Surah Hud: Staying Steadfast | Divine Reminders with Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed

Surah Hud: Staying Steadfast

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Alhamdulillah wa salli 'ala al-Rasul al-Kareem.

By the grace of Allah, today we completed Surah Hud and we began the recitation of Surah Yusuf. Obviously everyone wants to hear about Surah Yusuf — that's a very lengthy discussion, it's a very lengthy surah and we only completed less than half of it, or perhaps half of it. Tomorrow when we complete it inshallah, I will speak about it in more detail and we'll have perhaps a lengthier discussion on Surah Yusuf. And I'm sure that Sheikh Abdullah ibn Abdur Rahman, who do their nightly reflections, will also speak about Surah Yusuf tonight. So I encourage you to join that at 9:30, and whatever is left out inshallah because of a lack of time, I'll also cover tomorrow.

So I will speak about Surah Hud, because that's the main surah that we covered today — we began it and we finished it today.

The Virtue of Surah Hud

Surah Hud is one of those surahs where there is actually an interesting narration where the Prophet ﷺ taught the sahabas:

"Recite Surah Hud on the day of Jumu'ah."

Just as we recite Surah Al-Kahf, there is a narration that talks about reciting Surah Hud as well. Because Surah Hud reminds you about the blessing of Islam and the blessing of Iman — because the people that came before us were also presented with this, but they did not accept.

The Narration of Abu Bakr and the White Hairs of the Prophet ﷺ

There is another narration where Abu Bakr comes to the Prophet ﷺ and he says:

"You have become very old, you have white hair."

Even though Anas ibn Malik narrates that there were only 14–17 white hairs in the Prophet's ﷺ hair — that is all he had, 14–17 white hairs, and he was 63 years old when he passed away. So he didn't have a lot of white hair. Very little. He said 14–17 because if he were to oil his hair, the white hair would be more apparent, so it would look like there was more. But even that was something the sahabas obviously had not seen prior to this time. So Abu Bakr was very particular in observing the Prophet ﷺ.

He says, "Ya Rasulullah, you have become a little old." And the Prophet ﷺ responded:

"Surah Hud has made me old. When I recite Surah Hud, it has made me old — because there are ayat in there that are extremely powerful, and when I read them, it engulfs me, it immerses me, and it has made me old."

In another narration, another sahaba came and asked the Prophet ﷺ the same thing, and he said:

"Surah Hud and the surahs similar to it have made me old."

And it has been said that there was a specific verse in this surah that made the Prophet ﷺ old.

The Dream of Yazid ibn Aban

There is a sahaba by the name of Yazid ibn Aban. He says that he saw the Prophet ﷺ in his dream, and when he saw him, he recited Surah Hud to him. When he finished, when he completed the recitation of Surah Hud, the Prophet ﷺ said to him:

"O Yazid, this was the recitation — but where is the crying?"

Because this is a surah that if you hear it, you should weep, you should cry — hearing the consequences and the destruction of the people of Nuh, the destruction of the people of Lut, the destruction of the people of Aad, the destruction of the people of Hud, and the destruction of the people of Shu'ayb in Madyan and Aykah.

So all these stories are talking about these Prophets going to their nations, and the response not being a positive response, and Allah destroying them. This would make the Prophet ﷺ fall into fear — what if Allah doesn't give his ummah a chance? What if his ummah is also destroyed? So this was not fear and grief for himself — this was fear and grief for us. That is what is going to happen to his ummah?

The Key Verse: Ayah 112 — The Command of Istiqamah

And there was a specific verse that would really make the Prophet ﷺ emotional. That verse is verse 112 of this surah, where Allah says:

Which means: "O Prophet of Allah, stay steadfast as you have been ordered to. So whatever you have been ordered to do, make sure you are consistent and you are steadfast on that — that you don't move one bit."

Imam al-Razi explains istiqamah in this ayah. He says that it is referring to the fact that there should be no increase or decrease in that which you are doing — whatever Allah has allowed you to do, you do, and whatever He has told you not to do, you stay away from it. You can't go ahead and make more things haram upon yourself, and you can't go ahead and make more things fard upon yourself. That is why whatever the Prophet ﷺ does becomes sunnah mu'akkadah or at the highest level becomes wajib — but it cannot become fard.

So the ayah is فَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَا أُمِرْتَ — "Be steadfast, stay steadfast, remain steadfast as you have been commanded." So whatever you have been commanded to do, do it with steadfastness. The quality should not differ. You should continue doing those things regardless of the circumstances around you.

The Prophet's ﷺ Advice on Istiqamah

When a sahaba came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, "Ya Rasulullah, give me some advice and keep it very short," the Prophet ﷺ responded:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 62)

"Say: I believe in Allah, and then stay steadfast."

Stay steadfast. Don't allow the circumstances around you to dictate whether or not you will do an act of goodness. Don't allow the people around you to dictate whether or not you will move forward with an act of righteousness. The circumstances should not play a role in you completing an act if you are steadfast upon it. If I'm in an airport, or if I'm at home, or if I'm in the masjid — praying Salat is praying Salat. That doesn't make a difference to me. This is what istiqamah is.

Why Do We Lose Istiqamah?

In the next ayah, Allah actually reflects on why people lose istiqamah — where He says:

"Don't lean towards, don't incline towards people that have oppressed themselves — because when you incline towards them and when you start compromising your belief system and what you like to do and what you want to do because of them, what happens then is you also start leaning towards Jahannam."

So don't lean or incline towards those that are earning the wrath of Allah — الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا, they have oppressed themselves. So Allah is reflecting the idea that we lose istiqamah many times because of the people that we associate with and the people that we keep around us.

There can be a lot to be said about that. I believe Sheikh Abdullah, Mufti ibn Abdur Rahman, two days ago spoke about the importance of good company in the ayah of:

So you can definitely listen to that as well.

Responsibility for Those Around Us

The ayah continues, and Allah says وَمَن تَابَ مَعَكَ — "And the people around you should also be consistent, not just you. And those that have sought repentance with you." So the sahaba, and all of us — you have been ordered to create an environment where you can stay steadfast, and the people that have repented around you can also remain steadfast.

The idea of the Prophet ﷺ staying steadfast was not difficult for him — but the concept that he was also responsible for the people around him, to make sure they are also steadfast — that is your responsibility. And for us as well:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 893; Sahih Muslim, Book 20, Hadith 4496)

"We are all responsible for those that fall beneath us — they are under our responsibility, they are under our command."

So our children, our students — whatever we do, if they do it, and they copy us, and they mimic us, that is our responsibility. And if we create an environment in our home that is an environment of istiqamah, an environment of goodness, then the reward of that and the effect of that will pass on to our children.

The Reward of Istiqamah: Angels Descend Upon You

Allah says:

Those individuals who say that they believe in Allah — the first point is they believe in Allah — and then right after that Allah says ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا — they remained on belief, they were steadfast on their belief, they did not deviate after they believed.

What did Allah do for them? Number one — the first thing Allah does for them is تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ — angels descend upon them to protect them, angels descend upon them to give them a beautiful surrounding, a blessed surrounding. A house that has angels is blessed in all ways.

And some say — like Imam al-Qurtubi — that what تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ actually means is that when they are leaving this world, the angels descend. The scariest and the most feared moment in our life is the moment that we leave this world. The angels descend and they say to the individual:

"Don't be afraid" — because you had istiqamah in life. "And don't be sad" — don't be sad that you are leaving your family behind, you are going to have a better family in the Akhirah and your family will soon come to meet you. "And we are here to give you the glad tidings of Jannah that you have been promised."

And it doesn't end there. Allah then says that the angels will say:

"We were your very close associates, companions and friends in this world, and we will also be your friends in the Akhirah. And whatever you want now you can get it — because you protected yourself in the dunya with istiqamah."

The Two Forms of Istiqamah

One of the most difficult forms of istiqamah — there are two forms for us:

One is having istiqamah upon an act of goodness, which is definitely something we should aim to have in our life.

The second is having istiqamah away from sins — having istiqamah away from things that bring the displeasure of Allah.

May Allah give us the ability to bring this concept into our life. It's not about how much we do — it's about how long can we do it for:

"The most beloved acts to Allah are the ones that are done with consistency, even if they are less."

Istiqamah means to be consistent in an act of goodness, and to be consistent in protecting yourself from an act of disobedience.

May Allah bless you all and give us the ability to bring the sunnah into our life. And just once again, the verse number for those that were asking is ayah 112 of Surah Hud, and I gave you a brief tafsir on it. Our time was limited, but inshallah hopefully it was beneficial and we can all take a lesson from it.

JazakAllah khair everyone. May Allah bless you all. We look forward to seeing you today at 6pm and at 9:30pm inshallah. We also have an upcoming free webinar for the sisters — only sisters, it is not for brothers. You can check it out on our website and I will also share it with you, so if anyone wants to sign up they can. It is a free webinar and we have Ustadha Lubna Mulla from California, Dr. Haifaa Younis from St. Louis, and also Ustadha Azanur from Iftaa, who will be taking care of this webinar inshallah.

JazakAllah khair. Assalamu Alaykum.