Qur'an 30 for 30 | Season 5
28 / 31
Juz 27: Excellence in Patience & God's Greatest Gift | Dr. Suzy Ismail
What does the reward of excellence (ihsan) look like? How is patience a form of excellence? How can we see Allah's Mercy in everything, even in difficulty? What is the greatest gift from God?
Join Dr. Suzy Ismail with hosts Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Abdullah Oduro as they reflect on Juz 27 of the Qur'an, discussing excellence, patience, and how the Qur'an is our greatest blessing.
✨Test your knowledge of the Qur'an✨
Who was the prophet at the centre of the story of Al-Ahqaf?
A. Lut (as)
B. Shuaib (as)
C. Hud (as)
Chapters:
0:00 - Highlights
📌 0:47 - Today's trivia
1:45 - Introduction
📌 2:50 - Dr. Omar Suleiman reflects on excellence as a reward for excellence
4:40 - The blessing of alhamdulillah
5:20 - Allah's blessings upon you
6:42 - The beauties of Paradise
📌 8:22 - Sh. Abdullah Oduro reflects on how to be patient
9:00 - Patience as a form of excellence
11:35 - Allah's protection
12:20 - The importance of praising Allah & night prayer
📌 13:55 - Dr. Suzy Ismail reflects on how Allah's Mercy surrounds us
15:00 - The test of Maryam (AS)
16:10 - The test of Musa's (AS) mother
17:15 - Connecting with the Qur'an
18:30 - The Qur'an is our greatest favor from God
📌 19:05 - Reflections
20:30 - Appreciating our blessings
22:15 - Advice for those going through tests
24:05 - Remembering a blessing is a blessing
25:30 - How Dr. Ismail personally found her calling
Download the latest Qur'an 30 for 30 eBook: Qur’an 30 for 30: Thematic Tafsir
Explore the daily juz questions and answers in the Qur'an 30 for 30 Season 5 Trivia.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la will be there for the believers. He will help the believers. He will help our brothers and sisters that are suffering all around the world, and he will protect them. Primarily, he will protect their iman and understanding who he is. And those as us in the world now that may not be facing what our brothers and sisters and for instance, in Al-Ghaza are facing, we are patient with what we see on the television, but that doesn't mean we do not call out and call things out and call out the oppression of what takes place all around the world. Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says after that, fa innaka bi a'yunina and this is like the illa or the reason behind the order. When Allah said be patient for our reason or for our ruling or until the ruling comes, why? For verily, you are in our protection. We see the name Al-Hafidh, that Allah is the one that preserves you. He is preserving us now in ways that we know and ways that we don't. And that's what's so beautiful about Al-Aleem Al-Khabir, the all-knowledgeable, the all-wise and aware of all the minutiae, the small things. We are patient because we know Allah had, has and will have it covered, manifested through all of his beautiful names and attributes. Then Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says after that, wa min al-layli fasabbihu wa adabaru an-nujoon He says, wasabbih bi hamdi rabbika heinataqun and praise him, glorify him when you stand. And some scholars mentioned when you stand or when you stand in the prayer. So the tasbih is what they call tanzih. It is saying Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is free or believing that he is unlike any of his creation. And due to him being unlike any of his creation, you glorify him, you magnify him, you praise him. Then Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, wa min al-layli fasabbihu wa adabaru an-nujoon And from the nighttime, celebrate his praises at night and the retreat of the stars. As we see in Laylatul Qadr,
it is important for us to stand in prayer. It's to stand in praying to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, glorifying him, not only with tasbih. As some scholars mentioned, tasbih can be a'am. You're glorifying him, can be generalized by glorifying him in any way. And we know praying fi nashi'at al-layl in the dark depths of the night is one of the best times to pray to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la wa adabaru an-nujoon And at the retreat of the stars, scholars mention fajr time, to pray in fajr. So remembering this patience with the obedience of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is what is needed for us to be of those of ihsan because that ihsan is a sign of recognition of the ayat and signs of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la and with that, we give it to our sister. MashaAllah, may Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la bless her. Jazakumullahu khair. Jazakumullahu khair. Shaykh Adubillah Shaitan Rajim. Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. As-salamu alaykum. Thank you for inviting me to be part of this program. You know, when Sister Nour had first reached out to me to connect and ask me what juz' I wanted to cover, my mind immediately went to the second juz' of the Quran and particularly verse 155 in Surah Al-Baqarah. And it was a verse that consistently, when I'm struggling, when I'm going through tests, you know, it reminds me that Allah Azza wa Jal will test us because in that verse, Allah tells us that we will be tested and we'll be tested with something of fear and something of hunger and something of a loss of life and wealth. But there are glad tidings that are given to those who are patient and that speaks to what you were speaking to, Shaykh Abdullah, sabr and the importance of sabr and the ihsan, the doing that which is good. And so I had gotten back to the sister and told her this is the juz' I will cover and she said, oh no, you know, someone's already taken that juz'. Choose another juz'. And I said, you know what? There's many gems in the Quran. You know, let me go to another juz'. And so I was already thinking about what verses of the Quran bring comfort to my heart when I'm going through the most difficult tests.
And of course, the next verse that came immediately to my mind was the verse in Surah Maryam where Maryam Alayhi Salaam calls out in the throes of labor, in her difficulty, and says, ya laytani mitta qabla haitha wa kunti nasyan mansiyya Oh, if only I had passed or had died before this and had been of those who were forgotten. And I said, this is it. This is the verse I want to cover, particularly because there is a voice that calls to her mintahtiha after she cries out in pain, saying la tahzani, do not be sad. And so I went back to the sister. I said, this is it. This is the verse that I want to cover. And she said, oh, you know what? I'm so sorry. Someone else took that chapter. Choose another chapter. And I started to go through the Quran and I began to realize that there are so many different verses that every time I personally have gone through difficulty or as I speak to many of our clients who have struggles with anxiety, with depression, with loss, with grief, as we look to the suffering that happens around the world, and there's so many verses that speak to that pain that give us comfort. And so I immediately found myself going to Surat al-Qasas, one of my favorite surahs in the Quran, in which we go through the process of understanding the stories of the prophets, the tribulations they faced, and particularly the verses where the mother of Musa is guided towards putting her infant who she is worried about, who she fears for his life, putting him in a basket. The basket takes Musa alayhi salam down a river directly to where the harm, we would anticipate it to be, and Allah protects him. And in those verses, Allah reminds the mother of Musa alayhi salam that because her heart ached, because there was so much pain, that he returned Musa to her. And I said, this is it. This is the chapter I'm going to do. I'm going to do Juz Itwani. And subhanAllah, I was asked again to shift gears and choose a different Juz because we were going to do the last few ajza
for the group in New Jersey. So alhamdulillah, I found myself again, taking this time, and it's time that sometimes we don't always carve out, to go through the Mushaf, to go through the Quran, and really ask myself, what verses of the Quran connect to my heart? And it was in every chapter, in every Juz, there were verses that brought comfort. And every time I would read a verse, I would think of something personal that happened in my life. I had experienced many pregnancy losses. We had buried our first daughter soon after her birth. And every time I would turn a page in the Quran, I would say this, this is the ayah that helped me through. And every time I would say, subhanAllah, Allah truly is Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim. That it is His Rahmah that has guided me through so many tests and difficulties. And it is His Rahmah that guides so many through the tests and difficulties they go through. And then that's where I found the chapter I wanted to cover, Surat Ar-Rahman. Because in that Surah, we are reminded consistently of how Allah's Rahmah surrounds us. And sometimes we don't recognize the Rahmah in the sun, the Rahmah in the rain, the Rahmah in that nature that surrounds us. And yet it is in that chapter, that 31 times, Allah Azza wa Jal repeats, fa bi-ayyi ala'i rabbikumatu kathiban. So which of the favors of your Lord do you deny? And it was in that moment, as I read those verses, that I thought, subhanAllah, one of the greatest favors that sometimes we deny is the Quran itself. That the Quran itself is a comfort. And that as we read throughout the month of Ramadan, and particularly in Ramadan, as we amp up our reading of the Quran, how often do we stop and ask ourselves, what is my relationship with the Quran? Do I see the favor in this gift that Allah Azza wa Jal has granted us? fa bi-ayyi ala'i rabbikumatu kathiban.
And the favor of the Quran, I truly believe is the greatest of all favors that we've been given. SubhanAllah. You know, one of the things that, and Jazakum Allah khair for the beautiful reflection. It's amazing about Surah Ar-Rahman. If you just think about, like if you did a visual map of it. Ar-Rahman, Allama al-Quran. He taught the Quran. Khalaqa al-insan. He created human beings. Allama hul bayan. And then taught him how to speak. So it's like the Quran came down before you physically came into being. The guidance is there to come into you and then to inspire from you, guided words, guided expression. Because the best form of expression is that which is guided by revelation. And even greater than your creation is his revelation. SubhanAllah. The favor of the Quran, as you're mentioning. And sometimes it's like, you think about the absence of something, you know, and they say that you wouldn't appreciate a blessing until you lose it. Can you imagine your life without the Quran? Can you imagine your life without the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam? Can you imagine your life without Islam? Can you imagine your life without Iman? So when you say, alhamdulillahi ala ni'mat al-iman, alhamdulillahi ala ni'mat al-Quran, alhamdulillahi ala ni'mat al-Islam, alhamdulillahi ala ni'mat al-Nabi salallahu alayhi wa sallam. And even say, you know, wa kafa biha min ni'ma. That's enough of a blessing. If I had no other blessing but this one, alhamdulillah, that's in and of itself sufficient. I think that that's part of what you're mentioning here, that we would never be able to appreciate fully the blessings of even the things that we see as blessings. Do we really know all that we get out of these trees? Do we really know all that we get out of these creations around us? Do we really understand the full extent of that blessing? Absolutely not. And the same is true for divine revelation. And SubhanAllah, I was thinking about what you said, Shaykh. Patience. With all of the ni'm, all of the blessings, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said,
no one is given a blessing. khayrun wa awsa' min as-sadr. That's better or more extensive than patience. That is the greatest blessing that you could be given. Can anyone have ihsan without being patient? Of course not. Because you'll be bitter. You'll worship Allah. If you even worship Allah at that point without patience, you worship Allah from a place of bitterness. If you have patience, you're inspired towards the extra acts of ihsan and the greatest form of ihsan from us in terms of worship is qiyamah, the night prayer. So it all really does tie beautifully in this chapter. Mr. Suzy, what advice would you give? Because you know, you're doing counseling, as the Shaykh mentioned. First of all, may Allah reward you for stepping into this space. You know, because you're hearing, and I don't want to use the word problems. The challenges of what Allah has predestined to put in the lives of people. And you're sitting there putting yourself out there, in there as well. You know, with this, you know, Laylatul Qadr possibly coming in these last 10 days, what advice would you give to the Muslims out there that are, to human beings in general even, that are going through these challenges? What word comes to mind? What would you tell them in regards to the... So I think, you know, SubhanAllah, struggles, challenges, this is truth. And these are part of the tests. I think that, you know, again, the reason why that verse in Surah Al-Baqarah speaks to me so much is because surely we will be tested and all of us are tested differently. But also, you know, when we look at that chapter, at the end of the chapter, Allah, Azza wa Jal, reminds us, la yukallifallahu nafsan illa wis'aha that surely we will not be burdened with a burden that's greater than a soul can bear. And that even though we may be tested in ways that we don't want, they are the tests that we need. And they're tests that are guiding us towards, InshaAllah, becoming the best version of ourselves. InshaAllah, coming closer to Allah.
And while one test may look different than another test, we are all tested. And whatever test we are going through, it's, you know, this dunya is a drop of water on our finger compared to the ocean of Akhirah. And the test will not be permanent. It will not be something that is with us forever. And when we seek the ease, inna ma'al usri yusra that even in that difficulty, we seek the moment of ease. And maybe the moment of ease is that Allah sends a person that helps us through, that gives us a smile. Maybe the answer to our du'a is in not necessarily a complete change in our circumstances or an absolute immediate relief to the test, but the relief comes in a different form, a kind word, you know, an ayah from the Quran that gives us comfort. ala bi dhikri allatatma'innil quloob a blessing. khayrun wa awsa' min as-sadr. That's better or more extensive than patience. That is the greatest blessing that you could be given. Can anyone have ihsan without being patient? Of course not. Because you'll be bitter. You'll worship Allah. If you even worship Allah at that point without patience, you worship Allah from a place of bitterness. If you have patience, you're inspired towards the extra acts of ihsan. And the greatest form of ihsan from us in terms of worship is the amadid, the night prayer. So, it all really does tie beautifully in this chapter. So, Suzy, what advice would you give? Because, you know, you're doing counselling, as the Sheikh mentioned. First of all, may Allah reward you for stepping into this space, you know, because you're hearing, and I don't want to use the word problems, the challenges of what Allah has predestined to put in the lives of people. And you're sitting there, putting yourself out there, in there as well. You know, with this, you know, Laylat al-Qadr possibly coming in these last 10 days, what advice would you give to the Muslims out there that are, to human beings in general even, that are going through these challenges,
what word comes to mind? What would you tell them in regards to that? So, I think, you know, SubhanAllah, struggles, challenges, this is truth. And these are part of the tests, I think, that, you know, again, the reason why that verse in Surah al-Baqarah speaks to me so much is because surely we will be tested, and all of us are tested differently. But also, you know, when we look at that chapter, at the end of the chapter, Allah, Azza wa Jal, reminds us, that surely we will not be burdened with a burden that's greater than a soul can bear. And that even though we may be tested in ways that we don't want, they are the tests that we need. And they're tests that are guiding us towards, inshaAllah, becoming the best version of ourselves, inshaAllah, coming closer to Allah. And while one test may look different than another test, we are all tested. And whatever test we are going through, it's, you know, this dunya is a drop of water on our finger compared to the ocean of akhira. And the test will not be permanent. It will not be something that is with us forever. And when we seek the ease, even in that difficulty, we seek the moment of ease. And maybe the moment of ease is that Allah sends a person that helps us through, that gives us a smile. Maybe the answer to our dua is in not necessarily a complete change in our circumstances, or an absolute immediate relief to the test, but the relief comes in a different form. A kind word, you know, an ayah from the Quran that gives us comfort. That surely it is but by the remembrance of Allah that our hearts find ease. And so when we look for the moments of ease, inshaAllah, we'll find it. And we will get through those tests, whatever our tests happen to be. As large as they are, as difficult as they are, Allah promises us that He will see us through them. I like how you mentioned earlier the ihsan, because the fact that you're thinking about
something that Allah has done for you or for others in you, that is a blessing in and of itself. And Ibn Rajab talks about that beautifully. You know, the fact of you remembering a blessing is a blessing. So the fact of someone, you know, making it to your office, for example, is a blessing. You know, a lot of times you hear, you know, the husbands don't want to come and things like that. We can expound upon that, not to put any shade on the husbands. But the fact of you making that effort. You're going to have to redo this on the imam page. You're going to have to bring people. You have to rewrite the record. No, but making that effort and being patient with something that you may not want to do at that moment. You know, it's a blessing in and of itself, even though the results that you want may not be immediately there. And that's why I like how you mentioned, subhanAllah, it may come over time. You don't know where it's going to come from. That's going to bring you happiness. So jazakumullahu khair. Beautiful, beautiful insights. May Allah bless you sister Suzy. As you, as you're thinking about this and as you're sort of giving people hope and subhanAllah the theme this Ramadan is bin Qadr and talking about the divine decree. And you mentioned, you know, and you said it about yourself, subhanAllah, your own lost pregnancies. And how many kids do you have now, mashallah? Three, alhamdulillah. Three, alhamdulillah. I mean, all past high school, all grown up in their 20s, mashallah, that are, may Allah protect them all and bless your entire family. If you could think of, you know, and we'll conclude with this, inshallah, how you personally found your own calling to help people, you know, was it in a dark moment, subhanAllah? And I don't want you to get too personal, but where did that come from? And what led you to sort of do this? Yeah, subhanAllah. I think it's a, it's a beautiful question. Cause I think we all find our way and our journey to, you know, our calling, like you said, what Allah Azawajal has decreed to be our purpose in this dunya. And if Allah decrees that we must go through a test in order to be able to help someone else, then that too is a blessing.
And for me personally, you know, a lot of the work that I was, you know, honored to do in refugee camps, working with orphaned children, children who would call me mama because they had lost their own moms. And I think it was in one of those moments where a child, and I was actually in one of the camps in Jordan with you at that time, a young child who went by the name of Juju. It was her nickname, who wasn't speaking. She was non-verbal because of seeing her parents killed before her, right before I had left her friend had turned to me. And, you know, I had said, you know, tell Juju to say something to me. And she said, well, my friend Jenna wants to call you mama. And Jenna was the name of our oldest daughter who had passed away at infancy. And sometimes it's a moment like that when you look back and all of the dots connect and you say, this is why Allah tested me in that way. And Alhamdulillah. May Allah bless you and may Allah grant you Jannah and allow you to find your child in front of the gates of Jannah. Bless all of those that have struggled with loss with Jannah. Allow all of us to enter into the Firdaws Al-A'la and to receive that Ihsan from Allah Azawajal for the Firdaws Al-A'la. Allahumma Ameen. My final call to everyone InshaAllah Ta'ala is to be a source of patience for someone else InshaAllah Ta'ala. Again, tawassul bil-haqq wa tawassul bil-sabr. Enjoying good and enjoying patience amongst each other in the night time. Don't just find it yourself, but be that blessing of patience to someone else and help them see that perspective the way InshaAllah Ta'ala that Sister Suzy and others that do this for a living are doing. May Allah Azawajal grant us patience. Rabbana afrid alayna sabaran wa thabbit aqdamana wa ansurna ala alqawmin kafireena May Allah Azawajal pour it upon us. May Allah Subhanu wa Ta'ala allow us to be people of Ihsan. Allahumma Ameen. BarakAllahu fikum InshaAllah Ta'ala. We'll see you all tomorrow. Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
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