Juz’ 29 Qur’an 30 for 30
In the twenty-ninth episode of this Ramadan series, Dr. Omar Suleiman and
Sh. Abdullah Oduro, joined by special guest, Ustadha Faatimah Knight,
explore gems from the twenty-eighth Juz’ of the Holy Quran.
Welcome back to Qur’an 30 for 30. Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. As-salamu
ala rasulillah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala. Alhamdulillah, Rabbul
Ameen. 29th Juz. May Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la allow us to be amongst
those that have caught or will catch Laylatul Qadr. Of course, we seek it until
the very last night. Allahumma Ameen. A reminder to please tune in
inshaAllah ta’ala to the khatam du’a actually that we will have tonight with
Menahe ta’ala for the 29th. It should be around midnight central time and
inshaAllah ta’ala it will be our khatam here. And of course, wherever you are, I
pray that you are attending the late night worship wherever you are, Menahe
ta’ala. And may Allah Azza wa Jalla accept it from you all. And of course, we
are just in the last two sessions then of Qur’an 30 for 30 with the bonus ping
pong session, which we will be broadcasting inshaAllah ta’ala on Saturday or
Sunday. We’ll figure it out. Me and Sheikh Abdullah will get to talk about it. But
it’s coming inshaAllah. And we are blessed to have with us Alhamdulillah wa
barak to you Ustada Fatima. Alhamdulillah wa barak to you. How are you
Ustada Fatima? How’s everything? Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah. Just blessed
to witness another Ramadan and even though it’s going fast, Alhamdulillah,
we’re here for it. Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah. We were talking before we got
started. You are Alhamdulillah one of six sisters, inshaAllah. Indeed. Youngest
of the six night sisters. I feel like every Islamic institution or work now has a
night sister. I’ve seen a night sister everywhere I’m going now, Alhamdulillah,
Ma sha’Allah. Everyone, a lot of khair there, Alhamdulillah. Have any of the
grandkids grown up to where we could scout them for Qur’an 30 for 30 hosting
yet? I think the oldest just turned 18. So, you know, let them get fully into
adulthood. InshaAllah, inshaAllah. We’re very happy to have you.
And because we’re getting to the end and we’re just going to be a little crazy,
Sheikh Abdullah, you’ve got a dad joke for us today. Sorry, a clean joke. Okay.
Tell us the story of it. Why? Okay, I don’t know if y’all can handle this. I’ll give it
a try. See if y’all can handle this. Okay. Here we go. Why can you not send a
duck into space? Can’t quack in gravity. I don’t know. There’s no Aflac. There’s
no insurance in space. Space insurance. Duck soup tastes better in a
spaceship. All right, I’m running out. Sheikh Abdullah, what is it? Because the
bill would be astronomical. Come on. That beats all of your whatever
granddad jokes are. This is smart. We need the response in the Comments,
everyone, please. That was a granddad joke. JazakumAllah khair.
Astaghfirullahal Fatiha. You know, we have a shaheed outside of myself. That
was a great granddad joke. A great granddad joke. You can take that either
way. Get it? It can be a great granddad joke or a great granddad joke. Was that
a joke right there? I guess so. And this is Alhamdulillah. So we’re coming to the
end of Ramadan. I know we’re going to miss all of this coming together. So we
pray Allah Azza wa Jalla, once again, unite us with the Quran. And allow us to
constantly grow together towards him. Allahumma ameen. InshaAllah ta’ala
we are going to go ahead and get started with Juz 29. Bismillahir Rahmanir
Rahim. Salatu wasalamu ala Rasulina wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala.
SubhanAllah, instead of focusing on just one particular section of Juz 29, I
wanted to actually look at the story that’s told through the suwar, through the
chapters. There are two forms of tarteeb, two forms of ordering of the surahs
here that I think are deeply profound for the concept of the akhira, the
discussion of the akhira. For one, you know, you find that we’re just coming off
of Surat al-Tahrim. And in Surat al-Tahrim where Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala is
talking to us about the believers holding on to their light. Arabbana atmim lana
nurana waghfir lana innaka ala kulli shay’in qadeer. Oh Allah, hold on to our
lights, preserve our lights for us. Do not let our lights be extinguished. And we
have just talked about actually in coming to the end, subhanAllah, that last
marhalah, that last station of the Day of Judgment where the believers go
forward with their light. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala make us amongst
them. Allahumma ameen. And they’re asking Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala to
preserve that light across the Sirat and they get to the Prophet Sallallahu alaihi
wasallam and then after is held to the gates of Jannah. May Allah Subhanahu
wa ta’ala make us from the inhabitants of Jannah. Allahumma ameen. So this
is sort of coming off of Surat al-Tahrim. And then Surat al-Mulk, it’s like it’s
reset the story, right, as we get into this juice. And Allah Azawajal starts us off
with life and death, the purpose of existence as a whole. And Innal ladheena
yakhshauna rabbahum bilghayb. Those who fear Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala
and the unseen. So you go back to the completely unseen, right? And you are
worshipping Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala in the middle of the night, asking him
for the ability to be able to go forth on the day of judgment. So you’re praying
at night, not seeing Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala. And I think this is the powerful
connection that I want you to pay attention to. You’re praying at night in Surat
al-Mulk and worshipping Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala without seeing him.
And then the next surah, what does Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala say? Yawma
yukshafu ansaq yud’auna ila as-sujood fil la yastatee’oon. Right? Then on the
day of judgment when they can see what they can, what Allah Subhanahu wa
ta’ala reveals of Himself, they can’t even make sujood. They cannot make
sujood. So you have innal ladheena yakhshauna rabbahum bilghayb in alMulk. And then you have la yastatee’oon as-sujood in al-qalam. SubhanAllah.
So it’s like those that are worshipping Allah and the unseen, extra crying,
weeping, calling out to Him in hope and in fear of that day, that mighty day.
And the next surah is that mighty day. And they can’t even make sujood
anymore. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala not make us amongst those who
cannot make sujood but instead make us amongst those people, those
qanateen, those people who are devout in their worship and constantly
standing before their Rabb Subhanahu wa ta’ala. And then, SubhanAllah,
where do you go after that in the chapters? You go to al-Haqqah. And alHaqqah, the reality, talks about the moment of the reception of the books in
either hand. May Allah make us the people who receive their books in their
right hand. Allahumma ameen. So you have the celebration of those that
receive their books in their right hand, and you have the humiliation of those
that receive their books in their left hand. And what the ilmah talk about here,
which is extremely profound and powerful, is those that were calling out to
Allah had fear in this life that it wouldn’t be sufficient. And now when they
have their books in their right hand, they are completely at ease and in
celebration, right? Completely at ease and in celebration as they hold their
books in their right hand and they celebrate with those that they love, going to
those that they love in the mahshar, in the assembly to speak about that. So
it’s an incredible, subhanAllah, moment that we get to. And then the next
surah Is al-Ma’arij.
And when Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala talks about al-Ma’arij, it’s now taking the
pathway of punishment, right? So it starts off with punishment and then it
goes into the reward of the believers after that, right? Ta’rujil balaikatu warruku
ilayhi fee yawmin kana miqdaruhu khamseena alfa sana That this is where the
angels and Jibreel alayhi salam will ascent him on a day that is 50,000 years in
length. 50,000 years in length. So Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says, fasbir
sabaran jameela. So be patient. Be patient for the beautiful patience. Now
who is Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala talking to? The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa
sallam, be patient with their denial, with the beautiful patience. All that they’re
denying. Innahum yarawnahu ba’idan wa narahu qareeba They see it as
something so impossible and far. We see it as something so inevitable and
close. And so the idea here of, you know, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa
sallam being told to be patient with his people in this regard is, of course, very
profound, subhanAllah, that the day of judgment is ever so close and they see
it as so far. And what’s the next surah? Surah Nuh, where Nuh alayhi salam is
pleading with his people. Right. So be patient, Ya Muhammad salallahu alayhi
wa sallam, and look at your brother Nuh alayhi salam and what he had to
endure in terms of this denial when it comes to the hereafter. And he tried and
he tried and he tried. And by the way, after Surah Nuh, you have al-Jinn, where
if the human beings are not listening, perhaps some of the jinn are listening.
And then you have al-Muzzammil, which is simply that you stand up and you
pray at night and you keep nourishing yourself with that tahajjud, that inna
allatheena yakhshauna rabbahum bilghayb, in the beginning of the juz, those
that fear Allah subhanAllah and private, you should be the greatest
manifestation of that, which is in al-Muzzammil. And of course, al-Muddathir,
qumfa andhir, stand up and warn the people, continue to call the people.
And you get to al-Qiyamah, which is once again, of course, the most obvious,
you know, alluding to the Day of Judgment that we find, is really Surah alQiyamah, and it is one of the most emotional surahs that you come across.
And al-Insan chooses which path to take. And you essentially get to be the
author of your own book, literally, on al-Qiyamah. And so you choose whether
to take the path of those that will be blessed or the path of those that will be
wretched. May Allah subhanAllah protect us from being amongst the latter.
Allahumma ameen. So the story of the juz even, subhanAllah, in that regard is
profound. And the other tarteeb and brief, Surah al-Mulk, worshipping Allah in
the unseen until death, Surah al-Qiyamah, the moment of death and
resurrection, Surah al-Haqqah, receiving the books. So again, Surah al-Mulk,
worshipping Allah in the unseen until death, and then it ends with al-Qiyamah,
which is the moment of death and resurrection, and of course Surah alHaqqah in between, which is the receiving of the books. May Allah make us
from the people who receive the books in the right hand. Allahumma ameen.
InshaAllah ta’ala with that, I’ll pass it off to Shaykh Abdullah. BarakAllahu
feekum. Bismillah wa salatu wa salamu ala rasoolillahi wa ala alihi wa sahbihi
wa man wala amma ba’a. What I want to talk about is in Surah al-Insan, where
Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala, He talks about Jannah and He gets very, very
descriptive. I want to talk about right after that, when He mentions the certain
events that will take place in Jannah, and descriptions of the inhabitants of
Jannah that we would never know unless He, al-‘Aleem, told us. And it’s very
important for us to understand that we as Muslims will never know the
unseen. We only know the unseen from the creator of the unseen. And there is
no other way to know the unseen. Unseen meaning, as we talk about Jannah,
being that that which is even hidden.
Jannah comes from that morphological makeup, that which is not revealed or
hidden or covered. Anything that is in Jannah, we don’t know unless Allah tells
us about it. Even the predestination of what has happened in the past, we
today do not know unless Allah tells us about it. So when understanding the
aspects of the unseen, it is only the creator of the unseen that can disclose us
with that news. And it’s important for the Muslim to be certain that this will
take place, to be certain that the characteristics that are mentioned, the
forms of creation that will be there, how we will react to these forms of
creation, it’s very important that the Muslim has total certainty in that.
Because it’s Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala disclosing it to them. What I want to
talk about is where Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala gives the Prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam and thus all of us some guidelines. And I want to capitalize on
a couple of points here. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala says after I seek refuge
with Allah from the accursed Satan, in verse number 23, Indeed, it is we who
have sent down the Quran to you progressively. So here Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta’ala says that verily we have, inna nahnu, to show a surety that we are the
ones that have done it and no one else. And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala uses
plurality as tashreef, as to show nobility to himself. So it is not as though we
worship more than one God. Rather, when Allah says inna, verily we is to show
and prove his majesty. And It is a form of respect. Even when we say Assalamu
Alaikum, kum is plural, all of you, even though it may be to one person, it is to
show a form of respect. Walillahi al-mathilu al-a’la, and Allah is a much
greater example. So here when we see Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala says, Inna
nahnu nazalna alayka al-qur’ana tanzila, He says, nazalna, nazala, yunazilu
tanzilan. So this verb, the way that the morphological makeup, nazala, and
then there’s anzala. The scholars mention that when Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta’ala says nazala,
It means that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala is sending it down in stages, little by
little, based on circumstance or based on whatever Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta’ala wills. But when Allah says anzala, it is all jumlatan wahida, it is all at one
time. And as Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala says in the chapter of Qadr, Inna
anzalnaahu fee laylatul qadr, Verily we have sent down it, the Qur’an, in
laylatul qadr. And the scholars mention that this, the whole Qur’an was sent
down from lawh al-mahfoo, from the preserved tablet, to the heavens or to the
skies, and based on circumstance, nazala yunazilu, based on circumstance, it
will be given to the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, little by little. Allah
says in the chapter of al-Isra, in verse number 106, after A’udhu Billahi minash
shaitanir rajim, Wa qur’anan farqanaahu litaqraahu alannasi ala mukthin wa
nazalnaahu tanzila It is the recitation that we have revealed in parts.
Farqanaahu litaqraahu alannasi ala mukthin So you can recite it to the people
at intervals. wa nazalnaahu tanzila And we have sent it down little by little. So
Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala is establishing here that we are the ones that are
giving you this Qur’an gradually, and we choose when to give it to you based
on our complete knowledge and wisdom. Then he says after that, fasbir li
hukmi rabbika wa laa tuti’ man minhum athiman aw kafura So be patient for
the decision of your Lord and do not obey from among them a sinner or
ungrateful disbeliever. So here Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala is basically telling
him to be patient and to be firm. This Qur’an is being revealed. There will be
times where you’ll be waiting for the answer. Be patient and be firm while
you’re waiting. Be firm while you’re patient, because there will be those that
may tempt you or may try you from the ones that are athiman aw kafura, those
that are ungrateful and those that are sinners. Stay firm on your deen. Stay
firm on what you’re being given.
So for all of us, when we have a trial or a hardship, and there may be people
that are tempting us to go back to do what we’re doing. Some of us, you know,
may have converted to Islam or trying something, you know, trying to come
closer to Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala, and people are calling you back to or
people are tempting you to do that which is wrong. And you’re trying your best
to be patient with Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala. Uthbut. Stay firm upon that.
Remembering the dua of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, Ya
muqallibul quloob, thabbit quloobana ala deenik, or thabbit qalbi ala deenik,
O the one that flips the hearts, make my heart firm on your religion. This is
something we should consistently be saying in our prostration. As Aisha
reported that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam used to say this in his
prostration. So Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala says, fasbir. With the reality that
you understand the Quran came from here, fasbir, the fa here Is like, so then
be patient, li hukmi rabbika, for the decision of your Lord, and do not obey
those that are disbelievers or sinners. Then Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala says
here, wadhkur isma rabbika bukratan wa asila. So the first, he gives two forms
of advice. Firstly, is to be patient and not to obey those that are ungrateful or
those that are sinners. And then the third is, remember the name of your Lord
in the morning and the evening. So be in consistent dhikr. Dhikr is very
comprehensive. It is not only just the mentioning of the tongue. The whole
sharia, the framework of Islam is dhikr. The Quran is the best form of dhikr. So
doing any action of worship is dhikr, because linguistically it comes from that
which reminds you or you remember. So when you practice the sharia, it is a
form of reminding you of who Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala is, therefore
increasing your iman and the process goes on. When you do an action of
worship, it increases your iman to do another action of worship, and that’s
how it goes. So the more you are involved in the remembrance of Allah,
whether with the lisan or with janan, with your tongue or with your limbs,
Ultimately with your heart, this is something that Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala
will strengthen you in to where you will be patient and staying away from those
that are disbelieving or those that are calling you to disobedience. So
mentioning the name of your Lord in prayer in the morning and the evening,
and some scholars say the morning and the evening, bukra and al-sila, covers
all five prayers because it’s covering atraf and nahar, the edges of the day. And
ْي اًل َط ِوي اًل ,says ala’ta wa Subhanahu Allah lastly
َو َسبِِّ ْحهُ لَ
ِل فَ ْس ُج ُد لَهُ
ْي
َّ
during Andَو ِم َن الل
the night prostrate to Him and exalt Him a long part of the night. I want to
capitalize an in on this here. If you notice su’aat of the Quran and the sunnah,
Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala continuously mentions the night time to be busy in
ibadah. You know Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلمreceived
revelation in muzzammil, لًلياِ
ََّّل قَ
ِ
ْي َل إ
َّ
ِمي الل
ُمَّزِِّم ُل قُ
ْ
َها ال
يُّ
َ
أ اَيO you wrapped in garments,
stand at the night time except but a little. لًا يْ
ْس َرى بِعَبَ ِدِه لَ
َ
ِذي أ
Allah to Gloryسُ ْب َحا َن لَ
Subhanahu wa ta’ala, the one that He causes His slave to go, Laylan, at night
time. He told Moses to go at night time, هِدَ ِعبِ ِب ر َسْ
َ
أat the night time. The Prophet
صلى الله عليه وسلمsaid that Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala comes down at the last third of the
night in a way that is befitting to His Majesty. The last third of the night. So we
understand that the night time is a huge opportunity to worship Allah. And Ibn
Rajab mentions this in At-Tawaf Al-Ma’arif, he mentions a very beautiful point.
When he talks about sha’ban, it’s a beautiful qa’idah to remember for all of us
to nasta’bik al-khayrah, to rush to good deeds. When the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلمtalked
about the month of sha’ban, because the month of sha’ban was between
ْغفُ ُل َعْنهُ َكثِي ٌر ِِّم َن النَّا ِس ,saidصلى الله عليه وسلم Prophet the, Ramadan and Rajab
I Andَ هالَى ال َّش ْهُر يَ
love to fast in this month. So the Prophet ,صلى الله عليه وسلمor Kimakal ,صلى الله عليه وسلمso Ibn Rajab, he
makes a beautiful point. He says, this is proof that the individuals should try
their best in being diligent,,
And doing actions of worship that the majority are negligent in. So the night
time is a time where people are sleeping. The Prophet ,صلى الله عليه وسلمwhat did he say
when he entered al-Madinah? س ُاَّوالن َلِ
ْي
َّ
َوال َّص ُّل بِالل
ُم
ْر َحا
َو ِس ِلِّ ا ْْلَ
ُم
َّطعَا
َ ْطِعُم ال
َوأ
فْسُ ُح ال َّس ًَلُم
َ
أ
بِال َّسًَلُم
َجنَّةَ
ْ
ٌم تَ ْد ُخ ُل ال
اَيِنThe Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلمsaid spread the salams, feed the poor
people, connect with your relatives, do not cut off your kin, and pray at night
time, when people are asleep. So taking advantage of the night time is a huge
opportunity, especially within these last ten nights as the Prophet ها َوُمسَ ِالت صلى الله عليه وسلمTo
take advantage in seeking the worship of Allah .جل جلالهMay Allah جل جلالهmake us to
those that take advantage of these nights by enlivening the nights as the
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلمwas described to have done. May Allah جل جلالهmake us of those that
when we take advantage of this, it increases our iman to be more diligent and
more hardworking. فيكم هللا باركAs-salāmu alaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa
barakātuh. Wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh. Beautiful reflections. فيكم هللا بارك
Astaghfirullah al-Fātiḥah. Please go ahead. هللا بسمSo I wanted to reflect on a
few ayahs from Surah Mulk. So the first one that I would like to call to our
attention is verse number two. So Allah says ت َوْمَ
ْ
َق ال
ِذي َخلَ
َّ
بَ ْعَدهُ ذُو بِنَا نَ ِش ْد ال َّر ِجيِم ال
ْغَفُو ُر
ْعَ ِزي ُز َوال
َو ال
ْع َم َل َوهُ
َ
ْح َس ُن َوأ
َ
ْم أ
يُّكُ
َ
ْم أ
ُوكُ
يَ ْبل
ْ
َحيَاةِ ال
ْ
َمْو َت َوال
ْ
َق ال
ِذي َخلَ
َّ
َحيَاةِ ال
ْ
والَSo Allah says that
He is the One who created death and life in order to test which of you is best in
deeds and He Is Almighty, All-Forgiving. So I feel that just the phrasing of this
ayah is so unusual because Allah ,جل جلالهHe puts death before life. And this is
strange for us because for us as creatures who are wedded to time,
We think along the lines of chronology, that’s what’s natural for us, that life
precedes death. We have the phrase life and death. We don’t so much have
the phrase death and life. But Allah, of course, He’s not limited to our
perspective of being in time. He’s outside of time. Time is a creation and a
construct that He’s not subject to. And then we don’t even think of death as
something that is created. So Allah جل جلالهis saying here that death is created just
like life is created. We think of death as just the cessation of life or the
negation of life. But Allah is saying here that death is a creation of His. So
trying to draw a wisdom from this, we see that both life and death are
motivations for us. Because Allah says here that He created both as a test, as
a means for us to live righteously in this life with the time that we have. Life
gives us the opportunity to live out our wants, our dreams, to gain enjoyment,
fulfillment. Death reminds us to use our time and our lives wisely. And we
need a balance between the two because only thinking of death can turn dark
and depressing and nihilistic. And that only thinking of life can turn hedonistic
and pleasure-seeking. Just because someone lives in the now does not mean
that they’re living a righteous life. That can go one of two ways. But it may be
that death or the passage of time needs to be slightly heavier on our minds
just so that our enthusiasm for life is moved in a righteous direction.
And that may be part of the wisdom of putting death before life as Allah does
here in this ayah. So really Allah makes it clear by situating this statement
about His creation of death and life in the context of a very familiar Qur’anic
theme, which is that He created us in this life to test us, to give us this
opportunity to act righteously, to cultivate our souls, to live up to and
appreciate with gratitude all that He has given us. And then if we move on to
verses 3 and 4, we have َسب َّال قَ
ِذي َخلَ
َّ
ِو ٍت َوال
ِن ِمن تَفَا
ِق ال َّر ْح َما
َرى فِي َخلَ
َما تَ
ا
َع ال َّس َمَوا ِت تِبَاقا
َو َه ِس
َوهُ
بَ ْص ُر َخا ِصياا
ْ
ْي َك ال
لَ
ِ
ِل ْب إ
ْنقَ
ِن يَ
بَ ْص َر َكَّرتَْي
ْ
َّم َر ِجي ال
َرى ِمن فُطُو ٍر ثُ
بَ ْص َر َه ْل تَ
ْ
we Soفَ ي ٌر ْر ِجي ال
have here Allah saying that He is the One who created the seven heavens. You
won’t see any imperfection in His creation. Again, do you see any flaws? It’s a
rhetorical statement. Of course you don’t see any flaws. Look again and again.
Your sight will come back to you and you’ll be frustrated not being able to find
anything wrong in the creation of Allah. Then what’s so curious is just a few
ayats later. I believe it starts in verse 15. Allah talks about how He has
smoothed out the earth. He’s made it suitable for us, compatible for us to live,
to survive, to thrive. But then He says, do you feel secure that He will not
cause the death of the earth?
That He will not fold up everything that He has unfolded without the slightest
hesitation? This is so interesting to me because Allah spends those initial
verses talking about how flawlessly He has created this world. And how look
and look again and you won’t see any flaws. He talks about the care, the
precision, the usefulness with which He created the world for us to enjoy and
to benefit from and to use as a means to Him. But then very quickly He goes
on to say that He will destroy it without hesitation. That there will be an end to
everything. And I think again it’s a reminder for us that there is an ending to
everything. And so we ought to live meaningfully. But I think even above that, if
we think of ourselves as these Khulafa of Allah, that we are these
representatives on earth, that we’re endowed with these magnificent qualities
that are analogous to Allah’s qualities, that we’re caretakers of the earth, then
it sort of begs the question, what do we understand our task to be? If Allah
creates perfectly with care, with precision, with usefulness, but then He also
causes to end what He creates, what can we benefit from that, from Allah’s
statement, from Allah’s actions? And it seems to me that we’re also tasked in
our limited way to do good, to create, to act righteously, to build for ourselves,
our children, our community, to cultivate our souls, to cultivate our families,
Whilst also knowing that nothing lasts forever, that we could die tomorrow.
And we’re uniquely situated amongst Allah’s creatures to be able to hold
these two things at once. To be able to act and to strive and be very conscious
and aware of our lives and our living, but then to also be conscious of the fact
that everything comes to an end, our lives individually and the life of this
world. And so just as Allah creates and He spares nothing to create this
beautiful world, we too should have our goals and aim for righteousness and
aim to cultivate ourselves and not use the ending of things as a reason to not
strive. Mashallah, absolutely beautiful. SubhanAllah, very profound
reflections comparing the beginning to the end here. And this is another form
of taking blessings for granted. You’re taking the very blessing of existence for
granted. SubhanAllah, you’re taking the blessing of the earth for granted, your
ground, the ground that you walk on for granted. So it’s not even just the food
and drink. A deeper way to connect to the signs of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala,
which all lend themselves to a greater sign. May Allah reward you Ustadh
Fatima for sharing those reflections. Shaykh Abdullah, you got any reflection
or some just, you know, go home, go strong these last couple of days of
Ramadan. What you got for us, Shaykh? No, Alhamdulillah, just make sure
that you spend some time alone with Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala. Some
moment alone with Him and just ponder over like, you know, Mashallah, what
was mentioned. Anything is an ayah, a sign of Allah and use that to come
closer to Him, Inshallah. Ustadh Fatima, any last second advice to someone
who’s last couple of days Ramadan doesn’t know what to do? What would you
tell them?
Yeah, you know, I would say that the Qur’an is filled with motivators for us. And
I think, you know, everything in the Sunnah and the life of our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلمshows
him not giving up on people. And I think that’s a great example for us, right?
Even as individuals, you know, it can be very tempting to give up. Maybe
someone feels like, you know, they didn’t make the most of Ramadan and it’s
at the end. You know, don’t let those negative thoughts, you know, keep you
from making the most of what’s left, right? Because as long as you’re
breathing, then God is still giving you an opportunity to do what you know is
best. So even though there’s just a couple days left and maybe you feel like
you didn’t make the most of it, you know, now’s the time. Don’t give up on
yourself. Allah has given you breath so He hasn’t given up on you. Allah has
given you breath so He hasn’t given up on you. Beautiful. May Allah reward
you, Ustadh Fatima. Jazakumullah khair. Shaykh Abdullah as well. It was good
to have you both. Inshallah ta’ala. The finale is tomorrow, inshallah ta’ala.
Looking forward to it but also going to miss it. InshaAllah khair. May Allah
Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la accept Ramadan and allow us to go into Eid with a
fresh slate. Allahumma ameen. Jazakumullah khair to everyone. InshaAllah
please again tune in tonight. Khatam Qur’an should be around midnight
central time. Of course we’ll have the late night reflections. Sayyidul Khatir,
which we’ve been doing. Alhamdulillah rabbi al-Amin. Ibn al-Jawzi rahim Allah
ta’ala. Just a lot to reflect on and of course keep us in your du’a inshaAllah.
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
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