The Quran's Three Major Themes for Guidance and Success

Opening

In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of the Trustworthy One.

Allah, the Exalted, said in His Glorious Book, after we seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan:

"We will surely test you with evil and good, and to Us you will be returned."

Allah, the Exalted, said:

"O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims."

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 55, Hadith 2999)

"How strange is the matter of a believer — all his affairs are good for him. That is not for anyone except for the believer. Indeed, if something good befalls him, he is grateful, so it is good for him. And indeed if something harmful befalls him, he is patient, so it is good for him."

Ask forgiveness of Allah for me and for you and for the rest of the Muslims, so ask forgiveness of Him. Indeed, He is Ever Forgiving.

The Three Major Themes of the Qur'an

Dear respected brothers and elders, mothers and sisters, السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ.

In the Qur'an, we understand that Allah, Azza wa Jalla, has given the book as a means of guidance — هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ. The primary purpose of the Qur'an is that it has been sent to us as a means of guidance. Guidance in this world and guidance for success in the hereafter.

So when we look at the Qur'an, we see three main themes that are addressed in the Qur'an for the hidayah of humankind.

1. Tawheed — The Oneness of Allah

The first is tawheed — the oneness of Allah, Azza wa Jalla. Repeatedly in the Qur'an, Allah, Azza wa Jalla, emphasizes that لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ — that Allah is One, that Allah has no partners.

"Say: He, Allah, is One."

And this was something that the people of Mecca at that time, the Quraysh, could not understand, could not fathom. Because they were accustomed to a life of shirk, to a life of polytheism, where they had multiple gods that they associated with Allah, Azza wa Jalla. And it was a struggle for them to overcome this shirk. So repeatedly in the Qur'an, we see the mention of tawheed.

2. Risalah — The Prophethood of the Prophet

Also in the Qur'an, Allah, Azza wa Jalla, affirms the risalah, the prophethood, the messengership of Nabi ﷺ. He mentions again and again that Nabi ﷺ was sent as a prophet for humanity, for the people of Quraysh and beyond. And in that, Allah, Azza wa Jalla, mentions the stories of different anbiya from before. He mentions the stories of different umam and nations from before. And this is a point I'll come back to.

3. Matters of the Unseen and the Hereafter

The third major theme that we see in the Qur'an is about matters of the unseen — the matters of the hereafter. Matters of the end times, matters of what is to happen in the hereafter. Allah, Azza wa Jalla, informs us of the existence of Jannah and the existence of Jahannam — the existence of heaven and hell. Allah, Azza wa Jalla, informs us of those who will deserve Jannah and those who will attain salvation, and then tells us those who will not. Allah, Azza wa Jalla, tells us of the groups of people that will make it to Jannah and the groups of people that do not.

Lessons from the Stories of the Prophets

So we see these three general themes within the Qur'an. The second one that I mentioned — about risalah, about the messengership of ﷺ — added on to that, we see the stories of the anbiya of the past. And these stories of the anbiya of the past, Allah, Azza wa Jalla, tells us:

"Indeed, within their stories is a lesson for those of understanding."

That within the stories of the past, the stories of the anbiya, the stories of the previous nations, we learn a lot. There's a lot to be taken, a lot of lessons to be learned.

Now there are many lessons that we can learn from the stories of the people of the past, the stories of the anbiya of the past. But one theme that we see throughout the Prophets and throughout the nations that the Prophets dealt with, is this idea that the Prophets, alayhim salatu wasalam, they went through struggle. They went through hardship. They went through pain and difficulty.

Right from the get-go, the Prophets, alayhim salatu wasalam, they went through difficulty. It wasn't an easy job. The message that they came with — of tawheed, of the oneness of Allah, Azza wa Jalla, matters of the hereafter, the fact that they are Prophets of God — it wasn't as if everyone clapped them, gave them a round of applause, welcomed them, and gave them the seat. No, they went through a lot of pain.

The anbiya, alayhim salatu wasalam — it is part of our aqeedah, it is part of our belief, that they are the most beloved of creation to Allah, Azza wa Jalla. The most beloved of people to Allah, Azza wa Jalla. The Prophets are the closest creation to Allah, Azza wa Jalla. Being a Nabi is not something that anyone chooses — Allah, Azza wa Jalla, chooses them. No matter how righteous a person today may be, he can never ever reach the rank of Prophethood, such that if a person claims to be a Prophet after the Prophet, alayhi salatu wasalam, he leaves the fold of Islam. They have such a high rank, and they have such a closeness to Allah, Azza wa Jalla, that none of us can ever reach.

But despite that — despite being the most beloved of creation to Allah, Azza wa Jalla — the Prophets, across all eras and generations and wherever they came, they were tested. That's why Nabi ﷺ says:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Book 37, Hadith 2398)

"The ones who are most severely tested are the Prophets, then those most like them, then those most like them."

The anbiya, alayhim salatu wasalam, they were tested from every aspect that we can consider — any type of hardship, any type of evil, any type of pain that we can imagine, the anbiya, alayhim salatu wasalam, they went through it. They went through this pain.

Consolation for the Prophet and for Us

So one aspect of the mention of the previous nations, and the previous ummah, and the previous prophets, is a means of consolation to Nabi ﷺ himself. Because Nabi ﷺ went through it. Nabi ﷺ went through many, many difficult scenarios in his lifetime. And it is a means of consolation to Nabi ﷺ: look at your brothers, look at the anbiya that came before you, and look at the pain they went through in carrying out this mission.

And it's not only just a consolation for Nabi ﷺ — it's a consolation for you and I. That the people of haqq, the people of truth, have always been tormented by the people of batil. For the people of haqq to stand on haqq, it isn't just wordplay. It isn't just something that we say and it's going to be easy. We have to work for it, and there will be tests.

The Struggles of the Early Muslims

So when we see the life of Nabi ﷺ — right from the get-go, when this message was given to him, when Khadijah, radiyallahu anha, takes Nabi ﷺ to her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal, and he says: no one brought what you brought except that their people exiled them and turned against them. Nabi ﷺ couldn't understand this. He said: my people? My people are going to take me out? My people are going to exile me? My people are going to turn against me? How? Because his people used to call him al-Sadiq al-Amin — the truthful one, the trustworthy one. When the Ka'bah was being rebuilt, whatever Nabi ﷺ said, they accepted, they trusted him. He was the most beloved of people — he wasn't just some random person; he was from the Quraysh, the beloved of the people.

So when Waraqah tells him that your people will turn on you, it was something of a shock. And he said: not any prophet — any prophet that came before you, anyone that came with this message, the people turned on them. So the Prophet, alayhi salatu wasalam, his own people turned on him.

And not just him — the early sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een. It is part of our belief that Nabi ﷺ is the most beloved person, the most beloved being to Allah, Azza wa Jalla. It's part of our belief that the sahaba, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een, after the prophets, are the most beloved people, the most blessed people, the best of people. As Nabi ﷺ tells us:

"The best of people are my generation, then those that follow, then those that follow."

So they're the most beloved of people to Allah, Azza wa Jalla — yet they were tested. Yet they went through some unspeakable horrors and crimes.

When Nabi ﷺ was passing by the family of Ammar ibn Yasir, the family of Yasir, he looks at them, he sees them in pain, and he says:

(Mustadrak al-Hakim, Vol. 3, Hadith 6604)

"Have patience, O family of Yasir, for your abode — your final place of rest — is Jannah."

When Abu Bakr, radiyallahu anhu, was beaten so badly he was left unconscious. When Nabi ﷺ was being choked out. When the innards of a camel were thrown upon him, where he himself could not lift himself up. When we go for udhiyah and slaughter a goat or a sheep or a lamb — when we slaughter a goat, those innards are very heavy. Now imagine a camel, which is significantly larger than a sheep or a goat — and that was placed on the back of Nabi ﷺ so that he couldn't get up. These are the pains and struggles that our beloved Prophet ﷺ went through.

Why Should We Be Surprised by Difficulty?

So then, we may have to think a little bit about ourselves. If the Prophet of Allah and the Prophets of Allah, alayhim salatu wasalam, went through pain, went through difficulty, went through struggle, had to face hardship, had to face the enemies, went through torture, lost their children, were made fun of, ridiculed — emotionally, physically, on all levels — then why would it be a shock if we go through difficulties in this life? Why would it be unfathomable if we go through pain in life?

As Allah, Azza wa Jalla, has already promised us — evil is only a problem, difficulty is only a problem, if we don't have an explanation for it. But Allah, Azza wa Jalla, has already given us a reason. Allah, Azza wa Jalla, has already given us an explanation:

"We shall test you with good things and bad things." There will be sources of fitnah for you that are actually good things. There will be sources of fitnah for you that will be hard things. But ultimately, at the end, Allah, Azza wa Jalla, says: "And to Us you will be returned."

When Allah, Azza wa Jalla, tells us that this is dar al-bala' — this is a place of test. And then choices will be presented in front of us. And people will make those choices. And sometimes people will make those choices to harm us. This is not a reason for us to lose faith. Rather, this is a way that we turn back to Allah, Azza wa Jalla.

The Believer's Affair is Always Good

Because Nabi ﷺ tells us:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 55, Hadith 2999)

"How strange is the affair of a believer — all his matters are good for him." All his matters, everything is good for him. And that's only for a believer.

Why? If something good comes his way, and he is thankful for that, he is grateful for that, then that's going to be good for him. Now if something good comes your way and a person is not grateful, a person uses that khayr — that beneficial thing, that good thing — toward harm, toward evil, toward disobedience, then that's not going to be good for him. But if he is grateful and thankful to Allah, Azza wa Jalla, then:

"If you are thankful and grateful to Allah, Allah promises to increase." Then that's good for him.

And if something evil comes his way, something harmful — he goes through difficult times, she goes through difficult times — and that person has patience, that's also good for him. Because we do not restrict ourselves to a purely materialistic worldview. We do not see the world just in this realm — that when we die, that's it. We return back to the ground, decompose and turn back into atoms. We don't believe in that. That's a very depressing worldview. That's a very depressing way to look at the world: that I only got one shot at this, and whatever happens to me, all my justice has to be served to me in this world. And if I don't get it — well, that's it. There's no meaning. I'm just returning back to atoms, returning back to the ground, with nothing else to help me out.

Whereas a Muslim understands that this world is faniyah — this world is finite. This world will come to an end; it is temporal. And the hereafter is where we are seeking. The hereafter is where true justice will take place. The hereafter is maliki yawm al-deen, where Allah, Azza wa Jalla, is the Master of the hereafter. Where everyone will be taken to account — even an animal that has unjustly harmed another animal.

So we as Muslims do not look at the world only through this world. We look at the hereafter. We look at the promises of Allah, Azza wa Jalla — the promises of Allah, Azza wa Jalla, in this world and the promise of Allah, Azza wa Jalla, in the hereafter.

Do Not Lose Hope in the Mercy of Allah

So my dear respected brothers and elders, mothers and sisters — with all the difficulties that may go on in our life, and the difficulties that may go on across the world to the Muslim ummah — this is not a reason for us to become pessimistic. This is not a reason for us to fall into despondency in the mercy of Allah, Azza wa Jalla. As Allah, Azza wa Jalla, says:

"Do not give up hope, and do not become despondent in the mercy of Allah."

Rather, we understand that Nabi ﷺ went through a long 13 years in Mecca. And then he also went through a long 10 years in Medina. In Medina, he wasn't living in luxury. In Medina, he wasn't living in a palace. When Umar, radiyallahu anhu, asked permission to visit the Prophet ﷺ, and he went to see him in his room, and he saw that there was a mark on the back of the Prophet ﷺ — left by whatever he had been lying on — Umar, radiyallahu anhu, was overwhelmed. He started crying and said: "What is this, O Rasulullah?" Nabi ﷺ responded: "Are you still in grief, O Umar? For them is the dunya, for us is the akhirah."

If this is Nabi ﷺ, my dear respected listeners, then you and I will definitely, 110%, be tested. You and I will go through tests. But Allah, Azza wa Jalla, has given us reason for those tests. And who knows — perhaps through that test, many avenues of khayr will open. As Allah, Azza wa Jalla, tells us:

"Indeed, with every difficulty there comes ease."

So we should not become despondent in the mercy of Allah, Azza wa Jalla. When the people who are going through the most difficulties in this dunya are not giving up hope — when the people who are going through the most difficulties, every atrocity that one can imagine, their iman is only increased — while we, relatively speaking, are in aafiyah, why should our iman be in shock? Why should we have doubts in our iman? When the best of the best, the best creation possible — Nabi ﷺ — went through the difficulties.

Du'a and Closing

So we ask Allah, Azza wa Jalla, to help all the Muslims across the world. We ask Allah, Azza wa Jalla, to help the people of Gaza and Lebanon. And we ask Allah, Azza wa Jalla, to help all the Muslims across the world and grant them aafiyah and grant them victory. And may Allah, Azza wa Jalla, keep us firm on our iman, allow us to live a life of iman, and die with iman.

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Du'a Requests

Please make du'a for our brothers and sisters in Palestine and Lebanon.

Please make du'a for Sheikh Ibrahim Shah Jahan, who passed away in Kentucky — may Allah grant him maghfirah.

Dr. Haseeb Bashasab and his father were regular musallis at Dar es Salaam. Until the opening of Masjid Isa, please kindly make special du'a for maghfirah of the deceased brother and sabr al-jameel for his wife.

Brother Shaqeel is very ill and in the ICU — please make du'a for his shifa.

Ahmed Abdul Hakim Khan passed away in India — please make du'a for his maghfirah.

After the Salah, we shall make du'a for their maghfirah and shifa for all our sick brothers and sisters.