Qur'an 30 for 30 | Season 2
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Juz' 1 with Sh. Mohammad Elshinawy | Qur'an 30 for 30 Season 2
In the opening episode of this Ramadan series, Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Abdullah Oduro, joined by special guest Sh. Mohammad Elshinawy, explore gems from the first Juz' of the Holy Quran.
Download our FREE eBook "Qur’an 30for30: The Companion Reader" here.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Ramadan Mubarak to you all. Alhamdulillah wa salatu wa salamu ala rasulullah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala. Alhamdulillah Ramadan is back and Qur'an 30 for 30 is back. We ask Allah subhana wa ta'ala to fill our hearts with the Qur'an, our tongues with its recitation, our deeds with its manifestations, and we ask Allah to make us people of the Qur'an. Allahumma ameen. Alhamdulillah it's wonderful to be back again and I want to say salamu alaykum from the very beginning to Sheikh Abdullah. Sheikh Abdullah, salamu alaykum. Wa alaykum salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Jazakumullah khair. Walaikum. Welcome back. Alhamdulillah. Looking forward to the month with you inshaAllah. Alhamdulillah. It's good to be back with all of you inshaAllah. Allah ibarak fik. We're looking forward to your reflections and your face palms within the next month. See how many we get inshaAllah. Yeah, that's what we want to see inshaAllah. We need to get some gifs in high def now inshaAllah. Hopefully it will be a Qur'anic gif. Ayat will make me just, you know. Yeah. Allah Akbar. And then of course for our first guest, alhamdulillah, we have Sheikh Muhammad al-Shanawi. Alhamdulillah. Hayakallah Abu Abad. Kifn hal. My pleasure to be amongst you guys and Ramadan Mubarak to everybody. Allah ibarak fikum. Tayab, bismillah. So we're going to get started inshaAllah. So to remind everyone, alhamdulillah, we're going to be inshaAllah ta'ala going on every night at 6 p.m. Central, 7 p.m. Eastern, bi'idhnillahi ta'ala. And alhamdulillah, today we have released a Qur'an 30 for 30 e-book. And what this is, is a companion guide for last year's Qur'an 30 for 30, which basically does the overviews of the chapters, as well as explaining the sequences inshaAllah ta'ala between the chapters. So you can use that every day inshaAllah ta'ala. Read that every day. It's very short, the juz' that we're covering, to get the overview bi'idhnillahi ta'ala. And then you can tune in with us inshaAllah ta'ala. So it's a little bit of homework, but it's not much.
It's a free e-book, as well as Dr. Tahir Wyatt, hafizahullah, wrote his e-book on dua, on prophetic prayers for Ramadan. So a dua a day, alhamdulillah. So you have plenty to keep you engaged inshaAllah ta'ala. And tomorrow, bi'idhnillahi ta'ala, meeting Muhammad salAllahu alayhi wasalam, the first episode will be released tomorrow morning inshaAllah ta'ala. So we hope you'll be tuning in on a daily basis inshaAllah ta'ala to both that, as well as our Qur'an 30 for 30 nightly. We want to remind you, of course, bi'idhnillahi ta'ala, to consider yaqeen amongst your places for sadaqah bi'idhnillahi ta'ala, as we seek to provide more free resources inshaAllah ta'ala to the community. So please do, bi'idhnillahi ta'ala, consider clicking on the link and donating to yaqeen and supporting us the way that you do every year, alhamdulillah rabbil alameen. And we pray that we'll continue to get better for you, bi'idhnillahi ta'ala. Now with that being said, what I'm going to be doing inshaAllah ta'ala every night is I'm actually going to be, instead of doing a juz' overview, the way that we did last year, talking about the structure of the juz', we're going to be looking at the seerah in focus, bi'idhnillahi ta'ala. And so we start off with surah al-Baqarah, which is, of course, divided into multiple juz', but we're going to start off with the first juz' of al-Baqarah, bi'idhnillahi ta'ala. And of course, surah al-Baqarah is a madani surah. It was revealed in Medina, and it has the style of a madani surah, being a long surah with long verses. But I want to talk about some of the things that we see in the first juz' of al-Baqarah inshaAllah ta'ala. Most of the scholars say that this surah, at least the beginning of it, the first juz' of it, was revealed in the first year after hijrah. So put yourself in the mindset of the Muslims as they have just migrated from Mecca to Medina. They are settling their new home. They're finally establishing a community, not under persecution,
though of course there are the unique dynamics of settling into Medina and still dealing with a hostile enemy in Mecca, as well as some hostile enemies within al-Medina. But at the same time, it's the first year in Medina. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to allow us to visit al-Medina soon, bi'idhnillahi ta'ala. And the reason for revelation, according to multiple scholars, is that the shari'ah, the law itself, is going to be revealed over a few of these surahs, a few of these ayat, bi'idhnillahi ta'ala, and people will ask many questions as the new community is being established. And so you're going to see in the second juz', which we'll talk about insha'Allah ta'ala tomorrow, a lot of legal questions, a lot of yas'aloonak, they ask you this, they ask you that now, because now you're a community that is flourishing or that has the potential to establish itself, and so now you get to establish your own set of laws. Now you have ahkam, now you have rulings that will be applied within the society of the Muslims. However, just like with Mecca to Medina, the first foundation is the foundation of taqwa, is the foundation of God consciousness. And so you find these categorizations of people, and in the very beginning of surah al-Baqarah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions the believers, Allah mentions the disbelievers, and then Allah mentions the hypocrites. And not just any group of hypocrites, Allah talks about hypocrites who only entered into Islam to harm it from within. And of course this is a key feature of Al-Madina, you did not have people that pretended to be Muslims in Mecca so that they could cause damage to the Muslim community from within. But here you do have that first set of hypocrites being addressed, and subhanAllah, Allah azawajal from the very beginning is talking about their plotting and their planning, and how they will fail in this dunya and in the hereafter as well.
wa ma yakhda'oona illa anfusahum wa ma yash'uroon They're only fooling themselves, and their plans will be foiled, and they will taste the consequences of their hypocrisy in this life as well as the next. So it's a warning to the hypocrites to not lose their faith, to not lose out on the opportunity to be sincere believers and companions of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam, because to do so is to risk the punishment of the hereafter, and it's also a warning to them as the Muslims are setting up in Madina very vulnerably, that they will fail in regards to their worldly plans as well. You also have a lot of stories of Bani Israel that come in Surat Al-Baqarah, and Allah azawajal speaking, Ya Bani Israel, remember, O Bani Israel, remember the favor of God upon you, remember the favor of Allah upon you. And of course, as the Muslims are settling into Madina, they are dealing with the Jewish community for the first time, right? And you have Jewish tribes that are in Madina. And so the Quran reminding the Jewish tribes as well of the favors of Allah upon Bani Israel, but a reminder to us all of Musa alayhi salam and the message of Musa alayhi salam, the mission of Musa alayhi salam, and what true continuation of Musa alayhi salam's legacy looks like. So it's a reminder for all of us. And of course, the reminder is laced with the remembrance of the gratitude that we should have to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for all that he has given to us. And of course, you find as we talked about, you know, in the overview, the dua, the dua of Adam alayhi salam, the dua of Musa alayhi salam, the dua of Ibrahim alayhi salam, and dua is truly your weapon, the weapon of the believer that will save the believer. But here's something that I want to focus on inshallah ta'ala with a few minutes that I have, as we are in a madani context,
and it's really powerful that the story of the building of the Kaaba is being revealed as the Muslims have just been exiled from Mecca. And for the first time, they are, you know, getting exposed to a society in which the Kaaba is not there around the corner from them, right? They lived in Mecca, they have been persecuted around the Kaaba. And they know that this is the house that was built by Ibrahim alayhi salam for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for the worship of one God. But now they're in Medina, and they're missing Mecca. And here Allah is revealing these verses about the initial construction of the Kaaba. When Ibrahim alayhi salam builds the Kaaba with Ismail alayhi salam, wa idh yarfa'u Ibrahim al-qawa'ida min al-bayti wa Ismail And they're raising their hands to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and they are praying to Allah for the city of Mecca. They are praying to Allah for their descendants to be upon righteousness, to be upon monotheism, to be upon prayer, and to uphold the sanctity of that house. And so if you think about the context, subhanAllah, you're in Medina, you've just been persecuted and exiled out of Mecca. And now Allah is revealing these verses about the construction of the Kaaba. What is the wisdom of that? And what is the sign of that? And many of the scholars point to that this is soothing the heart of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam and soothing the heart of the believers, that you will one day return to fulfill the legacy of Ibrahim alayhi salam. To fulfill the promise that Allah gave to Ibrahim alayhi salam. That people will come to this place worshipping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alone. And they will come saying, labaik Allahuma labaik, and tawheed will be established in the place where you have just been run out of because of your tawheed. So think about the mindset of the Muslims who missed Mecca so much. Some of them have never known but Mecca.
And the revelation coming upon the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam and upon the hearts of the believers about Mecca, about Ibrahim alayhi salam's vision for Mecca and vision for the world and how the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam was to be a continuation of that vision. And we as his ummah by extension be a continuation of that vision. So subhanAllah if you're in Medina reading these verses as they're being revealed to the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam for the first time, thinking about, you're already thinking about the Kaaba, you're already thinking about Mecca, and you're thinking about not a place of hostility but a place that was empty at one point that was being established upon tawheed and with tawheed. And this is the first bushra, just as Allah is giving the news to the hypocrites from the very beginning as Medina is starting, that you will fail in your plans, you will fail in your plans to derail the Muslim community, to harm Islam from within. This is a message to the Muslims that are in Medina that you will return back to Mecca victorious one day because Allah has decreed it even though you have just been run out of there after over a decade of persecution and humiliation, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will establish the promise to Ibrahim alayhi salam, to Abraham of tawheed, the legacy of tawheed. And so go back to the initial construction of the Kaaba and you will one day return to that Kaaba as it serves the purpose that it was meant to serve in the first place. So we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to bless us with that ability ourselves to go back to Mecca saying labaik Allahuma labaik and to always keep in perspective, to always keep in perspective, even at our lowest points and even in the most unlikely moments, that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has made a promise to the believers and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will see that promise through. And then inshallah ta'ala when we get to the second juz, we'll talk about the changing of the qibla then that comes in that same context.
JazakAllah khair, Sheikh Omar. Ahsanallahu alaik. I know you were trying to be respectful by not reaching into the second juz, but just for those that are wondering, the scholars inferred this because it is very clear once you get to the second juz, right? qad nara taqallu ba wajhika fis sama'i falan wali anna ka qibla tan tardaha We see your face turning on Muhammad in the direction of Mecca and we're going to grant you a direction of prayer that you will be pleased with. And so it is actually spelled out that this is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala going to do this. And also you read between the lines, look at the great status of our Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam in the sight of his Lord, that his Lord would never be indifferent, not just about his dua, but the inclinations, the pure inclinations that Allah originally guided him to, the inclinations of his heart. Mashallah, tabarakallah, that was a beautiful insight, mashallah, and how you mentioned the whole concept and interactions of Bani Israel, the people of Musa alayhi salam, and that's kind of what I want to use as a segue to introduce the portion of what I want to talk about is roughly in the Surah Al-Baqarah, obviously in the 74th verse, because now that we are entering Ramadan, alhamdulillah rabbil alameen, we should know that this is not seasonal, particularly the aspect of our hearts and where our hearts stand, and the consistent evaluation that is upon the human being, in particular the Muslim, to evaluate their hearts, to look at their hearts, to inspect their hearts, to always ask questions to themselves about themselves, ultimately asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So what we see here in the story of Musa with the people Bani Israel, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions that when Moses told his people,
idhbahu baqarah, he told them to slaughter the cow, and as we see from the description of the inhabitants at that time in his civilization, the people that were around him, they didn't respond adequately, they didn't respond in a fashion that was pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, rather, they even dared to ridicule and to question him to the degree where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, dare we say, there was a level of frustration with the response and the way that they acted. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala finally mentions, he mentions to us how they finally slaughtered the cow and sacrificed the cow, and he says, wa maa kadhu yaf'aloon, they were not about to do it. Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala talks about their situation and their hal, when he says, wa if qataltum nafsan faddaratum feeha, when you kill someone, from amongst them, there was someone that killed one of their people, faddaratum feeha, ya'ani ikhtalaftum feeha, watakhasamtum feeha, they, when they were asked, who was the individual who killed this person, they would blame each other. They would blame each other, to the degree that they would argue with each other. And Allah says, he knows well of what you were taqtumoon, what you were hiding, what you were not revealing. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is well aware of that. Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions, after that, how he shows him his ayat, how he shows him his signs, because he told them, faqul madriboohu bibaAAbihaa, take from this dead cow, take from this baqarah, and place it on the dead individual, and he will show you his signs. As the scholars say that when they placed it on this individual, he would come to life, and then he would tell them who the killer was. Qadhalika yuhyi allahu almouta wa yureekum ayatihi. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will bring this dead individual to life, and he will show you his signs. Let's stop here. The signs of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala are very important for us to voluntarily, to the best of our ability, ponder over.
Because any sign that we see, we should use it as a means to soften our hearts. But with the people that were around Moses, that was not the case. As we see consistently throughout the Quran, they tried to kill the prophets, they killed the prophets, some of the prophets. They would ask the questions, they said, show us Allah apparent. We will not believe you, we will not believe you until we see Allah, until we see him. Until we see him jahratan, until we totally see him. So this type of ridicule, and sometimes we can say dare sarcasm, that took place, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions their situation right after that. He said, thumma qasat qulubukum min ba'di thalika. Fahiyya kal hijarati aw ashaddu qaswa. He said, then even after this sign was shown, your hearts were hard. Kal hijarati aw ashaddu qaswa. And here some of the scholars say, it was, your hearts were hard as rocks, or even harder than that. Some scholars say, and even harder than that. How? Because, you know, amongst these group of people, as we know human beings, the strength and level of our hearts and softness of our hearts towards Allah and his message, it ranges. So it could be that some people from Bani Israel were very, very, very stubborn and ignorant and defiant, and some were not at that level. Or it could be one person, that all of them, their hearts range just as we are. In this month of Ramadan inshallah, we make our hearts softer to this message. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying, fahiyya kal hijarati aw ashaddu qaswa. wa inna min al hijarati lama yatafajaru minhu al-anhaab. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, and there are four rocks from which the streams spring out. yatafajaru minhu al-anhaab. wa inna minha lama yashakaku fuyakhruju minhu al-maa. And some are from which water comes and they split open. And there are some from some of the hearts that are more, that are softer.
As you realize, subhanAllah, you see that water has to push through this hard structure in order to break it. But the level of compromise of that rock, of that hard structure, will depend on how soft it is. So when we look at the ayat of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, what does it do to our hearts? And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says after that, wa inna minha lama yashakaku fuyakhruju minhu al-maa. wa inna minha lama yahbitu min khashati allah. wa ma allahu bi ghafinin AAamma ta'amaloon. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says after that, others will fall down in the awe of Allah and He is not unaware of what you do. So here we see in conclusion how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is describing these hearts and they are different situations and different encounters and different responses. But this should be an ultimate message. As Sheikh Omar was saying earlier, the generality of the message is for us to look at these stories and then immediately look in the mirror. Look in the mirror. Ramadan has started. We've had the opportunity for sha'ban, to fast the majority of the month, to condition ourselves. We're human beings. We may have been negligent. But now with Ramadan, this Quran is the best dhikr for you. So when using this avenue of tuning in, pressing, using your senses, what you see, what you hear, what you touch, to use it for that which is of khair. And with that which is good for your soul and good for your heart, that is how the heart will remain soft. And that is how it will stay away from those things that are detrimental to it, from them being arrogance, from them being kibr. As the Prophet ﷺ said, the individual will not enter Jannah if there is a mustard seed of kibr, of arrogance in their hearts. So let's allow the beginning of this series, if you're tuning in, may Allah bless you, but maintain that relationship with the Quran because that is the strongest means to keep the heart soft and to obey the message of the one that created it. JazakAllah khair, Sheikh Abdullah, Allah ibarak fik. Sheikh Muhammad, tifadhal. Fadhalak Allahumma kulli suw.
Bismillah again, wa salatu wa salamu ala Rasulillah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'in. I guess as I'm listening to Sheikh Omar offer us the context of when these ayat came down and now Sheikh Abdullah reminding us to be extra focused and extra introspective, and I ask Allah to help us fixate on the Quran in this month and fix what has gone wrong with our lives through the Quran and help us find ourselves in this book and the best version of ourselves. Allahumma ameen. I guess my reflection to tie these two together, you know, first of all, Surah Al-Baqarah really is, especially the first juz, we've never really been taught how do we fitJosh into a text release. Qais Azeem, Hojja Sahib, really heavy on the evaluative criteria, if you will, how to evaluate the softness of your heart. Because, you know, Surah Al-Baqarah especially, Surah Al-Hadeed, and these are all early surahs in Madinah, they have a very clear and forward caution against your faith becoming compromised without you realizing it. And that is, you know, a concern we should all have. And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, faith wears out in one of you the same way a garment wears out on your bodies. So constantly ask Allah to renew the faith in your heart. We ask Allah Azza wa Jal, you know, in this first blessed night of Ramadan, to renew the faith in our hearts. Constantly ask for it. But Surah Al-Baqarah offers, among others, how to check for it. You know, the first hint Surah Al-Baqarah gives you is the timing, when to check for it. Surah Al-Baqarah came down in Madinah. Madinah is, yes, they were forced into exile from Mecca, but they also were housed. They were taken in by Madinah. And so there is a relative safety. There is a relative comfort eventually, once they get into Madinah, especially after the first year. And that is a moment when you want to be cautious, because comfort, the same way that a fear can drive you to faith, comfort and luxury, safety, it has its ills, right? It can get you to put your guard down.
And so of the ills of prosperity, the Quran threatens or the Quran warns to not fall, to not succumb to the ills of prosperity. And that's very relevant for us, because you may put your guard down because Ramadan arrived, all right? I made it, you know, the nervousness is over. And that would be unfortunate. You will not make the best of Ramadan. And in general, I mean, you know, for a lot of us, being a first world Muslim, if I can call us that, that gives us a greater propensity, greater likelihood for like a false sense of security. And then also Surah Al-Baqarah, think of context socialization, right? They are, as Sheikh Omar mentioned, interacting now with a group, an extension of Banu Israel, you know, the Jewish community in Medina, people that over time, the hearts hardened and they half stepped in their faith, their faith got compromised and they didn't realize, and they fell into selective submission. They pick and choose what they're going to submit to. And that is very akin to us as well. If you think of the concept of secularism today, right? The secular paradigm where you section off the leftovers of your life, for God, those are two factors, the comfort of our life and the socialization of the dominant cultures in the ether makes us realize how useful the first Jews of Surah Al-Baqarah is. You know, as Sheikh Omar mentioned, the categories of the faithful are in two, three verses. The category of the unfaithful, the disbelievers, two verses. Why? Because all that was covered for 13 years in Mecca. It's crystal clear and nobody was half stepping, nobody was showing two faces. There was no hypocrisy, right? But then there's an extensive discussion on what hypocrisy looks like, the different types of hypocrisy, and then the mention of like Adam and Shaitaan, because that's exactly what Shaitaan did now. Hypocrisy, then disbelief, undermined his faith. All his hard work meant nothing because there was no devotion at heart. He was being selective. He's doing it because he wanted to do it. That's why he didn't do what Allah wanted him to do.
So submitting to Allah on your terms, not his terms, is not the evaluative criteria for someone who is truly a fake. You know, crying when we hear Quran, for example, is not the only indicative factor of a soft heart. How good are we at submitting consistently? And then the first Juz' we'll go on to speak about, you know, the Israelites themselves, who once again overlooked God's favors and were half stepping the story of the cow. And then you go back to Ibrahim Alayhi Salam, and this is so profound, because the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is recalling the world to the legacy of Ibrahim Alayhi Salam. And then the people in Medina, you know, the Jewish communities in Medina are making a claim to Ibrahim Alayhi Salam, but they're half stepping in their faith. So it's as if Allah Azza wa Jal is telling them, now you all decide by your submission to my laws, submission to my injunctions, are you the true claimants, the rightful claimants to Ibrahim Alayhi Salam? Because Ibrahim Alayhi Salam, he didn't just hesitate when it came to slaughtering a cow, he was ready to slaughter his son if it came from Allah, because it wasn't about the detail, it was about the commander. Who's commanding? Who has the right to be obeyed? Ibrahim Alayhi Salam was thrown into a fire, didn't mind. Ibrahim Alayhi Salam, who in the Hadith in Sahih Al-Bukhari, didn't say, oh Allah, I've done so much, I'm 80 years old now, enough. He circumcised himself with a rough blade. At 80 years old, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said. And that's why the first juz basically says, وَيَتِبْتَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ فَإِبْرَاهِيمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ was tested by his Lord with certain injunctions, and he passed them all with flying colors. So that's the idea of the first juz, which of you is a true claimant? Ibrahim Alayhi Salam built the Kaaba, and he said, oh Allah, except from us, I know this is not worthy of you, I should be submitting even more and even more humble. This is not a burden, this is an opportunity to serve you. So I'm gonna do it without reservations, without reluctance, without restrictions.
That's the true evaluative criteria of a healthy heart. Allah said he passed it with all flying colors. And so that is the criteria to set you up for Juz 2 that Shaf'a Umar said has all the legal rulings. Now here's your test, here's your criteria, here's your laws, your legal rulings to see if you are a true performer, better than Banu Isra'il when it came to the legacy of Ibrahim Alayhi Salam's submission. And then the end of the Surah praises those who say we hear and we obey in the second to last verse. So that's how I try to understand, you know, the importance of introspection through Surah Al-Baqarah, and I'll hand it back without taking any more time. JazakAllah khair, Sheikh Umar. Allahi Barak Feek. I wish you wouldn't have handed it back, man, I wish you would have kept going. It's my fault for telling you there's a time limit. JazakAllah. Allah, one thing that I was thinking about that is really interesting, you know, Ramadan is all about us taking into consideration our favors, right? The favors of Allah upon us. When Allah talks to the people of Mecca, Allathee ataAAamahum min juu'in wa amanahum min khawf let them worship the Lord of this house in Mecca, Al-Kaaba, Ahlul Mecca, the one who safeguarded them and the one who fed them, gave them security and gave them the blessings of sustenance. And then when Allah Azawajal talks to Bani Isra'il, right? Uthkuru ni'mati allathee an'amtu AAalaykum Remember my blessing upon you, remember my favor upon you. And of course, Bani Isra'il, anifadhabtukum AAalil AAalameen is something specific to them that they were chosen as a nation. And then of course, Allah Azawajal mentions the favors upon Musa Alayhi Salaam and what does Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la specifically give us? wa anzala AAalaykum min manna wassalwa kuloo washraboo Right? You know, that Allah revealed, sent upon them all the food and drink that they needed to sustain themselves. So Allah reminded them of sustenance and what else? wa idhnajjainakum min aalifiraoon SubhanAllah, like Allah reminded them of security and sustenance. And I was just thinking as you were talking, Allah reminded Ahlul Makkah, the people of Makkah of security and sustenance.
And what did the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam say to us? Whoever wakes up in the morning and they are safe, they're healthy, they're safe and they have enough to eat for the day. It's as if they own the entire world. It's as if they're the kings, you know, the kings of this earth. SubhanAllah, you have everything that you need. And Ramadan is to impress upon us those blessings. And it's amazing to me that we're starting off the Quran, the recitation of the Quran with a reminder from Allah to all of us of those blessings and then interrogate ourselves with those blessings. Like which category? Like no one is freed from self interrogation, introspection. In Surah Al-Baqarah, the believer has to look within, the disbeliever has to look within, the hypocrite has to look within, the polytheist has to look within, the people of the book have to look within, right? The Jews and the Christians have to look within, the Muslims have to look within. Everyone has to ask themselves, am I submitting the way Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam submitted? And every story that just hits you so quickly has this contrast, right? Like until you get to Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam, you have, you can either, you know, take the way of Adam Alayhi Salaam or you could take the way of Shaitaan. You could either take the way of Musa Alayhi Salaam or you could take the way of Fir'aun or you could take the way of Bani Israel, particularly the ones that disobeyed Musa Alayhi Salaam. And then it gets to Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam. It's like, here's your ultimate example. وَمَنْ يَرْغَبُ عَنْ مِلَّةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِلَّا مَنْ سَفِهَ نَفْسَةً Who turns away from the way of Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam, right? Except that they bring about on themselves disgrace in this life and the next. You know, Allah chose him. And that's actually the key here, right? That Allah choosing Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam transcends this world, right? اصطفاه في الدنيا واصطفاه في الآخرة عليه السلاة والسلام Allah chose him with a special favor in this dunya and a special favor in the hereafter as well. Allah chose him because of his submission, his sincerity, and the way he took those blessings and channeled them in ways of just beautiful submission. And then victory comes, right?
And that's where the next juz, the turning of the qibla starts to come into play, which we'll talk about inshaAllah in the next session. JazakAllah khair, Sheikh Omar. You know, as you were like the visual of the fork in the road, and you got to make your decision, it, I guess, pushed me to just revisit the point that I rushed in the end. You know, the haith in Sahih Muslim, that when Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala said in the last three verses of Surah Al-Baqarah, he said, you know, whether you express what is within yourselves or you keep it hidden, Allah knows. And so the sahaba came and they fell on their knees and the story is known, like we cannot, you know, control our passing thoughts. And that by itself is a lesson that they didn't read this stuff in passing. They actually felt like every verse was something they would be asked about, right? And then the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said what you kind of reminded me of with the fork in the road. He said, are you going to say like Banu Israel said, Sama'na wa asayna, we hear and we obey. Say, Sama'na wa ata'na, we hear and we obey. The narrator says, when they said it and they just kept repeating it, Allah revealed the praise of the believers, who chose the right side of the road. Yes, he praised them. And that verse turned out to be just, you know, to see were you going to accept the obligation or not. Then Allah was never intending on holding us to it. And that is, SubhanAllah, all of Islam. When we say selective submission, it could be a little bit daunting. But if you actually give in and say, Aya Allah, I am yours and honored to be yours, you actually have the best of this life and not just the next. It's much easier than you think once you actually break that shackle and liberate yourself. Now, Mashallah, that's SubhanAllah. You know, Sheikh Mohammed, you mentioned about the whole concept of slaughtering, right? And you know, SubhanAllah, I'm going to take a clip and that's going to be the series. Of sacrificing for the sake of God.
Because I remember when I embraced Islam, I was like, OK, an animal for God? I couldn't, it was very hard for me to grasp. But then it was like SubhanAllah, when you made the contrast of when the Bani Israel were ordered to slaughter, to sacrifice a cow, and Ibrahim was ordered to sacrifice his son. And that's so beautiful how Allah gives you the epitome of the example within the lives of the prophets to show you that, look, it may not get this deep for you, it will not. But understand what is requested and understand what should go through your mind in the khawater and how you harbor those fleeting thoughts and allow those good fleeting thoughts to translate into something that is beneficial for yourselves. And Ibrahim even told his son, إِنِّي أَرَىٰ فِي الْمَنَامِ أَنِّي أَذْبَحُكَ فَانظُرْ مَا ذَا تَرَىٰ Verily, I see in my sleep that you, I was ordered to sacrifice you. What do you think? قَالَ يَا أَبَتِي فِي عَلْمَا تُؤْمَرَ سَتَجِدُنُي إِن شَاءَ اللَّه مِنَ الصَّابِنِ And his son said, dad do as you, father do as you were ordered, you will find me inshallah of the patient. But when we see the contrast, أَتَتَّخِذُنَا هُزُوَةً You know, are you taking us for a joke? And that's where the سمعنا وطنة comes in, والله it comes in because it's like, okay, am I using my logic to determine what is right and what is wrong from what I know that Allah has descended and has given us? And that's selective worship, subhanAllah, is very, very important for us, you know, at all times. So always remember that. And I like that contrast that you gave. And, you know, just when we hear the word بَقْرَة, we should think of one word or one story that comes to our mind, inshallah. Every name of a chapter, think of one incident in your life and think of are you from the ones that say, if أَبَتِي فِي عَلْمَا تُؤْمَرَ سَتَجِدُنُي إِن شَاءَ اللَّه مِنَ الصَّابِنِ Do as you wish, thinking of Ismail's response or the response of those that say, is this a joke? And really see where we fall because our hearts be hardened or softened based on our answer and our response. Great parallel, Sheikh. JazakAllah khair. Allah ibn-al-haqiq. That's an amazing parallel. SubhanAllah.
We could go on and on, but like, isn't it submission to embark on the journey of hijrah? Like the people in Mecca, were they not told now, like, if you want to keep on your faith, you have to do hijrah with the Prophet ﷺ. Whereas Abyssinia, where they migrated to a Christian land and, you know, obviously we know what happened when Najashi radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. But like, you could go to Abyssinia, but to go to Medina, it was the whole community is going to Medina now. And, you know, taking on, like at that point, even if you're Muslim, you have to decide in Mecca, like, wait a minute, am I really going to leave behind all that I know and go and be this refugee in Medina? Like I could just renounce my faith or I could just keep it hush hush and stay here. But the order of hijrah was a huge order, a huge command, and there's a special reward for them. So that was also accepting the sacrifice and submitting themselves as the children of Ismail, alayhi salam, right, and the followers of the child of Ismail alayhi salam, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Like we will, sami'na wa ata'na, right? The Prophet ﷺ says go, we go. We don't know what's there in Yathrib for us, which would become Madinat al-Nabis alayhi salam, but let's just go, Bismillah, like we're going to go and we're going to put our trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So that was actually sami'na wa ata'na. And I think it's good to end on this, like I don't remember the exact hadith, subhanAllah, but the reward of the person that embarked on the two hijrahs, the reward of the person who believed in Isa alayhi salam and then believed in Muhammad ﷺ. So the reward, the specific reward to a person in Mecca who made the two hijrahs, the specific reward to a person of the book who believed in the prophets and then believed in the Prophet ﷺ, the specific reward of the people of Badr and then Uhud, right? Like it's a chance for multiplied and compounded rewards for us and we should see that as well. That Allah, with every test He gives us, He gives us an opportunity. JazakumAllah khayran.
Any last 30 second minute reflection inshallah for the... I missed this Quran 30 for 30, honestly, I missed our chance to be together, so alhamdulillah it's great to reflect on the Quran. We're all together, it's one khayr in person, so and all the Muslims everywhere. JazakumAllah khayran. With that we'll conclude inshallah ta'ala and I want to remind everyone again, you can download the Quran 30 for 30 companion guide where we did the just overviews inshallah ta'ala. You'll see the link in the comments. We invite you to give inshallah ta'ala to support Yaqeen amongst the other great initiatives that you'll be supporting bid'nayat ta'ala this Ramadan, may Allah accept from you. And also specifically by the way, Sheikh Muhammad, may Allah reward you for completing the Proofs of Prophethood series. That was a major part of the seerah focus, we're talking about embarking on the prophetic mission. JazakumAllah khayran, may Allah reward you and accept from you for completing that series, both written and video, and it's now being worked on as a book bid'nayat ta'ala. So it's a sneak peek to the audience as well inshallah ta'ala that it's being finalized as a book as well. So may Allah reward you for that great effort and struggle as well. Wa alaikum salam wa rahmatullah. Alright everyone, we'll see you all inshallah ta'ala for Juz 2. JazakumAllah khayran, salamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh. Wa alaikum salam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh. Salams guys, I'm Muhammad Zaid, and I'm here to tell you about a new podcast from Yaqeen Institute called Double Take, where we cover issues and topics in Islam that give us pause. Topics such as, will my children be Muslim? Or was Islam spread by the sword? You can find us on YouTube or your favorite podcast app
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