Part 11 | Surah Maryam | Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

Part 11 | Surah Maryam | Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

Amma ba'd. We thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who has given us this tawfiq tonight. Although the time has changed and we are, Isha being half an hour later, alhamdulillah, you've been blessed and we have been blessed to be gifted with this opportunity to be in the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and to attend a dars al-tafsir. Let us renew our intention, every one of us, that we are here because we are ourselves most in need of learning the lessons of the Qur'an and benefiting from the lessons of the Qur'an. Let us renew our intention that all of our problems and issues — in our personal life, in our business life, and in our deen, in our dunya — all of these issues can only be solved with the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And the solutions to all our problems lies in the Qur'an. And that if a person's connection with the Qur'an is strong, then every single thing will be right. This is something we have to keep on repeating. If my connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is strong, if my connection with the Qur'an is fine, then you can say alhamdulillah ala kulli hal. Then you can say alhamdulillah. But if that connection is not strong, then we have big problems. We have really big problems. If problems of the dunya do not push us towards Allah and they push us towards somewhere else, then we are in a very difficult situation. So as we sit here, we think that this is the gift of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that He's allowed us to connect with the Qur'an.

The Difference Between Ghafla and Sakinah

Dear brothers, as we are preparing for today's class, we're going to come across the word ghafla. It's going to appear in the first few ayats we cover. And I wanted to mention this before I even begin because I think it's very appropriate.

There's a difference between ghafla and sakinah. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu anhu was one of the most knowledgeable of the Sahabah. They say — these companions would say — that if you want to gather all the knowledge of the companions together, you would find it in Ali ibn Abi Talib and Abdullah ibn Mas'ud.

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu anhu, one of the most knowledgeable of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ, would give a dars once a week. And people would enjoy it. They'd say, can you do it more? And he would say, no. I'm going to only do it once a week. That's it, not more than that. Because I don't want to create boredom within you. I'm going to do it once a week and that's it. Just show up for that.

So you see that even among the companions — if you have too much lecture every single day, then it's just natural for a person to start thinking that, okay, I hear this every day, the value of it goes down. So the programs need to be well-spaced. Once or twice a week, etc.

So Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu anhu, while he was giving his dars, people started falling asleep. He said, what's wrong? Why are you dozing off? And we always know the answer people give. They say: sakinah. Sakinah is coming. Allahu Akbar. And we always laugh it off. We say, yeah, sakinah. When you're doing ta'leem especially, sakinah comes. Half of the brothers, when you're giving the post-Fajr talk, besides the one who's speaking, everyone else is sleeping.

So he said sakinah. The response he gave was powerful. We did this word sakinah in Surah al-Fath, if you remember:

"He is the one who has sent down sakinah in the hearts of the believers."

When he said sakinah, real sakinah is that sleep that comes to you when you are on the battlefield. Allah says this regarding the Battle of Badr:

The night of Badr — the biggest battle the Muslims were ever going to fight. Tomorrow morning, completely, completely ill-equipped. And what's happening? In the battlefield, the Sahabah are falling asleep. How do you do that? How can you fall asleep? He said, that's sakinah. Allah wanted them to get power naps. Allah wanted them to be alert. Because they were so scared — how were they going to handle tomorrow? Naturally, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wanted them to fall asleep for a little bit, to gain the energy required to fight the next day. Isn't that amazing? While in the midst of the battlefield, they're dozing off. He said, that's sakinah.

And he said: sleeping in the dars — this is ghafla. Heedlessness. Because you're not realizing what's being shared. That's why you're falling asleep. You're not interested. If you thought what he's about to tell you is the directions to a hidden treasure chest somewhere, no matter how tired you are, you would stand on one foot to write down notes. You would stand on your head to take notes.

Why is it that in the dars — in madrasa students, community members, ourselves — whenever we attend a dars, many times we start falling asleep as soon as it begins? Dear brothers, this is nothing but shaytan creating ghafla within us. We have to acknowledge that. Stop calling it sakinah, because it's not sakinah. The way to deal with that is to stand up, refresh yourself, do wudu, and write notes the entire time. Pick a pen and write, write, write, write. Stay awake.

We should not find ourselves falling asleep in a dars of hadith or any type of class, because this is a symptom of the condition of our heart. And it's painful, because most of us — including myself — this happens to us from time to time. I am very honest with my students. Sometimes it happens to me. I'll tell them frankly: if I'm feeling sleepy, this is not because I should be sleeping — this is from shaytan. And I'll get up and make wudu or whatever the case may be. It happens to me. There's no reason, because right after the class I'm fine. Why is it that in the class I'm getting tired? So these various attacks of shaytan take place. And if you want to get yourself out of that, at least acknowledge what it is.

If you don't acknowledge it and think, "Oh, it's just I had a long day" — no. If you have a football game going on, no one's going to sleep. Anything else going on, chit-chatting with your spouse, no one's going to sleep. Why is it only in the dars of tafsir, hadith, or any such gathering that we start feeling sleepy? So differentiate between ghafla and sakinah. Good point, right? I benefited from this — I thought I'd share it with you.

Recap of Previous Lesson

Okay, insha'Allah we'll begin today in our 11th lesson of Surah Maryam. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to allow all of us who are listening here in person, or online, or will listen afterwards — may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us all to say and to hear what we need to hear most. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala inspire the speaker with what the speaker needs to hear and what the listeners need to hear. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala put effect in these words. Ameen, Rabbil Alameen.

Let's first recap where we stopped last week. We talked about how Isa alayhis salam is speaking and saying: the first thing is, I am not going to commit shirk — I worship only one Allah. The second thing was: I am dutiful to my mother. And then he talked about how Allah has not made him insolent nor wretched — meaning those who are not dutiful to their mother are wretched and insolent people.

Then he said: peace be upon me on the day I was born — which is protection from shaytan instigating and declaring war against him at birth, and from the pinch that happens to all newborns. And then:

"The day I will die, and the day I will be raised alive." We talked about how this refers to the time closer to the Day of Judgment, when Isa alayhis salam will return and then die. Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says — all of that you just heard, that is Jesus son of Maryam.

It is the word of truth. This is Allah's speech — كُن فَيَكُونَ — and that is how Isa came into existence. Or it means: this is the ultimate truth that Isa alayhis salam is speaking — that he doesn't worship himself, he is not the son of God, etc.

Yamtarun — they bitterly contend. That type of argumentation based on no solid proof. The person arguing also knows it's baseless. So they sit there and create doubt regarding Isa alayhis salam — some call him born out of wedlock, some make him divine.

Today's Ayat: Surah Maryam, Ayat 35–40

Now let's read the ayat we will cover today, translate them, and then go through the tafsir:

Translation: "It is not befitting for Allah to take any son. Highly exalted is He above this. When He decrees a matter, He but says to it: Be, and so it is. Thus Isa said to his people: Indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him alone. This is a straight way to salvation. Yet the sects of the people of Scripture have disputed amongst themselves regarding Isa. So woe to those who disbelieve from the spectacle of an awesome day. How well they shall hear and how well they shall see on the day they come to us for judgment. Nevertheless, the godless wrongdoers today are utterly lost in clear misguidance. Thus forewarn them of the day of regret, when their destiny has been decreed, while they are yet heedless and they do not believe. Indeed, it is but We who shall inherit the earth and all who are upon it, and for Us alone are they all returning."

Every dars and every single selection of ayat that we cover — any selection of the ayat of the Qur'an, my dear friends — is sufficient for our guidance. If we seriously come here with humility and humbleness, and if I sit and ponder about what I just read, it will send shivers down our spine. This cannot be the speech of anyone besides the most powerful Allah azza wa jal.

Tafsir: "It Is Not Befitting for Allah to Take a Son"

He says: you ascribe to Him a son. You think Isa is His son. This is absolutely not befitting. I ended last week's dars on this — that you have a son when you have a need: someone to run your business after you die, someone to stand up for you when you're old, to defend your honor, to protect you, etc. This doesn't apply to Allah. He neither gets old nor shall He die. Nor will He give what He owns to someone else. There is absolutely no need.

Usually people have a desire for sons. Why? Because there is this internal need — if I have a son, I can do this and I can do that. Does that apply to Allah? Absolutely not. And I told you the last ayats of Surah Maryam are about this very point. When Allah says the heavens want to split asunder, the earth is about to rip open, and the mountains are about to fall down — out of anger. What are they so angry about? That you have ascribed a son to Allah. They can't take it. They say: how dare you say this about our Creator. And Allah tells them: wait, be calm. Maybe this person will one day repent. Give him some time.

SubhanAllah — A Powerful Word

Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: سُبْحَانَهُ — Highly exalted is He. SubhanAllah is a very powerful word. What we're saying is: Allah is free and above all of those evil things that people ascribe to Him. That's why when someone accuses you or accuses someone of something, what do we say? SubhanAllah, what are you talking about? This is mentioned in the Qur'an. When the people accused our beloved mother, Aisha radiyallahu anha, of zina and having an affair, what does the Qur'an say?

"Glory be to You, O Allah. This is a huge accusation." Notice that — just like SubhanAllah declares Allah free from falsehood, Aisha is likewise declared free from these false accusations against her. That's why we were taught to say SubhanAllah when we see something surprising. It is a stand-alone word — like an emoji or an exclamation mark — that delivers an extremely powerful message without needing a predicate or subject around it. Sometimes one small angry face is more powerful than a whole paragraph. So SubhanAllah delivers the powerful message that Allah is absolutely free of this nonsense you are attributing to Him.

Sabaha comes from the meaning of swimming — sibaha. One explanation is that just like a swimmer must keep his head above water and remain afloat, praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is what keeps us afloat in this corrupt world. As soon as we allow Allah's honor and reputation to go down, or as soon as we start saying or doing things against the honor of Allah, then our dunya is gone and our akhira is gone. So just like a swimming person strives to remain alive by staying afloat, we in this very chaotic world need to make tasbih of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to stay afloat.

The Power of SubhanAllah — Developing Your Jannah

That is why we have been told that just by saying SubhanAllah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will plant a tree in Jannah. We all know this, right? Ibrahim alayhis salam in a narration informed us through a vision that what was shared with him is that Jannah is a very open, open land — open space — and you have to do your landscaping. You have to do your development, your real estate development. Otherwise what do you have? You need to develop it.

You have a spot in Jannah with your iman, but you have to develop it. And how do you develop it? SubhanAllah is a development. Alhamdulillah is a development. Allahu Akbar is a development. La ilaha illallah is a development. Every single one of these words and sayings is planting a tree. So when some of us sit after Salatul Asr, Maghrib, or Isha, and do tasbih, and someone may say, "What is that guy doing? I gotta run" — what he is doing is developing his real estate, developing his mansion. Why are you in such a hurry?

Wallahi al-azim, if we knew the power of SubhanAllah, we would make that person wait outside. We would say: let me finish my tasbih and then I'll move. There is nothing in the world that could be more valuable than reading our tasbih after salah. But how does shaytan play tricks with all of us? He makes us forget it. We say we'll do it, but we don't do it. We're all just getting thrashed left and right by shaytan. We just give up. We don't realize that the war is going on, and that he's actually making us heedless and causing us to miss out on opportunities of doing tasbih.

You are working in your shop, serving customers — why can you not say SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah behind your mask? No one can even see your lips moving. We are all multitasking on our phones. We're typing on our desktop and also checking WhatsApp. Normal life. You're walking and talking and doing other things. Why can we not do tasbih while doing so? Those who cook in the kitchen, clean the dishes, sweep the kitchen floor, take a walk after Asr — why can we not do tasbih? If you think about it, it is one of the most foolish things we do — that we're not using this valuable time.

Those who passed away yesterday, those who passed away last week — they would give the whole world and everything they own, and more than that, to be able to say one SubhanAllah. But they can't. It's done. Too late.

I'm saying this to you, but how sad it is that how many of us will think about it, say "yeah, that's awesome, I'm gonna do that" — and then leave it. So it's a constant struggle. We have to ask Allah for tawfiq. Ya Allah, please make me from amongst those who are the dhakirin.

Remember, dear friends, whenever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about dhikr in the Qur'an, the word kathira — meaning plenty — comes with it the majority of the time. This word kathira does not come with any other act. Allah does not use kathira with salah. Allah does not use kathira with sadaqah. Allah does not use kathira with hajj. Allah does not use kathira with jihad. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala uses kathira with dhikr.

The word kathira comes — those who remember Allah abundantly. If you want to know the condition of your heart, this is one good way of seeing it: How often am I remembering Allah? Because for every time you remember Allah, Allah is remembering you. This comes in the hadith:

"I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me in his heart, I remember him in My heart. If he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering much superior to that."

So we are taking Allah's name now. We hope and expect from Allah that He is taking all of our names right now in a gathering of angels, insha'Allah. So dhikr is something that will keep us in check. Make niyyah, all of us, that we will do our morning and evening dhikr. And after salah, even if it takes just two minutes.

The Story of Ali and Fatima — The Tasbih After Salah

I've told you the story of Ali radiyallahu anhu many times. Let's hear it again. Fatima radiyallahu anha came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: Ya Rasulullah, I need something. Then she left because there were men around him and she didn't want to talk to him while he was surrounded by men. He saw that she had come and gone, so he went to her afterwards and said: My dear daughter, what was it you came to see me about? She said: Ya Rasulullah, I came to see you but you were surrounded by people and I didn't want to speak in front of them. He said: what is it? She said: servants have come in, and I cannot handle the chores — taking care of Hasan and Hussain, taking care of all the obligations, the masjid, jihad, and all the other obligations I have as a daughter of the Prophet and the wife of Ali and the mother of Hasan and Hussain. She had to go get water from the well, to knead the dough. She was going through a lot of physical hardship. She wanted a servant, a maid.

And the Prophet ﷺ could have given her the very best of maids. She is the leader of the women of Jannah. He ﷺ said: "Whoever hurts her, hurts me. Whoever pleases her, pleases me. She is a part of my heart." Why wouldn't anyone give her the best of servants? But look what he ﷺ does for his own family. He says: No, I don't want to give you a servant. I'll give you something much better than that. He says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3113; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2727)

Say SubhanAllah 33 times, Alhamdulillah 33 times, Allahu Akbar 34 times. In some narrations: Allahu Akbar 33, and then La ilaha illallah wahdahu la sharika lah, lahul mulku wa lahul hamdu wa huwa ala kulli shay'in qadir, once. So you have two narrations. Or the easy one — for those of us who don't know the longer du'a — just say SubhanAllah 33, Alhamdulillah 33, Allahu Akbar 34. He ﷺ told her: this is better than everything. Read it after every salah, and read it before you go to bed, and you will see how Allah will take care of it.

Ali radiyallahu anhu told his students: ever since I heard this, I have never given it up. No matter what happened, I always did this.

We all have five salahs so far today, and we slept last night. From these six opportunities, how many times did we do this tasbih? Most of us know this story. And this is the problem — on a YouTube lecture or an in-person lecture, I already know what he's going to say. You probably do. Probably know more than the speaker. Great. But the question is not about what you know — it's about how much of it you've put into practice. If you're not putting it into practice, what's the point of that knowledge?

That's what we have to come with this intention — I'm not speaking for the sake of speaking, and I'm not listening for the sake of listening. I'm speaking and listening to bring it into my life. Ya Allah, I'm weak, but I beg You to give me the tawfiq to bring it into my life.

So we had six opportunities within the past 24 hours. How many of us have done that tasbih? Ask yourself. If you did it six out of six — mashallah, I'm proud of you. Five — also good. But if it's zero, then we have a very serious problem. We know it — why are we not doing it?

So Ali radiyallahu anhu said he never left it. His students asked: Ali, what about the day of the Battle of Siffin? And the Battle of Siffin — Ali radiyallahu anhu was not a foot soldier. He was a general of the entire army, the Amirul Mu'minin as well. Imagine: you are the head of the entire Muslim ummah and the head of the battalions. You barely have time to pray salah. He said: even on that day I did not leave out this tasbih.

That's what you call yaqeen. That's what you call سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا — done deal. My Prophet ﷺ said it, it's gotta be real. One arrow comes at me, no problem. We're not going to miss this tasbih. That's the yaqeen. If it comes into our heart, our lives will change. Even one small 30-minute dars will change our life forever. But if yaqeen is not there, then hours and hours of lectures will mean nothing to us.

So let's all make this intention, insha'Allah — say insha'Allah — that we will never leave our tasbih after salah, and never leave our tasbih before we go to bed. And if we forget, as soon as we remember we missed it, we make it up. You remember at 2 o'clock that you missed your Fajr tasbih? Do it. Stop what you're doing and do your tasbih. At Isha you remember the whole day went by and you haven't done dhikr? Do qadha for Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha tasbih — just like someone makes qadha of missed salahs. This is how you'll train yourself to build the habit.

Also, whenever you miss a juz of your daily Qur'an recitation, do qadha of it. This is the kathrat of dhikr that is important.

Kun Fayakun — The Power of Allah's Will

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives us a logical reason and explanation of His power. He says: why would I need a son? Or a daughter? Or a wife? Or any of these things you say? He says:

Whenever He decrees a matter, He but says to it: Be, and so it is. Innama is for hasr — exclusivity. All He has to say is kun. Whatever He wants to do, He says to it: be, and it comes into existence. Meaning — if you are so powerful that whatever you intend happens, why would you need any partners?

That's the logical argument. You say, basically — this is a proof against anyone who says Allah has a son or partners. Why would you want a partnership? Let's say you run a business. Why do you have a partner? Because you don't have enough capital. But if you have enough money, why in the world would you get someone as a partner? Okay, maybe you get a partner because you have all the money but you don't have management skills. But if you have both management skills and the money, why include a partner? Why give your profits away to someone else for no reason? So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying through this logical proof: whatever I want, I get it done. I say be, and it comes into existence. Can you please explain why you're saying I need a partner? They have no answer.

On one side they say God is all-powerful. Then they say He had a son. That doesn't add up. كُن فَيَكُونُ is a powerful statement.

When a believer understands kun fayakun, he will never take a no for an answer. He will never say this looks difficult, this is not going to happen. For us, there is no such thing. We believe in kun fayakun. No matter what the odds may be, if Allah wills, this will happen. My job is to take it to the court of Allah, present my case, and plead my case. And as soon as He says done deal, it'll be done in less than a second. Before time even passes.

And if He doesn't wish it, then at least I tried my best. But to sit there and say this is not going to happen is not the attitude of a Muslim. Let's stop saying: he will never become a hafiz, she will never be able to get married, this marriage will never last, this business will never run, this board will never change, this imam will never come right. These are useless things to say. A Muslim always believes in kun fayakun.

But we don't just say kun fayakun and then do gossip and backbiting. That's the issue. If we really want to bring change, go do fresh wudu, pray two rakat salah — takes ten minutes — and then pour your heart out in front of Allah. Then see how things will happen.

We talk about many problems. We always say: make dua. But the question is: have you actually made dua? How much time have you spent making dua for this? There's a condition of a person who's truly making dua that is different. If the issues are really pressing you, what are you doing to beg Allah? It's not about calling people and texting people to make dua for you. It's about actually sitting down in the musalla and speaking to Allah. Forget your sleep. Forget everything else. You're in sajdah for 45 minutes. If you really have something going on in your life, that's what you need to do.

"I treat My servant based on what he expects from Me." If you say: ya Allah, I'm not lifting my head until this matter is resolved — it will happen. That's what happens. That's the yaqeen. It's all based on conviction. Our relationship with Allah is different for each one of us, and the way Allah treats us is different. He treats us based on what we expect from Him. If you have hope and belief in His power — ya Allah, I know You can do this for me — He will prove it. But if you write Him off, why should He prove it to you?

And one of the beautiful du'as we have been taught:

"O the One whose command is between the Kaaf and the Nun." The Kaaf and Nun of Kun. Meaning He doesn't even need to say Kun — it's right in between Kaaf and Nun. That's just symbolism for us to understand. His simple irada — His simple will and intention — immediately equals existence. His irada and willingness to want something equals existence. When we have that type of yaqeen, life will just be amazing. Great things will happen.

When you're at that level of relationship with Allah, and something doesn't happen, you won't give up hope. Instead you'll realize: this didn't happen because it's good for me that it didn't happen in the long run. I'm a little kid. I don't have experience of even 10 years ahead of me. Allah — past, present, and future are all the same for Him. It's one screen. So what He knows, there's no way I know. So probably, most definitely, the reason I cried and begged for this and it didn't happen is because this was not good for me, and that's why Allah didn't give it to me.

This is confirmed by the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 11133; classified Sahih by al-Hakim)

When a person asks Allah and supplicates, one of three things will happen: either you get what you asked for, or a calamity that was going to befall you will be averted from you, or you'll receive such rewards in the Akhirah — such rewards that you will wish that none of your du'as were accepted in this world. So that's why even when you beg all the way till the last day, and the thing you were waiting for — entrance into college, marriage, a car, closing a deal — it didn't go through, you'll have this contentment in your heart: okay, it wasn't good for me, that's why. If it was good for me, Allah would've given it to me. That understanding of life will come. And then you'll always be a winner. You will never be a loser. You will never have a sad and depressed day. Natural sadness will come, but there'll be no depression, no anxiety.

A Reflection: The Story of Yusuf Ghouth's Father

Our ustad here, Mawlana Yusuf Ghouth's father passed away recently, and we made du'a for him here. He penned some words about his father. If you haven't read it, email the office at masjiddeas.org and we can share that document with you. I took a lot of benefit from it.

One of the things he said was that when his father went in last January with a bone fracture to the doctor, and then met the oncologist, the oncologist said: you actually have stage 4 bone cancer, and you have a few months to live. He was with his father in the room. Imagine what that moment is like. He had gone in for a broken arm — no idea about any cancer. And his father simply said: okay, subhanAllah, whatever Allah wills. Whatever Allah wills. It's all been written. Absolutely nothing beyond that. And how he dealt with that — dealing with bone cancer, which doctors tell me is extremely painful — the only thing on his lips was: whatever Allah wills. SubhanAllah. And just praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala throughout that sickness. Something to definitely read. Powerful.

And one other thing he mentioned was about the du'a of a father. Mawlana Yusuf does not come from a family that had huffadh and ulama amongst his siblings or his father's family. But now, mashallah alhamdulillah, cousins are slowly becoming huffadh and so on. He said he always wondered: how did I end up in madrasah? I know him from a long time, when he was going to UIC, and was not planning to do the alim course or anything of that sort.

He said: when I went to South Africa and looked at all my classmates — 60 plus students — everyone had a dini background. Most people's fathers are alims, imams of masajid, or their fathers went in jamaat extensively. That's how you typically know a student comes into a madrasah. And he said: I'm the oddball. My father was not an alim. He was not deeply connected. And yet Allah accepted him to do the alim course.

I remember the day when Mawlana Yusuf graduated from Bukhari Khatam — he wrote me a long, powerful, emotional message from South Africa. Just saying: I can't believe this day has come. I cannot believe I'm graduating after 7 years, getting the sanad and ijazah in Bukhari. This is crazy. I can't believe I've actually made it. Then mashallah, Allah accepted him to study hadith for 2–3 additional years. And now mashallah, he's teaching hadith at Darul Salam here.

One thing he told me is that his father said to him before he passed away: do you know, I made du'a for you long ago when you were a little baby? I said: Ya Allah, make him a hafiz, an alim, and a teacher of hadith. And his son said: are you serious? You never told me this! And he said: it's better that I didn't tell you, but this was my du'a — I never told you in my life. And he said: now it makes perfect sense how my life took such abrupt changes. He abruptly became a hafiz in 9 months. He had a direct medical program at UIC — people die for that — stellar, stellar grades. And all of a sudden his heart changed. He said: I don't want to do this anymore. He ended up going to South Africa, then shifted towards hadith, then shifted towards teaching hadith. Now you understand the power of a father's du'a.

Dear brothers, dear fathers — we don't even have to tell our kids what we want them to become. Sometimes we're always pushing it down their throats. But if we're sincere and our relation with Allah is special, then whatever du'a we make, it will get accepted insha'Allah. Many times, the time we spend bugging and telling our kids "we want you to become a doctor, an engineer, an alim, a hafiz" — if we were to spend even half of that time begging Allah, our work would get done quicker. But we don't present our case in front of Allah as much as we should.

And so my appeal today — to myself and to all of us — is to build our relationship with Allah and believe that when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wills to do something:

Allah can do it.

Tafsir: "Allah Is My Lord and Your Lord"

And thus Isa alayhis salam told everyone: Allah is my Lord and your Lord. Rabb, I told you, means creator, sustainer, lover, nourisher — everything. Rabb is the one who takes care of all things. Isa alayhis salam said: He's not just my Lord, He's your Lord. فَاعْبُدُوهُ — so worship Him. If you understand Allah is your Lord, why don't you worship Him?

The logical progression: Do you believe Allah is your Lord? Yes. Did He create you? Yes. Did He give you your job? Yes. Does He provide you with food? Yes. Then why don't you pray Fajr? Do you think Allah has the ability to make your hand paralyzed — the hand you use for your work, whether you're an ironsmith, a dentist, a physician, an engineer? Yes. Do you think Allah is the one keeping your hand healthy? Yes. Then why don't you worship Him by paying your zakat, avoiding interest, guarding your gaze, and so on? This is the logical progression. If Allah is your Rabb, then worship Him.

هَٰذَا صِرَاطٌ مُّسْتَقِيمٌ — This is the straight way to salvation. There's only one way. Can you imagine — sirat has no plural in Arabic? No plural. الصِّرَاطُ الْمُسْتَقِيمُ has no plural. There is another word — sabil, whose plural is subul — and the Qur'an says:

If you deviate, you'll fall into many various paths. That's why I mentioned that in the Qur'an, nur — light — only comes in the singular form. There is no anwar used in the Qur'an. But darkness is mentioned in plural everywhere:

Layers of darkness upon darkness. Because if you leave Islam, if you leave the deen, there are just too many wrong, misguided ideologies out there. You could be lost anywhere. So similarly, the path towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is straight — singular.

Tafsir: The Sects and Their Disputes About Isa

Yet the sects of the people of Scripture have disputed amongst themselves about Isa — some call him divine, some call him born of zina. فَوَيْلٌ — woe to those who disbelieve. مِن مَّشْهَدِ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ — from the spectacle of an awesome day.

What does mashhad mean? شَهِدَ يَشْهَدُ means to witness, to be present, or to present something. So it's a pitiful day when you will be present in front of Allah. It's a pitiful day when you will have to stand and present your deeds. It's a pitiful day when the prophets will be witnessing against you. All three explanations from the word mashhad — your presence on that day will be pitiful, or your actions being presented and the prophets testifying against you will be pitiful, or you presenting your actions in front of Allah will be pitiful.

The Conversation Between Allah and Isa on the Day of Judgment

Allah says in Surah al-Ma'idah, ending of the 7th Juz:

Allah will say to Isa alayhis salam: O Isa, son of Maryam — did you tell the people: "Take me and my mother as gods besides Allah"? Did you tell that to people? Isa will respond: SubhanakA — Glory be to You. You are absolutely above all of this nonsense. It is absolutely not befitting for me to say what I have no right to say. Who am I to say such things? If I actually said it, You know I said it — Your knowledge is a proof for me that I didn't say it. The book of deeds is a proof that I didn't say it. What can I say? You know I didn't do it.

I only told them what You asked me to say: Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was amongst them. But when You chose to call me back, You became the one watching over their affairs. I don't know what they did after I left, because I was gone. And You are a witness over every single thing.

Then he makes a plea: If you choose to punish them, they are Your servants — I can't say anything. If You choose to forgive them, indeed You are all-powerful, all-wise. You can do it. No one's going to question You why.

Allah will say: This is that day when the truthful people's truthfulness will be a benefit to them. They'll have gardens below which rivers flow, forever. That is the ultimate success.

So this is what will happen to Isa alayhis salam on the Day of Judgment. This is the conversation that will happen between Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and him. For the disbelievers to understand: this is the one you claim is God. Look at his situation. Look at his humility and humbleness. How on earth do you think you're going to stand a chance?

If you are truthful, sometimes people say: what's the point of being truthful in this world? Everyone is cheating. Everyone is cheating. What's the point? But this ayah is telling you — don't be like that. Because that day is a day when people who played dirty all their lives and got to the top will fall, and they will never be able to come back from it. In the dunya, in politics and money, no matter what scandal you're caught up in, you can find a way out. No matter how many people's money you've cheated, there's a way to come back up. But this ayah tells you that day is different — only the truthful people's truthfulness will benefit them.

Tafsir: "How Well They Shall Hear and See"

How well they shall hear. How well they shall see. On the day they come to us for judgment. This is sarcasm. MashAllah, you have 20/20 vision right now. Your ears are perfect. But what's the point? Why were you not listening when the Prophet spoke to you? When the Qur'an spoke to you, you had a chance to repent and you didn't. You put corks in your ears and didn't want to listen. All the signs of Allah were in front of you every single day. You didn't want to take heed. You became blind.

Now, on the Day of Judgment, you're very alert. You've got perfect vision and perfect hearing. But it doesn't make a difference. Now it's too late. As Allah says in Surah Qaf:

"We have removed the veil from you, so your sight today is sharp." The veil of the love and intoxication of this world — once it's removed, then we'll have perfect vision. Right now people don't understand. You speak to them, it's like speaking to a wall. Sometimes we ourselves are like that. We don't get it.

Nevertheless, the godless wrongdoers today are utterly lost in misguidance. Fi means inside — the disbelievers today are engulfed, surrounded by complete misguidance. No matter what you try to speak to them, you can't get through. They have chosen to surround themselves with bad company.

There are certain people you want to try to talk to, but the type of people they hang out with are just such bad company. And yet they're the ones they want to go out with every Saturday, every Friday. Even if you try to bring them one inch closer to the masjid, that crowd pulls them back out. And until you realize that your crowd is cancerous — that your crowd is having the worst possible effect on you — you need to distance yourself from them. To be able to spiritually grow, you'll never be able to change if you don't. We have to cut ourselves off from that toxic crowd, be it relatives or whoever, and take time to become spiritually strong, and then go back and help. If you yourself are drowning, you cannot go help someone else who is drowning.

That's what I think is the biggest problem for the youth today. Why do we see youth come to one Tuesday session and then miss the next three? Because they have a crowd. If you are sitting with a group of people who say every single week we have to come — you won't miss a day. But what happens? We have two crowds: one masjid crowd and one different crowd — a basketball crowd, another crowd, God knows what other crowd. Until you choose الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ, you won't succeed. You have to cut off all the rest of those crowds. You have to hang out with a crowd that says: Tuesday night is nothing but tafsir, I don't care what happens. Then you won't miss a single week.

You come one week, you don't come for three weeks — you climbed up two steps and went down six steps. We're not telling you to come every single day. Take one thing, whatever it is, and don't leave it. No matter what — the world comes upside down, you don't leave it. That's what you learn from Ali radiyallahu anhu. Simple tasbih. Take it and hold on to it and say: I'm never going to leave it. That's where the power comes from — steadfastness. We all have to ensure that we befriend such people who will push us towards good.

Tafsir: The Day of Regret

وَأَنذِرْهُمْ — Indhar means not just scaring people. Indhar is forewarning them out of care and compassion. So the Prophet ﷺ is not a terrorizer — he is a mundhir, a forewarner. And he has warned them of the day.

What is yawm al-hasrah? What is hasrat? Regret. This is so amazing. Allah calls the Day of Judgment — from the 24 names of the Day of Judgment — one of the names is the day of regret. He didn't say the regret is only for the kuffar. Period. It's called the day of regret for everyone. Even the pious will wish they had done more. And of course the sinful ones have obviously much more to regret. There isn't a single person who is not going to be regretting on the Day of Judgment — for the time wasted, not doing the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

إِذْ قُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ — khalas, the matter is done. Don't try to come say, can you please make some amends? There are no amends now. You can make amends today, tonight, right now — go home and pray two rakat Salat al-Tawbah and repent from any major sins you're involved in. We can ask Allah forgiveness for whatever we've done in the past. Make niyyah for the future. We can do all that today.

People tell me: insha'Allah, I'll change from tomorrow. Students say: I'll start doing it insha'Allah. I say: how are you going to live till tomorrow? You have to start today. If you had the ability to do it tomorrow, you would've done it today. The fact that you're not doing it today means your willpower is weak. What makes you think you're going to start tomorrow? That's a big, big shaitanic attack. Don't fall into it. Don't ever say, before you go: I'll start from tomorrow. If you had the ability to do it tomorrow, you would've done it today. You haven't done it for so many weeks because you're weak. Now if you're feeling the intention — do it. You want to donate something? Pray two rakat extra salah? Apologize to someone? Whatever it is, do it right now before you go to bed. Because you're going to wake up tomorrow the same old person. That's the reality. When the niyyah comes, immediately act upon it. Don't delay.

وَهُمْ فِي غَفْلَةٍ — and yet they are heedless. They don't listen. وَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ — they don't believe. Heedlessness is so bad it'll take a person to kufr. A heedless, apathetic person who doesn't care — that's what they call hedonism today. That's what's going on. People don't care. Anything you tell them: I don't care, I don't care. There's no way to reach that. May Allah save us and our children from having this attitude. The "I don't care" attitude is the worst possible thing. Because then there's no incentive to do anything — whether in the dunya or the akhirah.

So Allah says, this is the ghafla that leads them to not believe. How do you get out of ghafla? Very quickly: dhikr of Allah. Dhikr of Allah is going to get you out of ghafla. Anything — La ilaha illallah, Astaghfirullah, La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah, SubhanAllah wa alhamdulillah — dhikr. And as you do dhikr, think of what you're saying. When you say Astaghfirullah, think about your sins. When you send salawat, think about yourself standing at the rawda of the Prophet ﷺ and sending salutations upon him. Focus when you're doing dhikr.

Number two, recite the Qur'an. Number three, perform salah. Force yourself to do that. These are the ways to remove ghafla and heedlessness from our heart.

Tafsir: Allah Is the Inheritor

Indeed it is We — the glorified, majestic We, not a plural of persons but a majestic we — who shall inherit the earth and all who are upon it, and for Us alone are they all being returned. What does it mean that Allah is the inheritor? Basically the last one in the game wins all. Allah says: I'm the last One here. I'm going to take it all. Any game — the last one wins. You're all going to die. Dynasties are sending their wealth down to the next heir, to the next heir. Family empires are sending their money down. But eventually you all have to die. Every single one. And who is left to have it all? Allah.

And you say: doesn't Allah already have it now? Yes, He does. But He has allowed us to think we own it. When the trumpet is blown and the last person dies, it will become very obvious that we never owned anything in the first place. As Allah says in Surah az-Zumar:

After the trumpet is blown, Allah will say: to whom does the kingdom belong today? Come on, answer. Everyone will be silent — dead. And then Allah Himself will respond: it belongs to Allah, the One, the Most Powerful. It always did belong to Him, but He allowed you to think you owned something. He allowed you to fall into that. But today, it's very obvious you don't.

"There, the authority belongs to Allah, the Truth." In this world, we think we're business owners, factory owners, employers. But this is all fake. The reality is the Owner is Allah.

وَإِلَيْنَا يُرْجَعُونَ — and to Us alone they will all be returning. But the catch is: you're not going to go to Allah on your own. We came here without our choosing, and we're going to go without our choosing. You're going to be taken.

The believers and the disbelievers — both will be taken towards Allah. The believers will be escorted in procession, but still they will be taken. No one walks up saying "I want to go to Jannah." And no one will say "I want to go to hell" — they will be dragged. And there is that beautiful ayah of Surah al-Ghashiyah that you hear at Jummah:

"Indeed, to Us is their return. Then indeed, upon Us is their account." Where are you going to run? How far? How long? To Us is their return. Then it is Us alone who will take their accounts. No one else.

Each of these verses — if a person were to truly ponder — your mind will be blown away. Can anyone besides Allah say this? Such power in these verses. May Allah grant all of us the reality of the power of the Qur'an, the words of Allah. May He allow us to take effect from it. May He allow us to practice on it and propagate it. May Allah save us from making the Qur'an a proof against us.

Du'a

Oh Allah, we ask You to accept this gathering. Accept all of us who participated — those who spoke, those who heard. Oh Allah, we ask You to make this gathering a means of forgiveness for all of us, and a means of us getting closer to You. Oh Allah, whatever we share and hear every week, allow not only our knowledge to increase but more importantly allow our practice to increase, allow our relationship with You to increase.

Oh Allah, save us from having this knowledge become a proof against us on the Day of Judgment. Oh Allah, allow us all to begin to love the Qur'an, love the meanings of the Qur'an, love the language of the Qur'an. Allow us to delve deep into the meanings and teachings of the Qur'an. Allow us to lead our lives in a manner that is according to the Qur'an.

Oh Allah, with less than a month left until Ramadan, allow us to utilize every moment and every second. Oh Allah, allow us to fast abundantly in this month. Allow us to recite Qur'an abundantly. Allow us to complete one full recitation of the Qur'an before the beginning of Ramadan. Allow us to focus on our reading skills if we are still struggling. Oh Allah, allow us to prepare mentally and spiritually, and to make plans for how we're going to spend this Ramadan in the masjid.

Oh Allah, allow all the masajid to be filled. Allow thousands — the majority of the ummah — to return to the masajid. Ya Allah, please remove the obstacles from our brothers and sisters from entering the masjid, from coming near the masjid. Ya Allah, clear up their minds and their hearts. Oh Allah, replace whatever doubts or hesitations may be in them with sukoon and tama'nina and trust in You, Ya Allah.

Oh Allah, we ask You to open up the doors of the Haramayn Sharifayn for umrah and hajj, Ya Allah. Oh Allah, protect all of our masajid, all of our madaris, and all of our deen institutions. Oh Allah, protect our youth and our children. Oh Allah, those who have left the deen — bring them back. Those who have left their homes — bring them back. Oh Allah, those who are confused about their deen — bring them back to their deen.

Ya Allah, we ask You to make this majlis of tafsir very beloved to You and to Your angels, Ya Allah. Allow the noor from here to spread throughout the entire globe, Ya Allah. Oh Allah, allow those who attend to be regular, and allow us to become a means of bringing others as well, Ya Allah. Oh Allah, allow the noor of hidayah to spread throughout the globe from this tafsir dars, Ya Allah, and from this masjid and from this madrasa, Ya Allah.

Oh Allah, we ask You to protect all of our attendees, our musallis, our staff, our students, our teachers. Oh Allah, our well-wishers and listeners throughout the globe — protect their iman, protect their health and their wealth, Ya Allah. Oh Allah, whatever needs any one of us have, whatever issues any one of us are dealing with, we ask You, Allah, to fulfill our permissible desires and needs, and grant all of us a special relationship with You — a special relationship with You.

Grant us the ability to stand up and pray long rakaat of tahajjud, long rakaat of nafl. Allow us to extend our hands and beg of You. Allow us to be punctual in dhikr, Ya Allah. Ameen, Ameen, Ameen, Ya Rabbil Alameen.