Qur'an 30 for 30 | Season 3
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Juz' 12 with Sh. Mustafa Umar | Qur'an 30 for 30 Season 3
In juz 12 of the Holy Qur'an, and particularly in Surah Yusuf, we learn that our faith, our sincerity, and our compliance to the expectations of Allah all result in reward in the afterlife, even if they lead to tests in this life. Join Dr. Omar Suleiman, Sh. Abdullah Oduro, and guest speaker Sh. Mustafa Umar to dive deeper into many profound life lessons in this section of the Qur'an.
Download the new eBook "Qur’an 30for30: Seerah Edition" here.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Welcome back to Qur'an 30 for 30. Alhamdulillah wa salatu wa salamu ala Rasulullah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala. Before we get started inshallah ta'ala, just a reminder to everyone, it's been a while since I've reminded you to donate inshallah ta'ala. Please do donate inshallah ta'ala at the link below. And also download the e-books and benefit from the many resources that we have. We hope that you're enjoying inshallah ta'ala the Judgment Day series as well as 30 for 30. And alhamdulillah wa barak to me today we have a dear friend, someone I've known for a very long time alhamdulillah and really really love. And I'm happy that he's joined our team finally alhamdulillah wa barak to me, Sheikh Mustafa Omar. Sheikh Mustafa is the president of the California Islamic University, a religious director at Islamic Center of Irvine, recently joined as a senior fellow alhamdulillah wa barak to me, is working on the least controversial topic of all time. Sheikh Mustafa, being an imam, being someone on the ground, obviously has interacted with a lot of the questions around sexuality and gender, and some of the complications and the positions that as Muslims we need to take inshallah ta'ala, and what that leads to in terms of the social dynamics. So he promised it inshallah ta'ala. I told him, I was like, man, if I reference this paper that you're working on, you gotta have it done inshallah ta'ala, because it's like the issue that everyone talks about, right? So it's like we gotta get it done inshallah ta'ala. So there's pressure. So if it doesn't come, then I'm just gonna put your email on social media and be like, just email Sheikh Mustafa and tell him to get it done. No problem. You have full permission to do that inshallah ta'ala. It's amanah I will deliver inshallah. Sheikh Mustafa is here, we're happy to have you. Alhamdulillah, how have you been? Alhamdulillah, I've been well, man. Alhamdulillah, doing well and everything alhamdulillah. Everything's from the blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. How's California? California, I was just telling Sheikh, you know, like it's kind of cold today.
It's 68 degrees, you know, so it's still nice though. Alhamdulillah, everything is well, you know, it's going well. Maybe go to the beach tomorrow then, you know, because it's a little cold right now. MashaAllah, mashaAllah. See that? That's that. He's throwing shade at Texas, Sheikh Abdullah. You see that? Alright. He says 68 degrees, I'm like what? Sheikh Mustafa, quickly, because I took some shots at Yassi Sehour yesterday and I felt kind of bad, Sheikh Abdullah was like really hesitant. Sheikh Abdullah was like, yeah, he's going to get shut down. It's the most controversial thing we could have possibly done. You know, even more controversial than your upcoming paper. Taking shots at pakoras and Nihari for Sehour. I wanted to clarify and then I wanted to invite you too, but I love that. So I love keema, I love Nihari, I love Halima iftar, I love that stuff. I'm from New Orleans and so the spicy stuff, I love it. I was just trying to make a point, it's not good for you, Yassir Khoury. Alhamdulillah, you're right, man. It's drowning in oil, man. You want to defend your, what's your Sehour item, Sheikh? What do you eat at Sehour? No, no, no way. I'll eat some yogurt, I'll have like cream cheese, sourdough toast and smoked salmon. I don't do the oil, man. I don't do oil, I don't do soda, I don't do any of that stuff. It'll kill me, man. I've done it before and like in my chest, it's just like, it's painful, man. It's like suffering. It becomes like a second jihad, man. I don't want to deal with that. So, Alhamdulillah, I'm totally with you on a blast. You're not holding it down for your people, man. I'm sorry, man. I depend on what I can. What about iftar? Do you eat that stuff at iftar? You know, if when I'm invited and stuff, I will go ahead and eat that stuff for iftar. But later on, sometimes if I overdo a little bit, I'm like, you know what, that's done for the week, man.
Because the taraweeh becomes painful then. So, you know, I'll take it easy there. You see what you've started? You've started this trend of healthy imams and it's just like gotten out of control now. Sorry. You know, most of us try to look good in this beach, though. Astaghfirullah. What have you done? All this healthy eating is a problem. I'm not going to say it's a problem. As soon as all this is done. Let's get some air fried samosas. Just bake the samosas, you know. I mean there's ways you can make it a little bit healthier and still enjoy it, you know. There you go. Air fried samosas. All right. We're going to have to bring someone that's going to have to refute you in the next few days. But for now, I think we should move on to the Quran, inshaAllah. JazakAllah khair for being with us. JazakAllah khair for having me. Inna wa alhamdulillah wa salatu wa salamu ala Rasulullah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala. So we are now in Juz 12. And Juz 12, of course, you know, when you start to get into these ajza' you start to get multiple surahs. And of course we're in a part of the Quran which has multiple stories of prophets. And it's a part of the Quran, subhanAllah, that it's right before the halfway mark, these three ajza' that you start to get through all the way up until, you know, when you get to the midpoint of the Quran and you get into Surah Maryam. But it really is something for the heart, subhanAllah. And I was just reflecting on how yesterday, in fact, I was talking about the ayah where Allah Azawajal says in Juz 11 that ash-shifa'u min maafis sugur, that the Quran is a healing to the heart. And in many ways this section about the prophets is healing upon healing upon healing. However, because my part is focusing on the akhira, the hereafter, I wanted to focus on a few ayat in Surah Hud. Tomorrow, inshaAllah ta'ala, we'll talk about some of the akhira aspects with Surah Yusuf. But with Surah Hud, two small sections of Surah Hud.
Number one, Surah Hud verses 15 and 16. Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says, man kana yureedu alhayat al-dunya wazeenataha nuwafi ilayhim a'malahum feeha wahum feeha la yubkhasoon That whoever is seeking this worldly life and its luxuries and its beauty, then we will pay them in full for their deeds in this life and nothing is going to be left out. This is a very interesting ayah. And as the sahaba mentioned, Ibn Abbas radiAllahu ta'ala anhuma mentions, that this is speaking primarily about people that do the deeds of the akhira for the sake of this dunya. Now, the hypocrites obviously are a very specific group of people. And the hypocrites that descended into the lowest level of hypocrisy were those that did the deeds of the akhira to actually deceive and undermine in this dunya, to actually do harm to the Muslim community. And so they weren't even, you know, they were not even Muslim, right? They were pretending to be Muslim for the sake of wreaking havoc on the Muslim community, all while seeking the worldly benefits of being Muslim, right? So there is obviously a specific category here when it comes to hypocrisy. And then you have those that are Muslim and they believe, but they do actions of the people of akhira seeking the reward of this world. And that is their intention. That's what drives them. And they're not trying to rectify that. So it drives them and they're not trying to rectify that. And that's an important thing because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala talks to us about the value of mujahada, about the value of striving against the self and doing our best in multiple places in the Quran. So there's a person that struggles with their intentions, and there's a person that has worldly intentions for these deeds, and that's what drives them and they're not trying to rectify them. And of course, you know, all of us will struggle with our intentions throughout our entire lives.
Even Sufyan al-Thawri rahimahullah ta'ala. Imam Sufyan al-Thawri is a school of ikhlas. I've given many khutbas about him, a school of sincerity. And he talked about this, you know, that every single time I treated my intention, you know, I found that it changed its color, right? So it changes on you so much and you have to be very careful because just like the heart is constantly fluctuating, the intention is constantly fluctuating, right? Because the heart is the seeker and the intention is the vehicle of that pursuit. So this is an ayah in which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, man kana yureedul hayat al-dunya wa zinataha Those who are just seeking out this worldly life and the goodness of this worldly life, we'll give it to them. nuwafi ilayhim a'maana We will give it to them and they're not going to be cheated. And this refers to people that do good deeds only for the sake of praise. So many of the scholars said this is really referring to riyab. This is referring to showing off. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us, guard our intentions from seeking the praise of other than Him. Allahumma ameen. But this is a theme on the Day of Judgment constantly. People that show up on the Day of Judgment and that make claims to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that they should be rewarded for certain deeds and they're not seeing the reward. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says to them, look, you did this so that people would say this and this about you. You wanted people to say you were generous. You wanted people to say you were knowledgeable. You wanted people to say you were courageous. You wanted people to say all these things about you. And it was said, right? So you don't have any reward today because that's what you were seeking and you got what you wanted. Okay, idhhabu ila allatheena kuntum tura'una fad dunya. Go to those that you used to go seeking praise from in the world. See if they have any jazaat for you today, if they have any compensation for you today. So this is justice, right? That if a person is not trying to seek the pleasure of Allah with their deeds and they're trying to seek the praise of people,
then don't show up on the Day of Judgment expecting the reward of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when you were doing it for worldly reward. Now, again, big difference between a person that is trying to please Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and sometimes the whispers of shaitan, sometimes the praise of people overcomes their intentions and steers them away. This is not the same thing. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us, make us amongst those that strive until our deeds are fully, sincerely for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and no one else. Allahumma ameen. So Allah azawajal says, olaikalladheena laysalahum fil aakhirati illa an-naar, wahawifa ma sana'u feeha, wa ba'tilum ma kanu ya'manoon. Now as for those that were just doing these deeds just for worldly benefit, these are the people who will have nothing in the hereafter except for the punishment. And their efforts in this life would have proved to be fruitless and their deeds will prove to have been useless. So there's nothing left for them on the Day of Judgment because of everything that they already got in this world. So this is the message that is consistent in this section of ayat. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us. Now again, the stern tone is for those that aren't even struggling. And of course, even for those that are struggling, to keep on that struggle inshaAllah ta'ala until they get to that place which is pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Another element of this ayah of course is that those who do good for worldly good will be compensated as such. They won't be wronged. And of course some of the scholars mentioned here, some of the hadith about those who are non-believers, so they weren't pursuing anything in the hereafter, that their goodness is repaid in this life. So they may do something that's charitable and they're not seeking the reward of their charity in the hereafter. So their charity is given to them in this life in some way.
There is some sense, some manifestation of goodness coming to them in this life when they were seeking the goodness of this life or when they were doing good things in this life. Now fast forward to verses 98 and 99 and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives us a picture. And this is the fate of Fir'aun, the Pharaoh in the afterlife. The Pharaoh, the Fir'aun in the afterlife. Now realize the Fir'aun is of course the worst tyrant that has ever walked the face of the earth. He is the example of tyranny that is given throughout the Quran. And Allah has already talked to us about leaders and followers going into the fire. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says about Fir'aun, Yaqdumu qawmahu yawm al qiyamati fa awradahumun naa' wa bi'sal wirdu al mawroud That he will lead his people on the day of judgment into the fire and they will follow him. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says bi'sal wirdu al mawroud that what a horrible place to be led into by a horrible person. And so the followers of Fir'aun are following him. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions, wa utbi'u fi hadhihi da'na wa yawm al qiyamati bi'sal rifdu al marfood Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says and they were followed by a curse in this life and they will receive another curse on the day of judgment. What an evil gift to receive from an evil gift giver being Fir'aun in this regard. I'll just end with this. The scholars mention here a few things that the curse that comes on Fir'aun and his people is that they were seeking a good mention in this life. Right? And eventually, you know, he enjoyed some temporary gain. He certainly enjoyed a palace in this life. He certainly had his moments, but he was never happy because he was cursed because he wasn't blessed with what he had. So they were never really fully happy as they were seeking that praise and that prominence in this world. That's number one. Number two, the humiliation that follows after they have passed. Fir'aun is not mentioned in praise now.
He's only mentioned humiliation and he still has the punishment of the hereafter. So he does not have the legacy he sought, nor does he have the fate that he sought. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us from that evil. Allahuma ameen. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make our intentions sincerely for his sake and not punish us in this life or humiliate us in the next. Allahuma ameen. InshaAllah ta'ala I'll pass it on to Shaykh Abdullah. Shaykh Abdullah, you're muted. Yes, yes, yes. JazakAllah khair. Bismillah wa salatu wa salamu ala rasool Allah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala amma ba'd. So when talking about the dunya as he mentioned and cherishing the dunya and allowing or embarking upon the dunya to the degree that you may oppress others and ultimately oppressing yourself, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala even attributes some of the family from the dunya. Al-mal wa al-banu nazinatu al-hayati al-dunya. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions that money and children are from the beautifications of this life. So depending on how we interact with them, with what he has provided for us can be that which is to our benefit or that which is to our detriment. So I wanted to cover with you all in the chapter of Hud from verses roughly 25 to 49. Not all of these verses, but this is the chapter of many prophets. But in particular, I want to talk about Nuh alayhi salam. There was something very extraordinary amongst many things extraordinary about Nuh alayhi salam. But there was one thing when I first read it, when I became a Muslim, was very, very interesting to me. And then as learning the deen and learning from shuyukh and people of knowledge and taking mentors and coaches, the very interesting fact came to me. And I'm going to share that with you now, inshallah. But if you follow me with verse number 37, starting with verse number 37, where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala orders Noah to build the ark.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells Noah to build the ark because we know Noah was giving da'wah for a long period of time, 950 years alayhi salam. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, Wasna'il fulka bi a'yunina wa wahyina wa la tukhatibni fillatheena zalamu innahum mughraqoon. Build the ark under our protection and with our inspiration. Do not plead with me for those who have done evil, for they will be drowned. So firstly, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says he gives an order, but then right after the order, he shows his manifestation of huyuz. Wasna'il fulka bi a'yunina wa wahyina. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, bi a'yunina wa wahyina. So build the ark with our a'yun, with our assistance, because there's going to be times when you will not know. Obviously, Allah is the hafidh and he's going to preserve you throughout. And then he says, wa wahyina, some scholars say, telling him how to build the ark, you know, but with planks and with wood. Fahamalnahu ala thati alwahin wa dusur. As Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions in the chapter of Najm, if I'm not mistaken, he says, and we carried him on that which was of planks and nails. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is telling him to build this with his assistance and with his inspiration. So the wahy here, one could say it's not revelation per se, and others say that it could be revelation, but it's actually instruction on how to build the ark. In any case, after he says, do not plead with me for those who have done evil, for they will be drowned. So he's setting a premise here. Don't ask about those people because something is going to happen to them. They are going to drown. And as some scholars say, this ark, this flood was that which was subhanAllah, covered the whole earth. And the only ones that existed were Nuh and those that were on the ark with him. Then after that, in verse number 38, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, wa yasna'u alfulka wa kulla ma marra alayhi mala'un min qawmihi sakhiru minh. So he began to build the ark.
And whenever leaders of his people pass by, they laughed at him, saying, you may scorn us now. But then he said, you may scorn us now, but we will come to scorn you. Qala in taskharu minna fa inna naskharu minkum kama taskharuun. So when they scorned him, the scholars mentioned that there was two types of ridicule here. And this is interesting. The first of them was they would say, oh, you've become a carpenter now. Weren't you a prophet before? So now you're a carpenter. And then the second one was, why are you building an ark? It's dry here. There's no water. So they started to call him crazy, particularly one person, as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions right after that, he says, hatta idha ja'a amruna wa farata an-nur, qul nahmil feeha min kullin zawjain ithnayn wa ahlaka illa man sabqa alayhi alqawl wa man aamana wa maa aamana ma'ahu illa qaleel. Allah says here, when our command came and the water gushed up out of the earth, we said, place on board this ark a pair of species and your own family, except those against who the sentence has been already passed. And that was particularly, the scholars say, one of the two people was his wife. His wife didn't believe his wife was one of the people that would say he is crazy. There's a riwayah in Qurtubi where she even asked him, has your Lord guided you? She asked him, amal yansuruka rabbuk? And then Noah would say, naam qalat famata. She said, so when? Qal idha farata an-nur, when the earth gushes forth its water. Some say an-nur is earth, even though it can be understood as others' difference of opinion on that. Fakharajat taqooloo liqawmiha yaa qawm, wallahi innahu majnoon. After he told her that, she went on and said, wallahi, he's crazy. He is crazy. So she's one of the individuals that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la was speaking about.
And the second of them is who we're going to cover. But before that, let's take a wakfah here. Let's pause because when you are ridiculed for your deen, there's a statement, subhanAllah, any ridicule of your compliance is a test of your reliance. Any ridicule of you being compliant to what Allah and his Messenger said, to the best of your ability, you're trying your best and people make fun of you, sometimes it can be family members. Any ridicule of that compliance is a test of your reliance. Are you going to rely on Allah and continue to be a person? To pray when your family's not praying or your friends or your close relatives? Are you going to rely on Allah and wear and dress in a way that is showing that you love Allah and your standards on based on what Allah says and not what society may say or what society may view as beautiful, what society may view as attractive, or are you going to rely on Allah because you rely on him, your compliance is with him? That's very important and that's exactly what all the Prophets went through. The sukhriya, them making fun, the istihza, belittling them and talking about them. Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala continues in verse number 42 وَهِيَ تَجْرِي بِهِمْ فِى مَوْجٍ كَالْجِبَالِ وَنَادَ نُوحُ ابْنَهُ وَكَانَ فِى مَعْزَلٍ يَا بُنَي يَرْكَبْ مَعْنَا وَلَا تَكُمْ مَعَ الْكَافِرِينَ Now this is the second person that was from the people that Allah made an exception of them being given the mercy because of their disbelief. Noah's wife was the first. The second is here. When he talks about the ark, now we're in the scene where the ark is moving. Allah is talking at the, right now that the ark is on the water, the flood has happened. And SubhanAllah, there's so much to mention. If you go into the chapter where Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala talks about the water فَلْتَقَ الْمَاءُ عَلَىٰ أَمْرٍ قَدَ قُدِيرٍ That the water came from the sky and gushed from the ground and they met together at an amount that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is well aware of. Meaning that it was a lot. So here Allah says it sailed with them on waves like mountains.
I know Sheikh Mustafa is in Cali. If you stood by a mountain, it can be very, very high. You can't even see the tip of it. So imagine a wave of water. What are you going to fear? That it may collapse on you. Can you imagine? So he says it sailed with them with waves like mountains and Noah called out to his son. His son was the second person, brothers, mothers, fathers, aunties, uncles, grandmothers, grandfathers, children. His son was the second. That's what amazed me. A prophet? The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam would tell Abbas and Fatima, سَلْنِ عَمَّا شِتْ مَا أُغْنِ عَنْكِ مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا He said, ask for whatever you want from me. Ask for whatever you want from me. I am not sufficed for you in front of Allah. Just because of our bloodline doesn't mean you get a one-way ticket or even transit to Jannah. It is your actions, your actions, your actions. So here, that's what scholars SubhanAllah say and they also say this is tasliya for the Anbiya that being that SubhanAllah that this could be that the children of the prophets and they were in this fashion. It can happen to to anyone. But when we're looking here, Allah Subhanu wa Ta'ala says here and Noah called out to his son who stayed behind, يَا أُبُونَيِّرْ كَبْمَعْنَا Come aboard with us and do not be from the disbelievers. Come to the masjid. Many times we call our children. We think sometimes as parents that we have full authority and control and we think sometimes the first time they don't listen to us or the 12th time that they don't wake up for fajr that they may be doomed. Having that fear is natural because children, all of us are sons and all of us are daughters and all of us have our demons that we've done in our days. And Allah will be a'aleem. It's important for us to remember that when we may see some them may see them going off the surat al-mustaqeem to continuously make dua for them but knowing while you're making dua that you have no ultimate control. Allah Subhanu wa Ta'ala mentions after that he says but he replied I will seek refuge in a mountain. This is what his son
said. His son had it all figured out. His son said I will seek refuge on a mountain to save me from the water. Then Noah said today there is no refuge from God's command except for those whom he has mercy. The waves cut them off from each other and he was among the drowned. And I'll leave SubhanAllah that's what really amazed me is that SubhanAllah his son saw it's in front of him and then he says I will go to this mountain it will save me from this water that's like jibal. Can you imagine? And SubhanAllah after this Allah Subhanu wa Ta'ala Noah asked him and says you know what about my son there was a promise that you would save the mu'mineen and this is where scholars say he did not know that his son was of this level of disbelief alayhi salam. Allah says inna hu lais min a'alik that he is not from your family SubhanAllah. He's not from the family of believers. He may be from your bloodline but that will not save him. What were his actions? And I'll leave you with a beautiful statement Imam Malik rahimahu allahu ta'ala he had a lot of people waiting in front of his house as was normal he had a haybah he had a presence and he was a scholar in Medina. Imam Malik rahimahu allahu ta'ala there were people waiting in front of his house to seek knowledge from him so they saw that his son one of his sons had a humam had a small like pigeon with him and he covered it and Imam Malik saw the people that they saw that his son had a pigeon and Imam Malik I mean he would not recite a hadith unless he was sitting down he didn't like it he was sitting down he was standing Imam Malik huwa man huwa he was someone of very knowledgeable and had a presence amongst the people and then he said SubhanAllah al adabu adabullah la adabu al aba wal umahat wal khayru khayrullah la khayru al aba wal umahat he said that the the manners is the manners of Allah not the manners of the mother and the father and all the good is the good from Allah not the good of the mother and the father meaning that it will we can't guarantee that the good qualities
or qualities that we love most will be passed on to our children and we can't rely on that hereditary aspect when it comes to guidance from Allah to know that the iman is what Allah places in their hearts and there is within his sunnah gives each and every one of our children at that age that he chooses the opportunities plural to make the right choices it's important for us as human beings as fathers as mothers just to call them and to give dawah and that's a good prelude and segue to call people to that which is good particularly our children at the same time knowing that it's all in the hands of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala so may Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala make us of those that are pleased with his predestination and make us of those that try our level best to do our best with the ones that we ultimately give our best to which is our family for the sake of time inshallah ta'ala uh Sheikh Mustafa I know you're going to take this into Surah Yusuf so just for the benefit of those that are viewing uh Surah Yusuf is of course broken apart this juz and the next juz so Sheikh Mustafa will start us off with an element that ties in very closely with Sheikh Abdullah spoke about and we'll continue with Surah Yusuf tomorrow inshallah so yeah exactly what Sheikh Abdullah was speaking about he's talking about family and then he's talking about making dawah or inviting to the way of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and you know these two elements you find in the life of uh the story of Prophet Yusuf and in his story as well so what you find is that you know Yusuf and his father Prophet Yaqub they went through a lot of family issues Yusuf's brothers were jealous of him they throw him into a well he ends up in a distant land of Egypt he goes into another family and he's trying to be nice to them and you know he's serving them and then he gets framed and he ends up in prison so I want to start with Yusuf being
in prison uh I am on chapter 12 this is Surah Yusuf uh verse 36 but before we get into this you know it's very important to understand here you know a lot of people they're thinking in their minds they're like you know I'm going through so many family problems got so many challenges going on in my life you know I don't have time to worry about you know inviting other people to Allah I just got to focus on myself only and I don't have I just got to deal with my own issues and my own problems but just look at the context here you know Yusuf has just gone through this massive you know uh ordeal with his family he has gone through his ordeal with kind of his his new family he was put as he was put as a slave into somebody else's home uh now he's in prison he's probably you know normally people would get stressed out they're sitting there questioning themselves just you know crying all the time and depressed and all that stuff and Prophet Yusuf is still calling people to Islam with confidence not letting any of these things deter him while he's in prison so it says in verse 36 he says and then these two young men these two people they entered into the prison along with Yusuf when he was in prison so one of them says says I had a dream that I was squeezing grapes meaning that you know he was in order to make wine they used to take grapes and they used to squeeze them in a certain way so this one person is saying I had this dream where I was like making wine by pressing these grapes and then the second one he says so the second one he says that the other guy he's like I had a dream where I was carrying some bread
on my head and these birds were coming and they were eating from that bread so these two people they have these dreams and they want to know what these dreams mean a lot of people you know many people they have dreams sometimes and they're trying to figure out you know it's been bothering me it's been on my mind for a while I wonder what that means and then the next part of the verse says they said so they basically came to Yusuf and they said can you tell us what the interpretation of this these dreams are tell us what these dreams mean and the really the key part here is it says we see that you're one of these excellent people you know you're one of these good people now what do you think about this you know they're in prison these people have seen you know all different people who you know uh you know go into prison they've seen different people in their own lives and the fact that they chose Yusuf to ask for this advice is very telling you know in fact one of one of the um books that really got me interested in in this part of the story it's a book by uh Sheikh Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi when I was studying in Nadwa you know I got this book a translation it's a very small book it's called inviting to the way of Allah and I heard many people giving raving reviews about it and they said this is a very small book it's pretty pretty slim but it's so full of wisdom that you know even uh I believe there was a statement of Sheikh Qaradawi who wrote a book about Dawah as well he said my book on Dawah is much larger but this book is so packed with wisdom he says you know I feel that there's so many benefits in there that I did not even put in my own book so this book was fantastic and one of the things that Sheikh Nadwi mentions he says when you look at this last part they came to Yusuf to ask about something
because of his akhlaq because of his character because of his manners because he was a role model for people you know the way in which he was probably praying inside the prison the way in which he would smile at people the way he would deal with people and that's a very important lesson because sometimes we say you know what we want to spread the message of Islam we want to tell other people that Islam is the truth we want to get them to understand that there's only one God we want them to get them to stop worshipping idols or stop worshipping Jesus or something like that but one of the most important things is to remember that when you have good character people are going to come and they're going to be more interested in listening to you about any topic you're willing to talk about because then there's an establishment of rapport there's a type of trust that they have with you so he said this is the first part we must take into consideration is we must make sure that we're we're living Islam where we have that you know Islamic practice in ourselves and then you know the the next verse it talks about Yusuf it talks about Yusuf he responds and Prophet Yusuf says he says sure I can tell you the interpretation of these dreams before your next meal even comes to you so like you know they used to get meals in prison they're going to be eating and he says you know what don't worry you know the need that you guys have for me with the thing that you're asking me to do for you I will handle it and I can do it and don't worry it's going to be done so quickly it's not even going to take me a very long time before your next meal comes you're gonna you're gonna have this uh you're gonna be at ease and you're gonna get the interpretation so Sheikh Nadwi he explains he goes why did Yusuf throw that in there like what's the point of mentioning you know meals coming or food or something like that he says if you look at it from a psychological lens so when people come and they're you know they're inquiring about something these people have these dreams and they're kind of worried says you have to put a person's anxiety you have to put their mind at ease so that they're able to properly listen to you you know if they're stressed out they're going through something
they're like I'm curious I don't I want to know what's going to happen these dreams are bothering me and you're like let me tell you something you should only worship Allah and should stop worshipping all these other gods you should believe in Islam and believe Islam is the truth they may not be listening fully so you need to put their mind and need to put their heart at ease so that they're in a position to listen and by telling them that you know what I can handle you came to the right person I got the credentials I can handle exactly what you're asking me to do and it's going to be done pretty quickly too it's not even going to take a very long time and then you're going to get your food they're thinking about oh wow our food is great you know everyone anticipates food when we're fasting right now Hamza when we're recording this even just just any meal man any meal is pretty tempting right now right so Alhamdulillah he puts their mind at ease and then afterwards he says he says you know what he says that's because you know I'm going to be able to give you this interpretation because this knowledge of interpreting these things is from the knowledge that my lord has given me so then he said look just look at that you know he immediately makes this transition from these people coming and asking him a question and he's going to answer them at the end but making that transition is something that's actually not very easy for people you know I've struggled with this myself you know I know we live in a mostly secular society you know I used to work as a computer programmer and people tend to not want to talk about religion they're like you know you start talking about religion they're like are you preaching to me are you one of those guys that you know shows up at my door on Sunday like knocking or some of you like one of those you know guys with a book in their hand or something like that it's hard to make those transitions but Prophet Yusuf the way he does it and then later on in the verses you know we're not going to get into detail but later on the way in which he starts talking about you know what this is a religion that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala has taught me this is knowledge that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala has taught me I don't worship any of these idols that you guys
worship but actually I worship only one god and he starts explaining you know the the dawah of tawhid he starts explaining what it means to be a monotheist or only accept you know one god and that's the core religion of Islam you know so to recap the the message here is number one even when you're going through difficulties you got to take care of yourself self-care is very important but that doesn't mean that you know you don't think about oh I don't got time to talk to anyone about Islam I'm just going to focus only on myself sometimes talking to other people spreading the message is actually going to help you in the thing that you need uh solved in your own family life or family problems number two is that when you start you start with good character and then people are more likely going to want to approach you you become approachable people want to come and they trust you you establish a type of trust with them so number two make sure you have the good high character number three when someone is agitated or aggravated you put their mind at ease by telling them something that's going to kind of you know let them calm down so that they can listen to you properly right and then number four you make that transition from one topic you may be talking about could be politics could be talking about Palestine it could be talking about China could be talking about technology and then all of a sudden you transition you say you know what we're big advocates of technology in Islam because of such and such thing and now you found your segue into talking about something that people would normally find you know uncomfortable and now it's a little bit more comfortable so we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to help us to implement these things and to convey the message of Islam and to understand his book in the in the correct way and apply it in the best of ways I mean you can't leave us on a cliffhanger like that what is Islam technology how did you I want to know I want to know what you do I actually want to shake it down that route please so I I've done this several times you know I I try to find anything so just technology you say you know what many people they look at you know these religions that they're
anti-progress you know in the dark ages people were talking about you know there's no scientific development the clergy and the church always kept people back so I talked about you know what you know how this phone got designed you know you got mathematicians you know you got Jabir bin Hayyan you got Ibrahim writing the book of optics that actually you know enables the usage of this camera and then you start talking about science and you start talking about you know rationalism you start going you know advancement in science and then I brought it into Islam so that's just whatever I try to do I try to do man so it's pretty good check up though isn't it yeah oh yeah that's good I'll show a lot we gotta we gotta bring um Sheikh Mustafa in the convert resources how to do that one about on a California beach done it done it done it Venice beach man it's not easy actually Sheikh Mustafa you have a book from a on for converts a long time ago right it's your for converse as well I got a few few books for converts actually I got welcome to Islam I got how to pray and a few others we seriously do need to incorporate some of your materials inshallah you guys should go over the big cheesy smile man he can't even tell stop smiling sorry I'm just I'm just I'm trying to think about this like these are these are some serious ideas man I'm like what's I'm gonna go talk to someone on the street here in Texas and just be like hey see that phone in your hand let's see how it goes have you ever heard of you know we gotta try whatever we gotta try whatever we can you know you know the same the same conversations in California don't work in Texas this that's true it's a very different environment I mean I'll tell you the the craziest thing I've ever done is I actually wrote I was trying to make dow with my computer science teacher when I was at UCI and I'm like how am I gonna do this you know
I wrote a computer program with the names of all the prophets you know and I'm like hoping he's gonna be like what in the world are you doing how do I initiate a conversation with I think the most difficult or uninterested guy in religion that was probably the most difficult like dawa effort I've ever done in my life I have to say I admire on a serious note I admire the the mindset that you have Masha'allah and I think you you've worked through a lot of difficult situations you know being where you are being an imam and I think let's let's be real here that being an imam you know talking to people subhanAllah constantly sometimes it's the conversations you have to have with the young people in your own community that are completely just you know just just so you know I don't want to use the word lost just distant right it's not just a one-way thing it's a one-way thing it's a one-way thing and I think that's the most important thing and that's why I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be here and to be able to like it's like how do you bring them back to even start to have the right conversation so I think being an imam you know obviously gives you that that that place to start you know and certainly having conversations with people that aren't familiar with Islam at all is a different challenge but zakalaka that was very beneficial may Allah have mercy on it not what has to be a document on and reward him for his effort a lot of the work that we do honestly is building on some of these foundations that have been established these small of a sudden these small little books that our teachers wrote that you know how many we were able to develop but it was it was it was their foundation so a lot of word them and may Lord you shake Mustafa she's a little bit like look here come on Allah and we'll see who we'll see what our guests tomorrow is having for Sukur because so far this is not
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