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ مِنْ خِيْفَتِهِ And the
thunder exalts while praising him and the angels
as well out of fear for him.
The way the person of the Qur'an
or the reader of the Qur'an looks
at these phenomena of nature should be different.
It should be now a means of reflection
and relationship with Allah.
It should be a form of prayer.
وَيُرْسِلُ السَّوَعِقُ And he sends the thunderbolts فَيُصِيبُوا
بِهَا مَنْ يَشَاءُ Striking with them whoever he
wants.
The thunderbolt as dangerous as it is and
yet how few people get struck by it.
Allah's display of his power of what he
can do and yet holding himself back.
Not doing what he can just putting it
out there that it can be done.
وَهُمْ يُجَادِلُونَ فِي اللَّهِ And yet the disbelievers
dispute about Allah وَهُوَ الشَّدِيدُ الْمِحَالُ And he
is severe in assault.
لَهُ دَعْوَةُ الْحَقِّ So to him alone is
the supplication of truth.
Every single human being we have to rely
on someone or something.
Who do we rely on?
We rely on the one that we associate
power with.
That we understand to be powerful.
And that's who we supplicate to.
That's who we pray to.
And there is a prayer in the form
of a ritual prayer in the form of
raising your hands and asking for stuff.
But then that extends into our lifestyle as
well.
Who we are praying to is who we
are struggling towards and struggling for.
So even if in my dua I am
calling on Allah and asking him for this
and that.
But in my life in my daily routine
what I am working for and what I
am working towards that priority list is utterly
different.
Utterly detached and may even be opposed to
Allah.
That in the place of Rabb in the
place of Ilah I have someone or something
else that I am absolutely reliant upon.
That once I have this once I have
that it's a degree, it's a person it's
a particular financial target I am all good.
Life will be all set.
I will have my salvation.
That's my paradise.
And that's natural too.
Over the course of our lives we learn.
Children find that in toys.
Adolescents find that in games that are slightly
more slightly less innocent or a whole lot
more less innocent than toys for kids.
Adults have that with respect to wealth with
respect to power with respect to the competition.
And then we die.
And recognizing each step of the way whether
it's a toy car or a real car
all of what we associated with it that
satisfaction, that pleasure that bliss that it was
going to bring and it's hardly a couple
of days after you acquire that it okay
maybe I need to get a new car
now maybe a new house, maybe a bigger
house and each time we get it it's
not enough or we just exhaust ourselves in
the pursuit and we're frustrated we're frustrated where
we get it and we lose it because
it was everything we lose everything and when
you lose everything because it was my whole
world you mean everything to me I am
nothing without you all of these terminologies are
representing a psychological idolatry and when everything is
lost and I am nothing without that everything
then I am hopeless I am broken I
am shattered because I placed in that pedestal
of everything something it wasn't everything, it was
something it wasn't the entire absolute reality it
wasn't God yet I placed someone or something
there so either I don't get it and
then I've lost everything and I'm hopeless or
I get it and it's unfulfilling there is
still something missing and I'm left to wonder
to him alone is that supplication of truth
that prayer that reliance because he has that
power he has that strength he and only
he can give us that all that which
they all those that they call on, invoke,
make dua to rely upon other than him
they don't respond to them one bit they
are but like someone who extends his hand
towards water wishing that water would reach his
mouth but it is not going to reach
him because one of the aspects of this
form of an idolatry of associating that everything
-ness with something is to want to attain
through just that that one thing that bliss
so that you can just retire so that
you can just everything will just come to
you and you won't have to do anything
after that that's not how it works you
don't get that early retirement you still have
to get off your backsides and do it
yourself there is so much of this relationship
of dua with Allah because it is not
idolatrous it requires for the human being to
play their part it requires for the human
being to to be more proactive dua is
proactive being an abd is proactive Allah does,
yes but you have to do as well
that with Allah being the Rabb with Him
being the Ilah there is the fulfillment is
in the effort as a byproduct of the
effort and you understand that the effort it
proceeds it extends beyond your beyond your life
span and the call the dua of the
disbelievers is completely lost whatever they intend to
get through it they are not going to
and before Allah alone prostrates whoever is in
the heavens and the earth willingly or unwillingly
doing sajda to Allah either you can do
it willingly the way Rasulullah ﷺ and Sahaba
did so that they fell in line that
all of what this creation is in the
direction of the meaningfulness of Allah's creation where
humanity is supposed to proceed towards progress towards
you join that you come in harmony with
that in harmony with nature synchronize yourself with
the will of Allah and you move in
that direction willingly or even if you choose
not to you choose to be an Abu
Jahl you choose to be a Firaun you
choose to be what the brothers of Yusuf
ﷺ chose to be in the very beginning
of the story Allah can bring all of
that as unwilling as you may be into
his grand plan into his bigger plan that
you inflict through your choice evil but then
Allah inspires to those who are willingly prostrating
before him an attitude an understanding a spirituality
that even from that evil even from that
death they can draw out so much life
and so that overall process of growth it
continues the obstacle that you tried placing in
front of it all it did was make
it stronger all it did was it refined
the process of growth and so all the
evil that we do see Allah is very
much capable of bringing from that evil the
greatest beauty we saw that with Yusuf ﷺ
we saw that with Muhammad Rasulullah ﷺ that
the as bad as the opposition of the
Quraysh got the more good the more value
the more beauty it was able to elicit
from the person of Rasulullah ﷺ the greatness
of his achievement in being able to forgive
them first in being able to conquer them
and then in being able to forgive them
it is all the greater because of how
evil they were to him how unjust they
were to him so ultimately ultimately willingly or
unwillingly you all end up prostrating before Allah
as do their shadows your shadows are bound
by patterns by the sunan the sunnah of
Allah as to how they're going to behave
your very shadows as much as you want
to disobey or refuse to bow down everything
within you bows down to him that's how
your life persists and in that portion of
freedom that we have where we are unwilling
that is where we're going to be held
accountable is that really a wise choice to
make?
وَذِلَالُهُمْ بِالْغُدُوبِ وَالْأَصَالِ in the morning and evening
قُلْ مَن رَبُّ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ask them who
is the Rabb of the heavens and the
earth قُلْ اللَّهَ tell them Allah قُلْ أَفَتَّخَذْتُ
مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَا do you take others as
protectors besides Him لَا يَمْلِكُونَ لِأَنفُسِهِمْ those who
do not control even for themselves نَفْعٌ وَلَا
بَرَّ any benefit or harm قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي
الْأَعْمَى وَالْبَصِيرِ ask them is the blind the
same as the one who can see أَمْ
هَلْ تَسْتَوِي الظُّلُمَاتُ وَالنُّورِ or can the darkness
be equal to light أَمْ جَعَلُوا لِلَّهِ شُرَكَهَا
so have they chosen whom they ascribe as
Allah's associates خَلَقُوا كَخَلْقِهِ have they, the ones
they've chosen as Allah's associates Allah's partners have
they created like His creation what depiction of
their power do they have Allah's depiction of
power Allah just mentioned all of it or
a lot of it what have they created
فَاتَّشَابَهَا الْخَلْقُ عَلَيْهِمْ so the creation seems similar
to them and they got confused قُلْ لِلَّهُ
خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ Allah is the creator of
everything وَهُوَ الْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَارِ and He is the
one, the irresistible أَنذَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَآ and
Allah sends down water from the sky فَسَالَتْ
أَوْدِيَةٌ بِقَدَرِهَا and valleys flow according to their
capacity so this analogy this is literally what
Allah does and then this also serves as
an analogy with respect to knowledge that Allah
sends water coming from the sky how is
that water going to be stored it's going
to be based on the capacity of the
valley just like that, revelation revealed knowledge also
comes from up high and it is also
stored according to the capacity of who it's
being revealed to فَاحْتَمَلَ السَّيْلُ زَبَضَ الرَّابِيَةِ thus
the torrents rise carrying the foam وَمِمَّا يُوقِضُونَ
عَلَيْهِ فِي النَّارِ and similarly when they heat
up the metal in fire إِبْتِغَئِهِ حِلِيَةٍ أَوْ
مَتَاعٍ in order to make ornaments or utensils
there is wood that comes from up high
which is water, which human beings need which
is important for life and then there is
what the earth has in store for the
human beings the ore, the metals, the gold,
the silver all of it is in the
form of ores that has to be heated,
filtered إِبْتِغَئِهِ حِلِيَةٍ أَوْ مَتَاعٍ زَبَضٌ مِثْلُ there
is a foam similar to this فَذَلِكَ يَضْرِبُ
اللَّهُ الْحَقَّ وَالْبَاطِلُ that is how Allah strikes
the example of حق and باطل just like
the foam from that water that came on,
that fell from the sky and then there
was this flood or the torrents that rose
up just like there was foam there was
that filtrate in the purification of the metals
truth and falsehood work in the same way
truth and falsehood in the same it's a
process step by step process there is a
part of the process in which they are
pure yes, but then they get mixed up
with falsehood but if you allow for the
process to continue as for the rain falling
from the sky, the process was pretty much
it had little to do with the human
beings but as far as the process of
heating the metals to filter them to get
that which is pure there was a lot
that the human beings had to do that's
more of the acquired source of knowledge and
how the purification either way results in a
closer and closer progression towards truth that there
is no الحق that one person has and
that's it that's perfect knowledge he knows everything,
there is nothing else to know, that is
not even possible in an evolving universe universe
that is constantly growing you can't know that
all there is to know because the moment
you do hypothetically if you do, there is
so much more to know precisely because reality
evolves and so the progression towards truth where
how human beings have as knowledgeable species but
knowledgeable in particular departments and how they come
together as a community and they add to
their understanding of حق, they serve as this
mutual corrective that those who are more in
tune with our understanding of that which comes
from the sky when they are open to
those who come who are the people of
the metal or the ore then they're supposed
they're capable of a better understanding of truth
and filtering out that which is the foam
فَأَمَّا الزَّبَدُ فَيَذْهَبُ جُفَىٰ as for the foam
it disappears وَأَمَّا مَا يَنفَعُ النَّاسُ فَيَمْكُثُ فِي
الْأَرْضِ whereas that which benefits humanity stays on
earth one of the standards for the truthfulness
of whichever source it's coming from is its
benefit for humanity its fruitfulness it should have
something to offer it should have something to
show for itself كَذَلِكَ يَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثَالُ that
is how Allah presents examples لِلَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُوا لِرَبِّهِمُ
الْحُسْنَةُ those who respond to their Rab for
them is something beautiful it is the best
reward وَالَّذِينَ لَمْ يَسْتَجِيبُوا لَهُ and those who
do not respond to him لَوْ أَنَّ لَهُمْ
مَا فِي الْأَوْضِ جَمِيعًۭا even if they had
everything on earth وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ and as much
in addition to it لَفْتَ دَوْبِهِ they will
want to pay it as ransom وَلَئِكَ لَهُمْ
سُوءُ الْعَذَابُ these are the people they will
face the terrible reckoning وَمَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمًۭ and their
abode will be the hellfire وَبِإِسَلْمِهَادًۭ and what
an evil resting place it is أَفَمَنْ يَعْلَمْ
so can the one who knows أَنَّمَا أُنزِلَ
إِلَيْكِ مِنْ رَبِّكَ الْحَقِّ that whatever is being
revealed to you يا رسول الله from your
Rab is true كَمَنْ هُوَ أَعْمَى can he
be like the one who is blind إِنَّمَا
يَتَذَكَّرُ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابُ definitely only the people of
understanding will be reminded the one who understands
the truth that Rasulullah ﷺ is brought with
the light that that gives the ability to
see that that brings can't match that you
will necessarily be able to see that which
others can't أَلَّذِينَ يُفُونَ بِأَهْدِ اللَّهِ those who
fulfill their commitment with Allah so what is
the يَنفَعُ النَّاسُ or the benefit or the
the fruit of this Iman and what Rasulullah
ﷺ has brought Iman in Quran what should
it result in what are the manifest fruits
of this Iman in that person's character fulfill
their commitment with Allah وَلَا يَنْقُضُونَ الْمِثَاقُ and
do not break the covenant أَهَدُ with Allah
أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ that you are in this you
recognize this relationship Allah is my Rabb He
loves me, I have to love Him back
He has this image of me this growth
potential that I have this person that I
can become and in my love for Him
I look up to I look to become
more in that image working spiritually in every
dimension of my existence spiritually, professionally intellectually,
physically aesthetically socially looking to grow because these
are all endowments from Allah and He has
endowed me endowed them to me in a
way that they're awesome but that there's so
much more to their awesomeness that has to
be brought to realization to actualization and so
to enter into that that that أَهَدُ with
Allah that إِيَاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ أَهَدُ, the
مِثَاق that you take, the covenant أَشْهَدُ أَن
لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدُ رَسُولُهُ
that's a covenant it's an oath إِيَاكَ نَعْبُدُ
وَإِيَاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ it's a covenant it's a commitment
it's a commitment to Shari'ah it is
a commitment to live your life in accordance
with morals and values وَالَّذِينَ يَفْصِلُونَ مَا أَمَّرَ
اللَّهُ بِهِ أَن يُصَرَ and those who keep
the ties together the ties of kinship the
ties of relationship which Allah has asked to
maintain that the people of Allah the people
who believe in Rasulullah the people who believe
in the truth revealed to Rasulullah and who
are living up to their covenant with Allah
it should manifest itself in how in their
relationships they are relational people they are people
of relationships they are people of strong relationships
Rasulullah ﷺ was able to relate with Bilal
رضي الله تعالى with Junaid with people who
nobody thought were even relatable to be able
to establish relationships, of course that goes without
saying that the relationships with those closest to
you that's where it starts off from but
then how far the relationships extend and how
strong those relationships are is a reflection of
how well Tawheed has been incorporated as a
habit as a character within the human being
وَيَخْتَعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ and they are in awe of
their Rabb وَيَخَافُونَ سُوءَ الْحِسَابِ and they dread
They are afraid of the terrible reckoning, the
accountability and what it brings.
wal-ladheena sabaru wa-l-ladheena sabaru ibtighaa
wajhi rabbihim And those who perseveringly endure in
pursuit of the pleasure of their Rabb, that
they are consistently looking for Allah's pleasure, their
Rabb's pleasure.
wa-aqaamu al-salat And they establish the
prayer.
wa-anfaqoo mimma razaqnaahum sirran wa-a'lanina
And they spend secretly as well as openly
of what we have blessed them with.
wa-yadra'oona bil-hasanat al-sajee'aa
And they prevent evil with that which is
good.
wa-laa'ika lahum ruqubu al-daar These
are the people for them is the final
abode.
jannatu adnin Gardens of everlasting bliss.
yadkhuloonaha wa-munsalaha min aba'ihim wa-azwajihim
wa-dhurriyatihim They will enter them along with
the righteous of their parents, spouses, and offspring.
One of the greatest desires that a lot
of people have is this togetherness with family.
That let's face it, the natural flow of
life usually does not permit, especially in the
day and age that we're living in.
Where you have, where a lot of us,
the families are not just spread out in
different cities, they're spread out in different countries.
And how so much of what so many
of us want is just to be together
again, just to be united.
And that's simply not happening.
Or it's impractical.
There's only so much you can do with
it or about it.
Because people are just not the same a
couple of years later.
They have grown and they have other relationships.
They have children of their own and so
much more.
So one of the consistent attractions of paradise
is this togetherness that all of us are
brought together with those whom we love.
wal malaa'ikatu yadkhuluna AAalayhim min kulli baab
And angels will enter upon them from every
gate.
salaamun AAalaykum bimaa sabartum Salaam to you all
because you are people of sabr, you patiently
endured.
fani'ma uqbaad daar And what an excellent final
home.
wal ladheena yanqadhoon AAand Allah And those who
break the covenant or this commitment with Allah
min ba'di mithaqihi After having confirmed it wa
yaquta'oona maa amara Allahu bihi an yusala
And they break the ties of relation which
Allah has ordered to maintain.
wa yuqsidoona fil ard And they create fasaad,
this corruption in the land.
ulaa'ika lahumu allaa'ana These, for them
is the curse.
And we spoke the very beginning when we,
this is Surah Baqarah, third ruku.
Same, similar phrases used there as this being
the opposite of tawheed, relationships breaking up, fasaad
in fil ard, that becoming the norm.
That's what shirk inspires.
walahum soo'ud daar And for them is
a wretched home.
allahu yabasotur rizqa liman yashaa'u wa yaqudir
Allah extends or restricts the provision for whoever
he wants.
wa farihoo bil hayaatil dunya But they rejoice
in the life of this world alone, exclusively.
wa maa al hayaatil dunya fil aakhirati illa
mata' Well, what is the life of this
world as compared to the akhira, except something
of utility, an article of use.
wa yaqoolu allatheena kafaroo And the disbelievers will
say, laula unzila alayhi aayatu min rabbih Why
has there been no sign sent to him
from his Rabb?
qul inna allaha yudillu man yashaa' Tell them
Allah misleads whoever he wants.
wa yahdi ilayhi man anab And he guides
to himself those who turn to him.
allatheena amanoo Those who believed.
wa taqma innu quloobuhum bil dhikrillah And their
hearts find tranquility in the dhikr of Allah.
So the people of Quraish, constantly demanding that
ayah from Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam are being
told that those who are already, those who
have believed, those who have this iman attitude,
for them the dhikr of Allah is enough
of an itminan.
They don't have to demand these supernatural miracles
in order to understand the truth that Rasulullah
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam has brought.
alaa bi dhikrillahi taqma innul quloob And so
without a doubt, it is in the remembrance
of Allah, it is in the dhikr of
Allah that hearts find tranquility.
That this doubt as to the truth of
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, as to the truth
of the Quran being from Allah, this doubt
creates this unrest.
This finds a conclusive tranquility giving
response in the dhikr of Allah, in the
Quran.
The dhikr of Allah here, meaning the Quran.
The ayahs that you reflect upon them and
those ayahs, that reflection, that remembrance, leads to
this doubt being settled and attainment of tranquility,
attainment of belief.
That's what the context of these ayahs leads
for us to understand.
To draw from this understanding of itminan, to
criticize experiences of depression, anxiety, as being a
manifestation of weak faith, as being manifestations of
some level of sinfulness and absolutely conclusive judgments
there.
That's messed up, to say the least.
That is messed up.
We just read Surah Yusuf, which not only
tells us about Yaqub Alaihissalam, it also tells
us about Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam being in
that state of anguish, being in that state
of complaining to Allah about his grief, as
we saw Yaqub Alaihissalam do.
Innama ashfu bathi wa huzni lAllah.
So to draw from that, and Yaqub Alaihissalam
was tranquil.
He had itminan.
He had cried himself to blindness, but he
had itminan.
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam did not smile for
the whole year after the passing away of
Abu Talib bin Khadijah radiAllahu ta'ala anha.
But he was tranquil.
The dhikr of Allah held him tranquil, gave
him tranquility.
Again, that tranquility that he did not have
at the outset of revelation, when wahi started,
that took some time.
It wasn't immediate.
He was scared.
He was anything but tranquil when the first
experience of revelation happened.
So there is so much more to this
experience of itminan than a simple da'wah
bait, this marketing technique of just respond and
you will attain bliss.
Because then this becomes another one of those
things you chase and think, oh my God,
why follow Quran or why listen to Rasulullah
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam or why follow the sunnah
or look to do whatever it is the
Quran is asking you for that state of
bliss, that sukoon, that anxiety-free, fear-free,
grief-free life, become that robot.
They don't exist.
They don't exist.
Why would you want to be so insensitive
to begin with?
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was not insensitive.
He was very sensitive.
He was up nights crying, making da'wah,
but up nights and crying nevertheless.
So there is so much more to this
itminan.
There is so much more to the human
personality than these simplistic slogans, these damaging slogans
that when they're taken out of context and
used that way they're used and then the
judgments that follow from them, judgments of others
and then others, those others will then judge
themselves.
That is simply not on.
ala bi dhikri Allahi taquma innu al-qulub
allatheena aamanu waAAamilu as-salihaat Those who believe
and perform righteously.
quba lahum wa husnu ma'aab There will
be a delight for them and a beautiful
place to return.
kathalika arsalnaka fee ummatin qad khalat min qabliha
umam And so we have sent you to
a community before which other communities have passed
on.
li tatloo AAalayhimu allathee awhayna ilayk So that
you recite to them what we have revealed
to you, ya Rasulullah wa hum yakfuruna bilrahman
while they deny Al-Rahman.
Rejecting the Quran is rejecting Al-Rahman.
You can be accepting Allah conceptually as a
deity, as a God with a capital G
even, but to not accept revelation, to not
give that credence to the Quran and what
it brings, you're rejecting Al-Rahman.
You're rejecting that, those attributes of Allah that
through which He personally relates with human beings,
communicates with human beings.
Qul huwa rabbi Say, ya Rasulullah, He is
my Rab.
la ilaha illa hu There is no Ilahi
except Him.
AAalayhi tawakkaltu Upon Him alone have I relied.
wa ilayhi matab And to Him is my
return.
walaw anna qur'anan Had there been a
Quran, sujjirat bihi aljibal that would cause the
mountains to move.
That's sort of a supernatural miracle that they're
asking for.
aw qud bi'at bihi al-ard Or
it would have split the earth.
aw kulli ma bihi al-mawta Or that
it would have made the dead speak.
Even if this Quran did all of that,
they would still not believe.
bal lillahi al-amru jami'a But to
Allah belongs the amr completely.
That for this Quran to be the way
it is, the ayaat of Allah, the needs
of humanity that it is fulfilling, given that
Rasulullah ﷺ is the last and final messenger,
given that there will not be any more
scriptural revelation after him, given that this Quran
is required by Allah to close the doors
of prophethood altogether, and therefore open further doors
for human growth and development in other avenues
and other areas.
la'allakum ta'qiloon Being one of them.
So that you can now start thinking.
You can start using your ability to reason.
You can start taking what your abasar and
your vision, your hearing, show you more seriously.
And that it did do.
And so that this authority that is accorded
to individuals, it culminates with Rasulullah ﷺ and
that level of authority, whether spiritual or political.
After Rasulullah ﷺ, nobody has that right to
claim that degree of authority to themselves.
For the doors that it opens to exploitation
and injustice, which is precluded by the character
of Rasulullah ﷺ himself.
And that stage of humanity required something to
that effect.
But now this is empowering people on mass.
This is empowering people in general.
This is not to be people no longer
require that individual charisma, which has so much
of a cultish potential.
So there is so much that this Quran
is achieving.
And there's a whole lot more.
There's a whole lot more.
Just being just a fraction of why the
supernatural miracle is no longer relevant to the
needs of humanity.
To the demands of the Quraysh, yes.
But the needs of humanity are far more
mature, far more different.
And so that demand is not going to
be responded to.
Further, what that demand is representing of the
arrogance of the Quraysh.
Further, how that demand, even when it is
fulfilled, it is not going to bring about.
Love wants to be recognized now in what
you see around yourself in routine, in the
lightning, in the rain.
That's how intimate he wants his relationship to
be with you.
Not the memory of a supernatural event that
was reported to you by your ancestors' ancestors.
That hand-me-down memory, what value does
anyone can make any claims on the basis
of such memories?
That's not truth.
That level of truth and its reliability and
its potential to be exploited, that other people
can start making similar claims.
What then?
The Quran would not have that.
The avenues of scholarship, the avenues of knowledge
that the Quran opens the doors to.
Reason, abilities to reason, intellect, science, those being
the most important of them, but then there
are so many others as well.
Of literature, of language, of Hadith, of Fiqh,
of so many of the religious disciplines and
the doors to those that were opened up.
So much of what we know that the
Khulafa were able to do and then the
later Fuqaha were able to do in terms
of legal jurisprudence, in terms of economic affairs,
in terms of political affairs.
So much and so many of those doors
are opened up.
And so it was necessary for the Quran
to be what it was.
And retrospectively, we can see that.
بَلِّ اللَّهِ الْأَمْرُ جَمِيعًۭا أَفَلَمْ يَيْئَسِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
So have the believers not yet given up
the hope?
أَلَّوْ يَشَاءُ اللَّهِ That if Allah wanted لَهَذَا
النَّاسَ جَمِيعًۭا He could have guided the whole
of mankind.
Asking for that sort of a miracle, that
sort of a miracle that just flings you
into acceptance and Iman.
If Allah wanted to force humanity to believe
like that, then what's the point?
It takes away from the freedom of human
beings.
That takes away from the human beings making
use of the faculties that they have been
given, the usage of which is what is
going to make them the kinds of humans
that Allah wants for them to be.
Their freedom is compromised.
Their faculties of reasoning are compromised.
Their faculties of acquiring knowledge, they're not being
put to use if Allah just gives them
that supernatural power and supernatural experience that boom,
it makes them believe all of a sudden.
He doesn't want to be believed in like
that because what it takes away from the
potential of human beings to grow themselves, they
don't become who they can become if they're
just fed this lollipop.
He doesn't want to feed lollipops.
He want people to get up and get
their own glass of water.
لَهَذَا النَّاسَ جَمِيعًۭا وَلَا يَزَالُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا تُصِيبُهُمْ
بِمَا صَنَعُوا قَارِعَهُ Some disaster will continue to
strike the disbelievers because of what they do.
اَوْ تَحُلُّ قَرِيبًۭا مِن دَارِهِمْ Or it will
crouch at their very doorsteps.
حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ وَعَدُ اللَّهِ Until the promise of
Allah is fulfilled.
So again, a hint in this ayah that
the sort of a'zaab that the people
of Quraysh, that the kuffar, the certified kuffar,
this isn't just any kuffar, this is certification
of kuffar.
After having rejected Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam for
all the years that they did, the kind
of a'zaab that they're not going to
get is going to be in phases.
They're gonna get pellets of that a'zaab.
And the a'zaab is gonna come at
their very doorstep.
Again, think conquest of Makkah.
At their very doorsteps, Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
and the Sahaba are standing.
حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ وَعَدُ اللَّهِ Until the promise of
Allah is fulfilled.
What is that promise of Allah?
A victory for Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُخْلِفُ الْمِعَادِ Allah will definitely
not betray His promise.
وَلَقَدْ اِسْتُهَزِي أَبِي رُسُولٍ مِّنْ قَبْلِكَ So many
messengers have been mocked before you.
فَأَمْلَيْتُ لِلَّذِينَ كَثُرُوا And I have always given
respite to the disbelievers.
They got some time, they got a break,
they got space.
ثُمَّ أَخَذْتُهُمْ Then I seized them.
فَكَيْفَ كَانَ عِقَابَ How terrible was my retribution.
أَفَمَنْ هُوَ قَائِمٌ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ
Is the one who stands over every individual
and knows what he's earning of his deeds,
is he like any other?
The questions are left open.
Is he like any other isn't really mentioned,
but it is something that you, that is
a natural consequence of the way it's phrased.
Think about it.
أَفَمَنْ هُوَ قَائِمٌ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ
The one who is standing over every individual
and all of what that individual is doing,
that the rest is left blank as if,
though, is he like any other?
The any other is not even worthy of
being mentioned when Allah has already been mentioned.
He is the one who is over every
individual and knows every single thing that that
individual does.
Is he like any other?
وَجَعَلُوا لِلَّهِ شُرَكًا And they have taken partners.
They have ascribed partners to Allah.
قُلْ سَمُّهُمْ Tell them, name them.
أَمْ تُنَبِعُونَهُ بِمَا لَا يَعْلَمُ فِي الْأَرْضِ Do
you teach him, Allah, what he does not
know on the heavens, on earth, that Allah
doesn't know something on earth and you're gonna
teach him that?
أَمْ بِظَاهِرٍ مِّنَ الْقَوْلِ Or is this merely
a show of words with nothing concrete backing
it up?
بَلْ زُيِّنَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مَكْرُهُمْ Rather, the part
of the disbelievers has been made very attractive
to them.
وَصُدُّوا عَنِ السَّبِيلِ And they have been debarred
from the path of guidance.
For them, this is value.
For them, this is morality.
For them, this is religiosity, this is spirituality.
This is bravery.
This is their determination in the face of
all opposition when they're standing strong for their
deities and whatever their ancestry has left them.
وَمَنْ يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ هَذَنْ Whoever,
there is no one to guide the one
who Allah misguides.
لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا There is a
punishment for them in the life of this
world.
وَلَا عَذَابُ الْآخِرَةِ أَشَقُّ And the punishment of
the hereafter is certainly more severe.
وَمَا لَهُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِنْ وَاقٍ And there
will be no one to save them from
Allah.
مَثَلُ الْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي وَعِدَ الْمُتَّقُونَ The example of
the paradise which the people of taqwa are
promised is تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارِ Beneath its
rivers flow أُكُلُهَا دَائِمٌ وَظِلُهَا everlasting fruit and
shade تِلْكَ عُقُبَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا That is the
outcome for the people of taqwa.
وَأُقُبَ الْكَافِرِينَ النَّارِ And the outcome for the
disbelievers is hellfire.
وَالَّذِينَ أَتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابُ Those whom we bless with
scripture يَفْرَحُونَ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ They rejoice it
at what is being revealed to you يا
رسول الله Their celebration is for the Quran.
Again, who are they?
They're the people who have already believed in
Rasulullah ﷺ and the people who received scripture
before.
وَمَنَ الْأَحْزَابِ مَن يُنكِرُ بَعْضَهُ But some of
the factions deny a part of it a
part of revelation accepted a part of revelation
rejected.
So just accepting Thawrah not Injeel not Quran
or Injeel and not the Quran or Quran
and part of the Quran and not in
its entirety.
قُلْ إِنَّمَا أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَعْبُدَ اللَّهَ وَلَا أُشْرِكَ
بِهِ Say, I have been commanded to worship
Allah and not to associate with Him.
To believe in a part of scripture is
that really believing in Allah?
Because from Him comes all of scripture.
Picking and choosing to suit your fancy then
it is your fancy your desire that is
then ultimately God.
Tell them Ya Rasulullah that I have been
commanded that my Ibadah is dedicated to Allah.
Ibadah or following of a part of scripture
is taking deities other than Allah.
Is that clear?
وَلَا أُشْرِكَ بِهِ إِلَيْهِ أَدْعُو وَإِلَيْهِ مَآبٌ To
Him I invite and to Him is my
return.
وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ حُكْمًا عَرَبِيًّا And thus have we
sent down this to you this Quran as
an Arabic Hukum as an Arabic command.
وَلَإِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ But if you still follow
their desires بَعْدَ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ Despite
all that you have received from knowledge مَالَكَ
مِنَ اللَّهِ مِنْ وَلِيٌّ وَلَا وَاقْتَ You will
not have anyone to protect and save you
from Allah from the retribution of Allah.
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلًا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ And we have
sent messengers before you وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُمْ أَزْوَاجًا وَذُرِّيَّةً
And we blessed them with wives and children
وَمَا كَانَ لِرَسُولٍ And it is not possible
for a messenger أن يَعْتِيَ بِآيَةٍ To come
with a ayah, with a sign إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ
اللَّهِ Except with the idhn, with the permission
of Allah لِكُلِّ أَجَلٍ كِتَابٍ And for every
term, there is a decree يَمْحُوا اللَّهُمَا يَشَأُوا
وَيُثْبِتْ Allah abrogates whatever He wants Or He
confirms whatever He wants وَعِنْدَهُ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ And
the Ummul Kitab is with Allah These decisions
ultimately rest with Him It is His knowledge,
it is His control وَإِمَّا نُرِيَنَّكَ And whether
we show you بعضَ الَّذِينَ عِدُهُمْ A part
of what we threaten them with أَوْ نَتَوَفَّيَنَّكَ
Or we retrieve you in death فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ
الْبَلَاغُ وَعَلَيْنَ الْحِتَابُ It is only on you
to communicate Convey the message And the accountability
is on us That the mission or the
responsibility That you have been charged with Even
if you do not see its fulfillment In
your own lifetime Still gotta do it Again,
your commitment to the truth Or to the
meaningfulness Of what you've taken up That the
mantle on your shoulders Is in recognizing That
even if I die in the process And
I don't see its fulfillment It's still worth
it In fact, it is a worthy cause
If it is going to outlive you And
that is one of the markers Of your
sincerity towards it Because then the tendency of
doing it For entirely vested interests For my
own power That is going to necessarily follow
The success of the mission Etc.
etc.
That sidestep You're able to overcome that challenge
فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ الْبَلَاغُ وَعَلَيْنَ الْحِتَابُ The accountability is
on us أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّ نَأْتِ الْأَرْضَ نَنْقُصُهَا
مِنْ أَبْرَافِهَا Don't they see that we are
Gradually reducing The land by curtailing its borders
It's slowly creeping in on them That little
by little Trickle by trickle People are responding
To Rasulullah ﷺ The bordering tribes Are hearing
the message They're asking questions And those questions
are disturbing the Quraysh They're getting more and
more insecure Even though as far as Following
Rasulullah ﷺ is concerned Rasulullah ﷺ does not
have a lot of people He does not
have a lot of people At maximum the
people who Migrated with Rasulullah ﷺ They were
at best a few hundred At best So
even after that over a decade in Mecca
That's all he had Nevertheless the insecurity of
the Quraysh That when Rasulullah ﷺ His message
is reaching their joining tribes And their joining
tribes are taking interest Or asking questions They're
very disturbed وَاللَّهُ يَحْكُمْ And Allah commands لَا
مُعَقِّبَ لِحُكْمِهِ And there is no one to
change His command وَهُوَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ And He
is swift in accountability وَقَدْ مَكَرَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ
قَبْلٍ People before them thought it as well
فَلِلَّهِ الْمَكْرُ جَمِيعًۭ And ultimately to Allah belongs
the plan يَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْسِبُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ He
knows all that an individual earns وَفَيَعْلَمُ الْكُفَّارِ
And soon the disbelievers will find out لِمَنْ
عُقُبَ الدَّارِ To whom belongs the ultimate home
وَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ كَفَّرُ When the disbelievers say لَسْتَ
مُرْسَلًا You are not a messenger قُلْ كَفَى
بِاللَّهِ شَهِيدًا بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ Tell them Allah is
sufficient as a witness between you and me
وَمَنْ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ الْكِتَابِ And so are those
who possess the knowledge of the book The
knowledge of the Quran The knowledge of the
Bible They know and they will serve as
a witness to the truth of Rasulullah ﷺ
Moving right along Surah Ibrahim بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّخْفَانِ
الرَّحِيمِ أَلِفْ لَامْرَأْ كِتَابٌ نَنْزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ This is
the book which we have sent down for
you يا رسول الله لِتُخْرِجَ النَّاتِ So that
you can bring mankind out من الظلمات إلى
النور From darkness into light From darknesses Even
though that's not a word but it is
always used in the Quran as a plural
The darknesses or the layers of darkness Um
that shikr represents that whenever tawheed is absent
you will necessarily see layers and fragments upon
fragments of darkness The noor, the continuity that
light represents That of tawheed بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ With
the permission of their Rab إلى الصراط العزيز
الحميد The path of the Almighty The praiseworthy
الله الذي له ما في السماوات وما في
الأرض Allah the one to whom belongs whatever
is in the heavens and whatever is on
earth وَوَيْلٌ لِلْكَافِرِينَ مِنْ عَذَابٍ شَدِيدٍ And so
destruction to the disbelievers from a very severe
punishment الَّذِينَ يَسْتَحِبُّونَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا عَلَى الْآخِرَةِ
Those who love the life of this world
more than the hereafter to the exclusion of
the hereafter وَيَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ And they
avert others from the path of Allah Again,
we see both these dimensions within the Qur
'an carried simultaneously This appreciation and honoring of
the life of this world as constituting the
ayat of Allah as being that incredibly integral,
meaningful stage without which no akhira without which
no paradise And you have to live responsibly
here You have to mend relationships here You
have to strengthen ties here You have to
work towards goodness, justice, beauty here in this
world Honoring it Recognizing its significance That being
reiterated again and again And then the other
part of how this world the mata'a
that it is the deceptive potential that it
has But then what is that deceptive potential?
That deceptive potential is in when this dunya
leads for you to think that this is
all there is and that there is nothing
else to the exclusion of the hereafter That
is what is criticized An absolute preference given
to dunya We know for a fact that
within the same Qur'an an absolute preference
given to akhira to the point of leading
to a monastic way of life Monasticism, rahbaniyya
A lifestyle which is rejecting of worldly comforts,
pleasures, even responsibilities That's unprophetic That is un
-Qur'anic That is something that the Qur
'an criticizes very strongly That is something that
incurred the wrath of Rasulullah ﷺ And there
was those three people who came to the
azwaj to his wives inquired into the practice
of Rasulullah ﷺ and committed to do those
One of them said that I'm going to
live without marrying The other said that I'm
going to fast and not break my fast
And the third of them was like I'm
going to pray the whole night and not
see Rasulullah ﷺ No, no, no I don't
do any of that stuff And I have
the most taqwa of all of you Let
alone anyone dare present that sort of a
religiosity that sort of a degenerate relationship with
Allah as the ideal relationship with Allah No,
none of that So the criticism is against
that love of dunya to the exclusion of
akhira That love of immediate gains Here and
now Everything is being done for here and
now Some things being done for here and
now completely understandable even tolerable even desirable given
that there is a focus on the there
and then What is going to come later
on?
But those who desire the world of life
of this world exclusively to the to the
exclusion specifically of the hereafter They're the ones
who are going to put people off or
turn people away from the path of Allah
Especially if their pursuit of religion is entirely
this worldly and excludes the hereafter They're going
to turn people away from Allah And they
seek to make it crooked These are people
who are lost far, far astray And we
have not sent any messenger except in the
language of his people so that he can
explain to them clearly Again, the responsibility of
the messengers was to speak in the language
of the people Not to just relate to
them gibberish that they couldn't understand or relate
with or understand in any way And then
say, I've done my job No, with Musa
alayhis salam He was in sync with his
times He was in harmony with the needs
of his people If magic and magicians were
if those were the scholars of the day
If those were the reputable wise pages of
the day then Musa alayhis salam brought something
that they could understand That in light of
what Musa has brought there's limitations of what
our art our science tells us Rasulullah salallahu
alayhi wasalam did not take the Asa of
Musa and throw it in front of the
people of Makkah as a miracle, as a
sign It would have been completely irrelevant Rasulullah
salallahu alayhi wasalam what he brought was relevant
with respect to whatever was scholarly in that
time Their art literature Their poetry They were
people of language And so what was presented
to them led for them to understand at
least the most sincere of them that this
far exceeds how we use language and we
use language very well And so this is
beyond that And so similarly the Rasul of
Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasalam the messengers of the
messenger with the messenger salallahu alayhi wasalam having
passed away It is a responsibility that if
you're going to carry that mantle of communicating
his message it has to be in the
language of the people You can't go around
throwing the Asa of Musa in front of
the people The Qur'an being relevant for
the Arabs and the Qur'an being relevant
for all times means that it has so
much more to offer than just what it
offered to the Quraish The aspects of the
Qur'an that were relevant in the time
of Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasalam may not be
the most relevant in the day and age
we're living with We don't have the Quraish
as the people in charge They're not Arabs
Arabic is not their thing Arabic poetry, Arabic
literature is not the thing today So to
want to just assert the linguistic inimitability of
the Qur'an as awesome as that is
is not relevant It is not relevant What
are you going to do?
First teach the people Arabic and then tell
the people in the Arabic that I just
taught you The Qur'an is inimitable It
cannot be superseded Okay, we believe you And
as much truth as there is in that
it's not speaking the language of the times
And the language is far more than than
just the tongues that we speak And so
to carry that level of responsibility the hikmah
of the Qur'an How about that?
Arabic So that he can explain to them
Arabic Thus Allah misleads whoever he wants Arabic
And he misguides and he guides whoever he
wants Again, let's try this again Arabic So
Allah misguides whoever wants to be misguided Arabic
And he guides whoever wants to be guided
Arabic And he is Almighty, All-Wise Arabic
And we sent Musa with our ayat Arabic
Bring your people out from darknesses into light
Arabic And remind them of the days of
Allah Arabic For sure in that definitely there
are signs Arabic For every enduring grateful person
Arabic When Musa said to his people Arabic
Remember Allah's favor upon you Arabic When he
saved you from the people of Fir'aun
Arabic They were subjecting you to a dreadful
affliction A dreadful punishment Arabic They were killing
your sons Arabic And they were letting your
women live Arabic And then that was a
tremendous trial from your Rabb Arabic And remember
when your Rabb proclaimed Arabic That if you
are grateful I will give you more Arabic
But if you are ungrateful Arabic Then my
punishment is very severe Arabic And Musa said
Arabic If you and everything on earth is
ungrateful Arabic Then most definitely Allah is Ghani
He's rich He has an incredible An unending
supply of resources Of within himself he is
enough Ameen, praiseworthy Arabic Haven't you received the
news of those before you?
Arabic The people of Nuh, Ad, and Thamud
Arabic And those after them Arabic No one
knows them except Allah Arabic Their messengers came
to them With clear signs Arabic But they
put their hands up to their mouths Arabic
And said we deny whatever it is that
you brought Arabic And we are strongly in
doubt With whatever it is that you're inviting
us to Arabic The messengers responded Arabic Arabic
You doubt about Allah The originator of the
heavens and the earth Arabic He invites you
In order to forgive you your sins Arabic
And to grant you a respite for some
time Give you a chance Arabic They said
but you're no more than a man like
us Arabic Arabic You want to prevent us
from what our fathers used to worship Arabic
Then bring us some clear evidence Arabic Their
messengers said to them Arabic We are only
human beings like you Arabic But it is
Allah who favors anyone he wants of his
Ibad Arabic Arabic And it is not possible
for us to bring you a sign Arabic
Except with the permission of Allah Arabic So
on Allah alone let those who rely Rely
Arabic And how is it possible that we
should not rely on Allah Arabic And he
has guided us to our path To what
it is that we're supposed to do Arabic
Arabic And we will endure all of your
persecution All of your tortures With patience Arabic
As those who rely should only rely upon
Allah Arabic And the disbelievers said to their
messengers Arabic We will expel you from our
land Arabic Or you will have to revert
to our religion Arabic So their Rabb revealed
to them Arabic We will destroy the unjust
people Arabic And we will settle you in
land after them Arabic That is the reward
of those Of the one who fears appearing
before me And fears my threat Arabic And
so they sought victory So either it is
the people Looking for the decision Are we
right or is the Prophet right Or it
is the Prophets asking Allah For victory Arabic
And every obstinate tyrant Failed Again Musa Alayhi
Salaam mentioned And then all the other messengers
Mentioned together These are the common themes In
all of their stories Being brought in front
of us The rejection of their people Their
insistence on the shaq That they have The
shaq that they have On what the messengers
have brought And shaq would be okay But
the shaq being a persistent Shaq being a
conclusion that they've drawn And that's weird Since
shaq is something That typically you would want
to get rid of But they believe in
shaq That that is their persistent state And
the way they're rejecting the messengers Is not
the kind of rejection you would do When
you are doubting what they have It's when
you've already made up your mind That what
they have is not true Because if you
were Really doubtful A.
You would try to resolve that doubt And
B.
You wouldn't be as committed In opposition as
they were And so this attitude And how
it is reciprocated By the commitment of the
prophets Who stand their ground مِنْ وَرَائِهِ جَهَنَّمِ
* is right before him وَيُسْقَى مِمَّا إِنْ
إِسْتَدِيدِ And he will be served Purulent water
So the tyranny Of the opponents of the
messenger The arrogance Both things that come hand
in hand As far as their conduct is
concerned As far as how they are with
society With other people There is injustice There
is tyranny there As far as their attitude
Towards the ayats Or whatever it is that
the prophets bring Is concerned It is one
of stubbornness It is one of arrogance And
how both of these Are reciprocated With jahannam,
hellfire And purulent water What is purulent water?
It is pus It is your own wounds
It is whatever The debris of your own
Your infected wounds The pus that collects From
your own self Your body trying to fight
its own self And so that is befitting
As a drink Because they were fighting their
own selves يَتَجَرَّعُ يَتَجَرَّعُهُ وَلَا يَكَادُ يُسْقَى Which
he will sip But will hardly be able
to swallow it وَيَأْتِيهِ الْمَوْتُ وَيَأْتِيهِ الْمَوْتُ مِنْ
كُلِّ مَكَانٍ وَمَا هُوَ بِمَيْجِتٍ And death will
come to him from everywhere But he will
not die وَمِنْ وَرَائِهِ عَذَابٌ غَلِيطٌ And right
before him is a terrible punishment مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ
كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ أَعْمَالُهُ كَرَمَادٍ The example of those
who deny their Rab Their actions are like
ashes أَعْمَال Actions, hard work Work or actions
that require effort They're like ashes مِكْتَدَّتْ بِهِ
الرِّيْحُ فِي يَوْمٍ عَاصِفٍ Which are scattered by
the wind on a stormy day لَا يُقْدِرُونَ
مِمَّا كَسَبُوا عَلَى شَيْءٍ They're unable to gain
anything from what they earn ذَلِكَ هُوَ بَلَالُ
الْبَعِيدِ And that is the extremist guidance أَلَمْ
تَرَى أَنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَتْ سَمَوَاتِهُ وَالْعُرْضَ بِالْحَقِّ Haven't
you seen that Allah created the heavens and
the earth out of a purpose أَنْ يَشَيُّوا
بِحِبْكُمْ وَيَأْتِي بِخَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ If He wanted He
could do away with you and bring a
new creation وَمَا ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ بِعَزِيزٍ That
is not at all difficult for Allah وَيَبَرَزُوا
لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا They will appear before Allah all
together فَقَالَ الضُّعَفَأُ لِلَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُوا And so the
weak ones will say to the big guys
For the strong ones إِنَّا كُنَا لَكُمْ تَبَعَةً
We were just following you فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُغْنُونَ
عَنَّا مِنْ عَذَابِ اللَّهِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ So is
there anything that you can do for us,
to help us against Allah's punishment غَلُوا They
would reply لَوْ هَدَانَ اللَّهُ لَهَدَيْنَاكُمْ If Allah
had guided us, we would have shown you
the right path as well It is all
the same for us Again, blaming Allah even
on that day It's all Allah's fault This
level of fatalism Allah didn't guide us Repeating
shaitan's logic When he refused Allah And Allah
asked him Why did you not bow down
to Adam?
And then after that he said You didn't
guide me It was your fault It's all
the same for us Whether we mourn or
we bear No benefit in sabr now So
we can cry or we can not cry
There is no way out for us And
once the matter is decided Shaitan will say
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَعَدَكُمْ وَعْدَ الْحَقِّ Allah made a
promise to you And it was a true
promise وَوَأَدْتُكُمْ And I also made a promise
to you فَأَخْلَفْتُكُمْ But I betrayed you وَمَا
كَانَ لِيَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ سُلْطَانِ And I had
no authority over you The second scapegoat Shaitan
He made me do it So Allah makes
him stand on the Day of Judgment And
he says clearly I did not have any
authority over you If you gave me authority
If you did live the way I wanted
you to live It is because you gave
me that authority You listened to me That
my will and your action became one Because
you identified with my will Because you chose
to follow in my direction Because you believed
that you could not do anything else That's
just who you were Caught up and incapable
إِلَّا أَنْ دَعَوْتُكُمْ Except that I just invited
you فَاسْتَجَبْتُمْ لِي And you responded to me
فَلَا تَلُومُونِي So don't blame me وَلُومُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ
But blame yourself مَا أَنَا بِمُصْرِحِكُمْ I can't
help you وَمَا أَنْتُمْ بِمُصْرِحِي Nor can you
help me إِنِّي كَفَرْتُ بِمَا أَشْرَبْتُمُونِ مِنْ قَبْلِ
I disown your association of me with Allah
Nobody or actually very few people very very
few people worship the devil as like an
entity outside Our experience with shaitan is very
subjective It is very personal It is very
phenomenological And being personal, being subjective, being phenomenological
doesn't mean it's not true Doesn't mean it's
real It very much is It is far
too prevalent It is far too universal It
is something that all of us identify with
It is something that we have an age
-old consensus on Given that so many different
communities So many different unrelated communities would have
something of a conception of the devil or
the demon And so what does it mean
to worship shaitan?
It is that those thoughts and those emotions
that shaitan inspires in our heads that look
very strong that are very sound We give
in to them We identify with them They
make sense to us We believe in them
We think that this is us This is
the truth That very powerful ability for shaitan
to deceive us into thinking that A.
It is us That it's not shaitan B.
It is the truth It is god Or
it is godly It is righteousness And we
persist Even though both of these beliefs In
the course of our action There are various
signs that we experience That others show us
That knowledge would have given us If we
would have taken it seriously But we ignore
all of those signs And we continue in
our comfort zones To live in those demonic
beliefs اِنِّي كَفَرْتُ بِمَا أَشْرَقْتُ مُونِي مِنْ قَبْلِ
اِنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ For sure the
unjust people will receive a painful punishment وَأُدْخِلَ
الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَمِدُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ جَنَّادٍ And those who
believe and perform righteously Will be admitted to
gardens ذَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ Underneath which rivers
flow خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ To live in
there forever With the permission of Allah تَحِيَتُهُمْ
فِيهَا سَلَامٌ And their greetings therein will be
سَلَامٌ أَلَمْ تَرَى كَيْفَ Haven't you seen ضَرَضَ
اللَّهُ مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً Allah strikes an example
of a good word تَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ Like a
tree أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ With a firm root وَفَرْعُهَا
فِي السَّمَاءِ And its branches reaching the sky
Let's break here I want to talk about
this ayat after we come back from the
break وَأَرْشُوا دَعْوَانًا And Alhamdulillah