Qur'an 30 for 30
12 / 30
Juz' 12 with Sh. Mohammad Elshinawy
Sh. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Abdullah Oduro, joined by special guest Sh. Mohammad Elshinawy, explore gems from the 12th Juz' of the Holy Quran.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah, wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Audhu billahi minash shaitanir rajim. Bismillahir rahmanir rahim. Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen. Wa ala alwani inna a'ala al-dhalimeen. Wa ala akibatuhu lilmuttaqeem. Allahumma salli wa sallim wa baraka al abdika wa rasulika Muhammadin salallahu alayhi wa sallam. Wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallim tasliman kathiran. I want to welcome you all back to Qur'an 30 for 30. We're joined tonight by the one and only Sheikh Muhammad al-Shanawi, Abu Abad. Very, very happy to have you on with us. SubhanAllah, he's been doing a Qur'an series, some of you might have seen his Qur'an series actually, with Jesus, the son of Mary, masjid in Pennsylvania. Maybe you can talk about it at the end if we have some time, inshallah. And he's also taking out some time to join us, inshallah ta'ala, for three nights. I just want to make sure I say it on camera, so in case you try to change it to two and say you got busy, committed to three nights, inshallah ta'ala, with us in these 30 days for Qur'an, 30 for 30, bi'min allahi ta'ala. Inshallah ta'ala, we go ahead and we start right away with Juz 12. And Juz 12 includes most of Surah Hud as well as the first half of Surah Yusuf. And Surah Yusuf is obviously a very special surah for many reasons, and it touches upon so many notes that I'm sure that each one of us has some sort of reflection on it, subhanAllah, that's going to hopefully reflect something that is of benefit to everybody. But I want to talk about Surah Yusuf as it's situated with Surah Yunus and Surah Hud. First of all, a quiz question, which I'll see if anyone's able to answer it for tomorrow, which is if you notice something about the first ayah of every one of these surahs, inshallah ta'ala, we'll talk about it tomorrow. There's a string of surahs where the first ayah has a common theme. So inshallah ta'ala you all will be able to catch it.
Surah Hud is a very, very special surah in that it presses upon us a great sense of urgency, and it had a special significance to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam in a way of causing the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam great distress over the fate of his ummah and the fate of his qawm, his people that he was calling to. There's a very famous narration where Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiAllahu ta'ala alhumdilahi noticed that there were some gray hairs that had shown in the hair of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam. And he said, qad asra ilayka ash-shayb, that suddenly I've noticed, ya Rasulullah, O Messenger of Allah, that you have gray hairs. And the Prophet of Allah salAllahu alayhi wasalam said, shaybatni hud wa akhawatuha, that it was surah Hud and its sisters, surah al-Waqi'ah, surah al-Mursalat, surah al-Naba, surah al-Takwir, surahs like this that caused the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam's hair to appear with some grayness for the first time. Why? Ibn Abbas radiAllahu ta'ala alhumdilahi says, because of a very specific ayah, the general theme of surah Hud as well as a very specific ayah. The theme of surah Hud is the destruction of nations after they've been given all the warnings. And so up until this point, you've heard of the warnings, the different types of warnings, the different types of deviations, and then now you see the destruction of those nations. And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam was fearful for his nation that the punishment was coming to his nation. Ibn Abbas radiAllahu ta'ala alhumdilahi said that the ayah 112, fastaqim kama umirt wa man ta'aba ma'ak wa la tatqaw, be firm as you have been commanded and those that have turned back to Allah with you, and do not turn back, verily Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is all seeing and all knowing. And so it was a reminder to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam
that they had reached a stage at this point, and this is towards the end of Mecca. So it's the hardest. Ibn Abbas radiAllahu ta'ala alhumdilahi said that there is no surah and no ayah in particular that came down to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam that was more difficult than this particular ayah. The call to istiqamah, the call to be firm in the face of great adversity, and the Prophet of Allah salAllahu alayhi wasalam sensing that great calamity is about to befall his people in the midst of all of this. And of course the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam always concerned about whether or not, or always concerned with Allah's pleasure and concerned with staying the course. And if he was concerned with that salAllahu alayhi wasalam, then where should we be? So I'll give you sort of an overview of the surah. 25 to 35, Rasulul Hud is Nuh alayhi salam addressing his people, his people challenging him. And then 36, verse 36 to 39, Allah commands Nuh alayhi salam to build the Safina, build the ark, and then 40 to 41, Nuh alayhi salam is commanded to embark upon that ark with the believers. And then you see the destruction of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala coming to the people of Nuh alayhi salam. Then you see the address of Hud alayhi salam to his people, their disbelief and their consequences, the destruction of the people of Hud. Then the people of Salih, the destruction and the disbelief of the people of Salih. Then the people of Lut alayhi salam. Lut alayhi salam addressing his people, the destruction, the consequences of the people of Lut alayhi salam. Then the Prophet Shu'ayb alayhi salam, the destruction and the consequences of the people of Shu'ayb. Then Fir'aun, also destroyed in that way. So it's going through the destroyed nations. And there is a connection then as it goes into surah Yusuf that we should talk about here.
Yunus alayhi salam left his people and they came back to Allah. Hud alayhi salam stayed with his people and his people fled from Allah. So Yunus alayhi salam left his people and he came back and found them having repented and turned back to Allah. Hud alayhi salam insisted on calling his people and they were destroyed. Yusuf alayhi salam was abandoned by his family and that his brothers had gotten rid of him. Yet he rose to power and they all repented and came back to Allah. And as a result, nations benefited from the resilience and the elevation of Yusuf alayhi salam. Now as we get into the story of Yusuf alayhi salam, Yusuf also involves the intricate elements of family. Because rejection from family is the most difficult to bear. And it's not one that Yunus and Hud alayhi salam had to face. But the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam had to face the rejection of family, the abandonment of family. And so the entire story of Yusuf alayhi salam, the Prophet Joseph peace be upon him, parallels the story of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam. Abandoned by his brothers to another nation, a place of uncertainty where he rises to power and prominence and then comes back and the people all gather around him. Accusations, slander, the different types of things and elements of the challenges that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam had faced. There's also the elements of envy, Yaqub alayhi salam, Jacob saying to his son, la taqsus ru'yaaka ala ikhwatika fayakeedu laka kaydaa That they will be jealous of the position that Allah has given to you if you narrate your dream to them. What did Abu Jahl say about Banu Hashim, the pharaoh of this ummah? He said that we feed, us as in Banu Makhzum, we feed and they feed. We compete with them in hospitality and sometimes they're more hospitable than us, sometimes we're more hospitable than them. But where are we going to get a prophet from?
If we acknowledge that he's a prophet of God, we can't win this battle, right? That's it. So the same level of envy that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam would face, that he was envied because of the potential threat to power and position and that's why his brothers would abandon him despite his noble and beautiful character alayhi salatu wa salam. Also as Ibn Qayyim rahimahullah said that there is no person who had more tahawwul, more switching in the blessings in his life than Yusuf alayhi salam. He went from being the favored child to being an abandoned brother, to being a slave, to being a prisoner, to being a king. And the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam also faced every situation in terms of how we interact with blessing in this life. Also that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, qala qairun minhum la taqtulu yusuf. Allah mentions that not all of the brothers of Yusuf were the same. And if you remember in Badr, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said that there are some people that came out, ukhriju karha, they came to fight us but they just went along with the flow. But they're not actually there to fight us, but they were pushed. So we mentioned al-Abbas radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam also said, in yakun fil qawmi khayr fi sahibil jamalil ahmad. If there's any good in these people, it's in the one who owns the red camel, talking about Utbah ibn Abi Rabi'ah, who didn't want to go to battle but Abu Jahl pushed him and insisted. So the idea that not all of your enemies are the same. Yusuf alayhi salam saying, as-sijnu ahabbu ilayya. That I would rather be in prison than disobey Allah. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam turning away every single compromise that was put towards him, saying that as long as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is pleased with me, then I'll take all of the consequences of that belief and of that nobility. Now I want to leave you with one gem subhanAllah in particular, and it blew my mind. Last night I was with my community at Valley Ranch right after this khatira, and I had mentioned something about Surah Hud.
And subhanAllah, I was just thinking about the connection tonight, and it's a beautiful connection that I personally had never known before, but it's really profound. Surah Hud is the destruction of all of these nations. There is one bushra, one glad tidings in the entire Surah Hud, one bushra, which is the angels telling Ibrahim alayhi salam, on their way to destroy the nation of Lut alayhi salam, the angels telling Ibrahim and his wife that they're going to have a son, Isaac, and beyond Isaac, Yaqub, Jacob. This is the only bushra in the whole Surah, the only glad tidings, that what awaits you is Ishaq and then Yaqub. And subhanAllah, Yusuf alayhi salam, Joseph, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. SubhanAllah, it's like Yusuf alayhi salam coming out of this Surah, and then being elevated to this position. And what does his father say to him? kathalika yajatabika rabbuka wayutimmu alayka Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala will choose you and Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala will perfect his blessing upon you kama atammaha ala abawak the way that he perfected for your forefathers that came before you, Isaac and Abraham. So the ni'mah, the blessing, the only blessing that's sort of given in Surah Hud, rises in the next Surah from the children of Jacob, the grandson of Isaac. Isaac, Ishaq, the son of Ibrahim alayhi salam, his son Jacob, Yaqub alayhi salam, the bushra of Yusuf alayhi salam. And these nations, these nations that are then formulated, two nations under Yusuf alayhi salam, connecting Egypt and Palestine, you know, in the case of Yusuf alayhi salam. And of course, there's a lot of the nations that are described in Surah Hud were destroyed in those areas where Yusuf alayhi salam now reigns supreme as a malik, as a king after all of this.
So SubhanAllah, Allah Azawajal giving us that bushra, that one glad tiding that then shows its fruits fully in the next Surah in Surah Yusuf. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala make us amongst those that rise to the occasion, that are not punished as a result of our delays or as a result of our disobedience and that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala finds worthy of these bisharat, of these glad tidings that He gives to righteous people. Allahumma ameen. Sheikh Abdullah, at-fadlah. Jazakum wa khayran. Bismillah wa salatu wa salamu ala rasool Allah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala amma ba'd. You know, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala being al-Khaliq, being that He is a creator, He knows what is most beneficial for us. And, you know, as we mentioned yesterday, huwa an-naafi wa ad-dhar, He is the one that brings ultimate benefit and can also bring harm, but it is with an ultimate wisdom and it's all built upon justice. And with that being the case, you know, as the Sheikh mentioned earlier, you know, all of these stories, approximately around seven prophets mentioned in the chapter of Hud, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions their voyage, mentions their journey, mentions their experience, but we always have to remember that the stories are there for a purpose. It's not just how we know as, you know, tall tales that we read and, you know, there's stories that we can just relate to our children or to generations that pass on. The goal of the story is for you to internalize the morals that are extracted from that story. And Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala always makes a point to remind you of that. It's not just something just to relate, but you should relate it and stop and ask yourself, where do I stand in relation to this story? What are the characteristics that the prophets embodied and where do I stand in regards to that? And when one consistently does that, this is the process, the process of self-rejuvenation, of spiritual renewal,
which the month of Ramadan should be a catalyst for that, a catalyst, a new beginning, not just something that's seasonal and then you go back to your original self. Rather, it's a catalyst. So when Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions in this beautiful chapter of Surah Hud, at the very end, when he talks about the reason or reasons why he relates these stories to you, to hit home. So after you've read all these stories, you know, you understand the trials that they went through and they were different trials and the wisdom behind it. The ultimate wisdom is where Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says in chapter of Hud, verse number 120, when he says, after I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan, wa kullan naqus alayka min anba'i ar-rusuli ma nuthabbitu bihi fu'adak wa ja'aka fi hadhi alhaqqu wa maw'idatun wa dhikra lilmu'mineen Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says, and all of these stories that we have told you from the news of the Prophet is that which makes your heart firm, solid. It makes your heart firm and solid and there has come to you in this truth, instruction and reminder for the believers. So the purpose of these stories ultimately is to make your heart firm. And this is so very important. I remember when I first read this verse, SubhanAllah, it really made me say, you know, to myself is that, you know, Islam, religion in itself is a process. One should never think that they are quote unquote holier than thou or better than someone else. They realize that they have their flaws, but Allah just hasn't exposed your flaws to everyone. It may be to certain people and that person that knows has a responsibility in front of Allah also. But all of this is a process. It's a process. So when we say religiosity, the definition of that is what is where one tries their level best to make their hearts firm.
In certainty of God, who he is and who he is not. And how do I actualize that in my life? The best people that exemplify that were the prophets. So when we look at the chapter of Hud, we look at the examples of that of people that embodied the process of Islam. Rejection, physical abuse, ridicule. When we face that in our lives, we should look back at the lives of the prophets and then see how they handled it and realize throughout that process, we will make mistakes in trying to be like them. But the more you do that, the stronger you will be as long as your intention is straight. And that's why Allah SWT says, manu thabbitu bihi fu adhik, to make your hearts firm. Something that is thabbit is something that is well rooted. You're well rooted. Your relationship with Allah is rooted in faith, trust, honor, love, respect, gratitude. When you look at all the names and attributes of Allah, you should see how it's actualized in your life and know that it demands a response from you towards him. So when you continuously go through that, looking at your children, looking at what Allah has given you, and you remember Ar-Razzaq, you remember Al-Qawiyy, you remember Ar-Rahman, the provider who has given me this, the one who has strength to bring this here and take it away, the one that has mercy withholding harm from me and when and how he chooses to do it, it's totally up to him. But I have total trust in him. That's the relationship that all the prophets went through. So he says that we have made to make your hearts firm on that. And then he says, Wa ja'aka fee hadhihi al-haqqu wa maw'ithatun wa dhikra lilmu'mineen And that comes to you in this truth. We say truth, instruction, and reminder. And maw'itha is a very interesting word because firstly it says haqq.
Firstly, it's important for you, as you know, Mashallah, this organization is yaqeen, certainty. You know that to be certain, it's a process for you to obtain that certainty. The initial iman that you have, I believe that there is one God, he's the creator, the sustainer that demands for me, you know, those names demands for me to worship him alone. But the actualization of that, when you face trials and tribulations, to activate that belief is where the trial may come in for you. When you fight those desires, another trial. But all Allah wants for you to do is to try your best. And that's the process that takes place. So when you believe that this is the haqq, you know where to resort to, who to turn back to, what message to turn back to. And that's this message that he says, the haqq. And the maw'itha can be understood as a reminder and depending on the situation and admonishment for you. It's something that when you read it, it makes you stand straight. It's a final frontier for you at times. So you say, okay, what choice am I going to make? I know that this verse is talking directly to me. I open the Quran and I see that verse immediately. SubhanAllah. What does that demand from me? So maw'itha and dhikra and a reminder. A reminder of something that you've known previously. So it's something that you've known previously to remind you of the haqq, which serves as a maw'itha for you. It's something that you've known previously to remind you of the truth that you had allegiance to with your soul, that serves as an admonishment for you. And that is these beautiful, beautiful, illustrious individuals that Allah has chosen to tell you a message. And that's why the prophets, Allah uses them as vessels through their experiences to remind you that you should be thankful to him. And that's why he said these qasas are there.
And what's very beautiful is at the tail end of that, and this is the third to last verse. Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala brings one of the greatest ahsanul qasas, and that is the story of Yusuf. So just as Sheikh Omar alluded to with the beautiful, the beautiful tarteeb and organization of the Quran that has been chosen by who Allah has chosen to organize these surahs, we see the beauty of how right after that, it gets you ready to tell you about one of the other prophets, Yusuf alayhi salam. So may Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala make us of those that continuously monitor our hearts to make them feel. upon him and his beautiful names and attributes. BarakAllahu feek. BarakAllahu feek, Sheikh. And so now we get into Surah Yusuf. We should mention, SubhanAllah, for the benefit of everyone, Surah Yusuf is very different from all the other surahs about the prophets, because it's revealed all about Yusuf alayhi salam as one story, complete story from start to finish. Whereas in Surah Hud, you get many other prophets, Surah Yunus, you get many other prophets, but Yusuf alayhi salam, the noble brother of our beloved prophet, salallahu alayhi wasalam, whose life, every single element, I don't know a single person as extreme as the life of Yusuf alayhi salam was. Is there anyone that can't relate to that surah that doesn't find comfort when they read that surah? SubhanAllah, I mean, I don't know anything of what he knows, but it's just every element of his life lends itself to something that is beneficial for us. So Sheikh Abu Abad, Sheikh Muhammad Shinawi, Fadhal Sheikh. Fadhal. Fadhal. Fadhal. Assalamu alaykum everybody. Bismillah, alhamdulillah, Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. JazakAllah khayran. First of all, for inviting me and allowing me for a change to benefit, alhamdulillah. I actually haven't been hearing too many reminders in the nighttime, at least in Ramadan. And it actually is very difficult for me to speak about Surah Yusuf, though I love the surah dearly, but I actually was involved in translating. I translated a book that was the summary
of an encyclopedia on Surah Yusuf. It's still under print. And so the thoughts do crowd one another quite a bit. So forgive me if I'm incoherent from the get go, inshallah. But as Sheikh Omar handed off saying, the amount of comfort and consolation that Surah Yusuf lends to anyone being distressed, anyone plagued with sadness, is what led some of the early Muslims to say, how can someone ever grieve, meaning grieve to the point of being broken by their griefs, when they have with them, Allah has revealed to them the Surah of Yusuf Alayhi Salaam, who was devastated at the very onset in the way that he was. And there's so much to talk about, but first of all, I see in the story of Yusuf Alayhi Salaam, the story of devastation that can almost not be outdone. Sometimes death is easier than prolonged separation and unexpected betrayal. And Surah Yusuf Alayhi Salaam is not just about sadness, it is about the type of sadness that comes from being betrayed from where you least expect it, which is what betrayal is, right? Like if someone were to get into like a conflict on the road and they exchange offensive words, and then someone like swings at them or slaps them across the face, they would be shocked, but they would be far more shocked to be slapped by a family member or someone where they never expected it from. And so that's what adds to the shock factor and the emotional wound that lingers that I never thought it would come. And so Surah Yusuf is really about a type of people as well, a people that are less expecting to be hurt by others because of how pure hearted they are. They can't imagine hurting others, right? And so they're hurt all that much more when they are hurt by others. There's a certain like vulnerability that comes about for most people due to the beauty of their hearts, the purity of their hearts, their innocence.
It's not just the innocence of a child who could never imagine that people could be so evil as to throw their own brother down a well. A person, when he tries to keep his heart pure, one of the ways he does that is to try to dismiss these notions that that person could ever be that bad. And that opens a huge door for being assailed, for being wounded emotionally, and for long periods of time. Like most human beings don't have the capacity of Omar, radiallahu anhu. Omar used to say, I'm not a trickster, nor can tricksters trick me, right? Like I'm not a conniving guy, but the people that are mischievous will not be able to, I've been around the block, I understand how it works, it's not gonna happen. Most people are not Omar. You're either going to bury your innocence and become callous and allow the cold hearted people throughout the years to make you a carbon copy of themselves, which is the greatest victory of your enemies, right? Or you're going to be so devastated because of your good assumptions of others and what that set you up for. That's the first thing. The second thing, I'll only mention three very quickly about Surah Yusuf that really stuck out to me. The second of them is something that was mentioned by, by Sayyid Qutb, rahimahullah, to be honest. Sayyid Qutb has his famous reflections on the Quran in the shade of the Quran. And the reason I mentioned the author, and it's important, not just for the credit, but because he was a person that got his education outside of his native land. And so like he was born, I guess he felt what we sometimes talk about, that we need to be careful of American exceptionalism, realize the context in which we live in and the world does not revolve around us and how deluded we could be. He actually writes about that at the end of Surah Yusuf. He says, listen, Yusuf Alayhi Salaam went through four tests in his life that were increasingly hard, but people only noticed the first three. And this is just, this is probably the number one gem that I've ever read regarding the arrangement
within Surah Yusuf. He says, first he was thrown into the well, and this is the test of patience, patience with Allah's Qadr, and that is mandatory. You need to do that, and it's for your own good, because you can't change it anyway. And so it's even logical, even a non-Muslim would understand that I should be doing this. Even a non-believer would understand, I need to be doing this. It's not about particularly believing in Allah. It is like a survival mechanism, right? Be patient, accept what is fated, and dodge with the punches, as they say, roll with the punches. He says, then the second one was a harder test. When he was not locked in a well against his will, when he chose to go into the prison, to get locked into the prison, to obey Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. That was voluntary. So that was an even more difficult test, and he passed that test, to be of those who are pleasing to Allah Azza wa Jalla. He said, then he came out, and then he was garbed in his kingdom, and his brothers came along, and then he chose to forgive his brothers, which was a much harder test, because that test is a higher level. It's not even mandatory. It is mandatory on you to not fornicate, right? It is mandatory on you to just ask Allah for strength, and bear the consequences to the end of it. It's not mandatory on you to forgive people. It is certainly commendable, it's certainly virtuous. It's amazing, not mandatory, right? Justice is mandatory, being gracious is not. And so he even passed that test. But then when his family all came around, at the conclusion of the Surah, this is the part where Sayyid Qutb Rahimallah says, there was one final test before, he says that the curtains of the story come down, just before it ends. There's one final scene that Yusuf Alayhi Salaam, from his great virtue, his great piety didn't miss. He welcomed his father, welcomed his brothers, they prostrate to him, the climax, the culmination, the manifestation of the dream in front of him. Then he turns away from them.
He almost like steps aside and says, Rabbi qad aataytani minal mulk. Oh my Lord, you have granted me kingdom. Wa'allamtani min ta'weelil ahadith. And you taught me the interpretation of events and or dreams. Fatir al-samawati wal-ardi. You're the originator of the heavens and the earth. Then he says, anta waliyi fi al-dunya wal-akhira. You are my guardian in this world and the next. Tawafani musliman wa alhiqani bis salihin. Allow me to die now a Muslim and allow me to catch up with the righteous, reunite me with the righteous on the other side, in the hereafter. He says that's the hardest test, because those first three tests, as hard as they are and increasingly hard, the hardest test anyone will ever face in their life is actually the test of prosperity. The test of assuming you've arrived at the happy ending in this dunya, when this dunya is not the ending. He says many people pass the test of difficulty, relatively speaking, and far few people ever pass the test of prosperity. But Yusuf alayhi salam passed that fourth test, noticed it was a test, when most people in that moment would get caught up and wouldn't notice. The last thing, I think I have a minute. Do I have a minute or should I stop? You got 10 minutes, Sheikh. No, no, I got a minute. This is something I shared with my community the other day. And I remember when one of my shuyukh, when he first mentioned this, I was just staggered. I said, man, like this is, the Quran actually has this stuff. Like how much are we not catching? Because we're just not paying attention. There's something beautiful. And like, it comes across in translations. Sheikh Abdullah is laughing at me. I was much younger in my, I guess, journey, with I'm just being a little bit raw here. I was just boggled. And by the way, there's lots of literature out there, I'm not sure how much in the English language, about Surah Yusuf being a standalone proof on the divinity of the Quran.
And so this is the part where Yusuf alayhi salam, the verse before the one I just explained, before he steps aside and speaks to Allah and says, you're my guardian, I still need to die Muslim, in the presence of his father, his guardian. No, the verse before it, when he's actually welcoming them, he says, Allah says, wa rafaAAa abawayhi AAala alAAarash. He lifts his two parents up onto the throne, wa kharroo lahoo sujjada, and everybody falls prostrate to him, meaning in respect. Worship was never for anyone but Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. They all fall and prostrate to him. And he says, oh my dear father, this is the interpretation of my dream. My Lord has made it a reality, and he's been so good to me, pulled me out of the prison, and he brought you all to me from the Bedouin life, after Allah instigated between me and my brothers. But then he says, my Lord is so subtle, so subtle in everything that he does. So delicate, so kind, so subtle. He says, innahoo huwa alAAaleemu alhakeem. Certainly he is the most knowing, the most wise. And this is straightforward. I mean, after you see how the events turn, Allah, the best of planners, knowing, wise are the correct names to reflect on here. But there is something very special about those two names for Yusuf Alayhi Salam. Because if you rewind, this is what the Shaykh was catching. He says, if you rewind 30, 40 years, you rewind 90 ayat in this surah, you find that when Yusuf Alayhi Salam's father realized that his son is having a dream about being elevated, Yusuf, Yaqub Alayhi Salam knew this doesn't happen without a road of tribulations first. He taught him two names of Allah. He said, inna rabbaka aleemun hakeem. Your Lord is knowing, wise. So at the end of the surah, Yusuf Alayhi Salam says it back to his father as if to say, dad, you were right. Allah certainly is the knowing, the wise. It's as if like carving or engraving those two names
in his personality about Allah Azawajal is what carried him through everything, no matter what it was. And so I ask Allah Azawajal to benefit us and you with these short words and to illuminate our hearts and our minds with understanding him and allow the Quran for us to be a dispeller of all our sadnesses in this world and a dispeller of the darkness of our graves when we lay in there and to be a security for us from the terror of the day that we stand out of our graves. Allahumma ameen. JazakAllah khair. Ahsan, Ahsan Allah alayka. I think it's important to remember all the political prisoners, subhanAllah, that find such comfort in the surah. I've never talked to anyone incarcerated that does not find incredible comfort in the surah. And that's sort of the consistency. People that have been imprisoned for being people of truth and for no other reason but their truthfulness. And this is where they find, when they find that they've been separated from their families, when they find that they've been doomed to a cell for the rest of their lives and then they read this surah. And then subhanAllah, as you mentioned, it reminds me of what Abdurrahman ibn Uth radiAllahu anhu said that we were tested with balaat, with hardship, and we passed, but we failed the test of prosperity. And that was a very powerful reflection and ask Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la to reward you for it. When is the book coming out, Shaykh? I'm not sure. I mean, this was IIPH. And IIPH was hit very hard by the war in Syria because they print in Lebanon and the containers pass through Syria to get to the ports. So I'm not sure exactly. JazakAllah khair. We'll keep everyone posted, inshAllah. We look forward to having you back. And again, I think, just to remind everyone, please make du'a for our brothers and sisters
that are unjustly incarcerated all over the world. All the stories of people with surah Yusuf just came to my mind as you were talking about that reference. JazakAllah khair, Shaykh Naam. We'll look forward to having you two more times, inshAllah, unless you choose to jump on, you're always welcome. And please keep everyone in your du'a. JazakAllah khair. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Wa alaykum as-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. JazakAllah khair.
Welcome back!
Bookmark content
Download resources easily
Manage your donations
Track your spiritual growth
1 items
1 items
1 items
25 items
50 items
9 items
