Reflect & Connect: Sūrah al-Kahf - Last Ten Verses | Muftī Azeemuddin Ahmed

Reflect & Connect: Sūrah al-Kahf — The Last Ten Verses

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. Blessings and peace be upon you.

O Allah, open my heart and ease my affairs. And release the knot from my tongue so that they may understand what I say. 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. You are the All-Powerful.

Respected elders and brothers, dear listeners, mothers and sisters — peace be upon you.

Alhamdulillah, Allah blessed us to listen and go over the first ten verses of Sūrah al-Kahf last Tuesday. And alhamdulillah, this Tuesday we will be covering the last ten āyāt. I ask Allah that He grant all of us tawfīq to benefit from this lesson. And make you and I from amongst those who are always committed to the recitation of these first and last ten verses. And may He allow us to be from amongst those whose families are also committed — whose children and generations are committed to reading, memorisation, and pondering and practising on the themes of this powerful sūrah.

Also, a lot of discussion around the connection between this sūrah and Dajjāl was covered last week. So I encourage those who didn't get a chance to listen to the first part to most definitely listen to that. The purpose of both sessions is to rekindle within the Ummah the genuine connection with these powerful twenty verses of Sūrah al-Kahf — which are the only verses of the Qur'ān that the Prophet ﷺ has prescribed as a treatment, or rather a defensive shield, from the worst trial and the biggest test that humanity will ever face. And so our connection with the themes of this sūrah is of utmost importance. We hope Allah makes all of us du'āt and ambassadors of this sūrah. And may He make each and every one of us from amongst those who are benefiting from the blessings and the barakāt of this sūrah. Allāhumma Āmīn.

Recitation & Translation of the Last Ten Verses

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ. بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ.

"And on that day We shall bring Hell to the disbelievers on display." — عَرَضْنَا means display. We will bring it on to display. جَهَنَّمَ يَوْمَئِذٍ — on that day. لِّلْكَافِرِينَ — to the disbelievers. عَرْضًا is a repetition for emphasis — Jahannam will be fully on display.

"Those whose eyes were shrouded in a veil against My remembrance, and they were not able to hear." — Who are the disbelievers that Jahannam will be on display for? For those whose eyes were shrouded in a veil of unbelief — وَكَانُوا لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ سَمْعًا — nor were they able to hear. These disbelievers, their eyes were shrouded from seeing the signs of Allah's remembrance while they were alive in this dunyā. Meanwhile there were so many signs of Allah's greatness — the ākhirah, Jannah, Jahannam, taqdīr, angels. There are so many signs. But there are some people who see them and some people who don't. So the kuffār are the people whose eyes are shrouded in a veil of unbelief from seeing those very clear signs of Allah while they're alive. And nor were they able to even hear — from the Qur'ān directly or from the Prophets. So both their eyes and ears were blocked.

"Do those who disbelieve think that they may take My servants as patrons apart from Me? Indeed, We have prepared Hell for the disbelievers as a hospitality." — حَسِبَ means to think. Allah sarcastically calls Jahannam "hospitality" — that it will always be available for them.

"Say: Shall We inform you of the greatest losers with respect to deeds?" — قُلْ means say. هَلْ نُنَبِّئُكُم — Shall we tell you? Shall we inform you? بِالْأَخْسَرِينَ أَعْمَالًا — about the greatest losers. Not in terms of money, but in terms of deeds.

"Those whose striving is lost in the life of this world, while they think they are doing the most excellent work." — سَعْيُهُمْ means striving. ضَلَّ — strayed. Their striving has strayed away from Allah's path. وَهُمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُمْ يُحْسِنُونَ صُنْعًا — And they think they are doing excellent work. They're not just doing work — they're doing amazing work, in their own estimation.

"Those are the ones who have disbelieved in the signs of their Lord and in the meeting with Him. Thus their deeds are rendered utterly futile, and We shall not give them any weight on the Day of Resurrection." — حَبِطَ means to be rendered futile, useless. All their good deeds are rendered utterly futile if you don't believe in meeting Allah and in the Day of Judgment. فَلَا نُقِيمُ لَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَزْنًا — We shall not give them on the Day of Judgment any weight. All of their good deeds will lose significance and be turned into zero.

"That shall be their recompense — Hell — because they disbelieved and took My signs and My messengers in mockery." — Because you thought this was all a joke, you thought Allah's signs were a joke, you thought His messengers were worthy of mockery — their recompense for that will be Jahannam.

"Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds — for them will be the Gardens of Paradise as a hospitality." — As is the sunnah of the Qur'ān, whenever Allah mentions Jahannam, He must mention Jannah. Whenever He mentions the disbelievers, He mentions the believers. So no one should ever lose hope. There is always the opportunity. Anyone who is listening, no matter how far he is — if he wants to change, alhamdulillah, the opportunity is there. Here, نُزُلًا is used for Jannah — the same word used sarcastically for Jahannam — but here it is true hospitality. Not just any Jannah, but Jannatul Firdaws will be waiting for them.

"Therein they shall abide forever, never desiring to be removed from it." — خَالِدِينَ is to stay in Jannah forever. They will never desire to be moved away. Every single other place — a person desires something else. That is the dunyā. A person is never fully content wherever he is, because there are always issues. But if a person's heart is connected with Allah and he makes his decisions of happiness based on the condition of his heart — alhamdulillah, wherever he is, he is a servant of Allah, under the roof of Allah, over the land of Allah, eating the rizq of Allah, living with the makhlūq of Allah. So wherever Allah places us, what difference does it make? That's exactly how the Awliyā live. Wherever you place them, they are alhamdulillah content, because they know they are not living a life of their own — they are living Allah's decree. And who am I to be upset with Allah's decree? If Allah has decreed this, then fine. If Allah is happy, then I am happy.

"Say: If the sea were ink for the words of my Lord, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even if We brought the like of it as a supplement." — مِدَادًا means ink. كَلِمَاتِ رَبِّي — the words of my Lord. If the entire ocean were turned into ink to write Allah's praises, لَنَفِدَ الْبَحْرُ — most surely the sea would be depleted before Allah's words and praises would be depleted. وَلَوْ جِئْنَا بِمِثْلِهِ مَدَدًا — even if we were to bring replenishment equivalent to all the oceans.

"Say: I am only a human being like you. It is revealed to me that your God is only one God. So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous deeds and not associate anyone in the worship of his Lord." — إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ — I am only a human being like you. فَمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا — So whoever has hope for the meeting of his Lord in the hereafter, let him do righteous deeds. وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا — And let him not associate anyone in the worship of his Lord. This brings us to the conclusion of these last ten āyāt.

Commentary & Lessons

The Final Ten Verses: Scenes from the Hereafter

Now let us, inshā'Allah, go over some of the details related to these verses. We ask Allah to allow us to focus on those points which are most important and most relevant for all of us.

In this āyah, Allah is speaking about how Jahannam will be presented on the Day of Judgment. It's a big jump from the first ten to the last ten. Allah mentions the four stories and the themes of Sūrah al-Kahf. And after finishing up with Dhul Qarnayn and the intoxication of power — and SubhānAllah, this is exactly what's happening today — people really think that just because Allah has given them, by His own will, some strength and power to use certain means, that they become a demigod. They think they can do anything they want.

So Allah ends this sūrah with these final ten verses. If you notice, it's all about the Ākhirah. It's about scenes from the Hereafter. It's about the Day of Judgment. It's about Jannah and Jahannam. And that is the most important part of our existence — the yaqīn on what's happening in the Hereafter. If there is yaqīn on the Hereafter, then our actions will be different.

The Prophet ﷺ has mentioned that you should have a friend who has three qualities:

(Reported by Ibn Mājah and others; attributed to the Prophet ﷺ or to 'Umar ibn al-Khattāb رضي الله عنه)

When you look at him, you remember Allah. When he speaks, your knowledge increases. And when you look at his actions, you are reminded of the Ākhirah.

Divorce has become very common today. You can see a lot of dhulm happening. The one who does not truly believe in the Ākhirah — you see it very clearly in a divorce, because a person thinks the only court is the court of this world. And the court of the Ākhirah — "we'll see when it comes." Right now it's about my vengeance, my rights, my perceived rights.

When business dealings go bad, when you hear of these things, then you're not surprised why Allah is sending punishment after punishment upon us. How horrible our business dealings have become — the cheating, the deception happening right under our noses, in our own community. It's really heartbreaking. Wallahi, of the things that baffles me — that a person could still have the guts to walk around, not scared that punishment will come — a person who calls himself a Muslim, prays salāh, and then cheats to that extent. Not just stealing people's money, but for example, in the business of restaurants and meat — people knowingly take what is regarded as harām and sell it as halāl, because they want to make a few extra dollars per pound. Do not think this is not happening. This is happening far more than you would imagine.

It's very obvious that the one who truly believes in the Ākhirah cannot do these things. We have mistaken the veneer of Islām for the haqīqah of Īmān — the reality of Īmān — and these are two separate things. Let us not deceive ourselves by looking at our external appearance as Muslims, or the fact that we're counted in the Muslim census, to think that we have Īmān in our hearts.

What is Īmān? Īmān that is mu'tabar and accepted is that which keeps you away from harām. When the Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever recites Lā ilāha illAllāh with ikhlas will enter Jannah," they said, "Yā Rasūlallāh, what does ikhlas of the kalimah mean?" He said:

(Reported in Musnad al-Bazzār and attributed to a narration of the Prophet ﷺ)

"That it holds him back from what Allah has made harām." Then your kalimah counts. If the kalimah does not hold a person back from harām, then — just like a parrot saying the kalimah — the reality is not there.

So today this is a serious issue. Before we look at everyone else, let's look at ourselves. To what degree is Īmān present in my heart? How many times do I say the kalimah, but do I genuinely understand that I have to meet Allah? And this is why these are the topics of the last ten āyāt of Sūrah al-Kahf. If someone focuses on these concepts, and reads them, memorises them, and thinks about them every day, inshā'Allah, he will be protected from falling into the largest fitnahs of today. Because every time he thinks of doing something, he will remember: the day will come when I have to face Allah.

The Hadith of Hanzalah: The Proof of True Īmān

What is the Īmān that you and I need to be aspiring to have? A Sahābī — the Prophet ﷺ saw him one morning and said:

"O Hanzalah, how are you? How is your Īmān today?" He replied:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2750)

"I have woken up with true Īmān, alhamdulillah." The Prophet ﷺ said, "Every statement has a proof. What is your proof?" Just listen to this — we should all get goosebumps. He is telling Rasūlullāh ﷺ the proof of his Īmān.

He said — number one:

"My heart is disinclined from the material things of this world. I don't desire things." Zarūrat — yes, you have a need, you fulfil your needs. But coming out of this past weekend, let's ask ourselves: how many things did I purchase that I didn't need? That I desired but didn't need?

Number two:

"I remain thirsty during the day" — meaning I fast. The Ayyām al-Bīd are coming up. And with the winter months, it is very easy for us to fast regularly. Those who have qadhā fasts to make up from previous Ramadhān — especially our sisters — this is a great time to do that.

Number three:

"I stay awake at night" — obviously in Qiyāmul Layl and Tahajjud.

Then three things are happening to him as a result. Number one:

"It is as though I can see the Throne of my Rahmān being brought forth on the Day of Judgment."

Number two: "It is as though I can see the people of Jannah visiting one another in Jannah." Number three:

"And it is as though I can hear the screaming and the shrieking of the people of Jahannam." So he did three things, and Allah rewarded him with three things. He distanced his heart from material things, he fasted by day, he stayed awake at night — and he began tasting the sweetness of Īmān in this world, such that Allah started removing the veils of the Ākhirah right here.

Tell me — if someone can see all three of these things, as real as they are to him — how can he sin? Why would he not wake up for Tahajjud? Why would he ever cheat somebody? Why would he ever lie? Why would he oppress someone?

The Prophet ﷺ looked at him and said:

"Yes, you are right. This is a believer whose heart has been enlightened with the Nūr of Īmān." He gave him the certificate. So this is what you and I need to be working towards. And these are the 'alāmāt of Īmān. The sign of Īmān is that materialism is out of the heart. This is exactly the crux of this entire sūrah — faith versus materialism.

The Presentation of Jahannam on the Day of Judgment

This last āyah focuses on the concept of the Ākhirah and preparation for Yawmul Qiyāmah. Dear respected dads, moms, teachers, and educators — the most important thing we have to teach our young ones is this: the discussion of Īmān. The discussion of Ghayb. All the time.

Allah is saying that Jahannam will be brought onto display. So today, when you are faced with a hundred-thousand-dollar fine unless you do something harām — if you're faced with some embarrassment, or some loss, unless you do something harām — always think: I may save myself from this small loss of dunyā, but how will I face Jahannam? I would rather endure a little difficulty now than face the hellfire.

The Prophet ﷺ has mentioned in a hadith of Sahīh Muslim:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2842)

On the Day of Judgment, Jahannam will be brought. It will have seventy thousand chains. With every chain, seventy thousand angels pulling it. Just do the math. And you know seventy in Arabic often denotes a large number, to show the immensity of what's happening. That is how angry Jahannam will be — it will be wanting to engulf everything. And the angels will be holding it back.

Allah speaks about this presentation in many places:

"And on the day when those who disbelieve are presented to the Fire — is this not the truth? They will say: Yes, by our Lord! He will say: Then taste the punishment because of what you used to disbelieve." Allāhu Akbar.

From amongst the many names of Jahannam, one of them is يَوْمُ الْعَرْضِ الْأَكْبَرِ — the Day of the Greatest Presentation. What a name. You're being presented in front of Allah, and Jahannam and Jannah are being presented to us.

"If only you could see when they are made to stand over the Fire, and they say: How we wish we could be sent back, and not belie the signs of our Lord, and we could be from amongst the believers." Everyone who sees Jahannam will wish he had another life. But Allah says:

"And if they were returned, they would certainly go back to what they were forbidden from. And indeed they are liars." Allah says: this is just chatter. If you were actually given a chance to go back to the dunyā, I know who you are. After seeing Jahannam with your own eyes, you would go back to your old ways as soon as you returned to the dunyā.

So now we wonder — when a person goes through an accident, how he makes tawbah? When a person is caught in a scandal, when a person is in some musībah, how he makes tawbah? How many times, when we were suffering in our lives, we ran to the masjid, or we ran to the mawlānā or imām sāhib? And no sooner did those issues get resolved — the masjid was never seen again until the next problem. This is the fitrah of human beings. Unless you make an effort against it — when musībah comes, you say, Yā Allah, I will never do this again. But when Allah saves you from that problem, you go back right to your ways.

This is something we have to fight against in our own nafs. We have to keep talking about Jannah and Jahannam. Keep speaking about this, visit graveyards, visit hospitals, look at people's situations, read the hadith of Jannah and Jahannam.

Jahannam is not very popular — people don't speak about it much. And honestly, does our society look like a society scared of Jahannam? It looks like a society that doesn't even believe in the Ākhirah. The fact is that the discussion of Jahannam has left our conversations at home. And some people use it only to threaten others with it. But Jahannam is not something to threaten others with — it is for you to threaten your own nafs. This is what the Salaf did. They kept on speaking to themselves, saying: this is where you will go if you do not repent.

Contentment About Īmān Is a Sign of Hypocrisy

There is such a high level of false contentment about Īmān today — people think they will never lose their Īmān and get insulted when you even raise the topic. And yet the Prophet ﷺ says:

(Reported by Ibn Abī Shaybah and others; attributed to a statement of the Salaf)

Only a munāfiq feels content and safe about his Īmān. Only a hypocrite says, "I'm set, nothing is going to happen to me." And only a true believer will constantly be afraid of losing his Īmān. If this was the condition in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, imagine how much fear we should have when we see what's happening today.

Ghafla — Heedlessness: The Sickness of Our Age

الَّذِينَ كَانَتْ أَعْيُنُهُمْ فِي غِطَاءٍ عَن ذِكْرِي — Who are the people heading towards Jahannam? You can sum up this verse with one word: ghafla. Heedlessness. A life of heedlessness is a life where a person seems deaf, dumb, and blind — unable to see and unwilling to hear.

Ghafla is a killer. You remember the example of distracted driving? That's ghafla. Whether you are speaking to your passenger, texting, or picking something off the floor — a quick Google search will show you: how many seconds of distraction are sufficient to cause a fatal accident? It's not seconds. It is a fraction of a second. A tenth, a twentieth, a thirtieth of a second. That is how dangerous ghafla is.

So imagine a person leading his life — fifty, sixty years of heedlessness. How can his rūhāniyyah survive? It will not survive. He will perish spiritually. That is what we are suffering from across the globe. And it is not only the abundance of money — even the simple desire for more, that creates ghafla. Some are running after power. Some are running after name and fame.

This morning I had a conversation with a person who is, māshā'Allah, doing great work for the Muslims. He was sharing behind closed doors what's happening within some of the largest Muslim organisations of which he is part. And it's heartbreaking — at a time when we are on the defensive, and there are massive attacks on our deen and our organisations in this country, there is no conversation happening. No meetings are being called. Weddings carry on. Cars are purchased. Schools carry on. Everyone is in their own dunyā. And even in this circumstance, he was telling me, we're not able to do anything because of ego. Every organisation is saying: my organisation should get the credit. Where is my name going to be? Can I have voting rights on this? This is what is being argued about in this situation.

When the nafs comes in, a person misses the big picture. My beloved brothers — none of us should be committed to an organisation. We are committed to Allah and His Rasūl ﷺ. Our goal is not to push an organisation. If the organisation fulfils its purpose, māshā'Allah. But if someone else is doing better work at that time, support them. The masājid need to support one another. The Islamic schools need to support one another. The seminaries and madāris need to support one another. This is not the time to sit and speak ill of others.

No matter what type of dīnī khidmat a person is doing — if islāh of the nafs is not made, if tarbiyah is not done, if we do not work with the mashwarah of someone senior to us — we will become a slave of our own selves. And that will destroy everything. Once the ego comes in and Shaytān comes in, there is nothing left. One after another, Islamic organisations are being attacked not externally but internally.

We cannot fix the world's problems without fixing our own hearts and souls. First, work on this. Every one of us must take responsibility for making islāh of themselves. Then, inshā'Allah, whatever small work we do will be effective.

I encourage all those who are here — create a positive environment wherever you go. Please do not speak ill of any masjid, any school, any institution. At the end of the day, these are all ours. If you disagree with how something is being run, do not go on a Google review and write about it. Instead, go meet that person in person. Take a gift, say you need to meet. When you come with a gift and take some time, they will realise: this person is a well-wisher. He is here to help me and be my partner.

And this verse speaks about the quality of the people of Jahannam being ghafla. How do you remove ghafla? Ghafla is removed through the dhikr of Allah. It removes the veils. There is nothing more powerful to save you from Allah's punishment than the dhikr of Allah. As the scholars say: every single thing has something to remove its rust. And the way to remove the rust from the hearts is the dhikr of Allah.

Ibn Qayyim's Three Places to Check Your Heart

Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullāh says:

"Seek out your heart in three places: when you are listening to the Qur'ān, in gatherings where Allah's name is taken, and in times of seclusion and privacy when you are alone." Check your heart in these three situations. If in all three you do not find your heart interested, alive, and engaged — if the Qur'ān is being recited and you feel nothing; if in a gathering of dhikr you feel like you are sitting on thorns; if when you are alone you feel anxious without your phone — then Ibn al-Qayyim says:

"Then ask Allah to grant you a heart, because you do not have a heart." Your soul has died.

So my dear moms and dads — when you want to know how good a tarbiyah you are giving your son or daughter, check these three situations. Are they getting anxious, antsy? They don't want to sit for Qur'ān, they don't want to sit in a gathering of bayān and dhikr, they don't want to sit in seclusion because they're bored? Or are they alhamdulillah content? If they're not content, we need to start working on the foundations of their faith. The school cannot do this alone.

A Story of a Young Worshipper & the Power of Dhikr

The Prophet ﷺ mentioned a beautiful story, as recorded in Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr. There was a young man who was making ibādah in a mosque. A woman fell in love with him and began pursuing him:

Until he almost entered her house with her. The people who are getting closer to Allah — those are the ones Shaytān will go after. Remember this. Wherever there is dīnī effort, that is exactly where Shaytān is camped out. That is his customer.

But then this young man remembered this āyah:

"Indeed, those who have taqwā — whenever a طَائِفٌ from Shaytān touches them — طَائِفٌ being something that goes round and round you, the shaitānī waswasā that surrounds you — they immediately remember Allah. فَإِذَا هُم مُّبْصِرُونَ — and then all of a sudden they gain foresight." This is from the last page of Sūrat al-A'rāf. Even the people of taqwā get surrounded by Shaytān — it is right there in the verse of the Qur'ān. But when they do, they engage in dhikr, and they immediately understand: this is a trick.

So he remembered this āyah:

He fell down unconscious. He regained consciousness. He repeated this āyah again. And then he passed away. 'Umar رضي الله عنه came, saw the young man had died, went and offered condolences to his father. He learned the man had been buried at night while 'Umar was unaware. So he went and prayed over his grave with those who were with him. Then 'Umar called out to him in the grave:

"O young man — 'And for whoever feared the standing before his Lord, there are two gardens.'" And the young man responded from inside the grave:

(Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr, under Sūrat al-Kahf)

"O 'Umar — indeed my Lord has already given both of them to me." This is from Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr. So this is where we need to work towards. The dhikr and remembrance of Allah is what will keep us strong in moments like this.

I encourage all of us to make a commitment — along with your morning and evening adhkār — of at least 500 times daily saying Allāh, Allāh, Allāh silently. At least 100 times after every salāh, or 500 times in one sitting, with focus. The key thing is focus. Do not take Allah's name with heedlessness and ghafla — that is even worse. Focus, even 100 times, is very powerful. And please bring this into our children's lives.

Do Not Trust Creation — Trust Only Allah

In this āyah — أَفَحَسِبَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا — Allah mentions how the disbelievers are in the delusion that they can trust and bank on people besides Allah. One of the pious predecessors said:

"For everything that you part from, there is something to make up for it. However, if you part from Allah, there is absolutely no replacement." Do not trust creation. If you part from Allah, there is no replacement whatsoever.

There is someone who might hear the story of 'Umar رضي الله عنه and the young man answering from the grave, and say: "How can a dead man answer from the grave? I don't believe this." This is a problem. And it is the biggest disease — that a person makes his own senses and intellect the decider of what is right and wrong. This sums up the fitna we face today. We live in such an era of materialism that our minds are fixated on cause and effect, and we think that without a physical cause, an effect cannot happen.

Without realising that the actual causer is Allah — مُسَبِّبُ الأَسْبَابِ is Allah. He has placed the physical cause in this dunyā as His sunnah. But He definitely does not need it. Who said that in order to quench your thirst, you need water? Who said in order to feel fresh, you need sleep? Who said you need medication for a cure? Allah can do whatever He wants, whenever He wants, howsoever He wants — with, without, or against the physical cause you are accustomed to seeing. This yaqīn we must have.

And this is a very important theme of Sūrah al-Kahf. How did those people live in those caves for 300-plus years without eating, drinking, or — rather, while sleeping, they lived? Beloved brothers — speak about miracles at home. Mention the mu'jizāt of the Anbiyā' mentioned in the Qur'ān and hadith. Mention the miracles mentioned in hadith concerning the Sahābah. Speak about them so much that our yaqīn becomes strong — that this miracle can happen to me too.

I'll tell you — today two people messaged me, about completely different situations, both involving severe and unexplainable physical attacks on their bodies. In both cases, as soon as they turned towards 'amal — sadaqah, adhkār, and Qur'ānic ruqyah — alhamdulillah, the symptoms vanished completely. The way they came, that is the way they went. Who will be able to do this? The one who has yaqīn. And we have to build this yaqīn in our children, in ourselves, in our spouses.

Otherwise, we are restricting Allah's qudrah and power. And Allah will treat us based on what we think of Him. If we think of Allah as weak, Allah will not be with us. If we think of Allah as the Most Powerful, the Most Capable, then anything can happen.

One wrong statement — no matter how many hours of bayān — can ruin the yaqīn built over hundreds of hours. When we come out of a court case and say "If it wasn't for that lawyer, we would never have won" — that is shirk. When we come out of the hospital and say "Thank God we had that surgeon — if it wasn't for him, we'd be in trouble" — what kind of statement is this? Attribute all success only and solely to Allah. Do not attribute it to any means. Because if you attribute it to the means, you are saying Allah needed this. That is not the case. Allah could have caused our death through that same doctor, if He had willed — and unfortunately, that does happen.

So this yaqīn must be rectified. This is a constant effort.

The Greatest Losers — Those Who Waste Their Striving

Now who are the greatest losers? Allah says the biggest loser is the one who leads his life in useless things — spending all his effort on something — while the entire time thinking he is doing something beneficial. Allah says: no, he is actually off Allah's path. And unfortunately, because he thinks he is doing something good, he doesn't even repent.

The 'ulamā have said this āyah may refer to four categories. Number one — Ahlul Ahwā: the people who follow their desires. Number two — the one who is kind to someone and then boasts his favours — مَن يَصْطَنِعُ الْمَعْرُوفَ وَيَمُنُّ عَلَيْهِ. Number three — الْمُنَافِقُونَ بِأَعْمَالِهِمُ الْمُخَالِفُونَ بِاعْتِقَادِهِمْ — those whose actions and beliefs do not align, who do one thing outwardly but believe something else in their hearts. And lastly — those who run after the dunyā and turn their backs to the Hereafter.

We have to ensure we do not fall into any of these categories by constantly making tawbah and asking Allah: Yā Allah, I hope I am not making a mistake. Otherwise, a person didn't enjoy his dunyā and he didn't get his ākhirah — what a loss.

One of the beautiful statements of the 'ulamā: "Present your actions and your Īmān in front of the Qur'ān and the hadith — i.e. the stories of the Sahābah and the stories of Rasūlullāh ﷺ — and then you will realise whether you have Īmān or nifāq." None of us should think we are definitely on the right path. All of us should say اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ — tens of times a day — and mean it. Do I actually realise what I am asking Allah for?

The Story of Mawlana Ilyas & the Danger of Istidraj

We spoke about Mawlānā Ilyās rahimahullāh. On his deathbed, he was so scared of the Ākhirah — how is he going to face Allah? What if he wasted his life? Can you imagine? After everything, as he is dying, he is scared: what if Allah disregards my effort? What if I did something that Allah and His Rasūl did not want me to do?

The 'ulamā around him started saying: "Mawlānā, don't worry, inshā'Allah, Allah will accept your efforts. Do you not see the amazing results? Look at how many people have come towards the deen because of your efforts. Look at the millions of people across the globe." His response? He said: "How do I know? Maybe this is istidRāj."

What is istidRāj? It is what Allah says He does with the disbelievers — making them think that their favourable conditions mean Allah is pleased with them, when in reality it is an entrapment, to get them deeper into their problems:

"And those who denied Our signs — We will gradually lead them to ruin from where they do not know." Allah slowly brings them down towards the hellfire in a manner they don't even realise. Naturally they are supposed to realise and make tawbah. But if they keep their eyes and ears closed, what can be done?

Mawlānā Ilyās was so filled with ikhlas that he feared the successes he was seeing — people coming to the masjid, to the madrasa, lives changing — might actually not be real success, but might be istidRāj from Allah making it seem like success so that he falls into a huge pit. This is the sign of ikhlas — to belittle our own effort. To negate ourselves from every occasion. Not to say as you receive an award: "Honestly, I didn't do anything." No. Genuinely crying: "I don't know what you are doing — I don't deserve this. I deserve no recognition. I didn't do this. Allah did all of this."

If anyone desires recognition, ikhlas has walked out the door. The 'ulamā and the Sahābah and the Tābi'een used to hide their good deeds more than we hide our sins. Imagine if you had a group of sincere people — all of our organisations would thrive. The reason organisations do not thrive is because everyone wants the main share. That is an iblīsī trait. Organisations will thrive not based on how good the marketing is, or the budget, or the bylaws — number one, it will be judged by ikhlas. As long as everyone within that organisation has ikhlas, Allah will make everything fall into place.

We went to one organisation in South Africa — a very beautiful, powerful, well-known effort. The brother giving us the tour shared something that shook us. This organisation did so much good work that it became very well-known, and people started donating large sums of money. The elders who founded it said: "We don't know how to handle all this money — we know how to do the work. Let us bring new people to run the financial side." And then money corrupted. Ego corrupted. In that very office where we were sitting, Muslims versus Muslims — guns were drawn, the founders were confronted, expensive lawsuits followed, it was covered in all the newspapers. It cost millions. All that khair and barakah went down because of money and ego. Money is not the maqsūd. When money becomes the purpose, intentions change, ego comes in, and the whole organisation gets destroyed.

May Allah protect all of us from ostentation and riyā'. May Allah protect us from the love of the dunyā. And may Allah allow all of us to focus intensely on this sūrah.

Īmān Must Be Accompanied by Righteous Deeds

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ — Wherever Allah speaks about Īmān, He speaks about righteous deeds. It is not possible that a person says "Alhamdulillah, I have strong Īmān" but does not do good deeds. It doesn't make sense. If Īmān is truly there, it will force you to do good deeds. Not possible that a person says "I have strong Īmān, but I don't pray. Strong Īmān, but I don't fast." That Īmān is not the Īmān the Qur'ān is speaking about.

The Qur'ān itself says:

"And if you were to ask them who created the heavens and the earth, they would most certainly say: Allah." Even many of the kuffār of Mecca knew this and said it openly. So knowledge alone is not sufficient. There is nobody who knows better than Iblīs. How can we ever compare to his knowledge? He has seen it all. And yet — seeing is not what counts. Knowing is not what counts. It is belief that translates into action.

Such people who have Īmān and do righteous deeds — Jannatul Firdaws will be waiting for them as hospitality. They will remain therein forever, never wishing to be removed. Ibn 'Abbās says: just like a man who does not like a house wants to move away — not like that. The people of Jannah will stay there forever.

A caller will call out — as mentioned in a hadith of Sahīh Muslim:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2837)

"Indeed, you will always remain healthy, never to become sick. Indeed, you will remain alive, never to die. Indeed, you will remain young, never to grow old. Indeed, you will enjoy a luxurious life, never to have any difficulty."

The Qur'ān — A Book That Never Grows Old

What is the meaning of كَلِمَاتِ رَبِّي? Either it means the Qur'ān itself — because:

No matter how much you repeat the Qur'ān, it never becomes old. There is no other book that someone can say — "I've read it hundreds of times, thousands of times, and as soon as I finish I start again." With now roughly two and a half months left until Ramadhān, all of us who have not completed our reading this year — most definitely this is the time to get started again, with a niyyah that we will never allow months to go by without reading, but will continuously recite. And:

"Its unique amazing secrets never come to an end, and the scholars never seem to have enough of it." Every single week or month, a new publication of a tafsīr comes out. 'Ulamā are constantly spending time bringing out the gems from the Qur'ān.

The second meaning of كَلِمَاتِ رَبِّي is the 'ilm of Allah — the knowledge of Allah — which never comes to an end. As Allah also says in Sūrat Luqmān:

"And if all the trees on earth were pens, and the sea were ink, with seven more seas to replenish it — the words of Allah would not be exhausted." Allah is infinite in every sense. So for Allah to take care of my little affair is easy. Very, very easy. We are the ones who have lost our hope and trust in Allah.

One person told me a beautiful story. A Shaykh was approached by a group of villagers. They said: "We are suffering a drought. We have gone out repeatedly to perform Salātul Istisqā in the field, hoping Allah will send down the rain, but it is not coming. What should we do?" The Shaykh looked at the whole group and said: "Where are your umbrellas?" They said they didn't bring umbrellas. He said: "That is the problem. You never brought your umbrellas because you never really thought the rain would come. And when you don't think the rain will come because of your du'ā, then why should it come? Because Allah will treat you based on what you think of Him."

This is the crux. Make du'ā with the conviction that Allah is definitely going to answer. How will He not? I am asking Him. There is no other door. It is only His door. Allah will give me — immediately, or later, or He will remove a difficulty coming my way, or elevate my status in Jannah. Whatever He chooses. But Allah will give me. If we do not build this yaqīn, then Allah will not give us what we need.

Say: I Am Only a Human Being — The Final Verse

In the last āyah, Allah says: O Muhammad ﷺ, say to them — at the end of the day, you are bashar, you are a human being. But not just like any human being. Sayyid Abul Hasan al-Shādhilī رحمه الله mentions that he once said in a gathering: "Muhammad is a human, but not like other humans — rather he is like a gem amongst rocks and stones." He said Rasūlullāh ﷺ appeared to him in a dream and said:

"Allah has forgiven you for this statement, and whoever has said it with you." That is why Imām al-Shādhilī رحمه الله used to say this in every gathering until he died. SubhānAllāh.

So he is a human being, but not like any other — special. And what is it? I have received revelation that indeed your God is only one God. Whoever hopes for the meeting of his Lord, let him do righteous deeds and not commit any shirk. What does this mean? Whoever looks forward to meeting Allah — one meaning is meeting Allah in this dunyā. As the hadith says: if you perform nawāfil, Allah becomes your eyes through which you see, your ears through which you hear, your hands through which you touch, your feet through which you walk. You begin to do everything that Allah wants. That is one way of meeting Allah. And the second and more obvious meaning — whoever is looking forward to meeting Allah in the Ākhirah — let him do righteous deeds and ensure there is not even the slightest amount of shirk and ostentation and riyā'. It must be completely sincere.

One Sahābī once told Rasūlullāh ﷺ that he likes to pray a long salāh to please Allah, but also, if someone sees him — well, it's also nice. At this, the Prophet ﷺ stayed quiet. And after some time, he shared this verse with him — meaning: if you truly have expectations to meet Allah in a state that He is pleased with you, you must ensure there is not the slightest amount of shirk or ostentation or riyā'.

Sincerity is something most of us don't know if we have or not. We will only find out on the Day of Judgment. But many of us haven't even gone through a test of sincerity. The test of sincerity is when difficult things start happening and you continue what you were doing. When unfavourable conditions come, when people start treating you differently after all the good you've done — that is the test. We hope we don't get tested. But some people get tested like this and unfortunately fail. They say: how come this success is not being attributed to me? And the ego comes in.

Closing: A Commitment to Sūrah al-Kahf

May Allah make all of us du'āt and ambassadors of this sūrah. Every single day of our lives, let us make niyyah right now — if you have not done so — to memorise these last ten verses as soon as possible. To have every son and daughter of your household memorise them. To make your spouse memorise them. And inshā'Allah, make a habit of reading them every single day. You want to give your kids a gift? Tell them: a hundred dollars if you memorise this. It will save you, trust me, thousands of problems. It will save you tears of blood. If your kids read this every day, it will save you and me tears of blood. This is the power of these āyāt.

For those who missed the first session, please do listen to it. The Prophet ﷺ spoke about reading the opening verses of Sūrat al-Kahf if you come face to face with Dajjāl — no other sūrah, no other verses have been mentioned for this. The Dajjālī things are happening today. And I am not only speaking about eighteen and nineteen-year-olds who are doing alarming things. I am even speaking about four-year-olds, three-year-olds, two-year-olds, who act in ways absolutely unlike the past — the level of audacity, the guts, the disrespect, the carefreeness. Don't call it cute. This is Dajjāl. That's what this is. When a child can do something at two, three, four, five like this — imagine when he becomes fifty. So Sūrat al-Kahf is not only for elders. It is for the youngsters too.

Those of us who have a say in other masājid, who are active there — I encourage you to get other masājid to also start reciting the first ten and the last ten. After Fajr, after 'Ishā, after Maghrib. Create a habit. Print it on cards. Whatever you can. Push people. Encourage people. Make this something that we all become ambassadors of.

Du'ā

O Allah, we ask You to protect our masjid, our madrasa, our students, our volunteers, our musallīs, our patrons, our well-wishers, and all those connected to us in any way — by protecting all of them from any and all evil effects of their own sins, of their nafs, O Allah — and the evil effects of Shaytān, O Allah — and the evils of this era. O Allah, grant them all hifāzah and protection. O Allah, allow us all to lead a life that is in accordance with how You want us to live, and in accordance with how Rasūlullāh ﷺ has taught us.

We ask You, O Allah, to grant us all the fulfilment of our permissible desires and our needs. Grant shifā to all those who are sick in our homes. O Allah, grant hidāyah to all those who have gone astray. O Allah, we ask You to grant us all halāl, mubārak rizq — O Allah, halāl rizq with barakah and 'āfiyah. O Allah, grant us shifā from our physical, spiritual, emotional, and psychological illnesses. O Allah, keep our hearts united and allow us to be connected to Your house. O Allah, allow us to be connected to circles of knowledge throughout our lives. O Allah, whoever has a right upon us, whoever has asked us to pray for them — O Allah, we ask You to grant them the best of both worlds and fulfil all of their needs.

Inshā'Allah, Muftī Ibn Hajj will continue from next week, alhamdulillah, and we have completed these two sessions. He will continue from the 30th Juz.