Qur'an 30 for 30 | Season 5
4 / 31
Juz 3: Allah's Mercy & Objective Truth | Dr. Tesneem Alkiek
If Allah says that He doesn't test souls beyond their scope, then why does it feel like Allah is testing me with heavy burdens that I can't handle? How is God's Power manifested in the way He grants authority to whom He wills, even in the case of oppressors like Fir'aun? Why can't I just "live my truth"?
Join Dr. Tesneem Alkiek with hosts Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Abdullah Oduro as they reflect on Juz 3 of the Qur'an, discussing the capacity we have for faith and worship, God's forgiveness, the Mercy of Allah actualized in the way He deals with oppressors, and what the Qur'an says about objective truth.
✨Test your knowledge of the Qur'an with today's Trivia question❓✨
What is the subject matter of the longest verse in the Qur’an?
A. Piety
B. Divorce laws
C. Debt laws
Chapters:
0:00 - Highlights
0:50 - Introduction & today's trivia
📌 2:45 - Dr. Omar Suleiman reflects on the du'a in Surah al-Baqarah on carrying heavy burdens
3:44 - Explanation of "Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear"
5:26 - The greatest heaviness on the self
5:50 - The verse in context of previous nations
📌 9:45 - Sh. Abdullah Oduro reflects on the Mercy of Allah in cases of oppressive authority
11:15 - Allah's authority and dominion over all
12:58 - The example of Fir'aun
14:58 - Our responsibility to search for good
📌 16:09 - Dr. Tesneem Alkiek reflects on the importance of objective truth
17:00 - The pitfalls of "living your truth" and presence of objective truth
18:20 - Responding to those who challenge the truth
📌 22:02 - Closing Reflections
23:00 - The positive outcomes of worshipping Allah
Download the latest Qur'an 30 for 30 eBook: Qur’an 30 for 30: Thematic Tafsir.
Explore the daily juz questions and answers in the Qur'an 30 for 30 Season 5 Trivia.
Sign up for early access to the daily Ramadan email.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Thank you to all of you for attending, we'll see you all tomorrow inshaAllah. BarakAllahu feekum. Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. We put in that effort, we call upon that shared history, recognize that there is that universality, that there's an objective truth that we fall by, and that we continue to pray to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la throughout that process. Inna hadha lahum al-qassasul haq That this is the true narrative, the capital T true narrative. Wama min ilahi indallah That there's no God but God, this is the true narrative that we have, and this is something that we take pride in. That yes, sometimes it can be challenging, but when you know why you do what you do as a Muslim, you find a sense of freedom that you will not find by following any truth, that by following your own desire, by following whatever makes you happy, when you have morals to stand by, you have principles to stand by, that strengthens you, and that is something that is across, trans-historical, across history, across time, across place, that we can all come together and say wama min ilahi indallah There's no God but God, and follow the truth that He sent us. And that is something that we should be thankful for and take pride in as Muslims. Allah yabarak fi ki shaykh Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless you and reward you. SubhanAllah, there's something that I was thinking about as you were talking about this, that truth actually bears ease. In the previous juz, asan takrawu shay'an wa wa khayrun lakum You might hate something and it's actually better for you. And here, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying in this juz, the dua of the believers is that we do not be tasked with anything that is greater than what we can handle. And then Shaykh Abdullah talking about biyadikal khair In your hand is all good. Attributing good to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. I wonder how many people initially
when they see the restrictions of Islam, when they see the pillars they have to commit to, when they see even the enormous task of Ramadan, like it's daunting for someone who converts to Islam, right, your first Ramadan. You're gonna have to pray five times a day. You're not gonna be able to eat this. You're not gonna be able to drink this. You're not gonna be able to do this. You gotta give up relationships now. You gotta do this. Oh my God, this is too much. But, you actually end up finding that the joy that you get from your prayer, the joy that you get from your Ramadan, the joy that you get from your discipline is greater than anything you had when you were following your desires. And so you get the sweetness of it in this life. And then you get the sweetness of the reward in the hereafter. And your adab with Allah changes, right? Your whole demeanor with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala changes. You're not like, yeah, Allah, why are you punishing me with this? And why am I being burdened with this? You're saying, yeah, Allah, you've blessed me with so much. Alhamdulillah ala ni'mat al-Islam. What a blessing Islam is. What a blessing faith is. I wouldn't wanna be anywhere else than Islam. I wouldn't wanna have any other calling than Islam. Biyadika alkhayr. And of course, that's manifested in what? I always find this really interesting, subhanAllah. Surat al-Fatiha. There is such a humbling factor. Rabbal alameen, maliki yawm al-deen, right? The Lord of the worlds, the master of the day of judgment. This is where that whole, maliki al-mulk, tilmul kamal tash'a. Oh, ruler of all rulers, king of all kings, owner of all dominions, you give it to who you want and you take it away from who you want. And ultimately we all crave honor. We all crave to be sufficed. We all crave happiness, but the believer simply craves it from the right source and for the right time. And so they find it in the things that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given to us in this religion and in the commandments of this religion. No, no, and there's this concept of tafweed, right? And leaving the affairs to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, but that does not mean we sit and not do anything. There's a point to where you have to work, but then you trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
based on his characteristics, who he is. That's why it's so important. As you mentioned, in the chapter of Fatiha, how many names of Allah are mentioned? And we could just ponder over each one and know that each name possesses perfection. So when we think about that, I always mention this to people, and even my kids, subhanAllah. When I became a Muslim, it's like five, just think about it, five times a day for the rest of your life, you have to stop what you're doing and pray. I mean, if you're someone that doesn't pray a lot or hasn't prayed at all, it seems overwhelming. Imagine if it was 50. Imagine if it was 50. The initial revelation, that's part of the... Yes, subhanAllah. But then when you weigh that in contrast, okay, if this was up to me, would I even pray every day? But then you have to stop and think, okay, the one that legislated it, who is he? That's why we have to get to know Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Malik al-mulk, his capabilities, subtil mulk al-mulk al-shar, and understanding that. And then when we understand that, we realize, okay, I'm dealing with something very magnificent here that's been here and will always be here. I just didn't know about it. Now, maybe if I try to pray, try my best to pray five times a day, I'll learn something about myself that I never would have known. And that intentionality of the sharia from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is amazing. And that's why the more that you try to get close to Allah via practicing the religion, the more you will learn about yourself. And you look back a year, one Ramadan ago, you realize, subhanAllah, I couldn't have done this by myself. That's what's so beautiful. And it's interesting because in the very du'a that after you... la yukallifu Allahu nafsan illa wus'aha. That's regarding tashriya. So he's not gonna make us pray 50 times a day if that's something we can't handle. But that same du'a, rabbana wa la tuhammila ma la taqatilana bih. That you're still asking Allah, please don't let us have to deal with something we can't handle, right? So it's like that double emphasis that it is an acknowledgement. It's going to be difficult at times. And that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is, once you have that relationship and that connection with him,
that you recognize it and then plead to him. Like it further builds that connection. It's a cycle. Yeah. It's interesting. The Quran is always like a principle. And then there is a manifestation from the believer in du'a that follows that principle. So when you go into the mushaf and you, qul illahumma malika al-mulk tu'ti al-mulka man tasha. There's a du'a there actually. Allahumma, right? Oh Allah, you are the king of all kings. You are the master of all dominions. But if you go to the same sort of verses and the same set that comes after that, qul in tukhfu ma fi sudurikum aw tubduhu ya'lamhu Allah wa ya'lamu ma fi al-samawati wal-ard wallahu ala kulli shay'in al-qadir. The believer is horrified at the idea like my inner thoughts are known to my creator. Sometimes that's really scary. SubhanAllah, there's a trepidation. Like yeah Allah, you know when my intentions are getting skewed. You know when I'm getting distracted in salah. You know when I'm losing it a little bit. Like you know all of what's going through my mind. You know when I crave something I shouldn't be craving. You know when I start, you know, falling into this and falling into that here. And both times in Surah Al-Baqarah and in Surah Ali Imran, Allah is putting the believers at ease that he's not going to punish you for what remains in the realm of thought. So long as you don't act upon it. Which is part of that la yukallifullahu nafsan illa was'aha that the sahaba were so afraid. Ya Rasulullah, even our thoughts in tubduhu ma fi anfusikum aw tukhfu so Allah repeats it both times. But, what's the effect of that in our ibadah? Allah knows what I'm thinking right now. Allah knows what my internal dialogue is right now. Let me force myself to have the most beautiful internal dialogue while I'm making my salah. While I'm in my fasting. So that it's also accepted. Bid'innahi ta'ala. So, 30 seconds each way inshallah ta'ala. Last take home message, third day of Ramadan. Fathullah Sheikh, Fathullah. Alhamdulillah, it just made me think about salah. I mean salah, subhanallah.
That's the time to make the best effort to be the best version of yourself. So that is the actual medicine. You paint those pictures in your life where you messed up and you're in the particular situation physically inshallah spiritually to battle that. So, definitely, alhamdulillah. Yeah, and I think Ramadan is always the perfect opportunity to build a small habit. So whatever you're doing, if you've started reading Quran, you've started enhancing your salawat, whatever you're doing, go hardcore in Ramadan and then plan to carry 10% over after Ramadan is done. Just so you can have that long-term change. It's not just about this month. This month is a catalyst for long-term change and always have that in mind. What's that one thing I'm gonna walk away with? I'm gonna continue, not my Ramadan pace probably, 10% of it, but you just take it for the long run and that will transform your life inshallah. Jazakum Allah khair. So much of scattered attention is the long time periods that pass. You know, and so when you only pay attention to the Quran once a year for one month of the year, of course, you're not going to have a connection to it. So maintaining that steady output is definitely key and key to an internal connection. Jazakum Allah khair, Dr. Tasneem. Jazakum Allah khair, Sheikh Abdullah. To all of you for attending. We'll see you all tomorrow inshallah. BarakAllahu feekum. Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
Welcome back!
Bookmark content
Download resources easily
Manage your donations
Track your spiritual growth
1 items
1 items
1 items
25 items
50 items
9 items
