Juz’ 18 Qur’an 30 for 30
Juz 18 urges us, in a variety of ways, to examine our hearts. Are we submitting
to Allah? Do we feel pulled towards evil and idleness, or towards goodness
and action? Have we internalized that our time on Earth is limited? Sh.
Abdullah Oduro and Dr. Omar Suleiman, along with Sh. Suleiman Hani,
encourage us to consider these questions and examine the true state of our
faith.
Welcome back to Qur’an 30 for 30. You might have caught the tail end of
Shaykh Abdullah doing an Arabic version, an Arabic version of the Fresh
Prince, something like that. You heard it. Shaykh Suleyman was a witness to it.
So something was happening before we got started. But Alhamdulillah, before
I get started inshallah really quickly, Alhamdulillah, we’re getting into the last
10 nights. Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la allow us all to observe Laylatul Qadr.
Allahumma Ameen. So a couple of very important things inshallah. Number
one, the webathon which is going to be coming up inshallah ta’ala this
Wednesday. Please do tune in. It’s not just a long fundraising webathon. It is
lots of benefit inshallah. We have topics for every speaker, five-minute gems,
people dropping in a lot of your favorite Qur’an 30 for 30 guests inshallah
ta’ala coming. And also to automate your donations inshallah for the last 10
nights. Obviously there are many great causes that are out there. This is the
time of the year where bi’idhnani ta’ala we count on your support to really be
able to take this to the next level inshallah ta’ala. And obviously, you know,
with everything else, the programming that’s going on, actually Sheikh
Suleiman Hani Alhamdulillah is with us. Sheikh Suleiman, how’s it going?
Alhamdulillah, BarakAllahu Fikum Sheikh. How are you guys doing?
Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah. One of the things that we added
last year with Sheikh Suleiman was the du’a of the last 10 nights. So you can
tune in on YouTube inshallah ta’ala. Sheikh Suleiman will be leading a live du’a
every night inshallah ta’ala. We’ll have late night reflections as well going
reminders. Basically the channel will just be on inshallah. So just keep your
yaqeen YouTube subscribed to inshallah ta’ala and following all the great
content that’ll be coming out in the nighttime. But one of those, JazakAllah
khair, Sheikh Suleiman will be leading the last 10 nights du’a inshallah ta’ala.
Sheikh Suleiman, make du’a for me man. You’re always in my du’a Sheikh,
always. Make du’a for me to be able to overcome Sheikh Abdullah in this ping
pong match.
That is going to happen in the last 10 as well inshallah. We’re going to make it
happen in the last 10 inshallah. So make du’a for me to win. Sheikh, I’m
getting in his head now already. I haven’t even done anything. It’s affecting him
mentally already. He needs du’a. Yeah, Sheikh Suleiman, why do you want to
fight Sheikh Abdullah? Why do you want to fight him? I’m just trying to
understand. For the sake of Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la. Fight him for the
sake of Allah. Out of love for him. Allah Akbar. To learn from him. Anytime I’m
feeling sore after a workout, I think of Sheikh Abdullah. See, that’s when you
make du’a for me. Alhamdulillah. This ping pong, Sheikh, you look a little tired.
Did y’all play like some flag football last night or anything like that? I didn’t see
any recordings and you were nowhere to be found on the field. I didn’t see any
recordings, so that means you didn’t. There must have been a whole bunch of
interceptions and turnovers on your part, I’m assuming. I mean, it’s personal.
Ask your people in Kapel. Ask your people in Kapel, Sheikh. Ask my people in
Kapel. Ask what happened. Okay, I’ll ask my husband. I’ll ask his brothers.
InshaAllah. ZakumAllahu khayran. We’re going to get started inshaAllah Ta’ala.
Alhamdulillah wa rabbal alameen wa salatu wa salamu ala Rasool Allah wa
ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala. We are now in Juz 18. SubhanAllah.
SubhanAllah. Time is really flying. And we come to these chapters of AlMu’minoon and Al-Noor. And subhanAllah, the way that the chapters are set
up tells a story in and of itself. Surah Al-Mu’minoon, there’s often a great focus
on the first ayat of Surah Al-Mu’minoon. And for good reason, Allah
Subhanahu wa ta’ala gives us a list of qualities of the believers in the
beginning of Surah Al-Mu’minoon. And it perfectly lays out a constitution for
the believer’s life in their individual, in their family, in their communal life.
Everything gets laid out so beautifully and perfectly in Surah Al-Mu’minoon.
But subhanAllah, when I say the story is told in the arrangement of the surah
sometimes. Surah Al-Noor obviously speaks to this incident, Hadithatul Ifk,
the slander of our mother Aisha radiAllahu ta’ala anha. And the idea that had
they applied the qualities, the verses of Al-Mu’minoon, they would not have
ended up in the disaster of Al-Ifk, of the slander of Aisha radiAllahu ta’ala
anha. SubhanAllah, if you look at the beginning of Al-Mu’minoon, when Allah
Subhanahu wa ta’ala mentions, Alladheenahum fee salatihim khashi’oon,
walladheenahum anil laghwi mu’idudoon. Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala
mentions those who cut out idle speech, they don’t engage in speech which is
not beneficial to them. And many of those who would fall into the Ifk, the
slander of Aisha radiAllahu ta’ala anha, they passed it along in a very casual
way, forwarding it, but not necessarily thinking about it. Allah Azawajal
mentions that their tongues met the slander, they didn’t even think about it.
Talaqaonahu arsinatahum, their tongues met it. And they just repeated it, and
it just got forwarded all around, forwarded many times, the slander of our
mother Aisha radiAllahu ta’ala anha, until when it’s forwarded enough, it
becomes fact, even if it is complete fiction, as was this case. But this idea that
had they applied the verses of Al-Mu’minoon, then this would not have
happened. But I think that inshaAllah ta’ala what we want to talk about
tonight, and I know that Shaykh Suleiman inshaAllah ta’ala will also be
focusing on it, is that the end of Al-Mu’minoon actually speaks quite a bit
about the way that these people are akhira focused. They’re focused on the
hereafter. And so Al-Mu’minoon starts off with these qualities that become
manifest in this life, but it ends off with these qualities that really speak about
their longing towards the hereafter.
And what I was looking at for tonight are verses 57 through 61. Inna alladhina
hum min khashyati rabbihim mushfiqoon Surely those who tremble in awe of
their Lord walladhina hum bi-ayati rabbihim mu’minoon And those, or
yu’minoon, afwan, those who believe in the revelations of their Lord. So you
have those who tremble in awe of their Lord and those who believe in the
verses of their Lord. Walladhina hum bi-rabbihim la yushriqoon And they are
those who do not associate anyone with their Lord. Walladhina yu’toona
ma’ata wa quloobuhum wajila And those who give what they give and their
hearts are trembling, their hearts are fearful. annahum ila rabbihim raji’oon
because they know that they are returning back to their Lord. And Allah
Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la says, oodaika yusari’oona fil khairat wa hum laha
sabiqoon They are the ones who rush to do good deeds, always, always ahead
of the pack. They are always amongst the foremost. SubhanAllah, to unpack
these qualities of the believers, they are less observable to the eye of another
human being, but they are so much more observable to Allah Subh’anaHu Wa
Ta-A’la and fundamental to actually manifesting and bringing about those
qualities that we speak about in the beginning of Surah Al-Mu’minun. So you
go through it, right? These people who first and foremost have khashiyah, this
awe of Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la that causes them to tremble. And this
belief in the verses, the guidance that comes from Allah Subh’anaHu Wa TaA’la, because they have both the khashiyah and the iman, then what that ends
up doing is it leads them to a place where they do not associate a partner with
Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la.
So that’s the negation, the la ilaha part, there is no God other than Allah
Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la, and then the affirmation part. They spend out of what
Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la has given to them. They do all sorts of good. And
Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la actually did not specify here just money, but
they do all sorts of good, Wa qulubuhum wajila and their hearts are in
complete awe of Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la, completely connected to that
reality, but really the fact that Annahum ila rabbihim raji’oon that they’re going
back to their Lord. They know that they’re headed back to Allah Subh’anaHu
Wa Ta-A’la. So what does Allah say? Olaika yusari’oona fil khairat wa humnaha
sari’oon These people are rushing towards these good deeds, and they’re
always ahead of the pack. In the last juz, in the last juz, Surat Al-Anbiya,
Ata’amru Allah falatasta’ajiloo or Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la mentions in the
beginning of Surat Al-Anbiya, Iqtarabal linaasi hisaabun loon fee ghaflatin
mu’ajidoon that the hisaab is coming closer to these people, and they are
insisting on digging themselves deeper in heedlessness. So the closer their
hisaab is coming to them, the less their deeds are reflecting the reality of the
approaching Day of Judgment. Instead, it’s the opposite. They’re getting
further and further steeped into their heedlessness. So look at the opposite
here that comes with al-mu’minoon. They are rushing towards the akhira,
even though they are still in this life. They are putting all sorts of deposits
towards the hereafter, knowing that they will return to their Lord. Annahum ila
rabbihim wa raji’oon And this is a beautiful verse that Aisha radiAllahu ta’ala
anha actually asked the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam about in an
authentic hadith. She said, Ya Rasulullah, is this referring to people who steal
or drink alcohol? And the reason why she says that is that a lot of times you
see people make this sudden turn in their lives after they recognize that
they’ve gone far away from Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la.
So is this who this is talking about? And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam said, it’s not people that are trying to climb out of a deep hole per
se, but at the same time the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam gave another
manifestation that seems to be the opposite of that. He says, this refers to
people who pray, this refers to people who fast, this refers to people who give
sadaqah, but they’re afraid that their deeds are not enough. They’re afraid that
their deeds are going to be turned away. So these are the people, ulaika
yusari’oon fil khairat These are the people that are constantly rushing towards
good deeds, and they are amongst the sabiqoon, may Allah Subh’anaHu Wa
Ta-A’la make us amongst them. They are amongst those who are rushing
towards it. Tayyab, if you move now to Surah An-Nur, and this is very
significant, you find that there are people that are sabiqoon in khair, they are
forerunners in good. And I want you to think about good and evil as a
spectrum. They’re on two opposite ends of the course. If you are in pursuit of
khair, if you are sabiqoon towards khair, then you are far away from the neutral
place, and on top of that, you’re certainly not sabiqoon ila shab, people that
rush towards evil. And this is where you find that what pulls you, and at what
speed it pulls you, and at what weight it pulls you, actually says a lot about the
state of your heart. So many of those who rush towards rumor mongering,
who rush towards slander, gossip, scandal, this is a disease of the heart. So
you have this one group of people, this one set of people, Allah is talking about
Surah Al-Mu’minoon, who qulubuhum wajida, their hearts are completely
occupied by anahum ila rabbihim raji’oon, that they’re going back to Allah
Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la. And so they’re fearful of that reality, and they are
sabiqoon ila khairat, they are rushing towards good deeds. And then look at
the next surah, verse 19, Surah An-Nur, Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la says,
inna ladheena yuhibboona an tashia’il fahisha tu fil ladheena aamanu
Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la says, those who indeed, those who love to see
fahisha, indecency, spread amongst the believers, lahum a’adhabun aleem fi
dunya wal akhira they will suffer a painful punishment in this life and in the
next. Wallahu ya’an wa ma antumu la ta’alamun Allah knows and you do not
know. This is a very powerful contrast, right? Because there are people that
rush towards scandal, rush towards slander, there is no sharr, no evil, no
gossip, except that they are going to dip their tongues into it, they are going to
get involved into it, for no reason. They are not even involved in it whatsoever,
something can be happening that is completely out of their circle, but their
hearts are diseased and they incline towards those things. So immediately
when they see an opportunity towards that sharr, they jump into it, right? The
believers, the mu’minoon, are too focused on being sabihuna ila khairat, in
rushing towards good to rush towards evil. Their hearts are too concerned
with that return to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala to corrupt it with the concern for
people’s awrat, people’s shame and indulgence in that which is not beneficial
to the heart. So they are too busy, heart, mind and deed, right? This is what
Surah al-Mu’minoon talks about, people that are completely engaged, they
are immersed in this iman, right? Tasdiq in every way, everything confirms it,
their words confirm what’s in the heart, their deeds confirm it, their money
shows towards it, their speech shows towards it, everything is directed
towards the akhirah. So how are they going to also be inclined towards sharr?
Allah did not put two hearts in a single person, right? Allah did not do that to
us. So if the heart is immersed in that, it’s not going to find space for the other
stuff. If the tongue is busy with the dhikr of Allah, it’s not going to find itself
easily repeating some of the dhikr, the remembrance of people in a way that’s
negative.
And so SubhanAllah you find again this contrast, right? If you apply what’s in
al-Mu’minoon, you don’t end up in the predicament that is highlighted in
Surah al-Nur. And SubhanAllah in this ayah Allah Azawajal says in conclusion,
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala says again, Lahum a’adhabun alimun fi al-dunya
wa al-akhirah that people that like to spread rumors and scandals, they will
have a painful punishment in this life and in the hereafter. Notice Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala specified both the dunya and the akhirah. And there’s a
hadith from Thoban radiAllahu ta’ala Anwar, there are many similar narrations
that the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said, La tu’thuu ibadallah, do not
harm the servants of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala. Wa la tu’ayyiroohum, do not
abuse the servants of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala. Wa la tu’tluboo awratihim,
and do not seek out their faults. Fa innahum man talaba awrata akhihi,
whoever goes out seeking the faults of his brother, talaba Allahu awratahu
hatta yafdahahu fee baytihi. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala will go after the faults
of that person and degrade him and expose him even if he’s hiding in his
house. SubhanAllah, like there is no shelter for that person. So the one who
shames, who spreads scandals, rumors, and is sabiq, a forerunner towards
that evil, will find that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala will treat them in like
manner in this life and even worse in the hereafter. May Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta’ala protect us, may Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala keep us busy with the
hereafter, our concern towards the hereafter, so that we don’t fall into the
disasters that are in front of us in this dunya that lead to humiliation in this life
and in the next. SubhanAllah, Allahumma ameen. InshaAllah Ta’ala I’ll pass it
to Sheikh Suleiman who’s also going to be speaking about Surah AlMu’minoon. Fadlashaih Suleiman. JazakumAllahu khairan Sheikh,
barakAllahu feekum. Beautiful reflections, SubhanAllah. There’s so much to
unpack with every ayah that was covered. We ask Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala
to make us amongst the believers consistently throughout our lives and to die
upon iman.
Allahumma ameen. I want to emphasize the opening scene of Surah AlMu’minoon is a promise as well. Qad aflaha al-mu’minoon is in the past
tense. It’s about the believers who already succeeded. And so it’s a reminder
to all of the believers around the world and to those who are coming after us
and to those who came before us that it is a guarantee from Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta’ala and the promise of Allah is always true. So when you are reading
these verses about the believers who already succeeded think about the final
scene, the final destination in mind, paradise. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala
make us amongst the people of Jannah. Allahumma ameen. The surah covers
a number of characteristics. Each one of these verses are just gems in terms
of what it is that we need to be doing in our lives to be guided, upright,
protected, blessed. It is also a transformation for society, not just in one family
or for one community. It is a transformation of civilizations by following these
ayat, by following the traits and the characteristics that Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta’ala wants of us. The rest of the surah also covers some of the stories of
previous prophets. What I want to focus on is just the last part of surah AlMu’minoon. It is approximately a page and a half in the Madani Mus’haf. It is a
very quick scene. And of course to summarize the scene, follow and watch in
depth the Yaqeen series for this Ramadan. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala
bless everyone who worked on it. Allahumma ameen. But it starts with a very
frightening scene right here. ى
َحتَّ
ِذَا
ُم َء إ
َجا
َح َدهُ
َم أ ْو ُت َ
death When ا ْر ِجعُو َن َربِ ال قَا َل ِّ ِه ْ
reaches one of these people, he says, my Lord, allow me to go back. Why
would anyone wish to come back? Generally speaking, these kinds of verses
about regret, the verses about remorse, the verses about facing
consequences, indicate to us that the punishment this person has seen and
the consequences are so severe that they would wish to come back to this life
of all places. This person requests to come back from Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta’ala
And I want us to think about the level of regret that they have. If the message
of Allah reached this person, every sign that they needed reached them in this
ِيَّا .world
َرْو َوإ
not would they, sign of type every given were they If كُ َّل آيَ ة َل يُ ْؤ ِمنُوا بِ َها
accept those signs. And they weren’t required to pay a ransom or a significant
fee of the entire world in the weight of gold or in terms of wealth or in terms of
degrees or in terms of worldly accomplishments. What we are required to do
is to submit to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala, worship Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta’ala. This person kept rejecting those signs. Maybe they stood on the fence,
maybe they watched, maybe they pursued their desires, they had worldly
agendas, peer pressure, whatever it may be. But they kept delaying, they kept
ignoring, they kept procrastinating, they kept rejecting and in many cases, of
course, the disbelievers emphasize in the context of Surah Al-Mu’minun, they
also mocked the believers. So now they are facing the consequences, the
reality, that what you mocked, what you made fun of, what you ignored, what
you neglected, what you tried to escape from is a reality and now you have to
face that reality. So they request to come back to this life. Kalla, the request is
denied. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala does not allow it to happen. So now they
start with this new realm of existence, the soul has moved on in the state of AlBarzakh. You cannot come back to this world for more opportunity. You
cannot come back to this world to change what it is that you were given an
opportunity to do in the first place. The consequences have started and the
opportunity has ended. Fast forward, the trumpet is blown, mentioned in
these verses of Surah Al-Mu’minun and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala
emphasizes the believers are successful once again. The disbelievers, those
who received the message, rejected it, they’re in loss and they ask once again
to escape from the punishment, from the consequences and one of the worst
punishments of the next life, Qalikh sa’oo feehaa wa laa tu kallimoon
Is for someone to be on the receiving end of hearing from Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta’ala remain therein, remain in the fire and do not speak to me anymore. It’s
not getting to know Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala. The worst of punishments is
not knowing who your Lord is in this life and not wanting to know who your
Lord is in this life and not being able to experience Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala
in the next life in terms of being able to speak to Him, In terms of being
pleased with Him. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala also mentions that these
specific individuals, they mocked the believers, that there were a group of
people in this world who used to make dua. They were on the receiving end of
harassment, they were on the receiving end of abuse, they were on the
receiving end of doubts as well. So there’s the emotional, there’s the physical,
there’s the aspect of the relationships and the societal, there’s the pressure
overall against the believer and the believer holds on to their faith. What do
they do? They pray to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala for forgiveness and for
mercy. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala grant us that humility to always pray to
Him. The end result of all of this, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala says, and this is
the promise that should always uplift you, motivate you, allow you to move
forward, allow you to stay strong, allow you to persevere and endure. Inni
jazaytuhumul yawma bima sabaru, anna hum humul fa’izun. I have rewarded
them on this day because of their perseverance, because of their sabr, that
they are the true winners. That is success. Let us not fool ourselves into
thinking that material success is the ultimate success or that the chasing of
glory or fame or degrees or wealth or relationships or anything else of this
world that may be a worldly metric for success or may be an accomplishment
in some way. If it is not aligned with the purpose of life, if it is not aligned with
the purpose for which we exist, then it does not follow us to the grave and it
does us no good whatsoever. The only currency that you’ll take is the good
that is aligned with what Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala created you for.
And if you don’t know where to start, the ayat here indicate that the believers
at least made dua. Start with dua. If you do not know where to begin, at least
ask Allah for forgiveness. Oh Allah have mercy on me. Oh Allah forgive me.
And know that by making dua, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala already turned to
you. And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala emphasizes here after this point the
factor of time. Time is such an interesting concept we cannot fully
comprehend in this world. How long did you spend on earth? How long did
you spend in this world? How many years? Qalu labithna yawman aw ba’da
yawm. We spent a day or part of a day. Fas’alil addeen. Time is referenced
here so that you know just how fast your journey actually is beyond our
comprehension. And yet we all observe this every day as human beings how
quickly the years pass by. A child is born, they learn to walk, the child grows
up, teenagers, parents, marriage, children, people depart. And as people are
departing constantly around the world, we ask Allah to have mercy on our
brothers and sisters all around the world. People are entering this world as
well. We observe time in different ways with specific markers such as noticing
the end of every week or noticing every Jum’ah, every Friday. Noticing the
beginning of a month perhaps. And for many people every time Ramadan
comes around noticing just how quickly it came by and then how quickly it
departed. And so as we are experiencing all of this we ask what do you
remember of the last few weeks? As quickly as it passed by so too will the rest
of our lives. And we don’t want to be in a state of regret that the time that
passed by very quickly was not utilized for something good. And standing
there with that regret does us no good. So I want to actually leave us with four
guarantees right here. Just kind of four principles inshallah ta’ala. The first is
the pain of regret in the hereafter is greater than the pain of self-discipline in
this world Number two, the pain of regret in the hereafter is greater than the
pleasure of sinfulness in this world..
Number three, the pleasure of celebration in the hereafter is greater than the
pleasure of sinfulness in this world And number four, the pleasure of
celebration in the hereafter is greater than the discomfort of self-discipline in
this world world at the end of the surah do you believe do you think then that
you are created without purpose?… there is here an intellectual and spiritual
rhetorical question addressed to those who are in doubt Allah Subhanahu wa
ta’ala did not create us without purpose as many people around the world are
proposing, suggesting, believing as many strands of new atheists and
postmodernists are trying to teach people or in fact one of the issues now is
that this is affecting education it’s affecting media it’s affecting cultural norms
to the extent that a lot of people are confused you have a purpose and with
that because you have a purpose you’re not taking your purpose from other
people you’re not validated because of other people you’re not good because
of what other people see you’re good because Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala
created you with a potential for something greater and then the surah ends
with forgiveness the surah ends with a dua, an emphasis that the believers
have succeeded so the believers are the ones who turn to Allah Subhanahu
wa ta’ala and make dua knowing that Allah is ever merciful no matter how
many times you fall short you’re thinking about what the potential to become
better the potential to change and if we want to end on that note and be
amongst the believers who succeeded… say and pray my lord have forgive me
and have mercy on me for you are the best of those who show mercy may
Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala forgive us and have mercy on us and allow us to
experience the pleasure of worshiping him in this life and the pleasure of
celebration in the next life Allahumma ameen. BarakAllahu fikir Sheikh Zainab,
I really appreciate that.
Jums upon jums mashallah so I hope someone captured the the points that
you made in the comments inshallah ta’ala but hopefully we can repeat them
once again at the end inshallah. Sheikh Abdullah Tufulli Sheikh…. Mashallah I
like how he mentioned the pleasure of worshipping Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala
really you know a lot of times we as human beings we want to rest and we
want to have the quote-unquote easy way out we may view as easy but at the
same time many of us that have gone to school many of us that have worked
hard on our bodies physically even mentally when going to maybe therapy and
it’s taken years maybe a marriage that we’ve worked at worked on for years
and we mashallah we’ve reached a point to where we are happy individually
and we come together as happy people the struggle as we say the struggle is
real right but the struggle is something that when one has a goal and they have
a you know a light at the end of the tunnel that they’re looking towards it’s
important to realize that nothing comes except without struggle not struggle
nothing valuable comes except without struggle that’s struggle to know who
God is and that struggle of worship the struggle to submit that is what we want
that is what Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala loves and with that he enables you to
to feel that level of pleasure when you worship Allah to the degree to where
when you leave off an aspect of worship you feel a sense of loss you know
when you wake up and the Sun is beaming in your face you didn’t praise the
lots of Fajr you know that the fact of Fajr being a sense of sakinah and
tranquility you know many of you when you come home from work a salatul
asr and you pray asr in the masjid or at home and you feel humbly Allah the
stress if there was any stress from today it’s been alleviated it’s been it’s been
taken off of my shoulders you know that is the the level to the abadah the
sweetness of servitude and the sweetness of faith..
Which comes from the sweetness of faith and that’s what I want to talk about
here in Surah Nur verse number 51 and 52 just basically capitalizing on the
voluntary submission to Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala via understanding who
Allah has appointed from the prophets of the last of them being the Prophet
Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him and valuing that Sunnah of the
Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam and understanding that that is a major
milestone in our success Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala says after all the
billamina shaitan regime in the Macana all the more meaning either do it
either do in Allah or a solely he’ll ya come up a no home and you’ll lose a man
now apana what will I become one more people Allah says the only statement
of the true believers is when they are called to Allah and his messenger to
judge between them is that they say we hear and we obey and those are the
successful let’s dissect this just a little bit firstly Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala
says in the Macana goal and meaning this way of in the Arabic were in the
Arabic the way he has set up the sentence subhana in the mass to show verily
it’s to show that this is surely here and it’s only come it’s only confined to the
group of people that would be mentioned after it or the statement of the
people that will be mentioned after it in the Macana all the meaning and when
he says canna means it is something that is must amir and it is much a muck
in theme it is something that is known to be of a characteristic that is within
them it is something that these people with this title this is what will emanate
from them this is what they’ll say or this is what they’ll do so Allah says here
verily the statement of the people it was known or the statement of the true
believers when they are called to Allah and his messenger in the mechanic
following what meaning cola and meaning the statement of the movement we
mentioned earlier shake on one shake on one mentioned earlier the meaning
as we know in the hadith the Jibreel there’s a long hadith where a man came to
the..
Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam and he was an angel and the prophet
sallallahu alayhi wasallam basically mentioned Islam and Iman and Ihsan
many scholars have derived many benefits from this and from them is that
one may be the Muslim but a higher maqam or a loftier position is to being a
movement and then the Mohsen so we see in particular here the movement is
the one that possesses Iman and Iman for lack of better words and really
doesn’t do justice to translate it to just say belief Iman is a much more
comprehensive term it comes from safety being trustworthy to feeling safe
saw the quinn I mean is possibly called the trustworthy truthful person so
when you have this belief in Allah and his names and his attributes and you
exemplify within your statements and actions that is what you retreat to you
retreat to what Allah has given you to find the ultimate man in your heart I love
you think like a tomato Colu it is not what the remember is it not what the
remembrance of Allah that people find serenity solace Sakina tranquility so
the movement is the one that relies on their Iman rather it is their anchor for
success in all facets of life so Allah subhanahu wa’ta’ala is saying here in the
mechanic all and what meaning that either do it Allah or a silly the Akuma
bane home if they were called so you being called to Allah and his messenger
ie when you hear something about Islam and you know that it’s authentic
when you know that it’s something from Allah and his messenger when you
know you should be doing something or staying away from something you
fighting yourself is an action of Iman and Allah loves it that is a struggle when
you are when they are called to do something that is to judge between them to
where there may be a dispute between you as a husband and a wife husbands
I sincerely you know it’s a plea that if there is something in your family you
know that something is going on and you don’t want to go to therapy you don’t
want to try to make amends to it you know your wife..
May be seeing is a move towards trying to make things better you may not at
the moment but the movement at this time they want to make sure that this
relationship is founded upon belief in Allah is founded upon showing gratitude
to the one that blessed me with my wife that blessed me with my children so
when it comes to doing Hikm or Hukam to make a judgment between you two
if it is not in your favor it’s fine because you have patience with what Allah has
predestined and your goal ultimately is to please Allah so in the last one dollar
says when the person the statement of the true believers when they are called
to Allah and his messenger to judge between them is that they say we hear
and we obey Samina what Altana and those are the successful the ones that
when they are called that they say we hear and we obey this is true is this Lam
only lacking it or he true submission to Allah subhanahu wa’ta’ala by showing
virtue of his oneness that submission in his oneness and his greatness there’s
no one greater than you yeah Allah I understand that you are the greatest that
you are at Akbar that you are a Samir you hear all you will be able to you see all
you and Hakeem the wisdom that you have provided that you have given is
based on your knowledge and I submit to that I don’t submit to my limited
intellect because it is fine it will end my worldview and how I view my life is by
what you want for me I submit to your message willingly and that is what a
Muslim is when one admits that and they voluntarily do the acts based on that
that is where they can reach the level of a moment and then one reaches to
where everything or the majority of what they do their motivation is behind I
know Allah is looking and he is watching me and it is as though I see him and
though I don’t see him I know with yaqeen shameless plug I know and I’m
certain that he sees me that he hears me that he assists me that he will cure
me all these beautiful names and attributes so that is the characteristics..
Of those that are the muflihoon and the scholars say muflih is a baqa it’s an
everlasting blessing the muflih is the one that has an everlasting blessing so
the ones that respond to Allah and his messenger that when they hear this
message they know that it is a means of success and that is when one
reaches a level to pahala I’ll never forget and I remember one of my mentors
he said and I’ll end here inshallah he said man if I didn’t have a slam I would
be a fool I would be just I would just be totally misguided I would not have any
direction and I know that I can’t rely on myself if I was to rely on myself I would
be doomed so it really goes back to brothers and sisters this essential
principle which we all need each and every one of us need every single time
which is one of the wisdom while we pray five times a day at least Allah knows
that we will fall short but Allah gives you the framework and the blueprint to
remember him ie remember the beautiful names and attributes and how that
applies in your life and that is the key to success and everlasting success the
ultimate success is being with him in Jannah may Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala
make us of the meaning to those that whenever we hear a statement of him or
the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam we know that that is a key to success I
mean appreciate it appreciate the shameless plug to you realize we need to
shameless plug we just came right back on the screen like and sheikhs a man
also used the word rhetorical which I’ve never heard another guest use so
that’s your word man but beautiful reflections on the moment on a question
for both of you you know when a person is looking at the qualities of these
won’t mean one and they feel a great sense of defeat you..
Know just when I was leaving the whole by the way my sister told me I hear
everything you’re talking about backbiting and things of that sort and no
matter what I do I just can’t stop it happens and I I just I blurt and what I told
her was you know start tracking it start holding yourself accountable right like
to these traits you know track how many times then hold yourself accountable
and try to actually you know systematically bring about these traits that you
want to have and obviously the ones that do away with the negative ones and
have accountability partners but there’s still I think that that often that sense
of defeat and both of you touched on redemption forgiveness but like I’m
reading about the moment you know and I’m like wow and the second thing by
the way maybe both of you can add to that someone slandered someone
gossiped backbited hurt someone with their tongue so long ago they don’t
even know how to find the person anymore they don’t know where to start it’s
been a habit of theirs what’s their pathway back to a lost habitat so it’s a
difficult question I’m dropping on both of you but it’s fresh in my mind just
because of some of these conversations so whoever wants to start with some
more so that’s a handle okay now I would say I’m subhanallah one thing that I
was in mention is you know again it’s a struggle and the fact that you even
concerned and asking the question is a blessing in of itself that’s the first step
that Allah’s one dollars is blessing you that you’re even asking the question
and you’re concerned about it I would say continue on that journey let’s take a
summer or hell that don’t ever give up on a lost $1 assistance of you because
that in actuality isn’t assistance that you have even concerned and asking
internally in your heart and then having the courage you could have seen
shake or more you know walk away and say oh he’s already gone you know I’m
not gonna ask or you know my internet isn’t working or you know his phone
was his line was busy I’m gonna call later and you don’t call later you..
Know so the fact of content continuing being persistent and like tracking I
always tell myself you know some panel I think it’s important one of one of my
close friends he I called him one day I was like I’ve been calling you for two
weeks he’s like yeah I’m fasting I fasted from my phone you know to fast from
electronics you know fasting link linguistically as Maryam said in the doctor
Larry manny so man that I made an oath of my Lord to to fast you know not let
me come in a new man see a lot protesting that she doesn’t speak to people
because it was something much greater which the birth of a son I lay Salam
but fasting from things that we know that we’re kind of attached to that’s the
beauty of Salat to detach from those things of this dunya so even with your
phone yes it has things that you’re doing this how long on it but just keeping
away from it for a period of time looking on your internet go to your YouTube
and look at your history and look at what you’re consuming and then be
honest and evaluate yourself have someone that holds you accountable right
as far as the individual when it comes to you’ve probably back bit someone or
things that nature well like make do I offer that person speak about that
person in a good fashion in their absence to someone that you may know send
them a text one of my roommates and I’ll end here I had a roommate from
Burma and he was a beautiful brother one of the imams in the in the Medina
and he said well I people have left off writing letters the scholars used to write
letters to one another you know just getting a pen literally a pen or pencil and
write a letter to that person you know take making that effort but if not you
know making to offer that person speaking about them in their absence in
good and you doing actions of good will inshallah your door I will be accepted
being the light out and lost one dollar knows best the only thing that I would
add and suffices does that make it easier is emphasizing that oftentimes.
when people are struggling with a particular project or something at work.
Or school whatever it may be if it’s something that means a lot to you will put
in the time to focus on different aspects of it in terms of planning in terms of
reviewing in terms of accountability what you measure you manage in
business right so in this case what you’re measuring what you’re reviewing on
a daily basis of your goals or your habits inshallah Tala will be managed as
well but keep listing your motivators and surrounding yourself with reminders
for your specific habit if it’s something you’re struggling with and then also
look at the things that might be triggering it if it’s always around certain
individuals or certain friends or certain times maybe even mention it to those
individuals hey let’s be a little more cautious moving forward let’s talk about
avoiding backbiting for the sake of loss of pounds how let’s remind each other
for his sake so that we are in Charlotte highly invited under his shade on the
day of judgment in terms of so I heard a beautiful quote from a scholar and he
basically said if you feel like the devil’s gained victory over you with that battle
that you’re struggling with on a daily basis because we all have those battles
that know that you can win the war by constantly going back to a loss of power
so emphasizing again do not give up on going back to a loss of power that it is
the struggle of this life and then in terms of the question about backbiting it
was sufficiently answered the only thing I would add to it one of the signs that
you really feel bad about it if you can’t find the person reach out to them and
so on and so forth is that you no longer are backlighting is that you’re not doing
it to somebody else is that you’re a little more cautious moving forward so that
you’re not repeating the same mistake again and again they lost a panel that I
forgive us all and have mercy on us for he’s the best who has mercy..
On us to have you looking forward to your guys in the last ten nights obviously
all the work that you do on on the Quranic studies and have it out with your
team you’re also going to be working on a video series and Charlotte on on on
God’s existence and certain other elements that stem from that and Charlotte
later on in the year so I can love her and Hinaki, I may have to write you one,
Shay, because who knows what can happen after that. I really like your
handwritten letter, man. I mean, nice. Aid card. Aid card would be nicer. A
card? Aid card would be really nice. An aid card? Okay. Yeah, because I think
last year you probably sent me one of those spam or aid-mobotic messages
like everybody forwarded many times. You mean the ones that people get
from you, you’re saying, Shay? What is that? Oh, man. You’re not going to like
this, man. I’m going to do it. I’m lying about it, creating you as well.
Jazakumullah khair. All right, everyone. See you tomorrow, inshallah. Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh. Al-Fatiha.
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