Qur'an 30 for 30 | Season 3
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Juz' 11 with Sh. Yousef Wahb | Qur'an 30 for 30 Season 3
What gives you life? Dr. Yousef Wahb joins Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Abdullah Oduro to reflect on juz 11 of the Holy Qur'an, including finding joy in Allah’s bounty, giving charity, and living with intention.
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Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Welcome back to Qur'an 30 for 30. Alhamdulillah wa salatu wa salamu ala rasulullah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala. We are blessed today to be joined by Sheikh Yusuf Wahab, alhamdulillah rabbal alameen, who is the director of our Qur'anic Studies Department. Alhamdulillah, Sheikh Yusuf is a graduate of Al-Azhar University. He also is a graduate from the University of Windsor, I guess, in the Faculty of Law. I forgot, Sheikh, which one it was, but I know you're also a law graduate, alhamdulillah rabbal alameen. And you've been doing quite a bit of work, alhamdulillah rabbal alameen, on Qur'anic studies. SubhanAllah, ever since you joined Yaqeen, the amount of just rich work that has come out of that department has been beautiful. In fact, we released, I remember last year, the Tadabbur paper with yourself and Sheikh Ishnawi, just on how to read the Qur'an with Tadabbur, with reflection. And I think that is probably one of the most important papers to read for the viewers of Qur'an 30 for 30, the listeners of Qur'an 30 for 30, how to do Tadabbur, how to recite the Qur'an properly. And we also had the Ilum al-Qur'an paper. Sheikh, what are some of the papers that have come out? What's coming out this month? What can we expect from the department, inshallah ta'ala? Jazakum Allah khayran, bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. So as you mentioned, last Ramadan, alhamdulillah, we were able to release the Tadabbur piece. And alhamdulillah, this Ramadan also we're trying to highlight certain points and content that was covered in that paper. We have some new creative assets that would visualize certain concepts that were explained in that paper. We have a Tadabbur as one main theme that inshallah we're going to produce multiple different products from the department on, inshallah. Another theme is the scholarly contributions to the Qur'an and understanding the book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the paper that was just released a few days ago on Ilum al-Qur'an. It provides a general framework of the different disciplines that serve the Qur'anic text and also that highlight the context of the Qur'an.
In order for us to build a kind of a proper connection with the Qur'an, we need to understand both the textual meanings and the contextual meanings as well. Understanding the Makki and Madani, understanding Asbab al-Nuzul, the occasions of revelation, understanding the different intersections between Islamic law or fiqh and the Qur'an as well. Some verses are clear, some verses are a little bit ambiguous. There is a method of reconciling between different verses. So Ilum al-Qur'an help us provide or help us establish really a proper and a strong connection with the Qur'an. Another paper, inshallah, coming very soon, hopefully in this month of Ramadan, bi'ithnillah, is a paper on qiraat, introducing the concept of the different or the multiple readings of the Qur'an. How can the Qur'an be recited differently or why the Qur'an actually can be recited differently? Did the Prophet alayhi salatu wasalam read in all these different readings and why? What's the point or the wisdom behind having multiple qiraat with some examples that help enrich our Qur'anic experience, that the Qur'an has this beautiful multilayered phenomenon of meanings, that one qiraat with a small diacritic mark, different from the common qiraat that we know, might add a whole different level and a whole different dimension of the meaning of the qiraat. Insha'Allah also we have an objective rathim of the history of the Qur'an. So the history behind the compilation of the Qur'an and the Mus'haf, the Uthmanic Codex and how Uthman radiallahu anhu compiled the Qur'an, and how the origination of these qiraat also happened from the time of the Prophet alayhi salatu wasalam to the sahaba and to our imams of the imams of qiraat and the Qur'an afterwards. So I would say these three main objectives, tadabbur one, establishing connection with the Qur'an, also uloom al-Qur'an, the different disciplines that serve the Qur'anic text, and also the history of our Mus'haf and the Qur'an are three main objectives that insha'Allah we're going to provide more content on insha'Allah.
Masha'Allah. So this is deep, deep, deep research and work that's being done on the Qur'an. Alhamdulillah we're blessed to have you Sheikh Yusuf. Sheikh Yusuf, you're originally from Egypt. What's your favorite Egyptian suhoor? Oh, back then or now? After Canada messed you up? There has been a transition. Usually, you know, we believe in the magic influence and the magic power of food. You know, like having this Egyptian recipe of beans. This is something that we believe in, we believe in just magic. You will never feel any kind of hunger if you actually eat food. The whole country, I believe, actually has to like eat. I know there are a lot of bad statements, Sheikh Abdullah is laughing. There are a lot of not really good perceptions about food and its effect. But this is my culture and this is my food. It's a super food, right? It's a super food. It is. I'm just going to say there was a sheikh, there was an Egyptian Amo that once told me if I eat enough ta'amiyya, I'll be as strong as Sheikh Abdullah one day. You never know. Do you think it's true? Like if you eat food and ta'amiyya, you don't have to work out as much as Sheikh Abdullah? I don't think so. I believe in the power of ta'amiyya. From first-hand experience, I do believe in that. Not to diminish the strength and the power of Sheikh Abdullah, mashallah, but I do also appreciate the power of ta'amiyya. Sheikh Abdullah, if you ate Egyptian food and ta'amiyya, you'd be a lot stronger. We're just trying to give you ideas with all the guests that come on. We're trying to give you things to incorporate into your beast program. Because if you see Egyptian bodybuilders, have you seen Egyptian bodybuilders? Oh, yes, of course. Egyptian bodybuilders don't play, mashallah. They don't play, mashallah.
You have to inform the world that you're not calling me a fool. What is fool? Let the people know. They don't know what it is. What is it? And ta'amiyya, explain what it is. Okay, so fool is beans. I know there are a lot of different types of beans, but I think it's the common Arabian beans. And ta'amiyya, everybody knows falafel, right? Falafel. Yeah, and I always feel very proud of just using the word ta'amiyya because people didn't know it, and I feel very insulted that everybody just uses falafel. I know it belongs to multiple other cultures, but ta'amiyya is still. Actually, interestingly enough, there is one area in Egypt, Alexandria, that actually, until today, they used the word falafel. They didn't use the word ta'amiyya. It's still typically considered an Egyptian word. Like basuriyoon. I don't know. So it's typically considered still an Egyptian word, but ta'amiyya is the more common word. It's basically the same thing. Instead of hummus, you have beans in it. So all we know, Sheikh, is that it's definitely healthier than pakoras and mihari. I'm not going to comment on that. Good answer. Very smart. Alhamdulillah, we spent like the longest time. I promised to our viewers I apologize. I'm fascinated with Egyptian food and ful. Inshallah ta'ala we'll maybe one day have a longer discussion, maybe sincerely or something else about Sheikh Yusuf's food preferences. But now we need to get to the Quran, bismillah ta'ala. So inshallah ta'ala we'll go ahead and start. Bismillah walhamdulillah wa salatu wa salamu ala rasulillah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala. We are now in the 11th juz. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to complete the Quran and allow the Quran to complete our hearts and our lives. I want to focus on two ayat and really focus on one ayah that is the perfect response to what we had spoken about in regards to surah taubah.
Verse 57 and 58, verses 57 and 58 of surah Yunus. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, ya ayyuha al-nas, qad ja'atakum mawa'idatun min rabbikum wa shifa'un lima fi al-sudur wa hudan wa rahmatun lilmu'mineen. O humanity, O mankind, indeed there has come to you an admonishment from your Lord. Ja'atakum mawa'idatun min rabbikum. Now this idea of an admonishing from your Lord, the admonishing of your Lord applies to everybody. Everyone who is hearing the Quran, everyone who is interacting with the Quran is interacting with this mawa'idah from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, from their Lord. And that's why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, ya ayyuha al-nas, O people. Right, so it refers to the believer and the disbeliever, the makin and the madinian, the person of every single background. This is a mawa'idah, this is a message for you. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, wa shifa'un lima fi al-sudur. It is a cure for what is in the hearts. SubhanAllah, a beautiful response to, and I'm not going to elaborate too much on this ayah today, but it's a response to this idea of people who have fi qulubihim marab, right? People who have a sickness in their heart, or people who have zayghun, who have a crookedness in their heart. This Quran is shifa'un lima fi al-sudur. It is a cure for what is in the heart. And if the heart is healed, then everything else will be healed. If the heart is cured, everything else will be cured. If the heart has proper perception and perspective, then the eyes will see properly, the ears will hear properly. A person's happiness will be in accordance with what is in their heart. Because as we know, constriction in the heart is what leads to sadness and misery. No matter what a person has in terms of material wealth and gain, if they have constriction in the heart, then they do not benefit from or find happiness from anything that has been given to them. shifa'un lima fi al-sudur. It is a healing in every way.
It heals us from the innovations in creed over time. It heals us from all of the corruption that exists on this earth. And it heals us from any type of punishment that may come our way in any of the realms. wahudan wa rahmatun lilmu'mineen And it is a guidance and a mercy for the believers. A guidance and a mercy for the believers. This ayah is full of wisdom and perhaps Shaykh Yusuf inshaAllah ta'ala, this being his area, maybe would want to comment on this. But I really want to focus on the next ayah just because of the context that it comes in. Qul bifadlillahi wa birahmatihi fabitharika falyafrahu huwa khayrun mimma yajma'un Say, O Prophet, say that in Allah's fadl, in His bounty and in His mercy, bifadlillahi wa birahmatihi, in His bounty and in His mercy, fabitharika falyafrahu, let them find joy in that. huwa khayrun mimma yajma'un It is better than whatever wealth they amass. SubhanAllah, this is such a powerful ayah, especially coming after Surah At-Tawbah. And really, you know, the obvious meaning that you take from it, right, is that, you know, you find joy in Allah's bounty and in His mercy. That's where true happiness is going to be found. It's not going to be found in the material gains that people are hoarding and the things that are diverting them from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Now, the real richness of the tafsir of this ayah comes first and foremost in how the ulama define the fadl of Allah, the bounty of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and His mercy. The ulama, you know, all of them, of course, in their interpretations of this or their reflections of this, enrich the interpretation of the other. Some of the scholars said the fadl, the bounty of Allah here is referring to al-Islam.
It's referring to the religion of al-Islam. And the rahma, the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala here is referring to the Quran. So some of them said fadl is Islam, rahma is Quran, the mercy is the Quran. Why? Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions that when the Quran is being revealed, then be silent and listening to it, heeding what the message is, la'allakum turhamoon, so that you may gain the mercy of your Lord. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, of course, in just the previous ayah says warahmatun al-mu'mineen, that this is a mercy for the believers. So they said fadl is the entire way of al-Islam, the entire way of al-Islam. This is a bounty. And rahma is the Quran. And the proof of that that some of the scholars use is when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says al-yawma akmanto lakum deenakum wa atmanto alaykum ni'mati waradito lakum al-islam adina that today I have completed my religion for you, perfected my blessing upon you, and I have chosen for you Islam as your religion. And so the ni'ma here, the great blessing, is the guidance of al-Islam. Okay, the guidance of al-Islam. Some of them said bi fadlillah refers to the Quran. The bounty is the Quran. And the rahma, the mercy, is the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam. Okay, because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says wama arsalnaka illa rahmatan lil'alameen we have not said to accept as a mercy to the world. And so the fadl of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would be the Quran. The mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would be the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam who is the manifestation of the Quran, right, in human form, in the sense that he is, in his akhlaq, in his way, in his character, he is salallahu alayhi wa sallam the walking Quran. He is the walking Quran. So again, Islam being fadl, rahma being Quran, or Islam, you know, the fadl of Allah, the bounty of Allah being the Quran, the rahma being the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, and then some of them said bi fadlillah is the Quran,
and bi rahmatihi is when Allah made you, hi na ja'alahu min ahlul Quran, when Allah made them from the people of Quran, which is a beautiful interpretation that some of the scholars mentioned because it doesn't contradict the previous one. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam is the pinnacle of ahlul Quran, right, the greatest example of what it means to be from the people of Quran. He is the greatest person of Quran. And so the scholars here mention when Allah made you ahlul Quran, when he made you the people of Quran, right, that this is a way of Allah azawajal now invoking the proof that the sahaba have found in their own lives of the happiness that the Quran has brought to them, the fulfillment the Quran has brought to them. Realize this is later on now that, look, this is not, you know, a hypothesis, this is not theoretical, this is not something that will happen for you in the future. You have experienced the sweetness of the Quran. You have experienced the sweetness and the healing and the cure of being from the people of Quran and what that has done for your perspective. Remember that. And he's recalling that for them subhanahu wa ta'ala. So when Allah made them from ahlul Quran, and of course, that is better than what they gather. Okay, huwa khayrun mimma yajma'oon. It is better than what they gather. And this is actually a point that, look, as you are perhaps, you know, seeing these people gather of this material wealth, remember that you gave up everything of this world to be from the people of Quran. And look at the happiness and the fulfillment that you have now, and you haven't even entered Jannah yet. Right? The real happiness is going to be in the hereafter. And I will leave off and hand it off to Shaykh Yusuf with one thing, because Shaykh Yusuf is the, of course, I'm going to put him on the spot because of his specialty in al-qiraat. One of the qiraat is,
faal tafraahu, faal tafraahu, instead of faal yafraahu, huwa khayrun mimma yajma'oon. Then in that you rejoice. Okay? Not in that they rejoice, but in that you rejoice. Where Allah azawajal is addressing the believers directly. So Shaykh Yusuf, if you have anything that you want to add to that, or any reflections, I know that perhaps it ties into inshaAllah ta'ala what you are going to be covering. Tafadhal, Shaykh. BarakAllahu feekum, Shaykh. Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen. Wasalatu wasalamu ala rasoolillahi salallahu alayhi wasalam. So yeah, subhanAllah, as I was saying earlier, qiraat always add different layers to the meaning. One possible understanding is you identify who is the primary recipient of the verse, or the primary addressee of the verse. Qul bifadhal laahi wa bi rahmatihi fabithalika falyafraahu. If the ayah is talking about those people and telling them, or kind of blaming them, that you should rather rejoice, the fadhal of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and His mercy, rather than any kind of worldly gain. Or Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is doing what we know in the balagha to be iltifat, or a grammatical shift, that now He is shifting the khitab, or the address of the Qur'an, to the companions of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam, telling them this is what your primary concern should be, to rejoice the fadhal and the rahma of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And Allah knows best. Always qiraat bring these beautiful reflections and multi-layered meanings, mashallah. Moving in surat al-tawbah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala addresses the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam in a beautiful and very important ayah, ayah number 103. Bismillahirrahmanirrahim khud min amwalihim sadaqatan tutahhiruhum watuzakkihim biha Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is telling the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam take, O Muhammad, from the wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase.
Wa salli alayhim, and pray for them, or invoke the blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala upon them. Inna salataka sakanu lahum. Indeed, your prayers are reassurance for them. The Muslims' spiritual attitude towards finances should be informed by the Islamic theological and aqeedah concept that all forms of wealth are or ultimately belong to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. In fact, our scholars of aqeedah, of Sunni theology, they discuss the definition of rizq. What is the definition of provision or rizq? And the majority of Sunni theologians, they said that rizq is actually what one actually, not potentially, consumes and benefits from. What you actually benefit from in the moment, this is your rizq, this is your provision, not what you own, not what you possess. And of course, this is a theological definition, it's not a legal definition. From a legal perspective, from a fiqh perspective, whatever you own is your own property, is your own, you have a valid and rightful ownership of the things that you possess. But when you look at it from a theological perspective and also from a spiritual reflection of this theological belief as well, you feel that what you actually consume in the moment is what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has written and willed for you to consume. That's why Imam al-Qa'ani said in his famous poem in aqeedah, وَالرِّزْقُ عِنْدَ الْقَوْمِ مَا بِهِنْ تُفَعُ The provision according to the people of Ahl as-Sunnah is what people actually consume and benefit from, not what they possess. وَقِيلَ لَا بَلْ مَا مُلِكُ وَمَا اتَّبَعْهِ He referenced another opinion that some people said, wherever we own is our rizq, and he said this opinion wasn't adopted by the majority of the scholars. And we can see the reflection of this meaning in a lot of different ayat and hadith of the Prophet ﷺ. If we have or perceive rizq from this perspective, this has to reflect and to motivate our charity giving
without fearing any kind of scarcity. And that also highlights how the Qur'an develops a discourse about charity and about paying zakah. Here in this ayah, we talk about a madani Qur'an in surah al-Tawbah. Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is telling the Prophet ﷺ to administer or to collect the zakah from people. But if we look at the bigger picture of the entire Qur'an, and we see how the Qur'an gradually revealed theories of charity contributions and highlighting of different objectives of charity, whether it's objectives that relate to charity. To the personal inward spiritual experience of helping others, of alleviating poverty, of making sure that there is a distributive justice established in the society and there is equity and calming established. And also the spiritual connection with Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala fulfilling one of the primary obligations of Islam. Verses revealed in Makkah about zakah and sadaqah and charity established the right and the haqq of some categories of the recipients of zakah. Take care of the needy people in the society. Take care of your relatives. Take care of the orphans. In general, without specifying a particular amount or a system of the recurrence of the obligation, how much I should pay and when I actually should pay. When the Prophet ﷺ moved to the Madinah, the Madinah Qur'an or the Madinah revelation further organized the zakah. Now we have more refined definitions of the recipients of zakah. The concept of zakah is being now more widened to respond to new social needs of the people in Madinah. Now the Prophet ﷺ has a system and there are multiple venues of income to the system of the Prophet ﷺ because now there is the topic of the war booty or the spoils of the war. So zakah started to be developed as a financial institution over these stages of the Mecca and the Madinah Qur'an.
And one important part of this development was the fact that the Prophet ﷺ as the head of the Muslim community is responsible for collecting the zakah and the charity from the Sahaba, from the Muslims, and responsible also for distributing them to those who deserve the zakah. When we reflect on this system, we can obviously see that the empirical wisdom behind making sure that justice is served and those people who need financial assistance are actually receiving their portions according to the obligation that Allah ﷻ obligated us. But when you reflect on zakah specifically, we find that it has this unique blend between the spiritual benefit that goes towards the payer, the giver of the zakah themselves, and also goes for sure to the one who receives the zakah. Imam al-Ghazali, may Allah have mercy on him, was saying that any shari'i law has a particular purpose, but the purposes of shari'i laws are of three different types. We have shari'i laws that the mere purpose is pure devotion to Allah ﷻ. There is no necessarily a perceived rational meaning behind this. Like for example, if you perform a hajj and you're going to stone the shaytan in hajj, it's obvious that the main purpose of this ruling is just to show your submission to Allah ﷻ command to do so. You might not be able to find a particular rational benefit or interest that would be fulfilled by abiding by this command of Allah ﷻ. On the other side, there are hikam or rulings that have very clear rational benefits. If you took a loan, it's an obligation on you to repay that debt or that loan. And this is something that the hikmah or the illah, there is an effective legal cause behind doing this. But there is a third purpose of some shari'i rulings or laws that actually constitute a composite of both meanings. And zakah belongs to this one. If we want to apply the framework of zakah to this taxonomy of Imam al-Ghazali, the three purposes, zakah belongs to the last one. There is a spiritual element in the zakah.
And there is the empirical wisdom of the zakah that as Imam al-Juwaini, Rahim Allah, Imam al-Haramain, for example, said that it's a universal consensus among Muslims that zakah is to fulfill the needs of the poor and the needy Muslims. But when we look at the spiritual reflections of zakah, you find Imam al-Razi, for example, in his tafsir, extrapolating 20 different points of wisdom of the zakah and of paying sadaqah. 12 of them go actually back to the person who gives the zakah. And a lot of these benefits are about how zakah can spiritually uplift the person, how al-mal, money, as Imam al-Razi said, is derived from or is related to a derivation of the word mayl, which means inclination, and mal, because people always incline towards mal. And this mal would cause the tughya and the transgression of human beings. That's why Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la described human beings to be layatugha, inna al-insana layatugha, indeed a human being has transgressed or transgresses. Why? Because the following verse explains arwa'ahu istaghna, because a human being sometimes feels self-sufficient and they do need Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. And mal, or money and wealth, is a main reason that would cause this feeling into human beings. What highlights the spiritual reflection of zakah is the actual completion of the verse when Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, after asking the Prophet Alaihi Salatu Was Salaam to take care of the administration part of zakah, khuth min amwalihim, you take it from them and distribute it, as implied by the meaning, he said, wa salli alayhim, and pray for them. Inna salataka sakanu lahum, your prayers for them are actually reassurance for the companions. This highlights two main points, and I will conclude with that. The main point is one of the spiritual reflections of zakah is the beautiful relationship between the donor and the recipient. There is this ulfah, there is this love and respect and social harmony that actually happens in society between both sides. And actually, one of the adab, etiquettes in the sunnah, that the recipient makes dua for the giver.
That's why the scholar said you should diversify the aspects of charity so you can get multiple duas from different people. And that might coincide with one of them being a righteous or a saint person, a wali, and insha'Allah their dua will be accepted. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala grants you something by virtue of their dua. The other reflection of this command to the Prophet Salallahu Alaihi Wasalam is how his dua for us is very important. How the presence of the Prophet Salallahu Alaihi Wasalam physically during the time of the sahaba and the people at the time was mercy to them. And even after his death, how his presence in our hearts and how his presence by adopting his sunnah and how his presence by believing in Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and prophethood would also be a mercy for us. There's a famous line of poetry that one poet before said, There's a famous common Arab proverb that says, for one eye we honor a thousand eyes. And Imam Al-Jawzi once was asked by a person, is there any meaning in the Quran that resembles this beautiful romantic line of poetry? And he said, yes, it's the verse in Surat Al-Anfal in which Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala said, Allah will not punish them as long as you are among them. It's how much Allah loves the Prophet Salallahu Alaihi Wasalam and honors his presence. Allah will not punish them as long as you're making istighfar. Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abbas, he said, the Prophet is gone. So maybe we lost that privilege of him being around us. So we would be saved by Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala from his punishment. But istighfar is still among us. And by doing istighfar, we still, by asking for Allah's forgiveness, we still can reach that level of the protection and the reassurance Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala gives us by the presence of the Prophet Salallahu Alaihi Wasalam in our lives. Actually, another scholar after Sayyiduna Abdullah Ibn Abbas, Imam Al-Khushayri added, he said, I would also say both parts of the verse are still available for us because the knowledge of the Prophet Salallahu Alaihi Wasalam,
the knowledge of his sunnah and his way in our hearts should actually stand on behalf of his physical presence among us. As much as we're connected with him, Salallahu Alaihi Wasalam, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala grant us protection from his punishment and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala grant us mercy by virtue of our connection with him, by virtue of his prayers and dua for us. Wa salli alayhim inna salataka sakanu lahum. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala grant us reassurance and tranquility by the prayers of the Prophet Salallahu Alaihi Wasalam and Allahumma tawba. JazakAllah khair, Sheikh. Beautiful, beautiful, powerful reflections. SubhanAllah. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala reward you for all of that. InshaAllah, I'll just go ahead quickly and hand it over to Sheikh Abdullah Ibn Naitan. JazakAllah khair. Bismillah wa salatu wa salamu ala Rasulullah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala amma ba'du. So when talking about this sadaqa and talking about zakah and the Prophet Salallahu Alaihi Wasalam, it's important to bring it back home in regards to all of these actions of the shari'ah, subhanAllah. They go back to, subhanAllah, as he was mentioning, whether it's something that is irrational or it's something that's strictly ta'abudi, something that we just do simply, we don't know the rationality behind it, but we do it. That can be a test for the individual that is totally engulfed in the physical, the tangible, i.e. the dunya. And subhanAllah, in the chapter of Surah Nuh, or Surah Yunus, excuse me, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala addresses the reality of the dunya. And this is one in particular, particularly myself, when I was looking into Islam, the concept of the dunya in Islam was so profound to me because it was, look, don't look at what people are doing, don't worry about anyone else. As a matter of fact, everything in this world will end, so what are you acting for? You're doing it for what purpose? Okay, we're doing it for Allah. But one thing that will help you in attributing this characteristic of a mukhlis, of sincerity, is realizing the place of your place.
Realizing the position of the dunya in religion, in Islam, in regards to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala's intention for you as a human being. So you find consistently, subhanAllah, as Umar bin Khattab, when it was mentioned, he was with some of his companions and he looked at a trash can and he said, هَذِهِ دُنْيَاكَمُ الَّتِي تَحْرِصُونَ عَلَيْهَا He said, this is the dunya that you all cherish, that you all desire and love. You find the concept of the dunya in Islam, in the Quran, and in the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, it's always something that should not be cherished to where it is preferred over the akhira. Meaning, that whatever you choose to indulge upon, any actions that you choose to embark upon, be considerate of the akhira, and not only the dunya. Be considerate of the akhira first, and then maybe the dunya second. Let the dunya be a means to the akhira. You use the actions of the dunya to make sure that it solidifies or helps you in remembering the akhira. So when Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala talks about in the chapter of Yunus, he mentions his greatness and he mentions the creation, how he creates, and subhanAllah the reaction to some of the people. In the earlier verses Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala talks about how there will be people that will ask Allah in times of hardship when they are in the bahr. And then they will say, if you saved us from this, then surely we would be truly thankful. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala goes on in mentioning right after that, because there are people that will be negligent of Allah, but when they're in times of hardship, as we talked about before, they will reach out to Allah and they will call, لَئِنْ أَنجَيْتَنَا مِنْ هَذِي لَنَكُنَنَّ مِنْ شَاكِرِينَ If you were to save us from this, we'll be very thankful. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala continues on after that, he says, فَلَمَّا أَنْجَاهُمْ إِذَا هُمْ يَبْعَثْ يَبْغُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ And then when we saved them, they became outrageously against all that is right. They went back to their old ways.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala continues on and he says, يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسِ إِنَّمَا بَغْيُكُمْ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِكُمْ مَتَاعِ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ثُمَّ إِلَيْنَا مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَيُنَبِئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says to them, he says, take your little enjoyment of this life, of this present life, after he says, your outrageous behavior only works against yourselves. All that you are doing and oppressing yourself, it's only against yourself. It's not going to harm Islam or Allah Fisha at all. Then Allah gives the introduction and he says, take your little enjoyment in this present life. In the end, you will return to us and we shall confront you with everything that you have done. In the end, you will confront us, meaning that you are going to go in front of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, يَوْمُنْ حَشَرٌ when he gathers all of you together and you will be addressed and you will be asked. You will be addressed and asked about what you used to do. Then Allah mentions in the verse, that's what I want to capitalize on in verse number 24. Allah says after I read the verse in the Quran, We're going to break this up briefly. Allah firstly says here, the reality of the dunya, and he gives a parable, a method as it's called, it's a parable, where Allah likens something to something else to prove a point. Sometimes that the second thing, the mushabah bihi, the things in which he gives a likeness to, is something that we can relate to and understand with our senses. So Allah says here, So that's the first part. Allah says the dunya is like water.
Some of the scholars mention why would Allah liken the dunya to water? And there are a number of opinions, some say four opinions, or explanations as to how the dunya is like water. The first of them is that water doesn't stay in one place. It doesn't stay in one place. It's always moving. So the dunya is always changing. One day you're this age, one day you're 20, the next day you're 92. So things always change from sickness to health, happiness to sadness. You know, rich, you have money and then you lose money. Things are always changing in this dunya. There's another aspect also where they say, and this is probably the strongest, is that with water, if you don't, you only take what you need, because if you take too much of it, it can even be harmful for you. Even water, it can be harmful for you. Or in the way that you use it can be detrimental to you. I guarantee you if I was to take a glass of water right now and pour it over all of these electrical devices in front of me, the water would have been harmful for me. It would have been harmful for me. Sometimes the water you use can even be haram for you. So the dunya is in the same way. Thus, Allah likens the dunya to water. And you even see this in the chapter of Kaf where Allah gives the same beginning. When Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says, وَمَثَلُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا When He talks about the dunya, that He says, الدُّنْيَا كَمَا إِنْ أَنزَلْنَاهُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ That it is like the water that we descend down, that we bring down. So in the beginning He says, مَثَلُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا كَمَا إِنْ أَنزَلْنَاهُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ It is like the water that we bring down. فَاخْتَلَطَ بِهِ النَّبَاتُ الْأَرْضُ And then the vegetation mixed with it, that mankind and livestock benefit from. So from this dunya, we are benefiting from what it has brought forth from the nabat, from the vegetation. Then Allah goes on and He moves on and He says, Until when the earth has taken its adornment and is beautified and its people suppose that they have capability over it. To where they are mesmerized by this dunya, they take from it, they take from the dunya, and when they take from this dunya, they start to reach the level of thinking that they have power over it.
As we know, صَاحِبُ جَنَّتَيْنَ In the chapter of Kaf, the individual with the two gardens, he reached the point to where he thought there would be no afterlife, that it's all here, I'm going to benefit from it. Rather, I'm the maalik, I'm the owner over it. I'm the ultimate owner over it. To where SubhanAllah, Allah is showing that SubhanAllah, if we do not remember the akhira, we can be maghrur with the dunya, we can be deceived by the dunya. And as Allah mentions, don't let the dunya deceive you. Because when you gather a lot of things in abundance, it can deceive you. وَيُلْهِيكُمْ الْهَاكُمُ التَّكَاثِرُ As Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says, You will be deceived by the dunya حَتَّى زُلْتُمُ الْمَقَابِرُ That's your life. You will be deceived by the dunya until you visit the grave. When are we going to stop? Remember Allah, wake up and realize that our actions should be of the akhira. Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala continues on and He says, When it will be beautified and they will think they have capability over it, until there comes to it our command. Our command by night or day and we make it as a harvest. And if it has not been flourished yesterday. SubhanAllah, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is showing here that his amr, his situation will come to where he can cause whatever you cherished to demise. SubhanAllah, even your family members as Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions in Surah Al-Kahf المال والبنون زينة الحياة الدنيا The same verse, or later when he mentions that the money and children are from the zina of the hayat al-dunya, they are from the beautifications of this dunya because it will end. But what will end? والباقيات الصالحات The actions of good, the actions of khair. So using the dunya to benefit you in the akhira. Whatever ayah and sign of Allah, you use that to benefit you in the akhira as an investment. And Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala concludes and he says, كذلك نفصل الآيات لقوم يتفكرون كذلك نفصل الآيات لقوم يتفكرون
Thus do we explain in detail the signs for people who give thought. All of what is mentioned, from what Shaykh Omar mentioned, what Shaykh Yusuf mentioned, حفظهم الله All of this will not benefit if we are not from the people who give thought. يتفكرون يتفكرون We think, we ponder, we wonder why, we ask questions, we ask Allah to open our hearts to this message. And primarily in this particular portion of the dunya, realizing the reality of the dunya and knowing that there is a place that is everlasting. And that's where Allah concludes and he mentions the next verse, والله يدعو إلى دار السلام Wallahu yad'u ila daar al-salam Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala calls you to daar al-salam He calls you to the place of peace, the humble place of peace, where it is forever. So may Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala make us of those that recognize the reality of this temporary place and allow this temporary place to be a place of investment in the akhirah, for verily after the mercy of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala we insha'Allah can be in daar al-salam. Ameen, JazakAllah Khair, Shaykh Abdullah. SubhanAllah the tie-in of the three that I just, you know, it's just the previous juz' that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says استجيبوا لله وإلى الرسول إذا دعاكم لما يحييكم Istajeebu lillah wa illa ar-rasool illa daa'akum lima yuhiyyikum to respond to Allah and to respond to the Messenger ﷺ when they call you to that which gives you life. And it is just abundant throughout these few ajza' in fact, what gives a person life. You know, there's such a perspective shift that happens in these few ajza'. I mean, SubhanAllah, even Surah Yusuf which we'll be coming up to in the next juz', right? Just shifting of perspective, you know, as to what gives a person life, what gives a person happiness, what gives a person joy, how a person can view life and the pursuit of the Hereafter differently. SubhanAllah wa alaikum. Beautiful, beautiful reflection. Shaykh Yusuf, do you have any take-home message for us?
JazakAllah Khairan. I can't stop thinking about the ayah that Shaykh Abdullah just highlighted, innama bagheekum ala anfusikum mataa'al hayat al-dunya and bringing the qiraat again in the discussion. There's another qiraat with the dhikric dhummah, al-mataa' al-hayat al-dunya, how the Qur'an views that our transgression that we do, our baghe, our injustice that we commit is actually against ourselves. How is that related to the mataa'? How is this related to the enjoyment? How do we actually transgress against ourselves merely for the sake of enjoying this very short and temporal life? Which is very intriguing. And both qiraat would actually lead to the same meaning, whether it's the predicate of the sentence that your transgression is the enjoyment of the life or your transgression is against yourself, which is only for the sake of the enjoyment of this life. I think this is the take-home message, which is how we view this entire life and how we should operate in this life. We should always remind ourselves that this life is too short and it's not actually worth it to transgress against ourselves or against the limits of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. Allah Yazik Al-Khair, Shaykh. Wa-rahmatullah al-Faikm. We enjoyed having you on. We enjoyed all of the research that you and your department produce. Alhamdulillah, may Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la continue to benefit all of us through you. And may Allah count it heavy on your scale, Shaykh Yusuf. And we also enjoyed your insights on food and ta'amih. And tomorrow we have a Desi guest, by the way. Tomorrow we have a Desi guest because I took shots. I talked about mihari and fukuras. I'm going to get a lot of food. We have a Desi guest to come and defend Desi suhoor too. Shaykh Abdullah, what's your favorite suhoor? I'm hungry today, man. I'm not going to lie. It's clear. I'm hungry. Shaykh Abdullah, what's your suhoor, Shaykh? Come on, you just got to give it to us. What's your suhoor?
Well, dates, watermelon and maybe some electrolyte drink and then some water and then maybe some oatmeal. That's it. That's the stuff you eat to be swole. But what's the stuff you eat to be happy? That's it, man. That's it. See, too much processed food and sweeteners, they bland the taste. When you taste vegetables, you're like, oh, it tastes like dirt. Well, it's supposed to. It's supposed to be organic from the ground. This is what we want. So Alhamdulillah. Stay away from the processed food and the shaitan of sugar, as I mentioned before, and you'll value the colorful vegetables and what Allah has created. So Alhamdulillah. That's my favorite suhoor, man. All right. So you just called people suhoor dirt. I think we should end there. That's very offensive. You'd like to apologize. You're welcome to, but... I can never now join Sheikh Abdullah and Aitikaf. I would be very scared if Sheikh Abdullah and Aitikaf joined. I cannot do that. Good to know, Alhamdulillah. Come to Valley Ranch if you want real suhoor. Stay away from it. Definitely. Okay. May Allah bless you both. May Allah bless everyone who tuned in today. Inshallah, I will see you all tomorrow. JazakAllah Khair. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
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