Qur'an 30 for 30
25 / 30
Juz' 25 with Sh. Yasir Fahmy
Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Abdullah Oduro, joined by special guest Sh. Yasir Fahmy, explore gems from the 25th Juz' of the Holy Quran.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Salamualikoum wa rahmatollahi wa barakatohu. Audhu billahi min ash-shaytani r-rajim. Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen. Wa ala alwanina ala al-dhalimeen wa ala al-aqiba tul al-mutaqeem. Allahumma salli wa sallim wa baraka alabdika wa sallimu ala Rasulika Muhammadin salallahu alayhi wa sallam wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallimu taslimin kathira. Dear brothers and sisters, we want to welcome you back to Qur'an 30 for 30. Alhamdulillah. Alongside Sheikh Abdullah and myself tonight, we have a very dear friend and special guest, Boston's finest, I don't know if you like that term, Sheikh Yasser, but the best that Boston has to offer, Alhamdulillah. And New Jersey, Boston and New Jersey's finest. Just to make sure we got our respect in Jersey people. Khalas, respect the Jersey connection, Alhamdulillah. We're very honored to have our dear beloved Sheikh Yasser Fahmy with us tonight, inshallah ta'ala. And it is the 25th night of Ramadan, so may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept from us. What a blessed night for us to reach. And of course, one of the odd nights in the last 10. So I pray that Allah azawajal accept your ibadat tonight and always, and that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to catch Laylatul Qadr wherever it is. So inshallah ta'ala we'll go ahead and we'll start. And subhanAllah, in Juz 25, in Surat Ash-Shura, it starts with the ending of Surat Al-Fusilat and then after that we go into Surat Ash-Shura. And there's a verse that connects very deeply to the subject tonight in Ibadur Rahman, when we talk about the servants of the most merciful. And tonight we'll be talking about a healthy fear and what it looks like to have people that fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and that actively ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to remove the punishment from them, despite the fact that they are people of plentiful good deeds, people who connect to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and people that are known for their nobility. They still call upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
wabda nasraf a'inna a'zaba jahannam, O Allah remove from us the punishment of the fire. Verse 7 of the Surah is a very particular verse where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala ends off the ayah. So Allah azawajal says, wa kathalika awhina ilayka quran an-arabiya li tunzira umm al-qura wa min hawlaha wa tunzira yawm al-jama'i la rayba feehi fariqun fil-jannati wa fariqun fil-sa'ir Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, and thus did we reveal this Quran in Arabic to you, that you may warn the people of Mecca and those that dwell around it, and warn them of the day of gathering of yawm al-jama'i, concerning which there is no doubt. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, a group in paradise and a group in a blazing fire. The wife of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz rahimahu wa ta'ala, her name was Fatima ibn Abd al-Malik, may Allah have mercy on her. She said that there was one verse that when Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz would read this verse, and Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz used to only pray two rak'ahs of qiyamah every night, but his two rak'ahs were spectacular in terms of their quality and the deep connection that he would have with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in those two rak'ahs. She said that this verse, if he read this verse, it was so impactful. It caused him such grief and such fear that I would be afraid that he would die because of how much he would cry when he would read this verse. And it was particularly, subhanAllah, and she used the example, she said, I imagine a bird having water thrown on it. She said, I thought the Ummah would wake up with no khalifa and I would wake up with no husband. And it was all because of the end of this verse, fariqun fil jannah wa fariqun fil sa'ib, a group in paradise and a group in the blazing fire. And so he used to ask, and oh Allah, in which of the two groups am I in? SubhanAllah. So Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, who is noted as being one of khulafa ur-rashideen,
though he is separated in terms of the history or in terms of time period from khulafa ur-rashideen, from the righteous khulafa, he is considered to be amongst them because of what he did. The first, or one of the first mujaddids of this Ummah, revivers of this Ummah. And he feared for himself, subhanAllah, when he would read this verse, that he was not so sure that he was from fariqun fil jannah. We ask Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la to make us all amongst them. Allahumma ameen. And so that's the first thing that I just wanted us to think about as we're reading through this surah today. Now, one of the things that's interesting about Juz 25 is that just like Juz 24 is all about the angels, or there's a lot about the angels in Juz 24, it's a theme that you find throughout the Juz. In this Juz, the theme is actually the Quran. In fact, every single surah in this Quran starts off with a verse about the Quran. So we had a stretch of surahs in the beginning of the Quran around Juz 8-9, where we started to see that. And here, every surah within this Juz starts off with a mention of the Quran. So in the beginning of this surah, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, katharika yu'hi ilayka wa ila allatheena min qablika, Allahu al-Azizu al-Hakeem, that thus does Allah, the Mighty, the Most Wise, reveal to you, even as He revealed to those messengers who preceded you. Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, Al-Aziz, Al-Hakeem, the Most Praiseworthy, the Most Wise. Allah Azawajal says in verse 51, so He starts to address certain objections that people have of the Quran, while also mentioning certain virtues of the Quran. So in verse 51, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la addresses the argument that you've been seeing play out, particularly between Juz 21 and 23, this criticism of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, why don't the angels just come down and speak to us?
Why don't we see Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la? Why doesn't God Himself speak to us? All of the objections that they're bringing about the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam calling into question the idea that he has been chosen by Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la to be the messenger to mankind. Why you and how come you're not able to produce this, this, this and that? And so Allah Azawajal addresses the challenge that it is not befitting to any human being that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la an yukallimahu Allahu illa wahyan awwil wara'i hijab, that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la should speak to him except through revelation or from behind a veil, or that a messenger, here being an angel, sent to him that reveals to him by Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la's permission, whatever he wills, and Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is Ali-un-Hakeem, Allah Azawajal is all high and most wise. And then Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, Wa kadhalika awhayna ilayka ruham min amrina And thus we have sent from you, we have revealed to you, O Prophet of Allah, a spirit by our command. And so just like every prophet had an angel that came to them, and Allah Azawajal revealed to them in the same way Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is revealing to you through a spirit by our command. And this is probably one of the most beautiful about the Quran, because it speaks to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam receiving the Quran. And this is verse 52, the end of the surah. Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, Ma kuntatadri mal kitabu wala al-iman, walakin ja'alnaahu noora Nahdi bihi man nasha'u min imani minaq, wa innaka la tahdi ila sirata mustaqeem That you did not know, you knew neither what the book nor the faith was. You did not know that this was going to happen to you, O Messenger of Allah. The Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam did not know that he would one day have this great message bestowed upon him, and he would be raised to this rank, alayhi salatu was salam.
He was looking, he was in search, and Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, And we made that spirit a light whereby we guide those of our servants whom we please to the right way. So this light that Allah chose you, O Muhammad SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, to be the carrier of, we have made it such that that light will guide whom we please amongst our servants, and surely, affirming to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, reassuring the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, you are directing people to the right way. You are directing people to the right way. Do not let the questioning of these people cause you to have any self-doubt about who you are, O Muhammad, about who you are in the sight of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, and about the integrity of the messenger SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, and the message that was bestowed upon him. The next surah, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, again, حَامِمُ وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًا نَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ That Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la swears by the book. Allah swears by the clear book. Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, so in the end of the previous surah, Allah Azawajal is reassuring the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, confirming once again who he is and the means by which Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la guided him, and by extension guides us. And that this Quran, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is the author of this Quran. And so here Allah actually swears by the Quran. And Allah Azawajal swears by it as the clear book. Meaning there is no ambiguity in regards to this book, not in the message itself, nor in the integrity and the confirmation and the authority of the Messenger SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. Verily we have made it an Arabic Quran, once again, clear language that you may understand. And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, وَإِنَّهُ فِي أُمَّ الْكِتَابِ لَدَيْنَا لَعَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ Indeed, it is transcribed in the original book with us, exalted and full of wisdom.
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la then tells us the real reason why these people were questioning the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. It was not that they were questioning the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam because they really doubted the Quran. So verse 31, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, وَقَالُوا لَوْ لَا نُزِّلَ هَذَا الْقُرْآنُ عَلَى رَجُلٍ مِنَ الْقَرْيَتَيْنِ يَعْظِيمٌ They say, why was this Quran not set down upon some great men from the two cities? And so what they mean by that is that why you? So it wasn't about the message. It wasn't about the messenger. It was about us not being chosen to be from the messengers, which speaks to their real intention. When they mocked the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, they said, why did this not come upon people like Walid ibn Mughirah or Uthbah ibn Rabi'ah, the nobles of like Uthbah ibn Mas'ud, the people that were the elites of Mecca and Ta'if. So these are the Qariyatain that are being referred to here. Why you, O Muhammad SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam? It should have been one of us. And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, وَهُمْ يَخْسِبُونَ رَحْمَةً وَأَبِكَ Do they get to distribute the mercy of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la? It is Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la who distributes our livelihood amongst us in this world. And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la who raises in rank as He chooses. And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la's mercy is up to Him. It is He who decrees it as He sees fit, Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. So it answers the clear objection, the real reason why they were objecting to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and his Prophethood. Finally, the next surah, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, once again, حَامِمْ وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la swears by the clear book once again. And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says,
إِنَّ أَنزَلْنَا كُلُّ أَمْرَ كُنَّا مُنْبِرِينَ Indeed, we were warned by it. فيها يُفْرَقُ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَكِيمٍ And every matter is decreed precisely on that night of Laylatul Qadr. SubhanAllah, to conclude as I handed over from Surah Dukhan to Sheikh Abdullah, the fact that they were complaining that why was the Quran decreed, which is the greatest blessing, right? That Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la decreed, why did Allah choose you, O Muhammad SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam? And rejecting the Quran because they were displeased with the decree of Allah. And then here Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, the Quran was revealed on this blessed night, Laylatul Qadr, may Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la allow us to observe it. And that is the night in which all prayers are decreed on an annual basis. We pray that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la make us amongst those that have only the best decreed for them. We pray that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la make us amongst those that are recipients of His mercy in this blessed night and His forgiveness and His pleasure. Allahumma ameen. And with that, I'll go ahead and pass it off to Sheikh Abdullah. Bismillah, wasalatu wasalamu ala rasool Allah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa manoola amma ba'ad. The chapter in which I wish to speak about inshallah on this 25th Juz is the chapter of Zuhruf. The chapter of Zuhruf actually means ornaments and as some have mentioned, golden ornaments. And I'm actually going to cite the verse in which that word is mentioned. And it was in the verse that, it comes right after the verse that Sheikh Omar alluded to that he mentioned,
verse number 31 all the way to roughly verse number 35 inshallah ta'ala. So just as he said, you know, this was a statement of the Quraysh, the Meccans, the people that disbelieved in the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him, the people that disbelieved in a monotheistic practice and worshipping God by himself and recognizing his greatness. Well, they recognize his greatness, but did they have the appropriate response to that knowledge? And that's what's mostly important here, which makes the difference between him and, you know, the Muslims and the people that did not believe at that time and in general. Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says after Audhu Billahi Minash Shaitanir Rajim, wa qalu lawla nuzilahathil qur'anu ala rajulim minal qariyatayni azeem And they said, being the Quraysh, lawla nuzilahathil qur'anu ala rajulim And they said, what, you know, only if this Qur'an was revealed upon a man from either one of the two, ala qariyatayni azeem, and these two qariyatayni as he mentioned, either Mecca or Ta'if, being that it was, you know, Walid bin Mughaira or Mas'ud bin Uram Mas'ud, radhiAllahu anhu, these two individuals, that it was revealed upon these two individuals because they had stature, they had respect, they had honor, they were diplomats and they were well known. And it's SubhanAllah, it's interesting here because, you know, Islam always takes into consideration the poor and destitute. Islam always looks at humility, the actions of the heart before anything else, before any ornaments or anything that is superficial or anything that is apparent. allatheena yu'minuna bilghaybi Those that believe in the unseen. And that was what we talked about in the first lesson. It's important to value the inner connection that one has with their maker. That's what is valued.
What the relationship their heart, what their heart carries and what is exemplified through their actions is what Islam, what Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala values the most. So that may mean that you may not be well known amongst the people, but with Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, you are someone that is beloved. You may not be mentioned amongst the people. You may not be popular and everything of that nature, but you are with Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala when you are alone, Allah loves you. And that's what's so beautiful here because the Quraysh, they saw the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam had the Muhammad Sadiqun Ameen. He is someone that's trustworthy and he is honest. But when it came to him receiving the message of how to change our life, slow down, slow down. That's a little too much. So that's what's so beautiful here is that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala gave him this magnificent message because of his humility and his honor and Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala chooses whom he wills. So Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala does a refutation against that question that they had. Some scholars mention, as Zuhayl Rahimullah mentions that, there's three refutations that he has here. First refutation or rebuttal is verse number 32. Ahum yaqusimuna rahmatarabbika nahnu qasamna baynahum a'ishatuhum filhayati al-dunya Are they the ones that distribute? So Allah is asking a rhetorical question. Basically, if you have the right to ask that question, let me ask this question. Do they distribute rahmatarabbika? Are they the ones that distribute the mercy of your Lord? We are the ones who have appointed amongst them the livelihood and the life of this world and have raised some amongst them above others in degrees. So the first rebuttal was, do they have the right to distribute the mercy? Rahmatarabbika? Nahnu qasamna baynahum. We are the ones that distribute the mercy. So Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, SubhanAllah, you will find that he will always turn it back to his authority. And he will always remind you of who he is and his names and attributes
and what they mean in the life of the human being. As soon as you question the authority of what God has chosen, he always brings it back to proper perspective. And that is something that's important for the Muslim when they want to see and remind themselves how to actualize Islam, we can say within their lives, but within your heart. How should your heart exemplify that connection with God? When you ask why this person, if Allah has chosen that person and you see the character and what they're calling to, SubhanAllah, I remember when I was hearing about Islam, the first of my questions being from the West was like, okay, what does Muhammad want? Right? Okay, I believe in the one and sub God and all that, but this Muhammad, what does he want from me? And that was what was so intriguing to me is like, he doesn't want anything from you except for you to worship God by himself. That is why he was sent, which made me more inquisitive and eventually to become Muslim. So here we're seeing that Allah Subhana wa ta'ala first questions that we are the ones, are they the ones that have the authority to distribute the mercy? And I want you to notice how he says, نحن قسمنا بينهم معيشتهم في الحياة الدنيا We are the ones here that distribute the ma'isha to whom, that their livelihood in this life. ورفعنا بعضهم فوق بعض الدرجات And we have raised some of them above others in degrees. That's the second rebuttal. So the first thing is that a rhetorical question that, do they think they have the right to distribute this mercy amongst one another? We are the ones that give some people virtues over others. We are the ones that have that clear authority. And then Allah Subhana wa ta'ala continues on to say in verse number 32, وَرَحْمَةُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ And this is beautiful here. It's important for you to remember, for those of you that may be trying to practice your faith and trying to exemplify your love of Allah Subhana wa ta'ala and your practice of your faith. And you may have some people, you may have some friends that may make fun of you or belittle you because you're trying to be someone that prays five times a day.
I remember there's a friend of mine, you may be watching, I remember he always talks about, one time they were watching the, I think it was a football game, it was a Super Bowl and he said, you know, I got to get up and pray, man. And his friend's like, what? You're going to go pray? We're watching the game. And they always made fun of him because he left the game to go and pray. Don't ever feel that you are lesser of a person or belittle when you're doing something that you know is right. Do not let the ones that are of creation make you feel that you are doing something wrong when you're turning towards your own. Creator, or you're doing an action that shows gratitude to your creator. And that's, what's so beautiful about these verses, because Allah is telling you, let your mind and your heart transcend the dunya. And that's where he goes on to say here in the next verse, at the end of this verse, the mercy of Allah is greater than what they gather. You've memorized the Quran and people may look down upon you because you don't have a degree. Do not ever belittle the fact that you are someone that's doing an action that is beloved to Allah and people that may have something more of you, more than you in this dunya, they look down upon you because you don't have it, but you have something that is much greater. The implementation of your love of God and your devotion to him initially from your heart. That's why it says, khayrun, it's better than what these people gather. And then Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, wa law la-ayakuna an-nasu ummatan wahidatan la ja'alna liman yakfur bin rahmani libuyutihim suqfam min fidlatin wa ma'arij alayha yadharoon Then Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la continues on to say, and if there were not of a people that would become one community of people that disbelieved, we would have made for those who disbelieve in the most merciful for their houses, ceilings and stairways of silver upon which to mount. Okay. And then he says, and for their houses, walibuyutihim abuwaban and for their houses, doors and couches, wa surulan alayha yattaqioon
Couches, or we could say beds, yattaqioon. And yattaqioon is like to lean. It's like, it's so lavish. You're leaning, you're chilling. You just, you just lean in there. Right? And then Allah says, wa zukhrufa. And that's the beginning of verse number 35. Zukhrufa is the golden ornaments here. So he's saying, if we will, we would make everyone on this earth, people that said, we don't believe in a God. We don't believe that there was someone that deserves to be worshipped by himself. He could have easily made that. If he would have made that, he would have blessed all of them with stairways, with ceilings, all made of silver. Can you imagine? Literally they're getting their shine on. Everything is shining. And that's why some scholars say silver, is silver because it is shiny and it is attractive to the eye. It mesmerizes you. Then Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, wa zukhrufa. And then he says, wa in kullu dhalika, lamma mata'u alhayati al-dunya, wal-akhiratu inda rabbika lil-muttaqeen. And he ends here in zukhrufa. He's saying, even with that, we would give them golden ornaments. Wa in kullu dhalika and all of that, which you just heard, all of that, which you naturally desire is mata'u alhayati al-dunya. It is an enjoyment of this life. And then he makes the comparison, wal-akhiratu, and the akhira with your Lord is greater for the muttaqeen. For the muttaqeen, that is much greater for them. So realize brothers and sisters, the name of this chapter is just reminding you, SubhanAllah, do not be mesmerized by the dunya and don't let that distract you from what is more important. And then conclude, you know, when SubhanAllah, there was a time of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, and many of us may know the hadith, when the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was lying on a mat. And when he stood up from the mat, he had the athaar, he had the elements or signs of the mat on his side. And Ibn Mas'ud came and said, Ya Rasulullah, alawati khadhnaka wisada. He said, Oh Messenger of Allah, if you were to take for you a pillow or something of this nature, he said, ma li walid dunya? He said, what is for me in this life?
Verily, I am a comparison to this life, kera kira kiban istadhala tahta shajaratin thumma qama wa tarakaha. I'm like a rider that is in this life that takes the shade of a tree, gets his shade of a tree, gets up and then proceeds on. Remember that this dunya literally comes from that which is low. We should not cherish it to the degree to where it compromises our character by belittling others that show and exemplify their love of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. May Allah make us of those that value the next life more than we value this life and use this life as a means to come closer to the owner of the next life. JazakumAllah khairan. JazakumAllah khairan. Sheikh Mayasab, go ahead. Bismillah. Bismillah walhamdulillah wa salatu wassalamu ala rasulillah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala. Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barak ala Sayyidina Muhammadin fil awalin wa fil akhirin wa fil malail ala ila yawm al-din. It's a pleasure to be with all of you this evening. Inshallah, I'll try to keep my remarks slightly shorter. What's inspiring me this evening when it comes to the 25th juz is really a statement by Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud. When in reference to the Hawamim, these verses, these chapters that we're in right now in the 25th juz of the Quran that start in really the 24th and end in the 26th, there are seven sur. They are called al-Hawamim or the Hawamim, the family of Hawamim. Seven chapters that have the same code at the top, which is Hawamim and encompass pretty much all the same meanings in various ways. And he says something that was very beautiful that touched me and it really struck me in a way that hopefully inshallah will be of use to everyone. He says, if you find yourself walking through the Quran and you stumble upon the family of Hawamim, and certainly you have found yourself in gardens, beautiful, endless gardens, blissful gardens,
أتأنق فيهن. I myself find all of my pleasure, my joy, my relaxation, my relief in these gardens. When we hear things like this, very often, we kind of just make a note of it. Okay, Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud said with regards to the seven sur of the Hawamim that it's like going through their gardens. Okay, next. But what made me pause here was for someone like Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud to say that is actually pretty profound because who is Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud? He was one of the first to have entered into Islam. He is one of those who made the two hijras to Habasha, to Abyssinia, and to Medina. He was one of the first to have entered into Islam. He would carry the slippers of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, one time, Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud was climbing a tree and the companions kind of snickered at the fact that he had thin legs. And they said, What are you laughing? He said, What are you guys laughing at? So we're laughing at the fact that Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud has these thin legs. He says, Don't laugh for verily his legs are أثقل من أحد. They are weightier than the mountain of Uhud. And perhaps one of the greatest badges of honor of Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud is that he was أول من جهر بكتاب الله في مكة. He was the first to come out openly and recite the Qur'an in Mecca. And that was a very brave, very spirited act. This is someone who loved the Prophet, who loved this path, and he came out and certainly he was received with a pretty bad bruising. So one of the features of these seven surahs is that the consensus of scholarship is that all seven of the Hawamim were revealed in Mecca in terms of the entirety of the surah, and they were revealed sequentially, right, from Ghafir to Al-Ahqaf.
And it's perhaps the case, Wallahu A'lam, that this was revealed in the latter part of the Meccan period, roughly two, three years before the Hawamim. Roughly two, three years before the Hijrah. So if you put yourself in Sayyidina Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud's shoes, he is someone who's witnessing all of this trauma, this pain, this difficulty, the attacks on this community, in an open air prison, realistically, right? He's going through it all. He's been through the ups and the downs. He's watching as the Mushrikeen are doing what they're doing. He's trying to negotiate this whole reality of this new way of life that the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam has introduced. And then these seven chapters of the Qur'an come down, and he describes them as gardens. And that really struck me. So I started to read these surahs as if I'm walking through a garden. You know, here in Boston, nearby where I live, we have something called the Arnold Arboretum. It's 260 acres of a natural reserve, and it's managed by Harvard. And they say that they've brought trees from all across the world, so many different species. And it's truly an amazing thing. You go into one alleyway, one ravine, one space, one place, one pathway, you see trees that are really remarkable, intertwined, different types of bark, different types of leaves, etc. It's really a beautiful thing. And everywhere you go, you're looking at trees, but you're looking at different things, different scents, different sights, different scenes, and they all inspire you profoundly. So you can imagine Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas'ud walking through the Hawamim as he's reading about Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala talking about Sanurihim ayatina fil-afaq, the end of surah Fussilat. That certainly we are going to show them our signs in the horizons, wa fee anfusihim, and in themselves, hatta yatabayyin lahum annahu alhaq,
until this is truly proven to them that this is the truth, that this is clearly clarified. This is Qur'an mubeen, as Sheikh Omar spoke about. This is a clear Qur'an, and this is a clarifying Qur'an. awalam yakfee bi rabbika annahu ala kulli shay'in shaheed Is it not sufficient for your Lord that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala witnesses all things? So what does that do to someone like Abdullah ibn Mas'ud? What kind of inspiration? What kind of, you know, if he's in an open-air prison and Allah is now talking about his signs and manifesting his signs, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is giving Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas'ud access into the nations that have passed, giving them a story, the historical insight of what happened to Aad and Thamud, being able to read these stories, analyze what happened to them, why what happened to them. That's a beautiful garden to live in right there. Then juxtapose with the stories of Musa and Isa and Ibrahim and Ismail, you know, may Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala alayhimu s-salam ajma'een and to be living in their world and to realize, as Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says, that this is not something new. shara'a lakum min ad-deeni ma wassa bihi nuhan that this shari'a, this new way that has come, you know, this what has come upon Muhammad salallahu alayhi wa sallam is what we advised Nuh with. And then this imma wa ma wassayna bihi Ibrahim wa Musa wa Isa an aqeemu al-deen and this is what we told Ibrahim, Musa, and Isa, establish this religion. And so what does that do to his heart and his spirit? This is him knowing that he is a part of a transgenerational, divine, divinely oriented revelatory reality that is now going to shift and change their entire existence. And they, and he is a part of this, because one of the things that the mufassirun say about the Hawamim is that this is a form of tamhid. It's a preparatory succession of chapters to prepare the hearts and the souls
of the companions to say, you are now the carriers of this message. Look at Musa and Banu Israel, look at alayhi salam, look at that story, look at that reality. Now you are the carriers of this message. So prepare yourself, because after the Hawamim, it's Surah Muhammad. Surah Muhammad, when you get into it with Sheikh Abdullah and Sheikh Omar, is a very intense surah. And then you have after that, al-Fath, the opening. So this is a preparatory phase to soften the hearts, to theologically orient, to spiritually nourish, to give historical insights, to also give assessments of the pathways in the different ways of being, the end result of those who believe and the end result of those who disbelieve. So they truly are gardens. Brothers and sisters, you know, I'll close with this inshallah. I want us to all deeply appreciate the fact that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, when it comes to our revelation, when it comes to this beautiful deen, that Allah talks to us in the language of signs. Signs are very beautiful. Signs in the Islamic tradition are everything, by the way. When Allah commanded the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam to read, it was qiraatun, as Imam al-Ghazali says, li kitabillahi al-manzoor wa qiraatun li kitabillahi al-mastoor is to observe and read and analyze the signs that are seen and analyze and read the signs that are revealed. If you're on a highway and your gas light turns on, you have to fill up gas now. What do you start to look for? You start to look for that little, I mean, at least this is very contextualized to American roadways, so I don't know about the international community, but at least in the US, you start to look for that little blue thing, that little blue blob that has a squiggly line of a gas tank. And when you see it and it says gas half mile or a quarter mile, what happens to your heart? You're looking for the sign, you see the sign,
it immediately induces a sense of relief, a sense of clarity, a sense of ease, and a sense of certainty, meaning that, okay, in a half mile, I'm gonna be saved. I'm gonna fill the tank. I'm gonna get to put my two kids in the bathroom. We've been trying to use the bathroom. I don't want them to soil themselves. We're gonna get some snacks. It creates an emotional and psychological and spiritual disposition that is very profound. These signs that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la has revealed to us and the ones that he's always talking about to us to observe should precisely induce that within us. You know, why is it that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, that one night when Bilal came and awakened him to take permission to make a than of fajr, and he saw the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam crying profusely. He said, Ya Rasulullah, ma yubki, what makes you cry this way? He said, kayfa la abki wa qad unzila alayya allayla inna fi khalqis samawati wal ardi wa ikhtilaf al layli wal nahar la ayatin li uli al albab. That verily in the creation, how am I not to cry when tonight was revealed upon me, this beautiful verse, this beautiful sign that verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth and alternation of the night and day are signs for the people who have their innermost hearts. So brothers and sisters, I want all of us to learn to read these signs exactly like you're going through a garden. Be mesmerized by them, internalize them, find clarity within them, find relief in them, just like Abdullah ibn Mas'ud did. Get that context that you finally need, get that perspective that you finally need, get that sense of certainty that you finally need. But see, there's one thing here about signs that we have to be very careful about. If I'm on the highway and I don't know to look for which sign,
my car is going to break down and the cop is going to come to me and say, what happened, didn't you see the sign? Like what sign? Where was the sign? What, you're talking about that blue blob thing? I don't know what that is. So we have to use our minds, we have to use our hearts, we have to awaken our faculties, we have to observe. So we have to be proactive, we have to do nathar, we have to observe intently. And we have to be careful not to render our faculties null and void because Allah says, and I'll close with this inshallah, in Surat al-Jathiyah, Afaraaytaman ittakhatha ilaha hu hawa? Have you not seen those who take as their high Lord their desires? Wa adallahu Allah, and Allah misguided them, and Allah led them astray. Ala ilm, in the face of knowledge, they had the knowledge. It was right there, the signs were right there, crying at them, you know, come here, come here, come here. And I just went that way. Wa khatama ala sam'ihi wa qalbihi, and Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la seals their ears and their hearts, wa ja'ala ala basarihi ghishawa, and there's this covering over their eyes. And that, brothers and sisters, is what we have to be very careful about. Allah has blessed us with signs, but He's also blessed us with the spiritual apparatus to observe the signs. If we become too self-indulgent, too self-absorbed, that everything is about me, me, me, my wants, my feelings, my desires, my fears, my anxieties, me, me, me. The signs are right there, calling out to me to exit. But I just don't see it. So brothers and sisters, insha'Allah ta'ala, as we're reading these Qur'an, our Qur'an, and we're reading these ayat, let's open up our hearts and our minds to these signs. Let's find the certainty in these signs. You know, what is known as, you know, the the bard al-yaqeen, the coolness of certainty.
The dua of the Prophet ﷺ, Allahumma qasim lana min khashyati kama tahulu baynana wa bayna ma'asiyatik wa min ta'atika ma tuballighuna bihi jannatik wa min al-yaqeeni ma tuhawwinu alayna biha masa'ibat dunya Ya Allah, grant us certainty that will make easy for us the realities of this dunya. The secret of that certainty, and that relief, and that clarity, wallahi, are in the signs of Allah. And the signs of Allah are everywhere. wa fee kulli shay'in aya tadullu ala anna hu wahidu And everything there is a sign that indicates Allah is one. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala help us to see the signs, to love the signs, to find the beauty in these signs, to find the relief in these signs. May Allah help us to be a people of the signs. bi idhnillahi wa fadlihi Jazakumullah khair wa salillahumma ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa akhiru da'awana anil hamdu lillahi rabbil alameen Jazakumullah khairan, akhil habib, shafi'a astaghfirullah, for the beautiful reflections. We appreciate you joining us tonight. We appreciate the yaqeen plug at the end too. Allah! That was really nice. That was completely unintended. I'll do it better. Sure it was. That's what they call a Freudian slip. It came from within, something. We'll take those slips any day, man. May Allah bless all of you. We bless the whole yaqeen team. Allah, please keep us in your heart in these last times, inshallah. May Allah accept all of us in his mercy and allow us to see the signs and to apply them in the best way. Jazakumullah khairan. See you all tonight, inshallah.
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah
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
