Reflect & Connect | Surah Ahqaf - Ep.06 - Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed | 02/18

Turning to Allah in Times of Difficulty

Which one will get your job done quicker? The owner, right? So, a veterinarian dealing with a dangerous dog — what's he gonna do? He's not gonna speak to the dog, he's gonna speak to the owner. So this is, subhanAllah, the idea that Allah has His dogs all over the world. Every one of them — some of them are big dogs, some of them are small dogs — but they're dogs. And they belong to who? Allah. They belong to Allah.

The worst you say — this fulan khabees, fulan dog, fulan this, whatever you say — by the end of the day, this is a creation of Allah. He cannot harm you in the least without the permission of Allah. So instead of trying to pick a fight with people, you lay out your problems in front of Allah and say, Ya Allah, this person is hurting me, this person is doing this.

That's what the Prophet ﷺ said: "To You I complain of my weakness, my inability to plan properly, and how I am being mistreated and taken lightly by the people of Ta'if."

So this is a principle we're supposed to bring into our lives — that no matter how tough the problem may seem, understand that there is a creator of that problem, and that creator is Allah. Turn to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and you will see that your problem will be destroyed. This is what we learn.

The Purpose of Reflection in the Qur'an

So the purpose that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions — these repeated اذكر، اذكر — is that whatever situation you're going through, reflect on the Qur'an and you'll find some answer to it.

There's a saying: السَّعِيدُ مَنْ وُعِظَ بِغَيْرِهِ — I think it's a saying, not a hadith — that the lucky person is the one who takes heed from someone else. The Qur'an is a book of lessons.

The Nine Commandments — A Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ

The Prophet ﷺ said, in a hadith related by Razeem:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 22166; also reported by al-Tabarani)

Allah has ordered me for nine things that I command you and encourage you to do:

Number one: أَوْصَانِي بِالْإِخْلَاصِ فِي السِّرِّ وَالْعَلَانِيَةِ — He has asked me to be sincere in public and in private. It's easy to be sincere in public; much harder to be sincere in private.

Number two: وَالْعَدْلِ فِي الرِّضَى وَالْغَضَبِ — To be just when you're happy, that's not too hard. But to be just when you're angry — that's hard. To be just when you're happy as well as when you're angry.

Number three: وَالْقَصْدِ فِي الْفَقْرِ وَالْغِنَى — To lead a life of moderation, whether you are poor or wealthy. While you have a lot of wealth, at the time of abundance, to follow the middle path — moderation is something we've been asked.

Number four: وَأَنْ أُعْطِيَ مَنْ حَرَمَنِي — To give to the one who deprives you, that's hard. وَأَعْفُوَ عَمَّنْ ظَلَمَنِي — To forgive the one who has oppressed you is hard.

Number five and six: وَأَنْ يَكُونَ نُطْقِي ذِكْرًا وَصَمْتِي فِكْرًا — And to have my speech be the remembrance of Allah, and my silence be fikr — reflection. You're thinking about the big picture. You're thinking about the Akhirah. You're thinking about how to become a means of guiding people, how to help people who are in distress or in need. So you are silent, and you're not lost in your own thoughts — you're lost in the thoughts of the ummah. When you speak, it's the remembrance of Allah. When you're silent, you're thinking about big things, important things. SubhanAllah.

And lastly — why I shared this hadith — وَنَظَرِي عِبْرَةً — and allow your glance to be a source of picking up lessons. Wherever you're looking, pick up a lesson, pick up a lesson.

Learning Lessons from History

When you read a newspaper, when you read yesterday's news, today's news — sometimes it's good to see a documentary, a report, or an article on some of the biggest tyrants of the past century, who killed 20 million people, 24 million people — one man. 15 million people — one man. What happened to their endings? How could the people not think that they're God? The type of power that they had — where are they now? And many of them, or almost all of them, died the most miserable death. Sometimes they killed themselves, sometimes they committed suicide.

That story of Namrud being killed by the mosquito repeats itself. My father was explaining how meningitis happens, and how there's that opening between the nose connected to the brain. And he said, maybe this is exactly what we call in modern-day terms — meningitis — where infection happens through the nose up into the brain, and he died. So that pattern continues to happen till today. You see these tyrants — Namrud, Qarun, Fir'aun are long gone — but you have those today, and they are also ending in the same way.

The Namruds, and the Qaruns, and the Hamans of the 20th century were destroyed. And the Namruds, Qaruns, and Hamans of the 21st century, and 22nd century, and 23rd century, will also go down the same way. But it's important to constantly remind ourselves — don't just read today's news. Read the news of the past century.

See — those people a century ago said:

"Who is stronger than us?" — The British Empire, where the sun never sets. What happened to it? Just reading what the Dutch did, what the British did, how Africa was colonized, what the French did — the type of oppression that happened — and then what happened to those massive so-called dynasties? Those people living under those dynasties at the time never imagined that they would be relegated to the little puppies they are today. They never imagined that. SubhanAllah.

So I want you to understand that we cannot just be reading today's news and get fazed by that. Read the reminders — the itibar — in the Qur'an. Allah is saying it. Why is He asking you to remember, to think, to consider? Because He wants you to understand that what goes around comes around. History repeats itself. It's a cycle.

Khashiyah vs. Khawf — Fear Through the Intellect

There is a difference between khawf and khashiyah. What are we supposed to have? Khashiyah of Allah. One explanation given is:

Khawf is when you see something and get afraid of it. If you don't see it, you're not afraid. You see a snake — I'm scared. If I don't see a snake, I feel nothing. Khashiyah is when you are afraid intellectually — through your 'aql you're thinking: if I don't do these things right, then in the future Allah will get upset with me. That's the khashiyah we're supposed to have.

Those who fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala while not seeing Him. Iman bil-ghayb is there. Khashiyah bil-ghayb is there. This is what is most rewarding.

One of the people who will be blessed to enjoy the shade of the throne of Allah tomorrow is the one:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 660; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1031)

The one who remembered Allah in seclusion and began to shed his tears. May Allah make all of us like that. May Allah make us among those people who just sit in a corner, thinking about Allah, and start crying. SubhanAllah. People sit there watching movies and cry. Watch reels and cry. Where are we going to have the people who think about Allah and cry? That is where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's reward will come in.

The World Today — Families and the Test of Trust

How many dads and moms today have reached out — just thinking about yesterday and today. Every day of the week, a father says: I don't know what to do with my 22-year-old. I don't know what to do with my 25-year-old. I don't know what to do with my 30-year-old. Locked up playing video games. Locked up in the basement. Allah forbid — drugs, alcohol, what not. Absolutely disrespectful. Pushing the mom, pushing the dad.

This is what I'm getting — before I even think about what happens after I die with my wealth — what am I seeing you doing right now, to me? This is the world. The level of backstabbing happening within the immediate family — between children and parents, between husband and wife. Allahu Akbar.

So this is the time for a person to remember Allah even more. Because the world is a very unforgiving, horrible place. Everyone is at all costs trying to get to the top, regardless of anything else. So now is the time to remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala even more.

The Rise of Atheism and the Cultural Dilution of Islam

If you see these so many other religions — why do they have huge numbers of adherents? And the biggest, fastest-growing ideology today? Atheism and agnosticism. The people want an identity and something to follow in which there are no rules. It's cultural. They can say, oh, I belong to a group — but do you have to do anything? No. I can do whatever I want. Everything is fine. It's just something to identify yourself with. It makes you feel part of a group. You can have special celebrations, special foods.

This is the fear, my brothers — what's happening to Ramadan. Ramadan, Allah forbid, is becoming a complete cultural thing, surrounded by what? Food. Suhoors and iftars and dinners and food, food, different types. If you think about Google Images — I share this every year, the same story, the same pain — Ramadan has become overwhelmingly associated with foods.

So you have all the Ramadan preparation events happening in our community — mashAllah, five to ten a week probably. What is the Ramadan preparation? Let's buy more clothes. Let's buy more foods. Let's buy frozen items. Let's place orders for catering. Where is the thought: Ramadan is coming — let's get into the mood of praying salah in the masjid. Let's get into the mood of fasting. Let's cut down how much we're eating. Let's give sadaqah. Let's figure out how we're going to support our poor relatives overseas and poor people across the world. Very little discussion of that. The preparation is all about food, food, food.

It's nauseating. People say, I got the Ramadan weight. Before you eat, you say, oh man, I gained 5 pounds, 10 pounds. In Islam, we should have shame saying this. How is my fast ever gonna get accepted? Front end — my scale is telling me I gained 10 pounds. Back end spiritually — forget that. Front end — how is it possible that I fasted and I gained 10 pounds? What type of situation have we created?

This is with the abundance of restaurants, and shops, and coffee shops all around us — which of course has a lot of pros, because you have halal food. But the issue is when you identify that with Islam. When the sixth pillar of Islam becomes voting on what's your favorite burger spot. I'm told that the most active Muslim WhatsApp groups and Facebook groups in our community are the food groups. The craze over food.

And then Ramadan comes. I was sharing this in a Ramadan workshop: listen, if you want to have a dawah (gathering), invite all of us — have a dawah every night right now, no problem. We can go out to eat after tafsir. But how about Ramadan? Why is Ramadan a time of dawah gatherings? Why are we wasting time? Six hours, three hours — for our sisters, the preparation.

When I tell women, your goal is to read Qur'an — some sisters in the past, even now, are reading 10 to 15 juz a day. How is that possible? They're not hosting 150 people with 15 dishes at home — that's why. The deen never said to do this. What type of samosas are you preparing? One month before Ramadan, we start rolling samosas. Where did the deen tell us to do this? I don't understand. I like samosa too. But why don't we eat samosa between now and Ramadan first? Why are we so infatuated?

We have to break this. The community that's listening to me — you can't bring change to the whole world, but bring change in your own family. Make this Ramadan different for your wives. Make this Ramadan different for your daughters who are sitting there in the kitchen toiling. No wonder they don't have time to read Qur'an. No wonder they don't have time to do anything else — because we're inviting 50 people over for an iftar party. Tarawih is gone. Isha — up and down. Maghrib — with difficulty, we miss it in the masjid. And then the entire Saturday and Sunday are booked with preparation.

If we want to be social people — which we should be — then after Eid, mashAllah, we're ready to come and host. But Ramadan? I'm sorry. This is for between me, my family, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

How many dishes did you have for dinner today? How many fried items? Most of us probably had two things — that was it, and a glass of water. Why is it that in Ramadan, the same person now has to have three drinks, four fried items, a few rices, a pasta, two desserts, a salad — and then just burping through Tarawih if they make it to Tarawih? And then right around the corner after that is suhoor. My brothers, we need to change.

Ramadan in Mecca — A Sobering Account

It broke my heart when someone from Mecca told me this. We're talking about Ramadan in Mecca. I was asking about i'tikaf and Tarawih — this was about four or five years ago. And he told me that unfortunately, the Haram no longer does 20 rak'ats. For 1,400 years it has been 20 rak'ats. Now, for the past couple of years, it's been reduced to 10. So they don't even finish the khatm of the Qur'an.

I was speaking to a resident of Mecca, born and raised there. I asked: how is the environment in the other masajid of Mecca? He said the only place with khatm al-Qur'an and 20 rak'ats of Tarawih is the Haram. The rest of the masajid do quick short surahs and finish in 8 or 10 rak'ats.

I said, oh subhanAllah, at least the last ten nights must be packed — like at our masajid! He shocked me. He said the last ten nights are the emptiest. I asked how. He said: the people are preparing for Eid. As soon as Maghrib comes in, everyone is in the marketplace — buying, selling, preparation for Eid. Allah knows best — those who live there can tell you better. But this is what he shared with me.

So this is where we need to at least control the culture of our homes. Let's not make Ramadan a cultural event. Make it a religious month — where we as a family do that which Allah and His Rasul ﷺ want us to do.

Suhoor Gatherings and Misplaced Priorities

We talk about the suhoor fests and suhoor nights, even the late-night gatherings in the masjid. I'm not talking about a specific organization or a specific city — I'm giving a general thing because people come and ask me about this. Food carts, rib places, all these things — mashAllah, great. But why on a night of Ramadan? Let's do it any other time. Let's do it right now. Bring the food cart — as long as you've got one for sisters and one for brothers, no problem. Listen to tafsir and eat your ribs. But not on Ramadan nights. Because this is shaitan playing tricks with us. Some people are even doing this on the odd nights of Ramadan — and I feel this is just misplaced.

One brother said to me: I want to recreate the beautiful back-home culture of the Middle East. I said, okay — but where does Islam say you have to bring Lebanon or Jordan or Saudi Arabia to America? The modern-day Middle East culture? How are we wedded to that?

Don't you think we are supposed to be reviving the culture of Rasulullah ﷺ in Madinah al-Munawwarah? Can you imagine the Prophet ﷺ and the Sahabah throughout the night just chilling, partying, and eating food in the nights of Ramadan? That cannot be the nights. The nights of the Prophet ﷺ — these are special nights of connecting ourselves with Allah.

But this is how shaitan gets to us. He says: You gotta keep the kids happy. You gotta give them identity. The Christians and the Jews have so much to celebrate — they've got Christmas trees, they've got gifts, they've got lights on for a whole month. My kids don't feel Ramadan is exciting. So now, instead of putting a Christmas tree, I'll just put a hilal — put a little star on everything. Throw a star, same Christmas stuff, just put a crescent. And now you've "Islamicized" it. You see how it's happening? Very soon Hallmark will have Eid cards — and then we'll have Ramadan specials, Eid specials, and so on.

I'm spending so much time on this for us to realize — we're going down that lizard hole that the Prophet ﷺ warned us about. Dekha dekhi — whatever someone else is doing, we gotta do the same thing. And the reasoning? Our children need identity.

Habibi, read the stories of the Sahabah — that's our identity. Read the Seerah of the Prophet ﷺ — that's our identity. Tell them: you're going to be the next Aisha, you're going to be the next Khalid ibn al-Walid, you're going to be the next Umar ibn al-Khattab. This is:

Those are our forefathers — bring me someone like them. Find us valor, find us courage, find us altruism like them. That's what we need. The identity should not come from looking at others. Create excitement.

One brother was telling me this morning — just 50 years ago, his father created an environment in their home. He said: gather together, we're going to read our adhkar. As a youngster, they used to pray 100 rak'ats of nafl. He would bring date-bead tasbih and say, we've got to do 100,000 salawat. All the siblings would sit together and do dhikr. You create a culture. We have to create a subculture, brothers and sisters.

Outside, the world is getting really tough, and it's only going to get much, much more challenging. Learn to tell your kids: we don't eat pork, we don't drink wine, we don't do all this — we're different. Our understanding of entertainment is different. Our understanding of fun is different. Our understanding of celebrations is different. Our understanding of what Ramadan is supposed to be is different. We simply have to ingrain this into our minds and into our children as well.

Because if we have this attitude of just wanting to mix in and mingle, unfortunately, just like there's barely anything left of Christianity and Judaism as practice, the same thing will happen to Islam — which has already been prophesized. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4049)

What a sad hadith. He says: Islam will get worn out and washed away, just like the embroidery on clothing after excessive wear and tear gets washed away. You see — after 5, 10, 15 years, washed a hundred times, all the beads have fallen off, the shiny things have fallen off. The Prophet ﷺ gave this example of Islam — that it will slowly be dismantled, and all of its practices will slowly leave society, until you just see remnants — the veneer of it. But inside will be nothing.

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4049)

Until a day will come when no one will know what is fasting, what is charity, and what is hajj. And then the Prophet ﷺ said — and this is not something that will happen in the next five years, much more will happen before that — a night will come:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4049)

One night will come upon the Book of Allah, and Allah will simply lift this Qur'an out of this world. You will not find a single person who knows a single verse of the Qur'an. And then in one hadith it says you will find some people who say:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4049)

"We remember our forefathers — long ago they used to say something called la ilaha illa Allah — that's all we know. Besides that, we know nothing."

How do we move from the thousands of masajid in America, institutions, non-profits, and everything else — to what I just shared with you from the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ? It's not going to happen overnight. There's going to be a slow and steady decline. And the slow and steady decline is not going to be that masajid don't get built anymore, or Islamic schools don't get built anymore. It's the fact that the quality will be leaving. The reality of iman, and what Islam is about will be leaving. Islam will be understood as more of a culture than a religion.

Islam Is About Discipline — Not Following the Nafs

Wherever there are no rules and regulations, that's where humanity tends to move. The more rules and regulations, the less people are interested. And Islam is about rules and regulations. It's about being disciplined. It's about not following your nafs. It's about not doing what you want to do.

Islam is: you're not supposed to do what you want to do. You're supposed to hold off till Jannah — then you can do whatever you want. That's what the Qur'an itself says:

Whatever your nafs wants, you'll get it. Whatever your eyes want to see, you'll get it. SubhanAllah. But in this world, you have to do what Allah wants. This is the complete opposite of what everything around us is moving toward. So this discussion must also happen in our homes.

The Storm — A Sign and a Warning

Next — this ayah of the storm that we talked about last week. The storm came, and the people thought it was a great blessing because it was super hot and now, alhamdulillah, a cloud had come with rain. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said: no, no, no — this is not just a cloud of rain bringing peace and coolness:

"This is what you were seeking to hasten on — a wind in which is a painful punishment."

My dear brothers and sisters — I was thinking before Isha today: we just had floods in Kentucky — every single county underwater. We just finished the fires of California, then mudslides in the same region right after — they got hit a second round. Tornadoes striking. Bitter cold that people are dying in — sub-zero temperatures all over. All across the globe:

So many natural disasters happening. How often are we linking this back to Allah? Even if you say this, someone will say global warming, or brother, this happened in the Ice Age, it's happening again, take it easy. But our deen teaches us that whatever is happening in your life — connect it back to Allah. Connect it back to tawheed. Don't treat it lightly.

The Prophet ﷺ and Natural Phenomena

Is there anyone more intelligent than Rasulullah ﷺ? Is there anyone with more knowledge? Is there anyone more well-rounded? Obviously not. And I was thinking as I was coming here — if the Prophet ﷺ were to see us and we were to see him, would we even be counted amongst the believers or amongst the hypocrites? Because today, what Rasulullah ﷺ used to do would be called extremist.

The Prophet ﷺ would see a cloud forming. He would see storm clouds coming. And he would run to the masjid. We all know this. Anytime he would see any natural phenomena developing — a lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse — he would run to prayer. Are we going to say, as the educated Muslim class of this country, that the Prophet did that because he didn't know the scientific background? I wouldn't be surprised if some say that — because that's exactly what our actions are saying. Anytime we try to connect people to Allah, people say, brother, science has explained this. Everything has an explanation.

Being educated in a certain manner that makes you think in only one way — and not connecting things back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — is very dangerous for our iman. This is why sometimes biology and chemistry, which are supposed to take someone closer to Allah, are making people leave Islam today. Because they feel that God is needed only when you don't have an explanation for something.

I've essentially just summarized what's happening in universities today: Who worships God? It's because they needed an explanation for natural phenomena. But now we know why things happen — why diseases happen, why natural disasters occur, why weather patterns develop. So there's no need for a God anymore. This is honestly the whole issue — why atheism is on the rise, and why people within the Muslim community are leaving Islam.

But what did Nabi ﷺ do?

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 1319)

Any affair that came to him — he would run towards the masjid, towards salah. So how many of us, facing issues at work, in our families — how many of us are running towards salah? How many of us are thinking: the reason my wife is mistreating me, my husband is mistreating me, my children are mistreating me, my car is acting up, my crops are suffering a drought — all of these things are happening because Allah intended it to be a wake-up call for me. So let me make tawbah and say: Allah, please forgive me, I may have done a mistake because of which I'm suffering, and I repent to You.

How many are making that connection? And how many are thinking: brother, this is natural, not everything has to be like that, come on. People don't like this connection. They say, take it easy, this is just how life works. Not everything means you have to pray two rak'ats, give sadaqah, fast, do this or that. They don't like it. And our deen teaches us that if you see clouds forming, run to the masjid.

How many more natural disasters does Allah need to send upon the ummah to wake us up? How many more civil wars? How many more attacks against Muslims across the globe? Every single natural disaster has a Rabb behind it. Every single bomb has a Rabb behind it. Every single bullet has a Rabb behind it. Every single fight has a Rabb behind it.

This is the biggest lesson of today's dars that I want to share with you: connect all your problems back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and find the solution with Allah. This is why these stories are constantly being repeated in the Book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Qur'anic Reflections — Surah Al-Ahqaf

"Destroying everything by the command of its Lord." All of the powerful protective systems of this country and countries across the globe — we cannot handle a heat wave, we cannot handle an arctic blast, we cannot handle a flood, we cannot handle a mudslide, we cannot handle an avalanche. The latest technology cannot handle earthquakes or tsunamis. بِأَمْرِ رَبِّهَا — all of these things are there to destroy everything in their path with the permission of Allah.

"At the end you see nothing except for remnants of their homes. And this is the manner We recompense the people of defiant unbelief."

I fear, my brothers, if we don't start making this connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for the difficulties we're going through — not only will we not repent and turn, but I don't know how our endings will come. Because deep down there is almost like a secular bug within a lot of people — a limit to how much they can be pushed about Islam. After that they say, take it easy, not everything is connected to the deen like that, not everything is connected to Allah. Many of the ahadith are misunderstood.

From among those hadith that are misused — what we call كَلِمَةُ حَقٍّ أُرِيدَ بِهَا الْبَاطِلُ — a correct thing being used for the wrong purpose. A topi is good. But if I put it on my foot as a shoe, it's being misused. Sometimes people misuse the teachings of the deen similarly.

The Hadith of Tying the Camel — Misunderstood

The hadith says: tie the camel and then have reliance upon Allah. A lot of people misuse that. They're just tying the camel all day — going to the lawyer, going to the doctor — and there's no room left for tawakkul.

But tying the camel means going to earn money, sitting with the lawyer, sitting at the doctor's office. It also means: since when did morning adhkar not get included in tying the camel? Since when did evening adhkar not get included? Since when did giving one dollar a day in sadaqah not count? Since when did asking your mom and dad to make du'a for you not count? Since when did fasting not be included in tying the camel?

The a'mal, adhkar, and ad'iya — these are all part of tying the camel. These are all asbab. And then you do tawakkul — because your morning du'as are not going to help you unless Allah wants it to help you. Your evening du'as are not going to help you unless Allah wants to help you. They will help you in the Akhirah — but only if Allah accepts them. If Allah deems my morning and evening du'as insincere, then what am I going to do? If Allah deems my sadaqah insincere, then what?

So all of our a'mal are also asbab. Our Qur'an, dhikr, du'a, sadaqah — they're all means. When you say, I gotta use the means, understand that good deeds are also means. And then the tawakkul? Yes — because your good deeds are not going to help you unless Allah wants it to help you. We have to use both — the worldly means and the religious means — and along with all of that, we place our trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Hadith of Abu Sa'ib — Hope and Fear

There was a man who passed away, and the Prophet ﷺ entered his house to visit the widow and the family. When he went in, the hadith of al-Bukhari — the Prophet ﷺ heard the wife saying:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1243)

She is saying to her husband who has just passed away: "May Allah have mercy upon you, O Abu Sa'ib. I bear witness about you that indeed Allah has honored you."

So the Prophet ﷺ responded:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1243)

"How do you know that Allah has honored him?" Imagine — the Prophet ﷺ was already at the house right when the man passed away, the body still fresh — and he says, on what basis are you making this claim?

So she responds: May my father be sacrificed for you, Ya Rasulullah — then who will Allah honor? The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1243)

"Your husband has already passed away. I swear by Allah, I just hope good for him. But I swear by Allah — I don't know, and I am the Messenger of Allah — what will be done with me."

She responded: I swear — I will never speak with certainty about anyone's piety ever again.

This is the level of hope and fear we're supposed to live in. We don't know how our last moments will come. And then there is the example of Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه — who already knows he is among the ten given glad tidings of Jannah — and yet he would say:

"I wish that I could go back to Allah not having a single sin in my book of deeds and not having a single good deed — just zero, zero. I wish the mother of Umar never gave birth to Umar. I wish the mother of Umar was barren." The man who has been given the glad tidings of Jannah said this.

So why are people having the audacity to speak so badly about the deen, about Islam? It is as the ayah says:

People are just ignorant. They don't get it. They're messing around; they don't understand what they're dealing with. The one who knows Allah — the more ma'rifah we have of Allah — the more khashiyah we will have. That's why the Qur'an says:

"Indeed, it is only those of His servants who have knowledge who truly fear Allah." What does scholar mean here? It doesn't mean someone who just memorizes books. Ilm has to translate into action, and has to translate into more fear of Allah.

Knowledge That Distances — A Warning

This thought came to my mind — these discussions about ilm today, for the most part, are leading people to decrease their practice. Instead of just saying, okay brother, let's do ibadah — if you don't want to do ibadah, go to sleep — many people spend the whole night arguing: what is bid'ah, what's not bid'ah, going to pray extra salah is bid'ah, don't attend this program, boycott this, boycott that. Astaghfirullah al-Azeem. Is all this excitement leading to an increase in practice or a decrease?

The previous generation did not have Twitter, did not have WhatsApp, didn't have books in their homes, didn't have money to own books. But they practiced the deen far better than us. They prayed their Isha rak'ats — never less than 17. SubhanAllah. Now we know: brother, that's not necessary, you can just pray 4. The more ilm we're learning, the more we're getting further away from practice. If it's proper ilm, it will bring more practice and more fear of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

There are hadith being misused. What's another one? Deen is easy. Or the hadith about the one who completes the Qur'an in less than three days not having truly pondered over it — people use that when you tell them to read more. Brother, how much have you read from last Ramadan to this Ramadan? How much have we read in three months, in three weeks, in one week? This is how shaitan is working on us — taking a hadith, misrepresenting it, misapplying it, just to ensure our actions can be less.

When you see what Uthman رضي الله عنه did — reciting the entire Qur'an in one rak'ah — the entire Qur'an. The salaf did two khatams a day in Ramadan. That's all they did. The question is: how is that possible? Well, how is it possible to surf the internet for nine hours? How is it possible to watch 12 hours of NFL on Sunday? The way the Sahabah would think we're hypocrites or have lost it — that's why we think it's impossible that they were sitting there reading Qur'an.

We've got some serious problems. Our whole moral compass needs to be realigned. Do not allow the knowledge you're gaining and the discussions you're having on WhatsApp to decrease your practice. Because the more ilm we have, the more it's supposed to bring us closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Ayat from Surah Al-Ahqaf — Strength, Senses, and Accountability

"And very truly We have established them in prosperity and power as We have not established you. And We endowed them with the faculties of hearing, sight, and hearts. But neither their hearing, nor their sight, nor their hearts availed them in anything at all — for they were set on disavowing the revealed signs of Allah. And the very punishment at which they used to mock whelmed them from every side."

SubhanAllah. What a beautiful description of what we've been talking about for the past hour. The people of the past had a lot more — and this ayah was not just meant for the people of Makkah, it's for the people of 2025. The people prior to you had a lot more strength, but they didn't last. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala destroyed them, and Allah will destroy those who follow the same path. And all of our intelligence and IQ and EQ will be of no benefit if we do not recognize Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

We're talking about super intelligence, artificial intelligence, Nvidia chips — all of this, if it does not make you know who Allah is, it will actually become the nail in the coffin. As we get excited about technological progress, we have to go back to our basics. How much is our relationship with Allah?

Our dunyawi education — our degrees outside — if they're not bringing us closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then they're probably taking us further away. There's no such thing as leading a neutral life. Every step we take is either closer to Allah and Jannah, or closer to shaitan and Jahannam. So every day that we spend in college, university, and the workforce — ask yourself: which direction are you going? There's no such thing as neutral.

Eyes, ears — and you can add to that now: cell phones, smartphones, cameras, science degrees, IT degrees — all those things are beneficial if you connect them back to Allah. And if not, Allah says: فَمَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُمْ — it's not going to help.

"And very truly We have destroyed all the ungodly villages around you. And We have varied Our clear signs — of glad tidings and forewarnings — so that they may return to Our path."

My beloved friends — this ayah is for us. Read what happened to the previous empires, from the Prophet's time till now, to the dynasties of the past century, to the powerful leaders of the past century. You don't have to go back to Thamud and Aad only — read this ayah and just pick up an encyclopedia or a website and read. Allah is saying: I'm showing you these signs in varied ways. If you don't understand a natural disaster, I'll show you a disease. If you don't understand a disease, I'll show you a coup — and a powerful king is killed.

"So why did those false gods whom they took as intercessors apart from Allah not support them in the hour of doom? Rather, they strayed far away from them. And that was nothing to begin with but sheer fabrication — and the lies that they used to forge against Allah."

So what are the false gods today? Yes, there are idols — but beyond that? Money. All that money that we worship. Position that we worship. Education that we worship. As well as now powerful countries — all the countries that are siding with certain powers, they're false gods. And this warning is to everyone: anytime we depend on anyone besides Allah, we're going to be left to ourselves. When push comes to shove, when the 11th hour comes, there will be no one there to help us. Not money, not position, not power — nothing will protect us from Allah.

One brother reached out to me — he's going through a small sickness, may Allah make it easy for him. He texted me: I would give every dollar I have in my account to get rid of this pain. I would not want my enemies to suffer what I'm going through. He's suffering from dizziness because of which he can't move. May Allah give shifa to him and all those suffering like this. But look — one small little issue with his balance, and he's lost it. And that is so incapacitating that a person says, I'll give everything I have. Ya Allah, give me shifa. That's how weak we are. That's how weak we are, my friends. That's my haqiqah, your haqiqah. One stomachache in the bathroom — how will you scream?

So why wait for that? From now, show our humbleness to Allah. Say: Ya Allah, I am not trusting in anyone besides You. No country, no person, no money, no education, no spouse, no kids, no parents — nobody. The one I trust is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And even the biggest, most difficult situation I'm faced with — مَنْ أَشَدُّ مِنَّا قُوَّةً — our answer is: Allah is stronger than you. Allah is stronger than you, O problem. And Allah is stronger than you, O person who is putting me through this difficulty. What a beautiful way to reflect, subhanAllah, in today's lessons.

And I ask Allah that He doesn't allow it to just stay here — but genuinely allow us to carry this back home with us, implement it within our lives, and share it with our spouses, our children, our siblings, and everyone around us. Ameen, ya Rabb al-Alamin.

Upcoming Programs

Next week will be our final session before Ramadan. This is one of the few places in the Qur'an where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about the jinn and Rasulullah ﷺ's da'wah to the jinn. We may have a longer session, as it is the last week completing the surah, it is before Ramadan, and it is a very interesting topic. Come prepared with a little extra time. Next Tuesday, bi idhni Allahi ta'ala.

Also this week we have two programs. Mawlana Qari Aftab Alam, visiting from Darul Ulum Deoband, will be with us Friday night. He'll be giving a talk in Urdu and will also lead a recitation, inshAllah. That is this Friday night. And then Saturday night, Mawlana Yusuf Ghawth's talk — Ramadan: A Strategic Approach — which was postponed last Friday due to a winter storm advisory. This will take place Saturday, bi idhni Allahi ta'ala.

The last set of Salam Collective programs will be happening this week and next week pre-Ramadan: Monday nights for 30 to 50-year-olds, Wednesday nights for college students and young professionals, and Friday nights for high school students. Not a lecture — it's a discussion, everyone has the opportunity to connect and socialize over tea and snacks. And mashAllah, our full scale of sisters' programs will continue. The Thursday night Seerah Dars will restart again inshAllah — two more sessions in Urdu on the Seerah of the Prophet ﷺ.

Questions & Answers

Are lawyers and police officers considered false gods, as many call upon them when in difficulty?
These are what you call means — like water when you're thirsty. Police, lawyers, and the like are means that you use when needed. But the first thing in our heart should be: these means will be of no benefit to me without the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Turn to Allah first and foremost.

Are there specific surahs to recite within the four rak'ats of sunnah?
There are no specific surahs — you can recite any surah.

A friend has been watching Islamic debates on TikTok and has started calling people kafir and debating constantly.
This is the problem, 100%. This is why we need to stay off of social media for our deen. That is not the place to search for your deen. Social media rewards outlandish statements and debate — more likes means more money, so you're incentivized to cause a ruckus. Even Qur'anic recitation has become a fitna — qaris are now judged by their Instagram or TikTok following. We have to change the mindset that social media dictates who we respect and where we get our knowledge from.

How much fidyah for someone who passed away but did not specify it in their will?
The sadaqatul fitr amount per missed fast. And we just hope — even without the will — that Allah accepts it.

Specific du'a for being blessed with children?
Istighfar — lots of istighfar.

In Ramadan, should we make up missed prayers instead of nafl prayers?
That is correct. Pray your sunnah mu'akkadah — 20 rak'ats of Tarawih. And then beyond that — at tahajjud time, awwabin time, ishraq time — you can pray your qadha.

How to cope with the death of a sinful relative?
Make du'a for forgiveness for them. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala may forgive them for some small action they performed. We don't know.

Is listening to any kind of music during Ramadan prohibited?
Listening to any kind of music outside of Ramadan is also prohibited.

If you started praying tahajjud two minutes before Fajr time, can you complete it?
That's fine — if you started it before Fajr entered, it does not become qadha.

How do you have yaqeen that you have no one besides Allah when your family supports you — how to truly believe that before, na'udhu billah, you lose everything?
Read Qur'an with reflection, as we did in today's session. Read a few lines and reflect on how they apply to your life. Think about the qudra of Allah, the greatness of Allah. This is how a person starts connecting everything — good or bad — back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That's how you build your yaqeen.

How do I know if Allah is pleased with me?
We'll only find out in the Akhirah. But the golden standard of how to please Allah is to be on the sunnah. Every action of ours needs to be as close to the sunnah as possible — from the way you wear your shoes, to the way you greet your spouse, to the way you enter your home, to the way you do business. Read the books of sunnah and seerah and try your best to follow them. That's it.

"Say: if you claim to love Allah, follow me — Allah will love you and forgive your sins." The closer we are to sunnah, everything else will fall into place.

Overcoming Addiction Before Ramadan

One of the big sins of our time is watching haram and fulfilling lustful desires through unlawful means. This is the big jihad of this day and age. Two things I always suggest:

Number one: Keep your phones locked down through SalamGuard — salamguard.com. Lock down your phone and laptop, have someone else set the password. This is not just for Ramadan — this is for the rest of your life. There's no reason anyone should have access to haram on their phone, regardless of age or marital status.

Number two: The dhikr of the Sevens — reading seven times each: Surah Al-Fatihah, Ayatul Kursi, Surah Quraysh, Surah Al-Kafirun, Surah Al-Ikhlas, Surah Al-Falaq, and Surah Al-Nas — surrounded by salawat upon the Prophet ﷺ at the beginning and the end. AlhamdulIllah, just recently a brother who was crying over this sin and couldn't get out of it — six days after following these two steps, he said, subhanAllah, I don't even remember having the thought anymore. Allah completely cleaned him from it in one week. The Sevens are also included on the SalamGuard website — it's a one-stop shop.

Please share this with others — there are a lot of people suffering quietly. Whether it's cigarettes, e-cigarettes, marijuana, music, or any other addiction — we need to clean ourselves up before Ramadan begins. With 10 days before Ramadan, start now — and hopefully when Ramadan enters, alhamdulillah, we've overcome these issues, inshAllah.

Closing Dhikr & Du'a

We'll conclude with a few minutes of dhikr. Take a moment, focus on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's rahmah and nur descending on your heart, on this gathering surrounded by thousands and millions of angels. Then focus your heart on saying: Allah, Allah, Allah. Do not move your lips. Do not move your tongue.

As Allah says: "Remember your Lord within yourself." This is one type of powerful dhikr — the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala through our focused heart. Try your best not to sneeze, not to cough, not to scratch yourself. Stay as silent and as focused as possible.

جزاكم الله خيراً. والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته.