Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Dear brothers and sisters, I want to welcome you back to these reflections and I want to actually build upon where we left off on Monday. On Monday we talked about, you know, sort of the prerequisite to any method of trying to reach someone through da'wah or nasihah or dhikr. You're trying to remind them or give them sincere advice or call them to the right way. And that is that the heart has to be in a place where it can receive rightful guidance. If the words are said perfectly, with the right manner, with the right wisdom, they're not going to reach an unwilling heart. And so the importance of trying to soften a person's heart so that they can actually receive the message. But I want to talk about another implication of this verse inshaAllah. So when Allah says, وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَسُولٍ إِلَّا بِلِسَانِ قَوْمِهِ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَهُمْ that we have not sent a messenger except in the language of his people so that he could make things clear to them. To make the proofs of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala clear to them. And there's a narration that says this literally بِلُغَةِ قَوْمِهِ in the language of those people. So when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sends messengers, he sends them in the language of their people. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not punish a people until he sends them a messenger. The messenger not only speaks the language, the messenger is known to them. So it's not like you see in the stories of the prophets that a prophet pops out of nowhere, right? They're known to their people, they're known for their integrity, they're known for their authority, their trustworthiness, their good character. They're known for their uprightness and they speak the language of their people. They don't have these barriers between them and their people that are unnecessary. They have the culture of their people and they manifest of the culture of their people what's not objectionable. They know how to speak to their people in the best way, in a way that's going to reach
them and bring them back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So what's a practical implication of this verse? What's something that we can actually take from this in our day to day lives? And this is by the way very relevant to people in da'wah, people in education, and people that just want to reach someone in their lives and they're having a hard time doing so. And that is the importance of finding the right messenger. Finding the right messenger. You know Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala talks about Abdullah ibn Salam radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu that he was a shahid, a witness from his own people in Medina. That it's something to not just hear from someone that speaks your language but someone that has lived your experience to an extent. Now if a person's heart is looking for guidance, then they will overcome or try to overcome any obstacles in order to receive guidance from as many places as possible. When I say as many places as possible, I'm talking about the mouthpiece, the means. I'm not talking about rightful guidance being found outside of what comes out of divine revelation. But the point is that if a person for example is already engaged in talab al ilm, in the pursuit of knowledge, and there's a person that speaks a different language that has a part of knowledge that they feel like they could really benefit from, they will do what they have to do to be able to get what they need to from that person. You know and it's beautiful that you see the learning of languages and the traveling in our history, people that traveled for miles and miles to foreign lands to learn knowledge. But when it comes to someone who is having a hard time or you're trying to reach and they're hesitant, they're resistant to it, the best person to speak to them is someone that has lived their experiences to some extent, that can speak a language that will reach
them, that can really relate to them, that can be as relatable as possible. Now what that means is that we don't sideline anyone from speaking on anything unless they've lived this particular experience or unless they belong here. But you know if I am trying to reach a person and I don't think that I'm the right person to do it, right? So I want to reach this person, I want to bring them back to Allah, I want to bring them back to their senses, I want them to do well and I don't think they're going to listen to me. Then that's when I try to find someone else that can reach that person out of love for them. Sometimes out of frustration with someone that's doing something that's harmful to themselves, we just want to tell them off, but I don't want to tell them off, I want to bring them back. And so if I'm not the right person to bring them back, who can I talk to that can talk to that person? And this is not backbiting or gossip, sharing information or soliciting help because you think you can't reach a person is not objectionable in our religion. This is a part of who we are, this is a part of the mannerisms of our religion, right? Finding the right messenger. What that also means is that on an institutional level, who's going to speak to the youth group? Who's going to speak to that group of people that's coming to take an Islam 101 class? Who's the right person to speak to this group? Who's the right person to speak to that group? Who's the right person to present something that might be very difficult for people to initially understand? But that person is the best suited person to present that difficult concept. Who is the right messenger to that group of people? Because not every messenger is for every people. Not every messenger is for every people. You know, Dr. Hatim al-Hajj, he just released his paper on Islamic apologetics and he talks
about this idea of picking the right people to reach people where they are. And this is a methodology for us that you need to reach people where they are using the right techniques. At no point do you depart from the message. At no point do you dilute the message. At no point do you depart from acceptable means to convey the message. But who's that young man going to listen to? Who's that young woman going to listen to? Who's going to resonate with that person? Who's going to resonate with that person? Who's best suited? And we work together to try to reach all that we can to bring people back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala utilizing different experiences, different skill sets, different styles, all of it with the same goal to, you know, at the end of the day to put people on a path that is good for them, to help people reach their own potential and to help people come back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wherever they are in their pursuit of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala even if they're not even pursuing Him right now. Trying to help people find themselves means that we try to find the right messenger to reach them. We don't dilute. We don't do anything that's objectionable in order to do that. But speak that language. Who's the best person to talk to that youth group? Who's the best person to give that Islam 101 class? Who's the best person to talk to, you know, my brother or my sister or my friend who's having a difficult time? And you know, I'll end with this example because it's something that I've witnessed many times in real life that you'll have someone that's engaging in some sort of self-destructive behavior. And their parents tell them that multiple times but it doesn't resonate because they've already tuned their parents out or they, you know, they've developed some sort of a perception about their parents that their parents, you know, are biased or they're not going to speak to them in a way that's going to reach them. But then when their brother or their sister speaks to them or an uncle or an aunt or someone
that they don't feel threatened by for whatever reason speaks to them and gives them the exact same message, it resonates. So first and foremost, let's be clear that the primary meaning of this ayah is that Allah always sent messengers in his justice and his wisdom. He sent messengers that spoke the language of their people. But just some of the practical implications we can take from this is trying to help people by reaching them where they're at, using the right language, using the different means and the different specialties that we have in our community, in our families, in our circles of friends, who's going to be the person that's going to reach that person and bring them back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bring us all back to him. Allahumma ameen. Jazakumullahu khayran. InshaAllah ta'ala tomorrow night will be a special treat inshaAllah ta'ala. So I hope to see you then. Wa salamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh.
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