Qur'an Convos: Tadabbur
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Experiencing Spiritual Elevation
Season Finale!
Why do we not feel the same connection to Allah every time we recite or listen to the Qur’an? How can we improve the quality of my connection over time? What can we do to manage feelings of guilt and weakness when reading the Qur’an?
In the season finale of Qur’an Convos, Sh. Suleiman Hani talks to Sh. Yasir Fahmy about reaching an elevated spiritual state when engaging with the Qur’an.
Sh. Yasir is the first American Azhari to teach in the renowned Al-Azhar Mosque. He is the founder of Prophetic Living and he serves as an Advisor on Yaqeen's Editorial Review Board.
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Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah. Welcome to Qur'an Convos, a podcast where we are exploring the many different ways in which you can connect with the Qur'an. In this season, the very first season, we are covering the theme of tadabbur, how to reflect with a deeper context, with deeper meaning on the Qur'an. And this is based on the works of Imam al-Ghazali, rahimahullah, the 10 inward acts for the Qur'an's recitation. This is your brother once again, Suleiman Hani. And Alhamdulillah for our season finale, we have an exciting announcement that today inshallah ta'ala, not only will be exploring the final and the climax really of the works of Imam al-Ghazali, rahimahullah, on this topic of reaching an elevated spiritual state with regards to the engagement with the Qur'an. But most importantly, we have our dear beloved brother and our Shaykh, Shaykh Yasser Fahmy. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless him and reward him for all the good work that he does. Shaykh Yasser, assalamu alaikum. Welcome to Qur'an Convos. Wa alaikum salam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh. Shaykh Suleiman and all the ahbab, barakallahu feekum for having me today. Hayyakumullah, Shaykh. How are you doing today? How's everything with you? Alhamdulillah, ta'mam fadlum minallahi wa ni'ma. Alhamdulillah, all is well. Jazakumullah khair. Jazakumullah khair. SubhanAllah, Shaykh, there was a time in which I was living close, but not close enough in Boston. We didn't get the chance to interact often, subhanAllah. Most of the encounters that we had were at conventions and conferences and other places. But I hope that that's a sign of a good companionship, inshallah. Ya Rabbul Allah, ameen. Rabbana yajma'ana da'iman ala khairu fid daarin. Ameen. Ameen, ameen. Shaykh, before we get into today's topic, I wanted to start with a personal question. Can you share, if you're okay with it, can you share one instance in your life in which you were reciting or listening maybe to the Qur'an and there was like a deep emotional reaction, maybe a specific ayah or specific time, a specific passage,
just for the sake of helping listeners inshallah ta'ala to connect, to be inspired, to be motivated, to reflect deeply on wanting to understand the Qur'an when they hear it. Is there something like that, similar to that, that you would be comfortable sharing? SubhanAllah, these questions are always a little challenging, you know, because subhanAllah, the Qur'an is like a lifelong journey and a companionship that is with you in your high points and your quote-unquote low points. You know, I have surahs of the Qur'an that I'm intimately connected with over the years, like Surah Al-Baqarah, Surah Al-Rahman, Surah Yasin, in different circumstances that just kind of played an integral role in my spirituality, my mindset. But if there's an ayah, I would say maybe 20 years ago, there was a circumstance where someone had lied in a very ugly and just violent fashion, and something that really, really hurt me. I don't think I had experienced someone who spoke or lied or just kind of almost slandered in a way that was very painful. And I remember just feeling the need to, I was very broken, I felt the need to go to the Qur'an, and I went to the Qur'an and I literally just opened it. And it was on the page of Surah Al-Hijr, and it's where Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala tells the Prophet ﷺ, وَلَقَدْ نَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ يَضِيقُ صَدْرُكَ بِمَا يَقُولُونَ فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَكُمْ مِّنَ السَّاجِدِينَ وَاعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَكَ الْيَقِينَ And this is where Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala tells the Prophet ﷺ,
and we know that your heart experiences pain, and you become tight chested because of what they say. Then Allah commands him, He says, فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ You know, praise, glorify your Lord in praise, وَكُمْ مِّنَ السَّاجِدِينَ And be amongst those who prostrate, وَاعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَكَ الْيَقِينَ And worship your Lord until the inevitable truth, the reality of the end of all this comes. And that verse, it kind of revolutionized the way I thought and felt about everything, people, pain, lies, experiences. It gave me a framework to think very deeply about how to negotiate the challenges of life. It's interesting that this ayah comes in Surat Al-Hijr. Now, Surat Al-Hijr is the term for Madain Saleh, the place of where Thamud was in the Arabian Peninsula. The literal meaning of the word Hijr is the rocky road. And I found this ending to this chapter on the rocky road of, you're going to experience a lot of pain. A lot of hardships with your friends, with your family, with your loved ones, with work in the dawah space. I mean, Sheikh Suleiman and all the mashayekh can attest to the different types of hardships that may come about and the dhiq, the tightness that comes in all spaces. No one is free of experiencing that in this created realm of the dunya. But Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la gives a very clear description. He's like, I know very well the hardships that you go through.
But what I want for you, what I command you and guide you towards is to glorify me in praise. You know, it seems counterintuitive, but that's the truth. You know, glorify me in praise. And I want you to exist in a state of sujood, utter surrender to Allah's will. He is above any reproach, Allah Jalla Fi'u'la. He is only to be praised and he is to be worshipped lovingly. And to do that until the inevitable reality of death comes. And I remember thinking about this idea of like, wa'abud rabbaka hatta ya'tiaka alyaqeenah until this truth and this inevitable reality comes. And it's kind of, you know, the mufassirun say you can read it in a way that is one of tabsheer and one of tanbeer. The tabsheer of it is like, worship your Lord until this time comes because it's all going to end soon. So don't worry too much. And then the nidara, the warning is, well, worship your Lord until death comes because it's coming very closely and be ready for it. So it just, it became kind of the central framing of how I dealt with so much over the coming years. And it was a profound entryway for me. That's one ayah that I have a very deep connection to. Wa'ahu akbar. Jazakumullahu khair for sharing that, Sheikh. That's personal, but subhanAllah, those stories, I think, really help motivate people. And in fact, although this seems slightly like a tangent, I have asked so many times groups of Muslims at conferences, in person, one on one, I've asked, what is it about the Qur'an that convinces you it is from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? And oftentimes, especially, you know, materialists and other people, they're looking for something very empirical, right? They're looking for the personal effects. Almost always, the majority of responses are similar to what you shared, Sheikh,
in the sense that I needed something, it spoke to me, it speaks very comprehensively to myself as a human being, helps me when I'm going through hardships, answers questions. For me, it's a guidance for everything in life about the most fundamental questions. So subhanAllah, the personal impact of the Qur'an seems to be for many people, a means of connecting to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And that really does bring us to the last of the two statements of Imam al-Ghazali, but the inward acts for the recitation of the Qur'an. The first of them is gradually raising oneself or rising to a state in which you feel as if you are hearing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's speech from him. And so ideally, the more we recite and read and reflect and study the tafsir and read and attend many classes and programs online and offline, the more we should be growing in our connection to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and pursuing and experiencing a higher spiritual state. That reminded me of a statement of al-Hassan al-Basri, rahimahullah, one of the earliest scholars, and think about the target audience that he's speaking to, and where are we today? He says, the people before you considered the Qur'an to be correspondence from their Lord, so they would ponder it by night and they would act upon it by day. If this is the advice that he is giving about those who came before the sahaba, may Allah be pleased with them, then we are more in need of considering and acknowledging and remembering that the Qur'an is correspondence from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So oftentimes we ask, why do we not feel the same connection every time we recite or we listen to the Qur'an? And we see that Imam al-Ghazali, rahimahullah, suggested, and it is a suggestion that is extremely useful and beneficial, suggested that there are three levels of reciting the Qur'an. We can begin maybe with the first one. He states that the lowest level, and for many people, a disclaimer, don't let this discourage you if you feel like you are just reciting the Qur'an,
barely connecting and moving on. It's good that you are connecting, alhamdulillah. It's good that you are reciting. Keep up the habit and try to increase. But he says the lowest level is when you suppose that you are reading the Qur'an to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and that you are before him, you are standing before Allah. Therefore, your state is that of awe, and you are begging Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for mercy. So the lowest level here is that you feel you are reciting the Qur'an to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The thought that came to mind when I was reading this, is that oftentimes, especially if you've ever had to recite to a Qur'an teacher that was very, very strict, your recitation in person is one thing, your recitation to a strict Qur'an teacher is another thing. If you have an exam or for an ijazah, it's another thing. If you're reciting for an international Qur'an competition, maybe it's on another level. But imagine you're reciting to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. How would you feel in that case? So Shaykh, what are some benefits perhaps we can take from this suggestion of the lowest entry point that we should have the minimum standard of reciting the Qur'an and feeling like we are reciting in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Well, you know, subhanAllah, the way we should think about the Qur'an in this context is it's an affirmation of the fact that the Qur'an is the perfect revelation from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It is the perfect, most sacred speech of the divine. The Qur'an is impeccable. It's above reproach. And so very often when we come to think about the disposition that different believers and individuals have around their engagement with the Qur'an and how it resonates or doesn't resonate, so often it's really a function of the user. We don't tend to like to affirm this, but the reason why we don't resonate with the Qur'an often is because it's a user error.
I'm not approaching the Qur'an with the spirit and the disposition that is required to unlock the ma'ani, to unlock the meanings, the spirit, the beauty, the wonder of the Qur'an. If we want to really model the best way of disposing ourselves in approaching the Qur'an, then we have to look at the way of the Messenger salallahu alayhi wa sallam, because if you go back to the story of the beginning of Revelation, and you see how the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam was when receiving Revelation, that gives you a lot of insight into how you and I have to position ourselves to receive Revelation. The markers of that moment were the following. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, Did we not find you seeking? Did we not find you looking for? And then we guided you. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam was in a state of looking, searching, seeking, desiring, yearning. Imagine you're looking for your child who is lost in the playground. What happens to your senses? You literally can disconnect from the entirety of the reality around you. You can throw your wallet to the side, your phone, you will run across traffic, you will lose all sense of any type of basic consideration because you're looking for your child. And we've all kind of experienced ways in which when we're looking for something, how we may be, especially when we're in a distraught state, in an urgent state. Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam was urgently looking for deeper, more profound meaning for this existence. He was unsettled. And so there is a disposition that is required that makes it that I am a miskeen, I am a faqir. I am someone who is in need. I need guidance. I need clarity. I need understanding.
I don't have it, but Allah does. So what then does that instill within me as a disposition? I think that's a critical way of entry. There's more about how the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, his disposition in that moment of surrender and submission and humility, you know, that it was physical. Sayyidina Jibreel grabbed him. Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam says, ma ana bi qari, I don't know how to read. You know, so he negates his abilities. I don't know. I don't understand. Like what he's physically, he becomes scared of ghar hira. So, you know, he becomes spiritually submissive. So it was, you know, a holistic submissiveness. It was physical by the grasp. It was intellectual saying, I don't know how to read. It was spiritual in that he, you know, he, Sayyidina Aisha says, hubiba ilayhi ttahannuf, he used to love to go to ghar hira, but that moment he became very scared of ghar hira. So there was this holistic submission of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam. When engaging revelation, it was like, you know, I don't know. So Allah tells him, iqra bismi rabbik, you read bismi rabbik. And this ba, the letter ba is a very operative letter in this moment. Hisham says there's 17 meanings for the letter ba. And the letter ba, here it's like, bi awni Allah, bi izni Allah, bi, you know, bismi Allah, in the name of Allah, by the aid of Allah, because of Allah, sababillah, you read. And then when that happens, it begins to unfold. You know, the ayat, the garden, the garden of beauty, its ayat, its meanings, its spirituality, all of the, you know, Quran al-shifa, al-nur, al-hidayah, all these ideas, that it's light and it's healing and it's guidance and it's clarity and it is, and it's increase and it's beautification. All of those realities of the Quran become unlocked, billah.
But you have to go to Allah with a certain disposition. Allah SWT says, yudhillu bihi kathiran, wa yahdi bihi kathiran. You know, there's many people who are misguided by the Quran, and there are many people who are guided through the Quran. So that makes you very curious, like, wait, a person can be misguided? No, because it all depends on how you're approaching. If I'm coming to the Quran with aggressive doubt and skepticism, or I'm coming to the Quran with apathy, I'm coming to the Quran with arrogance, I'm coming to the Quran with dismissiveness. You know, sometimes, okay, your mother or your father or your sheikh tells you, you know, go read the Quran, fine, whatever. You know, you kind of roll your eyes, you pick up the Quran, you start reading, okay, I read it, it did nothing for me. What is the disposition of that user? What is the disposition of that reader? Of course, it's going to be like a blockade, right? If you go and you're riddled with ideologies and philosophies that have colored your imagination, all the different isms, you know, and then you go read the Quran, you say, I can't believe the Quran says that. Why? Because I'm already predisposed with a certain ideology or philosophy that colors my imagination and my perception of right and wrong and good and bad, and then I'm now projecting onto the Quran goodness and madness. And so it can become a source of dalal. Why? Because I am impressing upon the Quran realities that are from top down, whereas our disposition with the Quran always has to be as, you know, we're on the bottom of the mountain and the Quran is the top of the mountain. So we are just kind of receiving, it's descending upon us, it's coming down to us. So it's so essential that when approaching the Quran, we assess our disposition, we do some muhasaba, and what is the nature of the heart that is reading the Quran, the quality, the qualities, etc.
Barakallahu feekum, Sheikh. Beautiful. We have to unpack maybe a hundred different gems from what you just said. Jazakumullahu khayran. May Allah accept from you. So to summarize the first level, just to remind the viewers, when you suppose that you're reading the Quran in front of or to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, you're standing before him, you're approaching him in a state of awe, you're looking for that connection, you're looking for growth, you're looking with humility. The second, the middle level, Imam Al-Ghazali Rahimallah says, is when you feel that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la sees you and addresses you by his kindness. Therefore, your state is one of modesty and humility. And the third and the highest state, he says, is when you feel the speaker in his speech and his attributes in its statements. And one of the examples that he gave is, Fafirru ila Allah. And this has so many meanings to unpack and connotations, but essentially go to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, flee to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, find refuge in Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, turn to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. Oftentimes when we talk about these levels or generally, the fact that people are in different places in their journey towards Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, sometimes people get discouraged. And so in a very brief manner, what is one practical advice to those who are listening or for those who are listening, who feel maybe stuck at a low level in their journey towards Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la? What's one practical advice we can give everyone, and it's in a way mostly universal, that everyone can do and move towards Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la in terms of the levels that they are in and the connection that they have with the Quran, Shaykh? If you notice in the transition between the three levels of this line of connection, you see how in the first level, there's a real focus on the self. It's about me, it's about what I'm going through, it's about what I'm doing, it's about how I'm reading, etc.
The second is when you begin to experience in this interaction, the beauty. So you begin to see beauty, experience upliftment, experience light. You know, like Al-Ahnaf ibn Qais, when he says, he heard Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la as someone was reciting, he literally, he says, I heard Allah say, Kitabun fihi dhikrukum, this is a book that in it is your remembrance. So he started to read the Quran, he's like, hold on, I'll read it. Allah is saying that this is a book that has in it my remembrance, like I can find myself in the book. So he started to read and he read the very scary ayat, Masalakakum fii saqarq, qalu lamnakum minal musallin, walamnakum ut'imun muskeen, wakunna nakhudum al-khaidin. You know, what has placed you here in this depth in the valleys of hellfire? Well, you know, we were not of those who prayed and we were not of those who gave charitably and we would just go, we would be wayward with those who were going, like we would go with the flow of the ocean. And then he continues to reading, he says, Allahumma inni abra'u ilayka minha ula, like, ya Allah, I don't see myself in that category, ya Allah, please make me free of them. And then he continues to read and then he reads ayat of piety and people who were like of remarkable standing, you know, kanu qaleelam minal layli ma yahja'oon, they were those who slept very little in the night and they would be in a state of istighfar in the suhoor hours, etc, etc. And these just very remarkable believers. And then he says, ya Rabbi, Allahumma inni laa ara nafsi feeha ula, like, I wish I can be like those people, but I don't necessarily see myself there. And then he reads the verse where Allah Subhanu wa ta'ala says, wa aakharoona a'tarafu bi dhunubihim, khalatu amalan salihan wa aakhara laa sayyiya. And then there are those who admit their mistakes. And they mix between
good righteous deeds and then bad sinful deeds. A'saAllahu wa yutubu alayhim. And they hope and pray that Allah Subhanu wa ta'ala will forgive them. Allahumma inni laa ara nafsi feeha ula. So then he like proclaims, ya Allah, I see myself in these people. So this is, you know, that's the level when you're starting to engage the Quran, you know, looking, searching, experiencing, observing beauty, observing powerful ayat, feeling the fear, you know, of a certain ayat, you know, when Allah Subhanu wa ta'ala hellfire saying, wa hal min mazeed, is there not more people that I can torture? And so there's like, you experience fear, experience happiness. The highest level is this level when it's not, you remove yourself from the equation. And it's just an affirmation of Allah. So when you look at the Quran, the ulamas say you're looking at the tajalliyat al ilahiyya, you're looking at the divine manifestations jalalihi wa jamalihi, you're looking at the jalal of Allah, you're witnessing the majesty and the might and the power of Allah. And you're witnessing the beauty of Allah Subhanu wa ta'ala and the wonder of Allah. But it's just a witnessing. That's why it's called mushahada. You're witnessing realities. So it's no longer about you, you elevate, it's no longer about this level of just I'm, you know, what the Quran can give me. No, it's I just witnessed the divine. It's like, imagine, you know, finding people when they find these hidden scrolls that are 1000s of years old or whatever, or they find etchings in a cave, they go, and they're just trying to understand what is like what's being said and it can be the most benign things. It could just be, you know, this is how you slaughter a cow. But people look at it with such wonder, because look at what these people did. Well, walillahi l-mathalu l-a'ala, the highest level as Imam Ghazali is noting is
that I'm someone who's just looking at the Quran, reading it, listening to it, hearing about it with wonder because it's just uncovering for me as a simple servant as a humble believer, the realities of the divine. So I'm just lost in Allah's wonder. Sheikh Nasrullah, you perfectly transitioned us actually with examples, some of the examples that you gave, touch on both the ninth and the 10th inward acts. So this really beautifully transitions us here towards the end of this episode. Imam Ghazali, he says the final inward act basically, is getting rid of any sense of your ability and your power. And normally, usually we would want to encourage people to be, you know, confident in their abilities, their capacities and to take action and to do. And he talks about a number of things. So we take from this, the example, especially the one you gave towards the end of the different attitudes of reciting the Quran and reaching verses and passages in which the righteous people are being mentioned. And for you to think, I'm not, I'm not there yet. I'm not perfecting myself. I'm not reaching this level. Ya Allah help me, ya Allah aid me. And then when you read, he talks about this, when you read the verses condemning, you know, the evil people and the wicked, the sinners, the people of the hellfire, for you to feel like you are committing sins, may Allah protect me, ya Allah, I don't want to be amongst these people. So when you're reading about the righteous, you're not automatically assuming that you are one of them, as Imam Al-Shafi'i used to say. And when you're reading verses about the sinners, you're not automatically excusing yourself as though there is no fault. Rather, you know, your limitation, you know, your capacity, you have a sense of guilt, but it's not the type of guilt that paralyzes or holds people back. Rather, it's a guilt that should be channeled towards wanting to improve. It's a guilt that's coupled with humility, recognition of where I am today and how many shortcomings I have. And so oftentimes, really, with this
tenth and final act, there is this question that arises, is there a downside to having too much self guilt or thinking that a person does not have ability? And how do we strike a balance with regards to guilt and knowing that we are sinners and knowing that we have shortcomings, balancing that with our desire to progress towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Alhamdulillah, I think this is a very critical kind of consideration, because this particular point, and I believe the reason why Imam Ghazali kind of ends the inward ahwal that we have to have is because one of the things that really kind of handicap us in life is the assumption that we intrinsically have power, that we intrinsically have ability, that we intrinsically have control. And so, so often when our circumstances are outside of our control, because it's like, I don't want this, but it's happening, it results in us having experiences of despair and dismay, and we become jaded, we become, you know, just angry and bothered because realities are happening that are outside of our perceived sense of control. The beauty of la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah, it's that it's very liberating, that if you theologically dispose yourself in a way that says, truly, there's no power or might or recourse except by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then that should liberate us to know that every ounce of control belongs to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Inda malikin muqtadir, you know, that it is in the hands of the sovereign who is capable. And that's us surrendering to reality as is because experientially, we know that we don't really have much control over anything. I mean, if we just assess our lives as it is,
things, realities transpire, and very often we're trying to wrestle with them. So that's why surrender and affirming to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala all control is a liberating and beautiful thing. Now, when we say affirm for yourself no control, or no power, that is in the theological sense of your existence, because that makes it where I just am a simple servant, I have to do what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala expects of me. And He has everything. And so whatever He wills is going to transpire, whatever He wills will be. It's just a matter of what Allah expects from me on the day to day basis. That's why you and I, we just have to realize that all I am expected to do is utilize the means that Allah has given me every single day, dhahiran wa batinan, outwardly and inwardly. Dhahiran, outwardly, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants me to pray, to fast, to read the Quran, to do these acts, to walk to the masjid, to work, to give, to pay, to spend, to sacrifice, give to people, help, support, pick up the phone, run to someone's help, you know, help someone move, asba, utilize, exhaust all the means in your purview. It's a very practical, simple disposition. Inwardly, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala expects of you to have husnul dhan, you have a good opinion of Allah, a good opinion of Allah's creation. You have tawakul, trust, reliance, commitment, surrender, you have sabr, patience, beautiful patience. And so it should in no way, shape or form, make me feel somehow that I am at a loss if I say I have the control belongs to Allah, not to me. No, that should liberate me and free me and should allow me to understand
that my role is specific and limited by Allah's command. And so that at the end of the day, when all is said and done, when yaqeen comes, right, not yaqeen the organization, but the inevitable reality of being in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, it is now going to be a reality of Allah's telling me, show me how good of a servant you are. Show me how good you are able to follow my commands, right? Now Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not going to be interested in knowing how much you thought you were special or capable or unique or you could control or you could whatever. No, it's a matter of surrender and submission. That's why it's so much easier to be a servant than to be, to have the false delusion of choice and godliness almost like I am. It's a very suffocating to be this way because clearly we think we have and we think we are but reality is we clearly do not. So when you dispose yourself as a humble servant, then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala elevates you. فَمَنْ تَوَضَعَ لِلَّهِ هَكَذَا رَفَعَهُ اللَّهُ هَكَذَا As the hadith says, you humble yourself to Allah this way and you approach the emotion with his hand going down and then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will uplift you this way because it is Allah who uplifts, you know, يُعْتِلْ مُلْكَ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَنْزُلْ مُلْكَ مَنْ يَشَاءُ He gives dominion, وَيُعِزُّ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيُذِلُّ مَنْ يَشَاءُ And he gives honor to whom he wills and he strips it from whom he wills. So it's all from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ Alhamdulillah, that's the case. Jazakumullahu khayran, Shaykh. That's a beautiful, beautiful way for us to kind of conclude here. Shaykh, on that note, really, as you were speaking, I was just thinking about how if we approach the Quran with this mindset, it really protects us from ego, protects us from arrogance and kibr. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us. One of the most destructive
traits of the heart that really blinds people, no matter how much truth there is in front of them or how many signs they have within them, arrogance destroys everything, burns everything. So the Quran humbles us. And also at the same time, it doesn't humble us in a manner that is paralyzing. It reminds us, لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ So you have worth, you have value, you should be confident in the choice of your actions and what you're doing, but recognize at the end of the day, all of the good that you have comes from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So in fact, this should give us more confidence for those who are struggling with it. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us and guide us and connect our hearts to Him and to His speech. Shaykh, now, I know this is a weird request, but if you had to give a 10 second advice, I know perhaps they're going to cut this out as a clip. If you had to give a 10 second piece of advice for all of those who want to connect to the Quran, again, a generic question, what's one thing everyone can do inshallah? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, when Allah gifted Sayyiduna Zakariya his son Yahya, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commanded Sayyiduna Yahya and he said, Ya Yahya khudhil kitaba bi quwa. Ya Yahya take the Quran, the book, with strength and power. And this was commanded to Sayyiduna Yahya when he was a boy. Allah told him as a boy, take the Quran with resilience, with power, with purpose, with resolve, with intentionality. And so may Allah make us of those who take the Quran as a command from Allah to fulfill, to a call to action, to rise up, to move with purpose, with resiliency. Allahumma ameen. Jazakum wa khayran. Sheikh Yasser for your time. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reward you and elevate your ranks and reward your family as well and grant you many forms of
continuous charities. This does bring us to the end of season one of Quran Convos. Alhamdulillah we were able to cover the theme of Tadabbur and the 10 inward acts of the recitation of the Quran. I pray to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for all of those who are listening and all of those who benefit from this. I pray to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that we are guided to actions as well and to start these conversations and to benefit other people as well with all that we learn. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept from us, guide us and guide others through us. We will see you all next season inshallah. Wa salilahumma ala nabiyyina Muhammad wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'in. Wasalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
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