Keeping Connected with the Qur'an
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Guiding Our Hearts Through Adversity | Qur'anic Healing Episode 4
Tune in with Dr. Omar Suleiman and Dr. Rania Awaad for the fourth and final part of the Qur'anic Healing series.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen. Wa la'udhwani lillahi rabbil alameen. Wa la'aqibatu lilmuttaqeen. Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barak al abdika wa rasulika Muhammadin salallahu alayhi wa sallam wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa salam tasliman kathira. Dear brothers and sisters, welcome back to the final episode of Qur'anic Healing and the final episode of Keeping Connected with the Qur'an. SubhanAllah, as Qur'an 30 for 30 wrapped up, we wanted to have something in the month of Shawwal that would keep people connected to the Qur'an. And I hope inshallah ta'ala you've been able to benefit through the parables and the miracles, the reflections and the themes, and the healing. And the different ways that we've been able to interact with the Qur'an this month. And inshallah ta'ala, though I'll talk about this a little bit more at the end, we will continue different forms of live content inshallah, especially as we get into Dhul Hijjah. But we're definitely going to be reducing our live content and we pray that inshallah ta'ala you'll continue to tune in to all the content that we're putting out. But with that being said inshallah ta'ala, we have a very special last program of this campaign of Keeping Connected with the Qur'an. We have a special guest alhamdulillah, Dr. Rania Awad, who is alhamdulillah, not just a recently you know, who recently joined Yaqeen as a senior fellow, but she is the clinical director of the Khalil Center in the Bay Area. She is a teacher at Stanford, alhamdulillah, a professor at Stanford. And we're just blessed to have her alhamdulillah, and her insights and she has of course done a lot of work around Qur'an and mental health, Qur'an and emotional health. And inshallah ta'ala, as we get to the end of this Qur'anic healing, as we've been approaching the Qur'an specifically on Friday nights with the angle of healing, she's going to take us through a journey inshallah ta'ala about how to guide our hearts through adversity through a select few ayat of the Qur'an inshallah ta'ala. So with that inshallah, I'd like to welcome
Dr. Rania, tafadli. Faraq Allafiq, thank you so much, Sheikh Omar. Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim wa salallahu ala sayyidina Muhammad wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa salam ajma'in It's always an honor and pleasure to be with Yaqeen Institute, masha'Allah. And really my hope, you know, today is to share some of the ayat of the Qur'an that for me personally, I find to be verses that allow that calm whenever there's a turbulence or anxiety that we're feeling. And subhanAllah, in the last several months, I would have to say, we've all been feeling quite turbulent and it's been a difficult, difficult several months, masha'Allah. So if ever there was a time to really reflect on some of the ayat that help us kind of have that calm in our life that can guide our heart through adversity, this would be that time inshallah ta'ala. So with that inshallah, I'll start with that very first ayah that specifically speaks to this concept, where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in surat al-taghabun and says, That if there is ever a calamity that befalls any one of us, it only comes to us with the permission of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And that whoever has faith in Allah, Allah will rightly guide our hearts through adversity. And that Allah has perfect knowledge of all things. And that is really where we start this conversation of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guiding our hearts through adversity. Because sometimes we might have the knowledge to be able to say one plus one equals two, but sometimes as much as you try to calculate it and try to add it up, it does not add up the way you might seem, you know, or think it should be. And in that, we have to turn to the Qur'an to really see why it is that tribulation comes, because it's a question that is often asked. Why do bad things happen? Why does God allow difficult things to happen? Why do people have to suffer in this way? And while there are so many ways to answer those specific questions,
I'm going to focus on two ayat first that give us some insight into some of those questions. And then three healing mechanisms that come from the Qur'an because after all the Qur'an is a shifa' or is a healing for the hearts. And so the first I'm going to focus on Surah Al-Ankabut where Allah ﷻ says and reminds us, he kind of asks us if you will, a rhetorical question. He says أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ وَأَن يُتْرَكُوا أَن يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ Do people think that they'll just be left alone merely because they say we believe that it won't be tested? It's a rhetorical question. Allah ﷻ knows that we're not going to answer because it's an obvious answer that this hayat al-dunya that he created, this worldly life we live in is a life of tribulation. Often I find myself in therapy when I'm working with patients and clients and I often will say, you know, we're looking for ease and we're always looking to never have difficulty and we always want 100% happiness in everything, forgetting that in this stage of life, the stage where our soul, our soul passes through multiple stages and at this stage hayat al-dunya is meant to be a life of tribulation and difficulty. And Allah ﷻ reminds us of that in this ayah, that we will be tested. And then he follows it up with the second ayah, which is in surah al-Baqarah, which basically explains how we're going to be tested. And then he says there, وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْنجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَمْوَةِ وَالْفُصِيبَةِ وَالْثَّمَرَاتِ That we'll be tested basically with the loss of fear, with something of fear, hunger, the loss of wealth, lives, and fruit. And if you reflect on this ayah a little bit with me, you'll see that, especially in the last few months here, you know, if anything we've been feeling from this kind of COVID situation, we've had, we've experienced for sure loss of loved ones, sickness of loved ones
or people that we know around us, loss of jobs, financial stress, everybody who is sheltering at home together, we've, there's definitely a spike in marital distress and parenting distress and all kinds of other distresses that this particular situation has caused us. Every single thing described in this ayah has come to pass all at once, and so for many this has been a very overwhelming time. And all the social injustices that we're also experiencing at an all-time high. And so when you think about how these ayat, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is basically explaining to us, this hayat al-dunya, this life, this worldly life is going to be full of trials and tribulations but, and here comes the healing, here come the mechanisms that I want to focus on, how despite that turbulence we feel and despite the anxiety that comes with it, because certainly all of us have felt the anxiety, especially in the last many months here. But to remind ourselves that in Surah Tunis, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la describes the Qur'an, right, وَالشِّفَاءُ لِّمَا فِي الصُّدُورِ Right, it's going to be a healing that's inside of our you know, a cure inside of our chests, this Qur'an. And I look at the different ayat that kind of calm me down if you will, and kind of help, kind of bringing the anxiety to an all-time low, if possible, and healing mechanisms. So, I'm going to share inshaAllah three ayats, where I really feel here first Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la with this first one, he calms us down, he kind of comforts us, right, and that first one is a famous ayat that everyone knows, and we say it often. And it's from Surah Al-Baqarah, where Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا That no soul will be burdened more than it can bear. And it's an important ayah, and I find this to be one of the most profound and one of the most comforting ayat of the Qur'an, because it's clear that whatever comes our way, as we discussed earlier in Surah At-Taghabun,
is written for us, is meant for us, however, we're never going to be burdened more than we can actually bear. And that's a guarantee. It's a guarantee Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la took upon Himself that if He sends a trial to us, that He's going to actually allow us to get through it. And even though it might be tough, He actually created us tougher. And this is part of our belief system as mu'min, as believers. We actually believe these very concepts that if a difficulty has come our way, Allah will actually be able to bring us through, even if there is sadness with it, even if that sadness is cumbersome at times. Even if we feel overwhelmed, we're not going to actually be burdened more than we can bear, and He's given us tools and people to be able to help us through those times. And so here, you know, we look at the next ayah, when I look at, okay, so if Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la comforts us with this first ayah telling us He won't burden us more than we can bear, then we go to the next ayah, which here is in Surah At-Tawbah, where Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, قُلْ لَن يُصِيبَنَا إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا The translation of which is basically, say nothing will ever happen to us except that Allah has ordained it for us. And that means that whenever there is a difficult situation, maybe it's that inevitable death of a loved one, or maybe it's the loss of a job, or maybe it's something very much more simple than that, like having a flat tire at the side of the road, whatever it may be, to immediately take that deep breath and to say قُلْ لَن يُصِيبَنَا إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا that we're not going to be nothing, nothing happens to us except that it's ordained ahead of time. And this is where this hadith of the Prophet ﷺ, it's a beautiful hadith, but worth mentioning here, it ties in directly to this ayah where our beloved ﷺ said, be mindful of Allah
and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah, you'll find Him in front of you. And if you ask, ask of Allah. If you seek help, seek help from Allah. And know, and this is the part that really affirms what we're talking about here, that know that if all the nations were to gather to benefit you in some way, they could not except by the will of Allah. And if all were to gather to harm you in some way, they could not except by what Allah has already prescribed for you. The pens have been lifted and the ink has dried. And that's a beautiful kind of reminder that Allah ultimately is in charge. He is boss capital B, right? That ultimately, He knows. And so when you feel that something is so overwhelming and kind of beyond your capacity to really fully understand why it is the way it is, these are the ayah to turn to. In them is a coping mechanism. It's the kind of mechanism saying, Allah's got my back. Right? I know that this is beyond me, right? Quote unquote above my pay grade, right? It's something that's beyond me. Allah's holding me through this. And will allow me to get through this. And when I don't understand something, that lack of understanding is actually something that is a fault in me, not in Him. It's something, not necessarily even a fault, but maybe something that is a lack, a deficiency if you will, in me, not a deficiency in His divine wisdom and abilities. And so it allows us to remember that. And, you know, it really helps to kind of know that there's something much greater and bigger beyond us, kind of holding us through and protecting us and our loved ones from harm. So this kind of concept of having Allah's subhanaw ta'ala be at the forefront of our thoughts, like the hadith says, right? Always calling upon Him, always asking of Him, seeking guidance at all times. And the last, you know, part of this that I want to share, it goes back to the very first ayah. The very
first ayah that was from surah at-Tawab, and if you remember, that talked about how Allah will guide our hearts through adversity. And I'm going to take a moment and just kind of thinking about this a bit more, that when Allah subhanaw ta'ala talks about guiding our hearts through adversity, there's also other tools and mechanisms that He's taught for us that have a healing property as well. But this next tool comes actually from the hadith. And this is a hadith where the Prophet ﷺ tells us to seek fatwa from our hearts. Even if others were to give us fatwa and he repeats it three times. A fatwa is basically a legal opinion, but here he's not talking about fiqh rules, the halal and the haram, those things are already known. Here he's talking about the kind of thing where you want to know whether or not something doesn't quite fully sit well with you 100%. And this is where this hadith comes in, because it's part of guiding our hearts through adversity. That when you have something, and even if people tell you it's okay, no problem, you're only going to live once, no worries. Right? But you know in the heart of hearts, in your heart of hearts, that there's something off. We're given this mechanism in Islam that basically says seek guidance from your own heart on those matters, because if it doesn't sit well for you, if it has that mahaaka fiqh, this kind of kind of keeps bothering you, bothering you inside your heart, there is something wrong for you. And maybe it's not wrong for the next person per se. Here I'm not talking about the big halal and haram, here I'm talking about smaller matters. Right? Interactions between you and somebody else, or things that are very personal to you. There's a funny example, and I'll kind of share this, it may or may not be helpful, but often when people say, what do you mean by this? What does this hadith mean? We say, well things that could be otherwise halal, but they don't sit well for you. Well like what? Like if somebody were to tell me to eat dolphin meat. It's kind of a funny
example. Why dolphin meat? Technically according to the fiqh, it's sea food, therefore halal, but for me, that majestic creature called the dolphin, it doesn't sit well in my heart, and certainly my daughter would never forgive me if I were to do such a thing. But the reality is here, that's the kind of idea of like, my heart is not allowing me to take that step because it feels something is wrong. Right? And the next person over, it may not bother them. That's what I mean. So these are tools that Allah has given us. He's given us the Quran as a shifa, and also given us these tools from the Quran and from the hadith, and from the rulings to be able to do what? To really guide our hearts through this adversity that we're feeling, and to allow anxiety and calm. And the last thing I'll share, you know, inshallah, about this is that all of these ayat that I shared, and all these concepts and mechanisms as I've called them, they're going to help most people, and help most of us most of the time. But there's always a certain number, a percentage of the time, and certain percentage of people that this is not, you know, sufficient for, and anxiety is much, much higher than that. And as much as they try to use these prayers, and use these ayat to calm down, they need more than that. And that is what the third mechanism that Allah has given us of what? The people, and the knowledge around us to help. And sometimes that requires professional help. And that's where I think it's really important to remember that last piece as well, that those that are people who are of knowledge, right, ahla dhikra, who can actually help in guiding the person when they're really having a tough moment of their life. So I hope inshallah those reflections were useful in calming the anxiety for all of us. Allah bless you, Jazakum Allah khayran. Very, very beneficial. And subhanAllah, there were a few trains of thought. First of all, let's give the ahnaf the room to say dolphin is not halal for the ahnaf, right? Yes, of course. Sure.
Jahaf is here, yes. Sounds a little. Just to make sure, because that could end up dominating the comments, right? So I eat dolphin now. But I agree with you, I would never eat dolphins because they're too beautiful of an animal. Alhamdulillah. But I think really when we're talking about what you just went through, this journey of connecting Quran to Quran and then Quran to hadith is what stuck out, stood out to me. So ahasiban nasu an yutraku an yaqulu amanna wa hum la yaftanun and then walana bilwanakum bishay'in min alkhawfi walju'i wa naqsin wa anfa alquran tufassir alquran one part of the Quran explains another part of the Quran and so it's specified when it needs to be specified but then with the hadiths that you brought in, right? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, wasta'ino bis sabri wassala and we spoke about this last week in fact to seek help, perseverance to seek help through assabir wassala according to many of the mufassirun sabr here means fasting patience actually means the practice of fasting and prayer and then in the hadith of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam where he's speaking to bin Abbas radiAllahu ta'ala anhuma wa idha ista'inta fasta'in billah and if you seek help then seek help from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala iyaaka na'budu wa iyaaka nasta'een and I think that that idea of seeking help from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala where you know the shaytan will try to make you feel like the pain is an indication of Allah hating you, right? So what's the point of going to the one who caused you harm and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam redirecting saying no la malja'a wa la malja'a minka illa ilayk there is no escape or shelter from you except to you, the only refuge is found in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
and so pushing us back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala where the shaytan will try to make us feel like the adversity is actually to be interpreted as Allah distancing us from Him and you know we should start to see it that way, why go back to Him if He's causing you this pain, clearly you're not getting the message and Allah is actually telling you in the Quran that the message is come back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that when hardship comes your way and we don't attribute the hardship to Allah we attribute it to other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala out of adab with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala but when the hardship comes your way right, then that sign of it is to go back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and a lot of times we do exactly the opposite because we interpret the relationship with Allah in ways that the shaytan would have us interpret it that is similar to abusive relationships in dunya or something right, you know it becomes that way unfortunately where a person starts to see it that way and the second thing that I'd share is about the heart the condition of the heart and the fatwa of the heart in that sense Allah azawajal tells us in surah Ali Imran that those who have amal ladheena fee qulubihim zayghun fayattabi'una ma tashabaha minhu btigha alfitnati wa btigha atta'weedi that if the heart is crooked and deviated then it will actually seek corrupted fatawa right yattabi'una ma tashabaha minhu it would try to seek out what is ambiguous and create what is corrupt out of the ambiguous to create a spin right that allows the pursuit of shahwa the pursuit of desire in unprincipled ways it would deviate or deceive itself right by twisting the message to fit what a crooked heart wants to pursue and so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala telling us
that if the heart is good right that if the heart is good then it will seek good and the prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam is not saying to someone who's heart is you know in a condition of seeking out the problematic he's saying this to someone salallahu alayhi wa sallam who is actively trying to keep their heart pure clean connected to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and if your heart is in that state then the fitra will find the right fatwa right when it comes to the gray area and even if the fatwa seems to make sense here if it doesn't sit well here then that's where the you know the the the practice of waraq comes out right this idea of leaving even some of halal right out of fear that it might be haram that it might be from the doubtful so it's literally the opposite and you know I think that that's something that we have to keep in mind when we're talking about healing and we're talking about maintaining our spiritual health you don't indulge your heart in questionable things and then question Allah's decree because then you're just going to be in shambles both intellectually and spiritually but instead you seek out healing through Allah and you indulge the heart in what is healthy which will lead it back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala keep it connected to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and that just allows you to process things in in such a healthier way to really process these things in a much healthier way and I think that's where a lot of times we we we have to sort of revisit once again in the midst of adversity what's the best thing that I can do right now to make this advantageous in the akhira to make this a means of elevation in the hereafter to make this a means of bringing me closer to Allah because if the tragedy brings me back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then it's actually not a tragedy at all when it's all said and done it's actually it actually is
a blessing right it's when I say blessing in disguise anything that brings you back to Allah is a blessing right there's no real disguise there anything that brings you back to Allah is a blessing anything that takes you away from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is a curse and and is a hardship not necessarily that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is forcing that upon you but it is in its consequential sense I guess right to be looked at in that way do you agree with everything that I just said or is there something no this is beautiful and you know the last the very last comment you were saying it reminded me of how you know you're familiar with the Taiba Foundation you know I just immediately thought about some of the brothers there you know the Taiba Foundation is an organization that works with educating Muslim inmates and there's so many brothers and sisters who convert behind bars and they are you know they have they have nothing compared to us except the one thing that we don't have right they have time and we don't subhanAllah and I reflect on so many of the brothers subhanAllah if you walk into the Taiba office one of the most striking things you'll see are these beautiful pieces of artwork and you look at this artwork and you say wow the person who created this must be somebody whose heart is so connected with Allah and full of light and just really just full of sunshine if you will you know it's just beautiful artwork and and when you ask who are some of these people their stories behind them and I think about one brother in particular you know who had wrong but wrongfully convicted was behind bars for over 20 years and had some of the most beautiful artwork and you would think with somebody who had had such wrong committed against him that he would be bitter you know and really upset and angry and that would show you know and what poured out you know every container only spills out what it contains but what he spills out is beauty and when you ask him how how do you have the sense of like love you know despite everything that you've happened to and all the wrong that's happened to you he
says you know had this trial had not happened to me and had I not been behind bars I would never have found Allah I would never have found Islam I would never have found the peace in my heart that I find now and so he reframed a complete cognitive reframing right of this terrible thing that happened but it brought him to Allah and brought him that sense of Sakina that this life you know he lost quote-unquote lost 20 years but in his mind he actually gained 20 years with Allah right and it's about how you frame things upon Allah. SubhanAllah when you say that I think of Al-Hajj Malik al-Shabazz Malcolm X rahim Allah one very particular thing when he was in Medina Malcolm described the peace and solitude that he thought that he found in Medina he said I haven't really felt this way since my prison years so he said it was the most beautiful moment of his life when he was in Medina between Maghrib and Isha and Masjid Nabawi you know and feeling that sense of connection to Allah to his messenger SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam obviously by proximity to the messenger SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and in the city of the messenger in the masjid of the messenger alayhi salatu wa salam and as he's describing the peace and tranquility that is unrivaled he says that you know the solitude I haven't experienced this level of seclusion and solitude and felt this way since my prison years which is I think just such a powerful testament to the potential of liberation of heart and mind and spirit even in the most you know even in the most difficult circumstances even in the most shackled of circumstances the capacity to liberate the heart and liberate the mind and liberate the spirit in those moments and the Taiba Foundation by the way does wonderful work I'd encourage everyone to actually support
them inshallah financially and any other way it's an incredible organization alhamdulillah that caters to our brothers and sisters that are in Congress. Is there anything else you'd like to share Dr. Rania before we sign off? Masha'Allah I mean I think in closing it's the comment I made at the very end I always I'm always a little bit wary at the end of a discussion on you know having because we feel we believe so fully that the Quran is a shayfat the sudur it's definitely that healing to us fully and completely but I want to again emphasize that anybody who might be listening to this and still feels like this all sounds great and I'm going to try to implement it but then they try and they feel like I'm still too anxious I'm still too overwhelmed I don't know how to cope with this I strongly recommend reaching out to mental health professionals alhamdulillah you know we're really blessed in this day and age 10 years ago it was not like this even five years ago I would say was not like this where you could easily much more easily than before find Muslim mental health professionals or really other mental health professionals who are culturally competent to really help the Muslim community but certainly within the faith it's going to be much more powerful and much more in sync maybe if you will but I definitely want to say and encourage folks to reach out for help and assistance and not to let that stigma or taboo kind of build up in people because Allah just like we discussed this ayah this time around but you know Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about how you know that in every illness you know that he sends down there's also a cure in which he sends down as well this is quoted in the hadith and also you know referenced in the Quran about the kind of shifa that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives and so part of that is in the knowledge of those who are the professionals in this field and I do encourage that inshallah so that folks are able to seek that kind of assistance from our holy book and our scripture but also also from those whom Allah has given that kind of item to allow the healing and facilitate the healing if you will inshallah
Alayhimu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu SubhanAllah we're blessed to have you not just on this program but as a member of our team now alhamdulillah may Allah azawajal allow you to be of benefit to the people and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow the benefit that you give to people inshallah through your work to be a source of barak in your life as well Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to be healed through the Quran and to be inspired by the walking Quran the prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam to bring that life that beautiful life into our own lives into our own actions may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gather us with him alayhi salatu wassalam in jannatul firdaus may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to memorize the Quran recite the Quran act upon the Quran and to be healed by the Quran and to heal with the Quran a broken world that's around us allahumma ameen Jazakumullahu khayran to you once again and to everyone that has been a part of this this month long keeping connected with the Quran after the Quran 30 for 30 inshallah ta'ala next week I'm going to start a weekly for the next three weeks inshallah ta'ala I'll be talking about Ibrahim alayhi salam the story of Ibrahim alayhi salam I'm also going to resume just some nightly reminders inshallah ta'ala and that'll be Monday Wednesday and Thursday I'll do a nightly reminder inshallah ta'ala at the same time just a short reminder you know for everyone bid the night to benefit from Tuesday nights we'll be doing the story of Ibrahim alayhi salam Friday we'll still maintain the virtual khutbah inshallah ta'ala for now and then we'll go into the hijjah where we'll have some special programming bid the night as well Jazakumullahu khayran to all of you for continuing to tune in my recommendation to you is to make sure that you subscribe to yaqeen in every way so if you are on YouTube make sure you subscribe to the YouTube channel like all of our social media pages and go back and catch up on some of the other content maybe that you never
got a chance to go through bid the night and hopefully you'll find it very beneficial Jazakumullahu khayran wasalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh
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