Part 14 | Surah Maryam | Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

Part 14 | Tafseer of Surah Maryam

أَمَّا بَعْد — Dear respected elders and brothers, mothers and sisters, dear listeners, السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

Last week the tilawah was done, but where we — the tafseer where Mufti sahib had stopped — inshallah I'll continue from there and ask Allah to put barakah in our time. The mention of the prophets is going on, and he had stopped at the discussion of Idrees عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ on ayah 56 of Surah Maryam.

Prophet Idrees — Ayah 56–57

Allah says: "And mention in the Book, O Prophet, the tidings of Idrees. Indeed, he too was ever truthful and an eminent prophet. And We raised him to a high place."

We have about 30 verses or so left, but I'm going to see if we can — because the stories have been completed — just read through it and go over some translation inshallah today, because this is the last session before Ramadan. Then inshallah after Ramadan, if Allah wills, we can start in another surah inshallah.

So Allah says that Idrees عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ was ever truthful and an eminent prophet. Regarding Idrees, he is one of the earliest prophets. Why is his name Idrees? Some have said this comes from dirasa — studying. Scholars have refuted this opinion, saying that the word comes from dirasa — but they do say however that the original word may have some connotation of reading; that Idrees عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ was the one who would be reciting or reading the scripture that Allah had revealed upon him.

Allah says he was ever truthful and an eminent prophet — two different qualities — because not every truthful person is a prophet. He was a prophet, but on top of that Allah made him worthy of the title of being ever truthful. And his status was such that he is the first one whom Allah inspired to learn how to and teach how to sew. He is the first person who wore sewn clothing.

So the prophets who came early, during the earliest times, they were not just teaching sharia. They were not just teaching people how to establish the deen of Allah on earth. Beyond that, they were also teaching how to lead a life — how to wear clothes, how to do farming, these types of things — because these were the earlier times. So Idrees عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ, since he is one of the earliest prophets, in terms of many of the normal things that humans have been doing for thousands of years, they were taught through the prophets — Prophet Idrees included.

Then Allah says: "We raised him to a high place." This is speaking about his status in the heavens. It comes in a narration that Rasulullah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ during the Mi'raj went through the various heavens, and in each of the seven heavens he saw prophets. And he saw Idrees عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ in the fourth heaven. So this is what is referred to when Allah says He raised him to a high place.

The Chosen Prophets and Their Qualities — Ayah 58

So we've done Musa, we've done Harun, we did Idrees, we did Ismail, we did Ishaq, we've talked about Ibrahim extensively. Who are these people? Allah says: "These are some of the great ones upon whom Allah has bestowed His grace from amongst the prophets, and the children of Adam, and from those whom We carried in the ark with Nuh, and from the children of Ibrahim and Yaqub, and from those whom We have guided to true faith and selected as prophets. When the verses of the All-Merciful were recited to them, they fell to the ground and worshipped Him alone, bowing their faces down and weeping."

In this verse, Allah is speaking about all the prophets so far from this surah that we have studied and heard their beautiful stories over many many weeks. Allah says those are chosen people — Allah blessed them, they were chosen, they were selected. What are some of the attributes of these chosen people? It is that whenever verses of Allah are recited — meaning whenever the Quran is recited, or verses from their scriptures are recited — they soften up, they fall into prostration, bowing their faces, and they begin to weep.

Meaning: the sign of a true Muslim, and one who has been selected by Allah, is that when he hears the verses of the Quran, he gets goosebumps. He feels that the Quran is actually really speaking to him. The opposite of it — Allah mentions — is when they hear the verses, they act dumb and deaf. It doesn't affect them. That is a sign of disbelief. The sign of belief is that our heart gets moved when the Quran is recited, and we become teary-eyed.

So for all of us, we may not be at a level where we feel like we can easily cry. And that's not because we're not understanding the Arabic language — it's because our heart has become very hard. Just because every single person who understands the Arabic language does not cry when they hear the Quran. What about all the disbelievers who heard the Quran being recited by the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ himself? And all it did was make them turn away more.

And there are others who don't understand a word of the Arabic language. They don't even understand — they're not even reading a translation — they simply hear the Quran being recited and they begin to weep. Why? Because this weeping comes from the condition of the heart. When the heart is softened and the heart believes that this is the word of my Lord, then even if he doesn't understand it, it leaves a very powerful effect.

So we should be encouraged that our relationship with the Quran needs to improve. As the blessed month of Ramadan is just less than a week away, this should be a month inshallah where we all make the intention: I want to reach a level of connection with the Quran that when the Quran is being recited, I'm able to feel the power of it. When you're going to stand up in Tarawih inshallah, when the Quran is being recited, I want it to have an effect on my heart.

The Generations That Came After — Ayah 59

"Then descending from them thereafter came descendants who forsook the prayer and followed their whims. And thus they shall meet with degradation."

Now Allah is speaking about the fact that the prophets and the chosen ones did what they were supposed to do, but then a group of people came after them. Who are these people? Some have said this is referring to the Christians who came after the Jews. Some have said this is referring to the people of this Ummah who will come towards the very end of times.

What is khalaf? You may have heard this — students of knowledge — khalaf and khalf, two words. Khalaf with the fatha on the lam means people who are good, following in the footsteps of the righteous people before them. And khalf with the sukoon on the lam means people who are going against the good of the previous people and have ruined what the elders left behind. That's why they say: become a very good khalaf for the very good salaf — the salaf are the elders, the previous ones who were pious and righteous — then we need to be true representatives of them.

There is a statement — a hadith — that whoever's actions are bad and evil, and his actions slow him down, his high lineage will not be able to push him forward to paradise. It is not sufficient to say my grandfather was so-and-so, or I come from a lineage of so-and-so — it doesn't help if our actions themselves are weak.

The First Major Sin: Wasting the Prayer

So here we have people who came after these good righteous prophets, but then those who came after them committed two major sins. First: they wasted away their prayer. They forsook their prayer. What does it mean to forsake the prayer? One explanation is that they simply denied it and didn't pray — so obviously not praying and denying it is an act of kufr. It is an act of disobedience. Or, idaa'atu al-salah means not performing it properly — and this is an opinion that many have taken — that leaving prayer intentionally is a major sin upon which a person will be punished unless he returns and repents to Allah. But it's not just about leaving prayer. It's about how we perform it. That's a very important point.

Maybe many of us, inshallah, are all praying. The issue is about the quality of it. That is what we have to focus on. Idaa'atu al-waqt — if we're praying it after its time, we're praying it at the very end of the time. This is what happens.

The Prophet عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ saw a man come and perform salah, and then he said: "Go back, go pray — you haven't prayed." He came and repeated it two more times, and each time the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said: "Go back, repeat your prayer. You have not performed your prayer properly." The reason is that he was not doing his ruku and sajdah properly, or he was not performing his salah with the quality that it was supposed to have. What did the Prophet عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ say? "You haven't prayed."

So wasting away prayer is not simply not praying it — it also includes praying it without proper quality. Hudhayfah رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ — he saw a man performing salah, and the man was short-changing his salah — quick ruku, quick sajdah, not doing it properly. He asked him: "How long have you been performing this type of prayer?" He said: "For 40 years I've been praying it." He said: "This never counted — you haven't prayed. If you were to die praying like this, you would be dying not upon the religion of Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ."

So that's why one important aspect of our salah is that we need to ensure — as we say — we don't do a rolling stop. You know, you get a ticket for that even if you stopped at the stop sign but you do a rolling stop. Similarly in our salah, when we're going from posture to posture, we cannot do rolling stops. When you go into ruku, it has to be a complete standstill — at least three seconds minimum: سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْعَظِيمِ, three times, three seconds, complete stillness where all our joints stop. And then we stand up from our ruku — also complete stop — into sajdah — complete stop.

Many times we've just got a habit of doing rolling stops — just continuously up and down. And we are grown men. It may take someone else to come and say: "Do you see what you just did right now?" Seriously, it may take someone to record how we're praying and for us to look at it and say: "Oh my God, I can't believe I just prayed that." Because we've just gotten so accustomed to praying like that, we have absolutely no idea what we're doing.

It will take someone to stop and say: "Brother, may I speak to you for a second?" And he turns around and says: "What happened?" He says: "Do you know what you did?" You're going to feel hurt. You're going to get insulted. You're going to feel upset probably. But if you were to see a recording of that, you'll realize: subhanAllah, this person is actually my muhsin — he is being very kind to me, pulling me out of this heedlessness. Because many of us have just gotten accustomed to that.

You might come to the masjid — let's say Ramadan is coming — you might see people coming in before Maghrib salah to pray their Asr, and that's exactly what happens. The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ specifically mentioned — he said: "That is the salah of the hypocrite." What is the salah of the hypocrite? He sits, he waits till just about the sun is about to set — when the sun is right between the horns of the Shaytan, that's when devil worshippers and Satanists make their acts of worship — and at that time he stands up and pecks the ground four times like the pecking of a chicken or a rooster, up and down, up and down. He doesn't remember Allah but for a very little, one second. He said: "That is the salah of a hypocrite."

So maybe sometimes we'll end up doing that, or seeing that — we need to be aware that this is what idaa'u al-salah means: salah being wasted away.

So dear brothers, we might have a habit of driving fast, speaking fast, drinking fast — we may just have a habit of performing salah fast. Until you don't conscientiously put a stop and put the brakes on, it's not going to change. We'll be 60 years old and we'll be praying like we're a second grader in Sunday school, the same way, because we just never reflected upon it. It requires reflection.

So what's a great way of slowing down? At least two rakats a day — right, the sunnah after Isha. Maybe you're in the right state of mind soon after Isha, soon after Maghrib. Say: "You know what, I'm going to time myself. It's 8:01 right now. I'm going to pray these two rakahs until 8:06 — five minutes minimum." If I look at the watch and I made salam and it's 8:03, I'm going to repeat — I'm going to do another two.

I remember when the madrasa was much smaller, when the students were doing hifz — we had smaller kids in a smaller madrasa — we would make sure that before the Dhuhr sunnah, when the kids would line up, we'd have a stopwatch. Four minutes: four rakats of Dhuhr — four to five minutes. Anything less than that and you stand up and repeat your sunnah. The benefit of that is we get accustomed to slowing down. Just like anything else, practice makes perfect. Similarly, performing salah slowly requires practice.

And I would suggest all of us work on it in this blessed month of Ramadan. Use your Tahajjud time, use any time of the day. Choose one salah and say: "This one I'm going to time myself." Like how people time themselves to increase speed, we're going to time ourselves to slow down our speed so that we reach a level where we just can't pray fast.

I remember a good friend, a classmate of mine from Pakistan when I was studying — and I've shared his story before — very jovial, the class clown. But one amazing quality about him was that he used to perform salah very slowly. Whenever we used to say: "Hey, we're going to go out to eat, let's pray quickly and go," he would turn around — that same jokester — and he would get angry and say: "I cannot pray a salah fast." He would sit there; his four rakats would take maybe seven or eight minutes. But that was the beautiful quality he had instilled within him from a young age.

So these are things we need to work on this blessed month of Ramadan — not just praying salah, but making sure that our ruku and sajdah are done properly and slowly. One good way to do that: don't do سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْعَظِيمِ and سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْأَعْلَى only three times. Why do we have to do it three times? Do it nine, eleven, thirteen, fifteen — as many as you can in your nafl, and in your sunnah as well. You can do more in odd numbers — as long as it's an odd number — do it as much as to slow yourself down. That's one advice I'm giving to myself and all of us.

Number two: between the two sajdahs, instead of saying "What should I do? I've got to go back into sajdah quickly," — no! Make dua at that time. We can all memorize اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي — we all know اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي — Allah, forgive me. Just say that nine times, eleven times: اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي, اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي, اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي. So when you have something to recite between the postures, that will force you to slow down.

When you stand up from ruku, recite: رَبَّنَا وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ — but that's not it actually — it is longer than that. There is a longer dhikr between ruku and sajdah. So there is so much more. This is the perfect time in Ramadan to say: "You know what, I want to memorize that." Go ahead — this is available in all the books, everywhere, on the internet. Memorize the dua of qawmah — when you stand up from ruku — and memorize the dua of jalsah — which is between the two sajdahs. And if we don't know anything of these, just say اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي between the two sajdahs. And when we stand up, you can praise Allah with اللهُ أَكْبَرُ, with سُبْحَانَ اللهِ, with الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ. Got it?

So until we memorize it, keep reciting these tasbihat. And inshallah we will start enjoying our prayers, because right now — let's be very frank — we're not enjoying our prayers because we're going through them so quickly. When we slow down, the quality will increase. May Allah make it easy for myself and all of us to work on our salah regularly, and especially in the blessed month of Ramadan. Ameen.

The Second Major Sin: Following Desires

The second major problem that these latter generations will have is: they follow their desires. What does that mean? Shahwah is anything that your nafs — your lower self — wants and that goes against the injunctions of Allah. Hasan al-Basri explained it: he said they left the masajid empty and became busy in their workplaces and material things. That's happening today. That's what shahawat means — masajid are empty, workplaces and malls and gyms are packed.

So these two major sins are what will ruin the people who come afterwards. What will happen to them? They shall meet with ghayy — degradation. What does it mean? Either it means degradation and dishonor and punishment in this dunya, or ghayy specifically means a valley in Hellfire. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud says it is a valley in Hellfire.

What are the qualities of this valley? Ibn Abbas says: the rest of the valleys of Jahannam seek Allah's protection from the heat of this valley. And in this valley is a well. Whenever the fire of Hell starts becoming a little less intense, Allah opens up this well, and from this well in ghayy, such immense and powerful fire will pour out that it will rekindle the fire of Hell.

And then Ibn Abbas says Allah has prepared this valley for:

1. The one who is consistent in fornication.
2. The drunkard who continues to constantly drink alcohol and other haram things.
3. The one who takes in wealth through usury and interest and does not back away from it.
4. Those who are disrespectful to their parents.
5. Those who give false testimony.
6. A lady who attributes to her husband a child that does not belong to him.

These six sins — committing zina, drinking, consuming riba, being disrespectful to parents, giving false testimony, and attributing to one's spouse what does not belong to them — these are very common sins, extremely common. And these are the people who are going towards that valley in Hell. May Allah protect us all.

Dear friends, the blessed month of Ramadan is not just a Ramadan of doing lots of ibadah. It is a month in which we are supposed to repent from our major and minor sins. So every one of us needs to take stock of themselves to see: am I involved in any of these things?

When it comes to these sins — that's obvious. Drinking: I know if I drink or not. I know if I commit zina or not — that's clear. But when it comes to the rights of fellow human beings, sometimes we just don't realize that we are obnoxious. We don't realize that we're disrespectful. We don't realize that we hurt people's feelings. For that, we have to ask people. We need to ask our siblings, we need to ask our parents, we need to ask our spouse, we need to ask our children: "I want you to be honest with me. What are the things — how am I with you?"

Because we lead a life like a big elephant that doesn't have side-view mirrors and rearview mirrors — just plowing through life, hitting this one, hitting that one, breaking this one's heart, stomping on that one, not knowing what we're doing. And it takes a high level of introspection, a high level of reflection to stop and say: "Okay, how am I leading my life?"

Ask yourself — those of us who are married — if your spouse had an opportunity in seclusion, would they bad-mouth you? Ask your spouse today: "If you were given an opportunity anonymously to write about me without me knowing, what would you say?" For the kids — ask your parents: "If you had an opportunity to say something about me privately to my mentor, to the imam of the masjid, to my basketball or football coach — what would you say? Would you say I've got the best son, the best daughter? Or would you say: please make dua, give me a pill, my son and my daughter are just the biggest pain?"

The amount of mothers that reach out to me speaking about their sons is really scary. Regularly — every single week — mothers reach out to me, so hurt, so hurt by what their sons and daughters do to them. And they need to wake up and realize that whatever you're doing in life, you're really fooling yourself. If your mother is forced to pick up the phone and call the imam of the masjid or call someone to say this is what I'm faced with at the hands of my child — where do you think this is going? How long is your so-called success going to last? You're going to fall down flat, real hard, real soon.

No matter your respect to anyone else is of no bearing if you're disrespectful to your mother. Whatever you do outside is eye-wash. If your mother is upset at you, if your dad is upset at you, then everything else is useless. Who are we deceiving?

So these are things in the blessed month of Ramadan that we need to do — we need to go back home and see what people say about us. How can I improve as a son, as a daughter, as a son-in-law, as a daughter-in-law, as a father, as a mother, as a husband, as a wife?

Those Who Repent — Ayah 60–63

Allah says: "Except for those who repent and believe and do righteous deeds — they shall enter the Gardens of Paradise and they will not be wronged in the least. Gardens everlasting which the All-Merciful has promised His servants in the unseen. Indeed, He is the One whose promise ever comes true."

What is Jannah? Jannah is everlasting. Your spring break came and went — gone. Your summer break will come and go — gone. There is no life enjoyment that remains forever. Your birthday is 12 hours long. Your wedding day is 12 hours long. Anything you name has a beginning and an end. But paradise is a place that will never end — that's number one.

Number two: you can't see it. Of course Allah is promising it — it's in the unseen. But Allah says: guess what? My promise will definitely come true. How many times have we been let down by people who gave us their word and backed away? How many times have we been let down by business partners? Allah is the One who will not let you down. He says: "My promise will definitely come true." But it's in the unseen — you have to put your faith in the unseen, and only then will you get that reward.

When you get into paradise, you will not hear any vile talk — no swearing, no cursing, no backbiting, no calling each other names. None of that. Because even in the most beautiful, luxurious home or vacation place, if someone starts trash-talking, your vacation is ruined. Your enjoyment is gone. When a husband and wife start bickering in a multi-million dollar home, is there any peace? No. When a son and daughter start bickering with their parents in a huge mansion, there is no peace, happiness, or luxury — all gone out the drain. The tongue ruins the best day of your life.

In paradise, the tongue will be locked from evil. Everyone will be saying nice things — only salam, only salutations. And when you say salam, it doesn't just mean assalamu alaykum — it means words of peace, enjoyable things. And salam not only from each other, but salam from the angels, and as we hear from Surah Yasin, salam from Allah Himself. That is what paradise is.

Their provisions will be served to the people of paradise morning and evening. At that time, to eat one meal a day was normal — to eat two meals a day was huge. Only the kings would eat two meals a day. Now we eat six meals a day. The purpose of "morning and evening" here means: the buffet is always open. This doesn't mean there's a sunrise and sunset in paradise. Some tafsiri narrations mention: how do you know when it's day or night in paradise? They say that the blinds will close and the doors will lock and people will stay inside and enjoy life — that's a sign of night — and the sign of day is everyone is out. But besides that, it doesn't mean it's dark or the sun is not there, because the system of day and night doesn't exist over there. The gist is that there will always be food available, being served to them.

"This is the Garden of Delight which We shall bequeath to those of Our servants who are God-fearing."

Nurith comes from the word wiratha — inheritance. Allah says, in the 18th juz, those are the people who are going to inherit. Why has the word wiratha — inheritance — come? Because when a person dies and leaves behind something in inheritance, can you push it back to him? You can't. He's gone. He's dead. He's given it to you — it means complete ownership. You can't say: "No, I don't want this." It's come to you. Similarly, the people of paradise — when they receive paradise, it will be with such surety and such confirmation that they cannot back away from it. It will be 100% theirs, forever. This is why the word wiratha has been used — that they will be inheriting paradise. Those who have fear of Allah.

Jibreel's Absence and the Command of Allah — Ayah 64

Now, moving on to the next topic — there was a time when Jibreel عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ did not come to the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ for many days. Some narrations mention 12 days, some mention 40, etc. So the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ told Jibreel: "O Jibreel, what is stopping you from visiting us? We are missing you — we would like you to come." Mujahid says it was 12 nights; some say 15, some say 13, some say 3.

The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said: "You've taken so long that I'm really missing you." Jibreel عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ said: "I also have a desire to meet you, O Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, but I am simply a servant of Allah who takes commands from Allah. When I am sent, I come. When I am held back, I stay back. I cannot come of my own will."

And Allah commands Jibreel to say: "We angels do not descend, O Muhammad, but at the command of your Lord." So if Rasulullah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ cannot just call the angels whenever he wants — this just kind of tells us where we stand. Many times a person says: "I want this, I want this to happen in my life." Nabi عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ is an abd, Jibreel is an abd — who do you think you are? If the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is a servant of Allah and every single thing he is dependent upon Allah for — and Jibreel, the biggest of the angels, the most powerful and most majestic creation of Allah — is saying: "I can't move without Allah's permission," then where do you and I stand?

"To Allah belongs whatever is before us, whatever is behind us, and what is between this. Moreover, never is your Lord forgetful." Meaning it's not that Allah forgot that you're waiting, or that Allah forgot that people are asking questions.

We know Allah tested the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ when he did not say inshallah in Surah al-Kahf. He did not say inshallah. The Yahood came and asked him questions. He said: "I'll let you know tomorrow." He didn't say inshallah. And when he didn't say inshallah, Jibreel didn't come. Allah wanted to remind Rasul صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: you cannot say anything without saying inshallah. Even you — you said: "I'm going to give you an answer tomorrow." You didn't say inshallah, and now I'm going to make you wait. And every day they'd say: "Where's the answer? See — we told you, you didn't have the answer."

Imagine how that feels. Maybe even up to two weeks go by and Allah does not send the answer to the Prophet عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ. It's a very difficult thing to fathom how much emotional difficulty Rasul must have gone through, facing these people every day — and they probably definitely making fun of him, saying: "We knew you didn't have the answer. See?"

But this is the system of Allah. Even if you're a prophet or not a prophet, there are certain ways Allah works, and we just have to — if you make a mistake — pay the price for it. Allah wants us to learn: if you don't say inshallah, things are going to happen. What does inshallah tell us? It creates humility and humbleness. No matter how big of a titan you are — business dynasty runner or whoever you may be — make sure you say inshallah for everything. Your power, your might, your wealth will not be able to even help you drink this bottle of water if Allah doesn't will it. So this inshallah is a really beautiful part of our deen — we should have a whole talk on inshallah one day, inshallah. Because it's an amazing part of our deen. One key thing I'm telling you: it creates within us humility and humbleness in all states.

Worship Allah Alone with Patience — Ayah 65

"He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them. So worship Him alone and persevere patiently in His worship. Do you know any other who bears resemblance to Him?"

Allah is telling us that since Allah is the Lord of the angels and everything before them, after them, and in between them — and He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth — when you have that knowledge, then you have no one else to worship besides Him. Allah says: to worship Allah it requires patience. It's not easy. You have to be consistent for your Fajr, consistent for your Isha, consistent in your fasting, consistent in guarding your gaze, consistent in having good character — you cannot lose your cool in any situation. All of this requires patience. So ibadah — if you want to become a true abid — it requires all of us to have a high level of patience.

And then Allah asks: "Do you know anyone who has a name similar to Mine?" Meaning: is there anyone out there who is called Allah? Is there anyone out there who is called Rahman? And the answer is obviously no.

The Disbeliever's Objection to Resurrection — Ayah 66–67

The disbeliever says: "Can it be that when I have died, I shall again be brought forth alive?" Meaning: the disbeliever makes fun of Islam, makes fun of the concept of the hereafter, and says: "Are you telling me that after I die, we're going to get raised back?" This is referring to possibly Ubayy ibn Khalaf, who found disintegrating bones, broke them in his hands, and said: "Muhammad claims that we are going to be raised after death. This makes no sense." Others have said this is related to Walid ibn Mughira. Whoever it may have been, the idea was that they thought it was a far-fetched idea to think that a human being would be raised up after he dies.

Allah then responds: "Does not man remember that We indeed have created him before, and he was nothing?" If you believe that you came out of nothingness into where you stand today, how hard is it for us to bring you back? If I were to build a beautiful LEGO model in front of you out of thin air — now I have it in front of you — now I break it up in front of you into a thousand pieces. And then you tell me: "I bet you can't build that again." Why not? If I brought it out of thin air in the first place, now you have the pieces in front of you — how hard is it to put it back together? Simple. It's easier. So Allah is responding to these people who are just not thinking appropriately.

And when you ask the disbelievers who created them, in fact — if you ask the kuffar of Mecca who created the heavens and the earth, they would most definitely say: "Allah created the heavens and the earth." That was their belief. But then you ask them: "Don't you think you're going to face Allah after death?" And they say: "No, that's not possible." Sometimes people make such foolish statements.

The Oath of Allah — Ayah 68

Allah says — and He didn't just say "Allahi", I swear by Allah — He says: "I take an oath on your Lord" — referring to the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, the Lord of Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — "We shall most surely round them up — round up all these people who are speaking evil about Me and about resurrection. We are not going to let you run — We are going to grab every one of you. And We shall also round up all the Satans."

These Satans that you see today — from among humans and from among the jinn. Look at the news — recently about the shoes. Many of you know what I'm speaking about — it was major front-page news about the Satanic shoes. You look at that and you just — I mean, if you haven't read about it, read it to realize what type of Satanic era we live in. It's crazy.

And this type of music — we talked about music two weeks ago extensively — understand that if you listen to music, say goodbye to your spirituality. You're not going anywhere. A person will remain 100% tied to the Shaytan. I don't know what other proof you want to understand the connection between Shaytan and music, how Shaytan uses music to lure people in and to enslave them so they can't think otherwise. Long-term they become a slave of it. So right now this musician's songs are hitting number one in the world, highest in the charts — and the type of Satanism is obvious even to a preschooler who would hear about what type of nonsense he's speaking about.

So this is something you need to all reflect upon. The blessed month of Ramadan is a time when we stay away from bad habits. And if we have a habit of listening to music, let's use this blessed month to get away from it and then stay away from it. I'm serious — this is one of the things: if you're wondering, "Hey, how do I improve as a person?" Please put leaving music as your number one priority. Because you can read Quran, you could be a hafiz of Quran, you could be leading Tarawih — but if you're listening to music, you're tied up. You wonder: "Why can't I move forward? Why do I keep falling back as soon as Ramadan ends?" This is one major sin that doesn't allow a person to spiritually progress.

If you have a sibling involved in it, cousins involved in it, friends or yourself — please, I implore you and encourage you: use this month to pray to Allah every day at iftar time. Ya Allah, allow me to get rid of these evil habits that I have. Most of us at iftar time — if we're not looking at the food — are making dua for things that we want. How often are we making dua to Allah to keep us away from sins? Ya Allah, these are the bad habits I'm involved in.

Seriously, I'll give you a good idea: why don't we focus on 30 sins that we're involved in? Write down 29 or 30 sins, and every single day in Ramadan focus on one sin and make dua about that sin — Ya Allah, I'm involved in this sin and today, after every salah, at Maghrib time, at Suhoor time, I'm going to be making dua regularly for Allah to get me out of this. 30 days, 30 sins — you seek Allah's protection from them and you'll be a whole different person. There's probably not more than 30 major ones that we're involved in — probably less than that, inshallah. But at max 30. So dedicate — do something different this Ramadan — and dedicate every day specifically to one mistake, or not just a sin, a bad habit. Maybe it's not clearly haram, but we don't like this habit that we're involved in, and it's ruining our productivity.

Right — we're not allowed to be efficient, we're not being the best we can because of this bad habit. Write that down. Who's going to work on this? All of you listening online — do the same. Write this down and keep it in a diary. Keep it to yourself — don't post it on Instagram. And actually, one of them — number one — should be getting off of Instagram. So you can't post it, and getting off of social media — you'll be a different person. Try that for the month of Ramadan. Come see me after — they say the doctor says: "Take this medication and see me in six weeks." So see us after Ramadan on the first Tuesday after Ramadan.

And be off of social media until then. And I can say — I can take an oath in the masjid — that you'll be a different person. You'll come back and say: "My God, my life has completely changed because I've got so much more time now — instead of just scrolling and seeing other people's pictures. I actually have a life now."

Social media is one of the biggest problems in our life that is slowing us down, is creating an environment of constant sin — even in the person sitting in the masjid who is still scrolling his phone. Whether it's tafseer, Jumu'ah khutbah, Khatmah Quran, Tarawih — whatever — all the time people are on their phones, and not even doing something beneficial, just simply randomly clicking and going through their phones. We know this — we're all suffering from it.

One thing I usually like to do: I like to read the news for about 10-15 minutes a day. But in Ramadan, I usually go on a diet of news — absolutely. We'll hear about important things when we need to. That's the reality. I'm not even saying a person should be reading news at all necessarily — it's not necessary. It's just a habit. If you get off of it, alhamdulillah. But the idea is: I feel the difference when I shut that off. Look at the bad news that's always happening — this one dying, that one killing, this and that — it's so much, it pollutes your mind. How often are we reading good, positive news? There's barely anything positive in the news media reports. So our minds are always becoming very negative and pessimistic because of what we're always hearing.

So if it's related to your business — stocks, investments, something — fine, that's part of your business. But generally speaking, staying away from news media and social media will help us grow a lot. So in this blessed month of Ramadan, let's try to make that commitment. I've seen some people putting on their status that in Ramadan they're going to be off of WhatsApp — subhanAllah, that's awesome. Depending on what your weak points are, look at your wellness app in your phone and see where you spend the majority of your time. Is it YouTube? Is it Netflix? Is it WhatsApp? Is it Instagram? What is it? Take that thing and say: khalas — that's it for the month of Ramadan. I'm cutting this out.

And then you see — you're doing it for yourself — and you say: my God, I feel so much better. I have so much more time. I'm able to actually enjoy time with my mom and dad, my kids. I'm able to do a lot more ibadah. And then once you enjoy it, you'll be able to continue with that hopefully after Ramadan as well.

The Disbelievers Dragged to Hellfire — Ayah 69–72

Allah says: We will gather these disbelievers with the Shayateen, and then We will fetch them around Hell on their knees. This ayah gives you goosebumps. We will gather them, pull them, round them up, and then fetch them around Hellfire. Jahannam will be there and they will be around it. And how will they be? On their knees, begging, as they are dragged towards Hellfire — on the entire plains of hashr, thousands of miles — allahu alam how big — being dragged towards Hellfire.

Then Allah says: "Most surely We shall pluck from every faction whichever of them was most intense in defying the All-Merciful." Meaning: from all those people who are sinful, the big leaders — the ones who are the most sinful, the ones who are the most disrespectful to Allah — Allah says: "From every group I am going to pick up the leaders, one after another. Come — you used to have the megaphone and used to rile up your people against Me. Today is My day." So from every group Allah will pick up the leaders, the ones who are the most intense in their defiance to Allah.

So when you read the news and you say: "My God, what's happening? Why, Allah? Why don't You do something?" — read these verses and realize this is part of the plan of Allah. Everything is being noticed. Nothing goes unnoticed. If we have cameras in this masjid and cameras in corporations with people watching, why would you think Allah doesn't have a system? Allah is watching everything. Allah encompasses everything, remembers everything. When you forget, you will forget that you had done that, until the proof is brought in front of you. Every single person will have his day in the court of Allah.

Then Allah says: "Assuredly it is We who are most knowing about all those who are most deserving of roasting in it." Allah says: We will pull out the leaders from every group. "Come — you are always the first in your defiance. Today you are going to be the first to go to Hell." And all the people behind you follow through — as Allah says:

Fir'awn himself will be walking in front: You were a leader in the dunya — I will keep you a leader in the akhirah. You used to make people stand up against Me — today you are going to lead these same people with you to Hellfire.

The word saliyyan in Surah Yasin doesn't only mean to enter into Hell — it means to roast in Hell. Look at the word being used here. We know who is most deserving to be roasting in Hell.

The Most Frightening Verse — Ayah 71

This next verse has been regarded by some scholars as the most intense and most intimidating verse of the entire Quran. Verse 71 of Surah Maryam. Allah says: "And there is not a single one of you human beings except that you shall come to the Hellfire — it is upon your Lord an inevitability, decreed."

So this verse says every single human being must come to Hellfire. Everyone — Muslims, non-Muslims, righteous, not righteous. Everyone has to come. Wariduha has two meanings: warada means either to come to the Hellfire, see it, and then move on — or another opinion is dakhiluha — to enter it. So every single human being, Muslim or non-Muslim, will actually enter the Hellfire. And when they enter it, of course, for the believer, Allah will protect them from the intensity of the heat — but they still have to go through it.

Even if you're not in a car accident, to see a car accident happening — is that easy? No, it's not. Even if you're not in a battle zone but watching from somewhere else — to see actual people getting killed or tortured, Allah forbid — it's not easy. So for a person to walk through Hellfire, to see everything happening: yes, you've got protection so you don't get the smoke, you don't die, you don't burn, you don't feel the pain — but to be able to see the intensity of the people of Hell suffering is still very, very, very, very painful.

What is the purpose of this? So that when the believers go through this and then proceed towards Jannah, they will realize how lucky they are to be in paradise. If Allah had willed otherwise, I'd be there. Look — my friend is there, my sibling is there, Allah forbid, my relative is there, my such-and-such is there. I know all these people. And I could have been there as well. It was only through the mercy of Allah that He plucked me out from here and allowed me to go to paradise.

They say: a blessing — when it's taken away, you value it. And when you receive a blessing after a long wait, you value it more. Allah wants us to value paradise and for us to not take it for granted. To not think that you deserved it all along, that your name was written on it, that you were headed for it automatically. No — you could have been there. Look at all the people who are burning there who were actually Muslims, who prayed, who fasted, who gave sadaqa, who were people of knowledge — but because of some major sin, whether insincerity or deception or deceit or whatever, they're suffering and burning there. You and I could have been there. So this is why the ulama say this is one of the scariest ayahs of the Quran.

Kana — already happened — past tense. Hatman maqdhiyya — hatman means inevitable, maqdhiyya comes from qadha — decreed. It is completely and inevitably decreed that this must happen. Every one of you must enter Hellfire — or at least see it.

"Then We shall deliver those who have been God-fearing, and We shall leave the godless wrongdoers in Hellfire, on their knees."

There is an entire surah in the 25th juz — what's it called? Surah al-Jathiyah — you will see every nation on the Day of Judgment begging on their knees. Every single nation will be begging there. And so Allah says: We will dump the wrongdoers in Hellfire also, on their knees, because this is the most humiliating, most humbling posture — a person on his knees, begging. May Allah protect us all.

The Boast of the Disbelievers — Ayah 73–74

"For whenever Our revealed verses are recited to them with all clarity, the disbelievers invariably say to those who believe: 'Which of the two groups — ours or yours — is of a better station in the world and appears the fairer company?'"

Whenever the Quran is recited to them and Muslims invite them towards the deen, they respond by saying: "Look at us — we've got more money, more luxurious lives, more physical strength, more armies — everything better than you all. So even if we were to become Muslims, who's going to do better in the akhirah? We don't believe in the akhirah or in God — but based on how things are looking in this world, it seems like you don't stand a chance. Even if we hypothetically believe there's something called the hereafter and God exists, it seems like we are light years ahead of you in this dunya — we'll be light years ahead of you in the akhirah."

Allah responds: "Yet how many a disbelieving generation before them We have destroyed for their ungodliness — who were far better in their worldly furnishings and far better in their appearance than you all."

So you all think you're handsome, beautiful, and powerful? Guess what — I was passing through some bridges recently on this trip, just looking at these bridges in America — wow, how did they build this? But then immediately you're reminded of 'Ad and Thamud. Look at Petra and the places where you see — they didn't have caterpillar machines, nothing. They sat there with their raw nails and little small tools and they built entire carved huge houses — bigger than the size of this masjid — that I have seen myself. I've visited Petra and the likes of those places, that some of you have probably seen or heard about. Huge houses without any blizzards, without any mechanical or electrical machines. How do they do that, thousands of years ago? Where are they now? You have to go see it or see pictures to understand what you're talking about. They were so powerful. Allah says: where are they now?

So don't fall into this deception — thinking that you are more powerful and more wealthy and more beautiful than the Muslims, thinking you're ahead of them. No, you're not. There are people who were more powerful than you and they're all gone, there's no mention of them.

The Challenge to the Disbelievers — Ayah 75

Say to them: "Whichever of us is lost in uttermost misguidance — may the All-Merciful fully extend that duration for them." Let's make this dua: whoever amongst us is misguided — how about we ask Allah that He give that misguided person a long life, a lot more blessings? Why? So that this long life and this misguidance will just create an even more solid case against him in the hereafter.

"For at last, when they behold the fulfillment of what they have been promised — either punishment in the world, or the hour of doom — they shall then know who is of a worse rank and a weaker army."

So this ayah is a challenge — between Muslims and non-Muslims — that we're both saying we are on the right side and the other is on the wrong side. So let's say: whoever is the misguided one, may Allah give them more time and space and life — and then eventually, one of two things will happen to the ones who are disobedient to Allah. Either they'll get punished in this world through the other party or through a natural disaster, or they'll die apparently a normal death — and then be faced with the Hour. If you don't believe after all the proofs given to you, then at least say: may the worst amongst us face this punishment. Your army will be nothing — non-existent — and your status will be none in front of Allah.

Guidance Increases the Guided — Ayah 76

"For Allah ever increases those who are rightly guided in divine guidance. And the abiding deeds of righteousness are far better in reward with your Lord in the hereafter, and therefore far better in their ultimate return."

Meaning: as time passes, those who are guided will get closer to Almighty Allah. Every day your guidance will increase if you're on the right path — you will continuously increase in your right guidance.

Back to baqiyat salihat — the abiding deeds of righteousness. Brothers: say you have a hundred dollars. Two people have a hundred dollars. One guy says: "Why don't you buy a lottery ticket with this?" The other says: "Let me give sadaqa to an orphan." Even if that hundred-dollar lottery ticket ended up making him win a hundred thousand — what Allah says will be long-lasting is actually the hundred dollars you gave to that orphan. Because this hundred thousand is going to bring so much evil — not only in the hereafter but most definitely in this world.

Unbelievably, many brothers — I'm mentioning this about money — many people say: "I'm having a lot of weird stuff happening in my home, a lot of shaytani or jinni type of stuff going on. Can we give some wazifa or something?" The ulama say: those who are involved in major sins — especially interest — know that all your wazifa is not going to help you. Because when a person gets involved in sins like zina that we talked about, sins like riba, then Shaytan really takes over your mind. You don't need a separate jinn or something else to happen to you — you're his. You sold your soul to the devil. If you're involved in interest, if you're involved in zina on a consistent basis and not repenting from that, you won't get yourself out of this mess. No matter what amulet or ruqya you want to read, it won't have that effect. The biggest ruqya you can do is give up sin. The biggest ruqya is to give up major sin — that's the number one thing. Then, of course, you can go ahead and do other things. But if a person's involved in major sins and wants to do all the other things, it doesn't work that way. Because the biggest devil is on your mind — he's still controlling your heart, turning you away from Allah.

So hearing about baqiyat salihat — look at long-term investments. Don't look at immediately what's the highest return. The interest money or the quick buck — that's going to end. Those rewards that are going to remain long-term — those are the things Allah says will have a much better return with Allah.

The Story of 'As Ibn Wail — Ayah 77–80

"O Muhammad, have you seen the one who disbelieved in Our revealed signs and says: 'I shall most surely be given great wealth and fine children should the hereafter come about'? Has he looked into the realm of the unseen? Or has he taken with the All-Merciful a binding covenant? Kalla — No, indeed he has not. We shall write down whatever he says, and We shall extend for him the duration of the torment exceedingly. And We shall inherit from him all that whereof he speaks, and he shall come to Us alone."

What is this referring to? This is referring to an incident that took place between two individuals during the time of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. This is the reason for the revelation of this verse.

Khabbab رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ says: I had a loan — I had lent money to a disbeliever. Khabbab رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ says I came to him asking him to pay it back. He said: "I'm not going to give the money back until you make kufr of Muhammad — until you reject Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ." Khabbab said: "I will never disbelieve in him, until you die and until you get resurrected." He responded with sarcasm: "Are you saying I'm going to be resurrected after death? Okay — I'll see you on the other side. I will pay your money back when I get to the hereafter."

In another narration, 'Asim ibn Wa'il told Khabbab: "Do not claim that in paradise you're going to have gold, silver, and silk." Khabbab said: "Yes." He said: "Then give me time — I'll pay back from the gold and silver I'm going to have in paradise." He was making fun of Khabbab.

So Allah revealed these verses. He says: this person disbelieves in Our signs and then claims he's going to be given wealth and children in the hereafter. How has he looked up into the Lawh al-Mahfuz and seen that 'Asim ibn Wa'il is going to have Jannah? How are you making such bold claims? Or have you made a secret covenant with Allah — "O Allah, I'm going to disbelieve in You, but You're going to give me Jannah"? Allah is asking: never. We are writing all of this — all the sarcastic kufr that you're saying, We're writing it down.

All the sarcasm that you see in today's media — the comedy in media — is full of kufr, kufr, kufr, blasphemy — so much blasphemy. It's unbelievable how much of this comedy is available all around us. There's barely any clean comedy anymore. Everything is blasphemous, filled with the highest degrees of kufr. This is a very big source of atheism — where you poke fun of God and the divine, and you poke fun of everything, claiming none of this exists. And they even poke fun of Shaytan — you heard what I just said — even poking fun of Shaytan leads from where to what? Atheism. Because we have to believe in Shaytan — he is mentioned in the Quran tens of times. If a person tries to say Shaytan doesn't exist, that is also a very big problem. And in fact, he's the biggest Shaytan right there, because that is also being inspired by Shaytan.

Hear me out: those who use all their media ability to say Shaytan doesn't exist — they are actually the biggest agents of Shaytan. Because the biggest trick the devil wants to play with us is to make us believe he doesn't exist. The Christians and Jews of the past believed in Satan — but today's media and music industry, not only are they making us deny God's existence, they are also trying to make us believe the devil doesn't exist. Because if you believe in the devil, at least you know that if the devil exists, there must be the antithesis of the devil as well. Shaytan is there — angels are there — Allah is there. This is all part of the unseen.

The main purpose of the dajjali era that we live in is to stop believing in the unseen — be it Shaytan, be it angels, be it whatever it may be. May Allah protect us.

Allah says: he's going to come to Me alone. He's talking a lot — on the Day of Judgment he will come to Me alone.

False Gods Will Testify Against Their Worshippers — Ayah 81–82

"Now they have taken false gods apart from the only true Allah so that they may be a power for them. No, indeed — they shall not be any assistance for them. On the Day of Judgment, these same false gods shall belie their very worship of them, for they themselves will become their opponents."

Allah says: why are they committing shirk? Because they think they're going to get assistance through these false gods. But they are mistaken. No — they are not going to get any assistance from these false gods. On the Day of Judgment, these same false gods shall belie their very worship of them — and be standing against them in the court of Allah. The gods that you worship — Allah is saying — they will be the first ones to testify against you.

Similarly, the false gods — if we break Allah's orders because of our wife, our husband, our children, our business, our friends — these very same friends and spouse will be the biggest testimony against us on the Day of Judgment.

Shaytan Instigates the Disbelievers — Ayah 83

"Have you not seen that We have sent the Shayateen against the disbelievers to instigate evil amongst them with such a vehement instigation?"

Going back to this music industry, going back to this disbelief created through comedy — what do you see? You're seeing these people being pushed and pushed: break the limits, try to say something even worse than what you said last week, try to say something even more vile than what you said last month. Where do you get these types of ideas from? Allah says: Shaytan is actually sitting there pushing them. He's the one writing their script. He's the one writing their songs. He is the one writing their late night show script. He inspires them — like how we say: alhamdulillah, a good intention came in my heart. Similarly, they are breaking the orders of Allah because Shaytan is putting things in their hearts. But Allah Himself says: I have let the Shayateen loose upon them, and they vehemently instigate them, to push people away from Allah.

Do Not Be in Haste — Ayah 84

"Thus make no haste as to seeking God's judgments against them. We but number for them a determined number of days and deeds."

I said at the beginning that this is one of my favorite rukus of the Quran — it's just beautiful. Allah says: don't hurriedly start cursing them. I've got it. I'm watching. We count every breath, every grain of rice that goes into their mouth — everything has been accounted for. Don't think Allah is not watching. Don't hurry to see Allah destroy them. Why are they not being destroyed? Their time of destruction is written. When their water finishes, when their food finishes, when their breath finishes, they'll die.

The God-Fearing in Honored Delegations — Ayah 85–87

"Until the day when We assemble the God-fearing before the All-Merciful in honored delegations. And We will drive the defiant unbelievers to Hellfire in disgraced droves — or thirsty droves, being rushed towards Jahannam thirsty. None holds the right of intercession except those believers who have taken with the All-Merciful a special covenant."

The disbelievers are going to be on their knees begging, and the Muslims and the muttaqeen will be in honorable delegations being gathered together.

No one can say: "Please, Ya Allah, have mercy on him." In this dunya, if the police is arresting someone, you cannot go and say: "Please let him go." They'd say: "Who are you to speak?" Imagine — before Allah — no intercession is allowed. No one can give testimony, no one can speak on anyone's behalf, unless Allah gives them the green light. How do you make a covenant with Allah? You study the Quran, you practice on the Quran, you become a hafiz of Quran, you become a da'i of the deen, you become a shaheed, you become a student of knowledge — all of these are examples of people who will get the ability to intercede on behalf of others. That is what it means to make a covenant: you do those things which make you worthy of being an intercessor on the Day of Judgment.

The Claim That Allah Has a Son — Ayah 88–92

Moreover, those who disbelieve have said: "The All-Merciful has taken to Himself a son." Allah says: "Very truly, you who say this have come forth with something abominable." This is horrible what they just said — saying that Allah has a son. "From it the heavens nearly burst, and the earth almost splits, and the mountains all but fall down in sudden collapse — that they should ascribe to the All-Merciful a son. While never would it be befitting to the All-Merciful that He take a son."

This speech is so vile and so poisonous and so filthy and so toxic that we're about to have a natural disaster times ten. The earth wants to split open, the heavens want to fall down, the mountains want to collapse. Why are they not doing it? Because Allah is saying: hold it, hold it. Let them say all the nonsense they want — We're writing everything. They will have their day in court and they will suffer for eternity for what they're saying.

My dear friends: today we are ruining the environment through the way we lead our lives. Every type of pollution — water pollution, space pollution, noise pollution, sound pollution, earth pollution — every type we're causing. What we don't realize is: we're also causing a huge sin-pollution. The way we deal with Allah is making nature so disgusted, so angry, so upset — and with one sin too many, Allah tells nature: "Okay, I'll let you vent your frustration for a couple of seconds." And there you go — a tsunami happens, an earthquake happens, a storm happens. That's nature venting for a few seconds against human beings.

All Will Come to Allah Alone — Ayah 93–95

"Very truly We have enumerated each one of them and have numbered every one of them with precise number. Thus each one of them is coming to Allah on the Day of Judgment all alone."

Today when we're in groups, we feel the confidence that we can speak against Allah, break an order of Allah. But when you're alone, all that confidence is going to go down the drain. Allah says: everyone is going to come to Allah alone.

The Believers — Allah's Love Placed in Hearts — Ayah 96

"As for those who believe and do righteous deeds, Allah shall ordain in their hearts genuine mutual love."

You've heard this before: when Allah loves a human being, He tells Jibreel to love him, and Jibreel begins to love him, and He tells the angels of the seventh heaven to love him, and this keeps on going all the way till Allah puts acceptance of this individual in the hearts of the people. So through the barakah of righteous deeds, we become beloved to one another. If we have ikhlas and we're doing what's right, inshallah — not only will the angels love us, fellow human beings will also love us.

The Purpose of the Quran — Ayah 97

"Therefore We have indeed revealed this Quran to you and made it easy for you to understand in your native tongue, O Prophet — so that you may give glad tidings of Jannah to the God-fearing, and so that you may forewarn thereby a contentious people of Allah's nearing judgment."

The Quran has been revealed in a beautiful, easy Arabic language — for two things: so that you can give glad tidings of paradise to the Muslims, and you can warn and forewarn those people who are argumentative and do not want to accept. Tell them: if you don't want to believe, Allah has already made His promise — welcome to Hell.

The Powerful Ending of Surah Maryam — Ayah 98

"For how many a disbelieving generation before them We have destroyed. Do you perceive even one of them, or do you hear from them a single sound?"

The kuffar of Mecca are not the first, nor are they the last. Many disobedient generations like this have come and they've been destroyed. Do you perceive even one of those destroyed nations? Or do you hear from them a single sound? They're gone. And you will also be gone. Every single defiant nation will be destroyed.

Do not become overwhelmed. Do not become depressed when you look at the disbelievers of the past or disbelievers of today. Just like the disbelievers of the past have gone, the disbelievers of today will also be destroyed. We have to make sure that we do what's right and ensure that we do not waver under pressure from our society.

We ask Almighty Allah that He protect us from following the path of the disbelievers. And all the beautiful qualities and the things that we have discussed in these past 14 sessions of Surah Maryam — may Allah bring the good and the khair into our lives, allow us to remain dedicated students of knowledge for the rest of our lives. We're sorry for the delay — we'll start the adhan and the iqamah right after.

I want to give a special thanks and congratulations to all of those who participated in any or all of these sessions online or on-site. May Allah increase you in every good that is possible and protect you from every evil. سُبْحَانَ اللهِ — Ameen.