Juz’ 23 Qur’an 30 for30
Do you walk this earth as an ambassador or a tourist? Mufti Abdul Rahman
Waheed joins Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Abdullah Oduro to reflect on gems
from juz 23, including personal accountability, pondering over the Qur’an, and
living as an ambassador for Allah.
For 30, Alhamdulillah Rabbil Ameen, we are in the last 10 nights,
Alhamdulillah Rabbil Ameen, and as we’re getting to the end of Ramadan,
Mufti Abdur Rahman finally sighted the moon and decided to join everybody
else in fasting. Mufti Abdur Rahman Waheed is finally here. Everyone’s been
asking about Mufti Saab, Mufti Saab, Mufti Saab. You know, you guys took your
moon sighting thing to like next level. You even brought it to the webathon too.
So you’re like, you know, naked eye, I mean, you waited till you could see the
moon in Detroit or wherever it is that you are right now, but Hamza, you’re fine.
You’re fasting now, Alhamdulillah Rabbil Ameen. It’s good to have you on,
Sheikh. Like I’m getting hurt by those comments. Like, I’m sorry. Sheikh
Abdullah comes on, my older brother comes on every, like the first night of
Ramadan. He says, you sight the moon, you saw my face, start fasting
tomorrow. It’s like, you guys are still old school. Like he literally throws me
under the bus. He throws me under the bus, Alhamdulillah, we started fasting
the same day. Sheikh Omar, I know you’re a secret moon sighter as well. I
know that, I know that. Don’t, don’t try to tell me you’re not. All on moon
sighting. FaceTime your brother apparently. That’s it. Sheikh Omar, I’ve been
watching you guys much, I don’t want to say that you guys have been doing a
great job because who am I to tell you that, but I watched one episode
specifically because, I mean, I don’t know, I was on that day with Sheikh
Sanawi and you brought up like, you know, when you see him with the big
beard and you know, you say you bring up Sheikh Abdullah’s workout ethic
and then you brought him up with basketball. I have a video for you. Fawzi, you
there in the background, could you put the video on please?
So I have no idea what just happened. Sheik Abdullah, we’re being hijacked
here, man. Our show’s been taken from us. I didn’t know that was going to
happen. Are you in charge now? Do you have hosting abilities? Who have you
recruited from Yakhin? Who works here? Everyone. I’m kind of nervous, man. I
know you get funny with the djinn stuff sometimes. Is there something?
What’s going on here? Sheik Abdullah, you’re the one that’s all about form and
stuff. Sheik Omar is all about form. You can acknowledge the form there. You
know, the snap of the wrist and the bend of the knee, all that stuff. Don’t do it,
Sheik Abdullah. Don’t do it. Don’t do it, man. Don’t do it. He’s not your friend.
He’s not your friend, Sheik. I think it was a little flat as a pancake, Sheik. Oh my
God. It went in. It went in. It doesn’t have to be pretty. It just has to go in. You
can watch the video afterwards and take lessons afterwards. Let’s get into the
fun. I think this was an indirect shot at Shonawi. They need to go one-on-one.
That’s what I think. Yeah, I’ll pick Shonawi any day over you, man. I’m just
saying. I’m walking by, I’m going to ball you up, man. But I’m not going to bring
something up. Actually, I will bring it up. The time you forgot to pick me up
from the hotel because you were playing basketball…
All night and I had to take a taxi in Detroit to the masjid after fajr. I’ll take your
forgiveness. Please forgive me. I’ve taken your forgiveness many times now.
Please let it go, man. Let it go. It’s the last 10 nights. I’m sorry I had to play ball
the whole night. I lost the first four games. I was not going to leave until I won a
few. And that went all the way till fajr. I felt like LeBron James. I felt like LeBron
James. I felt like LeBron James. I felt like LeBron James. I felt like LeBron
James. I felt like LeBron James. I felt like LeBron James. I felt like LeBron
James. I felt like LeBron that day with all these old guys on my team. That was
my problem that day. It wasn’t my fault. It was my GM’s fault. He wasn’t ready
to trade the draft picks. I was late to this masjid. I was supposed to give a
halaq after fajr. I’m getting phone calls. I couldn’t find an Uber from
someplace in Michigan they put me in. Mufti Ashab was supposed to pick me
up. I’m at the front desk. This is all a true story. Let me call a cab. The cab
comes. I’m his first customer in 50 years. There’s a tire in the back seat that’s
hitting me in the back while we’re riding. I get to the masjid after duha. They’ve
been waiting for me. And anyone in Detroit can attest to this. I tried to pay. He
doesn’t take credit card. I had to go inside the masjid, get the cash, come
back and pay him. Mufti Ashab woke up like an hour later. But you know what,
Shaykh, I think I’m ready to forgive you. Jazakallah khair. I appreciate that,
Shaykh. I appreciate that. I think I just had to share my trauma with Shaykh
Abdullah Abduro and everybody else. I think I’m good now. And that means
you’re never going to mention again your life. We’re not on Surah Yusuf today.
Maybe next year in Quran 3430 you can come on Surah Yusuf and remind me
about the same thing. InshaAllah. For sure. You can always replay it. But you
know, no seriousness, Shaykh. Not bad. Not bad. You can ball. MashaAllah.
Jazakallah khair. We’re happy to have you, Mufti Ashab. We love the work that
you guys do at Miftah. We love the work that you’re doing.
And we appreciate you and love your brotherhood. Alhamdulillah. Biur
Ameen. And I hope inshaAllah ta’ala the audience will be very happy to hear
you. And we’re looking forward to hearing your reflections on the Quran and
your Urdu poetry, which I’m sure will come out at some point. Alhamdulillah,
Biur Ameen. Alhamdulillah wa salatu wa salam wa rasool Allah wa ala alihi wa
sahbihi wa man wala. So Shaykh Abdullah, what juz are we in? I’m holding a
mushaf. What juz are we in today? 23. 23. That’s right. We’re in 23. All right. I’m
in Surah Az-Zumar. And this is actually obviously where you have Arja Ayah Fi
Kitab Allah according to many of the companions of the Prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam. The most hopeful ayah in the book of Allah. But really, you
know, two sections that SubhanAllah we can compare that are profoundly
connected to this idea of preparation for the hereafter. And I’ll actually start
from this place where Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala says in verse 45, Wa idha
dhukirallahu wahdahu shma azzat qulubu allatheena la yu’minuna bil aakhira.
That when the name of Allah is mentioned, then the hearts of those who don’t
believe in Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala don’t believe in the akhira in particular.
It’s like they hate the mention of Allah. They do not like the mention of Allah.
And that’s because they don’t believe in the hereafter. It’s an Interesting
connection that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala makes here. Right? Like they don’t
like conversations about religion. They don’t like mentions of the hereafter
because they don’t believe in the hereafter. And so when Allah is brought into
the equation, when religion is brought up, it instantly causes people a sense
of, you know, aversion. And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala then says, Wa idha
dhukirallatheena min doonihi, idha hum yastabashiroon. And then suddenly
when the others are mentioned, others than Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala is
mentioned, you see them celebrating. You see them rejoicing. Right? So this
idea that they’ve been so deluded from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala that the
name…
Of Allah, the very mention of the hereafter, the very mention of reward and
consequence, it doesn’t resonate with them at all. And then SubhanAllah, you
move on to Qul ya’ibadi allatheena asrafoo ala anfusihim. It’s literally on the
next page, verse 53. Qul ya’ibadi allatheena asrafoo ala anfusihim la taqnatoo
min rahmatillah. InnaAllaha yakhfiru al-dhunuba jameeAAa inna huwa alghafoorun raheem. Say, O my servants who have transgressed against
themselves, do not despair from the mercy of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala.
Allah forgives all sins. Verily, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala is forgiving and
merciful. Ghafoorun raheem. And this is the hopeful ayah, right, to remind you
that Allah’s mercy is encompassing enough to catch you no matter how far
you’ve gone away from Him. However, wa aneebu ila rabbikum wa aslimoo
lah, turn back to your Lord and submit to Him min qabli an ya’tiakumul
a’zaboo thumma la tunsaroon. Before the punishment arrives at you.
SubhanAllah, it’s like the punishment is on its way to you, turn back to the
mercy of Allah no matter how far you’ve gone away from Him, that mercy will
be near to you because rahmatullahil qareeb, it is close to the believers. The
mercy of Allah is close to the believers when you turn back. But you need to
turn around. You need to turn around. Wa aslimoo lah, and submit yourself,
min qabli an ya’tiakumul a’zaboo thumma la tunsaroon. Before the
punishment comes to you and then you will not be helped. Wattabi’oo ahsana
ma unziya ilaykum min rabbikum min qabli an ya’tiakumul a’zaboo baghtatan
wa antumuna atash’uroon. So Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la says, and follow
the best of what has been given to you from your Lord before the punishment
comes to you suddenly while you are unaware of it. So then Allah Azawajal
takes us to the excuses that people make on the day of judgment. Antaquoo
lanafsun ya hasrataAAala ma farratoo fee janbillah wa in kuntoo lamina
sakhireen. So first Allah talks about the remorse that a person will say, oh how
regretful I am. Hasra, ya hasrata.
SubhanAllah Surah Yasin, the ya hasrataAAala alibad, right? People that feel
sorry, the believers that feel sorry, the messengers, the inheritors of the
messengers that feel sorry for those that didn’t turn back to Allah. Here you
have this person screaming on the day of judgment, I wish I would have
listened. So if you start paralleling this, right, or making this parallel, first Allah
said come back to the mercy of Allah, you have a path back. And then here
you have, I should have listened, and had I acted on my regret in the dunya, I
would not be in the state of remorse in the akhirah. Okay? So that’s the first
thing here. Then Allah says, aw taqoola law anna Allaha hadani la kuntoo
minal mutaqeem. Or that person would say, if Allah would have guided me, I
would have been from the God conscious, meaning I would have abandoned
sin. So here, this is a person that fails to take personal responsibility, right?
And if you parallel it to the second verse in the sequence before, this is a
person who Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la says, thumma la tunsaroon, don’t
wait for the punishment to come to you where you will not be helped. So this
is the person who always looks to someone else for help. Okay? Which is a
mindset, right? They’re constantly failing to take personal accountability
because they’re always looking for someone to bail them out. Aw taqoola
heena tara alAAadhaab law anna li karra faakoona minal muhsineen. Or that
person would say, once they see the punishment, if only I had another
chance, not only would I be from the mutaqeen, from the mu’mineen, from
the believers, from the God conscious that abandons sin, I would have been
from the muhsineen, the people of ihsan, I would have excelled. And
SubhanAllah, this is the mindset. The third mindset that was addressed
previously is the mindset of a person who waits for consequences, okay? In
order to adjust. And so Allah mentioned, this is a person, min qabli an
ya’tiakoon a’adhaaboo baghtatan, right? You wait until you can see the
punishment.
And then you say, oh, wait, let me go back. Okay? And here, law anna li karra,
if I had another chance, I would be from the people of ihsan, I’d be from the
people of excellence, meaning I would have acted for jannah even further.
Right? So people that fail to take personal accountability, people that wait for
others to bail them out, and people that wait for consequences to adjust,
which is a problem, right? Then SubhanAllah, you go on to some of the most
powerful verses where Allah then fast forwards to the actual arrival at the
gates of paradise and hellfire. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala make us from
the group of those who arrive at the gates of paradise. Waseeqa allatheena
kafaroo ila jahannama zoomaraa hattaa idha jaa’ooohaa futihaat
abwaaboohaa wa qaala lahum khazanatoohaa alam ya’tikoon rusulun
minkum? Yatloona AAalaykum ayati rabbikum wa yundiroonakum liqaa
yawmikum haadhaa? You know, Allah Azza wa Jalla says, they get to the gates
of hellfire. And there is no wa futihaat, the wow. Wow that comes in the next
verse in regards to the people of paradise, and the gates of paradise will open.
The gates of paradise reveal paradise slowly. So paradise starts to reveal itself
in this grand way. Whereas the gates of hellfire open suddenly and people are
thrown into it. And here, qabli AAayatiyaakum alAAadhaaboo baaghtaa, the
punishment comes to you so quickly, and at that point you have such great
regret that you know, oh, sorry, I think I’m back on inshallah. Bismillah. Okay,
sorry. Okay. Alhamdulillah. Can you all still hear me? Yes. Okay.
Alhamdulillah. So these are the people that show up and they are thrown in
hellfire and they say, oh wait, I should have thought differently. I should have
prepared myself differently. Right.
So you don’t have the wow, the slow unraveling of paradise that you have with
hellfire. And the question from the angels is, didn’t you have a chance? Like
people came to you with guidance, so don’t make that excuse. People came
to you and told you, wake up and do what you need to do. And at that point,
that person admits, you know, balaa, yes, walakin haqqat karimat
alAAadhaabi AAalil kafireen, but at this point it’s too late for us. We have
certainly been given that opportunity, but at the same time we are now just in
the state of desperation and punishment. And then Allah Subh’anaHu Wa TaA’la mentions, wasiqa allatheena taqawu rabbahum ilal jannati zumara, and
you know, give glad tidings to those people that are taken to paradise in these
large groups. And Allah mentions particularly the quality of taqwa, the quality
of God consciousness, which remember the people of the fire said, had Allah
guided us, we would have been from the muttaqeen. So now you have the
muttaqeen, may Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la make us amongst them.
Allahumma ameen. And they are arriving at the gates of paradise. Hatta idha
ja’uha wa futihat abwabuha. And then once they get to it, the gates of paradise
start to open slowly and they start to see paradise revealing its beauty,
SubhanAllah, slowly. Wa qala lahum khazanatuha salamun AAalaykum
tibutum fadkhuluha khaarideen. And the gatekeepers of paradise say, peace
be on to you, you have been purified, enter into it forever. Right? SubhanAllah,
this is what you were working towards. And here’s you’re affirmation from
them. So the angels are telling the people of hellfire, wait, didn’t warners
come to you? And the angels are telling the people of paradise and affirming
them, you listened and this is your reward. Right? And so the first words you
sort of hear as you’re entering into paradise versus the first words that the
dwellers of the fire hear, may Allah protect us from being amongst them,
Allahumma ameen.
It’s very profound. And then finally, you know, Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la
says, wa qalul hamdulillahi lathee sadaqana wa’da wa awrathana al-ardha
natabawa wa minal jannati haythun asha’a an-ni’ma ajaru al-aamileen. So
they’re praising Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la, the inhabitants of paradise for
entering into paradise and, you know, praising Allah for guiding them and
saying, what a great reward. Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la says, what a great
reward for the good doers, those that put forth the deeds. And then the last
ayah, wa tarajna la’ika tahaa feena min haqool da’osh. This is the last scene,
SubhanAllah. You then see the angels, you know, barefoot around, they’re
celebrating around the throne of Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la, circling around
the throne of Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la, min hawli al-arshi yusabbihuna
bihamdi rabbihim, declaring his praise, declaring his perfection. Wa qul ya
baynahum bilhaq wa qeela alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen. And they’re saying
alhamdulillah as well as they’ve seen this journey of the human being from
start to finish. And they’re seeing the inhabitants of paradise. You then see, wa
tarajna la’ika, you see the angels glorifying Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la after
congratulating the believers. May Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la make us
amongst those that hear their congratulations and their affirmations and that
see them glorifying Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la around his throne and may
Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la place us as near to that throne as possible on
the day of judgment. Allahumma ameen. InshaAllah ta’ala Sheikh Abdullah
will hand it off to you. Fadlul shaykh Abdullah. SubhanAllah, jazakumullahu
khayran. Bismillah wa salatu wa salam wa ala rasulullah wa ala alihi wa
sahbihi wa man wala amma ba’d. What we just heard was the message from
the Quran. The Quran is the statement of Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la. And
it’s important for us to remember that. Many people, I included, when they
embraced Islam, I remember they asked the question of what was the main
reason that made you embrace Islam? I say, well, God is telling me something
I want to know. I want to know what he’s telling me and I want to try my best to
follow it.
So when accepting the word of Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la being the Quran
and listening to the message and following the best of it, yastami’oon al-qawla
fa yattabi’oon ahsana. So we’re trying to listen to it and to follow the best of it
inshaAllah ta’ala. What does that do in the heart of the listener, of the reader,
of the Muslim, when they realize that this is God talking, like this is Allah
Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la telling me something. That would be the most
important risalah or message that I should concern myself with on a general
generic level. Meaning that whatever is in this Quran is perfect, it is
intentional, it is pure, it is full of mercy, it’s full of love, it’s full of strength, it’s
full of all the names and attributes that Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la talks
about within this beautiful, beautiful message. So what I want to capitalize on
is that it’s important for us within these last 10 days, particularly the Ad nights,
and in general, to have some type of relationship with the Quran. The Prophet
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said in a beautiful hadith, Ta’ahadu bilquran fa
walladhi nafsi biyadi fa innahu ashadda tufallutan minal ibali fi uqliha. The
Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said that to have a relationship with the
Quran, ta’ahadu, have a connection with the Quran, I swear by the wind my
soul is in his hands that verily it will leave you just as a camel leaves its
barracks or where it is tied. So the Quran can be as such if one does not have
a consistent relationship with it. Now when I say consistent relationship, it
doesn’t mean that you have to memorize every verse of the Quran and you’re
not from the people of the Quran. No, just trying your level best to recite the
Quran. Those of you that are young and those of you that convert to Islam or
those of you that..
Are Muslim and they’re trying to do something good by opening the Quran and
reading it, shaitan is going to play with you and say look you can’t read this,
why are you saying these phonetical sounds, what does it even really mean?
You know, you’re struggling. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is aware
of that, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala is aware of that and in the beautiful hadith
that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam mentioned is mutafiqun alayya,
it’s agreed upon, where he said, alladhi yaqra quran wa huwa mahilun bihi
ma’a kiram. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said the one that reads
the Quran and he is an ex, he or she is an expert in it is with the noble angel
scribes. Walladhi yaqra ul quran wa huwa yatata’ ta’u fihi wa huwa alayhi
shaqa falahu ajran. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam doesn’t stop
there, he continues on for the majority of us that are starting. He says, and the
one that reads the Quran, wa huwa yatata’ ta’u, yatata’ ta’u is like to stutter,
wa huwa alayhi shaqa, and it is hard upon him, it is stressful, they receive two
rewards. So that effort from ash-shakur is not neglected, Allah is never
neglectful of that. The verse that I want to talk about is the verse in the chapter
of As-Sa’d, where it’s verse number 29, where Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala
says, chapter number 38, verse number 29, where Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala
says, afta’udhu billahi minash shaitanir rajim, kitabun anzalnahu ilayka
mubarakun liyadabbaru ayatihi wa liyatadhakkara ulul alba. The book that we
have sent down, i.e. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala, anzalnahu ilayka, to you, the
book we have sent down to you, mubarakun, a blessed book, for what reason?
What’s the reason we sent it down? Liyadabbaru ayatihi wa liyatadhakkara
ulul alba.
So, the book was sent, this blessed book was sent down to you, O
Muhammad, and ultimately to all of us, to ponder over it. And when we see
the word liyadabbaru from daal baara, dabbara, it is to ponder over something
to get to the end. Dubrushay is to get to the very end of it. What is the point?
What is the overlying message? What are the beautiful ornaments or the
linguistic makeup that brings us to this profound message of this verse, or of
this word, of this ayah? So when we do that, that is the tadabbur. That Is the
husna tadabbur. We’re pondering over the verses of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta’ala with the ultimate goal to act on it. As Ibn Abbas ibn Mas’ud radiyallahu
anhum said, Ahlul Qur’an huma allatheena ya’maloon bimuqtada ayatihi. The
people of the Qur’an, they’re the ones that act upon the implications of the
verses. So they’re acting upon it. As Aisha mentioned about the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ,
that he was a walking Qur’an as many of us know. So when looking at this, this
is the first one, to ponder over it. Wal yatadhakkara uloo albaab And what’s
interesting here, attadabbur fee athnaa ikkiraa The tadabbur, the pondering
over the Qur’an is why you’re reading it. You’re reading it. Yatadhakkar fee maa
ba’da thalik So any days that you are facing something, do you remember a
verse of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala? Do you remember what Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta’ala is saying? Do you remember, you know, SubhanAllah, when I think
about this month of Ramadan and I think about the Qur’an, do I think,
SubhanAllah, this verse in and of itself, okay the last 10 days are coming up, I
want to read the book of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala, kitabun anzid, the book
that we have sent down for us to ponder over it. Oh Allah, allow me to ponder
over this Qur’an. You think about an event in your life or something that’s
happening in your life, and if you can remember what Allah said about it, well
there’s nothing better than that.
How good do we feel when we hear, we think of a mentor that we had, certain
events in our life. I remember when my father said this, he was a righteous
man, my uncle, my grandfather, they said this and these words were made of
dahab, you know, the beautiful words that have gotten me through.
SubhanAllah, let’s be honest, brothers and sisters, how many of us we hear,
SubhanAllah, these rock stars or rappers or whatever the case may be, you
say, we know what, your music got me through man, you know, it got me
through the hard times. I’ve memorized it because I’ve listened to it so much.
This was something that I was facing before I became Muslim, but then I had
to make a choice. It’s like, look, the word of Allah and the word of the creation
of Allah. It’s a choice, it’s a struggle, ن َكاَ
َو ْ
َم ال َّس ْعيُكُم ْشكُو ًرا
It’s a struggle, but Allah,
Ash-Shukur, loves the struggle. I’m going to put away the iPod and I’m going to
pick up the Quran. I’m going to put away this device that may have something
that’s from an individual and the stress and struggles they’re going through,
which I face at the same time. But I want to give the Quran more of a chance
because I know once I do that, it will permeate my heart. Maybe not tonight
when I expect it to, but after religion, remember, it’s on Allah’s terms. You do
the work, continue, stutter as much as you can, and Allah Subh’anaHu Wa TaA’la will make it easy for you and give you rewards. And it’s for us to remember
that at the very end Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la says رَكَ َّذَتَليِوَ
ُوا
ول
أ بَا ِب ُ
ْ
ل
,Baab-Al ا ْْلَ
Lubbush Shay, is the core. It’s the people that use their intellect and they
think, and they ponder over it. So when they ponder over the Quran, they’re
saying, what’s the ultimate message of this? And how can I apply it in my life?
That’s the one that uses their intellect and thinks and ponders to the best of
their ability because they know it’s the creator of the heavens and the earth.
So making that effort inshallah in these last 10 days, you know, make a plan
with yourself, with your family, to read this book of Allah Subh’anaHu Wa TaA’la and just ponder over it.
It doesn’t have to be the whole Quran, but a verse that impacts you. Even AlFatiha, when you say Alhamdulillah, think of all the things that Allah has
praise for, which is everything, and making that effort to praise Allah
Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la is what Allah loves. So may Allah Subh’anaHu Wa TaA’la make us people of the Quran, may He make us of those that act upon
these beautiful verses, and allow these last 10 nights to be the strongest
relationship we have, to serve as a catalyst, a beginning to a new relationship
with the Quran. BarakAllahu feekum. Wa feekum barakAllahu. Beautiful
Shaykh, JazakAllahu khair. May Allah bless you. Mufti Sahib, Bismillah,
tafadhal. So, BismillahirRahmanirRahim. Thank you so much Shaykh Omar
and Shaykh Abdullah, those powerful words. As I was looking through the 23rd
Juz, we know that the first portion of the 23rd Juz is still the end of Surah
Yaseen. And I was going through it thinking, what I’m going to speak about
today, that’s also a task for me to do because I just speak based on what my
audience and what’s coming to my mind. We have a mention of three
messengers in Surah Yaseen, then a fourth one that Allah sent to support
those three. Then we have mention of about eight prophets in Surah Safad,
and then about nine in Surah Saad. Like, all together eight, nine in these
Surahs. And it made me think about this verse where Allah concludes the
entire Sufat. He says, دَ ْقَولَ
َسبَقَ ْت ا
َمتُنَ
ِعبَ َكِل اِدنَا
ُمْر َس ل ِلي َن َ
ْ
ُهْم ال
ِنَّ
ُهُم إ
َم ل ْن ُصو ُرو َن َ
ال َّن ْ
ِ
َوإ
ُجْن َدنَا
ْغَاِلبُو َن ُهُم لَ
ال
That this has already been established for the servants that I have sent. The
servants that I have sent. I’m going to use that word a few times now. That
these servants that I have sent are definitely going to be assisted and helped
by Allah جل جلاله .As I was reading this verse, my father, may Allah bless him and give
him a long life, I remember one time I was sitting with him and he mentioned a
few things. And he gave an example of being an ambassador versus a tourist.
Like, if you’re sent by a country as an ambassador to a country versus going
there as a tourist, what are some of the differences?
I wrote down seven at that time as my dad was talking. I’ll try to remember a
few of them today and share with you. The first thing that, the first difference is
the one who’s being sent over here by Allah جل جلاله and to know the fact that all of
us, the prophets were sent with divine wahi, but we are, مَّ
ث نَا ُ
ْ
ْو َرث
أ ِكتَا ِب َ
ال ِذي ْ
ل فَ ْينَا َ
َصلَ
ن ْاَدنِاَعب ِم ِWe have also been sent by Allah جل جلاله .So all of us on this world are not
tourists here. We have to change our mind frame. We are not just tourists
come here, look around, see what’s going on, maybe go explore the moon. No,
that’s not what we’re here for. We are sent by Allah جل جلاله .So all the help and all
the requirements of being a messenger, being a khalifah of Allah جل جلاله in this
world are going to be with us. So what are some of the things that differentiate
an ambassador versus a tourist? First of all, the one who’s being sent by Allah
جل جلاله ,he knows he has the full support of the qudrah of Allah جل جلاله ,the one who’s
sending him. That if anything happens to him, Allah جل جلاله is going to be there for
َو ِ ا ْصبِ ْر .him
َك َر ِل ُح بِِّ َك ْكم
ِنَّ
فَإ ْعيُنِنَا
َ
أِب Allah جل جلاله tells His messengers, in this particular
verse Allah جل جلاله tells the Prophet, be patient because you’re right in front of our
eyes. You’re right in front of us. And the fact that we know that, when Musa alIslam was being surrounded by Fir’aun, what did he say? ل ََّن َّكَ
ِ
َي إ
َم ي ِع
َس ِهِدي َن َربِِّ
Allah is with me because this messenger of Allah knows the qudrah, the
power, the help. Everything of Allah is with them. And if anyone wants to come
to harm them, what happens then? Allah says in another surah, اَنَمعَ َللا ََّنَّ
ِ
لَ تَ ْح َز ْن إ
The Prophet is saying to Abu Bakr. Now in surah Yasin, Allah talks about Habib
Najjar. When they’re trying to, they hurt him, what did Allah say? ما َوَ
نَا
ْ
ن َزل
َ
ى أ
َعلَ
ِمن بَ ْعِدِه ِمن ُجْن د ِم َن ا ِء ْو ِمِه
َم قَ
ِزِلي َن َو َم ال َّس ا
نْم ُاَّنُك We didn’t have to send a large army. Look,
and when people hurt and cause difficulty to this messenger of Allah, he
didn’t send a large group of angels. ن ِت ِنْكا َإ
ة ل َّح َيْص َIt was just one loud scream.
But compare that to the messengers,
The people who Allah sent to this world, who know we’re sent by Allah. How
did Allah aid them? He could have sent them one angel in Badr. But Allah says,
َن
ْم أ
ْم يُ ِمَّدكُ
آَل ف ِم َن ََلئِ َكِة ِة َربُّكُ
َم بِثَ ََلثَ
ْم ,says He, verse another In ال ُمْن َزِلي َن ْ
تُوكُ
ْ
ْم ِم ْن َويَأ
فَ َهذَا ْو ِركُ
ْم
ْم يُ ْمِدْدكُ
the, knows ambassador an thing first the So آَل ِم َخ ْم َس ِة ف ْن َربُّكُ
difference is that, that person is being sent and supported by the country
that’s sending him or her. And Allah is sending us, Allah’s power, Allah’s
treasure is with us. The second thing that’s the difference is, an ambassador’s
expenses are paid for. His travel, boarding, lodging, full responsibility of the
one who’s sending. In our case, it’s the full responsibility of Allah. ما َو َن ْيِف ةَ داب َمِ
ْر ِض
َّل ا ْْلَ
ى إ َع ِ
َه ل ََّللاِ ا َ
ِر ْزقُ
It is the responsibility of Allah. Allah tells messengers,
ُمْر
ْ
َك َوأ
ْهلَ
َ
َوا ْس َط بِ بِ ْر أ ال َّصََلةِ
َها
ْي
َل َك َعلَ
ُ
ل
َ
نَ ْسأ ا
نَ ْح ُن ُك ِر ْزقً
ُزق ُرَ ْن That’s why the messengers say
over and over again, َمال عليه أسألكمَ ل We don’t want money. أجراء عليه أسألكمَ ل .We
don’t want your gratification. We don’t want nothing. Because all this Allah will
give us. So the second thing as we’re going through this life of ours is to
understand we’re sent by Allah. Allah has taken responsibility because He’s
the one that sent us. So why are we worried? يِت
ْ
َسيَأ بِ ِه ََّللاُ عَ ِظيِم
بِ ْو ال فَ ْضِل ِه ْ
َو ْ لَ
ل يَكُن ِم ْن َم
ِن
َسا
نِِّ
ِلل بِنَا ِطِق ِه ِفي ْ
ِّيِ فَ
قَ ْد َح النَّ ْف ْس ًرا أ شَيْن تَ ْد َه ُب ُس َ
َو َ
ِر ِق ال َّر ْح ْز َق َم قَ ُن َّسم
َخ ََلئِ
ْ
ال Why am I worrying
about this? Allah has already distributed this. Allah has taken responsibility
for it. Even if I don’t ask for it, Allah is still going to give it to me. You don’t have
to ask for rizq. Allah will still give it to you because it was written for you. مْ
َّ
ل
ِ
إ
َو تَ ْع ا َن ِر ْف
َوانَ َك ْن
َك يَ ْعِر ُف عُ ْن
َّن ِر ْزقَ
ِر ْزقِ َك فَ ََل تَ َخ ْف ِْلَ
ُع If you don’t know the address to your
job, to your rizq, don’t worry. Rizq knows your address and it will reach you
somehow, someway.
Another point that’s mentioned is Allah has taken responsibility to train us and
to teach us. Don’t get overburdened, how Sheikh Abdullah just mentioned if
َسانِ ِك ِلتَ ْع َج َل بِ ِه َّن َحِرِّ َل ْك ,says Allah. Quran reading started you
ِل
ِ تُ
إ ْينَا
َعلَ
ْرآ َن َج ْمعَهُ
Whenَ وقُ
someone’s being sent by a country, they train them, they teach them. Same
thing Allah is telling the Prophet of Allah. Don’t try too hard, don’t keep moving
your tongue. It is our responsibility to teach you and to help you. So we’re
gonna be in America, in Canada, all over the world, facing all these different
circumstances and situations. Some of these situations were not, Sahaba
never faced. How are we gonna go through life? Allah will teach us. The
absent ever has person No ال ُّدْن َع فِي يَا َز ِه َد ْب د َم يَا بَا َدر ا ,hadith a in said صلى الله عليه وسلم Prophet
from dunya لَّ
إ ْنبَ َت ِ
َ
ََّللاُ أ
بِ ال ِح فِي ِه ْكَمةَ
ْ
لَق Allah gives them wisdom in their heart. ق َط َن
َ
َوأ
بِ َها
َسانَهُ
ل ِAnd Allah makes them speak that wisdom through their tongue. ُره َصَ َّوبَ
َه بِ ْعيُو ِب ال ُّدْنيَا ا
َو َدائِ
َها
َوائِ
َو َد
ْخ َر َجهُ
َ
َوأ
َها
ِم َساِل ًما ى ْن
لَ
ِ
ِم ِر إ
دا َلََس َّال Allah shows them the vices, the
problems of this world and also gives that person, inspires them with the
solutions and the cure for the problems of this world. So you have this Allah,
the other part of this what I was saying was Allah is the one who takes
responsibility for training and Tarbiyah. So don’t be too burdened by that. Then
another point as I’m going through all of them is the one who’s being sent
always cares and is cautious about the َغير .He has غير ,that he does not do
anything or she does not do anything that will paint a bad picture of the one
who’s sending him. So in this situation Allah sent us and we’re representing
the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم .So we should always be cautious that if I do something wrong,
it’s going to reflect on the Prophet’s character. It’s going to reflect on the Deen
ْز َه َر تُغَنِي ,says Iqbal. Islam of
أ م َ
َم ر ُد ْن َعالَ
َم ْح َش ْر َر فَ و َز ِقي
ِمي بِ ِن ِح َسا َب ْمنَا ْز ْر َها
ْرتُ
َم ْن بَ ِزي ر قَ
عُ
ِزي ر
قُ ْزنِقَاِه
َ
ى أ
َطف َها َص ْم ُن ْر قيَِبِ ب One of his best poems, he says, Oh Allah, you’re so غني
and I’m so فقير.
You’re independent, I’m so dependent. On the Day of Judgment, don’t stop me
and hold me accountable for my good deeds and bad deeds. But then he
says, if you decide to take my accountability, I have one request. Don’t take it
in front of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم because I don’t want to hurt his feelings. The غيرة of a
person, the غيرة ,we say in Arabic, that I don’t want to embarrass the Prophet
صلى الله عليه وسلم .I don’t want to misrepresent him. I remember I was driving really fast in my
car and one average person, you know, not even a scholar from overseas, was
sitting next to me and I was driving fast and not putting my blinkers on. He
looked at me and said, if you’re going to drive like this in this country, don’t
wear a turban. Because when someone looks at you, they can look at you, of
course, they can think maybe there’s a Sikh or he’s a Muslim. But for sure, you
know, most people will say this is a Muslim and that’s going to reflect bad on
Islam. So that’s another thing we should think about as an ambassador. We’re
representing the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم .We’re representing Allah. Let our character not
paint a bad picture on them. And finally, these guys are on the screen now
again. Finally, it’s a person who’s being sent by Allah, who’s being sent by
Allah. You know, when you’re being sent by a country and you’re like high level,
like Sheikh Umar’s a high level guy, gets sent by and he’s going somewhere,
you have this direct communication with the people on top. You don’t have to
go through 5, 10, 15 different people. Similarly, we have been sent by Allah.
We have this direct line of communication with Allah جل جلاله .If you look in Surah AlAnbiya, Allah talks about when Nuh صلى الله عليه وسلم called upon Allah, اَبنْجَ
َجْبنَا لَهُ
فَاستَ لَهُ فَاستَ
َجْبنَا
ُهَلَ استَف We answered their call. We answered their call. We answered their
call. Four times in Surah Al-Anbiya, he mentions that. And similarly for us, اَذِ
َوإ
َك
لَ
ِعبَاِد ي َسأ ي َ
َعنِ ي ِّ
ِر فَإ ي ب ِنِِّ
َق We have this direct line of communication with Allah
because we have been sent by Allah. In Hadith Qudsi, Allah says, ما َو َن ْد بْع َمِ
يُ ِطيعُنِي
Every time a person obeys Me, لَّ
ِ
إ نَا
َ
قَ ْب ْن ُم ْع ِطي ِه َل َوأ
أ نِي َ
لَ
َ
سأَ ْي I will give him before or
her, before they even ask Me. Because I know what they need. ب جيِ
َو ُم ْستَ
ل قَ ْب َل ْن َهُ
َ
أ
يِعن َدَ ُي I will answer their call before they even make dua. رِ ُغاف َوَ
ل قَ ْب َل ْن َهُ
َ
أ
َرنِي
فِغَ ْستَ ْي And I will forgive them before they even ask for forgiveness. I
َض ى تُو بَ َد ْل ي ِري ,says He. Iqbal of poem amazing this with conclude
ِه تَ ُد َعا ء ِسي قَ
نَ
have not does dua your that possible s’It يِ ُمْمِك ْن َكي تُو بَ َد ْل َجي َها اِ ْس ِس ي َم َگ َس ْر ْكتِي
enough strength. That it will change the tides and change your destiny. But it’s
َض ى تُو بَ َد ْل تِي ِري .you change will dua this that possible
يِ َها اِ ْس ِس ي َم َگ َس ْر ْك تَ ُد َعا ء ِسي قَ
ن ْي كِمْم ُل ْوُت ك َجي َدَ َب He says, your wish is that all your wishes are fulfilled. And my
wish is that your wishes and desires change. And you understand that you
asked the right thing from Allah SWT. So Allah give us the understanding that
we’ve been sent by Him. It’s a very powerful feeling. Once you know you have
Allah with you, you have direct line of communication, that’s what gave the
strength to the prophets of Allah. And that same strength we can have and we
can navigate through life. And this is my message for all of you today.
MashaAllah. Do I say it? Upon the conclusion I say it with TK. Is that how you
do it? Wahwa. Wahwa. Wahwa. Wahwa. You say Wahwa. Rahwa. Rahwa.
Rahwa. I can see Shaikh Abdullah was just flowing. Every time he started, he
broke into Urdu poetry. I was looking at his face. I just told him I was looking at
him. He was just like loving it, man. Yeah, man. He’s coming, man. He speaks
so sweet, MashaAllah. So sweet, so smooth, MashaAllah. MashaAllah. But I
will say, I’m not going to let this one go. I can’t let this one go. You said your
Shaikh told you, if you’re going to drive that way,
Don’t wear a turban because you’d embarrass, you’d be embarrassing to the
Dean. Yeah. I hope you noticed that you didn’t wear a turban when you were
shooting those basketballs. Oh, Shaikh. Oh, shots fired. Oh, man. I hope you
noticed the Palestinian slippers that I was wearing. Imagine I was wearing
slippers in the shalwar and playing like that. Imagine if I had shoes on. Let’s
talk about that, too. We appreciate, as Muslims, we appreciate that you take
your turban off when you play ball. I’m sorry, man. I’m sorry. No, that’s okay. I
love you. I love you a lot. No problem. This is brotherly banter. It’s all good,
man. I just couldn’t help myself. I mean, you did hijack Yaqeen’s software
somehow. I don’t even know who to trust anymore. You took Fozy. He’s in the
back over here. Chance is somewhere. I don’t trust Chance anymore. I don’t
know. I trust Shaikh Abdullah. I can bribe him, too. No problem. It’s not hard.
Is that what’s happening? Is there bribing going on here? If people start
wearing turbans to work tomorrow, I’ll be like, okay, this is what’s happening. I
was in a turban. I saw that. I was like, see that. I’m getting my headache
because I’m laughing so much my head’s hurting. So, Shaikh, make dua for
me, man. Make dua for all of us. We’ll see you soon, inshallah. Allah bless you
and bless your brothers. Bless your family. Amen. Bless everyone,
alhamdulillah, from the Miftah family as well. We love and appreciate you
guys. Jazakallah khair for making time for us. We know how busy you are. We
know how busy you are. Bless you, inshallah. I love coming on. Between
classes and inviting people to go for 40 days and all that, man. MashaAllah,
man. All the masjids you’re hopping, hop in masjids. That’s all I do, huh?
Jazakallah khair, man. May Allah bless you and reward your efforts, your
khidmah fi sabiha Allah. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, honestly, you
shared some gems today too, honestly. Some serious gems that I hope the
audience, inshallah, will take home and ponder with, inshallah ta’ala. So,
keep us in your dua, Shaikh, for the rest of the month, inshallah. Please don’t
be a stranger. We appreciate you. Jazakallah khair. Jazakallah khair, Shaikh
Abdullah. InshaAllah we’ll see you all tomorrow. BarakAllahu feekum. Salamu
alaikum wa rahmatullah.
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