Hidden Treasures of the Quran - Session 1 | Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed

Hidden Treasures of the Quran — Session 1

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم، الحمد لله، ونصلي على رسول الله الكريم، أما بعد.

Introduction: Everything Has Signs

Before we begin, as an introduction — every single thing in life has signs. You can tell if a person is sick just by the way they look. You can tell if a person is happy by the way they talk. You can tell if a person is sad by the way they walk. You can tell if a person is unhealthy by the way their demeanor and their aura is.

Everything has signs. No one has to wear on their forehead that they're sick, or they're upset, or they're happy. Just by being around them, you're able to gauge what emotion they're wearing on their sleeves. Even though some people don't wear their emotion on their sleeves, you can still gauge it by signs.

Everything has signs. Similarly, Iman also has signs. Iman is an emotion for us. Iman is something which is internal, within our hearts. It also has signs. How is a person able to gauge — what's a litmus test for us — that we have some form of Iman within our hearts?

The Five Signs of a Believer — Surah Al-Anfal

Allah in the beginning of Surah Al-Anfal speaks about five signs. I will not cover all of them in detail. But He says:

Allah says there are five signs of a believer — three which are internal, two which are external.

The Three Internal Signs

Sign One: إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ — When they hear the name of Allah, when they hear Allah, or anything which has to do with Allah's Qudra, وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ — their heart shakes and trembles out of love and fear.

Sign Two: وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا — And when they hear the recitation of the Qur'an, their Iman increases. So one of the signs of a believer is that just by hearing the Qur'an they feel good, they enjoy it, they cherish the moments of listening to the Qur'an.

Allah says in another verse:

When the Sahabas would hear the Qur'an being revealed, they would cry, recognizing the beauty and the truth behind it. Allah mentions many verses in the Qur'an speaking about the people of Iman being affected by the Qur'an. In another verse Allah says:

These are people whose hearts are actually affected by just hearing the Qur'an. It's a sign of Iman.

So for us — and yes, sometimes we're unable to benefit, we feel like we're not benefiting by hearing the Qur'an or listening to the Qur'an. It's like we're hearing it but it has no benefit. Trust me, just by hearing it, even though we might not take any benefit at that moment, there will be a long-term benefit for us. And there is just reward in listening to the Qur'an, even if I don't feel it.

You know, some people say, "Man, I don't feel like praying, so I didn't pray. I don't get that high from it. I don't get that spiritual feeling." We don't pray because of a high. We don't listen to Qur'an because of a high. We listen to the Qur'an and we pray because we have to. And we hope that through praying and through these a'mal of reading the Qur'an and listening to the Qur'an, we can get that high, we can feel that spirituality. But we do it whether we feel it or we don't feel it. And we hope that by the end of the day, we're able to receive that benefit as well.

Sign Three: وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ — These are people who have complete trust in Allah. I say these three are internal because no one can tell you whether you have them or not. فقيه النفس — I'm my own judge when it comes to those things. So the only people that know whether these three signs are present within us are us and Allah.

The Two External Signs

And the two which are external are: الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ — when a person is able to grasp upon these three internal signs, the two external signs also become stronger. First, they are able to establish their prayer. وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ — and they are able to spend in the path of Allah.

Imam Qurtubi rahimullah says that this doesn't mean it only refers to prayer and giving money, but rather all ibadat are formulated behind two main foundations — either physical worships or worships of wealth. So when it comes to الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ, Allah is referring to the fact that once a person has these three qualities, they can implement any of the physical worships in their life. They will have internal strength. And they will have the internal strength to spend their money — to do both.

And these two are qualities that the Munafiqun struggled with. They were unable to spend their money and they were also unable to actually stand in prayer and enjoy it. Allah speaks about the Munafiqun — الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَاءُونَ — there were people that would stand in prayer perhaps at times but just to show off. Or they would stand and they would be absent-minded while praying — كُسَالَىٰ — lazy, shoulders drooping, just there because they knew if they weren't going to be there, they would be looked down upon. Because even the lowest of the Munafiqun would pray Salat.

So they would struggle with two things: praying Salat, and giving their wealth. And this is spoken about in Surah Al-Mujadila where Allah reveals an ayah which tells the Sahabas: whenever you come to the Prophet, bring charity. This ayah was revealed because when the Prophet first came to Medina, the Munafiqun became the people that sat close to the Prophet. They would find their way, sit close, and the believers would end up being in the back — overcompensating, acting like they were close to the Prophet.

Allah says about them:

Allah says there are people who when they sit, they try to puff up their shoulders and broaden out their chest — trying to make sure that you know they're there. And when they speak, وَإِن يَقُولُوا تَسْمَعْ لِقَوْلِهِمْ — they want you to hear it. It's not possible that if they give an opinion, it can be ignored.

So rather than just telling the Munafiqun to step back, Allah says:

Whenever you come to the Prophet ﷺ, bring some charity. When this happened, instantly the Munafiqun just started staying in the back, and the believers started coming to the front. And there was only one Sahaba that was actually able to apply this ayah — to physically bring this ayah into life — which was Ali رضي الله عنه. He said that he was the only person able to act upon it, because after he did, the actual command of bringing charity to the Prophet ﷺ was abrogated.

The Qur'an's Effect on the Heart

One of the greatest effects of the Qur'an is that it has an effect on the heart. And the Prophet ﷺ says: test your heart in three places. Number one, في خَلْوَةٍ — while you're alone. When you're alone and your heart is swaying one way or the other, it can tell you where your heart truly is. Number two, في استماع القرآن — while listening to the Qur'an, or while being in the halaqat, in the gatherings of the Qur'an. In that state, where is your heart — is it present or just absent and passive? And number three — while sitting with righteous people. Does that affect you in a positive way?

So having an effect from the Qur'an is a sign of Iman for us. And this sign is not even limited to believers — we find within the Seerah that the Qur'an was so powerful that it was even able to affect non-believers.

Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه and Ibn Daghina

Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه decided to perform hijrah to Habesha. As he was leaving, a man by the name of Ibn Daghina came to him and said, "Where are you going?" He said, "I'm leaving. I'm going to Habesha." He said, "Why are you leaving for Habesha?" He replied, "Because your people don't allow me to worship my Lord in peace and in ease. Every time I worship Allah, people start jumping on me and bothering me. I'm out. I can't do this anymore." — إِنَّ أَرْضَ اللَّهِ وَاسِعَةٌ فَإِيَّاهُ فَاعْبُدُوا — "I will worship Allah somewhere else."

Ibn Daghina said, "No way. How can it be possible that a great man like you could leave our community? What will people say about us if you leave us?" This was a non-Muslim. He said, "Our honor is in you staying with us. We will be humiliated if you leave." So taking Abu Bakr out of that non-Muslim society, they felt was a slap on their face.

He takes him back to Makkah and says to the people, "I take him under my amnesty. He's under my protection. He can pray as much as he wants and you can't bother him." So they said to him, "As long as he does not recite the Qur'an out loud. Because when he recites the Qur'an out loud, it affects our children and our people — they get attracted towards the Qur'an, they start listening and want to know more about it." These are non-Muslims — getting attracted towards the Qur'an.

Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه and Surah Al-Haqqa

Like the story where the Prophet ﷺ was praying Salat near the Ka'bah. This is the first time Umar رضي الله عنه was exposed to any recitation of the Qur'an — when he walked outside of the haram and saw the Prophet praying. He started listening. The Prophet was reading Surah Al-Haqqa. Surah Al-Haqqa — for those that know — is a very beautiful surah, has a nice rhythm, it rhymes. It's a Makki surah, and Makki surahs generally have a nice rhythm.

Umar starts saying to himself, "This stuff has to be from a great poet that wrote it." So as he thinks that, Allah speaks his mind, and the Prophet says:

These were not the statements of a poet. And if it's not a poet, it must be a sorcerer, a fortune teller. Allah says it's not a sorcerer, not a fortune teller. تَنزِيلٌ مِّن رَّبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ — This is from Allah. And even the Prophet ﷺ can't add to it:

These are some powerful ayahs — hopefully one day we can discuss them. But in that ayah, Allah is saying even the Prophet ﷺ can't add to the Qur'an. This is from Allah. So Umar was affected by that.

The Leaders of Makkah Listening Secretly

There are also stories where three leaders of Mecca — among them Abu Jahl and Abu Sufyan — would gather in an area at night time and hear the Prophet ﷺ reciting the Qur'an. So one night goes by and they say, "Hey man, we can't do this anymore." They promise each other — tomorrow, none of them will be seen over there. The next night comes around and all three of them are there again. They're like, "What's going on? We said we were not going to come back." Third night, same thing — and they're all there again.

And after that, Abu Sufyan asks Abu Jahl, "Don't you think that this person may be a prophet? He just might be a prophet." And Abu Jahl said, "Even if he might be, I can't accept it. There's no way I can accept the fact that he's a prophet, even if he is." So they were affected by the Qur'an despite being non-Muslims.

Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه and Surah Taha

There are multiple stories of how Sahabas embraced Islam just by hearing a few verses of the Qur'an. The famous one — Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه. A few verses of Surah Taha changed his entire life — his entire life flipped from just a few verses of Surah Taha. This was the person who left his home with an unsheathed sword with the intention of actually killing the Prophet ﷺ. He was told on the way, "Go check on your own household — your sister Fatima has become Muslim." He goes to Fatima's house and the long story short — he is presented with the verses of Surah Taha:

He hears these verses and becomes Muslim. He goes to the Prophet and accepts Islam. It's interesting that they say those specific verses were revealed directly to Musa ﷺ — the first time he was exposed to the fire and came there, Allah said: إِنَّنِي أَنَا اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِي — this was the first command to Musa from Allah. This was his Iqra. And this was the same ayah that changed the life of Umar رضي الله عنه. It's interesting, because the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Referenced in classical Seerah literature. See also: Al-Hakim, Al-Mustadrak, Hadith 4495)

"Umar resembles Musa in many ways" — not only in his personality but also in his build and his stature. So it was the same ayah which brought revelation to Musa that actually changed the life of Umar رضي الله عنه. Very interesting.

Mus'ab ibn Umayr رضي الله عنه

We also have the story of Mus'ab ibn Umayr رضي الله عنه. He later became one of the leaders of Madinah — when the Prophet ﷺ was deciding who to send as an ambassador. An ambassador is someone you have complete trust in — this person has to represent me in every form and angle. And sending him as an ambassador to Madinah, which would become the home of the believers, was a great responsibility. Who will he send? Abu Bakr is there. Umar is there. Uthman رضي الله عنه. But the Prophet ﷺ chose Mus'ab ibn Umayr — some say he was hardly 21 or 22 years old.

He was a very lavish, very proud young man. Abu Jahl went to him in the Shura of Makkah and said, "We want you to be in the Shura because the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was a young man amongst us — beautiful, very trustworthy. But he has gone to the other side. And we feel like the only person that can compete with him in grace, beauty, and charisma is you. Some hadith mention that no one resembles the Prophet more than Mus'ab ibn Umayr."

So Mus'ab ibn Umayr said to himself, "I should know what I'm going against. I can't be a blind follower — let me do some research and figure out what's going on." So he goes to the house of Dar al-Arqam — the first musalla of the Muslims in Makkah. Al-Arqam ibn Abi Al-Arqam was a 14-year-old kid that gave his entire house to the Prophet ﷺ. At night time the Prophet would hold his small sessions there. So Mus'ab enters, the Sahabas see him, the Prophet sees him. The Prophet ﷺ tells the Sahabas, "Just sit down. Let's continue our lesson. Let's not stand up for him." He walks in and the Prophet ﷺ is discussing signs of the Day of Judgment — some mention he was reciting Surah Al-Haqqa.

When he got to the ayah:

There will be some that will receive the Book of Deeds in their right hands, and others would receive their Book of Deeds in their left hands. When he heard these verses, something just happened in his heart. And he left that house saying, "This guy can't be a random person just running around saying false tales and reading poems. He has to be someone special." The next day he went back and became Muslim. So even non-Muslims were affected by the Qur'an.

How the Pious Predecessors Were Affected by the Qur'an

I'll run down a few stories of the Sahabas and pious predecessors, showing us how they were affected by the Qur'an. And let's be clear — we can hope one day we can reach this level, but this is not a level that we have to reach. The Qur'an affecting us is good enough. But this just shows how they were. We're admiring their love for the Qur'an and their attachment to it.

The reward of our amal is given based upon how difficult it is for us to do. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4937; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 798)

The person that learns the Qur'an and recites it fluently is given one reward — مَعَ الْكِرَامِ الْبَرَرَةِ. And the person that struggles to learn it is given two rewards — double — because it is more difficult for them. So for us, even if we do a little, perhaps Allah can give us more reward. It's not about how much we're doing, but about how difficult it is for us to get around it and do it.

Abdullah ibn Rawaha رضي الله عنه

There are stories about Sahabas like Abdullah ibn Rawaha رضي الله عنه. One day he comes home, puts his head on his wife's lap, and starts crying. The wife says, "Why are you crying?" And the husband continues to weep. And the wife starts crying. The husband asks her, "Why are you crying?" She says, "I'm crying because of whatever is making you cry — even though I don't know what it is. Your tears soften my heart." That's true love. And Abdullah ibn Rawaha says, "You want to know what makes me cry? One ayah:"

Which means: there will not be a single person that does not have to cross by Jahannam through the Sirat. Every single person will have to see Jahannam — وَارِدُهَا — they'll have to see it, they'll have to cross by it. كَانَ عَلَىٰ رَبِّكَ حَتْمًا مَّقْضِيًّا — this is a stamped and sealed conclusion by Allah. This is going to happen. He said, "I'm crying because Allah doesn't say whether or not I'm going to pass by it safely. So I'm worried about it."

And when he went for the Battle of Mutah — a battle in which three great Sahabas became shaheed — among them was Ja'far رضي الله عنه, the cousin of the Prophet ﷺ. Ja'far al-Tayyar. He had left to Habesha in year 4 of Nubuwwah and came back to Madinah more than 12–13 years later, then just a year later the Prophet sends him for another expedition. So he only spends a year with the Prophet ﷺ and when he leaves, he doesn't come back.

Abdullah ibn Rawaha was also among those who went for this battle and never returned. When he was leaving, he started crying. People said, "You're crying because you're not going to come back? Are you scared?" He said, "No. I'm not crying because I'm going to miss you. I mean, I love you, but I don't love you that much. I'm crying because that same ayah is coming back to me. I know I'm going to pass away — because the Prophet told me before the battle of Mutah that I would become shaheed. Imagine leaving your house knowing you're not coming back. I'm not crying because I'll miss you. I'm crying because I know I'm going to pass away but I'm not sure whether I'm going to cross that bridge safely." So one ayah was enough for him to transform his life.

Umar ibn Abdulaziz رحمه الله

Another story about Umar ibn Abdulaziz رحمه الله — the fifth khalifa of Islam from Banu Umayyah. His wife Fatima would say, "I would pray at night that my husband, when he wakes up for Tahajjud, does not recite a specific verse. Because whenever he would recite this verse, it would overwhelm him, and at times he would fall unconscious." This level is beyond us, and we're just there to appreciate it. Whenever he would recite this ayah:

Which means: a group of people would be given Jannah, and a group thrown into Jahannam — whenever he came across this ayah, he would fall down and go unconscious. One ayah that would affect him.

The Prophet ﷺ and the White Hairs

The Prophet ﷺ himself — when his Sahaba asked him, "O Prophet of Allah, your hair on your beard and your head has become white" — and Anas ibn Malik رضي الله عنه says there were only 14 to 17 white hairs on the Prophet's head and beard — he said to them: "These surahs have made me old." — Surah Hud and its like — "Whenever I read them, I think about the nations of the past and the power of Allah. It's making me old." The Prophet ﷺ was affected by it.

The Prophet ﷺ and Abdullah ibn Mas'ud رضي الله عنه

One day the Prophet ﷺ came to Abdullah ibn Mas'ud رضي الله عنه and said, "Read some Qur'an to me." Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said, "Ya Rasulullah, you want me to read Qur'an to you while the Qur'an was revealed upon you?" The Prophet said, "No, no — I want to hear from somebody else. Read."

And they say this shows that when a command is given by someone of respect, following it is more important than the consideration of apparent adab. So he starts reading, continuing without looking up — because if he looked up, he would get afraid standing before the Prophet. He reads from the beginning and reaches the ayah in Surah An-Nisa:

Which means: "O Prophet of Allah, how will you fare on that day — when from every nation the Prophets would become a witness against their nation, and you will also have to become a witness against your Ummah." He looked up and the Prophet was weeping. He raised his hands and told him to stop.

The Mufassirun say: why did the Prophet start weeping here? Simple conclusion — the Prophets love their Ummahs, or the people of their nation, more than parents love their children. So imagine a father having to stand as a witness against his own son in a trial. The father would put himself in custody rather than putting his son or daughter in custody. The Prophets love their nations more than parents love their children. So imagine the Prophet having to reflect upon this ayah, where Allah is saying you will have to stand as a witness against the people of your nation — and the punishment is not 10 years or 5 years, but Jahannam. So the Qur'an affected even the Prophet ﷺ.

Crying from the Qur'an — A Sign of Love

That's the first lesson we can take — that regardless of who we are, crying because of the Qur'an is a sign of love. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal would say, and Imam Nawawi رحمه الله also quotes this:

(Cited in Imam Nawawi's Al-Tibyan fi Adab Hamalat al-Qur'an)

Crying because of the Qur'an is a sign of a person that truly loves Allah. And that doesn't mean that if you don't cry, you don't love Allah — it's not a big deal. Some people naturally cry more, some cry less. But regardless of whether a person cries or not, if he continues to involve himself with the Qur'an and is attached to it, that is what matters.

Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه and the Ayah of Yaqub ﷺ

A Sahaba — Abdullah ibn Shaddad — mentions: "I was standing in the last row of the masjid, and all I could hear was Umar رضي الله عنه continuously repeating the same ayah and crying." And that's the ayah of Yaqub ﷺ — when his children came to him and told him what had happened to Yusuf and to Ibn Yamin, and he said:

"I take my affairs and I take my sadness and I only speak to Allah about it." And a sign of صَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ — beautiful patience — is لَا أَثَرَ وَلَا شَكْوَى إِلَّا لِلَّهِ — that you don't complain to anyone but Allah, as was the Sunnah of Yaqub ﷺ. So this is Umar رضي الله عنه being affected — not even by an ayah of the Akhirah, but by a story of a father that lost his son.

Fudayl ibn Iyyad رحمه الله — From Robber to 'Abid al-Haramayn

There was a man by the name of Fudayl ibn Iyyad رحمه الله who was known as the biggest robber and looter in the streets of Hijaz. They would say, "Don't take this route because Fudayl is there — if you see him, you're done. He'll take all your belongings and you'll come back empty-handed."

One day — this story is mentioned by many historians — he walks inside a house he was attempting to rob. He takes the jewelry and is putting it in his bag when he hears someone reading an ayah. For us it may sound like a fairy tale, but Allah can switch hearts.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2654)

"The heart is in between the fingers of Allah." This is what the Prophet ﷺ taught. And when the Prophet ﷺ said this hadith, he was asked: what can we do to keep our hearts steadfast upon deen? And he replied by making a du'a:

The means of Fudayl's change was one verse — the person in the house was reading an ayah from Surah Al-Hadid:

Which means: "Has the time not come for the people of belief to actually bring some fear of Allah in their hearts through that which has been revealed to them?" He just heard this ayah, dropped what he was doing, walked out. This became the starting point of his change. Not that he just changed immediately from this ayah — but this became the starting point. And he continued to change his life until Abdullah ibn Mubarak — a great faqih and saint — gave him the nickname Ya'abid al-Haramayn — not the greatest robber of Mecca and Medina, but the greatest worshipper of Mecca and Medina. The script had flipped.

And this is why the Prophet ﷺ would say:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3496; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2526)

Regardless of how bad a person can be prior to deen coming into their lives, when deen does come, those same people can become the best of them. So we're taught not to judge, because we don't know when Allah flips the switch and they become better than us.

Being Moved by the Qur'an Without Understanding Arabic

These were a few stories compiled about the concept of the Qur'an being a source of motivation for us — affecting us, us being touched by it — regardless if we understand it or not. That shouldn't be the only reason why we're affected by the Qur'an. There were Sahabas like Bilal, Suhaib, and Salman that didn't understand the Qur'an but were still affected by it — because they knew where it was coming from and they knew the power behind the Qur'an. And that's all they cared about.

Even if you're ajami and don't understand the Qur'an, that's not an excuse. Yes, a great way to start being affected by the Qur'an is to learn the translation, but that's not the only way. There are many people who know the translation and yet fail to heed the ayahs — they're not affected by it. So just by knowing the translation doesn't make you automatically a changed person. Is it really affecting you or not? That's one way of getting to that level, but without it we can still reach levels of being affected by the Qur'an.

The Daily Recitation of the Qur'an

The Qur'an should be recited by every single one of us on a daily basis, regardless of how long — 5 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes. And if we can't recite it because we're busy, just listen to it. Listening to the Qur'an also has its own reward. Just listen. Some people say, "I don't enjoy the Qur'an as much." The example I'll share is this: a friend was taken to a very prestigious restaurant in New York — one of only five of its kind in the entire country. High-level stuff. They sit down, they eat, they leave. Big bill. And he says honestly, "I didn't really enjoy it." His friend asked, "Did you enjoy the food?" "Can I be honest? I didn't really enjoy it, man. Can you take me to a corner shop that sells pizza?" So they went to a corner shop in New York selling greasy pizza, and he enjoyed that more.

And he says: the reason is, I'm not used to such pure foods. I'm used to this junk — this pizza with all this grease on it. My body is used to that. So I wasn't able to enjoy something which was so pure. Similarly — when our heart spiritually becomes so used to the filth of what we listen to, when we turn on the purity of the Qur'an, sometimes we're not able to enjoy it. That doesn't mean we stop listening to it. That means we lessen the filth and increase the good content. Increase the purity. And slowly but surely, the filth will become despicable to us, and the Qur'an will become desirable to us. It's a process. No one wakes up in the morning and it just happens. But inshallah we should all attempt to bring some form of that into our lives — not just in the month of Ramadan.

Allah mentions the statement that the Prophet ﷺ will make on the Day of Judgment:

He will say: "O Allah, my people have taken this Qur'an and made it abandoned." مَهْجُورًا comes from the root letters of هِجْرَة — migration — which means you leave without ever intending to come back. My people have completely left the Qur'an. And this is the Prophet saying it — the one who is standing in front of Allah for hours asking for our forgiveness. By extension, he is referring to any of us who has simply ignored the Qur'an. So this is something we have to be careful about.

الْقُرْآنُ نُورٌ — The Qur'an is the noor of our day. It's light for us in this dunya and light for us in the akhirah for those who read it. This is the one thing Allah refers to in Hadith Qudsi where the Prophet ﷺ says the levels of Jannah will never stop increasing — not just because of how much Qur'an one recites per se, but the Qur'an that he or she memorized and attempted to memorize. Allah wants us to continue to read — and the levels of Jannah will continue to increase.

So 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes — whatever it is. My humble advice to myself first and to all of us: try to read some of it. Shaitan will come and say, "You're not dressed appropriately yet, man. You're not completely into it yet." No — regardless of wherever I am, just pick it up and read it for 5–10 minutes. Got my daily dosage. Even if it's mechanical in the beginning, slowly but surely it will become spiritual. A lot of times we'll say it's routine, it's mechanical. Well, great athletes would do things that were mechanical and routine, and they started enjoying it. So just because it's mechanical doesn't mean it's negative. Through it being mechanical, it can also become spiritual.

A Prophetic Warning About Our Times

Once the Prophet ﷺ was speaking to his companions and he said:

"O my people, how will you live in this world when spouses will lose all their loyalty and chastity and care for each other, and children will start becoming disobedient?" The Sahabas responded as if it were extremely far-fetched: "O Prophet of Allah, can this ever happen?" They couldn't even think about the idea. The Prophet ﷺ said, "Of course it will happen. وَأَشَدُّ مِنْهُ — and something much worse than this will happen."

"What can be worse, O Prophet of Allah?" He said:

"O my people, how will you live in this world when you will stop enjoining good and forbidding evil?" They said, "Can that ever happen?" It will happen. But something worse than that will happen:

"How will you live in this world when you look at good things as evil — someone giving charity, someone praying Salat, someone opening the Qur'an, someone wearing... whatever it may be. These actions will be perceived as something negative: 'This person is too rigid, they've gone too far, tell him to chill out.' And things that are evil — they'll be brought into the public and advertised and marketed as good things."

So Ali رضي الله عنه on a different occasion says to the Prophet ﷺ — "Anyone can call out the problems, it's not hard to identify what the problem is. What's the actual cure? How do I get rid of this?" — مَا الْمَخْرَجُ مِنْهَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ — "What's the way out?" The Prophet ﷺ replied: كِتَابُ اللَّهِ — the Book of Allah. This is the way out.

If I'm struggling with praying Salat — read the Qur'an. If I'm struggling with my kids not being respectful — let's start reading the Qur'an. If I'm struggling with my parents not understanding me — let's open up the Qur'an. And every one of us opening up the Qur'an will find something that relates to us. It will have a direct effect. And if you're not a person that likes reading from beginning to end — it's fine. Just pick Surah Yasin, read it every day. Pick surahs you enjoy and read those same surahs over and over, because you enjoy them. That will allow you to enjoy what you're reading. Like Surah Yasin. Like Surah Al-Mulk. Like Surah Al-Waqi'ah. Start off with that and make that the starting point towards reciting the Qur'an more in your life. Inshallah.

The Story of Ubay ibn Abi Mu'ayt — Surah Al-Furqan

Now one example, and I'll end at this. The story which I want to share is a story of a person from the Quraysh in Makkah, in Surah Al-Furqan, ayah number 25 through 30. If you want to go back, you can look into it more.

The sky will rip open, and the angels will descend. Each sky will rip open — وَإِذَا السَّمَاءُ انشَقَّتْ — and angels will come down. And when the seventh sky rips open, then will come the eight angels holding the Arsh of Allah. On this day — الْمُلْكُ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْحَقُّ لِلرَّحْمَٰنِ — the kingdom will be for Allah, and it will be a difficult day for the disbelievers. But then Allah speaks about a specific disbeliever for whom the Day of Judgment will be especially difficult:

On the Day of Judgment, يَعَضُّ الظَّالِمُ عَلَىٰ يَدَيْهِ — there will be people that will chew on their hands. يَدَيْهِ — literally all the way to the elbows, because we wash our arms in wudu including the elbows. This man will continue chewing his hands all the way to his elbow without even recognizing what he's doing. When a person is frightened or has anxiety, what do we start doing? Biting our nails. "What are you doing brother? What are you doing sister?" "Oh, I didn't even notice I was doing that." Because you're in a state of fear or anxiety. So imagine that on steroids in the akhirah. This person, forget biting his fingernails — he's biting his entire hand all the way to his elbows because of the fear of what is about to happen.

And why? Because Allah says a specific type of disbeliever will be saying: يَا لَيْتَنِي لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ فُلَانًا خَلِيلًا — "Oh, I wish I never befriended so-and-so individual." And Imam Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir رحمهما الله are referring to a specific story — but it's an open-ended story for any of us.

الظَّالِم means to place something where it doesn't belong. The greatest dhulm is taking someone away from Allah — because every single one of us belongs in the obedience of Allah. There is no greater dhulm than taking someone away from the obedience of Allah. And this is that dhalim — one who takes others away from Allah.

There was a man by the name of Ubay ibn Abi Mu'ayt. He was a man in the Quraysh who called all the leaders of Makkah to a walima — a gathering. The Prophet ﷺ was also among the leaders who sat down. They said "Start eating." The Prophet ﷺ said, "I won't eat your food until you say the kalima. If you say the kalima, I'll eat your food." The Prophet was always thinking about da'wah — دَائِمُ الْفِكْرِ — always thinking and reflecting upon how this person could come closer to Allah.

So the man, hoping to avoid embarrassment, read the kalima — not with the intention of becoming a Muslim, just so the Prophet could eat and he wouldn't be embarrassed. The Prophet eats the food, the night goes on.

The next day, Umayyah ibn Khalaf — a good friend of Ubay ibn Abi Mu'ayt and an enemy of Islam — comes to him and says, "I heard you accepted Islam. You said the kalima of Muhammad ﷺ." He says, "No man, that was just so he could eat. I'm with you, man. I'll never go behind your back." Umayyah says — and this is peer pressure at its highest level, not about sins like smoking, but about leaving Iman itself — "If you want to be my friend, you don't just renounce it in front of me. You have to go to Muhammad ﷺ and spit on his face. نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ. And until you don't do that, me and you, we're not friends anymore."

So this man goes — desperately wanting to remain friends with Umayyah ibn Khalaf — and he actually attempts to spit on the face of the Prophet ﷺ. Imam Qurtubi رحمه الله mentions that as he spat, Allah took that same spit and threw it back on his face. And that spit, when it came back on his face, left a mark on his cheeks — his cheeks were burnt. That mark never left him for the rest of his life, regardless of whatever he tried.

This man — on the Day of Judgment — when he sees Yawm al-Furqan, the day of distinguishing between people of Iman and people of Kufr, and sees the believers going to Jannah while the disbelievers go to their punishment — he will just chew and gnaw at his arms. Imagine having an exam, circling the right answer, then looking at your friend's exam and changing your answer to match his — only to find out you were right and he was wrong. "I had the answer. I could have passed. I was right there." That's literally what happened to this person. He had the answer.

Allah says about him:

"This person made me go astray — بَعْدَ إِذْ جَاءَنِي — after the fact that belief had already come to me. I was right there. If I was not peer-pressured by him, I wouldn't be with these people. I would be going with the believers to Jannah."

And this is the effect of every single person who takes negative influence from bad friends. This is important for all of us — regardless of whether I'm being negatively affected by someone or not, how can I be a person that affects someone else through positive means, through positive change?

Being Agents of Positive Change

If you're on campus and there are 500 male Muslims and 500 female Muslims, and you can all pray, have a good jama'ah for Dhuhr Salah — why is it only three people? Everyone is walking around. At least attempt to bring them to Salah. لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ — you can't force anyone. But at least attempt.

My father would use this example: he would say, when there is an epidemic, not only physicians give needles and shots. It's an epidemic — everyone is taught how to give a shot so they can save someone else. Brothers and sisters, we live right now in an epidemic of spirituality. We don't have Prophets with us. Prophets are done. We don't have Sahabas. We can't wait for Salahuddin Ayyubi. We can't wait for scholars. Every one of us can help someone. And just because I'm not doing something myself doesn't mean I can't help someone else to do it — contrary to the notion that I can't tell someone to do something until I'm doing it myself. That's not true. I can give da'wah towards something even if I'm not doing it, with the condition that I want to do it. The condition is not that you're already doing it. So becoming people who supply spiritual change for others — that should be our goal.

Build a relationship first. Sheikh Ashraf Ali Thanawi رحمه الله — a great scholar of the subcontinent — mentioned that his teachers would build relationships for over three months just to give one piece of advice. Because they knew if they hadn't built that relationship, the advice might not be taken. But once they had built it, it was so easy to take in. The Prophet ﷺ built a relationship with the Sahabas over 10 years in Makkah — then Salah came down and became obligatory upon them.

I mentioned this before — how Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله would say: there is no better usage of any skill or talent in our life than using that skill and talent to bring someone closer to Allah. That is the greatest usage of my talent. If my talent is not being used at all outside of that — I'm not making any money — but I'm bringing people to Allah, that talent has maximized its potential. And if I'm doing everything else but no one is benefiting from me spiritually, I have not maximized my potential within my talent.

The Prophet ﷺ says:

(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, Al-Tabarani; also cited in Al-Silsilah Al-Sahihah, Hadith 906)

The greatest of all are those who can benefit people — not necessarily the most people, but who can benefit people in the most ways. So if I'm not a scholar, if I don't have a big following, I can still benefit my family, help my siblings, help a colleague, help a classmate.

Let's not be among those people who are regretful. The worst statement — the one that makes us cringe the most, even in this life — is the statement of: "I wish I didn't do that." يَوْمُ الْحَسْرَةِ — hasra means such regret that can never be undone, like crying over spilled milk. It's done. That's what يَوْمُ الْحَسْرَةِ is for the Day of Judgment. In this world we're given more chances, but imagine that statement in the akhirah — it's done.

So for us, our relationships should be based upon the foundation of how we can benefit in dunya, enjoy each other's company, but also bring people closer to Allah. If that means having a halqa of Qur'an with our children every single night, or a halqa of ta'lim, of a few hadith — whatever it means — have a few moments, sit together, end our days together. People always ask, what did your parents do differently? There's one thing I remember so clearly till today: we can't sleep until we do at least a few ahadith. Because it brings some form of love and spirituality within the house. قُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ — yourself first, then everyone else.

Three Types of Friends

Ibn al-Jawzi رحمه الله finishes off his discussion about friendship and says companions are of three types.

Number One: They are like food — you always need them. You can't survive without food and water. So there are good friends — friends that bring you towards Allah, friends that benefit you even in dunya. We need them always.

Number Two: Like medicine — there are times you need it. Not every day like food, but you still need it at times. There are some friends from whom you perhaps can't benefit, but you still need them and there's no harm in keeping them — as long as they're not harming you.

Number Three: Like a disease. Friends like diseases — once they latch on to you, they never let go. These are the negative friends we want to avoid.

The famous hadith — the Prophet ﷺ was asked:

(Hilyat al-Awliya', Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani; also cited in similar wording in various collections of hadith)

"What's the best type of companion?" The Prophet ﷺ said three qualities: Number One — the one that when you see them, they remind you of Allah. Number Two — when they speak, your knowledge increases — in deen or in dunya in some form. Number Three — when they do actions, their actions remind you about the akhirah.

It's not for us to see whether our friends have that or not — it's for us to figure out how we can have that. And if all of us do that, then inshallah we'll become facilitators of goodness rather than vehicles of evil.

وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ