Conversing with God | Qur'anic Du'as
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Episode 4: You Did Not Create This in Vain | Conversing with God
Deep reflection generates gratitude and a better understanding of the world and our place in it. The Qur’an gave us a du’a to help us meditate on creation and, through it, grow closer to our Creator:
“Our Lord, You did not create this in vain; praise be to You; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire.” [3:191]
الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَٰذَا بَاطِلًا سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّار
alladhīna yadhkurūna l-laha qiyāman waquʿūdan waʿalā junūbihim wayatafakkarūna fī khalqi l-samāwāti wal-arḍi rabbanā mā khalaqta hādhā bāṭilan sub'ḥānaka faqinā ʿadhāba l-nār.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. It seems like when some people talk about verses in the Qur'an, they're only focused on halal meat or verses that their co-workers are always asking them about to prove what Islam is. However, the Qur'an is so much more than that. And one of the style of verses is getting us to reflect upon the creation. And that is the du'a that we will be speaking about. But before we get to that, we're going to go back a couple of verses to get the context of the du'a. So Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says, Walillahi mulqus samawati wal ardi wallahu ala kulli shay'in qadeer For Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. And He is over all things powerful. Inna fee khalqis samawati wal ardi wa khtilafi layni wal nahari la ayati li uli albaab Verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the changing of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding. Now, the word used here comes from lub, which means the inner part of a seed. In other words, those people who have deep understanding. It's like when we were in school and the teacher would ask a question and you wanted to answer quickly and what would they say? They would say, Now think before you answer, right? Think deeply. The people that think deeply make this du'a. What is that du'a? What are their characteristics? Allatheena yathkuroona allaha qiyaman wa qu'udan wa ala junubihim wa yatafakkaroona fee khalqis samawati wal ard They are those who remember Allah sitting, standing, and on their side. And they reflect, they ponder upon the creation, they ponder upon the universe. So they remember Allah sitting, standing, and on their side. What does that mean?
So when they are walking to class, they remember Allah. When they are sitting at the doctor's office waiting, they remember Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Before they go to sleep, they make du'as from the sunnah. In other words, they are constantly remembering Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and they reflect in the creation. And what do they say? They say this du'a, Rabbana ma khalaqta hadha ba'tilan subhanaka faqina a'adhabin naar Oh Allah, you did not create all of this. This amazing creation, you did not create this in vain. Praise be to you and save us from the hellfire. What is our place in this universe? 400 billion some galaxies, millions, billions of stars. To say we're a speck is not accurate. We are like a speck of a speck. The planet Earth is a speck. And so where are we in relation to Earth? Next to nothing, insignificant. This is the greatness of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. How can we not reflect on his creation? They asked the lead scientist at Paul Allen's Brain Institute, how much do we know about the human mind? He scoffed. He said, we don't even know how the brain of a worm works. This tiny creature that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala created, we can't figure out fully how their brain works. How are we going to understand a complex creature like the human being? The human being is such a marvelous creation and it can only be created through the perfection of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. And one of the beauties of the believer is that we reflect on creation to lead us to the creator, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. We don't want to be lost and or get lost in that creation. It seems like when we think of intelligent people,
nowadays we think of people, you know, scientists and in a lab and certainly those people are intelligent, but anyone who has disconnected themselves from Allah, from the creator, then they have achieved nothing. And so this is why in our history, when Muslims were really being more productive, they used their discoveries and creations because it was being based off of, how do we get to know this creation and admire Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala more? So the next time we see beautiful green grass, the next time we see a tree, we make this dua, Rabbana ma khalaqta hatha baatilan. Allah, you did not create this in vain. We are here for a purpose. We are here to worship Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. I hope next time we see that beautiful shining moon, there are other duas for that as well, but when we see that moon shining or the stars or the sun or the green grass in one part of the year and then completely dead in another part and then lush and green again, or we see some animals, whether it's on Netflix or in person or whatever it is, we make this dua to allow us to reflect upon the power of the one who deserves all worship.
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