Palestine
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Qur’an for Gaza and the Soul
October 20, 2023
Advocacy is exhausting. It demands your energy, passion, and unrelenting focus. It requires you to forgo daily priorities and neglect yourself in pursuit of a greater good. And it’s worth it, because the Palestinian people deserve peace and justice.
But in the middle of these moments of crisis, it’s crucial to take care of yourself and maintain extra acts of ‘ibadah. In a dunya filled with suffering and injustice, it’s only in the remembrance of Allah that your heart will find rest.
For more on the ways to help Gaza and Palestine spiritually, read the blog 3 Spiritual Actions You Can Take for Gaza Now.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Thank you for joining us again for another night's live streaming, discussing, reflecting on what's happening in Gaza and in Palestine. Today, I'm Tasneem. I am the assistant director of research at Yaqeen. And I'm joined today, Alhamdulillah, by our Sheikh Yusuf Wahab, who is our director of Qur'anic studies here at Yaqeen, Alhamdulillah. So, crazy to think, looking at my calendar right now, it's October 19. We're almost two weeks into the genocide that's happening in Gaza. And alongside what the people in Gaza are facing, you've got now dozens of Palestinians in the West Bank who are being killed. And if you're like me, I've been glued to my phone, right? I'm just constantly scrolling, going back, watching videos, sending messages, getting WhatsApp messages. And it feels like it's just can't, it's not ending, right? But it's not even that it's not ending. You almost feel guilty if for a second you're taking a break and not checking the news and not staying up to date. And for me, at least the way that my body is reacting, we had a reflection today with the team as to how everyone's reacting differently. And for me, I somehow can't stop sleeping, right? It just, it feels like there's so much fatigue in my body. And I feel really guilty putting my phone down for any second. So what we really wanted to do today was just take a moment and to reset, right? Just take a moment to pause, to reflect, to think about what is going on. And really, what does this all mean for us? And Alhamdulillah today is Thursday, right? So my time zone is Thursday night. So we're actually on the day of Friday. It's a blessed, blessed day for us. And it's an opportunity for us to increase in our du'a, increase in our connection. But really just take a moment to stop, to pause, reflect, and think about things. And really, I think that the emphasis on not feeling guilty is something that we wanted to, you know, reflect about and to think about. That when you take a moment for yourself to reconnect with Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, when you take the moment to sit back and take a break in order to strengthen yourself for the people of Gaza,
in order to strengthen yourself for the situation, with that intention that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, we ask Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la to accept it from us as a means to regain that strength. And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam tells us, and we know this in a hadith, that, that someone who has food, that Alhamdulillah, we have food right now, and we are grateful. It's like someone who is fasting and is patient. We know what's happening in Gaza, that they don't have access to food, to access to water, that they are really in this state of forced fasting. And that their patience, that their patience has been exemplary. That there's nothing, it's unmatched, right? Their resilience, their patience, their courage has been unmatched. And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam tells us that if you're not in that situation, that you have food and you have these blessings and you are grateful for it, that the two can be equal in reward with that intention. So we nourish ourselves in order to support the people of Gaza, in order to regain that strength. Both, whether it's with the food that we have, we thank Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, and we make du'a, we use that strength then to make du'a for the people of Palestine, that they do also have access to food and to water, and that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la protects them. So I just wanted to set that, you know, that tone for a second. That you taking a break and caring for yourself, even if it's a few minutes, maybe an hour, whatever it is, a day, do that with the intention of pleasing Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la and gaining your strength back for Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la and for the people of Gaza. I want to give three tips. I'll just talk for a few minutes, give a few tips as to what we can do, what that break can look like, and then Insha'Allah I'm going to pass to Sheikh Yusuf. He has a beautiful voice, Alhamdulillah. He's going to read the first two pages of Surah Isra. We're going to have the translation on screen, the Arabic script on screen, so you guys can follow along, really enjoy his recitation, and then Insha'Allah we're going to go ahead and conclude with a du'a by Sheikh Yusuf as well
for the people of Palestine. So really looking forward to taking this opportunity together tonight to sit down, pause, reflect, and think. So my first tip for you is, again, it's Friday night, right? So number one is to pray Tahajjud and make du'a. We talked about this, you know, Yantam Dakrat and I talked about this in yesterday's session, that really transforming yourself, you need to become the best version of yourself in order for your du'a to be accepted. So making the intention right now to get up for Tahajjud, to pray Tahajjud and make du'a on this blessed Friday night, at a time when Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says that He comes down to answer our du'a, that our, you know, your du'a is more likely to be answered, that is an intention that I want everyone to make. And when you get up for Tahajjud, I want you this time to not just make du'a for the people of Palestine, that that should be a priority, but also make du'a for yourself, right? Think about, ask Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la for you, for the strength, for yourself, and for your community, for your family, for this ummah, right? And so one du'a that Sheikh Tahir, our Director of Systematic Theology, had shared with us is a du'a that one of the successors, one of the tabi'een used to make. And he used to make this du'a, اللهم إني أسألك صدقة التوكل عليك That, O Allah, I ask you for true reliance. وحصن ضني بك And the best assumption of you. And this du'a is so profound because if you take a moment, it's almost like when you stop to take a moment to reflect, you're left with your thoughts. And those thoughts can be overwhelming, terrifying, doubtful sometimes. Why in the world is all this happening? Where is all of this going? Why is my du'a not being answered? You know, all of these thoughts start to overwhelm you. And this du'a really brings into perspective that, you know what? God, give me true reliance on you. There is no one in control but you. The whole world can turn their back on us. But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. There could be no one left standing.
But true reliance on you means recognizing that you are entirely in control of this. وحصن ضني بك Right? The du'a, that's part of it. The best assumption of you. That you are fully in control. We have full reliance on you. And we know that you want the best in the situation from start to finish. That whatever you have planned, Whatever you have planned, you are Al-Hakim. You are the most wise. You are Al-Aziz. You are great. You are all of these beautiful names that we know you of. And we want the best assumption of you in this process. And we want you to give us that true reliance. So make these types of du'a. Ask Allah for strength. For clarity. And you know, one du'a that I've always made for myself, but I've now started to think about it in a different light. How I can make it for the Ummah. اللهم أدين الحق حقا واشتقن ابتباع That O Allah, show us truth as truth and allow us to follow it. And show us falsehood as falsehood and allow us to abstain from it. To stay away from it. And as we all know, in a world that is so far from the truth, There's fake news and lies and propaganda and whatever it is. All over the place. Sometimes it's just overwhelming confronting this. Like what is true? And even if we have access to that truth. We want the rest of the world to have access to that truth. So I've been making du'a personally. That O Allah, show the world truth for what it is and allow them to follow it. And show them falsehood for what it is and allow them to abstain from it. Right? So these du'as in a way are giving you the strength to connect back to Allah. In order to increase in your du'a and your connection with the people in Palestine. So get up tonight. Make an intention. Wake up for tahajjud. And make du'a for yourself and for the people of Palestine. To give you that strength. The second piece of advice I want to give in terms of resetting. Is really taking this opportunity with this feeling of overwhelmingness. To sit back and reflect on the Quran. Right? That Allah SWT says,
الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنَّ قُلُوبٌ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ Right? The people who believe that remembering Allah SWT's words is what's going to bring that contentment. That, you know, that feeling. I mean, I don't think I even need to describe it. That feeling of Allah experiencing is just lack of contentment. Lack of tranquility. Lack of sakinah. We have that rage, that frustration, as we should. In order to calm that, to guide that anger, to guide that frustration. To have that contentment of heart. Is to come back to the word of Allah SWT. I just want to share this. I don't want to take too long so we can listen to Sheikh Yusuf's beautiful recitation. Is that, subhanAllah, there's certain verses in the Qur'an that I've read a million times over, right? Certain verses describing battles, whether it was during the life of the Prophet ﷺ or it was with past prophets. Describing the, you know, tensions of war and the struggle that comes with it. And I think this is the first time in my life that there's certain verses that it's like the first time I've ever heard them. It's the first time that they resonated with me in a way that wasn't just like, Oh, this is a historical, you know, reference to the Prophet ﷺ's life. And this is what the companions went through. It was the first time that I'm listening to this verse, I'm thinking to myself, This makes 100% sense, right? This is the first time I can connect. And every situation, right, is going to allow you to read the Qur'an in a new light. So take this as an opportunity. We're having these intense emotions. Take this as an opportunity. Read the Qur'an with those emotions. Read the Qur'an with that struggle in mind. Read the Qur'an with Palestine in mind. SubhanAllah, you'll start to make connections that you've never seen before. There's a verse in talking about when they go to fight Goliath, right? When Jalut takes his army and you have, you know, a small group of people that eventually go along with him. And you have, you know, كَمْ مِنْ فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةٍ كَثِيرَ
That the people, they started doubting, right? We're going to go fight this massive giant with this humongous army. And the people that actually went through and have the strength, they remind the people that wanted to stay behind. They remind the people that were like, you know what? We're out of this. Public opinion's not on our side. We're way outnumbered. We give up. What did the people respond that went and fought Goliath? They responded like, how many people throughout history that were so small in number that they were able to conquer triple, quadruple their size because they have God on their side? I think to myself, man, we are so outnumbered. It's not about the numbers. It was never about the numbers hundreds of years ago, thousands of years ago, and it's not about the numbers today. You start to see those connections, that dua that you're making, صدقك توقري عليك That you want that true reliance on God, and that true reliance comes out in these stories that you see people throughout history. No, it's not about the numbers, right? And then, and they make the dua before they go to fight, رَبَّنَا أَفْرِغَ عَلِيْنَا صَبْرًا وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامِنَا وَثُمْنَعْنَا قَوْمِ الْكَيَافِرِينَ That, give us perseverance, ya Allah. Make our feet firm. Give us that strength and give us victory. Take that dua, take that context, and apply it to what's happening in Gaza. And make that dua for yourself. Make that dua for yourself for the people of Gaza. رَبَّنَا أَفْرِغَ عَلِيْنَا صَبْرًا Grant them patience. ثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا Make their feet firm. وَثُمْنَعْنَا قَوْمِ الْكَيَافِرِينَ That grant them victory. So, these verses, in a way, not just as a way to bring contentment to your heart, but also, it opens your eyes to what's happening in a way that you might not have read those verses before. And so, that is one thing that we're going to do today. Inshallah, Sheikh Yusuf will explain, give an introduction to Surah Isra, why he'll be reading Surah Isra, and then listen to that bid'ah recitation as a way that we can all do this together, that moment of reset together. The last thing I just wanted to conclude with this, and I'll pass it along, inshallah, really don't forget tahajjud, du'a, Quran, all of this is amazing.
Also, never want to forget number three, it's just to unplug, engage in physical activity, take a break. For a lot of us, at least on this side of the world, it's the fall colors, enjoying nature, really, that opportunity to sit back and to disconnect is so important. I had to force myself a couple times this week to literally put my phone in airplane mode, put it on do not disturb, and even when it was 10, 20 minutes, it felt like it was hours, because I was so used to scrolling and reading that giving myself that time, and I forced myself yesterday, I went for a long walk by myself just to sit and reflect, so I invite you to do the same. You really, really need to do it to give that moment of reset that break, not for yourself only, but for the people of Gaza. You're going to be doing that as a favor to them, and so we wanted to invite you all to do that with us together here, and to really rely on Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la for that strength, bring that tranquility, bring that contentment to our hearts, and then transform that contentment, that tranquility, into more dua, to more prayers, to more action in any way that supports the people of Palestine. So with that, I'll go ahead and pass it on to Sheikh Yusuf, who will briefly talk about Surah Isra, and then bless us with his beautiful recitation, inshaAllah. Jazakumullahu khairan, Dr. Asneem. Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem. Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen. Wa salatu wa salamu ala Rasulullahi salallahu alayhi wa sallam. As you have highlighted, the team has been engaging with the events that have afflicted our brothers and sisters in Gaza for the past 12 days now. We have been talking about this topic from different angles, and throughout most of the perspectives we're taking to approach this topic, we're always bringing up verses from the Quran, bringing up the idea or the concept of connecting with the Quran. How can we bring the Quran into our lives? How can we read and listen to the news
with a Quranic angle, with a Quranic lens, to understand, or to make sense at least, of everything that is happening around us? And this is really the importance of reading the Quran over and over. As you've mentioned, that sometimes you have read a verse for like hundreds, thousands of times, but you've never really thought about it from a particular perspective. And that's why, SubhanAllah, one of the miraculous things about the Quran is that لا يخلق على كثرة الرد ولا تنقضي عجائب The wonders of the Quran never cease to end. We're always finding new things in the Quran. The crucial part about engaging with the Quran properly is to contextualize the verses that we're reading, and to try our best to make sense of the relevance of these verses to our lives. Tonight, InshaAllah, I will recite the first 22 verses from Surah Al-Isra. Surah Al-Isra is one of the great chapters of the Quran, the surah, as we know, that documented the miraculous journey of the Prophet, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, to the heavens, through which he passed by Jerusalem and Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, through which he led the rest of the prophets and messengers in prayer in Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa. It's the surah that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la honored Al-Aqsa mosque in it. And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la established the connection between Al-Aqsa mosque and Al-Masjid Al-Haram, the holy mosque in Mecca, to establish the sacredness of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa in addition to Al-Masjid Al-Haram, and to also reflect the monotheistic principle of our religion and the finality of the message of the Prophet, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, that he's the final prophet. And these places represent our theology, represent our monotheistic belief in Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la and in the rest of the principles of faith as the Prophet, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, conveyed to us. Surah al-Bisra is a Meccan surah that is considered to be among the early revelation
to the Prophet, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, in Mecca. It consists of 111 verses, and it was revealed during or towards the end of the Meccan period of the life of the Prophet, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. It was said to have been revealed on the 11th year after the Ba'tha, after the Prophet, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, started preaching the message, which means approximately one year and maybe a couple of months before his move or migration to Al-Madinah, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. It's a surah that the Prophet, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, treasured and considered to be very dear to him. He mentioned the surah in a hadith reported by Imam al-Bukhari alongside some other chapters of the Quran, and he described them saying, inna hunna min al-i'taqil uwal wahunna min tiladi He said that these chapters, these surahs, are from the early revelation that were received. And the early revelation that I memorized, it is something that he treasured and he felt connected to the early days of his message, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, and how surah al-Isra came in a very crucial time in the Meccan period of his life, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. That's why Sayyid Aisha, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, reported that the Prophet, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, kana yaqra'u kulla layla bani Isra'ila wa-zumar That the Prophet, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, used to recite every night surah al-Isra, the chapter of al-Isra, and the chapter of al-Zumar. And one of the names of the surah is surah bani Isra'il. It's the chapter of the children of Israel because the first part of the surah, at least, and across the surah in other occasions, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la teaches us about some historical lessons about what happened in the area and some historical lessons about what happened with bani Isra'il, with the children of Israel, so that we can take lessons. We can actually reflect and understand the history and understand the implications of this history today and how we approach the events that we're actually watching and engaging with today. Surah al-Isra, as well, was revealed, or parts of it were revealed,
after some Meccan folks who were not Muslims came to the Prophet ﷺ and he wanted to challenge him. So sometimes he would ask him for these ridiculous questions, trying to challenge him ﷺ, telling him that we can consider becoming Muslims if you turn the mount of As-Safa into gold or to remove all these mountains around us so that we can actually cultivate the land and make use of it. And Jibreel came to the Prophet ﷺ and he gave him the choice. He told him, if you want, we can actually answer their request. We can give them what they wanted. لكن إن شئت أن تستأني بهم But if you want to be more compassionate, if you want to be merciful to them, because Allah knows that they're not serious about their request. Because Jibreel ﷺ told the Prophet ﷺ, if we answer their request and they don't believe in you, we are going to destroy all of them. And the Prophet ﷺ chose that. He wanted Allah ﷻ to give them more time, to give them a choice. He said, قَالَ بَنْ أَسْتَأْنِي بِهِمْ I just want to wait. I want to be patient with the situation. I want the proof of Allah ﷻ to be established against them. And after that incident, Allah ﷻ says in the surah, surah al-Isra, a very interesting and scary ayah in a sense, in which he says, وَمَا مَنَعَنَا أَن نُرْسِلَ بِالْآيَاتِ إِلَّا أَن كَذَّبَ بِهَا الْأُوَّلُونَ That the only thing that prevents us from sending and showing signs to people is that previous peoples and previous nations have been disbelieving our signs. These signs didn't really make the previous people believe in us. Throughout the Qur'an, we read the stories of the other prophets before the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, how they saw the miracles of Allah literally in front of them in a physical sense, and they did not believe in their Prophet. So Allah ﷻ said,
we send signs, but people do not actually give reason. People do not interact with signs in a proper sense, in an impartial sense. People just bring in their own biases and preconceived ideas about this world, and they just want to challenge the Prophet ﷺ for no rational reason. Surah al-Isra contains an ayah that the Prophet ﷺ called the verse of dignity, ayat al-izzah, or ayat al-izz. It's the verse that reflects the dignity of this deen, and it's actually towards the end of the surah in which Allah ﷻ says, وَقُلِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي لَمْ يَتَّخِذْ وَلَدًا وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ شَرِيكٌ فِي الْمُلْكِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ وَلِيٌّ مِنَ الدُّلِّ وَكَبِّرْهُ تَكْبِيرًا He's commanding the Prophet ﷺ and all of us to say praise belongs to Allah, who has no child, and has no partner in His rule. He is not so weak so to need a protector, وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ وَلِيٌّ مِنَ الدُّلِّ He's sufficient, He's all-sufficient, subhanahu wa ta'ala. He doesn't need anything, doesn't need any power. وَكَبِّرْهُ تَكْبِيرًا Proclaim the limitless greatness of Allah ﷻ. Surah al-Isra always reminded the Prophet ﷺ of difficult times. And he said once in a hadith, مَا كَرَبَنِي أَمْرٌ Whenever I feel a sense of distress or I feel stressed, إِلَّا تَمَثَّلَ لِي جِبْرِيلٌ Except that Jibreel would come to me and say, يَا مُحَمَّدُ قُلْ تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى الْحَيِّ الَّذِي لَا يَمُوتُ Say, I put my trust, I rely only on Allah, the One who never dies. وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي لَمْ يَتَّخِذْ وَلَدًا And all praises to Allah, the One who has no child. These phrases in that du'a are exactly in Surah al-Isra towards the end. And actually, part of it was in the ayah that I just recited. And that was a du'a that he said, every time I'm feeling stressed, every time I'm feeling karb.
Karb actually is a stronger word than stress. It's like a feeling of distress or like a big issue or a big calamity that he's going through. And Jibreel would come and remind me to say, تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى الْحَيِّ الَّذِي لَا يَمُوتُ Say, I put my trust, I rely only on Allah, the One who never dies. وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي لَمْ يَتَّخِذْ وَلَدًا And all praises to Allah, the One who has no child. Surah al-Isra is full of reflections of how to glorify Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى. In fact, one of the names of the Surah, because the Surah has multiple names, Surah al-Isra, as we mentioned, Surah Bani Israel. A third name is Surah Subhana. Sometimes scholars would call the Surah with the first word that the Surah begins with. تُسَمَّى سُرَةْ سُبْحَانَة It's called Surah Subhan that reflects this, that when we glorify Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى and believe that Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى لَيْسَكَ مِثْلِهِ شَيْء There is nothing like Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى Nothing ever that we can conceive is similar or even close to Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى. This concept of Tasbeeh is mentioned in the Surah multiple times. The Surah begins with سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى ذِي عَبْدِهِ The Surah in the middle says تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَاوَاتُ السَّبْعُ وَالْأَرْضُ وَمَنْ فِيهِنْ All the seven heavens and the earth and all what is therein, they glorify Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى. The Surah also says وَيَقُولُونَ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَا إِنْ كَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّنَا لَمَفْعُولًا The believers would say سُبْحَانَ اللَّهُ glorified is Allah. The Surah also highlights the prominence and the significance of the Qur'an. The word Qur'an is mentioned in Surah Al-Isra 11 times. And one of these times, the Surah expresses the Qur'an to be شِفَاء, to be healing. وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ And it is beautiful that the Surah couples شِفَاء, healing, with mercy, رَحْمَة, together to be a gift from Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى to us. And it's a real شِفَاء, it's a real healing for any difficulty we're going through. We understand the ayah literally because when you read the Qur'an, we ask Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى
to grant our bodies شِفَاء and healing. And we read the ayah figuratively that whatever we're going through, we read the Qur'an and we find comfort in the Qur'an. And comfort here is not only about emotional comfort or psychological comfort. Comfort here is also through making sure that we're actually seeing things the right way. Making sure that we're actually seeing the truth as it is. And making sure that Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى is enabling us to see the truth and enabling us, inshallah, we ask Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى to enable us to commit to the truth and to stand by the truth and to advocate for the truth. The Surah also talks about the inimitability of the Qur'an, the challenge of the Qur'an against the Arabs, and against not only the Arabs, every person that Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى created, whether Arab or non-Arab, إِنْ اِجْتَمَعَتِ الْإِنسُ وَالْجِنُ عَلَىٰ أَن يَأْتُوا بِمِثْلِ هَذَا الْقُرْآنِ لَا يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ If all mankind and jinn would come together to bring or produce something like the Qur'an, they will never be able to do so. This is a verse in Surah Al-Isra. Surah Al-Isra answers the question that people ask the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم multiple times. And people continue to ask until today, why the Qur'an was revealed over time? Why the Qur'an wasn't revealed at once as one text? And Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى says, وَقُرْآنًا فَرَقْنَاهُ It's a book, it's a Qur'an that we have revealed in parts. And then Allah explains why. لِتَقْرَأَهُ عَلَى النَّاسِ عَلَى مُكْثِي So that you can recite it to people at intervals. And then Allah says, وَنَزَّلْنَاهُ تَنزِيلًا We have sent it down letter by letter. It's the wisdom of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى because the Qur'an is a text deeply rooted in context. It's a text that we need to engage with. It was answering questions of the Companions. It was addressing problems the Companions were raising. It was addressing situations the Companions were facing with the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. And that wasn't only special to them. This is for every single Muslim until the Day of Judgment.
It's a principle in our theology to believe in the universality of the Qur'an. That it's applicable all time. Regardless of whatever time or space the Qur'an, there's always guidance in the Qur'an for all our situations. The Surah provides multiple theological principles about the Day of Judgment. About the fact that Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى doesn't punish people until He sends them a messenger. وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًا The Surah talks about so many different morals and values. Talks about being good to one's parents. Talks about strengthening the ties of kinship. Talks about being good to people in need. Talking about forbidding and prohibiting evil acts such as wastefulness, or killing, or adultery, or deceit in transactions and sale. Consuming the wealth and property of orphans. Being arrogant. And Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى addresses arrogance in a very unique sense in this Surah that He doesn't do in other verses in the Qur'an. All these morals and values are in the Surah. And then one important thing the Surah actually highlights is that no one has control of anything except Allah. Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى challenges those people in Mecca. قُلُوا دُعُوا الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُم مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ Call on whoever you want besides Allah. All those fake idols that you're worshipping besides Allah. Call on them. Ask them for help. Bring them all together. قُلُوا دُعُوا الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُم مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ Unequivocal challenge against all the society. فَلَا يَمْلِكُونَ كَشْفَ الضُّرِّ عَنكُمْ وَلَا تَحْوِيلَ They will never be able to prevent you from any harm or change your situation whatsoever. Whatever Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى will actually happen. Whatever Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى decrees, it is His destiny. It is His qada. Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى is testing us with how we are receptive to the qadr. How we're actually engaging with the qadr that Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى decrees
for every single one of us. We ask Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى to enable us to connect with the Qur'an. And we ask Him سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى to enable us to read the Qur'an with open hearts. We ask Him سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى to open our hearts and minds to receive the guidance and the mercy of the Qur'an. أَمِن أَمِن So Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى will start reciting the first 22 verses of Surah Al-Isra trying together to bring some of these meanings at least into our minds and hearts. And then after that, we'll conclude with du'a. Insha'Allah. Insha'Allah. Insha'Allah.
Insha'Allah. Insha'Allah. Insha'Allah.
Insha'Allah. Insha'Allah. وَجَعَلْنَا آيَتَ النَّهَارِ مُبْصِرَةً لِتَبْتَغُوا فَضْلًا مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَلِتَعْلَمُوا عَدَدَ السِّنِيلَ وَالْحِسَابِ وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَصَّلْنَاهُ تَفْصِيلًا
وَكُلَّ إِنسَانٍ أَلْزَمْنَاهُ طَائِرَهُ فِي عُلُقِهِ وَلُخْرِجُ لَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ كِتَابًا يَلْقَاهُ مَنْ شُورًا إِقْرَأْ كِتَابَكَ كَفَى بِنَفْسِكَ الْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكَ حَسِيبًا مَنْ إِهْتَدَى فَإِنَّمَا يَهْتَدِي بِنَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ ضَلَّ فَإِنَّمَا يَضِلُّ عَلَيْهَا وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًا وَإِذَا أَرَدْنَا أَنْ نُهْلِكَ قَرْيَةً أَمَرْنَا مُتْرَ فِيهَا فَفَسَقُوا فِيهَا فَحَقَّ عَلَيْهَا الْقَوْلُ فَدَمَّرْنَاهَا تَجْمِيرًا وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِنْ بَعْدِ نُوحٍ وَكَفَى بِرَبِّكَ بِذُنُوبِ عِبَادِهِ خَبِيرًا بَصِيرًا
مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعَاجِنَةَ عَجَلْنَا لَهُ فِيهَا مَا نَشَاءُ لِمَنْ نُرِيدُ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَا لَهُ جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَاهَا مَذْمُومًا مَذْحُورًا وَمَنْ أَرَادَ الْآخِرَةَ وَسَعَى لَهَا سَعْيَهَا وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَأُولَئِكَ كَانَ سَعْيُهُمْ مَشْكُورًا كُلًّا نُمِدُّ هَا أُولَئِ وَهَا أُولَئِ مِنْ عَطَاءِ رَبِّكَ وَمَا كَانَ عَطَاءِ رَبِّكَ مَحْذُورًا كُنْظُرْ كَيْفَ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضُ وَلَا الْآخِرَةُ أَكْبَرُ دَرَجَاتٍ وَأَكْبَرُ تَفْضِيلًا لَا تَجْعَلْ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَاهًا آخَرًا فَتَقْعُدَ مَذْلُومًا مَخْذُولًا صَدَقَ اللَّهُ الْعَطِيمُ Jazakum Allah Khayran Beautiful recitation And for those who are following along That was surah 17 and the first 22 verses Jazakum Allah Khayran for your reflections, tafsir and the recitation Sheikh Yusuf if you can end us with dua for Palestine We would really appreciate that
Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Mahyalah Jazakum Allah Khayran Mahyalah Jazakum Allah Khayran Yeah
Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khan Jazakum Allah Khayran Jazakum Allah Khan Jazakum Allah Khan Mic Jazakum Allah Khan Jazakum Allah Khan Jazakum Allah Khan Jazakum Allah Khan Jazakum Allah Khan Jazakum Allah Khayran
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