Qur'an 30 for 30 | Season 4
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Juz’ 13: Ust. Sarah Sultan | False Idols and Emptiness
In the thirteenth episode of this Ramadan series, Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Abdullah Oduro are joined by special guest Ust. Sarah Sultan, as they explore gems from the thirteenth Juz’ of the Holy Quran.
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0:00 - Intro and the battle of the cities
3:46 - Dr. Omar reflects on Surah ar-Ra’d
6:26 - The theological foundation for Ibrahim’s (a) message
8:59 - How does everything prostrate to Allah willingly or unwillingly?
12:10 - Why being “spiritual but not religious” doesn’t work
12:56 - Sh. Abdullah reflects on Surah Ibrahim
15:06 - Allah’s promise
17:25 - The scene of the statement of Shaytan
21:44 - Jihad an-nafs and our ultimate responsibility
22:56 - Ust. Sarah Sułtan reflects on four verses from Surah Ibrahim
24:30 - The verses about rizq, or provision
28:07 - Why hasn’t Allah given me everything I’ve asked for?
30:14 - 3 psychological reframes to shift our worldview
33:36 - Reflections
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh, everyone. Welcome to Qur'an 30 for 30. Alhamdulillah wa salat wa salam wa rasulullah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala. SubhanAllah, yesterday was a deeply heavy session with Sheikh Bilal and Alhamdulillah, Rabbul Ameen. You know, we talked about Yusuf A.S. and now we have with us Sister Sara, who has done a lot on trauma at Yaqeen and sort of what it means to keep ourselves connected to Allah subhanAllah, spiritually, emotionally, mentally. She and Sister Najwa have authored the Your Lord Has Not Forsaken You book, which you can find at our book section on the Yaqeen website. You can go download it for free, bidden Allahi ta'ala. And also the Attaching to Allah series that we did about Ibrahim A.S. in Dhul Hijjah last year, Alhamdulillah, Rabbul Ameen, where she was able to really bring that unique background and Alhamdulillah to play here. So we're very blessed to have you once again with us, Sister Sara. How are you? Good, good, Alhamdulillah. JazakAllah khair for having me on again. And Sheikh Abdullah, you and Sister Sara, are you both Houstonians? Are you both considered Houstonians? Yes, I'm a Houstonian, yes. I don't know, Sister Sara, are you originally from Houston? No, I'm originally from New York. Yeah, so I grew up in Queens, New York, and now I live in Houston, Alhamdulillah. It's a close second to New York. I'm going to ask you both very quickly, Houston or Dallas? Oh, we'll be impressed on that spot, Sheikh. I know, that's like Aus and Khazraj before Islam for most people, right? It's like a very difficult dilemma that we have. You should have seen Sheikh Abdul Nasser and Sheikh Waleed at Ilmfest. It was like a very heated discussion about Houston versus Dallas. So what do you think? I mean, both of you, just Houston or Dallas?
Well, I live in Houston, and Alhamdulillah, I managed to, like my entire family made hijrah here, Mashallah. So I'll say Houston for that one, Alhamdulillah. Sheikh Abdullah, what do you think? It depends on what you're talking about, man. You know, Dallas, Mashallah, since I've been here, I've seen more of it. I mean, Houston is definitely the potential there of the community, so it depends on what it is. I don't want to get my tires slashed in Dallas, wala Houston. Well, we know that traffic is worse in Houston, right? Can we at least agree that traffic is worse in Houston? But it's the traffic because people are going to the restaurants that are in Houston. Dallas, Oh, okay. I think you're tired of getting slashed tonight. You're right next to Kebab Uncle, right? Right in the Kebab Masjid? Yes, Kebab. Yes, Kebab Uncle, yes. So it's because you can walk to restaurants in Dallas? Walk to, yes, only one restaurant, though. Houston, it's all over, Mashallah. Alhamdulillah, we're blessed to have you both, Alhamdulillah. And, you know, inshallah tonight, as people are now logged on and ready to go, this is going to be one that really builds very naturally off of the discussion that we had yesterday, Alhamdulillah, even though nothing. And I want to once again, if you haven't watched Sheikh Bilal's part yesterday, please go back and watch. I know it's a little longer than usual, but it's honestly not just therapeutic, but it's deeply clarifying to have someone speak from that personal experience. So Sheikh Bilal, JazakAllah khair once again for joining us. And everyone, please do go back and watch it if you haven't, inshallah. And bid'ah ta'ala, we can go ahead and get started now for tonight. Bismillah walhamdulillah wa salatu wa salamu ala rasulillah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala.
So today in this Juz, Juz 13, we get to Surah Ibrahim. But before Surah Ibrahim, which I know both Sister Sara and Sheikh Abdullah will be speaking about, bid'ah ta'ala, there is a surah here that is Surah Ar-Ra'd. And Surah Ar-Ra'd is a powerful, powerful, powerful surah. SubhanAllah, even the idea of Ar-Ra'd, when you think about lightning or thunder, or things that are happening, SubhanAllah, I was sharing with both Sheikh Abdullah and Sister Sara before we logged on, there was lightning in the background as I was preparing this and the du'a of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, SubhanAllah, yusabbihu lahu ba'du bihamdihi wal malaikatu min khifati, this glorifying of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala who shows you his power through all of these signs at a consistent level. And when you look at the beginning of Surah Ar-Ra'd, verses 1 through 15, so let's just, I'm not going to talk about them in depth, I just want you inshallah ta'ala to pay attention as you're doing, you're just reading Bid'n Nahi ta'ala, verses 1 to 15. Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala talks about the creation of the heavens and the earth, which is a very Makki type of tone, but then Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala talks about trees, and he talks about vegetables, and he talks about fruits, and he talks about the variation of their tastes, and he talks about all of these different signs from Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala that we take for granted. So Allah actually starts with these things that are not quote-unquote frightening from his signs, but he talks about the favors upon you, he talks about the rivers, the anhar that he's made to flow, and all of the thamarat, I mean it's actually very beautiful to let you know that that's the first way that you should be interacting with the signs of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, or the ones that are around you that are just pure blessing to you that you benefit from all the time, yet you fail
to thank him for. And then Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala brings forth the wondrous signs, those that are meant to remind you of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala in a way that causes you a healthy level of fear and apprehension, and Allah Azawajal mentions that he sends you messengers, right, and he doesn't punish the people unless he sends the messengers, but these signs around us as well are forms of messengers. They're not the Rusul, they're not the messengers of Allah as in the Prophets of Allah, but they're also messengers as Al-Hafidh Ibn Rajab Rahim Allah ta'ala describes it to us on a consistent basis to remind us of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and bring us back to him. And I'm going to focus on verses 14 through 16 because it really does lay the theological foundation for what you're going to see Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam call his people to, and Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam's aversion to the idols and his speaking about the worthlessness of the idols compared to the glory of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. So it's really interesting because Surah Al-Ra'd is Allah Azawajal himself telling the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam how to speak to Quraysh about their idol worship, and of course even if you're not an idol worshiper you may indeed have set up idols besides Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala in the amount of trust in the symbolic sense, and the amount of trust that you put in things besides Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. So Allah Azawajal says in verse 14 here, that to him alone should all prayer, should all prayer be directed. Why would you pray to anything but him Subhanahu wa ta'ala? So lahoo da'watul haq here means the duas, your salah, your ibadah should be directed towards him alone.
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says those that you address prayers to besides him are altogether powerless in their response to you, and he says the example of praying to anyone but Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is like a man who stretches out his hand to the water and says to the water while his hand is stretched out to the water, come to my mouth. SubhanAllah, but the water has no power to move itself to the mouth of that person that demands it to come to him. You have no control over these signs around you, and Allah Azawajal is saying go ahead tell the water to come to you, and it will not be able to. The water flows by the mercy and the permission and under the power of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala you have no ability. So look at you, you can't even put your hand to the water, put your hand in the water and say come to my mouth, and Allah Azawajal is saying that's the example of you when you call upon an idol that is just as powerless as you. In fact you have you have created and molded that that idol in accordance with your power and that power that Allah Azawajal has given to you. So why are you creating gods that are even less able than you are? And I'm just going to skip straight to verse 16 here. So verse 15 where Allah Azawajal says Walillahi yasjidu man fis samawati wal ardi, tawa'an wa karha. Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says that all that is in the heavens and the earth prostrate themselves to him willingly or under compulsion. Now what is this speaking to? Now obviously there are things that refused to bow to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, refused to prostrate towards him, but this is as the ulama mention at the very least you function under the physical laws that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala has created for
you. And so everything, everything is functioning in accordance with how Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala has fashioned it to be and Allah Azawajal gives the example of wadilaluhum bilghudui wal asad. SubhanAllah you can't even control your shadows. That's part of the power of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala over you. Then Allah Azawajal says, qul man rabbu samawati wal ardi, say to them who is the lord of the heavens and the earth. Qulillah, say to them it is Allah. Qul afattakhathum min doonihi awliyaa la yamlikuna li anfusihim nafaa? Have you taken besides them? Now this is again the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam saying to them afattakhathum, have you taken O Quraysh min doonihi awliyaa la yamlikuna li anfusihim nafaa? They don't have the ability to benefit or harm even themselves? Qul hal yastawi al a'ma wal basir? Does the one who sees and the one who can't see, are they equal in ability? Am hal tastawi dhulumat wal nur? And are night and day equal? Is the light and the darkness equal? And then Allah says, an ja'aloo lillahi shurakaa, khalakoo ka khalqihi fatashabahaal khalqoo alayhim? SubhanAllah, look at this line of argument. Okay, clearly these things that you've made have no power, so why are you assigning to them power and directing your worship towards them? And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is saying, is it that these things have created things that are equal to what Allah has created to where it's causing you confusion? Is it that you're attributing khalq to them because clearly they can't benefit you now? So is this on the basis of some previous creation that they've made that's making you think they are as able as Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la? Qulillahu khaliqoo kulli shay wa huwa al-wahid al-qahhar Say rather Allah is the creator of all things, He is the one and He is the compeller, He's the irresistible. Al-qahhar, everything functions in accordance with His creation, with His law
Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la, and there is no escape from what Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la has put forth as His laws in regards to the creation. Now SubhanAllah, just look at this and then think about Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam as he's calling upon his father. Just think about it. Everything that you're going to learn about how Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam calls upon his father and his people Ya abati lima ta'budu ma la yasma'u wa la yubsiru wa la yughni anka shay'a Oh my father, why do you worship those idols that don't see you, they don't hear you, they don't benefit you in any way whatsoever. So Surah Al-Wa'id really lays this powerful theological argument and I'll just say this inshallah as I pass it on to Sheikh Abdullah which is a very important point religion that is molded to fit your material pursuits is going to let you down, it's going to fail you and so in this world now that we live in of spiritual not religious, of I'm going to believe in God to the extent that it gives me comfort but I don't want to be accountable to that God, I just want to have another form of therapy in religion, that will fail you and let you down because at the end of the day it is accountable to you and you are not accountable to it and that's not the way that this works. So it goes back to Al Khaliq Subhana, the one who created you in the first place, the originator, Fatir As-Samawati wa Al-Ard Subhanahu wa ta'ala the originator of the heavens and the earth and with that inshallah ta'ala I'll pass it on to Sheikh Abdullah. Mashallah Bismillah wa salatu wa salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa limwina wa la amma ba'd Wallahi Sheikh Umar that last part is like a qa'da amma, I hope whoever does your social media cuts that out send it to me inshallah we're going to post it for like the whole week, yes. Wallahi that's so so important you know it reminds me of the statement of one of my mentors is that we worship Allah on his terms not on ours, it shouldn't be at a time of convenience. Wallahi it's so important. Jazakallah khairan for that. Barakallah
fikum. What I want to speak about particularly is in the chapter of Ibrahim and Ibrahim is one of my favorite if not my favorite chapter I can't recite that chapter without it just being very very very emotional for me because you know it really talks about the oneness of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and the tawhid of Allah and you know I was asked last night why did I come into Islam and the main reason was because of how everything is centralized around God and not around his creation and that that made so much sense to me when I heard that Islam is submission and surrender to the creator you know when you use the word creator it kind of sets the tone when speaking to those that may not understand Islam and those that do reminds you that okay the one that brought everything into existence and controls it sustains it and maintains it is Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and there is a response that is natural from you but you have to acknowledge it and then intensify it throughout your life with the fact that you're going to make mistakes and the one that really pushes us to make those mistakes or to persist in those mistakes to where even to the degree to where subhanAllah we may justify uh those uh shortcomings right there's shaitan you know we believe that there is shaitan iblis being the father of them and he will constantly try to give you dawah and call you to do that which is disobedience to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. What I love about the chapter of Ibrahim is a small portion there's that I want to share with you in regards to those that follow the idols and use them as their matabu'een they were the ones that they followed they worshiped them and those that even worship shaitan to a degree that was calling against the messenger the message the messengers and the message of Islam primarily ultimately Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says roughly in the chapter of Ibrahim I'm going to go through verses 19 to 22 briefly Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala firstly acknowledges his power and as Shaykh Omar mentioned
qahhar wahid al-qahhar the irresistible there will be a time when each and every single one of us will stand in front of al-qahhar al-haseeb the one that is irresistible there's nowhere to turn nowhere to go and he will hold you accountable for your deeds but the preparation is in this life because when that time comes there is no turning back as Allah mentions there will be people that want to go back after they see the reality of what is taking place Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says after Allah says do you not see that Allah created the heavens and the earth in truth were he were he were he to will he could take you away and bring a new creation it's up to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala brothers and sisters I was just recently in Turkey watching the aftermath of the earthquake as soon as I went into these villages in Ghazi and Tap in Hatay you realize that Allah has ultimate control and ultimate power and he is irresistible when people were pointing at their homes they were pointing at the air because their houses were rubble not knowing if there would be any corpses under that so realizing the power of Allah as the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said news is not like that which you actually see and you see it with your senses you feel it so when I was there I realized ultimately the power of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is irresistible then I had to look at myself what am I doing and that's the message that I want to receive to to relate to all of you right after this verse Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala ensures that this is not a task for him he does not get tired there is no form of drowsiness nor sleep from the creator of the heavens and the earth that is something that is not part of his reality and who he is SubhanAllah says after that
him replacing people on the earth and bringing up with with other forms of other people other creation he says that is not at all difficult for Allah then Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala paints a scene up gives you a scene the actual hiwar the conversation or the statement of shaitan actually what is going to take place he says then all of them the people that used to worship rather than Allah or some scholars say all the forms of creation they will come out of their graves they will come out of their graves all of them will appear exposed before Allah and the weak ones will say to the haughty ones the ones that they used to follow and worship other than Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala we merely followed you will you then protect us from the Allah's chastisement which means to be sufficient or to be rich will you suffice us from the punishment of they're acknowledging that the punishment of Allah is there then what do they say they will say had Allah shown us the way our salvation we would surely have also guided you that shows they have no ultimate independent agency for guidance it is ultimately al-hadi it is ultimately the one that guides Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala then they will say now it is the same time and Allah says now it is all the same time whether we cry or suffer patiently we have no escape the ones that were being followed this is what they say to their followers we have no power no authority and Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says after that the statement of shaitan listen closely Allah says wa qala shaitanu lamma qudiyal amru innallaha waAAadakum waAAadal haqqi wa waAAattukum faakhlaftukum
the first thing that shaitan says is after the matter has been finally decided satan will say surely surely whatever Allah promised you was true as for me i went back on my promise that i made you faakhlaftukum this is the relationship of shaitan this is the reality of shaitan when we talk about shaitan satan this is his occupation this is his mission what does he say he said i had no power over you except that i called you to my way and you responded to me and sultan means ahar it means authority something that you cannot withstand satan said i i i had no power to have total authority over you it shows that we as human beings have a responsibility and that ultimate responsibility is recognition of god who he is why he matters in our life and what should our befitting response be not on our terms but on the terms of what god tells us that's why it's important particularly in this month of ramadan to read the message of islam particularly initially what is god and what is our relationship with him and how do i live up to the knowledge of that relationship allah subhanahu wa ta'ala continues on to say here the statement of shaitan do not blame me all of you blame yourselves then he says here which is very interesting in the he says i disavow your former act of associating he says so i do not so do not blame me blame yourselves here i neither can i come to you for rescue nor can you come to mine so here allah says and surah is like to scream and what was mentioned in tafsir is that the surah is like a seeking
severe help in a time of help to where you know no one can help you if you're in the middle of the sea and you're calling out to allah you are screaming satan uses this i am not the one that can help you nor can you help me at a time of anguish to where you will literally be screaming and seeking help he says that verily verily i disbelieved in what you associated partners with me and that in the oppressors are of the ones that face the uh painful chastisement so here understanding as as shaykh omar mentioned the idol worship is something that is displeasing to allah and it's something that you know ibrahim was calling against ultimately with his people to his people the statement of shaitan should cause us to remember subhanallah that there will be a time that satan will say that verily i am free for what you've done because verily i fear allah i fear him he is the lord of all the worlds recognizing that that calls the shaitan in this month of ramadan and outside of it know that it is just a call the ultimate responsibility is on us and that is the jihad and nafs where satan may speak to us or cause our nafs to do something try to influence it it's important that we know that there's no power nor might except allah subhanahu wa ta'ala but we have to turn to him and ask him for that strength for really we cannot rely on ourselves may allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us strong in this month of ramadan and the months after that as well calls the idols shaitan right at some point they themselves are that because he's the one behind it sister sarah please for the beautiful and very very powerful reflections from both of you
i wanted to touch on four verses from surah ibrahim that come in succession verses 31 through 34 that highlight the concept of risk in islam or provision and i think it ties really beautifully into the concepts that you were both covering because in the end it the the vast message of these verses is to understand that everything every provision even the ones that we don't even view as provision come from allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and can't come from anywhere else so many of us define risk as money and material things but it really encompasses so much more and the way that i explain it to my kids is that it's like a treasure box that includes everything that you've been provided and everything you need in order to benefit from that that provision to lead the life that you're meant to lead so that includes health emotional comfort the ability to have a sense of community a spouse a good relationship with your parents it also includes our connection our ability to connect with allah subhanahu wa ta'ala our ability to worship allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and so all of these four verses in surah ibrahim really seek to realign our perspective of risk to that which is pleasing to allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and it can really be beautifully transformative for us when we reflect on them in this way and so starting with verse 31 allah subhanahu wa ta'ala starts and he says tell my believing servants to establish prayer and to spend from what we have provided for them openly and secretly before the arrival of a day in which there will be no ransom or no friendships and so allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this verse first of all he starts by addressing not just
everyone but specifically his servants and whenever we hear this we perk up our ears because inshallah we pray that we are from amongst those from amongst his believing servants and so we live our lives thinking about risk or our provision in terms of wealth and that we constantly need more need more and more but here allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is setting the standard for the believers that risk is not just about what we have but what we do with it and consider the two deeds that allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions here he mentions prayer and charity and these can oftentimes be very difficult for people because they feel like a sacrifice of something that you have when you are praying you're sacrificing your time and when you are spending for the sake of allah then you are sacrificing your money or so it seems but allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is reframing these actions for his sake as defining them as features of the believers which is a status that we all strive to achieve and so while we sometimes might feel like it's taking something away in reality we're actually leveling up and it's a reminder of reframing our mindset to realize that it's not about accumulating wealth but it's about spending in the path of allah to be from amongst the believers it's not about being a busy professional you know we often define success based on how busy people are and having no time available but instead it's choosing to spend your time prioritizing what is most pleasing to allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and in this verse allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reminds us to acknowledge that these provisions come from allah that these are provided to us from him and it makes it easier for us to dedicate them back to him when we realize that they were always at his disposal to begin with in the next two verses i'm not going to delve into them because of time constraints but inshallah look at them look at verses 32 and 33 because allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
enumerates some beautiful examples of his provision for us and it's beautiful to reflect on what you have at your disposal that has been provided to us by allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that we might never have considered as even a part of our provision and that we might take for granted and are so easily dismissed right so take a look at those ayat inshallah when you when you have the chance but i wanted to delve into verse 34 in surah ibrahim where allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that and he has granted you all that you have asked him for that if you try to count allah's blessings you would never be able to number them that indeed mankind is truly unjust and ungrateful and you know when i read this verse the first thing that came to mind subhanallah was a conversation that i had with a client who once asked me you know allah says in this verse that he has given me everything that i've asked him for but how do i reconcile that with the fact that there are a lot of things that i've asked for that i haven't been given and you know the quran is truth how do i reconcile this right so we had a discussion about it but i think it's so important to realize that the reality of this verse is that you may not have everything you want but you are ensured everything that you need and that we will all be given what we ask of allah if in his infinite wisdom and knowledge it's best for us and this can be a really hard concept to accept at times because it requires an inherent shift in the world view that we're fed it requires a quranic worldview because we're taught to think that we know ourselves best and that we know what's best for us but in reality
we don't allah is better than we know ourselves but even more he has knowledge of every single facet of our lives now and in the future and the impact that every single thing we ask for will have on us now will have us on us in our future in this life and in our future in the hereafter and so as human beings we often think if i have this then i'll be happy once i graduate once i get into this college i'll be happy once i once i graduate from college once i get my job once i get married once i have kids i'll be happy but allah is the only one who truly knows and when we tend to focus on what we lack that and that's that's normal for us as human beings you know that's that's kind of the state that's very normal for us to to get into but this is why as human beings we can be unjust and ungrateful like allah mentions in this verse if we're not aware of this tendency and if we don't work on addressing it now to be clear it doesn't mean that you can't still want those things or that you're if you're feeling down about a dream that hasn't come to fruition that it means that you're ungrateful not at all but how do we manage this dichotomy and i wanted to leave you all with three psychological reframes to help us shift our worldview in a way that aligns with this beautiful verse and the first one comes from dialectical behavioral therapy dialectical meaning that opposites can coexist and so i call it the this and that technique which is ask yourself what am i desperately hoping for and can i also accept that there is wisdom in allah's decree for me right now meaning i wish i could find a good spouse and i know that in his in his infinite wisdom allah has the best plan for me or i wish that i hadn't gotten laid off from my job and i know that allah is the provider and he will provide for me we can all probably think of times when we wanted something and we desperately asked for it
we didn't receive it but it ended up being so much better for us and so reflecting on that to really solidify that reframe can be important the second reframe is to acknowledge that there are a lot of things that allah has granted us that we so desperately prayed for but now they're sometimes a source of stress sometimes they we complain about them sometimes we feel overwhelmed by them and you know like the job that you prayed for and now you have this micromanaging boss that's frustrating or the children that you prayed for and then you have this endless noise and laundry and sleepless nights that come with parenthood right or the marriage that you prayed for but it didn't turn out the way that you anticipated so realize that we ask allah for a lot and even when we receive these things life is imperfect and us noticing this imperfection is the default of us as human beings but it doesn't invalidate the fact that allah has bestowed countless countless blessings upon us and so we tend to have a lens focused on what's going wrong but this verse is a wake up call for us to be able to appreciate what's going right as well and then finally the third shift is to consider what you personally are struggling with right now and in this struggle is it possible that this particular struggle could be a part of your risk your provision as well finding treasure in the midst of difficulty can be really where the child who's running around and yelling and driving you nuts how many children how many parents are struggling with a child who's non-verbal and would love to hear that sound right it's not to diminish the hardship but it's to make the hardship easier to bear when we think about this when we think about can my struggle be a form of risk from allah can it be a part of my treasure chest when this struggle actually leads me to reconnect with the quran as i search for
solace when this struggle leads me to reconnect with allah in a way that i didn't before when it leads me to a strength that i never knew i had and i would never have had if i hadn't gone through it and so when we create this shift to consider our risk through a broader lens through a quranic lens it can really help us to navigate both good and difficult times in a way that we can feel safe and cared for and loved by allah and so we i ask allah to make us from amongst those who are grateful and those who are characterized amongst the sincere believers amazing reflection subhanallah and actually matches so much with what shaykh bilal was talking about some of the blessings in the midst of his greatest hardship yesterday and i can't help just the one reflection that i'll share the fact that allah connects that he gave you everything you asked him for if you were to try to count the blessings from just one blessing in your life you would not be able to enumerate them as if to say that if someone asks allah for things in the future but isn't always acknowledging the things that allah has given them in the past in the present then of course they're going to be disappointed and frustrated because they're not paying attention and so it's in the same verse so that you can't separate those two things from each other subhanallah for the powerful reflection shaykh abdullah any final thought for us yeah that verse that you mentioned i love that verse i love the all those verses i mean you know a couple of verses before he said what's like to subjugate something to show that he created it all for you and then on top of that he gives you everything and then he says and it's our do is try to count from aded and tursu really comes from hasa like you try to enumerate you will never be able to do that so allah is using these two verbs to show the second one is to show that it is plenty and you would not be able to do so and that's just so eloquent
we have the opportunity to look up the background of those two verbs why he used to do and then use tursu to show that um subhanallah it's it's virtually impossible to count the blessings i mean uh that allah subhanallah has provided us from his rizq so jazakallah we don't want to hold you up uh we're grateful for your time uh i'm grateful for your reflections and again to everyone please check out the book we'll mention again tomorrow inshallah sister najwa your lord has not forsaken you as well as the attaching to allah series that we did last year which is i think uh very profound reflections we'll see you all tomorrow alaikum
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