Juz’ 30 Qur’an 30 for 30
In the final episode of this Ramadan series, Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh.
Abdullah Oduro, joined by special guests, Sh. Yaser Birjas and Dr. Zohair
Abdul-Rahman, explore gems from the thirtieth Juz’ of the Holy Quran.
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Everyone, welcome back
to Qur’an 30 for 30. Alhamdulillah, Rabbul Ameen. Before we get started, just
a reminder, biddenillah, as we’re getting into the very, very last moments,
biddenillah, of Ramadan, to please consider, inshallah ta’ala, donating to
jfln, as well as VRIC, as well as ICC, and all the other organizations that
you see out there, the good causes, inshallah ta’ala. Make your intention to,
inshallah ta’ala, give those last donations, and whatever masjid in Australia
Dr. Zaheer is with as well, inshallah ta’ala. There you go, you shout them out,
alhamdulillah, Rabbul Ameen. So, wherever you can, biddenillah ta’ala, give,
inshallah, then do so, and to please keep us on your du’a, and subhanAllah,
we’re getting down to the very last moments, and obviously, you know, this
has been such a beautiful program for us to come together on a nightly basis,
alhamdulillah, and we have with us none other than Shaykh Yasir Rajas,
alhamdulillah, Rabbul Ameen, my colleague, and someone who I get to spend
so much time with, alhamdulillah, Rabbul Ameen, in Ramadan here at the
Valley Ranch Islamic Center, and alhamdulillah, you’ve been benefiting from
Shaykh Yasir in many different ways, alhamdulillah, not just through the work
at VRIC, but obviously, even with the late-night reflections. Shaykh Yasir, how’s
it going? Alhamdulillah, Rabbul Ameen, alhamdulillah. I’m glad that you’re
back to your office, alhamdulillah. I was about to, see, you beat me to an
office pun, you know, you beat me to it. It was fun and meaningful,
alhamdulillah, experience. So, Shaykh Abdullah and Shaykh Yasir, I don’t
know which one of you wants to get rid of me more. Shaykh Abdullah, you
have to bear with me on 30 for 30, Shaykh Yasir has to bear with me physically.
I mean, he could get away from me if he didn’t stay in my office so much, but
he has to bear with me physically. I’m not sure which one of you wants to shed
me more, but we’re going to solve this on the ping pong table. So, we’re
broadening the ping pong competition. So,
Shaykh Abdullah, Shaykh Yasir, and myself, inshaAllah, we’re going to have to
have a three-way ping pong tournament, inshaAllah. One day, inshaAllah,
after Eid, inshaAllah. No, no, before Eid, Shaykh, what do you mean? Before
Eid, you’ve got to do it before Eid. This weekend, Shaykh. InshaAllah. We have
Dr. Zuhair, alhamdulillah, from Australia, alhamdulillah, one of our favorites.
Before I used to even joke on this program, I used to talk about your, you know,
being in very strange places and kangaroos in the background, all that kind of
stuff, and now you’re like sitting in front of a closet. I’m very confused by this
Ramadan. I’m like, not even going to try to find something. Well, no, it’s
Ramadan, the kangaroos, they’re fasting, they’re praying the Qiyam al-Layl,
and I think they’re scared of me. By the way, have you guys ever eaten
kangaroo meat? No. I’m not interested. I’m not interested. So is kangaroo
meat good? To be honest, alhamdulillah, I prefer other meats. They’re
beautiful to look at, though, very majestic creatures how they jump,
subhanAllah. It’s a sight to behold. InshaAllah you guys visit Australia one day.
InshaAllah. InshaAllah. Tariq Mashaikh, before we get started, I’ve got two
questions for both of you. All right, so we’re gonna, this is gonna be, let’s see
who can answer this first. All right, first one is, what do cats eat for suhoor?
Shaykh Abdullah, you should know this. What does the cat eat for suhoor? I
should know this? You got cats and birds and everything hanging out. Yeah,
cats, fish cakes, fish pancakes with some… Your cat eat fish?
Something to do with milk, I think. Shaykh Yonatan, you got anything? They eat
your tongue. Actually, Shaykh, yeah, you have your cat. That’s… And then you
can’t speak at all after because you’re tired, you just want to get over with it.
Dr. Zaheer, what’s your answer? It’s got to be something to do with milk, I don’t
know. No, it’s mice crispy treats. Mice, ah! Something to do with milk, there
you go. You are close, I don’t know why. Shaykh Abdullah’s fish thing, the cats
eating fish is interesting. I think it’s… Then we have an Australia one, and this
one’s super easy, all right? If a kangaroo married a cow and they had a child,
what would the name of the child be? Dr. Zaheer, come on. I got it, I got it, a
kangamoo. You got it, mashaAllah, Allahu akbar. Allahu akbar, mashaAllah, he
got it, all right. I like that. Oh, subhanAllah. There we go. I knew your Australia
would get you, alhamdulillah. InshAllah, we all see a kangamoo in Jannah
together, bi-nina ta’ala. I don’t know. I’m not interested in that. Shaykh
Abdullah, Shaykh Abdullah, Shaykh Abdullah. I’m not interested in that.
Shaykh Abdullah, I’m not interested, I’m not interested. I’ve got better things
to do in Jannah, mashaAllah. Yeah, you can hang out with the kangaroos in
Jannah, Shaykh. We’re going to be… May Allah grant us all Jannah, ya Rabb.
Ameen, ameen, ameen. Ta’ala, mashaAllah. It’s been a pleasure, obviously, to
be with you, alhamdulillah, for 30 for 30. And we are at Juz 30, and I think,
inshaAllah ta’ala, we’ll each share some brief reflections,
But then have a discussion on it, because obviously Juz Amma is the most
important. Juz to understand and to really connect with, because of how
frequently recited it is. So inshaAllah ta’ala, we’ll get started and share a few
reflections. Bismillah, alhamdulillah, wa salatu wasalamu ala Rasulullah, wa
ala anhihi wa sahbihi wa man wala. SubhanAllah, this Juz of Juz Amma that is
so frequently recited is the most vivid in regards to Yawm al-Qiyamah of any
Juz in the Quran. And it’s something, subhanAllah, where it’s not just that it’s
so vivid in terms of Yawm al-Qiyamah, you would think because of the
shortness of the verses, then the scenes would not be so descriptive, but it’s
actually, you know, the most descriptive if you take the entire Juz together. Not
only that, but it finds ways to bring about the connection of the end of times
here and the beginning of times there. The reality of our existence here and the
reality of our existence there. The people talking and discussing, it starts off
with Amma yatasa’aloon anil naba’il azeem. What are they talking about?
What are they discussing? What are they disputing about? What’s the news,
right? And the news is, of course, this naba’ al-azeem, this great news is about
that great day and the standing before Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. And not
only that, but it brings in every dimension of life. You know, I think this is
actually one of the most profound elements of the Quran in regards to Mecca
Quran, though the laws that govern societal interactions, you know, would
come later on, obviously in Medina, once you had Islam governance and
society, right? But in Mecca, before the laws were refined, you still had waylun
anil mutafafeen, you still had the warnings of the cheating with weights. You
still had ra’ayta ladhi yukaddi wa bi-ddin fa-thalika ladhi ya’du’u al-yateem wa
la….
Ya’hudwa ana ta’amil miskeen, the one who, you know, fails in regards to the
orphans or cheats the people or, you know, does not treat the miskeen, the
poor person, right? So a person who fails in their treatment to the
marginalized of society. And you have the notion of wa’idha al-maw’udat wa
su’idat bi-ayyi dhan bin qutilat, right? The one who buries their daughter alive.
So these societal forms of dhulm are also covered, and sadaqa is covered in
the broader sense. And, you know, I think that the powerful connection there
to Yawm al-Qiyamah is the fact that even though they did not have the defined
laws of Islam yet, the idea that you should be standing before your Lord on the
Day of Judgment asked about these things. You know where you could have
done better. And, you know, at that point when the Day of Judgment is
unfolding before your eyes, right? Every single person, alimat nafsan ma
qaddamatu akhar, like you know at that point, you know, what it is that you
brought forth. You have an idea as to what you would be questioned about by
your Lord. So it connects all of these societal and then the individual
elements, right? Salah and, you know, being conscious of Allah Subh’anaHu
Wa Ta-A’la alone. And then it connects the community that is confused and
the community that works together. So you have the community that is, you
know, lost and in confusion, amma yatas’aloon, and then you have the
community of wal-‘asli inna al-insana la fee fusri illa allatheena aamina wa
amila salihata wa tawasil wa haqqa wa tawasil wa salih. Right? Those people
that work together. You have the arrogant tyrants who did not fear
consequences. And then you have ashab al-ukhdoot, right? These people that
are thrown into a ditch, into a fire only to be transported into this great jannah
that Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la talks about. And that is the great foes. That
is the great success, the ultimate triumph that Allah Azawajal mentions.
So SubhanAllah, you have a connection to every element of the Day of
Judgment. And you know, just one narration that I’ll share inshaAllah ta’ala
and pass it to our Shaykh, Shaykh Yasir, when the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi
Wasallam says, man sarrahu, whoever wishes an yanzura ila yawn qiyam, to
see the Day of Judgment. Whoever wishes to see the Day of Judgment, right?
Like if you really want to know what it looks like, SubhanAllah, this is of
course, you know, the strongest way to emphasize that with your worldly
limitations you can connect to what is currently unseen. The Prophet
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said, let them read Surah al-Takwir, Surah al-Infitar,
and Surah al-Inshiqaq. And so these surahs that come in the beginning of the
Juz, al-Takwir, al-Infitar, al-Inshiqaq, they give you the full visual of the Day of
Judgment. Or you know, and especially the happenings, right? And really what
ends up taking place here, SubhanAllah, is that everything around you is
falling apart and then it’s you. It hyper focuses on you. And that’s
SubhanAllah’s profound point, Shaykh Yasir, maybe you could pick up on and
share your reflections as you go into your own reflections on the Juz. It’s very
interesting because Surah al-Naba is, what are they talking about? And then at
Takwir, at al-Infitar, al-Inshiqaq is you’re looking around and you’re looking at
the skies, the skies are being ripped apart. You’re looking at the mountains,
the mountains are crumbling. You’re looking at the seas, the seas are
bursting. You’re looking at the ground under you, it’s shaking. You’re looking at
the people, the people are running and fleeing and no one has time for you.
And really it hyper focuses on you, right? SubhanAllah, and then it’s like, okay,
now you answer these questions. Now what have you done for yourself? What
have you done for yourself? You know, to prepare for this mighty moment
before Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala, like you no longer can depend on anything
else to stabilize except for the deeds. The deeds are the ship that you are
taking with you to sail to Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala..
To meet him on this mighty day. So it’s a very like the whole, everything is
falling apart. Now focus on yourself, focus on yourself and are you ready for
that moment before Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala. And of course, you know, the
Juz does of course tell us about people who do indeed succeed, people who
do indeed prepare themselves and people who, despite having seen the
hardest things that this world could throw at them, see the beauty of what
Allah has prepared for them in the next life and that makes any hardship in this
life worth it. So Shaykh Yasir, please do take over. Fadlashaykh. Alhamdulillah
rabbil alameen, salallahu wa sallam wa baraka to our Prophet Muhammad
and his family and his companions. We have been in this life before and after.
So absolutely what you are saying in regards to the intensity of the description
of these events in the Quran is unbelievable and specifically it’s much more
vivid in Juz Amma, the last Juz of the Quran. Actually, before I get into some of
the events that were mentioned in the Juz itself, something about Juz Amma in
particular. Alhamdulillah, I have had the pleasure really of teaching Juz Amma
multiple times, particularly in Valley Ranch in the past maybe a few years. I did
that twice, honestly, because of the beauty that I really found in teaching this
Juz. It’s unbelievable beauty, you can’t find really anywhere else probably. And
as a result, or at least before that also, when we were young, we were asking
our mentors, our teachers, as we were youth really, as we were preparing to
become, alhamdulillah, into the youth leadership and so forth, we asked them
what is it that we need to prepare for and what can we do to prepare our
knowledge and our content as we speak to other people. They always remind
us with two things that are very important for you to study and learn. So
number one, you need to memorize Juz Amma, you have to memorize Juz
Amma. And number two, if you can study and memorize the four Hadith of
Imam al-Nawawi rahimah Allah ta’ala.
If you do that, you will provide or you will actually equip yourself with material,
with content that can help you in whatever position, whatever stance,
whatever situation you’re in. Whether you’re asked to give a khatira, give a
khutba, give a talk, give a dars, a connection, reflection, whatever that is, Juz
Amma Subhanallah can give you that material and that content is so intense
and it’s so beautiful at the same time. So indeed, for those who would like to
engage into da’wah, into giving khatiras and talks, whether you are at your
MSA chapter or youth program, but even your masjid, even your household,
Juz Amma is really the key to start with insha’Allah tabarak wa ta’ala. What do
we find in Juz Amma? As I was teaching tafseer in different times and
specifically Juz Amma tabarak as well too, I came to realize and maybe
understand that concept in the Arabic language, that concept being an
animated language. The Arabic language is so animated that if you cannot
visualize what you’re reading and what you’re saying and what you’re listening
to, you will have a hard time really describing it, a hard time to understand it.
The Arabic language was extracted from the environment. When the Arabs
spoke, they visualized things and they saw things and even they heard voices
and sounds and as a result they gave them names based on that kind of
personal experience. And that’s why if you look at Juz Amma subhanAllah,
everything is so descriptive in a way that if you cannot really visualize it, it’s
hard to get the intensity of the ayah itself. So for example, when Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala speaks about was sama’I wa ta’arak, speaks about the
heavens and ta’arak, ta’arak, pounding sounds obviously. Now regardless of
the contemporary discoveries of what kind of star that is, but the fact that you
have to always hear that sound of pounding, it’s reflective on the word itself,
It has its meaning as well too. Idha al-sama’un fatarat, idha al-sama’un
shaqqat, when the sama’a, the sky, rips apart, when it falls apart, when the
sky starts falling, when this and that, look at subhanAllah, it’s the intensity of
these events as Allah describes in the Quran, it’s the modern day of watching
something unfolding in front of your eyes. Today people they watch movies,
they would like to watch trailers, they would like to watch animation in order
for them to connect with certain concepts, and Juz Amma just did this here in
such a very short space in the Quran, you know every surah is, the shortest
surah obviously, but each surah in itself has those profound meaning and
principles. I’ve learned also from Juz Amma that Juz Amma is full of praise, it’s
a celebration of the praise of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, sabiha isma rabbika
al-a’la, praise the name of your Lord who is the most high, allathee khalaqa
fasawwa, the one who created and he made it well, so Allah subhanahu wa
ta’ala is praising himself, so there’s a lot of celebration of his praise
subhanahu wa ta’ala. In Juz Amma we find also introduction to his greatness,
to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala speak about his greatness, wa shamsi wa
dhuhaha wa al-qamari idha al-tala, speak about his greatness through his
creation, then how many times Allah speak about how he created time, wa alasr, wa al-dhuhaha, wa al-fajr, he talked about his magnificent creation, alshams, the night, the day, the moon, the stars, all these amazing things, Allah
azza wa jal is introducing us to his greatness through his creation subhanahu
wa ta’ala. Then there is an interesting window in Juz Amma into the Arab
culture and the time of the Arabs in Mecca, so Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is
telling us about things that the Arabs used to practice and one of them, which
is one of my favorite subhanallah introduction to the Arab culture tradition,
which is one of the highlights of our deen, ihsan, doing kindness to other
people with excellence and perfection, particularly to those who are most
vulnerable, al-yateem, so there’s many ayat in Juz Amma where Allah
subhanahu wa..
Ta’ala is referring to al-yateem, fa amma al-yateema fala taqqar, wa amma alsa’ila fala tanhar, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says, wa hadaynahu al-najdain
falaqtahama al-aqaba wa madrakama al-aqaba, that we have guided him to
care for the orphan, the needy and so on. There are so many principles in Juz
Amma that gives us an idea on how the Arab society lived and how it looked
like, so that at least we distance ourselves from these bad habits and bad
traditions and create a different way through the Qur’an, the words of Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala. So in summary, Juz Amma is just a journey, really. You
start from one surah, throughout all the way to the end, and every single
surah, it just has a window for you to see this world, the hereafter, the culture,
the past, and also in the future. Wallahu’am. Sheikh Nazak Allakhair, would
you say that Juz Amma is a summary of the Qur’an in a sense, like it brings all
of these themes together but it gives you snapshots? I would say it actually
summarizes one of the major principles of the Qur’an, which is the theological
aspect of it, the aqidah aspect of it. Speaking about Allah subhanahu wa
ta’ala, such as, Qul huwa Allahu ahad, or Qul ya ayyuhal kafirun, for example,
and also speaks about the events of the hereafter. And the principle of the
Meccan era and the period is to establish faith. So Juz Amma is literally about
establishing faith in three concepts. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, the Day of
Judgment, and the credibility of the Prophet Muhammad salallahu alayhi wa
sallam, such as, wa ad-duha, alam nashruh laka sadrak, and so on. Juz Nazak
Allakhair, Sheikh, wa Allahi barak fikum. I think what you brought in this
element of, you know, the praising of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. So as
unstable as the things that we put our trust in are, and as much as everything
around us starts to fall apart, and as vulnerable as we are, sabihis marabik al
a’la, right?
Like Allah azawajal is elevated above all of that, you know? So that is part of
His praise, is that He is completely free of the imperfections that are found in
everything and everyone besides Him subhanahu wa ta’ala. You know if I add
one more thing? Sheikh, subhanahu wa ta’ala, part of the praise as well, Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala, even He praises His work in Juz Amma. He praises His
work in terms of His creation, in terms of His, you know, His power, the display
of the power that’s going to happen on the Day of Judgment. In addition to
that, He is subhanahu wa ta’ala showing us this praise of the ibadah, the
salihin. Innal muttaqina ma faaza hadhaa’iqa wa anaba. Allah subhanahu wa
ta’ala describes the event when people go into Jannah, that description I
made it subhanahu wa ta’ala multiple times in my tafsir, and it never fails to
bring those emotions to it. Like the event, the festivity of that day, innal
muttaqina ma faaza. For the righteous one there is ma faaza, hadhaa’iqa wa
anaba, speaking about the gardens and the fruits that they’re going to receive.
And subhanahu wa ta’ala, the description of that event in itself, it just is
unbelievable. Look into it and in comparison to matters of this dunya, it’s just
a beautiful sight to imagine insha’Allah wa ta’ala. Jazakum Allah khair, Shaykh.
So bismillah, Shaykh Abdullah, as we’ve talked about the stability or the
instability of everything around us, and we’ve talked about the glory, tasbih, of
He who is completely beyond all of these imperfections and vulnerabilities.
Take us away, Shaykh Abdullah. Bismillah wa salatu wa salamu ala rasulullah
wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala amma ba’du. Really, Juz Amma, I
remember subhanAllah, one of my mentors was telling me, Allah subhanahu
wa ta’ala is just really testing your, you know, iman bil ghayb. He’s really
testing your belief and what he says and realizing that a lot of what he’s talking
about, giving descriptions of things that you would never be able to fathom.
And at the same time, he’s telling you about yourself in regards to that. So
when you’re looking at subhanAllah, you as a human being, as bashar, as
someone that Allah has created as a form of His creation, the most noble of
creation, but then he introduces you to other forms of creation in Jannah or
other forms of creation in the hellfire with the same asma’ al-mushtarak, the
same names that may be in this life, such as laban and ma’ milk and water
and dhahab and lu’lu and gold and pearls and fruits, fawakih. And interesting,
the word fawakih comes from fakiha, wuhume yatafakahu bi insaan. And
fawakih means it’s fruits in Arabic. But the verb that it’s extracted from is that
which is one enjoys, you know, so a noun was given from the verb of
enjoyment. And Jannah, subhanAllah, I remember one of my mentors, he
said, man, we’re going to go to Jannah. And he was like, I didn’t understand
Arabic. He was like, kutufu hadaniya man, kutufu hadaniya. And I’m like, what
do you he said, man, the fruits are going to be coming down to you, sheikh.
You’re going to be reclining on velvet couches, chilling in front of people,
mutaqabileen, smiling and fruits are just going to come down to you. I don’t
know if it’s going to be, you know, just however it is, just the fact that you will
be in total bliss. And that’s what Ibn Qayyim, you know, he mentions,
subhanAllah, and he talks about there’s no total bliss except in Jannah. No
total, just 100% bliss, na’imun muqeem, total bliss. So, you know, Juz Amma
is amazing. What I want to really talk about is the reality of us as human
beings. And Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala really just hits home as he does in every
verse. You know, he talks about in the chapter of Al-Inshaqaq, when Allah
Subhanu wa ta’ala swears by his creation,
He swears by numerous events and he swears by his creation, you know, and
the interaction of creation, therefore forming an event. Allah Subhanu wa
ta’ala talks about in Al-Inshaqaq where he says, اَذِ
ال َّس ت َما ء إ
ن َشقَّ
ا ِذنَ ت
َ
َوأ
َها
َربِِّ
ِل
ت
َو حقَّ
ِذَا
ر ض َوإ
ا مَّد ت قَ ت ْلَ
ل
َ
َوأ
َما
فِي ت َها
َّ
ِذنَ ت َوتَ َخل
َ
َوأ
َها
ِل ت َربِِّ
َّحق و َAllah says, when the sky is
ripped apart, obeying its Lord as it rightly must, when the earth is leveled out
and casts out its contents and becomes empty, obeying its Lord as it rightly
must, and then he says here, ا اَي هَ
يُّ
َك ْلِ ن َس أ ا ن َ
ا نَّ
ى إ َكاِد ح ِ
لَ
َربِ إ ِّ َك ِ
م َك ََلقِي َن َد ًحا
َف O mankind,
indeed you are laboring towards your Lord with a great exertion and will meet
it. This verse is amazing because Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala is saying, look, all of
you are Kadih. And Kadih, it really means like
are Youَ ساع إلى شيء تسعى إلى شيء ما
going somewhere. There is a toil, there is an effort that you are exerting and it’s
going to something. The question is, is it going to be to that which is beneficial
for you in this life and the next? Or is it going to be something that is not
beneficial for you in this life and the next? To where something you may
perceive is beneficial for you in this life, but it’s a temporary solution to a long
term problem. That’s why Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala says ه ِيِلقََم
َف That you will
meet your Maker. All of us here have a universal responsibility and that is
ِج َخل َّن َقَ ت َو َما Understanding
ََّل َوا ْلِ ن َس ال ى
ِ ن َدو عبَ لي ِإ That I have not created the jinns
and spirits except that they worship me. That universal responsibility is to
answer the question, Why am I here and what does that mean? So Allah
Subhanu wa ta’ala is saying that look, in the course, inshallah, you have that
attentive nature of wanting to find out.
And throughout that journey, you’re going to be working towards something.
Understanding that one needs to take a step back and say, Okay, what am I
really working towards? What am I making an effort to doing? Why am I here
and what efforts am I making in life? Because Allah is assuring you that you
will surely meet Him. يِلقََم
َف Then Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala continues on to talk
about those that are successful and those that are not successful in regards
to meeting Allah. الشاهد The most important point that I want to capitalize on
here is that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is teaching us the means and the method to obey
Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala and throughout this process, you will make mistakes,
but it’s the struggle that Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala loves. Looking at the end of
the tunnel and knowing that you want to meet Him. You know, it was
ِر قَا َل ي ل ,said he that صلى الله عليه وسلم Prophet the by mentioned
said صلى الله عليه وسلم Prophet The م َح َّم د ِج يَا ب
ِش ت َك َم يَا م َح َّم د ِع ش ا ,him to said Jibreel, that
you because wish you as Liveَ م فَإ يِِّ ت ِنَّ
حبِ ب .die will
َ
َوأ
ِش ت َك َما
ِنَّ
ِر فَإ ق ه
اَمف And love what you will for verily you are going to
َو ع َم ل .it from separate
ِش ت َك َما
َّن ِيِلقََم إَف And do as you wish for verily you are going
to meet Him. So really thinking about what am I doing in this life and am I
strengthening my nafs as we talked about, am I strengthening myself to where
when I meet Allah جل جلاله He’s pleased with me. I’ll leave you with the beautiful
statement of Fudaila bin Ayyad. Fudaila bin Ayyad is someone that
SubhanAllah, an aesthetic from the imam of the Tabi’een and I love,
personally I love him, Abdullah ibn Mubarak because they were not people of
this life, man. They were not people of this life, meaning that whatever they
did, it was the akhirah. How is this going to help me in the akhirah? He asked
this, he asked a companion a question. And Fudaila bin Ayyad, as some
narrations mention, he was a highway robber. He was known to be a highway
robber, Muslim, but then he came, if you have an opportunity to read his story,
the verse in Surah Tahadeed changed his life, you have an opportunity to read
it, it’s amazing.
But he asked a question, you know there are some people when you see them,
they remind you of Allah جل جلاله .Really, they remind you about Allah جل جلاله .Fudaila bin
Ayyad asked an individual, He said, how much do you have? Meaning how old
are you? The individual said, 60 years. Listen to his answer. I think I mentioned
this numerous times on 30 for 30, 30 for 60, I don’t know. He said, 60 years
you are on your way to your Lord. Look at that answer. For 60 years you are on
your way to your Lord. You know, and the man said, inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi
rajioon. I’ll stop here, but mashallah, Fudaila bin Ayyad, mashallah, it’s a
beautiful statement for us to really think about. We don’t know when Allah جل جلاله is
going to take us. It’s up to you. You know you’re going to meet Him. What are
we doing in this life? What efforts are we making to where when we meet Him,
He’s pleased with us. May Allah جل جلاله bless us in this beautiful month of Ramadan
and allow this Quran to be a nur of our chest and a spring of our hearts to bring
forth that which is fruitful in actions, inshallah. Jazakumullahu khair, Shaykh
Abdullah. SubhanAllah, it’s like you’re tumbling and you’re not going to stop
the speed of the journey. You’re not going to stop the fact that you reach this
inevitable point. You can get your car right. You can get your animal right. You
can stabilize yourself, get yourself still and take control of the horse, take
control of the vehicle, right, on the way to Allah جل جلاله .And you know, subhanAllah,
the most recited part of Juz Amma, of course for us, are the last three qulths.
And that is of course our daily recitation, you know, in the morning, in the
evening, and in different times. So Dr. Zuhair, what can you tell us about the
end of Juz Amma, which is of course effectively for us the end of our recitation
of the Quran. Fadlashaykh.
Alhamdulillah bi’al alamin, wa salatu wa salam wa rasulullah wa ala alihi wa
sahbihi wa jibrail wa ma ba’d. So subhanAllah, the ma’uwidh attain as you
mentioned, is a very profound part of the Quran, very significant portion of the
Quran, very frequently recited by believers across the world in their salawat,
but also instructed by the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم .And there’s a deep point to
reflect on this. How many times are we meant to be reciting this portion of the
Quran in our daily life? So you have three times in the morning, you have three
times in the evening, you also have three times after every salawat as well, as
is narrated to us from the Sunnah, and then you have three times before going
to bed. So this is a very significant portion of the Quran. And I think it’s a
beautiful thing to reflect on if we see it as like an epilogue, like an epilogue to
the Quran. If we see Surah Al-Fatiha, which was at the beginning, as an
introduction or a preface, that dua for guidance, then we see the
ma’awwidatayn as like the epilogue, at the end of this journey through the
Quran, all the gems and the jewels and the light that you’ve been able to
collect. And I put to the audience and to myself as well, in this month of
Ramadan, we’ve journeyed through the Quran. We were in this beautiful
bubble of Ramadan, and we gained the treasures, bi-idhnillahi ta’ala. We
listened to the lectures here. May Allah bless all of you, subhanAllah, of taking
us through this journey of the Quran, and we’ve gotten these treasures. And
now the ending point is the ma’awwidatayn. And there’s some beautiful
contrast between the beginning and the end of the Quran. The Quran starts
with the dua, and it also ends with the dua. The ma’awwidatayn is a dua. It’s a
dua asking Allah for protection from evil, both of those surahs. And the
beginning of Surah Al-Fatiha is a dua for goodness, for khair, which is hidayah.
The key to all goodness in this world is hidayah.
And then the end of the Quran is asking Allah to protect us from evil, and the
source of evil, and the worst of all evil. So you see that beautiful contrast
there, and you see that the Quran is actually between, the Quran is between
two duas to Allah, azwajan. Now, I want to, wa lillahi al-matul al-a’la, give us
an idea, an understanding here to reflect on, for us to understand the
significance of why end with the ma’awwidatayn. You know, SubhanAllah, if
you think about, you know, you have a parent who’s raising, or two parents
who are raising, you know, their children. And in that time, they’re wanting to
create that kind of bubble around them. They’re giving them good teaching,
and, you know, they’re giving them good advice, and they’re giving them
tarbiyah, and education until they’re growing up, and they’re wanting to
protect them in that period of time. But there comes a time where the parent
knows, the child is going to have to go out into the world, go out for their first
day of school, or go out then to university, or to college, and to move away for
the first time, get their first job, et cetera, et cetera, getting married, and
whatnot. At that moment, usually is the time where the parents feel this sense
of fear, that this child is now going to go out into the world, and encounter so
many things that they could encounter. And they’re hoping, and they’re
wishing, that all the teaching that they gave them, for their entire life at that
point, is going to be beneficial for them. And oftentimes you find, especially
that kind of stereotypical archetypal mother, the loving mother who embraces
that kind of protective embrace of their child, making dua to Allah for their
protection, advising them to, you know, be careful, you know, look two ways
before you cross the road. This is something that is just part of human nature,
that when there’s this departure from a situation, there’s then the fear of what
will happen once you leave that bubble that has been there, or that situation,
or that home,
Whatever it may be. And so seeing the Quran is this, that SubhanAllah, and I
hope InshaAllah, we’ve all done our Khatm al-Quran, and we see now at this
point, we’ve journeyed through the Quran, and we’ve been in that
environment, in the Tarbiyah that Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala, Allah has been
training our nafs through the Quran, has been training our souls, and we’ve
been gaining so much through this Quran. And now we come to the end, and
Allah says, Qul, say, after gaining all of this, and now we come out of
Ramadan, and we come out of Ramadan now, the thing in our head should be,
we’ve gained so much, and there’s going to be forces outside there that’s
going to want to take it all away from us. Those things that we gained in our
heart of Iman, and of light, and of treasures, and of gems, there’s going to be
these forces of evil that are going to try and take it away from us. And so this is
the point to then come back to this ma’awwidh attain, and to realize we have
to ask Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala for protection. And Surah al-Falaq, Qul
a’udhu billah bil falaq, is a, this Surah, is asking Allah for protection from
external evil, bin sharri ma khalaq, whatever has been created, and there’s
particular intervention. And then Surah an-Nas is for the internal evil, as AlBaqa’I mentions, that this is asking Allah for protection from internal evil,
waswas al-khannas, the retreating whisperer, and that whispering that comes
from the shaytan, or it can come from the masjid, whatever evil whispering is
there. And so SubhanAllah, you have this Surah comprising of all the evil that
you may encounter as we come out of Ramadan, we should run back to this
ma’awwidh attain, that sunnah in our life, of constantly coming back to this.
And I’ll end with this point. Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah in Bida’ul-Fawa’id, and
in other places as well, he reflects on what is the reality of isti’adah. When we
say a’udhu billah, when we actually take protection in Allah, what does that
mean?
Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah gives the example, it’s a beautiful example. He
gives the example of a child that runs to his parent when he’s afraid. And you
know, when you see a child that becomes afraid of something, or encounters
something unknown, they immediately run back to their parents, and they
hold tight to their parent. That moment captures the heart that should be in
the case of the believer, that engages in isti’adah to Allah Azawajal. That when
you encounter, whatever it is you might encounter, whatever it is you may fear
that you may be encountering in this world as you come out of Ramadan, of
temptations, of difficulty, of hardship, of tribulation, of whatever it may be,
things that will challenge the tawakkul that you gained in this month, things
that will challenge the sabr that you gained in this month, things that will
challenge the ibadah that you gained in this month, you run back to Allah
Azawajal. And there’s a beautiful psychology point actually about this, where
there’s this radius of safety around the parent that the child will explore their
environment around, and they won’t go too far away from the parent. And
actually some psychologists even actually link this, non-Muslims, to the tawaf
around the Ka’bah. And this is the idea that the believer explores the world,
but always comes back to Allah at all moments, in the morning, after all five
daily prayers, in the evening, and before night, we turn back to these surahs,
ask Allah to protect us from any evil, and from those who will try to take away
from everything we gained in this month of Ramadan. Jazakumullah khair. So
beautiful. Jazakumullah khair. I just wanna hear, mashaAllah, every time you
come on, mashaAllah, the flow of your research shows. May Allah bless you.
And to everyone that hasn’t read Dr. Zuhair’s papers on yaqeen,
alhamdulillah, they’re some of the most beautiful papers, mashaAllah. I’m
still writing, alhamdulillah, and we love having you on. And I could tell,
Shaykh, and I know I’ve been around Shaykh Yasir enough to know when he
just like, he got something. So Shaykh Yasir, what do you wanna reflect on?
I know what Zuhair was talking about got to you somehow, Shaykh Nasser.
What do you have for us? You know, I love talking about kids and parenting and
all that stuff and so on. And that’s somehow a principle that creating that
perimeter around the, around, you know, your parents, is so interesting. It
reminds me, of course, when kids go, when you go to the park with your
children and they go to the playground, for example, they go to explore. And
they go through all these challenges, right? And they even risk going up, you
know, the slide, for example, versus down the slide and all the stuff and so on.
But then the unique thing that these kids, every time they go this far, they
remember. So they go back again to see if mom is still there. And then when
they feel at ease, they go back again to explore again. But SubhanAllah, this
concept, it just hit me just like, that’s exactly what we really do. We go straight
away from Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala, exploring our own self, our own life. But
then we remember, oh my God, oh my God, where’s my safety? So you go
back again to the center to see Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala. So that really
touched me very much, SubhanAllah. We truly create that perimeter around
our safety, which is Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala. But we’re humans, like kids.
We go away to explore. We make mistakes. We probably even hurt ourselves.
And then SubhanAllah, come to see if mom is still there. And if it’s not there, it
is really, really scary. And that’s a big concern for those who stray away from
Allah Azza wa Jal. And then when they turn back to Him, they expect Him to
still be there for them. I mean, you strayed so much so that He went
Subhanahu wa ta’ala away from you because you chose to distance yourself
so far. So it’s a very, very heartwarming concept, but at the same time, Allah is
so scary when you see yourself as being that vulnerable little one who strayed
away from the perimeter. And then now you want to come back again like
nothing ever happened. So be careful when you do that, Allah Allah.
SubhanAllah, Shaykh, as if like the beginning of the Quran,
Shouldn’t have doubts, stay with the guidance, believe in Allah Subhanahu wa
ta’ala, establish your prayer, give charity, have certainty in the hereafter. So
like no doubt, focus on the day. And then at the end, it’s like you’re asking
Allah for protection. You know, like, don’t let it leave me, you know, and then to
protect you from the seen and the unseen of the evil that could cause you to
think that there’s any comfort in any, any, any fulfillment away from the one
who created you. SubhanAllah. Shaykh Abdullah, Bismillah, what you got for
us? No, no, I was just thinking, mashallah, to, I think to camelback, not
piggyback, but to camelback. That’s what I was saying, is like, you know,
imagine that kid, if his mom was calling, mom was calling and they’re like, I
just want to play with my friends. And then mom didn’t think he was there. So
mom leaves. And then when he goes back to where mom was, he can’t find
mom. How scared will he be? How scared will he be? So when we, وا ن كَت
ل ِذي َن َ
َّ
َكال
نَس وا
م ََّللاَ
ن َساه
فَأ نف و َس ه م َ
َ
أ The ones that forgotten about Allah, Allah Subhanahu wa
ta’ala will cause them to forget about themselves. There’s a limited time. So
when you, you know, you continue on on those deeds and you don’t turn back
to Allah, you don’t go to see how mom is doing and you come back and she’s
not there. That’s when things are really, really hit you. And it may be too late. It
may be too late. You know, so may Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala make us of
those that are attentive to what we’re doing. Jazakumullah khair. Beautiful,
beautiful reflections. I think obviously as we come to the end of this panel, the
idea is Allah Azawajal calls us back to him constantly. The fact that we have
Ramadan, the fact that we have these seasons, the fact that we have these
opportunities, Allah Azawajal is calling you. وا وب ت ى وَ
لَ
ِ
َج إ ََّللاِ ِميعًا
Right? All of you turn back to Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala and each one of us.
ت وب وا ى
لَ
ِ
نَ صو ًحا إ ََّللاِ
ًةَوبَت Turn back to Allah with a sincere repentance. And the fact
that, you know, you’re here, you had this Ramadan, Allah gave you a month,
Allah gave us all a month, an opportunity to reflect and to connect. And
biddenillahi ta’ala I think that we would all agree that, you know, on your last
ت وب وا ى ,Ramadan of moments
لَ
ِ
ِللا ََّإ You know, we end with istighfar, we end with
seeking forgiveness and we end with repentance, renewing our repentance
and resolve that we won’t return to those things that keep us away from Him.
So we pray that Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala makes the Qur’an, the Qur’an, our
anchor. The Qur’an has to be our anchor. And we pray that that connection
remains beyond Ramadan as well. Allahumma ameen. JazakumAllah khayran
masha’ikh. It’s been an amazing journey with you always, Shaykh Abdullah.
You know, alhamdulillah, I mean, we do this every Ramadan for the last three
years and it’s been absolutely blessed and beautiful. And Shaykh Yasir,
masha’Allah, I get to spend more time with you in Ramadan than the whole
year, so alhamdulillah, I mean, that’s also an anchoring factor for me, so may
Allah bless you. And Dr. Zuhair, alhamdulillah alhamdulillah ameen, khitamu
wa misk. You got to come on and give us your sweet words, masha’Allah. We
don’t want to see, I don’t, I personally am not looking forward to seeing a
kangamu in Jannah, but I would love to see you in Jannah. I know if we get to
like an area of Jannah and like you suddenly see kangamus, like that’s Zuhair’s
place. May Allah gather us all in a Firdaus Al-A’ya. And please make du’a to
those of you that have been watching for everyone behind the scenes. Make
du’a for especially the Yaqeen team. There are people subhanAllah that are
even operating the stream, the people that are doing the graphics, the people
that are making sure that, you know, every little detail is done right so that you
could have enjoyed your Ramadan and the creation of the content and the
putting the content out there and the keeping up with things and the website
maintenance..
And all the engineering factors. SubhanAllah, across the teams, please make
du’a for everyone, all of the scholars you benefited from and all of those that
you couldn’t see. Please make du’a for everyone on the jfln team that was
a part of this Ramadan experience for you. Ask Allah to bless all of them, all of
us and our families with the night and we pray the same for you and inshaAllah
ta’ala, Shaykh Yasir, Shaykh Abdullah, I’ll see you on the ping pong table and
we’re gonna have some news for everybody else on ping pong. We gotta get it
done. Shaykh Yasir, I’m sorry, we gotta do this before 8. Bismillah, I’m ready for
you. I’m gonna roll my sleeves up from now inshaAllah. MashaAllah.
JazakumAllah Khairan MashaAllah. As-Salaamu Alaykum everyone.
InshaAllah ta’ala till next time.
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