The Ummah's Divine Selection As Inheritors Of The Holy Quran

The Ummah as Allah's Chosen Inheritors of the Qur'an

My dear respected brothers and sisters, respected elders and youngsters, As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

As Allah had selected his beloved Nabi to be Khatibul Anbiya, Allah likewise selected his companions. And no one became a companion or a sahabi of Rasulullah ﷺ through their own effort, but rather they were divinely selected.

Two Types of Blessings: Ni'ma Wahabiyyah and Ni'ma Kasabiyyah

The blessings that come from Allah are broadly categorized into two. One are those that are given by Allah — they are known as ni'ma wahabiyyah. And then the second — all blessings are given by Allah, but one is given directly by Him without any additional effort on one's part. This is a selection from Allah. Allah just selects someone and grants him that. And the second type of blessing is called ni'ma kasabiyyah — that blessing that requires some effort and sacrifice on behalf of the slave of Allah.

So just like with regards to a physical body of a human being, if a person, mashallah, is very well built and has developed his muscles by working out, this is a ni'ma kasabiyyah — it's a blessing from Allah that that individual worked hard to achieve. And if a person is blessed with height, or a nice voice, or other such blessings in which he has no particular input — these are the genes that were given to him by Allah. This is a ni'ma called wahabiyyah.

So nubuwwat, just like nubuwwat is a ni'ma wahabiyyah — there is no particular formula that if you continue performing tahajjud so long, and you fast so much, and you do so much ibadah and so much mujahadah, then you can continue to progress spiritually until you will be granted prophethood. There is no such formula. Nubuwwat is given directly by Allah — Allah selects whom He wants to be His Nabi.

The Ummah is Divinely Selected

So likewise, Allah selected the companions to be the sahaba of Rasulullah ﷺ. And in that same line, Allah selected us to be amongst the ummah of Rasulullah ﷺ. Just like a doctor may say — if the patient is becoming arrogant about his blood test numbers being so good — the doctor may say, well, look, a big portion of these good results is your genes. You have very good genetic background. Your parents did not carry those sicknesses, that's why your numbers are so great.

So likewise, us as an ummah of Rasulullah ﷺ, we are so honored that Allah selected us to be amongst his ummah. We did not necessarily fulfill any particular criteria, or applied, or showed anything noteworthy to be included amongst the ummah of Rasulullah ﷺ. The words Allah uses of selection for His prophets, He uses the exact same words of selection for this ummah.

And there are two words that appear — one is istifa and one is istiba — and both mean to choose and select. So our beloved Prophet ﷺ, commonly in Urdu, when they are praising Rasulullah ﷺ, they use his two names — Muhammad and Ahmed — and they attach these attributes of being selected: Muhammad Mustafa and Ahmed Mujtaba ﷺ. Muhammad ﷺ is Mustafa and Ahmed is Mujtaba.

So these words — Allah uses the exact same verbs, the same fi'il, the same word, for this ummah. Allah says:

— that We have granted this book, this Qur'an, as a gift. The actual word is awrathna — We have granted it as an inheritance, as a legacy. We have granted this legacy, this inheritance, to My slaves. Which slaves? مِنْ عِبَادِنَا — My slaves, our slaves. الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَيْنَا — those that We have selected. So this ummah is Mustafa.

Just like our Nabi is Mustafa, this whole ummah, every ummati, is Mustafa. Every ummati is Mustafa — obviously at a much different level, a much lower level. We are Mustafa to be among the ummah. He is Mustafa to be the Nabi of the ummah, to be the khairul anbiya, to be the afdalul khalqillah, the best of creation. He is Mustafa at his level. We are Mustafa at a much, much lower level — but yet we are still Mustafa, we are chosen.p>

The Qur'an as Miras — The Strongest Form of Inheritance

And Allah says ثُمَّ أَوْرَثْنَا — We have granted this book as a mirath. There are many different words to say "I have granted" — a'tayna, I have granted; wahabna, I have granted as a gift. But Allah says awrathna. Because in the worldly life, there are many different ways for something to come into your possession.

One is, if somebody gifts you something — if they said, I have gifted you this amount — they can end up not fulfilling their pledge or promise of the gift. Or if they say, I will gift you this car, I will gift you this house — from a fiqhi perspective, it doesn't become yours just by them saying that, until there is actual qabd and possession given. So even after saying, I have gifted it to you, they can go back on their promise.

Another way of taking possession of something — ownership, tamleek — is through bay', through buying and selling. But if you buy something, that's a pretty strong way of something entering into your possession, because you actually paid a price for it and you purchased it. However, is it in all circumstances irrevocable and can never be overturned? No. There are certain scenarios where you may have to end up returning it. For example, if it comes to light that the property you purchased or the car you purchased is a stolen car, then you cannot claim that, hey, I paid the price, this is the purchase price, I paid it, this is the check that has been cashed — this is the evidence in an Islamic court that I have bought this car, so how can the police come and repossess it? You cannot. At most, if you're lucky, you will get your money back if it can be recouped from the thief who sold you the stolen car. And there are many different ways that which you have bought may be returned. For example, if you end up finding some defect in the car, then you can return the car — because this is called Al-Khiyar Al-'Ayb. So there are different ways something can be returned, and despite owning it, despite purchasing it, that possession will now come to an end.

However, there is one sabab of milk — one means of possession and ownership — which is known in fiqh as Aqwa Sabab Al-Milk, the strongest way of coming into possession of something. And there's no way it can be overturned. And literally, it's a person's birthright. From the day he was born, that was his right. And no one has the right to take that away. And that is called Miras.

So if amongst the brothers — perhaps one was handicapped or was not able to study, not able to make it in life — okay, we give our shares. According to the fiqh, the shares must be given to each individual. After the other brothers receive it and it enters their possession, then they can willingly give it. But you can't just bypass them. Because this is the share — the share of the daughter, the share of the son, the share of the parents if they are alive — all of the shares that are mentioned in the Qur'an and Miras are 100% confirmed and cannot be moved around, cannot be changed.

Even the mareed, the one who is passing away — when he is in his final fatal sickness, if he decides to give away in charity all of his wealth with the intention of disinheriting his heirs — because if he gives it all away in charity, there will be nothing left for the inheritors — while he's still alive, that is restricted to one third. He cannot give more than one third away in sadaqah of his own wealth. Because that is how strong the right of the miras, of the inheritance, is. So this is called the strongest means of taking possession.

And this is the exact same word that Allah is using when He's talking about this ummah, which has been selected and chosen. And Allah says:

Then We have granted as an inheritance. So this is your birthright, because you were born in this ummah of Rasulullah ﷺ. Just like if somebody says, I was born — the day I was born I will inherit from my father, because this is my right as a son, or my right as a daughter. So likewise, the day you were born in this ummah, we cannot deny it. You cannot reject it and say, I don't want this gift. You have to accept it — thereafter you can give it in charity, you can give it to whoever you want. But you cannot deny it.

Is it something that can be returned? There's no khiyar al-'ayb, no khiyar al-ru'yah, no khiyar al-majlis. That type of option to return it — there's no way that it can ever leave your milk. It must enter your milk, your possession. Unescapable, unavoidable. So likewise, nobody can say, oh, I don't have anything to do with the Qur'an, I don't want it. It's been granted to you. This has been granted to you the day you were born.

This book — the Qur'an. And when you look at these words, الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَيْنَا مِنْ عِبَادِنَا — Allah has ibad, slaves. We are all the slaves of Allah. But when Allah makes nisbah to Himself and says, "My slaves," this is a way of showing His attachment, showing His love.

For example, if a mother has multiple children — they are all her children. But if she is extremely happy with one of them, she will say, "This one is my son." Even though they are all her sons or daughters. Meaning, she is expressing that special love and attachment. And sometimes the opposite will happen — if she's upset about the behavior of one of the children, she'll say to her husband, "Look what your son did at school today!" What is she trying to say? She's saying she's not happy with the son, maybe she's not happy with the husband. That's how she's expressing her frustration.

So when a mother or father says, "This is my son, this is my daughter," this is showing love and attachment. So Allah here is saying مِنْ عِبَادِنَا — My slaves. Allah has many slaves. The ummah of Nuh alayhis salam, the ummah of Ibrahim alayhis salam, the ummah of Musa alayhis salam, the ummah of Isa alayhis salam — they are all Ibadina. They are all the khas, selected slaves of Allah. But مِنْ عِبَادِنَا اصْطَفَيْنَا — from My slaves, the ones that are close to Me, I have selected them. Which ones? This ummah of Rasulullah ﷺ.

So we have all the ibad of Allah. Then from the ibad, you have ibadina — those that are the khas, specific slaves of Allah. And from that ibadina, He has selected. SubhanAllah. And who is that? That's you and I. It's hard to believe, hard to imagine, hard to process. Say, wow, he's talking about you and me. Yeah, he's talking about you and me. So whether we accept it, realize it, or we don't — we are there.

The Three Groups of the Ummah

Now this ummah that is so selected and so great — when they have been selected for this legacy, they're going to be three groups. And these three groups are based on their behavior.

Allah says:

First group: فَمِنْهُمْ ظَالِمٌ لِّنَفْسِهِ — Despite all of the above, some of them are going to do a great zulm. They are zalim — doing injustice, oppression. And who are they doing zulm on? They cannot do zulm on Allah. They may or may not be doing it on others. But at the end of the day, the one they are doing the greatest zulm on is upon themselves. Despite that Allah said, "Oh, you are ibad, you are ibadina, My slave, you are istafayna — I have selected you, and awrathna — I have guaranteed you this book." And what did you do? You did zulm.

They turned their backs from the Qur'an. They ignored the Qur'an. And Rasulullah ﷺ on the Day of Judgment will plead in front of Allah and complain about these people. The Rasul will say, "Oh my Rabb, indeed some of my qawm, from this ummah, اتَّخَذُوا هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنَ مَهْجُورًا — they turned their backs from the Qur'an."

Hijrah is to leave the watan, leave the homeland. Mahjurah — they made hijrah. Not from Makkah to Madinah, not from Dar al-Kufr to Dar al-Islam, or Dar al-Bid'ah to Dar al-Sunnah, or Dar al-Marad to Dar al-Sihah, or all the different types of hijrah that are mentioned. They didn't do that hijrah. What hijrah did they do? Hijrah from Qur'an to ghayr al-Qur'an. Hijrah from Qur'an to nafs. Hijrah from Qur'an to culture. Hijrah from Qur'an to hawa, to desires. That's the hijrah they did. Na'udhu billah. We don't want to be that muhajir. This is the first group — ظَالِمٌ لِّنَفْسِهِ.

Second group: وَمِنْهُم مُّقْتَصِدٌ — Qasd, iqtisad, meaning they are halfway. They take one step forward towards the Qur'an, then they take two steps back, then they make one step forward, two steps forward, three steps back — going back and forth, somewhere halfway. Ramadan will come upon them, dawn upon them — شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ — they will increase their recitation of Qur'an. After Ramadan goes, then they will forget the Qur'an once again. They will not pick it up.

So this is like the نَفْسِ اللَّوَّامَةِ:

Nafs al-lawwamah is that you do a sin, then you make malama — you say, "Oh! I shouldn't have done that," and you make tawbah to Allah. Then you go back — back and forth, back and forth, fluctuating. The first one was نَفْسِ أَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ — just going non-stop in the wrong direction.

Third group: وَمِنْهُمْ سَابِقٌ بِالْخَيْرَاتِ — Sabiq bil-khayrat are those who are winning the race. Sabaqa yasbiq means to go ahead. Al-sabiqun al-sabiqun:

They will be near Allah. So the sabiq is the one who goes ahead, who is ahead of the pack, who is winning the race. Winning which race? سَابِقٌ بِالْخَيْرَاتِ — the race of good deeds, al-khayrat. And if a person is gifted and bestowed by Allah with the blessing that he's in this group, never for a moment attribute it to yourself. Because right here, what does Allah say?

With the permission of Allah. What about those who failed? Was that without Allah's permission? Allah permitted that too. Those who are halfway — muqtasid — that was also bi-idhni Allah. But Allah is only showing it here for those who are ahead. Because what happens — this is adab when we speak:

Whatever good you do, you attribute it back to Allah. And whatever evil happens, we attribute it to our nafs. This is the adab of how we are taught to speak and approach things. SubhanAllah. Whatever khair — you know, when the mufti writes the answer to a question, the fatwa — at the end, part of the template of how you write a fatwa, you do adab al-ifta. One of the things is, at the end, they will say:

(Standard adab al-ifta formula used by scholars when concluding a fatwa)

That Allah has complete knowledge. And: "If my answer is correct, this is from the tawfiq of Allah. And if there is a mistake in this fatwa, this is from me, my nafs, and shaytan." So likewise, Allah says, سَابِقٌ بِالْخَيْرَاتِ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ — those who are ahead of everyone, with the permission of Allah. And they are those who are the successful and beloved ones.

Who Are These Three Groups? The Answer of Sayyidah Aisha

My dear brothers and sisters, the month of Ramadan is approaching. The month of Qur'an is approaching. This is an opportunity for us to reflect and ponder. We have been granted this book as an inheritance. Allah has selected us. And He has granted this book. Let us make the intention to revive our attachment with His book, and be, insha'Allah, among the سَابِقٌ بِالْخَيْرَاتِ. Let us not be among those who are muqtasid — who are halfway there. And definitely not among the ظَالِمٌ لِّنَفْسِهِ.

Currently, we may be among the ظَالِمٌ لِّنَفْسِهِ. Somebody will say, "Oh, why are you downplaying? Maybe you are a zalim, I am not a zalim. So why are you dragging me into that?" So somebody asked Sayyidah Aisha Siddiqah radi Allahu anha — who are these three groups? She said: Rasulullah ﷺ was a سَابِقٌ بِالْخَيْرَاتِ. The pious early ones — السَّابِقُونَ الْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالْأَنصَارِ — they were perhaps the muqtasid. And you and I — we are the ظَالِمٌ لِّنَفْسِهِ. She said that.

Then what about you and I? May Allah make us truly among the sabiqin before we die. It's a long struggle, a long road — but at least we have our eye on the target, and we continue to work and make du'a, and may Allah make us among them.

Second Khutbah

Allah says:

Remember Allah the Most High, the Most Great — He will remember you. And call upon Him — He will respond to you. And the dhikr of Allah is the highest, the most honored, the most beloved, the most complete, the most important, the most magnificent, and the greatest. And Allah knows what you do. And establish the prayer.

Announcements

Please come up. Please fill in the gaps. Please fill in all the gaps, insha'Allah.

Important announcements. Number one, please pass the donation boxes from the left side to the right side. Please donate generously. Sadaqah wards off calamities and draws the mercy of Allah. If we can give whatever we give for the sake of Allah, Allah will reward us and Allah will protect us. And at the bare minimum, with no exception, is at least we should pass it down. We're having the problem where brothers are not passing it down. So please ensure either you give — and if you give, Allah rewards you — or at least give the opportunity for others to give. So please do ensure that you pass it down, insha'Allah. And whoever, mashallah, in the entire row will donate after you, you'll get the full reward. Whoever helps somebody in khair — fala ajruhu mithlu fa'ilihi — will receive the reward. So you can look all the way down — all the thawab you'll get, insha'Allah.

Please note that every Friday we are having different programs preparing for Ramadan. So tonight as well we have a program — Psychology of Change — tonight after Isha Salah with Shaykh Munsif Mubarak and Shaykh Zakaria Patel visiting from Toronto, Canada.

Next Friday, we have Guide to a Healthy and Balanced Fast — the health component — that's next Friday, March 1st.

And the following Friday, March 8th, will be the Fiqh of Ramadan, insha'Allah. I'll be there for that one.

So these are every Friday different programs. Likewise, this particular weekend, we have an annual program that takes place once a year — our No Tech Retreat: Unplugged — a 24-hour escape from technology with itikaf and fasting to connect with the Creator. We have Shaykh Zakaria Patel, Imam of Masjid Taqwa in Toronto — a great 'alim and a very spiritual individual — who will be doing itikaf with us. So please join us for that, register for that.

Additionally, the remaining programs: we have our Saturday morning Jama'ah Fajr — it will continue this time. We have a guest speaker from Toronto who will be addressing us. Tuesday Tafsir with Mufti Azimuddin. Thursday night Salawat, etc. And our sisters' program — once a week, we have Tafsir in Urdu on Thursdays. You can register on the website to receive the link.

Du'a Requests

Please make du'a, of course, for our brothers and sisters who are suffering in Palestine and Gaza and Rafah and the entire Gaza Strip and West Bank, and Muslims throughout the world.

Dr. Faisal Anwar — his younger sister was receiving anesthesia. She is a young woman in very critical condition, on a respirator. She had a very dangerous situation. Please make du'a for her to recover.

Rafi Ahmad — he's in critical condition in the ICU. Please make du'a for his shifa.

Dr. Shahid Mumtaz — he's also in a coma. Please make du'a for his recovery. La ilaha illallah.