Juz’ 21 Qur’an 30 for 30
Sincerity and discipline in the soul pushes us to overcome the fatigue of the
body, especially when it comes to performing extra acts of worship like qiyam
al-layl. As we enter into the last 10 sacred nights of Ramadan, what better
reminders can there be than those found in juz 21? Guest speaker Sh. Yasir
Fahmy joins Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Abdullah Oduro to encourage us to
set our intentions high for the last sprint of Ramadan—and to engage in jihad
against ourselves for the splendor of unseen rewards.
Alhamdulillah wa salatu wa salam wa rasulullah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa
man wana. Welcome back to Qur’an 30 for 30. This is the webathon edition. A
few hours before the webathon, alhamdulillah wa ameen. We’re looking
forward to having you all tune in. And we, you know, have this really interesting
thing happening here. Sheikh Abdullah, where are you hiding? I’m just, I’m
trying to my best, you know, for the sake of Allah. I’m like, some say I’m under
a table. Just want to make sure that I tune in. Whatever it takes, brother,
whatever it takes for the Qur’an. The backstories of the people are missing.
Yeah, we spent, we spent, so we spent a good, you know, a few minutes just
laughing. Because Sheikh Yasser, we just, we log in and we just see that table.
And we’re like, why is Sheikh Abdullah hiding under a table? Sheikh Abdullah
is in training. You’re in training camp. Last few days that it’s coming. Sheikh
Yasser Fahmy, alhamdulillah wa ameen. We are so happy to have you, man.
Alhamdulillah, Sheikh Yasser. How are you? Alhamdulillah, I’m fine. May Allah
bless you. It’s good to be here. Alhamdulillah. You’re like perfectly placed,
mashallah, man. Like you’ve got a nice setup. Your head is, you don’t keep any
books behind your head. Look at that, yeah. That’s so perfect, mashallah. My
brother, my brother tells me, you know, my brother, you know, my brother. So
he tells me, he’s like, where’s all your books? I say, all these other sheikhs, all
their books, where are your books? I was like, you know, I keep it simple. You
can’t have those books getting in your head, right? You gotta have them. Yeah,
I gotta keep them. So Sheikh Yasser is alhamdulillah wa ameen. Prophetic
living, mashallah. If you’re not following him on prophetic living, but also we’re
blessed to have you always, Sheikh Yasser. So forget about dad jokes, man.
Egyptian uncle jokes. You’re like the king of Egyptian uncle jokes. Really? As
well, the WhatsApp jokes. And if you don’t, that’s another level.
Because see, Egyptian uncle jokes, like those Egyptian WhatsApp jokes are
just mean. Like they’re not nice jokes. Like they’re actually pretty like, kind of
make you want to cuddle up and cry for a bit. Trying to get into the Qur’anic
spirit here. Then you take me somewhere very different. I’m trying to get in.
You know, this reminds me of a Sa’idi joke. This is the guy who’s trying to make
tawbah. You know this joke? No, I don’t know. This is the guy who’s trying to
make tawbah because, you know, he spent all his years making, you know,
making fun of Sa’idi, you know, the southern Egyptians, right? This is the
common, like there’s a lot of many jokes in Egypt. So he’s like, you know what,
I gotta go to Mecca. I gotta make things right. I gotta, lazima tub ilallah. So he’s
like, all right, I’m gonna go. So he goes to Mecca. He’s standing in front of the
Kaaba. And ya Rabbi, ya Rabbi, tawbah alayya, all these years making Sa’idi
jokes, making Sa’idi jokes. Ya Rabbi, tawbah alayya. He’s standing like literally
right in front of the Kaaba, right in front of the muntazim. So then a guy taps
him on the shoulder. He goes, yes, and it was a Sa’idi. And this guy goes to
him, which way is the Qibla? So he’s like, ya Rabbi, I came all the way to the
Kaaba to make tawbah and you bring the guy. I’m supposed to control myself.
Wow. I’ll ask you a favorite Goha jokes. Goha or gohas, of course. Bilgeem or
bilgeen? Goha, of course. Goha bilfasah. What’s the best Goha joke? Listen, I
don’t want to get into the Quran mind. My mind’s racing now.
Maybe you can think about the Goha joke at the end. I’ve got a Goha one too,
but I’ll give it at the end. Sheikh Abdullah, have you heard the Goha jokes, by
the way? It’s not Goha. It’s Goha. Goha. I’m sorry. The Muslis who are
watching this show are loving this, man. They’re like, we finally feel like Quran
30 for 30 has taken us into consideration. Goha. Properly done it. Sheikh
Abdullah, have you heard of those Goha? Goha. Goha. Goha. When I was in
the jamia, when I was in university, I remember some of the teachers would
say it. I’m like, who is that? But after that, no. We’ll save the best one for the
end. And then maybe at the webathon, you can pop another one, Sheikh Yasir.
Alhamdulillah. Two of those jokes, alhamdulillah. On a serious note, of
course, before we get started, remind everyone, please tune into the
webathon. We, of course, have a goal. We want to be able to reach people
donating in the last ten nights, inshallah ta’ala, but also benefiting from the
numerous gems. Alhamdulillah, we have topics, we have gems that every
speaker will share that we pray you all benefit from. And we hope you share it,
inshallah ta’ala, and you’re a part of it as well. And we pray that Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala allows us to go into these ten nights strong. Allahumma
ameen. So inshallah ta’ala we’ll get started. Bismillah walhamdulillah. So I
pulled the Sheikh Ismail and I went a juz’ ahead yesterday. I went from juz’ 20,
unfortunately. I went to juz’ 21 and I started talking about Luqman al-Hakim.
But Sheikh Yasir, inshallah, will talk about Luqman alayhi salam from a
different angle. I actually wanted to come to a beautiful portion, subhanallah,
that is so related not just to the akhira, but related to the last ten nights in
particular.
It’s one of the most powerful excerpts of the Quran in regards to qiyam al-dayr,
in regards to tahajjud. And biidhna alahi ta’ala it will help us, inshallah, see it
through the akhira lens, the hereafter lens that we’ve been talking about. Surat
al-Sajdah, 16 to 20. Of course, Surat al-Sajdah is the Jum’ah recitation of the
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم as well as some narrations mentioned reading it on a nightly basis.
But in verse 16, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says, tatajafa junubuhum AAanil
madaji’I yad’uuna rabbahum khawfan wa tamaAAa wa mimmaa razaqnahum
yunfiqoon That they abandon their beds, tatajafa junubuhum AAanil madaji’I
Like they’re fighting with their beds with their sides so that they can actually
get up and pray qiyam al-dayr. And I know that this feeling subhanAllah is so
vivid, especially when we talk about, you know, the idea of the last 10 nights
where you’ll see some people doing everything that they can to spend the
entire night in prayer. And as they spend the night in prayer and reflection and
du’a and recitation, they get into the situation where, you know, they have
work in the morning and they’re still doing what they can, right? To worship
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala to the best of their ability for a few hours or
whatever it may be. And that’s part of their ibadah, that exhaustion is part of
the worship, right? That you’re trying. Tatajafa junubuhum AAanil madaji’I
yad’uuna rabbahum khawfan wa tamaAAa They call out to their Lord with
hope and with fear, with fear and with hope. Wa mimmaa razaqnahum
yunfiqoon And they spend from what we have provided for them. If you go
back to the very beginning of the Quran, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala mentions
those who believe, alif laamim dhalika al-kitabu la rayba feeh hudan almuttaqeen allatheena yu’minoona bilghayb wa yuqeemoona al-salah wa
mimmaa razaqnahum yunfiqoon Allah azawajal mentions those who believe
in the unseen.
And because they believe in the unseen, they establish the prayer and they
spend out of what we have given to them. They spend in charity. The ilmah
mentioned subhanAllah something very beautiful here that that is talking
about iqamatus salah here. The establishing of the prayer is talking about the
fara’at, is talking about the obligatory prayers, the mandatory prayers. Right.
And so that drives them. The belief in the unseen drives them to perform the
mandatory prayers, to establish the obligatory prayers. And as they establish
the obligatory prayers, they also give in a mandatory charity. But here Allah is
talking about the maqam, the station of ihsan, the station of excellence. And
these are people that are praying qiyam ul-layl. These are people that are
praying in the night. May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala make us amongst the
people of tahajjud inside and outside of Ramadan. Allahumma ameen. That
apply this ayah, that stand up at night and call upon their Lord in hope and in
fear. Right. They have been moved and driven. Qulubuhum wajila, we’ve
spoken about them right in these previous chapters, their hearts tremble with
the mercy and with the mention of the most merciful, Ar-Rahman. And so
they’re getting up at night. They’re fighting with their with their bodies and
enjoying this calling out to their Lord and spending extra, giving extra. And
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says what? Fala ta’alamu nafsun ma ukhfiyah
lahum min qurrati a’yun jaza’an bima kano ya’manoon. And no soul knows, no
soul can imagine the delights that have been kept in store for them as a
reward for that which they used to do. Qurrati a’yun, that which will cool the
eyes, the coolness of their eyes. And subhanAllah, here you have the
situation, the coolness of the eyes. Right. Where you’re not just talking about
belief in the unseen.
You’re talking about this person that finds in the salah their qurrati a’yun, the
sweetness of their souls, the coolness of their eyes, thinking about that which
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has prepared for them. The Prophet salallahu
alayhi wasalam mentioned that prayer has been made qurrati a’yun, prayer
has been made the coolness of my eyes. Right. Prayer, salah is what gave the
Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam such peace. It’s the coolness of his eyes.
And so again, this is maqam al-ihsan. This here is the station of excellence.
And so not only do they believe in the unseen in a way that causes them to
pray the mandatory prayers and to give the mandatory charity. They are
actively working for the unseen and offering voluntary prayer. And their soul
finds delight in what is still concealed from them. The thoughts of al-jannah,
the thoughts of the reward of what Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has in store.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala make that our reality. And when the soul has
that type of inclination and that type of connection to Allah subhanahu wa
ta’ala, then they start to find that it’s easier for them to abandon their beds
with their bodies. It’s easier for them to abandon their beds with their bodies.
They find that the drive of the soul overcomes the fatigue of the body because
the reward of the hereafter is a greater driver than the reward of this life. And
so it’s driving them, even though they can’t see it in a way that they will
compromise the scene, the scene, comfort and luxury of this world for the
unseen comfort and luxury of the next. And Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says,
Afa man kana mu’minan kaman kana fasiqan la yastawoon. You know, we’ve
been talking about these two groups of people. Is the one who is this believing
righteous person equal before Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala? Then this rebellious
person, la yastawoon, they’re not equal. SubhanAllah, this is really something
very interesting. And the ayat go on,
Amal ladheena aamanu wa aamilu salihati falahum jannatun ma’waa nuzulan
bima kanoo ya’maloon wa amal ladheena fasaquoo fa ma’wahu unnaar. And
until the end of it, right? So Allah mentions that those who believe and who
work deeds of righteousness have this beautiful paradise, jannatun ma’waa,
this eternal residence as an accommodation for what they used to do, for the
deeds that they used to do. And ask for the fasiqoon, ask for the rebellious,
then they’ve earned the punishment. Now, I think the point here that needs to
be made, which is very significant, is that subhanAllah, when you’re talking
about the justice on the Day of Judgment, right? And Allah subhanahu wa
ta’ala’s mercy on the Day of Judgment, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is saying, is
this person who stands up lovingly, who abandons their bed at night, who
calls out to their Lord in hope and fear, equal to the one who does none of
that? And in fact, Allah azawajal is not just mentioning the one who is
complacent with their sleep and not performing voluntary prayers, but a
person who is negligent. Like, is it fair that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala deal with
the two of them in the same way? You know, is it fair that when we invoke the
mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, wouldn’t that be a deficiency in mercy
towards that person that was calling out in mercy, you know, seeking Allah’s
mercy all of that time? So is it fair? Na yastawoon, these two people are not
equal. They’re not equal. You would not reward them equally if they were
doing something. If you had two employees and one employee was acting in
this way and the other employee was completely negligent, would you reward
them equally? And so Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is saying, you know, that this
person who is acting out of hope and fear, striving, will not just have
something, they will have beyond what they could ever imagine, what they
could ever encompass with their minds and with their eyes and with their
hearing. And the soul will continue to crave those night moments with the
Lord because it will discover in those night moments with the Lord..
What the body and the soul cannot find in anything else that this world has to
offer. The Jannah of jfln academy org.the true paradise of certainty in the
heart. Nothing in this world can give you that. No sleep, no party, no
compensation, no garden, no property. Nothing can give you the sweetness of
those moments of conversing with the Rahman, conversing with the most
merciful in the darkness of the night, in the secrecy of the night. And so Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala is saying they are not equal people and you should not
treat them as, you would not treat them as equal. Why do you expect Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala to treat them as equal? So we pray that Allah subhanahu
wa ta’ala judge us with his mercy, but make us amongst those that invoke his
mercy day and night, that stand up in prayer. And that will be completely
blown away by the Jannah that he has prepared for his loving servants. May
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala count us amongst them. And may Allah subhanahu
wa ta’ala not count us amongst the rebellious, the transgressing, and those
that turn away from his eternal and all-encompassing mercy. Allahumma
ameen. Bi dinahi ta’ala, Sheikh Abdullah will pass it off to you. JazakAllah
khair. Bismillah, salatu wassalamu ala rasulillahi wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa
man wala amma ba’d. Recognizing this beautiful verse in sajda that inshallah
we hear on a weekly basis, or at least we hear it consistently, you know, talking
about those individuals that get up out of their beds to sajjafah, junubuhum
anil mudhajiya, meaning the place of rest. And they go and they worship Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala, putting their hands up, thinking about Allah, thinking
about their creator, looking at their life, and then associating the beautiful
names of Allah with things that happen in their life. This is a struggle and it’s a
test. And I love how he mentioned the last 10 days as an introduction, being
that the last 10 days are coming up, may Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala make us
of those..
That do our best and fight ourselves, against ourselves for the betterment of
ourselves. And that is exactly the term that we hear that is misused a lot of
times, jihad. The jihad of the nafs. Jihad comes from struggle. And that
struggle is a struggle that is a beloved struggle. Each and every human being,
Muslim or non-Muslim, religious or irreligious, has an internal struggle with
themselves, and doing what they may view is right. But Islam, being that it
comes from al-istislam lillah, that one voluntarily submits to the creator of the
heavens and the earth, that voluntary submission is a struggle in and of itself.
Firstly, knowing who your creator is, understanding why you are here,
understanding from why you are here that there is an ultimate purpose beyond
your physical self, beyond the tangible life that we’re living now, because you
know who God is and you know the message that he has brought to you.
Although that knowledge is there, it’s important that as Ibn Abbas, he says on
this particular verse that we’re going to cover, which is the last verse of alAnkabut, the last verse of al-Ankabut, the spider web, where Allah Subhanahu
this in says Abbas Ibn والذين جاهدوا فينا لنهدينهم سبولنا وإن هللا لمع المحسنين ,says ala’ta wa
beautiful verse that is translated to be, And those who strive in our path, we
will surely guide him or her to our way, and verily Allah is with the doers of
excellence. Wallahi, I love this verse because I always tell my children, I tell
myself, tell my children, tell new Muslims, tell Muslims that are just trying their
level best, which should be all of us inshaAllah wa ta’ala because we have
that concern. Allah says in those who strive in our path, we will surely guide
them to our, those who strive in our path, we will surely guide them to our
ways, and verily Allah is with the good doers.
Ibn Abbas mentioned that this, يعلمون بما يعملون الذين هما Those are the ones that
act upon what they know. When we think about this in our profession, when
we think about this in any endeavor that we have, that we want, if we want
something, we want to learn about it, to be better at it. Then the ultimate task
is that knowledge that you have, the appreciation that you have for that
discipline, or whatever the case may be, are you acting upon? When one gets
married, and they know that in order to show my love for my spouse, I can give
a lot of lip service, but if I’m physically abusive, verbally abusive, if I’m an
Individual that is not showing that love, I can say as much as I want to. But
when it comes to Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la in this religion, Allah, being the
beautiful names of Allah, we know that they are complete, and it’s impossible
to have a level of deficiency. So if Allah is الخبير العليم for example, He is the allknowing, and He is the well-acquainted, العلم دقة as the scholars say, He has
knowledge, but He knows the minutiae of everything. That knowledge is He’s
well aware of what your heart’s conceal and reveal. He knows when you made
the intention to at least from now if you haven’t, let’s start tonight, He knows if
you make that intention, Oh Allah, the last 10 days, I’m going to go hard. The
last 10 days, I’m going to give it 110%. The last 10 nights, I’m going to at least
try to wake up. I go and I set my alarm. The 9 days have passed, you didn’t do
it. Allah knows that intention. And what’s so beautiful about Islam is that we
all know the hadith, بالنيات األعمال إنما All of us know this hadith, and if we don’t
know it, it is verily actions are judged upon by their intentions. Your intention
does hold weight in Islam, but it has to be a sincere intention. So that is the
jihad, even with your intention.
You know, as Shaykh Muhammad mentioned a couple of days ago, that
Sufyan al-Thawri, he was known, he was a known scholar, and subhanAllah,
he mentioned that he نياته يجاهد كان He was struggling against his intention. And
some mentioned that it was for سنة عشرين Something that he would
consistently struggle with. You know, am I doing this for Allah? Do I really want
Allah, all for Allah subhanAllah? Do I want a portion of the dunya? Am I doing
this for people to see me? Am I reading the Quran so that people can say my
voice is beautiful? Am I giving charity because I want people to see that I have
money or that I’m rich, or that I am involved with this effort? Do I want my
effort to be shown amongst everybody else’s because I want to be
appreciated and acknowledged? Or am I doing this because the one that has
given me these faculties, I want to show gratitude to him? That is the jihad that
all of us have. So when Allah says نجاهد والذي ,the action, the struggle, and that’s
one of the conditions for an action to be accepted, the action that you’re
doing, is it in accordance with the spirit of Islam? i.e. with the individuals that
Allah has sent, the prophets, particularly Muhammad وسلم عليه هللا صلى .Is it in
فِينا ِذي َن ?that with accordance
َّ
َوال
يناِف دوا ُه َجا َAnd this is important as well. Ikhlas,
َوتَعَالَى َحانَهُ Allah for, sincerity
بُ ْس ,not for anyone else. Because when you do
something that you are sure of, you have jfln, that Allah wants you to do
this, you’re not concerned what other people think, say. And that is important.
In a lifestyle, in life now where we’re in social media, and if you don’t get
enough of these likes, something enters your heart. When somebody leaves a
WhatsApp group, something enters your heart. When somebody says
something about something you’re doing, and they may make a facial
expression, something may enter your heart. But if what you’re doing is for
َوتَعَالَى َحانَهُ Allah
بُ ْس ,and you’re sure that it is for Allah ُهَحان َىَالَعَوتَ
بُ ْس ,you’re not
concerned about that. Because you know that Allah ُهَحان َىَالَعَوتَ
.it loves سُ ْب
َوتَعَالَى َحانَهُ Allah, that with And
بُ ْس answers this conditional sentence. It’s a
conditional sentence, Jum’ah Shafti, مْهُ
نَ ْحِديَنَّ
ل نَا َ
َلُبُس We will surely guide him or her
to our path. And in Arabic he uses forms of surety here. It is as though he is
saying, we will definitely, without a doubt, guide him or her to our path. مْهُ
نَ ْحِديَنَّ
لَ
نَا
نَا mention scholars Some سُبُلَ
َلُبُس is a لُبُس ,the ways of Jannah, and some
mention its الجنة طريق ,the المستقيم صراط ,the path to Jannah. But what I love about
this verse is the very end. It’s a verse of hope. It’s a portion of a verse of hope.
Some people may say, you know what, I’m not a night person. I’m a morning
person. But there’s going to be that time as the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, العشر في روا ّتح
األوافق To try hard in the last ten days. We always like to say to ourselves, I am
not this. Having a fixed mindset, withholding ourselves from accepting Allah’s
grace. We do it subconsciously sometimes. But to open that door and say, you
know what, I’m able to and I’m willing to push myself for Allah جل جلاله .Allah
concludes by saying, and verily Allah is surely with the doers of excellence.
هلل الكمال Perfection is for Allah جل جلاله .We’re at different levels because of our جهاد
النفس .The Sahabas made mistakes, but Allah says َعنهم هللا رضي because of their
struggle. Ask yourself, and this is the perfect time now, what struggle am I
going to put forth for the betterment of myself, for Allah, not anyone else. That
is excellence. And إحسان is excellence, not perfection. To do your best. نَّ
ِ
إ
َب َ
ََّللا َكتَ
ا ى ْْلِ ْح َسا َن
َعلَ
َش ْي ء ِلّ
ُك So may Allah جل جلاله make us of those that look at ourselves in
the mirror consistently..
And remember our own sins, our own mistakes, and allow those tears to be a
means to put our hands up. When the tears come down, the hands come up
for Allah جل جلاله .And that’s what Allah wants for you, just to do your best. And that
is religiosity. That is a religious person. That is who Allah جل جلاله is pleased with. So
may Allah جل جلاله make us of those, inshaAllah. Ameen. JazakAllah khair. May Allah
جل جلاله protect you, Shaykh Abdullah. Shaykh Yasser, bismillah. MashaAllah,
mubarak Allah ufeequm. Karamakumullah wa Allah wa alaihi. Both of you
spoke very eloquently and profoundly. Zadakumullah wa alaihi wa sallam wa
ala rasoolillah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala wa baad. SubhanAllah, as
I was listening to both Shaykh Omar and Shaykh Abdullah, I was thinking
about how powerful these ideas, this guidance, this wisdom that they shared
is in our lives. Basic ways for us to comprehend life, think about life, and
practice life in general. And this is why I wanted to highlight the verses 12
through 19 in Surah Luqman, which is this moment, this very powerful,
beautiful, natural moment between a father and a son. When Luqman alHakim, who was identifiably not a prophet, according to the majority of
opinions, nor a messenger. He was a simple servant who lived somewhere
either in Nubia or Ethiopia in that general region. Majority say that most likely
he was Nubian during the time of Sayyiduna Dawud. But the operative word, I
think, that highlights something essential about this conversation is Allah
Subhanu wa ta’ala affirming in verse number 12, دَ ْقَولَ
تَْينَا
َم أ ا َن َ
قْ
ِح ْكَم ل ِة ُ
ْ
ال That we
have given Luqman, we’ve brought Luqman al-Hikmah, we have brought him
wisdom.
25:12
And I just wanted to spend some time thinking about this idea of having
wisdom. Because Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala in Surah al-Baqarah, He says, يِؤتُ ْي
ِح ْكَمةَ
َم َء ال ْن ْ
شاَ َي Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala, He gives wisdom to whom He wills. ن ْم َوَ
يُ ْؤتَى
ِح ْكَمةَ
َي ال فَقَ ْد ْ
وتِ
ُ
را ًيِكث َرا ًيْخ َأ The one who’s been given wisdom has been given
ََّل يَذَّ َّكُر َو َما .good of abundance an
ِ
إ وا
ُ
ول
أ بَا ِب ُ
ْ
ل
َأل ْا And those who truly remember
Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala are those who possess the innermost hearts. The
ones who really conceive and imagine and aspire and understand of Allah
Subhanu wa ta’ala in the most profound ways. And so it’s situated in this
notion of Hikmah. And Subhanu wa ta’ala when Allah Subhanu wa ta’ala talks
about the way of our Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم ,he actually uses the word Hikmah. ل َز َنْ
َ
ََّللا َو ُ أ
ْي َك
َعل ا َب َ
ِكتَ
ْ
ال
ِح ْكَمةَ
ْ
وال َAllah Subhanu wa ta’ala says that we have sent down to you
the Book and the wisdom. And the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم says لََ
أ نِّي َ
إ وتِي ُت ِ
ُ
ِكتَا َب أ
ْ
ال هُ
لَ
ْ
َو ِمث
َمعَهُ
That I was given the Book, but I was given that which was like the Book with it.
And that Is the way of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم .His path, his sunnah, the way he spoke,
the way he ate, the way he drank, his actions, his acquiescence, all of it is
wisdom. And so brothers and sisters, why is this discourse about wisdom so
essential to us? Because the fact of the matter is we do live in the information
age, technological age, the internet age, this time where information is a
mass. It’s everywhere. We can know, process, experience, think, synthesize
ideas from all corners of the earth all the time. And it’s all presented to us on
an equal playing field. You can sit down and listen to Sheikh Omar and Sheikh
Abdullah…
As they explore the Qur’anic meanings and the depth of the Qur’anic narrative.
And you can listen to some thinker, philosopher, blogger, vlogger, whatever, on
the internet as they just kind of muse around public issues, discourses,
whatever. But hikmah is at the essence of, as Ibn al-Qayyim says, ما فعل الحكمة
need you what doing is, wisdom, Hikmah ينبغي على الوجه الذي ينبغي في الوقت الذي ينبغي
to do in the way in which and the style and the form in which you need to do it
in the time that you need to do it. محله في الشيءَ وضع placing things in their proper
measure. And this, brothers and sisters, is where we have to think about are
we wise people today? Do we operate from a position of wisdom? Or do we
operate from a position of arbitrariness? Because one of the profound
linguistic indications around the word wisdom is the thing الفرس بحنكي أحاط ما The
hikmah is that which is placed, the bridle that’s placed in the horse’s mouth.
بذلك وسميت it was named hikmah الشديد الجري تمنعهمن ألنها because it prevents the
horse from an unrestricted, uncontrollable run. األلداب وتذل and it makes the
beast controlled, disciplined so that it does not go and create all sorts of
damage and ruckus eat from other fields that they should not be eating,
gardens, etc. harm other animals. So hikmah is what really conditions and
ensures that you are in an appropriate, good path,
A meaningful path. So here we have Luqman al-Hakim talking to his son. As
Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la says, he was given hikmah, he was given wisdom
هلل يشكر أن The fundamental disposition of this Hakim is someone who is shakir
لنفسه يشكر فإنما يشكر وما and the one who is thankful is thankful for their own
selves. And those who reject and deny حميد غني هللا فإن For those who are
thankless, Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la is self-sufficient and He is worthy of
all praise. Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la does not need us but He has
bestowed this wisdom, this guidance for us so that we can live a very
meaningful, purposeful, rich, engaged life. Meaning that I don’t have to live in
this modern period a life that is full of anxiety and stress and pain and
suffering and loss. Feeling atomized and disconnected. A lot of people today
feel atomized and disconnected because there is a purposelessness. There is
a detachment from truth, from value, from morals, from heritage, from history.
That’s why from the ulama when they talk to us about hikmah, they say
hikmah is also a representation of experience and the wisdom that is bred out
of experience and tradition. Tried and tested, proven models of living and
being. So when he starts to talk to his son ْذِ
َم قَا َل ا ُن َوإ
قْ
َو بِ ل نِ ِه ُ
َوهُ
the When يَ ِعظُهُ
father is talking to the son and he is counseling him يَنُب اَي Now this language is
subhanAllah I think it’s the proverbial language of mercy and compassion and
love. Oh my beloved son ِلل ََّاِب ركِشُ ْتَ ل َDo not associate partners with Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala You know this first fundamental tried and tested proven
wisdom that is a part of your Inheritance that I pass on to you is don’t compare
anyone to Allah.
بِ َو ا اِل َدْي ِه ْْلِ ن َسا َن َوَو َّصْينَا .Divine the as field playing same the on anyone place t’Don
You know when we give this guidance to the people to be good to their parents
and their mothers Be good to your parents. This is proverbial, you know,
timeless wisdom. Respect and honor your parents. Look at what they’ve done
تْهُ
َح َملَ
ُّمهُ
ُ
َو ى أ ْهنًا
ن َ
عل َه ْو َYour mother strain upon strain taking all this year, two years
to wean you and to serve you and to care for you and to love you and to shower
َو َّي اِل َدْي َك َو أنِ ْشكُ ْل ِلي ِلي َ you
لَ
ِ
ِر إ
َم ِصي
ْ
ال And give thanks to me and to your parents. All will
return to Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala So Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala says I want
you to give thanks to me and I want you to honor and give thanks to your
parents. This is timeless wisdom, right? The worship of Allah and the honoring
of our parents. That’s why disrespecting parents, dishonoring parents, being
hurtful to parents, disregarding, neglecting parents, الكبار من These are from the
grave sins. But this is from the timeless wisdom that is bestowed to us here in
this sacred text. And then if they were to even, now look, look at how the
wisdom is embedded. Now if this lofty being called your parent were to
struggle against you, to associate partners with Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala,
don’t obey them, but الدنيامعروفة في صاحبهما Maintain beautiful company with
them. Be gentle and kind and loving. So Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala is saying
even at the helm of evil, which is fighting your children towards polytheism,
باهلل شرك But you should not obey them, but be loving and kind. Have صحبة ,
companionship, إلي أناب من سبيل واتبع And follow the path of those who turn to
Me.
مرجعكم إلي ثمThen you’re going to come back to Me. So just say no, and that’s I
think proverbial here. Say no. We can say no to impulses and trajectories in
society, isms and ideologies and philosophies that are compelling us down
pathways, that are in contradistinction with this timeless sacred wisdom. We
can say no, and say that’s not what we do, that’s not what we believe in, but
معروفة الدنيا في صاحبهماBut we have ,مصاحبةwe’re good with people, we’re loving.
ةّحب مثقال تكو إن إنها يابنياOh my beloved son, if even the weight of a mustard seed
were hidden in a rock, or anywhere in the heavens or the earth, هللا بها يأتيAllah
can surely bring it, for He’s all subtle and aware. الصالة أقم يابنياEstablish your
prayer, enjoy the good. So giving him that theological, that wisdom of what?
Allah knows everything, so you can never hide from Allah. And I want you to
proactively establish your prayer, enjoy the good. There’s good and there’s evil.
And when you identify the good that has been passed down to you, you have
to enjoy that good. You don’t try to alter or reform that good, or hide that good
away. No, you actually enjoy it. رِك َمنُ
ْ
َهى َع ِن ال
نْوَAnd you forbid that which is
wrong and evil and displeasing to Allah. كَ َصابَ
َ
in patient be Andَوا ْصبِ ْر َعلَى َما أ
this journey. This is going to be the best way for you to live. س ِاَّللن ِك َد َّخ َرْع ِصَ
َو ََل تُ
And don’t turn your nose up to people. And don’t walk about the place
arrogantly. God does not love those who are arrogant and boastful. In the
modern world when we are constantly told to obsess over ourselves, selfaggrandizement, we live, as philosophers say, in one of the most narcissistic
times in human history. People are walking around, everyone is asserting
themselves…
In the most aggressive and pompous way. Here is this timeless wisdom from a
َص ِعْر َخ َّد َك ِللنَّا ِس .son a to father
ْر ِض َمَر ًحا .up nose your turn t’Donَوََل تُ
ْم ِشي فِي ا ْْلَ
َوََل تَ
Don’t walk about this earth in this arrogant disposition. Allah does not love
ُص ْد فِي َم ِشّ َك .this
ْغ ُض ْض ِم ْن َصْوتِ ِك .verse last the is Thisَوقْ
َ
ُص ْد فِي َم ِشّ َك َوأ
Beَوقْ
moderate in your pace, lower your voice. رِ
َحِمي
ْ
َصْو ُت ال
ْصَوا ِط لَ
ْن َكَر ا ْْلَ
َ
َّن أ
ِ
إThe ugliest
of voices are the braying donkeys. And SubhanAllah, today, we have
standardized in our speech, loud, obnoxious, aggressive, in-your-face type of
speech. That is so in contradistinction to these simple, profound, timeless
wisdoms of being. And brothers and sisters, before I pass off the mic back to
Sheikh Omar, I was thinking about this idea of Luqman al-Hakim as a simple
man, who is not a prophet or a messenger. He’s just a father who’s speaking to
his son. And he’s passing off to his son the timeless wisdoms that he wants
him to carry with him into life. I want to advise myself because see, there’s
young people, yes, in age, but we all within us have a young thing, and it’s
called the nafs. كالطفل النفسAs the poet says, like this nafs is like a kid. If you let
it go, it’s going to be like a wild stallion, like a wild beast. الفدى في الوحوش رقدIn a
hadith, Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلمsays, if you leave yourself, you’ll be like an unrestrained
beast in the open field. We as people, we must not succumb to this idea of
cutting ourselves off from this timeless wisdom, this sacred heritage, this
inherited tradition, what is known according to our scholars المجرب المعروف..
That is what is known, tried and tested. Young people be very weary of these
impulses that we’re hearing all the time to turn away from your parents. I know
better than my parents. I know more than my parents. You may have more
information, but you certainly do not have more wisdom. And that’s the huge
distinction. You may have access to a lot of data points, but that data point
does not translate into a rich, meaningful, beautiful, robust life where you’re
not riddled with anxiety. So many ulamas, they would say, Oh Allah, let me die
upon the iman of the aja’is of Nisabur, the elderly women of Nishapur,
because it was their simple but profound, wise theological disposition that
allowed them to live rich lives, free of anxiety, stress, worry, free of a sense of
loss, jadedness, apathy. That’s the beauty of the Qur’anic wisdom. That’s the
beauty of our tradition. May Allah help us to always be embedded within the
sacred wisdom of our tradition and never cut ourselves off of it, but embed
with ourselves within it. JazakAllah khair, Shaykh Yansad. Shaykh Abdullah, I
felt like there were a few of those points that resonated. I want to give you a
chance, obviously, if you have anything to comment on that. The parent, the
non-Muslim parents, obviously you do convert resources, and that’s a big part
of what you do, right? The non-Muslim parent. So I saw you shaking your head,
so I’m just going to hand it to you, inshallah. Yeah, no, exactly. The portion of
the verse, JazakAllah khair, was talking about, you know, يِبّك ِش َت ُن
َ
ٰى أ
ِن َجا َه َد َك َعلَ
َوإ
and if they call you to associate partners with Me, then do not obey them. But
at the same time, be good to them.
38:52
SubhanAllah, I was just thinking how, because in regards to Luqman, I
remember Tahir bin Ashur, he goes in depth about this, like where Luqman
was from, why he was called a hakeem, and subhanAllah, that is the epitome
of wisdom. You always tell people that convert to Islam or the young Muslim
that is trying to be religious, and you find that the parents may be holding him
or her back. SubhanAllah, I mean, how many Islamist school teachers that
I’ve spoken to, and because they had that level of influence on the student,
middle school students particularly, they love practicing the deen when
they’re at school, but then their parents kind of serve as an antagonist. So it’s
very, you have to really be wise. And joining the two, like you said, saying no,
but you’re going to say no to me, I’m your mother, I’m your father, I raised you.
But at the same time, you have that integrity in the deen, but also being nice,
being wise. That’s not easy. That’s not easy. SubhanAllah. You know, Allah
chose to have Luqman say this to his son because he Is al-Hakim, and that is
the epitome of hikmah. You know, rejecting with manners. Rejecting the ones
that raised you with manners. That’s deep. That’s profound. You know, and it’s
a process. You know, I tell people that convert to Islam or the youth, you know,
it’s a process. Don’t expect it to be over one night. You know, you may get
rejected. You may get just totally kicked out of the house, whatever the case
may be. The black sheep of the family, but still be wise. معروفة الدنيا في صاحبهم
You know, show a level of connection with them that you still acknowledge
them. You know, and it’s difficult, but again, we want to please Allah Subhanu
wa Ta’ala in this process. May Allah make it easy. JazakAllah khair, Sheikh
Yassir.
Beautiful reflections, mashAllah. Sheikh Yassir, as always, alhamdulillah,
brought great wisdom. Sheikh Abdullah, as always, mashAllah. Sheikh
Abdullah, you know, you know, Hoodie Mellow? Carmelo Anthony, when he
wears a hoodie. Like Hotel Sheikh Abdullah. Hotel Aduro. Hotel Aduro, huh?
When you’re in a hotel, you just brought like another level of beauty and
wisdom, mashAllah, to the program. Sheikh Yassir, you got your guhajjok, you
took a shot at Sa’idis. We showed love to the bees with Dr. Nazer, and then
yesterday, Amir was hating on spiders. We have to apologize to the spiders in
the audience. And now, Sa’idis, offending Sa’idis. Hold on, hold on, hold on,
hold on. You’re gonna offend everybody. Hold on, Sa’idi, that’s my blood,
alright? I’m a Sa’idi at heart. I’m not Sa’idi necessarily by lineage, but I’m Sa’idi
at heart. Most of my shuyukh were Sa’idis, so, you know, Sa’idi, ar-rasu al-ayn,
as they say. But, you know, speaking of honoring the parents and respecting
the parents, Joha, one time he left masjid, and he walked out, he couldn’t find
his shoes. So he says, where’s my shoes? You know, where are my shoes?
Someone bring my shoes right now. Illa, if you don’t bring my shoes, I’m going
to do exactly what my father did. So people started getting unnerved, like, you
know, what did your father do? So then he says again, like, you know, really
threatening with a voice, if you don’t bring me my shoes right now, I’m going to
do exactly what my father did. So they ran and they bought him brand new
shoes. And then, like, he puts them on, he’s walking home. So I said, tell us,
what did your father do? He said nothing, he just walks home barefoot.
I love Muslim jokes. That’s Joha. You see how compelling Sheikh Yasser, see,
like, Sheikh Yasser gets you, like, captivated, man. Like, that’s the art of
Muslim storytelling. Yeah, you have to. You’ve got to, like, build suspense and
then just. But, you know, I hope, I’m serious, no, I hope we really value what it
means, like, the simple value and wisdom of following in your parents’
footsteps, you know, subhanAllah. I just feel like there’s such a strong impulse
to detach from the inherited, sacred, simple wisdom of our parents. You know,
it’s a very powerful metaphor to turn against your parents. Right. It’s like you’re
turning against heritage, you’re turning against history. This impulse for, like,
anarchy, the social desire, like, this throbbing for anarchy. It’s like, but, you
know, we are a people of our forefathers, you know, our parents, our
forefathers, our tradition. That’s what’s sacred and timeless. And I hope we, as
a community, preserve it, wallahi. Either way, you know, these Joha jokes, a lot
of them, you can find them in the works of the ulema, you know, Ibn al-Jawzi.
He has a book called Akhabar al-Hamqa wal-Mughaffaleen, the reports of,
you know, the idiots and the ignorant. But, you know, a lot of them you see,
like, subhanAllah, how they take just inherited meanings, ideas. He actually
writes this book because he wrote a book on the adhkiya, like the intelligent,
and now he wants to write a book on the other side of the spectrum. So he
explores, like, the whole heritage of al-Hamqa in society. And it’s such a
beautiful idea. By the way, Shaykh Yasir, tonight, inshaAllah, we’re starting for
the last 10 nights, Shaykh Yasir Rajas and I are going to be reflecting on Sayyid
al-Khattab by Ibn al-Jawzi. Really? MashaAllah.
Yeah, yeah. So every night we’re going to have just different reflections on his
writing. MashaAllah. Maybe we’ll take a detour. Take some Akhabar from alHamqa wal-Mughaffaleen. JazakAllah khair, Shaykh Yasir. So for everyone, just
a reminder, we’re going to be, inshaAllah ta’ala, live with the webathon at 2pm
Eastern, inshaAllah. So please share it. It’s something that we want you to
participate in, inshaAllah ta’ala. The automation of donations over the last 10
is certainly just something that we seek to encourage everyone to do,
inshaAllah ta’ala, just to be a part of it. But we also want people to join live. It’s
a community that we’ve built over the last few years, alhamdulillah, in this
online world. So is it 2.30 or, sorry, I forgot what it is. 2.30. Allah ha’an. I’m
already forgetting. 2.30. Yeah, it’s 2.30. So please do log on, inshaAllah ta’ala,
and share the webathon with your family and friends. Tell them this is
something to listen to, this is something to pitch into, inshaAllah, and just
enjoy it. And we’ll have Shaykh Yasir, Shaykh Abdullah back with us then,
bismillah ta’ala. JazakAllah khair, and everyone, see you in a bit, inshaAllah.
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
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