Reflect & Connect | Surah Fussilat - Ep.03 - Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed | 09/24

Opening Supplications

In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad and blessings and peace. O Allah, ease my heart and ease my affairs.

Glory be to You, we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, You are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

O Allah, teach us what benefits us and benefit us with what You have taught us. And increase us in knowledge and action. O Allah, enlighten our hearts with Your knowledge. And use our bodies for Your obedience. And guide us to what You love and are pleased with — from speech, action, intention, and guidance. Indeed, You are the All-Powerful. O Wahhab, O Wahhab, O Wahhab. O Fattah, O Fattah, O Fattah. O Jabbar, O Jabbar, O Jabbar.

We ask Allah that He bless this gathering immensely. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept everyone's sacrifice of coming and attending. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reward all those who intended to come but were not able to come. May Allah azza wa jal grant us all istiqamah and steadfastness. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala enable the speaker and the listeners to practice on the khair and the good that is shared. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to find solutions to our own personal problems and the problems of the ummah in these lessons, in these duroos.

We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us amongst those who love the Qur'an, recite the Qur'an with understanding, and practice on the Qur'an by day and by night, and for whom the Qur'an will be a proof on the Day of Judgment.

Review: The Creation of the Earth — Surah Fussilat, Ayah 10

The previous ayah — let's go one more time. Allah azza wa jal mentions the six days of creating the heavens and the earth.

Allah azza wa jal says: moreover it is He alone who has put therein رَوَاسِيَ — anchoring mountains, towering over the earth to balance it. وَبَارَكَ فِيهَا — And He alone who has bestowed abundant blessings in this earth. وَقَدَّرَ فِيهَا أَقْوَاتَهَا — He alone is the one who has decreed therein in the earth all its sustenance. فِي أَرْبَعَةِ أَيَّامٍ — All of this happened in four days. سَوَاءً لِّلسَّائِلِينَ — Four equal days. We reveal this for those who are wanting to inquire about the creation — of how many days it happened and how did it happen and so forth. This is one of the meanings of سَائِلِينَ.

Allah azza wa jal is saying that He created the earth and then created the mountains there to keep them steadfast. And Allah azza wa jal then put بَرَكَة in this earth and put sustenance and رِزْق in it.

Tawakkul and the Fear of Missing Out

That is why a person should not fear that he will miss out on his رِزْق. So much of what we do is coming out of fear — coming out of the fear that: what if I miss out on my opportunity? What if I miss out on my رِزْق? Think about all the things — so many things that we are motivated to do today — that come out of the fear of missing out. If I don't skip the line, I'll miss out. But I have to make sure that I cut everyone, oppress everyone, usurp others' rights so that I can get my own right. This is not what obviously a person who has tawakkul on Allah would say. But Allah azza wa jal is saying, from the very get-go, your رِزْق has already been set inside the earth. Your رِزْق is going to chase you. The way death chases you, رِزْق will chase you.

The Sunnah of Allah: Things Take Time

And then Allah azza wa jal says that in these four equal days there were two days in which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created the heavens. And then in these four days in which He created the earth and everything around that. And this is all a total of six days.

This time frame is for you and I to simply understand. Otherwise Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — His irada, His intention, means existence. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has a sunnah in this world — His method of working — that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has set certain times for certain things to happen. If Allah wills, it can happen immediately.

Think about it — a mango tree does not have to take 10 years to give fruit. A date tree doesn't have to take 10 years. Why can't Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it happen instantaneously? That same Allah who allows the seed to germinate — that same Allah from the same black soil brings out a beautiful, amazing, outstanding-tasting yellow mango covered in green. And not only that, but the sizes are different, the qualities are different, the pulp is different, the taste is different. That's just one fruit. How many thousands of fruit are coming on similar-looking trees, from similar-looking soil, from the exact same water that's irrigating it? So that Allah who's doing all of it — why does He have to have 10 years and 3 years and 5 years and 1 year? Why can't everything happen instantaneously? Because this is the sunnah of Allah.

Just like that sunnah of Allah in the trees takes time — or everything else, for a baby being formed, etc. — similarly, Allah's help to come for the oppressed ones also takes time. Allah has a set time for that.

A person may say — now look at where the crisis is spreading across the Middle East and how many thousands are being killed by day in new countries. Allahu Akbar. It's just shocking. No one is there to say anything. Everyone just quietly is watching — the butcher shop is running 24/7. And you wonder, Ya Allah, everyone is crying inside their heart. And where is the help coming?

So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has a sunnah. Allah azza wa jal — you cannot ask Him when to respond. He will respond at the time that He wishes to respond, in a manner that He wishes to respond, to the degree that He wishes to respond. Our job is not to give up. Our job is not to say, where are you? How come this is not happening?

Just like every single thing in this world that can happen instantaneously — but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives it time — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala willingly chooses for it to take time. Similarly, the nusrah of Allah and help of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala did not have to come at Badr a decade and a half later. It could have happened the first time that the Prophet ﷺ got abused. The first time the Prophet ﷺ was physically tortured. The first time the Prophet ﷺ was emotionally tortured. The first time the Prophet ﷺ was spat on. Allah's help could have come right then and there immediately. But Allah azza wa jal has His plan.

Because this is all one big, huge test. And if Allah immediately comes to the response of the believers, then there is no test. Everyone will immediately start thinking — you better not mess with the Muslims, because if you mess with them, khalas, you're destroyed. So who would mess with the Muslims then? And there would be no test. Everyone would want to be a Muslim, because this is the easiest way. But this is the system of Allah — that He allows the oppressor to think that literally no one's watching.

Everything is being recorded. And then afterwards, when the time is right to strike, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala strikes.

The Day of Judgment: Where Justice Will Be Served

The amount of zulm happening in this world — subhanAllah — all over, in every single sector of society — that gives all of us the proof that there has to be the Day of Judgment. Otherwise this place is — wallahi — not worth living one second. This level of oppression that happens here — why would a person want to live here, if there's so much oppression, so much injustice? The only thing that gives us hope is the Day of Judgment. That is when things will be set right — where everyone who abused another person, who stole from another person, who backstabbed another person, who falsely accused another person, and of course who carpet-bombed another place — every single one of these people will be taken to task by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And this desire for justice is a natural desire that we have as humans. Children are in fitrah, aren't they? They're the ones who love justice more than anything else. You see how they match up. I've got one candy that's green — how come he's got blue? أَيْنَ الْعَدْل؟ Where's the عَدْل? I want green. If I have green, he has to have green. They want equality in everything — between husband and wife, between mom and dad, between siblings, between Muslim and non-Muslim, between animals and humans. "Baba, how is this fair? We're having a sandwich and there's a squirrel there — what about his sandwich?"

That's a desire for justice in a child that's coming from the fitrah Allah creates us with. Unfiltered fitrah wants justice — all the time, everywhere, no questions asked, no special adjustments, no special arrangements. There is no measuring that alters from parent to child, or president to citizen. That is the human fitrah. And that tells us the fact that human nature demands and wants justice — which means there has to be a place where this justice is going to be meted out.

Allah would have never allowed the fitrah to desire and demand and want justice, if true justice was not possible. The fact that humanity — and children especially — want it, and unadulterated adults want it — that means it has to be present. But where is it? It was definitely not in this world. That place is called the Day of Judgment. But it takes time. You have to wait your turn, and it will happen.

The Heavens Created from Smoke — Surah Fussilat, Ayah 11

ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ — Then He directed Himself towards the heavens. وَهِيَ دُخَانٌ — While it was yet smoke. فَقَالَ لَهَا — And Allah said to the sky — or to it — the sky or the heavens, when it was in the state of smoke. وَلِلْأَرْضِ — And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told the earth: ائْتِيَا طَوْعًا أَوْ كَرْهًا — Come into form, طَوْعًا willingly, أَوْ كَرْهًا unwillingly. قَالَتَا أَتَيْنَا طَائِعِينَ — They both said: we come willingly.

Wallahi, what a powerful ayah. Just think — that Being who can speak to the heavens and the earth like this, you think He's not watching what the oppressors are doing today? You think He can't knock them out instantaneously? Of course He can. But that's the point, right? Allah azza wa jal — He is giving respite.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4686; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2583)

Allah gives respite to the oppressor — until when He chooses to grasp them, He doesn't let them go. Once the noose is tighter on the neck, then there's no loosening of the noose.

The Heavens Were Once Smoke

What was the condition of the heavens at that time? Interesting. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: وَهِيَ دُخَانٌ — it was in a state of smoke. Some have translated this as nebula, some as smoke — meaning this was some sort of gaseous material from which all of the earth and the mountains and the huge boulders were created. Ajeeb.

The beauty of the Qur'an when it comes to science or انكشافات — human beings' uncovering of the mysteries of the world around us — is that the Qur'an does not get into explicit details of things, it mentions things. But they have multiple meanings. It can be understood at a very basic level, at an advanced level, at a super advanced level.

Why the Prophet ﷺ Did Not Explain Scientific Details

The Prophet ﷺ — the one upon whose heart the Qur'an was revealed — did not get into the scientific details of the verses of the Qur'an. Why is that? The ulema explain that if Rasulullah ﷺ were to explain in detail exactly how the universe is formed, how the zygote is formed, how the water cycle happens in detail — the nomadic Arabs would simply say: what are you talking about? Because those type of explanations would be way above the level of the entire human existence at that time. Not just the nomadic Arabs — everyone. Almost all of these things, the way we understand them today, were definitely not understood at that time.

So if the Prophet ﷺ gave the understanding of what we have today — or the final version that we may get in the future — the people would belie him. They would say: we don't know what you're talking about, this makes no sense. You have to speak to the people at their level.

(Attributed to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib; cited in various scholarly works on Islamic pedagogy)

Speak to people at the level of their intellect.

A Warning About Online Discourse and Misplaced Questions

This is a little hashiya — a footnote — about how we should not waste our time online listening to things that are not relevant to our daily life, and which do not make sense to us because they require studying for many years as a prerequisite. Nowadays people have a habit of asking questions that are absolutely irrelevant — not only to the whole crowd, but to the man who is asking himself. And they like to ask this on a public forum. And the scholar sometimes, mistakenly, decides to answer the question — because he's like: you asked me, I'm not going to say I don't know. I do know the answer. And sometimes they forget that this is not the crowd to actually give this answer to. When that answer is being broadcast and recorded and thousands across the globe are watching — you cannot give years of background information within two or three minutes of your answer. Which leads to massive levels of confusion about the deen. And sometimes it puts the scholar himself in hot water, because he is now being misunderstood by people who didn't have that background knowledge.

So this mistake is happening from all sides. We have people who are asking the wrong questions — irrelevant questions — because people like to ask about theories, about philosophical things, when they don't have to actually do anything about it. You can sit there, sip some chai and say, that's very interesting. This is what the ummah now likes to have — discussions around crackers and cheese and coffee and things that are irrelevant. But you talk about the fiqh of salah, the fiqh of wudu, fiqh of marriage and divorce — it seems too boring.

And then the mistake of the ulama at times is the fact that they even engage such questions. Every day there seems to be some sort of online fiasco going on — and it all stems from someone asking a question that was not meant to be asked in public, by someone who has no background in the sciences, and then a scholar ends up answering it, which opens up a whole can of worms. So we should protect ourselves from ever asking such questions. We should protect ourselves from ever indulging and wasting our time listening to these things online. Instead, utilize that limited time to listen to or read something which is actually beneficial and applicable.

I told a sheikh recently: social media has its own shayateen. Genuinely I believe this. They are there to make people make mistakes online — by which it causes confusion within the ummah. To say something that you didn't want to say. To make people understand something that you didn't want them to understand. And because of this, cause great confusion, strife, and harm within the ummah.

And what I was reminded of is a hadith which I quote many times. The Prophet ﷺ one day was sitting with a platter of food. A young girl — a jariyah — comes and puts her hand and extends it into the plate. The Prophet ﷺ grabs her hand and says about her: إِنَّهَا مَدْفُوعَة — indeed she has been pushed. Meaning, Shaytan is using her to push her hand into the food without saying bismillah. Although she's an innocent girl — but if she puts her hand into the food without saying bismillah, Shaytan can participate and the barakah will be gone. So using innocent people to do harm is an old tactic — not just of bad humans, but of shayateen.

This Shaytan has so much audacity — so shameless — that there's a Prophet sitting right there, and he says: I'm going to use my tactic right next to him. But there's a Prophet of Allah — Allah is protecting him. He recognized what was going on. So sometimes the guy who's asking the question — he's being used by Shaytan. We should not become foot soldiers of Shaytan.

And now you can take this hadith and apply it to many spheres of life. When issues arise in your home or in your community or your local masjid — don't be the one who adds fuel to the fire with the so-called innocent question, innocent comment. Nothing is innocent about it. It's fully loaded. And Shaytan is loading it up to cause harm.

The Multi-Layered Miracle of the Qur'an

If the Prophet ﷺ were to explain things at the level of the average man, then the people who come later on would say: what kind of Prophet is this? Look how medieval and backward his understanding of science was. How can we follow this man? So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saved him from all of this. And he did not indulge in explaining scientific phenomena.

There is no one who is greater in iman than the sahaba and the closest of the family of the Prophet ﷺ. But they got that level without having the scientific understanding that we have. So the Qur'an is multi-faceted and multi-layered. Just because you understand it because you have a background in biology, astronomy, artificial intelligence, IT, business, or finance — don't think that the one who doesn't have that understanding is not as strong in iman as you. Don't think that his level of faith is not as strong as yours. Because there's no one who could appreciate the Qur'an more than the sahaba. And they didn't have the knowledge that you and I have today. This can be used as supportive evidence. But we should not spend so much time on it.

One person actually told me this. He said: you know, one big reason I think people are leaving Islam? I grew up in the 80s and 90s hearing all the uncles in Sunday school and Jumu'ahs — all of the time they talked about the scientific miracles of the Qur'an. He said: I was a kid at that time and I thought, oh this is cool. And now not only is that not being discussed, but we've started finding explanations for everything — in which we can take out the divineness, Allah's hand — and try to come up with some explanation of that scientific phenomenon without attributing it to Allah. So in front of our eyes the miraculous nature of the Qur'an is crumbling. And now I feel like the Qur'an is not a miracle. And all the foundations upon which the Qur'an was explained to me as a kid have fallen apart.

Which is obviously incorrect. The Qur'an of course is a miracle. But you went through sixth grade, junior high, high school, undergrad, medical school, a fellowship — and what about your deen? Your deen is still at Sunday school level. This complete imbalance — your dunya is so ahead, and your deeni knowledge is so behind — naturally this thought is going to come to you.

I warn you that this is where the world is actually headed — full scale. The founder of OpenAI has spoken about within the next few years what new features will be available. And if you check the headlines, you'll see words like "God-like." All the news headlines are: how AI is God-like. And they say within the next thousand days or so. What is that supposed to mean? When you have an explanation for something — where did AI come from? Where did the brains for AI come from? Where did the machine itself, machine learning and machine, come from? All came from Allah. But Shaytan is tricking us and deceiving us, to make us think: you don't need God, because all this is happening on its own. Nothing happens on its own.

Today we make fun of the atheists — you say the world came into existence without a creator. Honestly, this is going to happen to the majority of the ummah that falls into the trap of AI and what comes after AI — they're going to start saying: brother, we don't need an explanation of God, all of this stuff is just computerized, everything is computer, everything we control.

Did I tell you about what's going on overseas about the rains? They openly said: the campaign of seeding the clouds to bring rain has alhamdulillah completed now. After you saw those massive floods, massive storms. And then the tweet comes: successfully completed the operation of bringing the clouds and making it rain. It's already happening — openly. What is happening hidden, what's beyond that? So now a person will say: why do I need God? With the press of a button I bring rain. With the press of a button I remove the clouds, get my sun. This is where we're headed.

They're saying how everyone will be able to have their own multiple AI teams — an architect, an interior designer, a structural engineer, a full-on engineer, entire AI teams, 100% robots, within a few years. But why am I saying this? The point is the aqeedah, the belief — that because of this, Allah doesn't exist. That's where we're headed. And today a person may laugh and scoff at the atheist — but I fear the vast majority is going to fall into the same trap.

That's why we should never ever laugh at anyone. Don't ever laugh at an atheist, don't ever laugh at an agnostic, don't ever laugh at anyone who lost their faith. Because tomorrow it might be you, tomorrow it might be me. To lose your faith — it doesn't take more than a second. Wallahi. How long does it take to turn off all the lights here? Press a button — done. Just like that, faith goes out. If Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala chooses to pull it back from you, it's gone.

That is why Allah became a means of bringing this beautiful Qur'an, that is multi-layered. If you get more advanced, you can understand it in different ways. And if you want to take it from a very basic meaning — oof, it can still change your life.

The Meaning of Istiwa

So here Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala uses the word istiwa. Istiwa is used in multiple places in the Qur'an — about 12 places. And seven of those places, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is referring to the istiwa upon the throne. And some of the other places, Allah azza wa jal uses istiwa in reference to the heavens.

ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ — that He ascended on the throne — we take the meaning of taking control. The king ascended the throne. He might not even have a throne, he might not even be sitting anywhere, but the idea is: on this day he took over, he took the reins of the kingdom. And اسْتَوَىٰ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ means to focus His attention towards the heavens.

What did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala do at that time? He brought all the smoke — this dark matter, this nebula — whatever you want to call it — and He spoke to it and said: O heavens and O earth, come into existence, willingly or unwillingly. This tells us how quickly Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can make things happen when He wants. And when Allah wants something to happen over time, it'll happen over time.

What did they say in response? أَتَيْنَا طَائِعِينَ — Ya Allah, we are not going to mess with You. The heavens and the earth. We cannot afford to mess with You. We will come to You, Ya Allah, willingly.

Do Inanimate Things Have Life? The Ustwana Hanana

This ayah is speaking about the heavens and the earth speaking. How is that? Some say this is a metaphor. Others say — the Qur'an says:

There is nothing in the heavens and the earth except that it does tasbih. But you do not understand its tasbih.

The famous story of the Ustwana Hanana — the pillar upon which the Prophet ﷺ used to lean and give the khutbah. When the mimbar was made for him in Madinah and he ascended that mimbar, the entire crowd witnessed the crying of this pillar upon which he was resting for many years while delivering his khutbah — crying over the departure of Rasulullah ﷺ, that he could no longer enjoy the Prophet ﷺ leaning against it.

The sahaba witnessed it. And then they saw the Prophet ﷺ get down and go give a big hug to the pillar — to the palm tree trunk. And they said: just like you carry a baby on your shoulder and tap it to calm it down, and it slowly starts taking deeper breaths and its voice goes down and it falls asleep or keeps quiet — this is how the Prophet ﷺ kept tapping this pillar. And you could actually hear the voice and the cries of this pillar going down, just like a baby would, until it became quiet.

And if I remember correctly, it comes in a hadith that Rasulullah ﷺ said: if I didn't do this, this pillar would not have stopped crying. And ever since it got a name: Ustwana Hanana — Hanana, the one that is very soft and very loving, because of its such softness, it can't control itself from crying.

So there is life in these things. Just like we believe in the movement of atoms, we believe through microscopic evidence in cells and everything else — there is movement and there are live organisms. Similarly, why is it hard for us to understand that there is life in all these so-called lifeless things, which then do tasbih of Allah? And that tasbih of Allah could be in many ways. One of them is simply doing what it's meant to do, what it's been asked to do. That's a tasbih. When an animal, a tree, or a plant does what it's supposed to do — that is its tasbih.

The Seven Heavens — Surah Fussilat, Ayah 12

فَقَضَاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ — So Allah azza wa jal determined them as seven heavens. He spread them out. He created these into seven heavens. In two days.

We talked about this — but either just leave it general, Allah knows best what this means — or:

One day in the court of Allah is equivalent to a thousand years — so two days, two thousand years.

وَأَوْحَىٰ فِي كُلِّ سَمَاءٍ أَمْرَهَا — And then Allah azza wa jal revealed to each, within each heaven, its own natural and spiritual order. Ajeeb. Each heaven has got its own order. What that is, Allah knows best.

We know it comes in hadith that when the Prophet ﷺ ascended during Mi'raj, he saw many, many amazing things — some of that which was shared with us and which we know today. And of course we know there's much, much more than what he saw. There were anbiya and prophets in each of those levels. What's going on in those heavens? We have no idea. We think we're in a very busy place here. We're one tiny little planet, one solar system, one small galaxy out of thousands of galaxies. And all of this — this apparently never-ending, always-expanding universe — is all under the first heaven. And above that is the second, and the third, and the fourth, and the fifth, and the sixth, and the seventh. And above that, the Kursi and the Arsh of Allah.

So Allah azza wa jal in each heaven ordered them: this is going to be your natural order, this is going to be your spiritual order, this is what's going to be going on over here.

The Beauty of the Nearest Heaven

وَزَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا — And then the nearest heaven — the one you and I see — this is called the nearest one. Go for some stargazing and just sit and focus on how outstandingly amazing this sky Allah has created. زَيَّنَّا — Allah beautified it.

When you look at the moon this past week — you just can't stop. Everyone wants to get a picture with something with the moon — like a minaret of the masjid or a building or a home — because anything that comes with that moon becomes beautiful. Anything seen in the moonlight becomes beautiful. MashaAllah. That is مُزَيَّن. And when the moon is gone, the stars come out. And the further you go from light pollution, you start seeing this gorgeous, beautiful sky.

Why did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala beautify it if you're not supposed to look at it? Imagine you come home and your spouse sets up a whole beautiful family room or kitchen table with flowers and candles and such. And you walk right past it into your home office, sit there, and two hours later get up and go to sleep. That's not going to be a very enjoyable evening, to say the least. What happened? You didn't notice what I just did. Imagine how disrespectful it is towards Allah when we don't look at the sky, when we don't look at the stars, when we don't look at nature — and we're busy doing our own stuff. Allah is saying: I beautified it for who? He beautified it for us. زَيَّنَّا — I put on a show. It's a light show every night. A light show every single night.

I want to highlight the importance of all of us interacting with nature — ourselves, our children. Many parents ask: what is the alternative to cell phones and these devices? The alternative is to go back to what you did when you were growing up. You engaged with nature. And this is what we need to do to get a better, greater appreciation of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Light of the Sun and Moon

وَحِفْظًا — And thereby it is safeguarded — meaning the stars are a means of protecting. The light of the moon has been called قَمَرًا مُّنِيرًا. The light of the sun has been called شَمْس — and what is it called? ضِيَاء. The difference between ضِيَاء and نُور is that ضِيَاء is that light that comes with warmth and heat, and نُور is that light that comes without any heat. And so this is amazing — that you have the moon, which is also taking its light from the sun, but there is no heat in it. So Allah azza wa jal uses a different word for that.

So مَصَابِيح and حِفْظًا. What happens over here is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made the nizam such that the shooting stars were used for protection of the heavens from the shayateen. Allah said in Surah As-Saffat:

That the stars were used to protect the revelation and the skies from every disobedient Shaytan — the one who crossed the boundaries.

The Shayateen, Fortune Tellers, and the Story of Hind bint Utbah

The shayateen used to listen to the angels speaking and eavesdrop — taking a little bit of what they heard. They would run down to the earth and they would have pacts with the fortune tellers. The shaytan would go tell them: we heard something from up there. And the fortune teller would add his own 99 lies to it, and then would make money off of his fortune telling. And people would say: oh, how did you know that? You must know the future. And what would the shayateen get out of it? The shayateen would get the fortune teller to worship them, and they would get all the people pulled away from iman and Islam towards the fortune teller, towards Shaytan.

This is a very dangerous thing that today sometimes young Muslims are falling into — let's go check out the fortune teller. You see the neon lights on at 11 o'clock at night. Hand reader, fortune teller. Let's just go check it out. Don't do stuff like that. Don't ever do that. The Prophet ﷺ has mentioned such severe punishment for the one who goes to a fortune teller — that this is an act of kufr, going to a fortune teller. May Allah protect us.

Previously, this was a very common thing during the time of Jahiliyyah. And then what happens? When Rasulullah's ﷺ revelation began, it comes in Surah Al-Jinn:

We used to sit down to eavesdrop — but now, whoever tries to eavesdrop is getting burnt by something that's coming at him. There's something going on, we have to search. Something big has happened in the world. And it was in those searches that they came across Rasulullah ﷺ reciting Qur'an. And they said: oh, this is it. This is what's going on.

So an interesting story happened. Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan. She had previously married a man named Al-Faqih ibn Mughira. Faqih ibn Mughira was the uncle of Khalid ibn al-Walid. He was a very literate and eloquent man from the Jahili days of Quraysh. So the elders of the Quraysh used to have their doors open always for guests — today mashaAllah you'll see many of the Arabs, they still have this unbelievable level of hospitality that is seriously unmatched.

One day, Hind, the wife, was taking care of some of her affairs of her home. And she found a man sleeping outside of the doorstep of the house — he had come for food, eaten, and just fell asleep. Her husband Faqih entered and saw this man sleeping nearby the door. A doubt entered the husband's heart. And he said to her: go to your father's home and stay there — we have to figure out what to do. Her father was Utbah ibn Rabi'ah. So the news spread that Faqih is accusing his wife Hind of something.

Hind's father Utbah came and said to Faqih: you have accused my daughter of something. The only thing we can do now is go to a fortune teller — he should decide in this affair. Gather all the men from your family and the women of your family, and my daughter will be amidst them, and then we will go to the fortune teller and ask him.

So Hind told her dad: oh dad, why are you going to put my future and your future — and the honor of yours — in the hands of a fortune teller, who may at times speak the truth and at times make mistakes? He may end up accusing me of something I didn't do. She said: I am not that foolish. I've got a plan. I'm going to not accept what he says until he guesses something that I'm going to hide.

So before going to meet him, he goes into the desert with his animal and hides some grains, some wheat, in a certain spot. Afterwards he comes to the fortune teller and says: tell me something that I'm hiding. And the kahin said:

You are hiding this small amount of wheat in a certain spot. He got it. How did he get it? The shaytan saw what he did in the desert — there are shayateen everywhere, they have an amazing network, they can communicate in ways we cannot even imagine, instantaneously. So then, they said: okay, we believe you. So the kahin started walking around. He passed by the family members, each one, until he came to Hind. He didn't say anything to any other relative. When he came to Hind, he said:

You stand up in a state that you are not an evil woman and you are not a lewd woman — I give you a guarantee of purity. And you are going to give birth to a king whose name is Mu'awiyah.

The point of sharing this story is that — who cares if he said something right? This is all shayateen. Today if someone goes to a fortune teller — Allah forbid — and they may get one thing right — that is just pure shayateen who already know these things. You're just hearing it from a human being that the shaytan went and told. Just because one or two things someone says is right, don't fall for it. We immediately get very impressed by people who say one or two things right. This is our weakness. Don't fall for this.

I'm remembering a childhood story — this was the early 90s. We went to the masjid when I was about 8 or 9 years old, for the weekly program at the markaz. We entered and there was a person who was very visibly possessed — a Muslim, a practicing Muslim brother — and he was saying a lot of things. And I remember clearly this story — he said: listen, I'm not crazy. I'm going to tell you what's going to happen. Today, Isha salah is going to get repeated.

And anyway, the salah started, the imam wasn't there. So one person went up to lead — and he was actually a traveler, and he ended up leading four rak'at. Afterwards everyone said: what? You're a traveler — why did you lead four? In the Hanafi school, it's not allowed to do that. So then the entire salah of hundreds of people was repeated. What is that? That was just Shaytan. He heard something from somewhere. But that doesn't make him a prophet. This is the world of shayateen. So a person should not get impressed by this — because this is mentioned in the Qur'an itself.

The Decree of the All-Knowing, All-Powerful

ذَٰلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ — Such is the mighty decree of who? Of الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ — the one who is All-Powerful, All-Knowledgeable. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is all عَزِيز — hence He cannot be overpowered by any Shaytan. And Allah will never allow the wahy and the revelation to be messed around with by Shaytan.

Warning to Those Who Turn Away — Surah Fussilat, Ayahs 13–14

فَإِنْ أَعْرَضُوا — But if they, after hearing all of this, still disbelieve and turn away, فَقُلْ أَنذَرْتُكُمْ صَاعِقَةً — then say: I have already forewarned you of the destruction of a thunderbolt, مِّثْلَ صَاعِقَةِ عَادٍ وَثَمُودَ — like the thunderbolt that struck the people of Aad and Thamud.

إِذْ جَاءَتْهُمُ الرُّسُلُ مِن بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ — Behold, the messengers approached them from before them and from behind them. And what did they say? In every conceivable way, they kept on telling them: أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا اللَّهَ — just worship no one but Allah. قَالُوا لَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّنَا لَأَنزَلَ مَلَائِكَةً — Yet they only said: had our Lord willed to send us true guidance, most surely He would have sent down angels instead of humans. فَإِنَّا بِمَا أُرْسِلْتُم بِهِ كَافِرُونَ — Therefore, we are disbelievers in all that you have been sent with.

The Story of Utbah ibn Rabi'ah

If you were here on the first day when we covered the tafsir of the first ayahs of this surah, I went over the سَبَبُ النُّزُول — the background narrations of this surah. For those who are not present and for those who are present, just reminding you — this is where that story goes.

Utbah ibn Rabi'ah was from amongst the most eloquent of people. He knew sorcery, he knew a lot about poetry, and he knew how fortune telling works. So the kuffar of Quraysh saw that many of the kuffar were accepting Islam — Umar radiyallahu anhu, Hamza radiyallahu anhu, Abbas radiyallahu anhu. So now they said: we have to do a smear campaign. Utbah ibn Rabi'ah said: I've got all these traits — I know about poetry, I know about sorcery, I know about fortune telling. Send me.

So when he went there, you know the story. He said: O Muhammad, what do you want? Are you better, or are your forefathers better? If your forefathers are better — which is probably what you're going to say — well then they worshipped idols. And if you say you're better, then let me hear that. The Prophet ﷺ kept quiet. He didn't answer. Then he said: if you want money, we'll give you the most money. If you want a wife, we'll give you the best — we'll give you ten, we'll give you whatever you want. The Prophet ﷺ kept quiet. He said: okay, you're done? He said: yes, I'm done. Anything else? He said: okay, let me speak.

The Prophet ﷺ did not speak in words — what did he do? He began reciting Qur'an. He recited these verses — right? He kept on going until this ayah that we just read — Ayah 13. It comes in the narration — this part I didn't mention that day — that Utbah ibn Rabi'ah stood up and put his hand on the mouth of the Prophet ﷺ:

I ask you — I ask you in the name of the blood relations that I have with you — please do not continue to read. And he put his hand on his mouth. Why? Because of the such strong conviction he had that whatever this man says shall happen. And I just cannot listen. If I let him continue to read what he's warning us about, what's described will definitely happen.

Ajeeb — this level of yaqeen — but not willing to accept him. So he came back to his nation, and they saw that he was just not the same person. And they told him: sabata — have you also become an apostate? You turned your back on Quraysh? It seems like you're interested in what Muhammad ﷺ has. He said: no, I'm just shook up from this experience. What happened? He read this ayah:

أَنذَرْتُكُمْ — I'm warning you, I've already warned you of a destruction of a thunderbolt, like that which struck the people of Aad and Thamud — it's going to come to you. And I'm afraid that my nation will be afflicted by this, because I have firm conviction that whatever Muhammad ﷺ says is going to happen.

The Prophet ﷺ did not stop. He kept on reading until he arrived at the ayah of sajdah, which is still a few more pages to go.

So what is sa'iqah? Sa'iqah is that which completely destroys everything below it. It could be a very sharp, strong wind. It could be a ball of fire. It could be something beyond that.

Allah uses the plural word "messengers" even though these two tribes each had only one prophet. Because why is it in plural form? Possibly because small portions of this bigger tribe had specific prophets sent to different areas. Or another answer is: every Prophet comes with the same message. So when you listen to one Prophet, you're listening to all. When you deny one, you're denying all. So when we believe in Muhammad ﷺ, we believe in all the previous prophets. التوحيد — tawhid — is the essence of what every Prophet said. These people don't want to listen — that's why they come up with excuses. Oh, I don't like humans. Why don't you just send down angels? Allah Himself said multiple times in the Qur'an: if I were to send down angels, you would not listen either. What would you say? You'd say: these are not role models for us.

The Arrogance of Aad — Surah Fussilat, Ayah 15

As for the people of Aad: فَاسْتَكْبَرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ — they became very arrogant in the land without any right. Is there some arrogance with a right? Is the question — because the Qur'an says: without a right. Yes, you won't call that arrogance. If you walk into a classroom where children are being rowdy, and you raise your voice and say: children, sit down — someone may call that arrogance. But that is necessary, بِحَق — because you have to have order in the classroom. A father, a judge — order in the court. That's تَكَبُّر there, but it's necessary to bring peace and law and order. So that's something to remember.

وَقَالُوا مَنْ أَشَدُّ مِنَّا قُوَّةً — And then they began to say, after arrogance: who is stronger than us? That's exactly what is being said today. The superpower. The most powerful man on earth. They say: the most powerful person. But Allah is showing us the most powerful person — how he is today.

Ajeeb — just this week, he's sitting there next to the Prime Minister of India. The most powerful man in the world — President of the United States. But Allah is قَادِر — He controls the brain. Standing there — there's obviously only one other guy there, the Prime Minister of India — and he's asking the crowd: who am I supposed to introduce now? He has literally asked the crowd who he's supposed to introduce. This is the weakness of human beings. That even at this level — what happens to many millions of people — they go back to being senile in old age. And a person, after seeing all of this, if he still remains arrogant — how sad. All that is beyond our control is happening. But to still think: we are a superpower. We are someone.

None of us should ever allow this to get to our head. We are our own arrogant tyrants in our own little worlds. Whatever little power we have, we flex our muscles. How we raise our voice, how we get angry when someone questions us, when someone questions our authority. What is that? That's the arrogance that I have and you have — or some of us have. How dare I be questioned. We are in the same boat. We don't have what Allah has given others — that's why we are not that openly arrogant. We are arrogant with whatever little we have. At the end of the day, the sin is the same. Arrogance is arrogance.

So they said: who is stronger than us? What an amazing answer Allah gives — don't you all think that the one who created you is more powerful than you? You may be more powerful than any other human being. But you are not more powerful than Allah — because they also believed that God created them. Allah says in the Qur'an:

If you ask them who created the heavens and the earth, they would say most definitely Allah created. So think about this — Allah created you, why are you thinking you are in control?

My beloved friends, this is an ayah for us to reflect. Because so many times, believe it or not, we say statements of arrogance. We truly think we are in power because we have gotten a promotion, because we pay the bills, because we have an expensive credit card, because we are making six figures. We think we are in position. And we do not like anyone challenging us. Understand that you can never ever become arrogant in front of Allah. Allah azza wa jal — all He has to do is put one little tiny mineral, a ball of calcium or whatever else, build it up, put it into our body, and allow it to get stuck somewhere — to the extent that we cannot relieve ourselves. And then you will hear from the other end of the house a person screaming in pain.

All Allah azza wa jal has to do — one little slip on the drive, one second of ghaflah — and a person's body is paralyzed for life. So what is the point of being arrogant in front of Allah? Every day we need to remind ourselves to lower our neck, humble ourselves in front of Allah, and show Allah azza wa jal genuine humility.

وَكَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يَجْحَدُونَ — The reality is, they used to disavow our message and our signs. What is juhud? Juhud is when you intentionally decide to disbelieve in something even though you know it. The Qur'an says:

They denied My signs — even though their inner selves had full conviction that this is true. That's called juhud.

The Punishment of Aad — Surah Fussilat, Ayah 16

فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحًا صَرْصَرًا — Then We sent against them a thundering, raging cold wind, فِي أَيَّامٍ نَّحِسَاتٍ — in days of continuing ill fate.

This word رِيح is interesting. Whenever رِيح comes in the Qur'an in singular form, it refers to a harmful wind. And when it comes in plural form — رِيَاح — it comes in a positive sense. They say رِيَاح in a good sense — the wind and the rain is coming. رِيح in the singular is used as a negative connotation.

And صَرْ — what is that? That is when some extremely cold, raging, stormy wind — like the Arctic winds — comes once. It's called صَرّ. And صَرْصَر is when it's coming multiple times. So صَرْصَر is multiple times of this extremely raging cold wind — that literally burns you. All of you know what that possibly means when you have the sub-zero crazy freeze — minus 30, minus 40 — what that does.

Allah azza wa jal says: فِي أَيَّامٍ نَّحِسَاتٍ — continuing ill fate. نَحِسَات means something that is such a bad fate. It is مَنْحُوس — it is wretched. The days and the nights are wretched because of how much destruction is happening.

Why? لِّنُذِيقَهُمْ عَذَابَ الْخِزْيِ — For them, We caused them to taste something of the divine torment of خِزْي. What's خِزْي? Disgrace. Because they were arrogant people. For arrogant people, just whipping them is not sufficient. Physical pain is not as harmful as emotional destruction and humiliation. That's why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave them the punishment of humiliation — because they were arrogant.

فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا — What you just heard about — this is just in the life of this world. وَلَعَذَابُ الْآخِرَةِ أَخْزَىٰ — While the torment of the hereafter is much more disgracing — not just more painful, of course more painful — but it is much more disgracing for the nafs. وَهُمْ لَا يُنصَرُونَ — And they shall never be helped and assisted.

The People of Thamud: Forced Love Over Guidance — Surah Fussilat, Ayahs 17–18

وَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَهَدَيْنَاهُمْ — And as for the people of Thamud, We guided them. How did you guide them? Guidance here means showing the path — إِرَاءَةُ الطَّرِيقِ. Allah shows the path to all of us. Some choose to take it, some choose to leave it.

Think about your friends who went to Sunday school with you, Islamic school with you, public school with you, during childhood. Think for a moment about those Muslim classmates from second grade, fourth grade, tenth grade, and twelfth grade. How many of them today have already left Islam? Just yesterday I was hearing about someone who was close to me during my childhood — and he was so sad. May Allah guide him. Ameen. Ameen. SubhanAllah.

It's connected to this ayah right here. Allah says: He guided everyone. Because we all attended the same schools, listened to the same things. And you're not some special person and I'm not some special person. We attribute our presence here only to Allah. Allah allowed us to accept that message, remain steadfast, and be here today. And we ask Allah — the One who gave hidayah till today — that He continues to give us hidayah till our last breath.

فَاسْتَحَبُّوا الْعَمَىٰ عَلَى الْهُدَىٰ — Thus they loved the worldly blindness more than the divine guidance. This is deep. Allah says: I guided, I shared, sent Qur'an to everyone. The prophets to everyone. You're born in a Muslim country, there are millions born in Muslim countries, they all have a perfect chance to become a wali of Allah. Every day, five times a day, they're hearing the adhan. They have halal meat. They're encouraged to memorize Qur'an in Islamic schools. Everything is there. How dare you then become an atheist? They've chosen worldly blindness over guidance.

Now, the word اسْتَحَبَّ is different from the word أَحَبَّ. What does أَحَبَّ mean? To love. اسْتَحَبَّ means to force yourself to love something. Something which is not worthy of being loved — you love it. What does that mean?

A brother was telling me about a person he sat with — and every few minutes or every hour this person was using a new drug, a different drug. And he said: I could tell that he was trying very hard to block out something. He was using multiple layers of drugs — types of drugs — to push back something. Forcing himself to try to enjoy life, but which was obvious that he wasn't. This is the key thing. Everything besides the sunnah, everything besides deen, is a drug of some sort. Money is a drug. Lustful desires is a drug. Drugs are drugs. Alcohol is a drug. Watching filth and haram is a drug. Gambling is a drug. Overindulgence in dunya — business, business, business, morning and evening, money, money, money, money — what is that? That's a drug. And it's a person forcing himself to think that through an 18-hour workday — already being a millionaire — that somehow he's enjoying this. There's no enjoyment.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide all of our Muslim brothers who are going through these types of unbelievable levels of blindness. And may Allah save all of us from blindness. Ameen. And may Allah guide the non-Muslims as well.

فَأَخَذَتْهُمْ صَاعِقَةُ الْعَذَابِ الْهُونِ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ — Thus, the dishonoring torment of a thunderbolt of destruction seized them suddenly — بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ — because of all the evil that they had duly earned. كَسَبَ means what they had done. And so this is an example of what they did. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, they got a taste of their own punishment.

Allah wants the people of Makkah to wake up. And Allah wants the people of 2024 to wake up as well. Don't think this cannot happen to you and me. Instantaneously any of these things can happen. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect all of us and grant us understanding.

Announcements & Q&A

Should we go into marriage with the mindset that Allah will provide, even with no job?

You can go into that mindset — I don't know if your wife will go into that mindset. And I don't know if your father-in-law will go into that mindset. Basically, a person needs to take responsibility — 100%. But if you're 28 years old and don't have a job yet, that's a big red flag. If a person is 18 and getting married, then in that case, he's still young, still going to college, but mashaAllah, him and his mom and dad are wanting to support him through marriage. I've said this many times — this is the way to go. Get married young, and there's nothing better than your mom and dad can do than to protect you from falling into haram. They care about you — they're taking $250,000 loans to get you through medical school. Way more important than that is that they borrow $250 to get you married. Staying married is so much more protective than anything else. It's a responsibility of moms and dads. Yes, of course the son and daughter need to get good grades and work hard and can start doing a part-time job. But I highly encourage parents to support their children in getting married early.

How can I improve focusing in salah?

You improve it by improving the quality of your wudu. And how do you improve the quality of wudu? Try to recite the du'as of wudu. Use less water. Face the qibla. Follow the etiquettes of wudu.

Number two — if you're praying fard salah in the masjid, try to come early and pray your sunnah before that. If you're praying at home or at work, don't jump into fard salah — pray your sunnah that warms you up for the fard salah.

Number three — during fard salah, don't read on autopilot. Focus on whatever surah you're reciting. Think about it beforehand — okay, today I'm going to read Shams and Layl. Don't just wing it. Think about it, this is what I'm going to read. And every posture — remind yourself: I am in ruku' in front of Allah. I am in qiyam in front of Allah. I am in sajdah in front of Allah. Just keep on reminding yourself where you're standing. InshaAllah this will help.

How can I concentrate during congregational prayer when next to people who recite out loud? Is it haram to recite out loud when praying behind the imam?

When you are performing your congregational prayer, the only one who should be reciting Qur'an out loud is the imam. If someone next to you is reciting out loud, then either he needs to recite softly, or you need to find a quieter spot. Similarly — sometimes I'm teaching here in the masjid and I have people, Allahu Akbar — the dars is going on, and someone is starting their salah right there in the main prayer hall. So that's their fault — you're going to be distracted. Why would you pray salah in the main prayer hall when the bayan and dars is going on? So similarly, you need to find a quiet place to pray.

What is the best way for a school student to fix their hifz of the Qur'an?

The best way to fix the hifz is — whether you go to Darussalam or not, it doesn't make a difference — you have to take time out. Every single day, you need to set a time and have a teacher. Online, you have all sorts of teachers available from across the globe. Every single day, they need to call you. You need a hafiz sahab, a maulana, a sheikh — from any part of the world that speaks your language. And you say: you're going to keep on calling me until I pick up. Just like a gym trainer — you're paying them for them to keep after you. Similarly, have a Qur'an teacher who calls you every single day to make sure you pick up.

Is it okay to wear makeup for rishta meetings?

Today, makeup has become the identity — to the extent that people won't even recognize each other without it. That's the problem of society. That's why this multi-billion dollar industry is working. And you will feel the need for makeup when you're always putting it on — and you'll feel naked without it. But Allah didn't create you like that. أَحْسَنَ صُوَرَكُمْ — He created you beautiful. Your natural beauty is there. Once you start using this, you have to continue. And I tell boys — if you marry someone based on an Instagram filter or based on makeup, watch the first day when they do wudu in the bathroom: whoever you married may look very different. The same goes for girls who marry guys, because nowadays guys have makeup too. If you marry based on looks, this is the key thing. Marry people based on their sifat — their attributes and qualities. InshaAllah that will stick with you long-term. Tell yourself: if you see your spouse-to-be without makeup, guy or girl, would you be okay with that? Because that's what you'll see every single morning and every single night. So why make this a basis of our marriage?

Is it halal for potential spouses to talk about future goals and expectations more than once to understand compatibility?

Yes, but you don't have to sit at a coffee shop to do it. Instead, you can speak via email — with someone else CC'd of course. But I also have to tell you — there's just so much fakeness going on nowadays. Don't judge a book by its cover, don't judge kids by their parents. Nowadays the fruit does fall very far from the tree — the wind comes and blows it away. People know how to lie, people know how to make up fake profiles. That's why having a brother check out another brother, or a sister check out another sister — someone who knows that person and spends time in the same circles — is how a person really gets to know another person. Because when you're with the opposite gender — especially someone you might marry — you're going to fake it. You're going to act way nicer than you actually are. You need to see that person with their guard down. How are they in real life? That's why traveling with them, doing business with them, spending time in the same gatherings — that's how you really get to know them.

Can the six days of creation also be understood as six time periods?

Yes.

How do we build high ambition in ourselves and our friends, especially in men these days?

One way to build ambition is to come to gatherings that motivate you. And take small baby steps. Say: okay, inshaAllah, I'm going to make tomorrow a better day by adding this one thing into my life, and cutting out one wasteful thing from my life. And put that on pen and paper. If we can't be consistent from Tuesday to Tuesday, how are we going to conquer the world, brothers? Whatever you do — stick to it. Take one thing and stick to it. Have a goal from every Tuesday to Tuesday — I'm going to work on this one trait. Write it down. InshaAllah you're going to feel so much better about yourself when you're able to achieve these things.

Upcoming Programs

InshaAllah, mark your calendars: December 21, 22, and 23 is our annual winter intensive. The topic is marriage — from A to Z, marriage in the modern world. InshaAllah it's going to be amazing. Dr. Shadi al-Misri from Safina Society, Mufti Minhaj, myself, and Mawlana Uthman Akhtar will inshaAllah be teaching this three-day course. All of us should be there. We'll have age-appropriate classes as well, inshaAllah.

Additionally, if you have not already purchased tickets for the benefit dinner, please kindly do so today. Maghrib is at 6:30. Appetizers at 6:00 at Maghrib, immediately after which the program will begin. We'll have one tilawah, Dr. Sheikh Hussain Abdulsattar will be speaking, Mufti bin Hajj will give an update of what we've been doing, I will be making an appeal, and then we have a family-style dinner served right to your table, along with tea, coffee, dessert, and drinks. We plan to serve dinner before 9:15. Alhamdulillah, for the past two years we've been serving dinner before our expected time.

We also have our online talim program going very well — these are classes taught exclusively to online students by Darussalam seminary staff. There are ten classes being offered this semester, each only forty minutes. You can do Monday/Wednesday/Friday, or Tuesday/Thursday. All classes are recorded if you miss them. Scan the QR code or visit the website to sign up inshaAllah.

We have a sisters youth Qur'an and nasheed competition — inshaAllah this will be taking place this Saturday, September 28th, after Salatul Dhuhr, for girls ages 7 to 14. Girls who get first, second, or third place in different divisions will receive awards at the benefit dinner. Please spread the word.

We also have a sisters weekly on-site Urdu Tafsir — alhamdulillah — taking place every Thursday in Urdu, in the sisters prayer hall.

Du'a

O Allah, we ask You to accept this gathering. O Allah, we ask You to revive our dead hearts. O Allah, whatever we hear, whatever we share — O Allah, please do not make it a proof against us. O Allah, allow us to practice whatever good we hear and share.

O Allah, we ask You, Ya Allah, to allow our hearts to become illuminated and blessed with the noor of the Qur'an. O Allah, allow us to love You the way You ought to be loved. Allow us to love the Qur'an the way it ought to be loved. Allow us to practice the Qur'an the way it ought to be practiced. Allow us to love our Habib Mustafa ﷺ, his family, his sahaba, and his sunnah the way they ought to be loved.

O Allah, make our life in accordance with the way You want us to live. O Allah, please protect us from usurping anyone's rights. Please protect us from oppressing anyone. Please protect us from misusing our tongue, misusing our eyes, misusing our hands and feet and any other part of our body. O Allah, make us amongst those who bring khair wherever we go. Allow us to become a means of joining people's hearts. O Allah, make us a means of closing the doors of falsehood and opening the doors of goodness.

O Allah, we ask You to protect our masajid, our madaris, our deen institutions, our health, our wealth, our iman, and our lives — and the lives of the ummah across the globe.

O Allah, we ask You to have mercy on the brothers and sisters in the entire region of Palestine and beyond — in Sham and all the other areas where, Ya Allah, the conflict and the dhulm is increasing. O Allah, we ask You to grant them Your special help, Your special help, Your special help. O Allah, in this entire crisis, in this genocide — O Allah, we ask You, Ya Allah, to allow those who are trying to find the truth to understand the truth. O Allah, as much as the effort is being made to falsify the truth and make falsehood seem true — O Allah, as much as the dajjal-like confusion and propaganda is being spread — O Allah, we ask You to allow all those who are seeking the truth to be able to find it. O Allah, make the truth obvious, make the truth apparent. Ya Allah, make the truth obvious, make the truth apparent.

O Allah, put muhabba and love between parents and their children, between spouses, between siblings. All those who are unmarried — young men and women — Ya Allah, and previously married young men and women who are looking to get married, Ya Allah, and those widowers who are looking to get married again — Ya Allah, make it easy for all of those people to be able to find someone. Allow all of them to be able to find someone appropriate. Allow all of them to be able to find someone appropriate.

O Allah, all those who are married — Ya Allah, remove the evil effects of nafs and Shaytan from their marriages. O Allah, remove the evil effects of hasad, of sihr, of ayn — from all those young men and women and elders who are married but are going through a huge crisis. Ya Allah, grant shifa to all of us from our physical, spiritual, emotional, and psychological illnesses.

O Allah, we ask You to become pleased with us. Allow us to live a life of iman, death upon iman, and be raised upon iman. O Allah, make our Tuesday night sessions a source of barakah and blessing that spreads across the globe. O Allah, whatever is shared and said here — allow the barakah and the noor of this, and of the sincere people who attend here, to literally spread across the globe, Ya Allah. And allow hidayah from here to spread across the globe.

O Allah, every program that's taking place in the masjid — the Thursday night, Saturday morning, and all the other programs, our retreats, our conferences, our upcoming fundraiser — allow each and every one of them to become a means of preserving and protecting the sunnah, preserving and protecting the Qur'an, preserving and protecting the legacy of our scholars. O Allah, accept each and every one of these efforts. O Allah, remove all barriers and walls that may be in front of us, Ya Allah, from the word spreading, from the deen spreading. Ameen.