Zia Sheikh – Ramadan Khatira Day 20
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AI: Transcript ©
Last night we completed the 21st Juz, which
comprises of Al-Ankabut and Surah Rum, Surah
Luqman, Surah Sajdah, and a portion of Surah
Al-Ahzab.
Today I'm going to just talk about a
few verses at the beginning of the 21st
Juz, and these are verses from Surah Al
-Ankabut, and these are addressing the Prophet ﷺ.
These verses are talking to the Prophet ﷺ
and indirectly addressing us also.
Allah ﷻ commands the Prophet ﷺ, أُطْلُمَّا أُحْيَئِ
إِلَيْكَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ Recite what was revealed to
you from the book.
وَأَقِمَ السَّلَاةِ And establish the Salat.
So, the veracity, the authenticity of this book,
the Qur'an, the words of Allah ﷻ
are being confirmed here by Allah ﷻ Himself.
That the Prophet is being told that without
any kind of doubt, without any kind of
shame, you should read these books and know
them to be the truth and portray them
as the truth and tell people about the
truth of these words of Allah ﷻ.
So recite these words to the people and
also establish the Salat.
And the Prophet is being told, but we
as an Ummah are being indirectly told to
establish the Salat.
And I've mentioned many times before that Allah
whenever He tells us in the Qur'an
to pray, He doesn't use the word in
Arabic for praying.
صَلُّ Or صَلِّ for an individual.
صَلُّ for a collective audience.
He says أَقِمَ السَّلَاةِ or أَقِمُ السَّلَاةِ Establish
the Salat.
Perfect the Salat.
Complete the Salat.
Maintain the Salat.
Again and again.
There's only one place where Allah ﷻ uses
the word صَلُّ And that is in a
situation which is known as صَلَاة الخَوْف In
Surah An-Nisa, Allah ﷻ describes how the
Salat is prayed on the battlefield.
And in the course of praying on the
battlefield, obviously, panic is everywhere.
Everybody's in a rush.
Everybody's life is under threat.
So this is a very precarious situation.
It's a difficult situation to be in.
So at that point, He says صَلُّ But
at the end of those selection of verses,
He also says فَإِذَا اطْمَعَنَنْتُمْ فَأَقِيمُ السَّلَاةِ Once
you have attained peace and you are not
in the battlefield anymore, Then again, go back
to أَقِيمُ السَّلَاةِ Go back to establishing the
Salat.
Perfecting the Salat.
Making sure you are praying with full concentration
and devotion.
So أَقِيمُ السَّلَاةِ again, the Prophet ﷺ is
told, establish the Salat.
And then it goes on to say إِنَّ
الصَّلَاةَ تَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ The Salat, it
prevents a person from فَحْشَاءَ وَالْمُنكَرِ فَحْشاء refers
to those sins which are related to lewdness
and things which are regarded in most societies
which have any kind of shame or any
kind of modesty as being immodest actions.
That's فَحْشاء And مُنكَر, it refers to evil
in general.
So Allah says that Salat, it prevents from
فَحْشاءَ وَالْمُنكَرِ According to a Hadith, the Prophet
ﷺ said whoever's Salat does not prevent him
from فَحْشاءَ وَالْمُنكَرِ فَلَا صَلَاةَ لَهُ Then he
is not praying Salat.
This is not a Salat that is worthy
of being called a Salat.
Why is that?
When a person is praying with full concentration
and devotion to Allah SWT he is actually
conversing with Allah.
Knowing full well that Allah knows what he
did between this Salat that he's praying and
the previous Salat.
So in the meantime, if he's committed any
sins, if he's disobeyed Allah SWT then he
knows that Allah knows about that sin that
he's committed.
So standing in front of Allah, it's a
very difficult thing to do when a person
is guilty of committing a sin.
That guilt, that remorse is supposed to push
a person to think I have to meet
Allah SWT in the next Salat.
How can I face him when he knows
what I've been committing sins and now I'm
standing in front of him pretending to be
very pious when I know my reality that
what I've done between this Salat and the
previous Salat.
So this understanding is supposed to push a
person away from sin.
And if a person is persisting in his
sin then that means that he's not praying
the Salat properly.
He needs to focus on the devotion, he
needs to focus on concentration on his Salat,
he needs to work on his Salat.
And the remembrance of Allah SWT is greater.
The remembrance of Allah is greater.
This has been interpreted in two ways.
That when you pray the Salat then Allah
SWT remembering you is greater.
Allah SWT says remember me, I will remember
you.
So Allah SWT remembering you should be a
cause of happiness for you that Allah is
mentioning you in his company of angels that
look at my slave, look at my servant.
He is actually devoting himself to me in
such a way that he is humbling himself,
he is praying, he is waking up in
the middle of the night while everybody else
is sleeping.
So Allah SWT remembering you is something greater
to think about.
And another meaning is the apparent meaning that
remembering Allah himself is greater.
Meaning that the remembrance of Allah all the
time, not just in Salat but remembering Allah
SWT at all times it's an even more
important thing to be thinking about.
It's not just focusing on the Salat but
remembering Allah through making Tasbeeh, Tahlil, Takbeer, Subhanallah,
Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar, La ilaha illallah all the
time, this is something that is important.
Allah SWT knows what you are doing.
وَلَا تُجَاتِلُوا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ إِلَّا بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ
Do not dispute with the people of the
book except in a way which is good.
So talking to the people of the book,
inviting them and discussing with them, having a
discourse with them, having a debate with them
should be done in a way which is
which is polite and not rude in any
way, shape or form.
اُدْعُوا إِلَىٰ سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمُوعِبَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ Call
unto the way of your Lord with wisdom
and with a good speech.
So especially with the people of the book
because the people of the book already have
a familiarity with the message of Islam.
The Prophets that they were sent, they preached
the same thing, they preached the same message.
And the books that were sent to them,
they had the same message that the Quran
has.
So even though the books may have been
corrupted, but the gist of the message is
still there.
You know, the worship of Allah, the stories
of the Prophets, it's still there.
Even though it's corrupted and it's not a
source for reference for us at least anymore.
But still, keeping that point in mind that
they were sent, true Prophets before us, there
is a level of respect that they have
to be dealt with.
Another meaning of إِلَّا بِالَّتِهِ أَحْسَنُ is that
do not dispute with the people of the
book except with لا إله إلا الله meaning
the focus should be only and only Tawheed
and the oneness of Allah SWT.
If the people of the book are going
against that, then they are going against the
principle of Islam, the foundation of Islam.
So this is the main thing, the main
argument that needs to be put forward against
the people of the book that we are
only focusing on the worship of Allah SWT.
إِلَّا الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْهُمْ except for the ones
that are wrongdoers from amongst them.
Now, we are living in the United States
and we've probably come across different kinds of
Christians.
You get the kind that are humble enough
to sit with you and talk with you
and then you have that kind that are
stubborn minded and nothing will go into their
mind, nothing will go into their head except
that Jesus saves and the only way to
salvation is through Him and anything that you
tell me is blasphemy and it's not something
that I can accept.
So these are very stubborn kind of people.
You cannot talk to them.
So Allah SWT says إِلَّا الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْهُمْ
These are wrongdoers.
These are doing wrong.
It's difficult to deal with them in a
good way.
So avoid them.
There's no need to indulge in that kind
of discourse with them.
وَقُولُ What are you supposed to say to
the people of the book?
وَقُولُ آمَنَّا بِالَّذِي أُنزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَأُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَإِلَهُنَا
وَإِلَهُكُمْ وَاحِدُ وَنَحْنُ لَهُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ Tell them we
have belief in what was revealed to you
and what was revealed to us.
What was revealed to us and what was
revealed to you.
The wording is very special.
It's not that we believe in your book.
Meaning the one that you have right now.
It's not that we believe in the Torah
that you have now.
We don't believe in the Torah you have
now.
But we believe in what was revealed to
you.
And what was revealed to us.
Meaning the original wording, it's part of our
Iman.
It's part of our belief that we believe
in all of the books sent down by
Allah SWT.
However, the corrupted forms of the books that
we have now, we don't believe in those.
And the Prophet ﷺ actually mentioned in the
Hadith that when the people of the book
address you, then don't denounce anything that they
tell you.
Tell them this word.
We believe in what was revealed to us
and what was revealed to you.
So, there are actually three kinds of verses
that you will find in their books.
Verses which agree with what the Quran says.
We would say that this is probably and
possibly something that was in the original scripture.
Words which completely contradict what the Quran says.
We would say that that's not something that
could be from the original words from Allah
SWT.
And then words which are neutral.
That are not mentioned in the Quran.
And they are only found in their books.
And about them we remain silent.
The Prophet ﷺ, he gave us this method
when talking to the people of the book
and addressing them about these verses.
That this is how we understand the previous
book.
And on top of that, the Prophet ﷺ
also said, for the normal person, the Quran
is sufficient as a guidance.
Even if Musa ﷺ was to come down,
he would follow the Quran.
Once the Prophet, he saw Umar ﷺ reading
the Torah.
And he told him that this is not
what you are supposed to be doing.
Even if Musa ﷺ was alive, then he
would follow what was revealed to me.
Meaning the Quran.
So, for a person who is studying the
previous religions with the intention of Dawah and
all.
So that's fine.
But for a lay person, the Quran is
sufficient as a guidance.
But at the same time, when talking to
them, this is what we need to say.
That we have Iman in what was revealed
to us and what was revealed to you.
وَإِلَهُنَا وَإِلَهُكُمْ وَاحِدُ Our God and your God
is the same.
وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ And we submit ourselves to
Him completely.
وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ We only submit ourselves to
Him.
Only to Him we submit.
So this لَهُ, there is a difference between
us and the previous people of the book.
You know the previous people of the book,
Allah says, اِتَّخَذُوا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهُبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِن دُورِ
اللَّهِ They took their rabbis and their priests
as أَرْبَاب, as lords, other than Allah SWT.
Allah says, نَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ We only submit
ourselves to Allah SWT and nobody else.
Whatever Allah says and the Prophet SAW says
indirectly, which is also the words of Allah
SWT, we submit ourselves to that.
Again the Prophet SAW is addressed directly.
وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابُ And thus We have
sent down to you the Book.
O Prophet of Allah, just like we gave
these previous nations books, we gave you, O
Prophet of Allah, the Book, the Quran.
فَالَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ Those people that
we gave the Book to, they have Iman
in this Quran too.
They realize that these are the words of
Allah SWT.
At the Iftar the other day, I was
talking to a pastor and he says he
reads the Quran regularly.
He says that I've read the Quran from
cover to cover and he says that there's
only a couple of things, two or three
things in the whole Quran that I disagree
with.
And this is obviously the issue of the
Trinity, the issue of the Son being Isa
AS, the Son of God, and things which
we clearly differ.
These were innovations in their religion which they
were invented 300 or so years after Isa
AS.
And they're not part of the true teachings
of Christianity.
They're not the true teachings of Isa AS.
So obviously, these things are going to contradict,
right?
But other than that, he says, I agree
with everything that's in the Quran.
So this is what Allah says, فَالَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ
الْكِتَابَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ Those people that we gave
the Book to, they have Iman in it.
وَمِنْ هَا أُولَٰئِ مَنْ يُؤْمِنُونَ And there are
also some from amongst these people, meaning the
Kuffar of Quraysh, the Arabs, they also are
people that accept it and they have Iman
in it.
وَمَا يَجْحَدُ بِآيَاتِنَا إِلَّا الْكَافِرُونَ The people that
deny our Ayat, they are disbelievers.
So any person who denies anything of the
Quran, in this case the pastor, he denies
anything of the Quran, even those two or
three things, that takes him out of Iman
and keeps him in the boundary of disbelief.
If he accepts those two or three things
which are still lingering in his mind, then
that's it, he's a Muslim.
So Allah says that whoever denies any of
our Ayat, any of our verses, he's still
a disbeliever.
وَمَا يَجْحَدُ بِآيَاتِنَا إِلَّا الْكَافِرُونَ Then there's a
very special verse here.
Allah says وَمَا كُنْتَ تَتْلُو مِنْ قَبْلِهِ مِنْ
كِتَابٍ وَلَا تَخُطُّهُ بِيَمِينِكَ إِذَا الَّغْتَابَ الْمُبْتِنُونَ O
Prophet of Allah, you didn't used to recite
anything from before.
And you never used to write anything with
your book, with your hand.
وَلَا تَخُطُّهُ بِيَمِينِكَ If that was the case,
إِذَا الَّغْتَابَ الْمُبْتِنُونَ Then the people who falsify
would have been put into doubt.
What this means is that O Prophet of
Allah, you were never taught how to read
or write.
One of the specific things which was special
about our beloved Prophet ﷺ is he is
Ummi.
He is unlettered.
He was never taught how to read or
write.
Yet, the Qur'an that has been brought
here, the Qur'an that he has given
us is complete, it's perfect, grammatically correct.
And an example of literary magic or a
miracle, literary miracle that has been given to
us through the Prophet ﷺ.
So what the Qur'an tells us, فَأْتُوا
بِسُورَةٍ مِّن مِثْلِ Bring a surah similar to
the Qur'an.
It's not just bringing verses which rhyme and
then presenting it and saying look, here I
brought a surah for you.
I've completed the challenge of the Qur'an.
This is not what the Qur'an is
challenging us to do.
What the Qur'an is challenging us to
do is to bring a person who has
never learnt how to read or write.
And tell him to write words or to
bring words which are pure and pristine just
like the words of the Qur'an.
And obviously nobody is able to do that.
Nobody has been able to do that from
the time of the Prophet ﷺ since this
challenge has been produced.
And nobody will be able to do that
until the Day of Judgment.
Something, a story similar to this, I'll tell
you this.
Sometimes I get into debates with Christians about
issues.
And one day a Christian woman, she said
to me that there's such and such a
person who started memorizing the Bible.
So basically trying to push my buttons to
say look, you guys memorize the Qur'an.
Then we also, we have people who are
memorizing the Bible.
I said no, this is not how it
works.
The way that you can come anywhere close
to being what we do is first and
foremost you have to find the original scripture
of the Bible.
In its original linguistic form.
In Aramaic, the language that Isa A.S.
spoke.
First you have to find that.
And then you have to take that and
learn how to read it.
Second step.
Then the third step is that you have
to memorize that in its original form.
In that language.
Not the English Bible.
Anybody can do that.
This is what we do with the Qur
'an.
Little kids, 6, 7 year olds that don't
know how to speak Arabic.
It's not their original language.
Allah A.S. enables them to memorize and
learn the Qur'an.
This is a miracle.
Because we see it on an everyday basis,
it becomes kind of normal for us.
The reality is there's nothing normal about it.
It's a miracle.
So if you want to do something similar
to what the Muslims do.
Then do what I've mentioned.
Which is original language.
Learning the original language.
At least how to read it.
And then memorizing it.
And having your 6 or 7 year olds
and 10 year olds memorizing that.
Then you're up to the challenge.
Then you're doing what we do.
Otherwise you're very far away.
So this is what Allah A.S. says
about the revelation of the Qur'an to
the Prophet.
The miracle was that he didn't know how
to read or write.
And yet this issue still, people who criticize
Islam, they bring it forward.
They say that what the Prophet did.
He took the stories from the Rabbis and
the priests that were around him.
And he copied them and he put them
into a book form.
And he presented them to people.
This is just copying from the Bible.
Historically you'll find that Christians were not interacting
with the Prophet.
Neither were the Jews in any great way,
shape or form.
So there was really no interaction.
In addition to that, their teachings had not
been translated into Arabic.
They were in their original scripts.
The Prophet A.S. didn't even know how
to read or write Arabic.
Let alone Hebrew or Aramaic or any of
the previous languages.
So it's very impossible to prove that the
Prophet A.S. actually did that.
So Allah says that you didn't used to
read anything before that from any book.
And you couldn't even write anything with your
right hand.
If you did that, then the people who
falsify things, they would have been put into
doubt.
In fact, these verses of the Quran, these
are clear signs.
These are clear verses in the hearts of
those people that we've given knowledge.
So Allah A.S. is praising the Huffaz.
Praising here the people who take time out
to memorize the Quran.
And is referring to them as the people
that have been given the true knowledge.
After seeing all of these miraculous aspects of
the Quran, who can deny it?
Allah says, nobody denies our ayat except the
wrongdoers.
The next objection was, why doesn't he bring
any miracles?
Isa A.S. had miracles, Musa A.S.
had miracles.
We don't see him performing any type of
miracles.
Allah A.S. says, isn't it sufficient for
them that we revealed upon you, O Prophet
of Allah, the book that has been recited
upon them.
Indeed in it, there is mercy and a
reminder for people of Iman.
The people who have Iman, this book is
sufficient as a miracle.
And all the things that I've mentioned already,
these are all miraculous aspects of the Quran.
So that in itself, the Quran in itself
is sufficient to be a miracle from the
Prophet A.S. But obviously in addition to
that, there were many miracles that the Prophet
A.S. performed.
But if none of those miracles were here,
then the Quran itself is sufficient as a
miracle.
InshaAllah we are going to stop here and
we will continue our lessons tomorrow.
May Allah give us the ability to understand
and practice what has been said and heard.
Al Fatiha.