Reflect & Connect | Surah Ahqaf - Ep.07 - Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed | 2/25

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. Blessings and peace be upon you.

O Allah, open my heart and ease my affairs. And release the knot from my tongue, so that my speech will be pure. Glory be to You, we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. 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. Guide us to what You love and are pleased with — from speech, action, intention, and guidance. You have the power to do everything.

The Verses of Surah Al-Ahqaf — The Jinn and the Qur'an

Allah Almighty said, after I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan:

This is the last section of Surah Al-Ahqaf. And this is from the very few places where Allah discusses another creation of His — the jinn. Allah mentions them towards the end of this surah, in these ayahs: an incident of the jinn meeting the Prophet ﷺ and listening to the Qur'an being recited.

The Worlds: Seen and Unseen

We have two types of world. One is the عَالَمُ الْغَيْبِ — the world of the unseen. And one is the عَالَمُ الشَّهَادَةِ — the world of the seen. The world of the seen that we have, Allah has given us our senses to be able to interact with that world — through our ears, our hands, feet, and eyes.

Then there is the عَالَمُ الْغَيْبِ, which is the world of the unseen, where a person must use his intellect. Or — for the complete unseen — one will have to use wahi and revelation to get there. And then there is a world in between, which is a world that can be felt or sensed but cannot be seen. For example, the fire that cannot be seen burning far away, but the smoke is a sign of it. Or people who cannot be seen behind a wall, but they can be heard. So you use your intellect along with your senses and you are able to figure out something which is not very apparent to you at the moment.

Our interaction with the world of the unseen is purely through wahi. Whatever revelation tells us, we know about it. Otherwise we have no idea. Allah has not informed us of everything about the unseen. We know only a very, very small portion of it — a small portion that was told to the Prophets.

There comes in the story of Musa and Khidir that Rasulullah ﷺ said that he wished Musa عليه السلام had a little bit more patience — and if that were the case, we would get to learn a lot more things. This is the Nabi of Allah speaking. He is saying he wished that Nabi Musa was a little more patient in dealing with Khidir عليه السلام. We're not talking about dealing with Allah. We're talking about dealing with another creation of Allah named Khidir. But Khidir's expertise are different — he is running on the back end. So he is aware of things that the front-end Prophets are not aware of, even though they are Prophets of Allah and receive revelation. But it's not to do with their department. And Khidir is running a whole different parallel department — the inner workings of the universe.

So one very important point is: we should not claim, just because we don't know something, that it doesn't exist. This is a problem. Sometimes due to our lack of full knowledge, mixed with arrogance over the knowledge that we do have, we make very blanket statements about things. You know — "this cannot happen," or "this must happen," or "it cannot be like this." On what basis are we saying this? You could say, "I'm not aware of it." If someone says, "Do you know this hadith?" you'll see random people say, "Oh brother, I never heard of this hadith, this doesn't exist." This person is not a muhaddith for the past 70 years. He never even attended an Arba'een Nawawi class. But he says that. How does our not having heard something become a rule that if I didn't hear it, it doesn't exist?

So we need to have a little bit of humbleness when dealing with things of the world or things of the akhira. Before we make blanket statements, we should simply say, "I'm not aware of it — ask someone who has more knowledge." But the fact that Nabi ﷺ said this is so amazing. That even he, as a Nabi of Allah, is saying there are things that obviously he did not know — that even Khidir knew. Why was Musa عليه السلام asked to go meet Khidir? Because even Nabi Musa عليه السلام, who is Kalimullah, who is Ulul Azam from the Prophets, who received the Tawrah, who is so close to Allah — with his name mentioned in almost every juz of the Qur'an — yet he is being asked by Allah to go meet Khidir. Because there is something Khidir has that Nabi Musa does not have. There is something he has that the Prophet ﷺ does not have.

So it is something we should learn to accept: that we cannot claim to know everything, nor should we expect to know everything. And also, a side point — we cannot claim that we must know why Allah does what He does. This is arrogance to the highest degree. Where a person says, "This doesn't make sense, why is Allah doing this?" No one can claim to know the reason for every single thing. We're going to know a reason only if Allah chooses to tell us.

Going back to the world of the unseen — Allah says to the Prophet ﷺ:

"Say: If I were to know the world of the unseen, I would have gathered lots of good — I would always be winning in every sense of the word. In deen and dunya, I would always be making sure that I'm never going to get hurt, none of my children will get hurt, no one will get hungry, no one will be poor, everything — I would just constantly be aware of what is going to happen tomorrow. And I would have never been afflicted with any pain or difficulty in my life." But Nabi ﷺ went through so much difficulty. That means: "I am but an open warner. My job is to warn you. My job is not to claim that I know everything." Because if he knew everything, there would be places where he wouldn't go — he would not have eaten from the meat that was poisoned by the daughter of the Jewish man. He would not have eaten at that time. There were so many things that happened where the Prophet ﷺ was injured. But this is the system of the dunya. Allah informs the Prophet ﷺ of what He wishes to inform, and does not inform him of what He doesn't wish to inform.

What We Know About the Jinn

When it comes to the issue of the jinn, this is like the angels — they are part of عَالَمُ الْغَيْبِ for us. We don't see them unless Allah wants us to see them. And the world of the jinn and angels are not the only two creations of Allah in the unseen world. We don't even know how many there are.

Like the issue of dinosaurs — people get so worked up on it. If you have the fossil evidence of it, why not accept it? And then when it comes to the issue of what we may call "aliens" — Allah has made such a massive world, Allahu Akbar. How can a person think that we're the only things that exist there? It could be — I'm not saying it is, but it could be. Look at this small earth: in ten years we still can't find the Malaysian airline that went down with hundreds of people. How many things in this small little world can we not find? So there are many dimensions. We need to focus on what's in front of us. We haven't figured out what's in front of us. Parallel universes, of course, exist — because angels and jinns are in those dimensions.

And there are very interesting hadith that are from the Mushkil al-Hadith — hadith whose meanings are not very obvious — where Rasulullah ﷺ explained how there are many worlds, parallel worlds, in which there is an Adam, just like the Adam here. The ulama have written on it, trying to explain. But my point is: the more we learn, the more we realize how little we know.

What we do know is:

The jinn and the ins — known as Thaqalayn — are the two creations of Allah that have been tasked with worshipping Allah. The angels do not have a choice in obeying or disobeying. But humans and jinn have been tasked to obey Allah, yet they may choose to go otherwise.

Allah said: "We guided them to both paths." So some jinn and some humans are Muslim, and some are not. They both exist. So how much do we know about this whole concept of jinn? We don't know too much. We just know whatever the Qur'an mentions and whatever the hadith mentions a little bit.

1. Jinn Can See Us But We Cannot See Them

The first thing we learn: the world of the jinn and the world of humans are two different worlds, and humans cannot usually see the jinn, while the jinn are able to see the human. Mentioned in ayah 27 of Surah Al-A'raf:

Indeed, Shaytan — Iblis — is able to see you. Him and his nation, in a manner that you're not able to see him. So the jinn can see us, Iblis can see us, the shayateen can see us — but we cannot see them.

That is why when a person takes off their clothes, they're careful not to do so in the presence of other humans — they do it in the bathroom, in their closet. But that's why our deen teaches us that when we take off our clothes, we should say Bismillah. When a person says Bismillah, Allah puts a veil between that person and the jinn. We don't sleep with our doors wide open. We put locks, we put alarm systems. But you cannot stop the jinn like that. The jinn — the alarm system doesn't stop them. So you have to close every door of your home with Bismillah, enter your home with Bismillah. This is the way to protect your home from the jinn — from inside and out. Alhamdulillah, the deen is so beautiful. It teaches us how to go about dealing with this.

Next, the ayah says إِنَّهُ يَرَاكُمْ هُوَ وَقَبِيلُهُ — Indeed, Iblis and his entire entourage are able to see you. That tells you the jinn have qaba'il — tribes, huge groups. We don't know their numbers. But since space is not a constraint for them, and they have their own alternative dimension, they're able to pack into a small place — Allah knows best how many — just as angels can pack into a place. So we presume that they exist in massive, massive numbers.

2. Jinn Can Live on Earth and Beyond

Allah says in Surah Al-Baqarah:

We told Adam and Iblis: "Descend from Jannah, you all being enemies with one another." The enmity started the second Adam عليه السلام and Iblis were asked to leave Jannah. Iblis was already out. But Adam عليه السلام was asked to leave as well — said that you will descend on this earth. عَدُوٌّ لَكُمْ — you are going to be enemies of one another on this earth. So Iblis is living with us, with his children. Along with living in other places, they can live on this earth.

Our ulama have also mentioned that it is possible for the jinn to live outside of the earth. The dalil is from Surah Al-Jinn, ayahs 8 and 9:

The jinn said: "When we tried to touch the sky, we found it filled with a lot of guards — harasan shadeedan — strong guards, these are the angels — wa shuhuban — and surrounded by firebrands as protection, that were sent on anyone who tried to go above a certain level in the sky. We used to sit in the sky listening to the communication, eavesdropping on the communication of the angels."

They would listen to what the angels were saying, add more stuff to it, and go share it with their friends — who are their friends? The fortune tellers, the tarot card readers, the palm readers, the astrologers — all those people whose stores you see around here. These are all friends of the shayateen. So they communicate with them, even today. This communication within these evil forces continues. People would come to the fortune teller, and the fortune teller would say one thing that happened to be true. And because of that, the person would say, "This person definitely has knowledge of the unseen and the future," and would trust him. That is why Nabi ﷺ spoke harshly against going to fortune tellers — the iman is in jeopardy, the salah is not accepted — because this ruins the aqeedah of a person. No one knows the unseen except for Allah. No one.

And SubhanAllah, it culminates with this surah. What happened? Rasulullah ﷺ was born. Revelation is about to begin. That's why all the roads are blocked off. When the VIPs come, there is a no-fly zone. So when a person is receiving revelation — when Rasulullah ﷺ is about to receive revelation — all security is tight. So we learn from here that it is possible for the jinn to live in a place beyond the earth, which is the heavens.

3. The Incredible Speed of the Jinn

Another point we learn is that it is very possible for jinn to move about in the sky and the earth at a very fast pace. Allah says in Surah Al-Rahman, ayah 33:

"O the gathering of jinn and O the gathering of ins — if you are capable of going outside of the realm of the heavens and the earth, then try to penetrate. Go! You would not be able to do so except with a clear, strong enabling that would come from Allah." The reason Allah mentioned the jinn first — يَا مَعْشَرَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنسِ — is because the speed of travel for them is much faster. Some modern-day scholars have explained the jinn as something like an energy — like electricity — that moves at such a fast pace and can move through things that seem to be impermeable.

You think of it like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and all these different sound waves and technologies that exist today for communication. Look at how data moves from one side to the other, instantaneously. This is man-made — by the will of Allah, He gave us the intellect, but this is man-made. So when we see this happening in front of us, why is it so difficult to think about how jinn can communicate and move from one place to the other at fast pace?

Allah mentions in Surah An-Naml, ayah 39:

A very strong, powerful jinn said — under the leadership of Sulaiman عليه السلام — "I will bring for you the throne of Bilqis before this gathering ends, or before you stand up." وَإِنِّي عَلَيْهِ لَقَوِيٌّ أَمِينٌ — "I am trustworthy and I am strong." And then:

The one who had ilm min al-kitab — knowledge from the Book of Allah — said: "I am going to bring the throne of Bilqis before your eyes even blink." Why? Because he had ilm min al-kitab. He had the knowledge, the power of the Qur'an. Some say he had the knowledge of Allah's greatest name — Ism Allah al-A'zam.

So we learn from here that jinn are very strong and very fast — there is no doubt about it. However, a human being who has the Qur'an with him is far more powerful than a jinn. Because no prophet has been sent amongst the jinn. All prophets were sent amongst humans. And Allah has made every prophet's da'wah encompass both humans and jinn. So definitely the stronger and more virtuous of the two is the human being. Allah did not make any jinn ja'ilun fil ardi khalifah. Allah made Adam عليه السلام ja'ilun fil ardi khalifah.

4. The Waswasa — And Its Limits

Next, the jinn have been given the ability to put waswasa — whispers — into humans. Especially those humans who are disconnected from Allah, they are much easier for the jinn to whisper into. Nabi ﷺ mentioned one hadith:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 5233; also referenced in Musnad Ahmad)

"All praise belongs to Allah who has pushed back and belittled the plotting of the shayateen to nothing more than waswasa." He doesn't have an axe in his hand that can kill you. There are times where jinn do physically attack — that happened during the time of the Prophet ﷺ. A sahabi was killed, and a voice was heard saying: رَمَيْنَاهُ بِسَهْمٍ فَلَمْ نُخْطِئْ فُؤَادَهُ — "We hit him with an arrow and we did not miss his heart." So there are instances where the jinn may physically affect someone. But that should not be something so shocking for us.

Allah says in Surah Ibrahim, ayah 22 — Shaytan will give a speech on the Day of Judgment:

When all the decisions will be made — who is headed to hell, who is headed to paradise — Shaytan will speak and say: "Indeed Allah had promised you a truthful promise. And I promised you — but I broke my promise. I promised you something: if you follow me, I will give you the best of this world and the next. But I broke my promise. However, I did not have any physical strength or force to make you listen to me. All that I did — I invited you. And you responded to me. Fala taloomuni — do not blame me. Waloomoo anfusakum — blame yourself. Ma ana bimusrikhikum — I cannot help you today. And you are not able to help me either. Inni kafartu bima ashraqtumuni min qabl — I have nothing to do with the relationship you had with me in the past."

The shayateen are always giving da'wah in their own way. Some of us sitting in a religious program like this — all of a sudden Shaytan will say, "You're thirsty, go get water." Others get a da'wah to not get up for Fajr. Others get a da'wah to not pray in the masjid. If you sit for hours playing video games, you forget you have to go to the bathroom, forget to eat, forget to sleep. But as soon as you read Qur'an — "I need to stretch my legs, I need to drink some water." How often we fall into this trap. May Allah give us strong willpower. May Allah increase our spirituality so that we do not cave in to every single whisper of Shaytan.

The Nurani Waswasa — The Most Dangerous Whisper

There is something called a nurani waswasa — a waswasa that is even more dangerous than the others. One waswasa is to miss your prayer, look at haram, listen to haram, eat haram. You know this is wrong — sometimes we slip and fall, we feel guilty, we make tawbah. But the nurani waswasa is dangerous because it is encapsulated in nur. It looks good. It is poison in the form of dessert — sweet, healthy-looking. So a person keeps taking it, not realizing what is going on.

My teacher gave me this example during childhood: a cat found a butcher's knife. The knife had fat on it from cutting meat. The cat was licking this knife — enjoying it, so tasty, so fresh. Licking and licking, enjoying it, until it died. The butcher went to see what happened. The entire tongue and lips of the poor cat were all cut. It had died from excessive bleeding. The cat was enjoying it, thinking it was enjoying the leftover fat and meat on the knife. But it was not the meat of a cow — it was actually its own tongue. The more it enjoyed it, the more it was killing itself. Not realizing. How would you ever back away from a knife if you don't realize you are harming yourself?

So the nurani waswasa at times is that a person is involved in something wrong — a sin, or oppressing someone in business or in relationships — and they think what they're doing is right. They go so deep into it, and Shaytan keeps presenting it as though this is ibada, as though this is great, what you're doing is right. And unfortunately they do not get the chance to repent or back out. This is why the ulama have said that those who commit bid'ah are in a very horrible situation. Because the one who commits a bid'ah or innovation in the deen, Shaytan keeps telling them that they are actually following the real deen while everyone else has left it. And even though they're so misguided, they have this false sense of safety that what they're doing is truly correct.

My beloved brothers and sisters, that is why it is so important for us to continuously seek refuge in Allah. How do you know if you're in a nurani waswasa? You won't know — that's the whole point. That's what makes it a nurani waswasa. It presents itself like a mole — a double agent — acting as if it's one of you.

The only way to protect yourself is, number one, through the help of Allah by constantly asking: "Ya Allah, please guide me if I'm doing anything wrong. Ya Allah, please do not allow me to fall into this false sense that everything I'm doing is correct."

Ihdina al-sirat al-mustaqeem has to come from our heart five times a day — not just a quick recitation. When you're reciting that, all of us should have our hearts attached and focused towards Allah: "Ya Allah, please ensure that I'm rightly guided. I'm trying but I have no idea if what I'm doing is correct or incorrect — in the way I'm raising my kids, in my relationship with my parents, my children, my relationship with the Qur'an, my relationship with Allah, my aqeedah, every single thing. Ya Allah, please guide me."

The second thing, to protect ourselves from nurani waswasa, is that we should have someone above us — an elder, a scholar, a mentor, a sheikh, a knowledgeable parent — that we run our ideas with. This is why Nabi ﷺ instructed us to do two things before we take any decision: one is mashwara, and another one is istikhara. Istikhara is your du'a to Allah. And mashwara is consulting someone else who has knowledge and who is a well-wisher for you. A person who does istikhara and mashwara — the Prophet ﷺ guaranteed two things:

(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat by al-Tabarani, referenced by al-Haythami in Majma' al-Zawa'id)

"This man will never lose" — you will always win, you will never lose in any deal, any relationship, any action of yours. And number two: ma nadima — "you will never feel remorseful over what you have done." If you do two things: istikhara and mashwara.

Unfortunately, part of our American exceptionalism and arrogance is that we don't do mashwara. Most people do not. And this is the big problem today — the ego. Simply saying, "Why should I ask? I already know it." No matter what age we're at — 40, 50, 60 or above — when we have to make big decisions, we should make mashwara, make istikhara, and not be arrogant. The arrogant man eventually will fall flat on his face and he will suffer. And that's because he left out these two things.

"Only through the remembrance of Allah will the hearts find contentment." So when we increase our dhikr, the waswas of Shaytan becomes weak. The abundance of dhikr is necessary. Dhikr will give you self-control. If any of us are struggling with anger management or a lack of self-control, sit quietly and do dhikr of Allah — Allah, Allah — in your heart, 500 times a day. And you will see how slowly you will become so much more calm, collected, and will be able to have a much more clear mind when you have to make decisions.

A Summary of What We Know About the Jinn from the Qur'an

In a gist of what we've covered from the Book of Allah:

1. Jinn are a creation of Allah made from fire. Shaytan says:

2. They are expected to accept Islam and follow the teachings of Rasulullah ﷺ, just like human beings.

3. They may live on the earth, as well as in other dimensions, in the skies and the heavens.

4. They are able to move at a very fast pace.

5. They have large gatherings and tribes.

6. They have the ability to put waswasa, however they do not have the ability to force you to do anything.

7. There are jinn who are believers and jinn who are disbelievers:

8. They are not aware of the unseen, except for that which Allah wants them to know.

9. They are able to listen to the human being and understand what he says.

10. They have the ability for guidance and the ability for misguidance.

Tafsir of the Verses — Lessons from the Jinn's Encounter with the Qur'an

Ayah 29 — Their Attendance Was Divinely Arranged

"Now behold, O Prophet ﷺ — We turned a group of jinn towards you so that they might listen to the Qur'an and be guided. So when they attended its recitation, they said to each other: Ansitoo — give heed, be quiet, listen attentively. Then when the recitation was completed, they returned back to their people as forewarners."

There is a lot to take from this ayah. How many were they? Allah knows best. Some say 3 to 10, some say hundreds and thousands. Regardless, it doesn't make a difference. Allah says: صَرَفْنَا — "We turned them." We learn from here that our attendance in any gathering of dhikr and knowledge did not happen by coincidence. If we are in any masjid, listening to any talk, going to any program — it is because Allah wants us to be there. A person must get tawfiq from Allah. Otherwise he is not going to get it.

Allah says at one place:

"If Allah knew there was any good in them, He would have allowed your voice to reach them. But if He hypothetically were to allow your voice to reach them, they would have turned their backs and run away, and not believed in it."

"The worst type of moving creature on this earth is the deaf and the dumb" — those who do not want to listen, or listen but don't care about what they're listening. If someone says, "Brother, there's a big black python right behind you" — would you say, "Mashallah, how nice of you"? No. If you actually heard it, then hearing has to take you to action. Otherwise you cannot call it hearing. That's what the Qur'an says.

"They have hearts they do not understand with, eyes they do not see with, ears they do not hear with. They are like livestock — nay, they are more lost than the livestock."

So this ayah is telling us that wherever we are listening to a religious talk, we are there because Allah wanted us to be there. That is why we have to keep on thanking Allah for the opportunities He gives us to listen to beneficial things. And if we do not show our gratitude, we may be deprived of that.

Listening Attentively — The Lesson from the Jinn

The second thing: what does it mean to listen attentively? These jinn, when they heard the Qur'an, they said: Ansitoo — shh, silent, stop talking, listen attentively. So if we attend a gathering and we don't listen attentively — we're on our phone or we're talking — then we haven't really attended the gathering.

"When the Qur'an is recited, listen attentively and remain silent — so that you may gain mercy." If you don't listen attentively and don't stay quiet, no matter how much Qur'an is being recited by whichever Qari, you may not receive the mercy of Allah. The mercy of Allah will come when we show respect to the Qur'an and listen attentively.

Many of us do not understand the Arabic language. We go to a gathering, a wedding, or a masjid, and Qaris come, mashallah. The Qur'an is being recited after a salah. What should we do at that time? Focus and say: "Ya Allah, this is Your kalam. There is nothing closer to You than this. This has emanated from You in a manner that befits You." Listen and say: "Ya Allah, I don't understand what the Qari is reciting. But allow these words to completely squeeze and clean my heart." Keep your car — especially if you have 3 or 4 kids — don't wash it for 2 months. Look at the carpet, the seats. This heart — how filthy it must have become. And now imagine the Qur'an is being recited. There is no better wash for the heart than the Qur'an. But that is the intention we should have when the Qur'an is being recited — wherever you're playing it, in your car, anywhere — listen with this niyyah: "Ya Allah, I don't understand what is being recited. But allow this Quranic recitation to penetrate my heart and remove the blackness and the darkness from it."

Taraweeh is around the corner. You may not understand what is being recited, but listen with this intention — and you will see that every single moment in Taraweeh, you will be getting closer and closer to Allah. You won't even know why you're crying. Because the Qur'an affects the one who listens to it with that intention.

They Returned as Forewarners — The Obligation of Da'wah

When the jinn went back to their home, they went back as mundhireen — forewarners. This is such a good point. If we say we attend the tafsir, if we say we attended any Jummah bayan, any Friday night dars, any tafsir — and someone asks, "How was it?" and you say, "Oh, it was nice, I understood it, I took mental notes" — then it has to translate into action. Not just action in your own body, but into da'wah.

It is not possible that you actually understood a verse of Allah and then go home, see someone going against the verse of Allah, and stay quiet. Of course, with wisdom and hikmah, we have to explain to our family members. A true believer cannot stay quiet when the orders of Allah are being broken. If he has the ability, he will stop it with his hand. If he can't, he will stop it with his tongue. And if he can't do that, he will turn back and cry in a corner: "Ya Allah, I feel so bad. These sins are happening in front of my eyes. My own family is committing them and I'm too weak to stand up. Ya Allah, please forgive me for my weakness. Give me the wisdom and hikmah to bring change."

Every one of you — if each one of us became a da'i of what we hear, the whole city would change. Because each one of us is connected with tens and tens of people in our workplace, our home, our own masjids. The issue is that how much of us are taking what we learn — from not just Tuesday dars, but Fajr, Isha, any khutbah in our local masjids — and actually propagating it? Change the intention now: I'm listening with the intention of practice, and I'm listening with the intention of da'wah. Then hopefully Allah will give us the tawfiq to do so.

Ayahs 30–31 — The Jinn Bear Witness to the Qur'an

They said: "O our people, indeed we have heard a heavenly Book sent down after that of Moses, confirming all that was before it. It guides to the truth and to the straight path. O our people, respond to the supplicant of Allah and believe in him — Allah shall forgive you of your sins and shield you from a most painful torment."

The teachings are the same. Whatever discrepancies or distortions happened in the previous scriptures happened because Allah never took the responsibility of preserving those books, since the Qur'an was meant to be the final revelation.

That responsibility was not mentioned with any other scripture. When you want a new update on your phone, eventually what happens? The previous operating system stops working — 3G stopped working, 2G stopped working. Similarly, Allah made it such that if the Qur'an is to be the final word, the previous ones are now unplugged. And the Qur'an has taken over that spot.

The jinn said: يَهْدِي إِلَى الْحَقِّ — "It guides to the truth and to the straight path." My dear brothers, if a person listens attentively to the Book of Allah, what will happen? He will find the Qur'an guiding him to the straight path. That's it. Ramadan is the month of the Qur'an. And our lives need to be recalibrated with the Qur'an. It will happen when we listen to Taraweeh with yaqeen — conviction — that this is the book of Allah that has come down as a source of guidance. We cannot take Taraweeh as a burden. Instead it has to be with pure ikhlas: "Ya Allah, guide me."

Forgiveness of Sins — Rights of Allah and Rights of People

Regarding يَغْفِرْ لَكُم مِّن ذُنُوبِكُمْ — "Allah shall forgive some of your sins" — some ulama have said that the مِن here is tab'eediyyah — showing a portion. Meaning the portion of sins related to the rights of Allah. But those sins related to fellow human beings, we need to then seek forgiveness from those people. Those are not going to be forgiven by Allah unless that person has passed away, or we don't know who that person is.

Then we need to ask Allah: "Ya Allah, I don't know who that person is. Ya Allah, reward that person with so much ajar in the akhira that he will then be willing to give up his right against me." As one of the du'as in Hizbul A'zam and Munajat Maqbool:

"O Allah, any human being that I have cursed, hit, or upset — I am just a human being. Make that oppression, that cursing, that pain I gave him, a means of his forgiveness. A means of him getting closer to You. A means of him gaining proximity to You."

This is such a powerful du'a. How many people are suffering collateral damage because of us? We have no idea. How many people said something negative about us — we said stuff, we don't know. Ya Allah, on the Day of Judgment, give him so much ajar, so much reward for the pain he has suffered at my hands or my tongue, that he will not hold me to account in the court of law and say: "Ya Allah, do not allow this man to go to Jannah until he pays me." Because that's what Allah says:

"You will not be oppressed in the least." Everyone is going to be given their due right. This is one of many beautiful du'as mentioned in Hizbul A'zam and Munajat Maqbool — beautiful du'a books. Ramadan is around the corner — make a habit of reading them with your family every day, every single day, between Asr and Maghrib, or between Suhoor and Fajr, or any other time of the day. One section is divided over seven days — read a section every day.

Ayah 32 — No One Can Thwart Allah

"And for whoever does not answer Allah's caller, he cannot thwart Allah anywhere on this earth. Nor is there for such a one any patron apart from Him. Those people are in clear misguidance."

No disbeliever should think that he has the ability to stand up against Allah and do something which Allah does not want him to do. All the oppression that is happening across the globe — do not think that Allah is not watching. Do not think Allah is incapable. No oppressor is oppressing without the permission of Allah. And they are only digging their pit deeper and deeper in Jahannam. And they are building the palaces of the oppressed ones in Jannah. Eventually, time will catch up to these people. Their own sins and their oppression will catch up.

That is why Nabi ﷺ said:

(Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2306)

"Hurry up in doing good deeds, overcoming seven things. What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for such poverty that will make you forget Allah? Or are you waiting to become so rich that it will make you turn against Allah? Or are you waiting to become so sick that you will become incapacitated? Or are you waiting to become so old that you'll become senile? Or are you waiting for a sudden death? Or are you waiting for Dajjal? For Dajjal is the worst thing you could be waiting for. Or are you waiting for the Day of Judgment? For indeed the Day of Judgment, there is nothing more intimidating, scary, and bitter than that."

So Nabi ﷺ is instructing us to act now. Don't wait for your circumstances and conditions to change. How many of us are saying, "I'm going to wait till my job opens up a bit, my education finishes, I just got married, I just had my first child" — and in this process, our life gets even more complicated. The opportunity we have for today — we should not delay it till tomorrow when it comes to learning the Qur'an, learning to recite it fluently, learning the deen. The time to act is now.

Ayah 33 — He Who Created the Heavens Can Surely Resurrect the Dead

"Have they not considered that Allah, who created the entire heavens and the earth and was not enfeebled by their creation, is well able to again give life to the dead? For He is indeed powerful over all things."

It is mentioned in one narration — the exact wording may not be the most authenticated, but SubhanAllah, listen to the meaning:

(Referenced in classical works; attributed narration — scholars have discussed its chain)

"O My servants, I have created for you the heavens and the earth and I did not tire by creating them. Do you think it will tire Me to bring you a loaf of bread from time to time? I have an obligation to you and you have obligations to Me. You have obligations towards Me — which is obedience to Allah. And your sustenance is My responsibility. By My honor and My greatness — if you are not pleased with what I have distributed for you in this world, then I am going to send down the material rat race upon you, in which you will continue to race the way a wild animal runs in the jungle. Then after all this running, you will only get that which I had already distributed for you in the first place. And I don't care, and you will become despicable in My eyes."

And then there is another narration:

"You have a wish and a plan for your life. And I have a wish and a plan for you. If you submit to Me in what I want from you, I will take care of all the things that you want. And if you do not submit to Me in what I want from you, I will tire you in trying to achieve what you want. Then at the end, only what I want shall happen." SubhanAllah. After all the running around — whatever rizq is written for us is written. No matter what we do. The running around at the cost of our worship to Allah, at the cost of the halal, at the cost of our family — this is one of the most foolish things that human beings do. But the materialism is such a drug.

And the Prophet ﷺ said:

"If the son of Adam were to have one valley of gold, he would still wish that he could have just another valley of gold. And nothing will fill up his mouth — his greediness — except for the soil of the ground." When the pulley lowers that dead body into the grave, and we all take the soil in our hands and recite:

The Prophet ﷺ says: when that soil hits his mouth, then he will realize — the race is over. What's the point of realizing at that time? It's too late. Everything is over. Not just the race or the materialism is over — your ability to do any good deeds is also over.

Ayah 34 — The Reckoning

Thus the day those who disbelieved are exposed to the fire. أَلَيْسَ هَٰذَا بِالْحَقِّ — "Is this not the truth?" One answer. The hisab on the Day of Judgment will be quick. Allah says:

"Indeed, you were heedless before this. Today We have lifted your veil — and today your eyesight has become very sharp." One of the first things done when a person dies is that you take your hands and close the eyelids of the dead person, because when a person dies his eyes go up — following the soul as it leaves the body upward, SubhanAllah. And Allah says: كَشَفْنَا عَنكَ غِطَاءَكَ — "As soon as you die, We have removed the veils from your eyes." As you close this door, another door is opened. فَبَصَرُكَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ — "And now today is when you will have 20/20 vision." In the dunya you never had that vision — because you were blinded by the love of dunya and the love of the nafs.

أَلَيْسَ هَٰذَا بِالْحَقِّ — Allah says: "Isn't this the truth you've always been warned about?" قَالُوا بَلَىٰ وَرَبِّنَا — "They shall say, oh yes indeed, by our Lord, it is." It's too late. قَالَ فَذُوقُوا الْعَذَابَ — Allah says: "Then taste the everlasting torment in this Jahannam — بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ — for you had always disbelieved in the past." Simple as that.

Ayah 35 — Be Patient Like the Prophets of Resolve

Now the last verse — Allah is speaking to the Prophet ﷺ, consoling him, and telling him to remain patient. فَاصْبِرْ — "O Muhammad ﷺ, please remain patient, you are very close to Me." كَمَا صَبَرَ أُولُو الْعَزْمِ — "Just like those of resolve amongst the messengers before you had patience." You're not the only one going through difficulty at the hands of your community. All of the blessed prophets and those who had great resolve — they all went through lots and lots of difficulty.

وَلَا تَسْتَعْجِل لَّهُمْ — "Thus, do not seek to hasten God's judgment upon them." Meaning: don't immediately start cursing them. Look at us — we're so weak. If someone doesn't listen on the first try, we say all sorts of things. Nabi — the method of the Anbiya is with patience. As teachers, as parents, as older brothers and sisters, as husbands and wives — the name of the game is patience. And patience opens up the nusrah — the help of Allah. Don't say "I'll give you three chances, two chances." Be patient, be strong, and turn to Allah for help. Allah will allow you to see things you have never imagined.

كَأَنَّهُمْ يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَ مَا يُوعَدُونَ لَمْ يَلْبَثُوا إِلَّا سَاعَةً مِّن نَّهَارٍ — "The day they see the fulfillment of what they had been promised, it will be as though they had not tarried in life but for an hour of the day." O Nabi, just wait. Do not hasten Allah's punishment, just ask. Trust Me — when Allah's punishment eventually comes, the entire 70, 80, 90 years of causing chaos on this earth, and amassing billions — all of that will seem not like one day, but like an hour of the day. And a person will say, "What a useless life I led."

بَلَاغٌ — "This is a divine declaration." Take warning, O humanity. فَهَلْ يُهْلَكُ إِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ — "For shall any be destroyed but the ungodly people?" Allah says: I'm not going to destroy random people. The reason you're going to be destroyed is if you choose to be ungodly. This is the message of Allah. The story has come to an end here. And Allah is saying: your time is coming, the clock is ticking. The warning signs have come. Ensure that we prepare for the Akhirah.

Closing Reflections

As some have said, أَرْبَعُونَ — the age of forty is the warner. White hair is the warner. Back pain, neck pain, knee pain is a warner. Life is short — they say, "enjoy it." We say the opposite: life is short, so make the most of it by worshipping Allah. You only have one hour. Like we tell our kids: "Tomorrow is the exam — you can play the whole weekend, just study now, and after the whole weekend you can play." Allah says the whole Jannah for eternity is for enjoyment. For eternity. You only have 60 years, out of which already more than half is gone. Just think — my exam is around the corner. And then after that, no one is going to tell me to pray one salah, no one is going to tell me to do this dhikr, go do this khidmah, nothing. It's just pure, pure, pure enjoyment. But that mindset has to be created.

May Allah allow all of us to be able to have that mindset — where we are patient in the face of our difficulties, and where we become people of balagh, propagating. Just as Allah is a muballigh, and Nabi ﷺ is a muballigh — we all need to take from this ayah balagh, that we need to propagate the teachings of the Qur'an. May Allah grant tawfiq to all of us. Ameen, Rabbil Alamin.