Qur'an 30 for 30
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Juz' 14 with Dr. Hassan Elwan
Sh. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Abdullah Oduro, joined by special guest Dr. Hassan Elwan, explore gems from the 14th Juz' of the Holy Quran.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen. I want to welcome you all back to Qur'an 30 for 30. Alhamdulillah, tonight we're joined by my very beloved brother, Dr. Hassan Alwan from California. So I think you still have to break your fast, right, Sheikh? Actually 35 minutes, so. Okay. Alhamdulillah, perfect time. We'll keep the show just the 55 minutes. Inshallah, take your time. Welcome to this series. We're looking forward to hearing your insights. I want to remind everyone, inshallah, before I start, inshallah ta'ala, that you can, inshallah ta'ala, from now, donate, inshallah ta'ala, to Yaqeen Institute for the last 10 nights. And if you click the link below, you'll see an option where you can break your donation over the last 10 nights. So biddenillahi ta'ala, your sadaqah would catch light at al-Qadr, no matter which of the 10 nights it is. So may Allah bless you for your generous support to Yaqeen and to all of the other wonderful work that's being done out there, whether it's a relief organization or a da'wah organization or educational institutions. May Allah bless you and accept from you. So tonight, inshallah ta'ala, we're going to get into al-Hijr and Surah al-Nahl. Surah al-Hijr and Surah al-Nahl. We start off from Surah al-Hijr and Surah al-Hijr begins with the regrets of those who wish they would have taken rightful guidance. So it actually begins with the expression of regret. And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says in verse four,
Wa ma ahlakna min qari'a illa walaha kitabu ma'loom. We never destroyed a nation except they had a clear book with clear guidance and clear instructions. And this goes in Surah Al-Baheen that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la does not punish the people until he sends a messenger. Here Allah stresses that he sent a message to them as well. Verse five and six, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la talks about the insults to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. So he's addressing the Prophet Alayhi Salatu Wasallam directly after this long string of Surahs where you have all of these prophets and their stories and their rejection. And mentioning to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam they say to you, innaka la majnoon, that you are a madman. And they insult him Alayhi Salatu Wasallam. And they say to him in verse six, lawma ta'tina bil malaikatin kunta min as-sadiqeen. If you would bring the angels, show us the angels, show us the unseen. And then maybe we would consider you to be amongst the truthful. Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la goes on to verse nine. And inshallah Ta'ala I know this is what we'll be talking about at some point tonight as well with our dear brethren, Sheikh Dr. Hasan. Where Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la takes an oath to protect and preserve the Quran, which is a beautiful oath. If you think about how Allah talks about how these previous nations fumbled their scriptures and how things were lost, guidance was lost as a result of the actions of the people. And Allah giving this ummah a great bushra, a bushra, a glad tidings greater than the bushra of a child. The glad tidings that guidance will always be intact for this ummah, that the Quran will be preserved, that we are the ones who revealed this book, wa inna lahu la hafidhun, and we too will preserve this book. Now I want to go forward in the surah inshallah Ta'ala. And verse 28 and 29,
Allah Azawajal talks about the very beginning of Adam Alayhi Salam. And these next four surahs in fact, in the center of the surah you have the story of the creation of Adam and the challenge of Iblis, but a different element of the challenge of Shaitaan every time. So it keeps on coming up and recurring in the middle of all of these surahs as it's coming up. And here Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la talks about the moment in which the ruh, the soul is breathed into Adam Alayhi Salam. fa-itha sawaituhu wa nafakhtu feehi min roohi faqa'u lahu saajideen And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, so when I have molded him and breathed into him the spirit, then fall to him in prostration. And some of the ulama say that there's a beautiful lesson in this, that Adam Alayhi Salam was not praiseworthy because of his physical or external makeup. And that's where Iblis failed. And last night, Dr. Khalil elaborated on this beautifully, this idea of the exterior versus the interior and value being in the interior. And here Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la did not command the angels to prostrate to Adam Alayhi Salam until the ruh, which is what is sanctified. The spirit was placed within Adam Alayhi Salam, which shows you the value of the ruh over the jasad, the soul over the body. And Iblis was only able to see the exterior and not consider the interior. He compared his exterior to the exterior of Adam Alayhi Salam, hence becoming the first racist in history, saying that I am better than him because of how my exterior is compared to his exterior. Then Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la mentions the story of Iblis expelled from paradise again because he refuses to be amongst those that prostrate. And in the last surah, surah Ibrahim, you have the ending. The ending is Iblis saying to the people of Hellfire that Allah made you a true promise. InnaAllaha waAAadukum waAAadil haqq wa waAAadtukum faakhlaftukum wa maa kaana liya AAalaykum min sultan illa an daAAootukum fastajabtum lihi Until the end of the ayah.
Iblis telling the followers in Hellfire that Allah made you a true promise and I made you a false promise, but I never had any control over you. My promise was false. Allah's promise was true. You followed me. Here we go back to the very beginning and Allah telling Iblis at that time InnaAAibadi laisa laka AAalaykum sultan illa maa naktabaAAaka minal ghaaween In verse 42, that verily my servants you have no control over them except for those that willingly follow you. In verse 49, beautiful ayah. NaddaAAibadi anni ana alghafooru waaheen wa annaAAithabi huwa alAAithabu al-aleem Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says tell my servants, O Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam nabdaAAibadi anni ana alghafooru waaheen that I am most forgiving and most merciful wa annaAAithabi huwa alAAithabu al-aleem and that my punishment is a severe punishment. Now this is similar to Surah Ibrahim where Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says wa la in shakartum la azeedannakum If you are grateful, I will surely increase you. And if you are ungrateful, then Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la mentions innaAAithabi la shadeed that my punishment is severe. But Allah does not promise the punishment with the same certainty as He promises the reward and the increase. Letting you know the punishment is there, but not ascribing it to you just yet, to welcome you to repentance. Here it's the same vein. nabdaAAibadi, tell my servants that I am forgiving and merciful and yes, the punishment exists as a severe punishment, but you still have a chance and you don't have to go down that route. It's not something that Allah Azawajal does because Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la wants to doom a people, but a people make themselves worthy of that. I'm going to rush through this part right here because I want to get to a powerful point in the next Surah. Allah mentions then the destruction of the people,
Lut Alayhi Salam, Ashabul Aika, Ashabul Hijri. The people of Thamud. So Allah mentioned some of the nations that turned away from Allah and became arrogant to make that point. In verse 87, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la praises Surat Al-Fatiha, Saba Mathani, the seven verses, and Al-Quran Al-'Azim, and the glorious Quran. And this is the last of that sequence of Surahs where the very beginning of the Surah, the first ayah is a praise of the Quran. So this is the last of them, and so you're coming to the end of this Surah where Allah praises the Quran once again, and specifically praises Surat Al-Fatiha. And remember how in the beginning of this Surah, Allah mentioned that they say these words to you that hurt you. In the end of the Surah, the very end of the Surah, Walaqad na'lamu annaka yadhiqoo sadruka bima yaqulu We know, O Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, that your heart hurts because of what they say about you. It hurts you to hear these insults being thrown at you. Fasabbih bihamdi rabbika wakun minas sajideen and glorify the praises of your Lord and be amongst those who prostrate. Not like Iblis lam yakun minas sajideen who refused to be from those who prostrate. Be from those who prostrate. Wa'bud rabbaka hatta ya'tiaka alyaqeen and worship your Lord until yaqeen comes to you. Not a plug again. I know, it's every time we say yaqeen, right? Yaqeen here actually refers to death, meaning until the end of your life, that you worship Allah until the very end of your life. I'm going to mention one fa'idah of Surah An-Nahl that ties into what Shaykh Abdullah was talking about in a very beautiful way yesterday. And inshallah ta'ala he can take it from there. Surah An-Nahl is named after the bee. And Allah mentions various favors in creation in this surah. Then he talks specifically about the honeybee for its preciseness and how magnificent it is and the benefits that come from it. Look how small it is, but look how many benefits come from it. And what did Shaykh Abdullah talk about yesterday?
Wa in ta'uddu ni'mat Allahi la tuhsuha. If you were to take one blessing of Allah and try to extract, try to extract the many blessings from that one blessing, you would not be able to do so. But I want to share with you a benefit, subhanAllah, that I found very beautiful. In the last juz, and what Shaykh Abdullah talked about yesterday, Wa in ta'uddu ni'mat Allahi la tuhsuha. If you were to count the blessing of Allah, you would be unable to do so. Inna al-insana la dhalooman kafa. Allah says, and verily, human beings are inherently transgressing and ungrateful. Inherently transgressing and ungrateful. The same ayah is in this juz, but look at the difference. Wa in ta'uddu ni'mat Allahi la tuhsuha. If you were to try to count the blessing of Allah, you would be unable to do so. Inna allaha la ghafoorun aheem. And verily, Allah is most forgiving and most merciful. And what that, the beauty of this, the benefit of this is that, subhanAllah, al-insana dhaloom, a person who is inherently transgressing, requires a Lord that is ghafoor. A Rabb, a Lord that is forgiving and that will always overlook their transgressions so long as they turn back to Him. And though we are inherently ungrateful, there is kufr al-ni'm, we will be ungrateful at times, but we don't descend into the kufr, the ultimate kufr, which is not even acknowledging Allah over us and associating partners with Him and disbelieving. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, wakana bilmu'mineena waheema. And Allah has a special mercy for the believers on the Day of Judgment. And so al-insana dhaloom, a person who is khafoor, who is inherently ungrateful but doesn't descend into disbelief, finds themselves in the categories where they have al-waheem on the Day of Judgment to rescue them from their deficiencies. So this time Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, subhanAllah, talks about the rescue from His side, subhanahu wa ta'ala, in response to us. And verse 58 and 59, Allah mentions a ni'ma that people are ungrateful for.
You know what that ni'ma is? Daughters. The people that would bury their daughters alive. waitha bushira ahaduhum biluntha, dhala wajhuhum muswadan wa huwa kalim, yatawara minal qawmi min su'u min bushira bihi. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, when these people were given the glad tidings, the bushra of a young girl, they would be in shame. They'd take them away and bury this ni'ma from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. What a disgusting thing to do. How dare you not acknowledge the blessing of a daughter that Allah gives you, the bushra of a daughter that Allah gives you. And then finally, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions to us, verses 66 to 69. You have to read those verses carefully. And if you don't know Arabic, read the translation, please. 66 to 69. Because Allah just starts elaborating on all these small blessings that you never consider. The blessing of cattle and the type of milk that comes from cattle, the blessing of date fruits and the types of blessings that come from date fruits and how grapes can be used to make khamar, intoxicants, or wholesome sustenance. And then Allah talks about the bee, the way the bee sets up the hives, the way that the honey is not just sweet, but it's also medicine. And goes on and on and on and on to keep driving home the point, wa inta'uddu ni'matallahi la tu'hsuha. If you were to try to count one blessing of Allah, you would utterly fail. And insha'Allah ta'ala with that, I will pass it off to Sheikh Abdullah after failing to stay on time. Bismillah wa salatu wa salam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu. Wallahi when I was reading, you know, that's exactly what I was thinking of, subhanAllah. You just see all of these forms of creation and how Allah gives you examples. You know, you think of a cattle, but he mentions all the different manifestations of how he provides us from them. SubhanAllah. But then as I was reading on, I ran into one verse and subhanAllah, I said, you know what, let me take advantage of the opportunity to speak about this verse. So Bismillah wa billahi tawfiq.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the chapter of Nahl, verse number 90, there's a verse that he mentions that all of us, some of us may hear it now online and Facebook live, but when we're in the masjid for Juma'ah, we definitely hear this verse. And I said, let me take an opportunity to expound upon this verse after the permission of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and his tawfiq and his guidance. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says after Audhu billahi min ash-shaytan ar-rajim, and when you hear the beginning of this verse, you can follow along with me. I'll recite it slowly inshaAllah. So I see the little children. Audhu billahi min ash-shaytan ar-rajim Inna Allah ya'muru bil-adli wal-ihsani wa-ita'idhi al-qurba wa yanhaa an-anfahsha'i wal-munkari wal-baghi yaAAidhukum laAAallakum Now I can hear you inshaAllah. laAAallakum tathakkaroon laAAallakum tathakkaroon Allah says, indeed Allah orders justice and good conduct and being good to relatives, and he forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He is admonishing and reminding you, perhaps you'll be of those who are reminded. Okay. Numerous companions have spoken about this verse. The Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam, Ibn Mas'ud radiAllahu anhu, he said, the most comprehensive verse regarding good and evil is in this verse. Also, Al-Bukhari in his tariqh, in his book of history, he mentions, SubhanAllah, that Ali was passing by a group of people and he asked, and they were talking, he said, asked them, what are you all speaking about? And they said, we're talking about muru'ah. Muru'ah is honor, chivalry, graciousness, right? So he said, amaa kafakum al-ayah? He said, amaa kafakum, is this ayah not sufficient enough for you? And he recited, innaAllaha ya'muru bil-adl wal-ihsani, the verse that we just recited. And also, SubhanAllah, a companion named Uthman ibn Mad'un, he recited this verse to Ali ibn Abi Talib. So it was probably before. And when he recited it to Ali, he was amazed and he said,
wallahi, he said, SubhanAllah, if you were to implement this verse, you would be successful. If you were ittabi'uhu, tuflihu. He said, if you were to follow and implement this verse, you would be successful. So understanding how he even mentioned also that this is from the makanimal akhlaq, that this verse is from the best of etiquettes. This is a verse in the sign of etiquettes. One thing that I want to capitalize on, when you hear this verse, inshAllah, in the future, which we all will, inshAllah, in Juma'ah, in the masajid, soon, soon, soon, inshAllah, that the shari'ah yukhatib, al-shari'ah tukhatib al-fitrah. That the shari'ah is speaking to your fitrah. It's speaking to your natural inclination. You see, all of us have these natural characteristics that Allah has given us. From those natural characteristics is the soul and from the soul is a madda. It's an element inside of us as human beings that acknowledges the presence of its maker. And that is what we call fitrah in Arabic. And fitrah can be also fitrah al-nasi, fitrah al-nasi alayha. Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la mentions that this is the fitrah that he has created mankind upon or has a natural disposition, the disposition that man and woman has. So for instance, when you lie, you feel guilty the first time. When you do a bad deed, whether it's religious or something you disobeyed your mom or father, or someone that you respect and value, and you went against those values that you believe in, that feeling of guilt is a characteristic of the fitrah. Religion, Islam in particular, has come to align and beautify, align and beautify the fitrah. It's come here to make sure that you stay straight. For example, we all have desires, but those desires that we have need to be within a compound.
It's within the confines of what the most knowledgeable of us, what the creator of us, what the most wise of all of creation has set. So within those desires, for instance, the opposite gender. In Islam, it's important if that desire is there to take it upon yourself to get married and not to take any other route to embellish upon that desire. So in any case, it's very important that we have that premise and that understanding in the beginning, that the sharia, the blueprint of Islam, the legislative body of Islam, what Islam says is permissible and not permissible. When Allah speaks in the Quran, when we read the Quran, it is speaking to your innocent, pristine self. But those desires that you may have will cause you to put layers on your thinking, on your spiritual, your spiritual element to where you may deny it in the beginning, but you know that it's true. And that's why the sharia and the Quran itself is such a qawlan thaqeela. It is such a heavy statement. The statement is heavy. It's deep. You'll read it over and over again and the concepts will come to you. And then, SubhanAllah, you say, I read this for years. And then you, you know, upon 30 for 30, for instance, it comes to light or in any other program. So firstly Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, Inna Allaha ya'muru, and I'll take about three minutes, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala. Verily, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la ya'muru bil-adli wal-ihsani. That really Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la calls to justice and ihsan. Now, al-adl and ihsan, justice is giving everything its due right. And the most important justice on this earth is giving the creator of the heavens and earth, his right. Giving him his right by being worshipped by himself and not saying that he has any characteristics of his creation. So Allah orders al-adl and some scholars mention like Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him. He mentioned that al-adl is la ilaha illallah.
So an understanding that there's no God, but Allah. So an understanding this is that the most important aspect of justice, putting something in its proper place is saying that God deserves to be worshipped by himself. And after that is the justice that is for all other forms of creation, animate and inanimate, whether it's a plant or a person, the animal or a human being. We all have a right. And ihsan is a ziyadah. It is extra, as some scholars mentioned. You have fulfilled your obligation, but when you do ihsan, it can be translated as excellence. It can be translated as good conduct. Ihsan is smiling in the face of your brother when he's sad or she's sad. You know, it's making them laugh. You know, it's doing something to bring them joy. It's giving charity to someone in need. All of this is ihsan. And that's why it can be translated to so many words in English. It's such a... But the origin of ihsan, one of the origins of it, is to beautify something. And I always choose to use this because when you do an action of good that people aren't expecting, when you take them out to lunch and there's no return for it, and they say, what do you want? You say, no, I just want to take you out to lunch. Or you smile at someone for no reason, just to be kind to them. It's a beautiful thing. They'll remember that action of ihsan that you've done to them. Even though you may have the opportunity and the right to do something that they may not like or that may be harmful to them, and they know they deserve it. But ihsan is a level that's above that. It's a level that's above that. Wa-ita idha al-qurba. And also in giving, the third thing he says is giving to the relatives. And as the scholars mentioned, because he uses this example, it's an example of who you should be just with and have rather ihsan with. As in the Quran, Allah mentions in numerous verses, Wa-abidullaha wa-la tushrikoo bihi shay'an and worship Allah, and do not associate any partners with Him. Wa-abidilwalideyni ish ihsana. And with the two parents, good conduct, manners, excellence. Go extra.
And the scholars mention, why did Allah mention, why did Allah mention the relatives? Because we will have the most, we'll be most negligent of them because we're so used to them. We're so used to being around them. We'll be so negligent of the basic rights that they may deserve or going extra, starting with who the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said three times that deserves the right, your mother, your mother, your mother, and then your father. As the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him mentioned. So those are the three that he ordered. The three that he prohibited was, forbids immorality, bad conduct and oppression. Well, the English does not do justice to the Arabic language, but we'll give it a try. He said, Wayanha analfahsha'i and alfahsha' is to go beyond the bounds or to do a lot of that, which is not permissible. A lot of that, which is not permissible. alfahsha' wal munkar munkar is the opposite of ma'ruf. It is that which is known to be bad. It is that which is known to be bad. Ma'ruf is what everyone knows to be accepted. That's where we get the word urf from. Right? So when we talk about alfahsha' wal munkari wal baghi and baghi the scholars have mentioned particularly is that which is a transgression against someone else. It's a transgression against someone else. And that is the total opposite of justice, which we can say is dhun. And then Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, yaAAidukum laAAallakum tathakkaroon He says, he reminds and admonishes you, perhaps you'll be of those who are mindful. This admonishment and a reminder for you to be just and to fulfill the general manners of Islam. And that's one of the wisdoms that scholars chose to recite this verse at the end of Juma'ah to remind you that this religion is a religion of tawas it's a religion of wasata, it's a religion of justice, it's a religion of good akhlaq, it's a religion of being good to the people that are close to you. And that is the ultimate wisdom and the middle course of following the Sirat al-Mustaqeem. So we ask Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la to bless us
and to keep us on the straight path for really that is the path to Jannah inshAllah. Jazakum Allah khair. Jazakum Allah khair, Dr. Sheikh Abdullah and Dr. Hassan. The greatest blessing is the blessing of guidance. And I believe that ties into what you will be talking about inshAllah. Dr. Sheikh Hassan. InshAllah. Bismillah wa alhamdulillah wa salatu wa salam wa ala al-mursaleen Sayyidina Muhammad wa ala alihi wa sahbihi al-tayyibina al-tahireen Rabbishrah li sadri wa yassir li amri wahlul uqadatan min lisani yaqaw qawli It is said, it is not about the words that leave our lips, rather it's about the heart from which our words come. And I start with that because I'm speaking about the best words, the words of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. So I have to start by asking Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la not to veil the beauty of the words of the Quran with any darkness of my heart. The verse I wanted to share with you today is verse number nine in Surah Al-Hijr. But to understand the power, the beauty of this verse, I will just go quickly about the circumstances. What happened? When was it revealed? And I think that is in itself says a lot. Surah Al-Hijr was revealed in Mecca when things weren't good. The Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, it has been more than 10 years, he's been prosecuted, people were tortured, people died, and finally they threw him and everyone that supported him in the desert. So it seems the message is not progressing. It seems that Muslims are under the feet of everyone. It seems they're going to be uprooted. The message is going to be extinguished. And in that condition, in that situation where Muslims felt so vulnerable, so weak, that things are not well at all, Surah Al-Hijr is revealed. And it was revealed in a time when the mushrikeen, they were asking, as Sheikh Omar explained, they were mocking so much, and they were asking the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, where is God? Where are the miracles? We need miracles. Why don't you bring some angels? If you're a prophet, if this is the truth, show us the angels. And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
responds in the most majestic way. The way the Surah opened, the strength of the Surah, that a day will come, and those who mock, those who today look like they're strong, they will wish they were a Muslim. And you wonder, how can you say that? That was said when the Muslims were under the feet of everyone, and that's a strength. But then Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la goes and addresses the topic. They ask for angels. They want a miracle. They think if an angel comes down, see even some atheists nowadays, they tell you, where is God? If I see God, I will believe. But Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la then addresses this in the most beautiful way. It's Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la saying, you want angels to come down to you? I've already sent something bigger than angels. I've already sent a miracle. I've already sent down something to you, miraculous, more beautiful, more profound than the angels, but you didn't see it. And that's verse number nine. Inna nahnu nazzalna al-dhikr, wa inna lahul hafidhun. You ask for angels, you ask for miracles, that you're surrounded by miracles. The words of the Quran, what the Quran does to the heart, what the Quran did to those who followed it in by itself is a miracle. And if you did not see the miracle of the Quran, what makes you think you can see the miracle and an angel coming down? The carrier of the Quran, Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam not only we brought the best of the words, the words of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, miraculous, Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. And Allah says, wa tara hum yamdhuluna ilayh wa hum la yubsiroon. You see them, they look at you, but they don't see. The problem is perhaps it's not the absence of miracles, perhaps it's blindness. Perhaps the real problem is I'm surrounded by miracles that I don't see. And then Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la to make another point, not only I have sent down this Quran,
but at this point of time where the Muslims were so weak, they couldn't even, they were dying. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam lost Khadija, his wife and his uncle, and there is no protection. And it seems they're exposed. Allah says, what? Not only I've sent this Quran and it's a miracle, and here's another miracle. It is going to be protected. And you have to contemplate when was that sent? They didn't have computers or USBs or memories. They can hardly write on perhaps some bones. And to make the claim, no matter what will happen, this Quran is protected, is preserved. Now this impacts me greatly. Whenever I feel insecure, whenever I feel I'm exposed, all what I have to do is look at this Quran and see SubhanAllah, whether I'm in China, I'm in Egypt, I'm in the United States, Allah protected this Quran. And it hasn't been protected because we did it, Allah did it, the one that protected this Quran, inshallah, can protect me and my family. The one that protected this Quran, I ask him, I implore him to protect this Quran in my heart. Ya Rabbi, kama hafizta hadha al-kitab, hafizta hadha al-kitab, ihfadha al-iman fee qalbi. And there was a story about a person who went to his sheikh complaining, you know, ya sheikh, what happened? A thief came and stole everything in my house. And the sheikh told him, say alhamdulillah. And this person said, ya sheikh, alhamdulillah, I just told you everything was stolen. And he said, say alhamdulillah, it was a thief that stole your house. And it wasn't shaitan that stole your iman. I need hafiz. And I implore the one that guarded and preserved the Quran to preserve iman in my heart in difficult times. And if he did that with his words, I think, I have hope that he indeed can do that in my heart too. But it doesn't stop there.
So Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is saying, the problem is not the absence of miracles. What if it was the heart? kathalika naslukhu fee qulubil mujrimeen The problem is Allah gives, but the heart can't receive. There is a problem with the heart, it's blind. And that's why Allah says, walaw fataahna alayhim baabal min assamaee fatallu fee ya'arujoon And if I opened, bigger than angels, I'm going to open a door in the sky and let you ascend and see all the miraculous things, what will they say? laqalu innamaa sukkirat absaruna falnaahnu qawmun nasfuroon No, they won't believe them. Say, oh, perhaps this is an optical illusion. Our eyes are deluded. The problem, therefore, is something else. We are surrounded by miracles. And that's why Allah then starts speaking about his creation. The wind, the mountains, we are surrounded by miracles. If I, right now I have a wooden table in front of me. If I was to bang my head in the wooden table and bring an apple for you, you will say, that's a miracle. How did you do that? But it happens every day. Look at an apple tree, wood that comes from the ground, brings apples every day, a miracle. But we don't see it. Why? What is the problem? Why can't we see the miracle? Why can't we see the Quran? That is when Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la brings the example of Iblis. Here is a creation of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la who spoke to Allah. He spoke to the truth, but he could not see the truth. So for the atheist that says, if I see God, I will believe, the Quran says, no, not necessary. There is another problem. Because there is a case, someone who spoke to God, who saw the truth, but yet he didn't believe in the truth. What was his problem? Arrogance. It is not about the lack of evidence. It is about the presence of arrogance. That is what's going on.
That is why people cannot see the Quran. That is why people look at the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and all what they see, how can you describe him as an imposter? Don't you see his words? Don't you see the Quran? Don't you see the beauty around you? Don't you see the creation of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la? And if the problem, if the answer is no, then the Quran says, check the heart, arrogance. And finally, a final point, you ask for angels to come down. Then the same Surah, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, yes, angels came down, as the Surah describes, two situations, angels came down to Prophet Ibrahim. How did he receive them? Oh, he was generous, he provided food. And because Ibrahim was righteous, they came down with good tidings. The very same angels went to Prophet Lot. How did the people of Lot receive the angels? What did they want to do with them? Did they see that their angels, no, they saw them as a utility to fulfill their desires. That's it. And then it was a destruction for those people. And in a way, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is saying, if I sent a miracle for you, it's up to you. Will you receive it with gratitude? And then it's an elimination or the opposite? You will do like the other people of arrogance, and then it's a source of destruction. In a way, Allah always gives. There are miracles all around. The Quran is a miracle. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is a miracle. The creation of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is a miracle. I wake up every day, the eye by which I see, I'm surprised it's a miracle. The ears by which I hear is a miracle. The tongue I'm speaking, I'm surrounded by miracles. But it's the absence of this heart that can see all those miracles. And it's, can I receive them or not? Rubbama waradat alayka al-anwar, fa wajadat al-qalb mahshuwan bisawar al-athar, far tahalat min haythu itan. Perhaps illumination, lights, spiritual gifts,
wonderful things, Allah's always giving, come to your heart, but it finds your heart. That's the problem, full with the imprints of created things, full of ailments. Yes, there are viruses around, and we have to develop new habits like washing our hands to protect ourselves. There are spiritual pandemics going around. Narcissism, arrogance, hastiness, ostentation, showing off, they affect the heart. And the heart therefore cannot do its basic function. It cannot see properly, it cannot comprehend properly. And that's my reflection. I ask Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la to protect our hearts from all spiritual ailments. I ask Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la to protect faith, la ilaha illallah, in our hearts. I ask Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la to open the eyesights of our hearts, by which we can see his closeness, and the hearing of our hearts, by which we can hear the beauty of his words. Jazakumullah khair. Jazakumullah khair, Qur'an Hasan. Loved having you on. Jazakumullah khair for joining us. My pleasure. I lost count, I'll elevate you and increase you. SubhanAllah, as you were speaking, just to give people, I guess, a 30 second take home message in that sense. We started off this whole series with the fact that the beginning of the Qur'an is an ask, it's a du'a, it's a supplication. And it's an ask for guidance. And Allah says, here you go. The greatest blessing is the blessing of clarity and purpose. No other blessing can compensate for the loss of clarity and purpose. You could have everything in the world, but if you don't know why you're here, and what you want, and what your destination is, no cars, no palaces, no money, no wealth, nothing would ever be able to fill that void of guidance. And with that, SubhanAllah, what you just reminded us tonight, what the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said, wal-Qur'an wa hujjatan nak aw alik. Masallallahu ala al-afiyah. That the Qur'an is a proof for you, or against you.
You have the Qur'an, I have the Qur'an, we have this blessing from Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Will we respond to it in the right way? Will we do with it what would cause it to actually testify against us on the Day of Judgment? We're doing the series on the angels. The angels can be Bushra, glad tidings, or they can be a source of harm towards us if we do that, which repels the malaikin and invites the shayateen instead in our lives. You can watch all the angels series that you want, but unless you're applying the sunan that are in those, those important acts that are being mentioned in there, then that's what's gonna cause those angels to love you, and of course, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala to love you as well. We ask Allah to love us all, and we thank him for this blessing of the Qur'an, this ni'ma of the Qur'an, and this ni'ma of one another, and brotherhood and sisterhood, and this ni'ma of guidance, and this ni'ma of Ramadan. JazakumAllahu khayran to you, Shaykh Hassan, to you, Shaykh Abdullah, as always, and to everyone for joining. InshaAllah we'll see you all tomorrow. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Thank you, my Shaykh.
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