Keeping Connected with the Qur'an
16 / 20
The Power of Faith | Qur'anic Parables Episode 4
Tune in for the fourth episode of Qur'anic Parables with Dr. Omar Suleiman, Dr. Osman Umarji, and Ustadha Tesneem Alkeik.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. We're keeping connected with the Qur'an campaign. But bismillah ta'ala, we pray that you've been able to benefit from what we've covered thus far inshaAllah ta'ala and and you know, continue to stay connected with the various programming that we're going to be putting out inshaAllah ta'ala and stay connected to the Qur'an obviously. And this particular series of Qur'anic parables, we're going to keep on uploading inshaAllah ta'ala new animated gifs inshaAllah ta'ala that describe some of the parables in the Qur'an. But with that being said, alhamdulillah, you know, as we come to the end, we wanted to talk about what the complete picture looks like and we've gone through, you know, a hypocrite who takes advantage of the worldly benefit of being a Muslim when it's an opportunistic or when the opportunity presents itself to take advantage of it due to whatever circumstances are out there. And then we talked about a person who's sincere and kindling that light. We talked about how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala brings life to the dead and how that refers to both land and to our hearts. We talked about what an inspired, enlightened heart looks like and what inspired and enlightened actions look like. And inshaAllah ta'ala tonight we're going to actually be talking about what the whole tree looks like. And bi'dahahi ta'ala I'll hand it off to, who is it first tonight? Dr. Osman. Dr. Osman tonight inshaAllah ta'ala. Alright, so we'll start with you Dr. Osman to give the overview inshaAllah ta'ala of the context and then get into the tree that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala talks about in Surah Ibrahim. Fadal. Jazakumullahu khair. Bismillah wa salatu wa salam wa rasool Allah wa baad. So Surah Ibrahim, which is the surah which are parables in today, is a beautiful Meccan surah that revolves around some of the fundamental aspects of faith. And subhanAllah the very first ayah in this surah is, encapsulates the theme of our entire series, which is the parables related to darkness and light. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala He says,
Alif Lam Ra, kitabun anzalnahu ilayka li tukhrijal nasi minal dhulumati ila noori bi itni rabbihim, ila siratil azeezil hameed. That this is the book that we have revealed to you, O Muhammad, so that you may take mankind out of all the different darknesses of this life, into the singular nur of Islam, by the permission of Allah to the path that is the path of the azeez, the exalted and the praiseworthy. And then the surah begins to then present from this one verse, what are the different pathways of darkness? And what is the pathway to the nur of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? And it begins to elaborate on the destiny of those who are righteous, and the destiny of those who transgress, the destiny of those who live a life of good, and the destiny of those who seek evil. And it summarizes all of that in the one beautiful parable that we're going to cover today. And that is the parable of the good word being akin to a good tree, or the bad word being akin to a bad tree. Alam tara kayfa daraba Allahu mathalan kalimatan tayyibatan kashajaratin tayyibatin asluha thabit wa far'uha fis samaa Have you not considered how Allah strikes an example, a parable of how a good word is analogous to a good tree, whose roots are firmly fixed and his branches are high up in the sky. And before we actually get into our parable, which comes in ayah 24, the verses that come before it set it up a little bit, they set it up in a beautiful fashion where Allah tells us about the constant struggle between darkness and life. And that is exemplified in the stories of the prophets, that how the different prophets came to guide their people to the nur of Islam, to the nur of Dawhid, and how they constantly rejected that. And Allah gives us the case study of Musa as an example of how the truth is presented, and how people continuously reject it. And before we get to our parable for today, there's another parable that comes, I want to briefly touch upon, where Allah tells us the consequence of disbelief when he says,
mathalul ladheena kafaru bi rabbihim a'maluhum ka ramadhin ishtaddat bihi alreehu fee yawmin asif la yaqadiroona mimma kasibu ala shayth zalika huwa dhalalul ba'id Allah says that the parable or the example of those who reject Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, who reject their Lord, is the example or is the parable, imagine you had ashes, and all those ashes were gathered up and a wind blew them away, that you would be unable to keep any of those ashes, and that is what is the extreme misguidance. And so the surah builds up to this idea again of misguidance and darkness, the parable builds up to it, and I'll end with saying how Allah, the few verses before, gives us a beautiful snapshot into what happens in the afterlife to two groups of people. He tells us about a conversation between people in hellfire and their abode, and he tells us about what happens to those of belief. And Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says, wabarazu lillahi jamee'a, when everyone will be gathered together on the day of judgment, a conversation will take place, and it will be between those who are weak and those who were arrogant. And these are both groups of disbelievers. The weak were the ones who were too weak to think for themselves, and they followed those who were arrogant in their beliefs, and they will say that those who were weak, indeed, we were your followers. So can you avail us anything against the punishment of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala? And the arrogant will say, if Allah had guided us, we would have guided you. It is the same for us, whether we are impatient or whether we are patient. There is no place for us to escape today. So that sums up what happens on the pathway of darkness. And then Allah tells us about the pathway of righteousness. wa udkhila allatheena amanu wa amila salihati jannatin tajree min tahti al-anhar khalideena feehaa biidhni rabbihim tahiyyattuhum feehaa salam As for those who believe and did righteous deeds, they will be admitted into the gardens underneath which rivers flow, and they will stay there in forever by the permission of Allah.
And that is the greeting therein will be a greeting of peace. And with that, we come to our parable. So I'll hand it off to Tasneem for her elaboration. Jazakum Allah khayran. And actually, before I go ahead and get into the parable, I want to, since this is the last episode, sort of preface parables in general, but specifically how this parable begins. And really the concept of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala giving us examples. As we saw, you know, day one, day two, day three, there's this connection to really looking up. It's this connection to looking up around you, of this giving us examples, analogies of our day-to-day lives. And in this particular example, we have the example of the tree, right? And formerly we had just, you know, in general, life that grows. We have examples of the skies, the water, you know, everything around us. And for me, what's so powerful about parables, you know, unfortunately, when I think of the word parable itself, because my background is in early Christianity, I just think of a lot of, you know, a lot of associations that have been given to parables. Oh, it's this religious thing. Oh, you know, it's something that, you know, priests talk about, whatever it is. And I've had this like sort of negative connotation when I've talked about parables. But really, when you think of it as just like Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is giving us an example of, you know, this, like look up at the world around you and see how it applies to your life today. Because I think what a lot of us do, and I'm absolutely guilty of this, is that we have two hats, right? This is I'm going to the masjid, I'm wearing my Muslim hat today, I'm going to be super Muslim. I'm, you know, today's the day I'm going to be praying, whatever it is. And then the next day when you're going to campus, when you're going to work, you know, this is my I'm the normal Muslim hat now. I'm just going to be my regular American self. I'm going to work, whatever, you know, just these different identities that we embody and that we switch back and forth. But what's so incredible about parables is that, as we'll see in this one, that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is literally telling us, hey, that tree that you see that's growing,
that I give life to, you know, the way the rivers flow, the examples of thunder in the Quran, so many examples of just like of the fruits that he gives us and all of these things, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is literally telling us just look up, you know, it's you are, you know, as believers, we're believers all the time, right? And when, you know, when we're going to work and you're going to school, whatever the case is, I want as I go through this parable to think about like just look up and look at the tree and make this relevant to you. The purpose of examples is to make everything around you relevant and to serve as a reminder of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in this verse, أَلَمْ تَرَكِي فَضُرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثْرًا Right? The way he starts it off is exactly this reminder. Do you not see, like, have you just not thought about this idea, like how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives us these examples and that the way this parable begins is just so powerful because again, it's as if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is giving us that wake up reminder. Just look up, look up, look up, you know, at the world around you, at the mosquitoes, at all of these different examples we see throughout the Quran and look at how they're so related to your, to not only your life, but the reality of our lives in terms of, you know, our relationship and the promises Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us for this life and the next. And so, and that's how the, you know, the ayah begins that أَلَمْ تَرَكِي فَضُرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثْرًا Have you not thought about, can you not see the way Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives us these amthaa to think about? And of course Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala ends this ayah as he ends many ayats in, that refer to parables, لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُ Right? That this is a means for you to really think and to reflect. And not just these moments where we pause and we take a break from our lives and think to ourselves, okay, we're going to just, today's reflection day again. No, this is something that's embedded directly within our lives and all aspects of our lives. Whether, you know, we're at school, we're at work, we're running errands, or whether we're at the masjid and being our, you know, doing our best.
These examples are given for every moment of our lives. And so that makes, you know, this example even, of course, hopefully more relevant. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, the example is like a good word. كَلِمَةٌ طَيِّبَةٌ This can be, you know, it's not just a good word, but it's like, it's a beneficial word. It's like a tree. كَشَجَرٍ طَيِّبَةٌ It's like a beneficial tree. أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَثَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ Its roots are firm into the ground and its branches are high, like reaching out into the sky. تُؤْتِي أُكْلَهَا كُلَّ حِيْنًا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا That all the time, every moment of time, every, you know, every حين, every year, every time, every few years, all the time, essentially that it's always giving fruits, it's always serving as a benefit بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا with Allah Subhanu wa Ta'ala's permission. And really, I think the meat of this parable comes in, you know, its relevance that Sheikh Hamad will be talking about. But just briefly, the مُفسِّرون, the commentators on the Quran say that كَلِمَةٌ طَيِّبَةٌ is this beneficial word is what? Is the كَلِمَةٌ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَى اللَّهِ So there is no God but God. By affirming this كَلِمَة, by announcing this good word, that obviously is an embodiment of what? Your إيمان, of your Islam, of being a Muslim, being a believer. And so, so then how does that, what is that like? It's like this tree, this really beneficial tree. And so this is an invitation to really, you know, if it's right now, or if it's on your way to, you know, the next time you're walking out of your house, whatever it is, look outside your window, look up at these trees and really try to feel that connection. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is saying, what is, like, who are the believers? What is إيمان like? It's like that tree that you see outside your door. It's right there. You know, these examples are so relatable to our lives.
That it's right there, it's firm, and its roots are deep, right? But nothing's gonna let it shake. No wind, no thunderstorm, not even, you know, some of the strongest storms are gonna come and move this massive tree. And that, and similarly, that, that إيمان that we want to embody is that we don't want to be afflicted by, we don't want to be shaken by any wind, any, you know, storm, right? Nothing that comes our way, nothing that someone says, if someone's mocking you, if someone, you know, is saying something derogatory, making claims about our religion, that's not gonna shake us, right? If we're going to embody that, that, that the strong إيمان, if we want to know what does strong إيمان look like, it's knowing that nothing is gonna shake us like this tree. And then you're standing below this tree, or you're looking at this massive tree that's coming up to your, you know, 4-4 apartment window, and you're looking up and you see how high the branches are into the, you know, into the sky. That's exactly what Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, like, you know, في السماء, that its branches, they're so massive. And this tree has so much nutrients from that belief in Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, that it grows so vastly, that it's as if the branches are reaching the sky, like, it's just like, wow, it's endless, right? And look up, and when you're under a massive tree, that's exactly the sensation you get, that, whoa, you feel dizzy because it looks so massive. And, and really, and we'll elaborate on this, I'm sure Sheikh Omar loves this analogy, but that these branches are, now you've got that, you're not letting any doubt hit you, those roots are firm, no doubt that comes your way, no comment that comes your way is going to shake you, but not only that, but the iman that you have, that embodiment, the understanding of لا إله إلا الله, it's so deep-rooted, that you're not on the defensive anymore. Now you're not worried about what people are saying, you're focused on just being a better you,
to growing, to expanding your iman, your love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, your connection with him, so much so that you're just going up, up and away. And what? تؤكد أكلها كل حين That it's constantly giving fruits, that it's so firm in its identity, in its conviction of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, in لا إله إلا الله, that it's growing, we're growing our cells, our internal cells, but we're also, we're so obsessed with that iman, we're so strong in our iman, that we're now using that to give to others, we're giving back, right? We're providing fruits for others for that benefit. And with that, I'll conclude by saying that again, this parable concludes with لعلهم يتذكرون It's the means, the purpose of it is so that we can think and we can reflect. So the next time you go by, you know, you're going for a run, you're going to the forest, you're going for a trip, and you're under that tree, make that connection. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives us these parables, so He can speak to us in a way that we can properly understand to take advantage of those reminders Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives. And with that, I'll go ahead and pass it on to Sh. Ahmad Shum. BarakAllahu Fiqi, wa sadaqAllahu khayran for the beautiful summary of the surah, as well as the placement of the parable and what this parable is speaking to. There are numerous hadith where the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam is using a similar language to describe faith. So when the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, for example, talks about the branches of Iman, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam will not name all of the branches of faith, but he will say that the highest branch is La ilaha illallah, and the lowest branch is Iman tul adha al-tariq, to remove something harmful from the road. And so that's why, for example, you see that man who the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam saw scrolling in Jannah, because he removed something harmful from the road. That's the lowest branch of faith that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam was mentioning.
And so what that means is that the lowest action, if done from the highest purpose of La ilaha illallah, is enough to give you the highest state in Jannah, because it all is connected to La ilaha illallah. And that's how the ulema described this idea that the branch of La ilaha illallah is the branch from which all of the other sub-branches come out of. In the example of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, he's talking about these branches. And so when we get to this, like Ustadh Tasneem was saying, Allah is calling to our attention this idea, look at what Al-Karim Al-Tayyibah can produce. Look at the amazing things that this pure word can produce. On the outside, you might see two trees. And this relates, by the way, back to the hypocrites and the believers in the very first matfilah, that in this life, they might not be distinguishable. But then at a certain point, they become distinguishable. One goes ahead. So you might have two trees, and they seem to look similar. But the first difference is in what is not seen. And that's what we talked about, that light and that faith, that strong foundation. And that is under the ground. And that is where La ilaha illallah is for the person. And so the ground here is the heart. So giving life to a dead part of earth, giving life to dead ground, is again, think about a dead heart, right? Being resuscitated with the light of faith. And so you're saying La ilaha illallah, it's inside your chest. And then the light comes in. And then what happens? All of this starts to grow above the ground. You have the main branch, which some of the ulama, like you'll see from Ibn Hajar, where he talked about this, he said that the good word is Ikhlas. And then he said that the tree is the source of Iman.
And then he said that the tree's branches, they represent the fulfillment of Allah's commands and the avoidance of his prohibitions. And then he says the leaves are the virtues of the believer. And then the fruits are the good deeds that benefit everyone else. And so you can taste the sweetness. So again, it starts off with Ikhlas, the word of sincerity, La ilaha illallah. Under the earth, no one can see it just like it is concealed in the heart. The light of faith inspires this, this beautiful tree. Asluha thabitu far'uha fissama. Its branches are high in the sky. And so one implication of that is what Ustadh Tasneem was talking about, way high in the sky. Another implication of that, by the way, is that everything around this person of faith, this person of La ilaha illallah is benefiting from the shade of this person. Okay, nakhayr al-naas anfa'ahum bil-naas. As the Prophet ﷺ said, the best of people are those that are most beneficial to the people. So anyone that's around you is in the shade of your faith in some way. Your environment is in the shade of your faith. The things that are around you, not even just people, everything is benefiting from the shade that your faith is providing to them. And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions, tu'ti'u kulaa haa kulla hinaa bi-idhni rabbihaa. And this is an important, you know, an important dynamic that it's not a seasonal tree. It's not a tree that only produces in Ramadan. It's not a tree that only produces in Dhul Hijjah. It's a tree that produces all year round and those fruits are the benefits, are the good deeds. Those are thamarat al-iman, the fruits of faith that the Prophet ﷺ talks about. And the Prophet ﷺ uses this example as well in many different hadith. The Prophet ﷺ mentions, tasting halawat al-iman, right, tasting the sweetness of faith.
And so you'll hear the example of a dhawq, right? And it's very frequent in the books of Tazkiyah, this idea of dhawq, this idea of taste. And in the Arabic language, by the way, dhawq, it's not just something that the tongue does. It's not just the type of taste that you have. In fact, you know, the Arabs would talk about dhawq of perfume, right, smelling good perfume and those types of things. So this dhawq, this tasting sweetness is the sweetness of the heart tasting iman. So you taste the sweetness of faith, halawat al-iman, and then what ends up happening is it just produces in so many different beautiful ways, right? It produces in so many beautiful ways that everyone benefits from and that tree cannot be broken, okay? The way that the tree of hypocrisy, just, you know, strong wind comes or it's cut off and then it just breaks. And so the believer bends sometimes, but they don't break, a strong wind comes, something happens. Obviously, you're shaken at times, but the roots are so strong that the roots always hold you together. There's a beautiful saying from Iman Abu Hanifa, rahimahullah, he said, innana fee saada wa halawa law a'anima biha al-mulook lajaladoona AAalayha bisayoof. He said that we are living in sweetness. We're living in happiness and sweetness. If the Kings knew what we had, they would fight us with their swords to try to acquire what we have, this faith that we have, right? That's concealed in the hearts, but that produces in the most beautiful ways that benefit everyone. And so I think that's also one more connection that I'd make is that, you know, kalimat al-tayyiba, la ilaha illallah is concealed so deeply in the heart. And it's something that only Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can see, which is this true notion of God consciousness in the light of the heart.
But the consequence of that Iman is something that is not just so easily observable, but something that everyone benefits from. And that's why you'll find like Iman al-Qayyim rahimahullah describing the relationship of the tongue to the heart. He's saying there's no way that a pure heart can have a filthy tongue. It's like a spoon of food from the plate, right? So if the tongue is nasty, then you know that this is nasty as well, right? There's no way. You can falsify sweetness of the tongue and have a dirty heart, but you can't have a pure heart and have a dirty tongue. And that's why the Prophet ﷺ mentioned the opposite of a person of true faith in the heart in the woman that used to be abusive to her neighbors, right? SubhanAllah, the Prophet ﷺ mentioned a man who's strolling in paradise because he removed some atha from the road, right? Something harmful from the road, which would have been to the benefit of who? First and foremost, his neighbors. And in this situation, they tell the Prophet ﷺ you have this woman that prays long into the night, that fasts, that gives a lot of charity. But what does she do? Tu'vi jiranah. She causes atha to her neighbors. She causes harm to her neighbors. The Prophet ﷺ said la khaira feehaa hiya finnaa. Look at it's the exact opposite. There's no good in her, right? And she's in a naaf. So it's a connection between what's in the depths of your heart all the way to the actions of your iman that benefit everything and everyone around you. And I will say this that yaqeen, and that's why Tasneem made that joke about, you know, I love this method because yaqeen was actually built in accordance with this method. Like our organization, we study this tree. I've drawn this tree in a way that our creative team is not very appreciative of. They make these beautiful infographics and things of that sort.
But I love my tree, right? And the way that we thought about doubt, conviction, contribution, dismantling doubts, nurturing conviction, inspiring contribution, is that doubt is of two types, right? If you think about Islamophobes and you think about this tree, there's a person attacking the tree from the outside and that's your obvious bigot. But then there are these other types of doubts that are more nefarious under the ground that chip away at the roots. And so fighting off doubts that are caused below the surface that are more insidious and that kind of, that are malicious, equally malicious, if not more malicious, but they creep under the ground and doubts that are more obvious, you know, caused by just the pressures of the environment and things of that sort. So dismantling doubt ideologically and really getting to the depths of what these doubts prey on, then nurturing conviction, nurturing the roots of that tree, right? Spiritually, intellectually, nurturing conviction, belief, right? What does that look like? Whether it's a jazrul quran or it is talking about the nature of trauma and what that does to a person's faith, right? How we view God in accordance with how people have treated us, right? So nurturing conviction and really dealing with that, and then the tree goes high, inspiring contribution. And so the fruits of that tree should be, you know, 40 hadith on social justice. That was one of the first things that we did in accordance with that, right? All of these different elements of where contribution is inspired from, from this deep place of yaqeen, this deep place of certainty. And so yaqeen means that the tree can be uprooted and we pray that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la does not uproot the yaqeen in our hearts, that we have certainty always in our hearts and that that certainty is always nourished by sincerity. Allahumma ameen. And inshallah ta'ala with that, I'll pass it to either one of you to comment inshallah ta'ala to reflect a little bit further. JazakAllah khair, Dr. Omar.
So Spanla, you mentioned some of these things so beautifully about how the tree has dimensions of conviction. You know, it can represent, you know, fighting off doubts and contributing. Spanla, I love trees. I'm a very nature person. And as Tasneem mentioned, the idea of sitting underneath a tree and studying a tree, I think will give us a lot of insight into how our faith is supposed to operate. So Spanla, one of the things that we don't realize is trees live in communities. Typically when you go to a forest or you go to the wilderness, trees are in groups. And that's actually very strategic. Now there's been a lot of science into the ecosystems behind it and that a tree by itself is at the mercy of the wind. It's at the mercy of floods and it could fall very quickly. But trees have learned to live in communities and they actually send resources to one another to keep everything intact because they know that if one of them falls, that they're all possibly at risk. Another thing is trees defend themselves. Spanla, people think that trees are passive. When certain animals like giraffes eat certain trees, the trees emit a chemical that warns other trees that start producing toxins and the giraffes stop eating them. There's other trees that when an insect starts eating it, it releases an odor that causes insects to come and eat those insects that are actually on them. So my point that I'm getting at is that trees have a very complex way of operating that we can learn a lot from. So number one is trees live in communities and they help one another. And so just as a tree needs a community to thrive, the believer needs a community to thrive. Trees defend themselves. And just as a tree defends itself, a believer has to defend his faith by seeking knowledge, by making dua to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, by being in the righteous company of people. Trees are patient. We live a very short lifespan. The human being, 100 years is considered a lot. Trees live and they grow over thousands of years and they actually communicate extremely slowly. I think I read somewhere about this, that a tree will commit, I think it sends a signal that it takes hours for it to communicate with its network.
So to be patient with one another, be patient with the growth of our faith. Trees provide shade to human beings in this life and our Iman provide shade for us on the day in which there's no shade except the shade of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And the last thing I want to end on is that trees need nourishment. And we spoke a lot in our parables about water as a source of nourishment. We spoke about nur as a source of nourishment. And so a tree needs water and light to survive. Literally that's what photosynthesis is, right? You use the sun and you use water and you create something. The believer needs revelation and it needs the nur of the heart to survive. And I'm going to coin my new term, Iman synthesis. Right? Right? Like, I mean, literally if you think about it, like the tree is taking the nur of the sun and it's putting it into action. It's harnessing its power to benefit itself and then create oxygen and create all kinds of fruits for other people. And the believer, when he synthesizes Iman, it's a process by which he transforms the light of wahi into righteous actions. So it's not enough to just say, Oh, wahi is beautiful. The nur is beautiful. You actually have to do something with it and you have to contribute and you have to transform yourself with it and then spread good to the world with it. The way the tree spreads good in all sorts of different ways. So Ibn Qayyim, I'll close with this. He wrote a lot about this parable and he had one very humbling point. He said, the intricacy in this parable is infinite. He goes, it's only our limited knowledge of the universe and how it operates that we don't see how many things we can extract from it. So the more that we dwell in nature, look at these trees, allow the nur of Allah into our hearts, nourish it with wahi, inshallah we'll get deeper and deeper insights into these profound analogies that Allah has given us in the Quran. JazakAllah khair. I just want to add one last point and it's exactly what you were just saying in terms
of Ibn Qayyim's comment, but also what you were doing is that it's so important for us to understand the world around us as well. That studying, reading the hidden life of trees can be considered a form of ibadah. Reading books about nature, reading books about these signs, about really just the world around you is something that can immensely increase your iman in so many different ways. For those of you who are in the sciences, who are in engineering law, every time you learn more and more about your specialty and you know enough about, of course, Islam, which is also important, right? So you're seeking knowledge about your religion, you're seeking knowledge about whatever profession you're going into, but the two complement each other very heavily. And so if you go in with that mindset of, okay, I know this much about Islam and now I'm studying this, how does that relate to one another, it can be one of the most spiritually like iman boosting sensations. And so that's one thing that if you want to walk away with something tangible is to read a book like the Hidden Life of Trees, and I'm sure Dr. Osman has plenty others to recommend, but read it with that mindset, with the intention, I want to learn more about Allah's creation and you'll be able to appreciate not only these parables more, but also the signs that Allah's command has provided with us in this world and within the nature. So iman synthesis provides yaqeen green. Does that work? You got it, man. Get the creative team on it now. Iman synthesis, yaqeen green. We got to redo this whole thing. Our tree is actually blue and orange, though, by the way. I don't know how it's going to work with this, but, you know, let's just bring it back. Jazakum Allah khayran in conclusion, right? So how do we, I think if all of you, if both of you could share your thoughts, how does this really tie it all back together, right? All four of these parables really speak to a place where, you know, we start off from
the beginning of the hypocrite who has no real tree, you know, or a tree of hypocrisy, which is, you know, we're not going to get into now because that would be an entire mathal to redemption, to light, to where we are now. So could each one of you just share quick thoughts, how you think it all ties back together and some parting words for the audience, inshallah ta'ala. And of course, we'll be back for more inshallah in some other way soon. But any final, you know, quick reflection on that, how you tie it all back together? So one thing that I think is easy for me to make the connection is particularly this reoccurring parable in the Quran of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala brings the nature back to life. And we saw that in parable number two. And so as I was talking about the tree, I was talking about how it's an embodiment of la ilaha illallah, it's embodiment of your iman. And I think a lot of us struggle with those moments of weakness that we feel like we're not good enough and that can often tear us apart. And so in making that connection, just as you know, you might think to yourself right now, what do I do? My roots are not deep, my branches are not high, what does that mean about my iman? Am I not good enough? And there's just a perfect connection in terms of knowing that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can bring your tree to life and can have it grow immensely just like that. Just like he'll bring the dead back to life, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is capable of doing that within a moment's notice. So being optimistic, but in the meantime, having that optimism by reflecting, by making those connections, but also putting in your work, putting in the effort to make sure that your roots are deeper and that your branches are higher. So actively looking for ways to dismantle doubt, nurture conviction, inspire contribution. So really though, but working on every phase of that three part sequence in tandem with
that intention of, think about it really, when you're reading a paper, you're watching a video about this doubt that you've had, think about as you're watching, as you're reading, I'm growing my roots and really that imagery is so powerful. And I do this all the time when I'm doing good deeds. I always have this image in my head of like ding, ding, ding, ding, like literally just like all the edges that I can see on the scale. And it really, really motivates you. So if you've never tried that before, try imagining that moment. You're at the day of judgment. Deeds are going to be weighed. Imagine yourself as you're watching a video, you're learning more about your religion, about your branches going higher, your roots going deeper. And it really will, inshallah, take you a long way. Jazakum Allah khair. If I could sum up everything, it'd be exposure. All these parables talk about exposing yourself to the proper elements, right? The nur, the rain. I mean, when you think about the last week, we spoke about the nur of Allah with the olive tree, right? It was la gharbiya wa la sharqiya, right? It's not that there's only certain moments of the day. How much do you put yourself in the presence of righteousness? And that's what these parables are getting at. No matter what you can do, surround yourself with it from one way to another. And one of the other beautiful things I think about these parables it brings together is that when rain falls, different things grow all the time. So we don't have to be copycats. There's not one magic formula for becoming that righteous person. We each have our dispositions to loving certain acts. Grow your own way. Be comfortable with it. Those of us who have a propensity to love and seek knowledge, that's one certain way. Some people love to focus and learn more about law or about purification. They contribute in different ways in dawah. So that rain, that sunlight, expose yourself to it 24-7. Whatever you can do, the more you do, the more you'll grow. And like the parable says, it takes a long time.
Things don't grow overnight typically. So be patient with yourself. And inshallah, Allah will allow us to grow our deeds high into the sky as long as we're patient with his revelation. Because it does take patience for the secrets to come out of it. SubhanAllah, Tasneem you mentioned the hidden life of trees, the book that's in my hands. I swear I did not understand this parable until I read this book. This parable came to life when I read this book because I understood how trees operated. And I've read this parable for 30 years. So it's just that patience with the wahi. And inshallah, when Allah wills, there'll be nur ala nur inshallah. JazakAllah khair. It's been a pleasure and honor to be and I learned so much from all of you. And may Allah subhanAllah allow us to get that nur every moment of our lives. JazakAllah khair. SubhanAllah, ta'arwadu linafahati allah. Right, that idea, expose yourself to the seasons, these births of mercy from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So what I think about in a person, I think of Umar bin Khattab radiAllahu ta'ala. Because we talked about him as well in a few of these parables. You know that Allah azza wa jalla made a parable about Umar radiAllahu ta'ala. That he was dead and he was given life and he was given a nur, a light by which he walks amongst the people. And if you think about the fruits, right, so there's the spark, right? There's that moment where he becomes Muslim and then you immediately start to see the rapid growth. So some trees grow quicker than others, right? Some of them bear fruit quicker than others. But at the same time, you could see two things with Umar radiAllahu ta'ala that as time went on, the roots got deeper and the fruits became more, right? So he didn't like have his heyday, like he was around the Prophet ﷺ, that was amazing. And then that was it, it kind of stopped. Or his years were not limited, his seasons were not limited. Till the very last day of his life, he was giving thamma'a to this world, right?
I mean the fruits of Umar radiAllahu ta'ala and who were producing for this world. And that's, that can be traced back to as well that his roots were getting deeper throughout his entire life, right? So you never stop nourishing the roots. You can't, it's not like you have a spark of faith and then you, and it does happen to some people I think where they have a moment and then they jump into contribution but they stop nurturing themselves in the taskiya sense. They stop exposing their heart to that light. And they're doing good things but because the heart's not getting enough exposure, eventually the trees start to weaken, the branches start to weaken and the fruits will end as well. And so you've got to nourish here, grow deeper and then grow further in regards to the fruits and regards to the contribution, let your shade extend. And we ask Allah subhana wa ta'ala to allow us all to dwell under his shade on the Day of Judgment. And we ask Allah subhana wa ta'ala to taste the sweetness of that drink from the hand of our messenger salallahu alayhi wa salam and we ask Allah subhana wa ta'ala to forgive us for our shortcomings. We ask Allah azza wa jal to grant us light and to grant us life and to allow us to be sources of those things to everything that's around us in the spiritual sense. And we ask Allah subhana wa ta'ala to allow us to always remain connected to the Quran, to allow us to ponder over these parables and to allow us to manifest their benefits in our lives. Allahumma ameen. Al-Fayda to you all once again. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
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
