Juz’ 16 Qur’an 30 for 30
In the sixteenth episode of this Ramadan series, Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh.
Abdullah Oduro, joined by special guest Sh. Yahya Ibrahim, explore gems from
the sixteenth Juz’ of the Holy Quran.
Barakat to everyone. Bismillah walhamdulillah wa salatu wa salam wa
rasulullah wa ala adihi wa sahbihi wa man wala Welcome back everyone to
Qur’an 30 for 30. Alhamdulillah rabbal Ameen. We are beyond blessed to have
with us our beloved brother Shaykh Yahya Ibrahim. Shaykh Yahya being one of
the dearest brothers in the world to me alhamdulillah rabbal Ameen. We have
a long history together alhamdulillah rabbal Ameen. And I think that many
people would love to claim the same about you Shaykh Yahya but I hope I’m in
your top five bidh in layatana. Somewhere in your top five inshallah. And
Shaykh you’ve done quite a few series for Yaqeen alhamdulillah rabbal
Ameen. You did Guidebook to God, you did the Redemption series which I
think a lot of people benefited from and if you have not yet gone back and
watched them then please do inshallah go back and watch those playlists.
How you doing Shaykh Yahya? How’s it going in Australia? Alhamdulillah
JazakAllah khair for having me. I really was looking forward to being invited
again and it’s always such a blessing mashaAllah especially with Shaykh
Abdullah with us. It’s yeah, it’s a joy and just seeing mashaAllah that the
wonderful work that you guys are pumping out is just an inspiration. May Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala reward you. BarakAllahu fika shaykh. JazakAllah khair.
Shaykh Yahya before we get started, you’re Egyptian, Canadian, Australian
now, right? And Turkish through marriage. Turkish through marriage. Which
nationality do your kids claim? And what does it look like? Mixed up. They just
mixed up. They actually think they’re Malaysian because we used to visit
Malaysia so often mashaAllah. No, so I’m Canadian man. It’s yeah, it just
won’t go. The accent won’t go. 20 years in Australia and I sound like this and
yeah, that’s it. So apparently Dr. Nazer gave me a hard time because
apparently I pronounced poutine wrong. Do you eat that?
Yeah, so you got to pout a little. Poutine. Do you like, Shaykh Abdullah, you
know what that is? No, I just heard pout like you have to be sad or something
or what? It’s how you feel before you eat it. It makes you happy. Shaykh
Abdullah will give an anti-poutine fatwa, you know, it’s got too much gravy and
fries and curd and cheese. And it’s yes, just not good. It’s your perfect postworkout food, Shaykh. Post-workout. Right. That’s if you’re doing those crazy
workouts we were talking about yesterday, the push-ups on top of the pull-up
bar that I still don’t understand. Then you can afford to eat the poutine. But the
rest of us, we can’t do it, Shaykh. That’s it. No, no, not at all. Shaykh Abdullah,
how are you, man? How’s it going? Good, Alhamdulillah. How do you feel
halfway through Ramadan? Huh? What’s that? How are you feeling halfway
through Ramadan? Alhamdulillah, good. I’m great, man. Just staying focused,
man. Just got to keep this murajah, the mushaf, you know. Just trying to keep it
up. Brush the dust off, you know, the pages. You’re still doing that?
Alhamdulillah, Rabbul A’lamin. Inshallah ta’ala we’ll go ahead and get started.
Bismillah walhamdulillah wa salatu wa salamu ala’l salam wa ala abihi wa
sahbihi wa man wala. So tonight we’re actually going to be going through,
obviously now we’re in the 16th juz of Alhamdulillah, Rabbul A’lamin. We get to
Surah Maryam and Taha. Two very beautiful surahs. Surah Maryam being a
personal favorite for me. I absolutely love this surah. I know Sheikh Yahya
loves it too because Sheikh Yahya has a beautiful tafsir actually of Surah
Maryam somewhere online. Maybe he could tell us where it is, inshallah
ta’ala. But I wanted to speak about obviously just a few verses.
And one thing that’s very clear about Surah Maryam is that you have just this
buildup of righteous prophet after righteous prophet after righteous prophet
after righteous prophet in each one of those stories. I think what makes it so
profound is that you’re able to capture a different struggle in each prophet’s
life. They all had a hurdle. So them being righteous did not make them
immune to some difficulties in this life. And at the same time you can see the
triumph in each one of their stories. And sometimes it’s just an ayah, right?
Like when you look at Musa alayhi salam or Ismail alayhi salam or even Idrees,
the shortest one. Wa rafa’naahu maka’an al-aliyya. We raised him to a high
position. It doesn’t mention anything else about his story except kaanis
huddiq al-nabiya wa rafa’naahu maka’an al-aliyya that he was a man of truth
and a prophet. And we raised him to a high rank as if to say that’s all that
matters. If you are raised to a high rank, then everything else becomes
irrelevant at that point. And so you’ve got these stories of these prophets one
after the other. Test, trial, triumph, trial, triumph, trial, triumph, until
eventually you get to verse 58. Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala says, ulayka
allatheena an’amallahu alayhim min anabiyyin min dhurriyati adam wa
mimman hamanna ma’anuhin wa min dhurriyati Ibrahim wa Israeel wa
mimman hadayna wa ajtabayna Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala says that these
were the prophets. These are the prophets who Allah has blessed, who Allah
Subhanahu wa ta’ala has given his favor to amongst the descendants of Adam
alayhi salam. And then from the descendants of Adam alayhi salam, those
who were carried with Nuh alayhi salam in his ark with Noah. And then
amongst those descendants, the descendants of Ibrahim alayhi salam and
Israeel, Ya’qub alayhi salam. Wa mimman hadayna wa ajtabayna And then
those who were rightly guided and chosen. So the prophets obviously are
chosen. That’s why Musa alayhi salam is mukhlasa.
He’s chosen for a special place and given a special sincerity and a special
maqam, a special rank as a result of that. But those who wish to follow in
being chosen and being rightly guided, their sign is that, Ila tutla’alihim
ayaturrahman when the verses of ar-Rahman, so focus on the name here, the
verses of the most merciful are recited to them. They fall down in sajda and
prostration and in tears. And so both external and internal submission to God
and humility to ar-Rahman. This isn’t an abusive relationship. This is a
relationship with the most merciful. And when they hear the verses of their
most merciful Lord, they are driven to prostration and they are driven to tears.
That’s verse 58. So you have this high and then 59, subhanAllah, surah
Maryam. Fakhalafa min ba’dihim khalfun adhaa’u as-salaa wa attaba’u alshahawati fa-sawfa yalqawna ghayya Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says, but
then they were succeeded by generations who neglected prayer and who
followed their desires, who followed their lusts. So soon they will face the evil
consequences of that. So subhanAllah, you see how despite them being so
favorable that those who came after lost that favor of Allah specifically
through neglecting their prayer and following their desires, following their
lusts. Now what gets really interesting here, and I’ll just come down to these
few verses in surah Maryam. Allah says in verse 73 of surah Maryam, ayyu alfariqayni khayrun maqaman wa ahsanun nadiyya So which of the two groups
is better in position? And so maqam refers to their rank, wa ahsanun nadiyya,
and has the best meeting place, has the best ending, so going to the ending.
So you had these people that are described in this world, right? And the way
that you would differentiate the two groups is that one group when they hear
the verses of the most merciful,
They fall in prostration and in tears. The other group, they don’t even prostrate
on time, right? They definitely don’t have tears. They’ve neglected their prayer.
They’ve neglected all that comes with being faithful servants of Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala. So they lose the favor of Allah. And then Allah says, so
which of the two groups is better in terms of position and then in terms of
nadiyya, in terms of their meeting place? So this is where we come to verses
85 and 87. Listen to how powerful this is. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says,
yawma nahshuru al-muttaqina idha al-rahmani wafda The day that we will
gather the righteous before Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahman who they used to prostrate
to in this world. Now they are coming towards Ar-Rahman, the most merciful
in the next life, wafda. Al-wafd is a delegation, right? We call it am al-wafud,
the year that the delegations came to the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam.
So here you have the delegation, the honored delegation coming to the most
merciful who they used to prostrate to in this life, seeking his mercy and now
they are going to experience his mercy. So yawma nahshuru al-muttaqina idha
al-rahmani wafda Allahumma ja’alna minhum The day that we will gather the
muttaqin before Ar-Rahman as an honored delegation. Wa nasuqul mujrimina
ila jahannama wirda And then we will drive the mujrimin, the wicked to hell
like a thirsty herd, subhanAllah. Ghaiya is actually people that are drinking,
right? In hellfire, an evil punishment in hellfire, right? A hard or a punishment
for the evil in hellfire where they are drinking the waste of hellfire and it’s
something that is a punishment for them. So subhanAllah, this is the
consequence part, right? So they are, while you have the muttaqin coming to
Ar-Rahman as an honored delegation, you have this group of wicked people..
Being taken back to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala as a thirsty herd. And Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala finally says, la yamlikuna al-shafa’a ila man ittaqhada
inda ar-rahmani ahda That no one will have the right to intercede except those
who have taken a covenant from Ar-Rahman, from the most merciful. May
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala make us amongst those who prostrate themselves
to Ar-Rahman in this life and who are driven back to Ar-Rahman as an honored
delegation in the next life. May Allah make my brother, Sheikh Abdullah and
my brother Sheikh Yahya and myself and all of you amongst them. Allahumma
ameen. JazakumAllah khayran. Sheikh Abdullah, tafadhal. JazakumAllah
khayran. Ameen, ameen, ameen. Bismillah, wassalatu wassalamu ala
rasulullah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala amma ba’d. SubhanAllah,
Surah Maryam is a very beloved chapter to me as well because, you know, I
think I mentioned this before but having the opportunity to mention the last
page, you know, of SubhanAllah, of the chapter of Maryam and the story of
Maryam, subhanAllah, within this chapter, amongst many stories, giving
dawah and telling people about Islam, particularly those that believe in
Maryam, believe in Isa alayhi salam and may believe that he has a level to the
status of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. A very, very beautiful chapter, an
honorable chapter, being that it honors, you know, Maryam alayhi salam as
well by having that name. What I want to capitalize on is something within the
chapter of Taha, roughly verses 116 to 121. We’re going to go over it briefly
inshallah, but want to capitalize on the reality of human beings and to show
that that was something that was obviously present with the father of human
beings, Adam alayhi salam. This is the story of Adam alayhi salam when Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala ordered him, gave him an order, and we see that he was,
let’s use for lack of better words,
Convinced by someone other than Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, i.e. shaytan.
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala starts off with the verse in the Quran, verse number
116, where he says, and mention when we said to the angels, prostrate to
Adam, and they prostrated except Iblis, he refused. Verse number 117, Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala continues and says, faqulna ya adam inna hadha adoon
laka wa li zawjika falayukhijannakuma minal jannati fatashqa So we said,
Adam, indeed this is an enemy to you and to your wife, then let him not
remove you from paradise so you would suffer. So Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala
is giving the guidance here. He’s letting them know that there is an enemy for
you. The one that did not prostrate, he is your enemy. And as many of us
remember, if we can remember that the primary factor behind that was the
jealousy. It was the takabbur. It was that, you know, the envy that led to the
disobedience of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala while acknowledging that Allah is
his creator. But he disobeyed him. Very interesting. Right after that Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala says, inna laka allatajuAA feeha wa la taAAra wa annaka
latawthumAAu feeha wa latawha Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala gives the
characteristic of your state if you were to obey me and not to obey the enemy,
not to obey your enemy. He says what? He says, indeed, and it is promised for
you not to be hungry therein or unclothed. And indeed, you will not be thirsty
therein or be hot from the sun. In Ibn Kathir, mashaAllah, he gives an
interesting example. He says, you know, he says, thirst is like the har addakhili and then the tadha is the har al-khariji. So the thirst is like an internal
heat and the external heat from the sun. That’s not going to happen if you were
to be in the place of Jannah. Because in early in the Quran, we see in Surah Al-
Baqarah and even mentioned Al-A’raf when Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala talks
about them being in Jannah and eating, eating as much as they want.
Kula minha raghadan haythu shittuma To eat as you wish and how you wish.
Haythu shittuma, as much as you wish. Wa laa takrabaa hadhi shajarata
fatakoona minal dhalimeen Do not eat from this tree. If you just stop and think
about it, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala placed Adam and Eve, Adam and Hawa in
Jannah. And he gave them the pleasures of Jannah to eat and drink plentifully
as they wish, as they wish. But then he said, there’s a tree, don’t come close
to that tree. What’s interesting as well is that Allah says, don’t come close to
it. Not even touching it, but come close to it, which is very interesting in
regards to sin. And this is where scholars use, subhanAllah, when they talk
about a principle called sadda dhara’I, when it comes to closing off the
pathways to sin. So when we look at gender relations, it’s important for us to
even look at the pathways to the sin that can take place. We have to really
review ourselves and ask ourselves, am I taking a pathway to that which we all
universally know is haram? Does this lead to something? And that’s where
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, very interestingly, says, laa takrabaa hadhi
shajarata wa laa takraboo zina Do not come close to fornication. Coming
close to it can easily lead one away from the Sirat al-Mustaqeem and to the
way of shaytan. So Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala mentions these pleasures that
you will have. I mean, mentioning these pleasures, that you will not be hungry
and you will not be unclothed. Interesting he mentions unclothed. Stay with
me here because he mentions unclothed here. Right after that Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala says, fawaswasa ilayhi shaytan qala ya adamu hal
adooluka ala shajaratil khuldi wa mulkin laa yabala Shaytan comes to them.
This is the one that Allah was telling you about. Shaytan is here and he comes
to them. As he says here, Shaytan whispered to them and he said, O Adam,
shall I direct you to the tree of eternity and possession that will not
deteriorate?
Shall I direct you to the tree of eternity shajaratul khuld the tree of eternity and
to possession that will not deteriorate? Firstly, the question can arise is how is
Shaytan in heaven? How is he in heaven? This is where subhanAllah one
would think and it’s natural to think but realizing when we learn more about
Allah we understand that he is Al-Qadir. He is able to do what he wills, how he
wills. So this all ultimately is a test for us to be able to listen to it today to take
a message of a reality that was present, is present, and will be present until
the end of time. The reality of Shaytan convincing you to be a disobedient,
non-compliant person, non-compliant to the sharia, to Allah Subhanahu wa
ta’ala. So Shaytan, as we know, Shaytan comes from shatana which means
ba’da which means to be far away from and in this case far away from the
mercy of Allah because not only is he evil, he’s calling you to evil as he
promises in numerous verses in the Quran and chapters in the Quran. There’s
a conversation between him and Allah. So Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala talks
about, SubhanAllah, when Adam takes this advice from Shaytan as Shaytan
even mentions in the chapter of Al-A’raf ماَهُم َس َاَق ي وَ
ِنِِّ
َم إ ا
ل ِم َن َكُ
Shaytan that ل النَّا ِس ِحي َن َ
promises them. He even swears that he is from the advisors. He swears. And
Ibn Kathir mentions why Adam would even believe him because Adam didn’t
even fathom that someone would swear would swear for them to do this evil.
So he believed him and he followed the path of Shaytan at that moment. So
here Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala when Shaytan promised them َالخلد الشجرة
Or الخالدينَ من تكون to be from those that would live forever. This is a natural
desire of man, is to live forever and not to die. And then also SubhanAllah of
being someone that has possession that will not be tampered with. That will
not be tampered with or that will not be taken away from you. So having a
lifelong ownership no one over you and having that ownership that will never
be taken away from you. This is what Shaytan is promising them. But when
you look at SubhanAllah Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala already had them in
Jannah. They were already there. And he gave them everything. Then Shaytan
took that little pathway and lied to them for them to be disobedient. Then
Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala mentioning after that, he says مَّ
ُ
Allahَ ر ث ِجتَبَاهُ بُّهُ
Subhanahu wa ta’ala says ل َكَ
َ
َه فَأ ا
ُهَم فَ ا ِم بَ َد ْس ْن
ُهَم ل ا َ
َو ي َطِف َق َسْوآتُ
ِهَم يَ ا ْخ ِصفَنِ
ْي
ِة َو َر ِق ِم ْن َعلَ
َجنَّ
ْ
ال
َو ُ َع َصى
َر َوى آ َدم بَّهُ
َغَف Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala says here And Adam and his wife
Hawwa ate from it and their private parts became apparent to them. Then they
began to fasten over themselves from the leaves of Paradise. And Adam
disobeyed his Lord and erred. So looking here, Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala
mentions the response of Adam and Eve. They both ate. And SubhanAllah,
from what was the response of that? Their private parts became apparent.
Look at the response to Shaitaan with the Qadr of Allah, their private parts
became apparent. Very interesting observation. SubhanAllah, that when this
disobedience becomes present, it can slowly strip you away from the fitrah.
We see people nowadays, their private parts are present, or they make them
very apparent. This is someone that is stripping themselves away from the
fitrah by being affected by the stimuli that is around them. This is why it’s very
important to watch your surroundings and to protect your heart.
Protect what you value, and to show that what you value is apparent on you, in
your belief and in your actions. So this was apparent in the SubhanAllah, from
the hayat, from the shyness, that Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala says, ف َص ِخْ
َو َطِف َق َويَ
ِن
ِهَم يَ ا ْخ ِصفَ
ْي
ِة َو َر ِق ِم ْن َعلَ
َجنَّ
ْ
ال And then when their private parts became apparent,
they began to fasten over themselves from the leaves of parrots. They began
َو ُ َع َص ى .themselves cover to
َر َو ى آ َدم بَّهُ
َغَف Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala says, And
Adam disobeyed his Lord and he erred. So Adam, it’s interesting here,
SubhanAllah, Sheikh Yahya mentioned this point to me, it’s very very
interesting, and I think Qurtubi alludes to it as well, is that Allah mentioned
Adam. Adam. As he was the qudwa, he was the leader in this situation.
Because Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala spoke to both of them, but when Adam
made this error, Allah said, Adam was the one that was disobedient. It was
Adam. Alayhi Salam. So here we see that, SubhanAllah, the reality of Shaytan
does do the waswas. As we know in the last chapter of the Quran, َشبل من
الخنس الوسواس The waswas, that Shaytan whispers to you. He whispers to you to
do the bad things. And this happens to everyone. And I’ll conclude with the
beautiful hadith from the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam where a man
came to him and it’s on the authority of Ibn al-Abbas radiAllahu anhuma and
there’s another hadith as well, Abu Dawood as well, it’s the same context ’n
general, but a man comes to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and he
said, one of us has thoughts in ourselves that we would rather be cold, cold
humama, than to even mention it. It was something that, you know, we have
these thoughts that we don’t want to mention in the open. The Prophet
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar,
Alhamdulillah alladhi radda kaydahu ilal waswasa He said, Allah is the most
great.
Three times praised be to Allah, who has reduced the guile of the evil devil to
prompting, that it is waswasa. So Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala realizing,
showing us the reality of Shaytan, that he will constantly call you and he will
constantly try to convince you to do that, which is against what Allah has
ordered you. This waswasa is something that is present. But what we do is we
realize this waswasa. We take the method of practicing the sharia, reading the
book of Allah, saying, a’udhu billahi minash shaitanir rajim, reciting the three
qawwakil that we see in the last, qul huwa allahu ahl, qul a’udhu bi rabbil
falaq, wa qul a’udhu bi rabbil nas, and staying away from this waswasa,
realizing this reality and taking the measures that are important for us, just as
Adam did. And when we do, if we fall short, we ask for forgiveness from Allah
Subhanahu wa ta’ala. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala make us from those
that have redemption, and seek redemption from him, and allow this
redemption to fortify our iman. Jazakumullah khair, wa salamu alaikum.
Jazakumullah khair, Shaykh Abdullah. Fadlal Shaykh Yahya. Alhamdulillah wa
salatu wa salamu ala Rasulullah, salallahu alayhi wa salam wa baad. Musa
alayhi salam, you know, even just that name, Musa, you know, just the
articulation of it. There’s this regality and power that is associated to it. One of
the great selections In the Quran where Musa’s story is told in great detail is in
Surah Taha. And I wanted to focus in the next six, seven minutes that I have
with you about not who Musa is, but how he was favored to become who he
was. Musa alayhi salam, you know, sometimes in our life, we kind of assume
that we get to a place that where we are because of our own grit, our own
determination, we kind of forget all of those support, supporting cast in our
life,
Knowingly and unknowingly, that allow us to inherit the places that we’re in.
Musa alayhi salam has this eloquent dua. All of us know it. Qala Rabbi shrahli
sadri. My Lord, expand my chest. Allow me to believe in myself. Remove my
doubts. Help me quell my fear. And, you know, he goes on, although he is
conversing with Allah, to ask Allah to be supported by his brother Harun. You
know, even that is phenomenal, that, you know, Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la
has just demonstrated to him that I am with you. And it’s like you said, yes,
yeah, Allah, you are with me, but I need somebody, ushdud bihi azri,
somebody to strengthen me. Wa ashriqu fee amri, who can attach himself to
this matter that has been delivered to me by your order, O Allah. Musa goes on
to make a number of wonderful dua, and Allah accepts the dua by saying that I
will answer this dua for you. But, wala qad mananna AAalayka marratan
ukhra. Moses, aren’t you aware that I have already favored you before this
day? Are you assuming that it’s just your moment here with me, that this is
where my favor is with you, my grace has arrived? Wala qad mananna
AAalayka marratan ukhra. And Allah now begins to speak about the
phenomenal women who were the pretext for Musa’s greatness. And Musa
alayhi salam is an incredible man, an incredible leader in his family, an
incredible human being. But how was he formed? Well, Musa had two
mothers, subhanAllah. He had his biological mother who gave birth to him.
Under incredible circumstances, where tyranny and oppression were visited
upon their household, where she had to, as she carried her child, worry who
was going to knock on the door, find out that she’s carrying a son, wait and
order their execution by the command of Pharaoh. He also was blessed,
subhanAllah, to have his adoptive mother who had the courage to draw Musa
out of the water. And the word Musa actually means to be drawn out of water.
It’s a nickname for Musa alayhi salam, just like Yaqub. You know, many of the
prophets of Allah, all of the prophets of Allah, we assume, and messengers
had multiple names. There is Muhammad, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, but
he’s also Ahmed as his name to us in the Quran, alayhi abdalus salat wa
atamu taslim. Musa had four incredible women in his life, his mother, his
adoptive mother, his elder sister, and his wife. Each and every one of them
were an incredible part of his journey before revelation arrives, forming the
persona, the man who is then ready to receive that wahy from Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala. His mother began to see these incredible dreams of
how she can protect her son. And, you know, prepare this casket and place
him in it and cast him into the water. It’s amazing in Surah Al-Qasas where
Allah says that I will, I returned you to your mother, kaytaqarra’aynuha wa la
tahzan, not for you, Musa, but said that so she would not be aggrieved and
have sorrow and feel the pain of your separation. And such is the place of
Musa’s mother in the realm of her spiritual connection to Allah that her dua is
answered for her. Her placement in life is,
In the life of Musa alayhi salam is so integral. Then comes Asiya, the wife of
Fir’awn. The one who speaks up to her husband, she says, listen, I’ve gotten
this child out of the water and I’m keeping him. You know, I’m gonna find a
reason to convince you. And subhanAllah, a man who’s just ordered the death
of every male born son of that year of the Israelites sees a child who is
definitely an Israelite. His physical features, his, you know, just being drawn
out of water, all of circumstances indicate that this is one of their children and
yet she convinces him by Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala’s permission to keep him
and to be raised in the household. Musa alayhi salam’s mother orders his
sister to walk along the reeds next to the Nile, keeping an eye on that basket.
As it makes its way, subhanAllah, astonishingly to the house that they were
trying to be protected from, the house of Fir’awn. And such is the fortune of
life that you find your success in the least likely places. You find your triumph
where trial is present. Inna ma’al usr, yusr, because within the tests of life and
the austerity and difficulty is in fact the liberty, freedom and expanse. And
she’s the one who approaches them by Allah’s divine intervention, prohibiting
upon Musa to suckle of all of the women who were offered to him until finally
his sister, she says, I can adullukum, I can lead you to somebody who he will
accept. Faradadnaahu ila ummihi, he was returned to his mother. Finally, his
wife Safura alayha salam,
You know, this woman who is willing to be step and step, even in the decision
of Musa to leave her ancestral lands, to leave the people of Madian, to begin
this journey, to go out into the desert where they get lost. And she trusts that
he sees a life that she can’t see. And he leaves her and her family in a place
that’s protected while ascending a mountain, not knowing if he will return
back to them, SubhanAllah. But here’s the ayah, wa alqaytu alayka
mahabbatan minni Musa, I cloaked you with my love, SubhanAllah. You know,
Musa is a person who had killed a man. And Allah says, I covered you with my
love. You know, at this moment, you may not see yourself as being worthy of
Allah’s love. You and I may look at ourself at a moment in time and say, I’m not
right. I’m not the person. I’m not where I should be with Allah. But Allah loves
you, maybe not for who you are now or what you were before, but what you are
transitioning to. The redemption that awaits you, the redemption that awaited
Musa, all of these who prepared him for what he would have as a battle in life
was all because of the love of Allah. That when Allah loves you, even Fir’awn
can’t harm you. Like, could you imagine? He’s going to walk into the palace of
Pharaoh and arsul ma’I bani Isra’il, let my people go. That Allah is going to
bring down one of the greatest civilizations human beings have known. And
that Musa alayhi salam walks in undeterred, untouched, fearful in his heart,
but majestic and powerful in his stride because he knows one thing, that
Allah’s love is always with us. Never, my dear brother, my dear sister,
Ever forget that the cloak of Allah’s love is upon us, that we can increase it and
that we can magnify it, that you and I have greatness still in our life to be
achieved. Wallahi allathee la ilaha ghayruh. If you take advantage of this
moment, even just this moment in this blessed month of Ramadan, whether
you’re about to begin your fast as I am here in Perth in Western Australia, or
you’re soon to end it like my dear brothers in America, wherever you are in the
world, just humble your heart to Allah and ask Allah for your love. I end with
the dua of Dawood alayhi salam. The dua that the Prophet tells us, this is the
dua of my brother Dawood. He used to say, Allahumma inni as’aluka hubba.
Oh Allah, I ask you, I beg of you, your love. Wahubba man yuhibbuk, the love of
those who love you. Wahubba al-aman allathee yukarribuni ila hubbik and the
love of the deeds that will endear me to you, oh Allah. Oh Allah, make your
love for me more important, more valuable than my love for even water and
my own existence. May Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la grant us his love, grant us
his protection. May Allah allow us to believe in ourself. Allahumma shrah
sudurana, wa yassir umurana. Allahumma quwwinna dhunubana, wa
taqabbalna bihaadha ash-shakri-l mubarak. Ya arham al-raheem. May you be
blessed wherever you are, as you rise and as you set, and as you walk and as
you sit. May Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la grant his light and his love into our
hearts and allow us to stand firm against the wiswas of the shaytan and the
deterrences that have been put as nothing more than a trial that allows us to
flourish into our future. Allahumma ameen. JazakAllah khair, Shaykh.
It almost feels wrong to say anything after that. This is SubhanAllah, so
powerful. JazakAllah khair. You know, last year, my favorite episode, I said this,
my favorite was actually Shaykh Jihad Safir when he talked about Musa alayhi
salam and his moments of being a fugitive, and he connected that to some of
those that he works with, right, that are in that sort of lowest low in their lives.
And what you just said about Musa alayhi salam, SubhanAllah, I mean, when
you can see hope like that in a prophet, sometimes it’s even more powerful
than the prophet Yunus alayhi salam, right? Like literally being at the bottom
of the ocean, sometimes feeling like the lowest version of yourself and feeling
that desperate. I mean, the desperation of Musa alayhi salam comes out so
many ways, and all of it was simply a means of elevation for him, for him to be
from those alladheena an’amallahu alayhim, who Allah chose. May Allah
Subhanahu wa ta’ala make us from sirat alladheena an’amta alayhim, those
who he is pleased with, those who have earned his favor. Allahumma ameen.
Shaykh Abdullah, I can tell you were moved by what Shaykh Yahya was saying.
If you want to say anything, the floor is yours, inshallah. No, mashaAllah, just
how he ended it with the love of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala. We should never
give up and have despair with the beautiful names and attributes of Allah, and
particularly love, because a lot of times people that convert to Islam are those
that were Muslim and they made a huge mistake. Only Allah knows, and
maybe another person. Shaytan will make you think you’re not good enough.
You’re not good enough. Who are you to try to become clean? Just
remembering the love of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala is always there and it’s
waiting. It’s just upon you to make this small effort, because the whole
concept of tawfiq, of Allah enabling you to do the good, is a small window of
responsibility. That’s why we thank the people that, mashaAllah, have
converted to Islam,
Or you youth that are listening to this and just trying to find your way. Keep
going, because Allah loves you and He’s there waiting. JazakAllah khair for
that. Allahu Akbar. Beautiful. Shaykh Yahya. If there’s anything that I would say
as well, that the love of Allah is granted to those who are tested by Allah. اَذِ
إ
َح َّب
َ
أ
َ
ََّللا َعْب ًدا ىهُ
ْبتَلَ
ِ
إ That when Allah loves a servant, He tests them. So when you
find yourself tested by Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala, that’s a moment. That’s a
moment of clarity that in your heart, I want you to know that this is a favour
from Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala, if it brings you back towards Him, if it makes
you more resilient and more adaptive and more aware of your circumstances
and your surroundings. This is a sign of love that you find yourself questioning.
How worthy am I of it? It’s a sign of love of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala for you
that He is bringing you up under His watchful eye. Because the end of that
َو َع ِلي ,is verse
ى ْصنَ
تُ
َعل ِمي َ
ْ
عل ِI prepared you under My watchful eye, Ya Musa. So
each and every hurdle you overcome, each and every sabr moment you have
in your life, is a notch in your love meter with Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Beautiful. Sheikh Yahya, to sort of end this off on something that I think is
something that’s sort of occupying a lot of our hearts right now. And obviously
when we do Quran 30 for 30, we start lighthearted. Because I think that there’s
some benefits, some value to that obviously, in just the love and the nature of
our relationship with one another as human beings. This is also a gift from
Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala to us. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم smiled and laughed even
through very difficult moments.
But what’s happening at Al-Aqsa, the people of Ash-Sham, who Allah has the
angels spreading their wings over them, and they are beloved to Him despite
the great trials. You were in Al-Aqsa recently, right? Yes, SubhanAllah, it was
such a great blessing. My khutbah al-jumu’ah was about Isa صلى الله عليه وسلم and about
Maryam. Kunnama dakhala alayha zakariya al-mihrab. Where’s that mihrab?
It’s in that very land where people have been hooded and handcuffed and
their hands tied. It’s as if they’re animals being laid to waste. But this is just a
sign of Allah’s love to a people who were created for that land. SubhanAllah,
when you visit, you know that these are people who were meant to be the
people of this land. Because with all due respect to myself and my family and
likely yours, you’re not, we’re not fit to be in that revolt. We’re not the ones
who are built for that. Wa li tusna AAadaAAaymi You were prepared for that.
And that’s the reality. May Allah جل جلاله forgive us for our shame and our weakness
and our inability. May Allah جل جلاله grant relief and thabbit aqdamahum. You know,
make their feet firm. Allahumma fariq alayna sabra You know, pour down your
patience into our hearts, into their homes, upon their widows, upon their
orphans, upon those whose children are imprisoned unjustly for year upon
year and hour upon hour. May Allah جل جلاله allow whatever indignation that they
face at the hands of usurpers and criminals be an honor for them in this life
and in the next. And we are people who don’t look at the dunya as being more
valuable than the akhira.
JazakAllah khair. Beautiful. May Allah جل جلاله liberate us and may Allah جل جلاله make us
worthy. Allahumma ameen.
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