Reflect & Connect: Surah Insan - Ep.01 - Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed | 04/8

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

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 open my mind and release the knot from my tongue so that my words remain. 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. O Allah, guide us to what You love and accept my words, actions, intentions, and guidance. You are capable of everything.

Honorable brothers and sisters, dear listeners, Peace be upon you. We ask Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, that He allows us all to remain connected to the Qur'an in Ramadan and outside of Ramadan. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us all from amongst those who the Qur'an enters into our heart, enters into every limb of our body, and for whom the Qur'an is a partner in this world, a partner in the qabr, and a witness on the Day of Judgment.

We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us all from amongst those who are able to connect with the Qur'an on a daily basis, with the message of the Qur'an, are able to implement it within our lives and able to share it with others. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that whatever our needs are — the needs of this dunya, the needs of the qabr, the needs of the akhirah — may He allow those needs to be fulfilled through our attendance and through our participation in a dars of Qur'an. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to allow our questions to be answered, our doubts to be removed, our spirituality to be increased, and allow our presence here to become a means of us all being counted from amongst the students of Qur'an and students of knowledge.

Amin Rabbil Alameen. And since this is the first session after Ramadan as well, this is a very important point for us to make niyyah of istiqamah. Time flew — we thought that was the last session where we covered right before Ramadan, and subhanAllah here we are, Ramadan has completed, and a week even more than that, and we are now starting a new surah.

So we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to grant us all istiqamah and steadfastness. At the beginning of every surah, mashallah, one of the beloved brothers brings these beautiful different style notebooks every single time, just in case you get bored. Every single week, every single tafsir, we have a different set of notebooks here, a different set of pens, for those who want to remain consistent and want to take notes.

I encourage you inshallah not to just take it, but more importantly to fill it up — and fill it up in person. So we want to really have istiqamah. Let's start, force ourselves to say, Ya Allah, inshallah, I make niyyah to be steadfast. I encourage you to take a notebook here and pass it around, and take a pen as well. The only request is that you make du'a for the person who gave it, and utilize it for the purpose that it has been given — which is for you to take notes, to implement it and share it with others.

Introduction to Surah Al-Insan (Surah Al-Dahr)

Surah Al-Dahr, Surah Al-Insan — Dahr means eons, ages; and Insan means the human being. Both of these names have been mentioned in the very first line of the surah, and both of them are mentioned in the books of tafsir.

After that, we seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan. In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

This surah, from amongst its many virtues, is the fact that the Prophet ﷺ would recite Surah Al-Sajdah and Surah Al-Dahr on the Fajr of Friday on a regular basis. And in another narration it has been mentioned that the most virtuous salah with jama'ah of the entire week — the most rewarding salah with jama'ah of the entire week — is the Fajr of Friday. So the Prophet ﷺ chose this surah to be recited in the most virtuous jama'ah of the entire week.

So this is one of the many ways you can understand the status and the role that this surah has. It has a beautiful description of the beginning of the human being, and then the different options that a human being has — either towards Jahannam and Jannah — and a description of both comes within the first few verses that were recited.

The Opening Verses of Surah Al-Insan

"Has it ever occurred to man that there were eons in the course of time when he was nothing even to be mentioned?"

"Indeed it is We alone who have created man from a sperm drop of mingled fluid to try him in life. Thus We make him a being endowed with hearing and seeing."

"Indeed it is We alone who have shown him the way, to be either thankful or ungrateful."

"Indeed it is We alone who have prepared for the disbelievers — salasil, chains; aghlalan, yokes; and a flaming fire of Jahannam."

"And at the opposite end, as for the virtuous ones — they shall drink from a chalice of wine tinged with a mixture of camphor."

"Flowing from a spring from which the worthy servants of Allah alone shall drink — which they themselves shall cause to gush at their command in fountains."

"Such is for those who fulfill their vows, and who fear a day whose evil is on the wing — flying far and wide."

Tafsir of Verse 1: The Blessing of Existence

Allah azza wa jal begins this surah with a verse that is so powerful. The word hal — "has it occurred" — comes either as they say, اسْتِفْهَامٌ تَقْرِيرِيٌّ, to come in the meaning of لَقَدْ — most definitely. The question is rhetorical, and the answer — which is most definitely of course — is affirmed. And sometimes hal comes in the meaning of اسْتِفْهَامٌ إِنْكَارِيٌّ, where you are trying to deny something — "Did I not fulfill the rights of you as a guest?" or "Did I not teach you properly?" So the answer a person would say is لَقَدْ, most definitely. Here of course it comes in the meaning of لَقَدْ — most definitely a time has come on this human being — many decades, no centuries, no eons — in which he didn't exist.

So the first blessing — before we come to iman, before we come to Islam, before we even come to being a human being — the first blessing that a person should be thinking about is the blessing of wujud, the blessing of existence, the blessing of actually being created by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That if it wasn't for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, we would not have even been created. This is the very first blessing that Allah azza wa jal has given us.

Why Did Allah Create Us?

Now the question is — why did He create us? This is the main question. Allah azza wa jal in Surah Hud, ayah 118–119, mentions:

"If your Lord wanted, He would have forced everyone to be one group — meaning everyone would have been a believer, or everyone would have been a disbeliever. But that's not the case. وَلَا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ — People continue to differ. They are different groups. There are some believers, some disbelievers. There are some theists, some atheists. And within the theists, also so many different types. Except for the one whom your Lord has mercy upon. And it is for that reason that He created them."

This is such an amazing ayah. Very clear in this verse of the Qur'an, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying: Allah created us for the sake of mercy. Although there are certain people who have an opinion — which is not the stronger opinion — that the reason Allah created us is for اخْتِلَاف. We'll say, no. Instead we'll say Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created us to have mercy upon us. However the difficulties that come our way are a response to our own deeds. But the purpose — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, الْوَدُودُ الرَّحِيمُ الْحَنَّانُ الْمَنَّانُ الرَّحْمَانُ الرَّحِيمُ — is that Allah chose us to be recipients of His sifat. Allah chose us to be able to enjoy those attributes of His. Through our creation we are able to enjoy and witness the attributes of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Of course if someone chooses willingly to witness Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's attributes of anger and retribution, then that's up to him. But otherwise the main purpose that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created us is for us to be able to enjoy Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's mercy.

The Amanah: The Trust We Accepted

When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"Indeed Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala presented the amanah upon the heavens, the earth, and the mountains. But all of these massive creations said, 'No, Ya Allah, we are very weak. We are not capable of taking on this amanah.' They were scared of this responsibility. The human being said, 'I'm ready. I'm ready to become Your vicegerent. I'm ready to become Your representative on earth. I'm ready to be a caller towards the deen.'"

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا — "The human being, he is oppressive and ignorant." Meaning, if you take on a responsibility, you need to fulfill it. Why take on a responsibility and then not fulfill it? That is so foolish of the human being — so oppressive against himself — that he chose to take a responsibility and then decided not to fulfill it. And because of not fulfilling it, unfortunately becomes worthy of going towards Hellfire.

So this amanah that we have is being a representative of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on earth. Allah says in another place in Surah Al-Jathiyah:

"Indeed, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala ordained for you — Allah put everything in the heavens and everything on the earth to serve you."

Reflecting on the Greatness of Allah's Creation

This past week, many of us were able to spend some time with family and friends. Alhamdulillah, I was able to go visit some of the beautiful creations of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on the west coast — more specifically, the Grand Canyon region. We had some programs with some of the youth out there, and we did one session of stargazing in the middle of nowhere. And it was a really powerful sight.

It's true — to look up and see billions of stars. It seemed to me as galaxies as well. None of us had ever seen anything of that sort, even the local youth who had driven about two to two-and-a-half hours to come see. We went and witnessed this after moonset — around 3 o'clock. To be able to see even before dawn starts, and after moonset, that time between 1:30 to 3:30 approximately — the best time to see it, especially when the moon is around. You want to see it after it has fully set.

And when you are in front of nature — whether it's these massive mountains, whether it's the canyons, whether it's the stars, whether it is a massive ocean — one great benefit of nature is you regard yourself as so insignificant. In front of nature, in front of these forces of nature, we're nothing. Every single week, there's some new catastrophe happening. Now we have storms and floods taking place in the Kentucky region. May Allah make it easy for the brothers and sisters going through so much difficulty.

But the idea is — in front of nature, every single one of us is nothing. The strongest of nations is not able to stand up and take care of its own country when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala unleashes the power of nature.

When you look at these stars — some of them that don't even exist today, that you're seeing — the light came out billions of years ago. By the time it reached us, the star is gone. It's not even there anymore. Just think about that. The light is reaching from such a distance that you're looking at it today, it's twinkling, but it twinkled 4 billion years ago, 5 billion years ago, 6 billion years ago. It's gone, it doesn't even exist anymore. SubhanAllah.

When you think about how massive these things are, and how this entire earth is not even a speck of a speck of a speck of one of those things — then you think, who am I? I'm nobody. If the earth is nobody, if the Milky Way galaxy is nobody, then what am I? Nothing.

But yet look at the verse of the Qur'an I just recited, and so many other verses, where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: وَسَخَّرَ لَكُم مَّا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا مِّنْهُ — "All of it has been subjugated — in the heavens and the earth — for you." Do you realize your status? Did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala seriously create us to play video games? Did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala seriously create us to just go through mindless scrolling? When you are the reason Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala subjugated these stars — these stars that are trillions and billions of miles away — they are subjugated for us. And that which we see is very little compared to that which we don't see. That which we know is very little compared to that which we don't know.

It is such a humbling experience. And at the same time, it's such an eye-opening experience to say, SubhanAllah! Recognize your value. Recognize who you are, O Insan! You have a status like no other. How can you be running after the same things that animals run after? Animals run after food, animals run after procreation. How can a human being run after the same things? There has to be a much greater goal.

And when you start looking up and looking down and all around at nature, you start realizing: wow, SubhanAllah, who am I? Where am I? This is one of the main reflections all of us should be doing as we engage with nature.

I remember one of our beloved brothers said: "Allah didn't have to create this world this beautiful. Allah didn't have to create it. Could have made it a box. Do your work and come up, done." Why did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — when you look at the oceans — when I was in Malawi a few months ago, just within Lake Malawi, there are 700 species of fish that are not found anywhere else in the world. If you just Google "Lake Malawi fish," you'll see things that are just mind-boggling. Why did Allah azza wa jal have to create such fish that are just spectacular — the colors, the way they act, the way they interact, miles below the surface? Why did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala create these canyons? And why did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala create these mountain ranges that are so different?

It was actually snowing when we went. We thought we ran away from snow and cold, but subhanAllah it was cold over there. But فِيهِ خَيْر — there was good in it, because snow-capped mountains look even more beautiful. And what's so ajeeb — as we were standing there by the canyon, the weather was changing every 4 to 5 minutes. It was sleet, and then the sun would shine to an extent that I could feel the heat on my arms. Then it would change to snow. Then rain. Then snow. Then sunlight. The weather was just continuously changing. They say it has its own weather — not on a daily basis, not even an hourly basis. I would say minute by minute we witnessed this.

So in all of that nature — it's a reminder. The Surah Al-Ghashiyah we read in Jum'ah and Eid:

"Do they not look at the camel — how it was created? And at the heavens — how they were raised? And at the mountains — how they have been placed? And at the earth — how it has been laid out?"

Meaning, Allah wants us to look at nature. This is not something un-Islamic. This is the most Islamic thing to do — that you are supposed to reflect on nature on your drive home, on your drive to school, wherever it is. Look at the weather, look at the changing of the day and the night, look at the weather patterns, look at the roses. Now mashallah spring is here. Look at the changes — the green grass that is going to be coming. All of those things, my beloved friends.

As summer approaches, a reminder to all of us to spend time away from the screens and connect ourselves with nature. The world is the biggest screen. Which movie can even come close to being as beautiful as this world? Cannot find. Whether it's a zoo, whether it's an aquarium, whether it's some tropical place. Mashallah we live in such a massive beautiful country that you don't even need to travel abroad to witness the great national parks that we have.

One of our asatidah here — mashallah, a teacher of hadith — he loves national parks and actually did a whole presentation for the students on the various national parks. Every year he tries to visit a different national park. My point is, these are things that are Islamic. And we should go pray tahajjud in a national park. We should go do qiyam al-layl under the stars. We should go establish salah with adhan and iqamah on the peaks of the mountains. We should go do dhikr out loud in these places.

Because every single spot that your voice reaches — all of that is going to be a witness for you on the Day of Judgment. You go and say, "Ya Allah, I've come here, I don't know if any other Muslim has ever come here, and I don't know if anyone has ever established salah on this ground, and I'm going to do that as the first person." Your niyyah should be: all these places where my voice reaches in the night, I'm giving the adhan. Let them all bear witness to tawheed, to the risalah, that I have spoken about through the adhan. So there are multiple layers of intention.

So this spring and summer — do plan your family vacation. But I encourage you not to just go to Disney and places like that. You know where that money is being used. And you know what these companies are unfortunately all about. And the majority of the time, there is so much nudity and hiwa'iyyah in all these places as well. As Muslims, we have to be smart about where we spend our time on vacation. Alhamdulillah, we should spend it in places that we don't come back having filled our eyes with sin, but instead we come back with ma'rifah of Allah. We come back with a closer relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We come back more impressed with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

So I encourage you to spend time outdoors. But make sure you choose the place you go. Many of these places are not befitting for us Muslims to visit. A lot of the amusement parks — how much haram a person sees in those places. Wallahi, I mean I'm serious — how are we going to answer Allah? How much haram did you see? Ya Allah, because I wanted one thrill ride. Is that really an acceptable answer in the court of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? You have to go to the store, you have to go to the office — sometimes you are forced to do that, and you guard your gaze. But do not unnecessarily put yourself in a position where your gaze falls on pure, pure haram with no excuse for it.

So what alternative do we have? Quiet places, connecting ourselves with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's creation. Even the beach — there are times to go, there are places to go. Not every beach is a place for a Muslim to go. Not every time is the right time. Alhamdulillah we have Salat al-Fajr, we have ishraq on the beach. There are times we can go where it's quiet. Make it Islamic — but we have to ensure that we do it in an Islamic manner and that we come back more refreshed instead of being disconnected.

The Amanah and the Rectification of the Nafs

So this amanah that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave the human being — that is what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala refers to in another place in Surah Al-Shams:

"Whoever has rectified his nafs is successful. Whoever destroyed his nafs — did not work on his nafs purification — he is a failure." The amanah is the rectification of the nafs, so that you become a vicegerent of Allah on earth. That's it, that's the biggest thing. If we fulfill it, then alhamdulillah, it is worth it that all of these creations Allah azza wa jal has placed for us.

What Awaits in Jannah

My beloved brothers, what is waiting at the other end? The Prophet ﷺ narrated that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"I have prepared for My pious righteous servants what no eye has ever seen, which no ear has ever heard, and which no mind has ever conceived of."

Every single time I visited Sri Lanka long ago with my ustad, and we saw the tea plantations — I share the story again. I remember I was getting a little carsick because we were going around the mountains, beautiful place. So I had my head down. He looked around, saw my head down, saw the other ulama in the car talking to each other, and he got upset. He said, "Why are you talking to each other? And why have you got your head down?" He told me — he didn't know I was carsick. He said, "Look outside. This is the biggest ibadah right now — not to talk, and not to look down. The ibadah, the dhikr, is to look outside."

This is what we learn from our teachers. The dhikr is to look outside. Look at those mountains, look at those tea plantations, look at the greenery out there. When I looked at the greenery of the plantations, the first thing that comes to my mind is: what is Jannah going to be like? Jannah means a garden. A very thick garden. مُدْهَامَّتَانِ — gardens so thick that from a distance they look black. They're so green and so thick that from far away they look dark. Isn't that how it is when you see a huge group of trees from far away — from a distance it looks dark?

That's what it is. So Allah azza wa jal is showing us small glimpses of Jannah in this dunya, for you to think that even the most beautiful scenery of this dunya is something you can see. And Allah says, "I created for you in Jannah what no eye has ever seen." Whatever you see in this world is definitely not Jannah. It is going to be way beyond that. Whatever description you have heard from the Qur'an — that is just to get you started. And can you imagine it? No. وَلَا خَطَرَ عَلَى قَلْبِ بَشَرٍ — you cannot even conceive of it. Whatever you think of it in your mind, Jannah is something else. SubhanAllah.

Then the Prophet ﷺ recited:

"No soul knows what has been أُخْفِيَ — hidden — for him, from the joy of the eyes. This is a reward for the actions that they did in the world."

Notice here, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says أُخْفِيَ — hidden. Meaning Jannah, the rewards of Jannah, are hidden. That is the whole challenge. So the people who are being killed and tortured to death all over the globe — ahl al-haqq — what we need to understand is that Jannah is waiting for them, most definitely. But this is a reward that has been hidden. If that reward was shown to all of us right now, we would be willing to make the biggest sacrifice right now. But why are we not willing to make sacrifice for the deen? Why is it so hard for us to do the basic fara'id right after Ramadan? Because Jannah is hidden. And when Jannah is hidden, then the test comes of who are the true lovers of Allah, and who are not.

The Price of Jannah — Making Sacrifice in an Era of Fitnah

My beloved friends, this Jannah has a price that we have to pay. And that price is that a person leads a life in which he puts his nafs in line with what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants. The Prophet ﷺ mentioned:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2450)

"Listen, the product that Allah is selling is expensive. And what Allah is selling is Jannah." Ghaliyah — it is expensive.

Earlier today I was speaking to my ustad, and the key thing he was reminding me — and through me, reminding all of you — is that the days of mujahidah are here. The days of sacrifice are here. If you're not willing to roll up your sleeve and make sacrifice, then be prepared to be a loser. Not a loser in the dunya — subhanAllah, you're not necessarily going to lose in the dunya.

Today I was speaking to the students, I said, "Look at the stock market. You have 11 trillion dollars in the past week gone. 11 trillion. That is multiple years of GDP of this country, wiped out." But even in the process of this, there will be 0.001% of people who will still be making money. They're going to come out even more wealthy at the end. Within the days, within hours, they're still going to be playing their cards in a way that they make tons of money. That's just the way it's set up. But the vast majority of people — their entire investments, their entire retirements, their entire life savings — gone, wiped out.

And subhanAllah, I thought about the dunya. Now think about the spiritual situation. The conditions are becoming difficult for the ummah all over the world. Every single day, from every part of the world, you come out with a different piece of news. What's happening in India? SubhanAllah. What's happening in Yemen? What's happening in Sham? What's happening in Gaza? What's happening here? Every single day you look and it's another new piece of sad news. And in this era of difficulty, what will happen? The same thing will happen. Majority of the people will lose. How will they lose? They will lose their deen. They will say, "It's not worth it. This is too much for me. If this is the price I have to pay, I'm not going to be able to do that. I love my house, my career, my passport, my car — I don't want to lose this stuff." And then there will be a certain group of 1% who will actually come out stronger than they were going in. These are the ones who inshallah will be raised with the Sahaba on the Day of Judgment.

They will be the ones whom Rasulullah ﷺ called "my brothers." He said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 249)

"I wish I could meet my brothers." The Sahaba said, "Ya Rasulullah, are we not your brothers?" And he said, "No, you are my companions. You are my ashab." So the Sahaba asked, then who are your brothers? And he said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 249)

"Those who are going to come afterwards, who are going to believe in me and my message without having seen me." The Sahaba — it is as though he is saying — you are making unbelievable sacrifices. But you see me. You engage with me. You get to shake my hands, look at my beautiful face, hear Qur'an being freshly revealed from my tongue. And these people are going to come in 2025. They are not going to see any of that. And yet they are going to be strong Muslims, strong believers. And the sacrifice they will have to make will be so great that if they somehow manage to stay firm, then they deserve to be called my brothers.

So understand that there will be a 1% who, after all of this, will come out stronger than ever before — like the brothers of the Prophet ﷺ. But the question is: where are you and I going to be? Are we going to be part of the 99%? Or are we going to be that 1%? The test is here.

Jannah is not cheap. Allah has raised the price for Jannah. In order for a person to get to Jannah, he needs to be willing to make sacrifices. Share this with your wife, your kids, your mom, dad, your husband — whoever it may be. We have to be men or women of sacrifice. If we are not willing to make sacrifice, then be prepared to lose your deen.

I encourage you to read Kitab al-Fitn at home. You don't have to be a scholar — just Kitab al-Fitn, the book on the trials and tribulations. From any book of hadith — pick up Mishkat al-Masabih, pick up Bukhari, pick up Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud — read Kitab al-Fitn. You don't even need commentary. You just read it, look at your wife, look at your husband, read, look up. It is so obvious what is going on. And it is very important, because our children and ourselves need to know that what is happening has all been prophesied by the Prophet ﷺ.

Someone among the students asked me: this is difficult, but isn't it going to maybe just end after a little bit of time? The answer is — yes, it will end. But when it ends, where will you be? Will you be from the 99% or the 1%? And after it ends, will it be quiet forever? No. The Prophet ﷺ said — he gathered the Sahaba, it was Dhuhr time, it was hot, they were coming back from an expedition. Everyone was already resting, some were working on their fencing skills, others sharpening their swords, doing different things. And the Prophet's ﷺ muezzin called out, الصَّلَاةُ الْجَامِعَةُ — which means "come together," usually for a very important announcement. So they all gathered. And the Prophet ﷺ said — the gist of the hadith — "As a nabi, I have to give you glad tidings and I have to give you warnings. That's my job. I can't always give you nice things."

And that is the job of imams. I keep reminding my fellow imams and the community as well — the job of the imam is not to just keep patting on the back and say, "Inshallah bhai, everything is fine." There are times when we have to say, "No, this is not fine. This is not acceptable."

This reminds me of a sheikhul hadith from a madrasa in America. He told me the story himself. He said when he came to America as an imam in a masjid, the timetable for the salah was set by the board — not him. The religious committee made it. The imam had no say in anything — not in Eid, not in Ramadan. Most imams today in America have no say in when Eid is, when Ramadan starts, what the salah times are. People who do not even want to sit and listen to half an hour of a fiqh discussion are the ones making decisions on all these issues. And because of politics — wherever you have to keep donors happy, keep people happy — decisions get made based on what people want.

Deen is not based on democracy. This may be the way of other religions, not Islam. Islam is based on the truth. Whatever is the truth, we follow it — regardless of how inconvenient it may be. We do not judge the truth by how many people are following it. We judge the truth by the proof, not by how many are following it.

So this imam said: their salah times were set without his knowledge. He went and looked at the timetable, and they had set Isha time before Isha time actually starts. He told the board, "This Isha time is wrong." You know what they told him? "Brother, you lead Isha, and then go to your home and repeat it at your time." Not realizing that if the imam believes Isha time has not started, not only is his own salah not valid — everyone's salah behind him is also invalid. Something as basic as this, they don't understand. SubhanAllah.

So the issue is — we have to be honest. We cannot say what people want to hear. Then the Prophet ﷺ, in this hadith, talked about fitnahs that will come towards the end of times. And I'll just share one part. He said:

(Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Fitn, Hadith 2886)

"A fitnah will come, and a believer will say, 'This is my destruction. I am lost. I will lose my faith or I will lose my life.' Then the fitnah will come to an end. Then another fitnah will come. And when he looks at this new fitnah, he will regard the previous fitnah as absolutely insignificant — because every fitnah will make the previous one look insignificant. This will happen until the Day of Judgment."

So every test is going to be more challenging than the previous one. Will the test end? Yes, it will. But then the next one is going to be more difficult. And the question is — in the process, where will we come out? Successful or as failures?

These are the signs that the Prophet ﷺ already laid out for us. They say on the roads: "Icy bridge ahead — drive carefully." These are signs that the Prophet ﷺ already laid out. This is the time for us to hold on to the steering wheel. This is the time for us to drive very carefully, because things will continuously become more challenging.

The Seven Blessings That Make Us Responsible Before Allah

Now, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave us a few blessings in this world that make us mukallaf — meaning Allah azza wa jal expects something from us, we are expected to worship Him. Let's go through those.

Number One: Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave us al-kawn — the world. The world itself is a place where Allah's names and attributes are manifested. The entire world is a massive billboard to the existence of Allah.

Number Two: Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave us intelligence — 'aql. Through 'aql, a person is able to ask himself the big questions. If Allah created this mountain, and Allah created this, and Allah created that — then who created me? If Allah created everything with a purpose, and everything is doing what it was created for — what has Allah created me for? So, alhamdulillah, we have 'aql.

Number Three: Allah gave us fitrah — the innate nature. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"The nature that Allah created humanity upon." This fitrah naturally gravitates towards good things, and naturally finds dislike in those things which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has made haram or made dirty.

Number Four: Allah created shahwah — lust. Interestingly enough, shahwah is one of the big blessings of Allah. How is that? Because it is through the control of shahwah that a person gets close to Allah. If shahwah were not there, there would be no test. The fact that we channel the shahwah in a manner that Allah wants allows us to reach places we would have otherwise never reached. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"Who can be more astray than the one who follows his desires without any guidance from Allah?" Meaning, if you follow your desires while they are in accordance with Allah, then you will actually reach Allah. The name of the game is to control those desires.

Number Five: The ability to choose. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave all of us free will and allowed us to choose what we wish. The ulema have said something beautiful — Allah ordered His servants to do good while giving them a choice: أَمَرَ عِبَادَهُ تَخْيِيرًا. He prohibited them from doing that which is forbidden as a warning: وَنَهَاهُمْ تَحْذِيرًا. And Allah made them responsible for small, easy things: وَكَلَّفَ يَسِيرًا. And He did not make their responsibilities difficult: وَلَمْ يُكَلِّفْ عَسِيرًا. As He says in the Qur'an:

"Allah will not ask you to do what you cannot handle." And He says:

"Allah wants ease for you and does not want difficulty for you." The deen is easy — for the one whom Allah makes it easy. If you want to follow the deen, mashallah, you can do it. How did people who never recited the Qur'an the whole year recite the full 30 juz in Ramadan? Not just once — some did it many times. When we want to do something, we are able to do it. So we should not say the deen is difficult. The deen is not difficult. Our nafs is difficult. You have to push back and say, "No, O nafs, I am going to do what Allah has asked me to do." And then Allah gives a great deal in return for even a little good: وَأَعْطَى عَلَى الْقَلِيلِ كَثِيرًا.

Number Six: The shari'ah. The shari'ah is the ultimate decider between right and wrong — the ultimate compass. Anytime our mind says something, anytime our 'aql says something about the rights of husbands, rights of wives, rights of children, rights of parents — however passionate we may be about something — we must bring it in front of the shari'ah. Leave your passion to one side. Leave your intellectual conclusions to one side. Bring it in front of the shari'ah and let the shari'ah decide if this is acceptable or not. We only have a few years in this world. Just follow the shari'ah — and then a time will come when you can follow your nafs. Once we get to the akhirah, in Jannah inshallah, then whatever the nafs wants, you can have.

Number Seven: Allah gave us quwwah — strength. Allah gave us the physical strength to pray, to move around, to go seek knowledge, to speak, and so forth. These are the gifts of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that we are enjoying.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in Surah Al-Mulk:

"Allah created death and life to test you — to see who amongst you is best in good deeds." Notice Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala brought death first, and then life. Why? Because life has many options — go to the cereal aisle and see how many options you have. But death has only two options. As soon as a person dies: either towards paradise or either towards Hell. And Allah forbid, if it is the wrong side — then it is خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا — in it forever.

So these are the seven things: Allah gave us the world, intelligence, innate nature, lust, free will, the shari'ah, and strength. All of these gifts, when used properly, allow a person to become a true vicegerent of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on this earth — to get Jannah and protect themselves from Jahannam.

Back to the Ayah: Destroying the Ego

So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: O human being, has it not ever occurred to you that you never existed? There was a time when you never existed. Not for a small amount of time — but a massive amount of time.

My beloved brothers, this ayah is so powerful in destroying the nafs, in destroying the ego. Whatever you are haughty about — why do you think of yourself as superior to others? I'm great at this, I'm great at that. Guess what — 70 years ago, you never existed. What are you haughty about? The entire world — no one knew your name. Your mom and dad never even knew your name 70 years, 80 years, 50 years ago. So what is the reason for this arrogance? And then 50, 40 years from now, or 10 years from now, or even 5 years from now, you won't be present. How can a person whose beginning is nonexistence, whose ending is nonexistence, and whose entire stay on this 4.5-billion-year-old earth is only 70, 75, 80, maybe 100 years — how can such a person be arrogant? This is one of the biggest beautiful take-home points for all of us.

When we think of this ayah, we should think: there is no reason for you and I to think of ourselves as something great. Whatever greatness we have comes from nothing but the creation of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala within us. We are a manifestation of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's greatness. We have no greatness within ourselves at all.

The Humble Origin of the Human Being

"Indeed, We alone created the human being from a mixed sperm drop." Allah azza wa jal is saying: your beginning is not only so humble, so small, so tiny — it is also so impure.

This one king was acting haughty, and he said to a scholar: "Do you know who you are speaking with? Watch your language." So the scholar said: "Oh master, oh king, I know who I am speaking with." The king said, "Who are you speaking with?" He replied:

"أَوَّلُكَ نُطْفَةٌ وَآخِرُكَ جِيفَةٌ وَبَيْنَهُمَا تَحْمِلُ الْعَذِرَةَ" — "I am speaking to the one whose beginning is a dirty drop of semen — najis, filth that causes wudu to break and ghusl to become necessary. That is your beginning. And your ending is a stinking corpse — you cannot come close to a body after a day or two. And in between, you are carrying najasah and filth throughout your entire body."

You just cut one little area — a paper cut. What comes out? Blood. Blood is najis. SubhanAllah. So this is our beginning, our middle, and our end. This should create humility within a person.

The Purpose: Ibtila — Test

Allah says: نَبْتَلِيهِ — ibtila: to try him in life. Every single move, every single second that we are going through this world — ease or difficulty, comfort or discomfort, health or sickness — my beloved brothers and sisters, it's a test. Every day you wake up with a backache — that is a test. Every day you wake up without a backache — that is a test. Every day you wake up with arthritis — that is a test. Every day you wake up with painless bones — that is a test. Every day you wake up with cancer — that is a test. Every day you wake up without cancer — that is a test.

All of it is a test — whether it is the absence of disease or the presence of disease. Are you going to be grateful or are you going to be ungrateful? For those of us who are not suffering a specific illness — honestly, we fail the test. How much shukr did I do since morning that I don't have such-and-such disease? How much of us have made shukr? Alhamdulillah, I prayed my sunnah today. Alhamdulillah, I prayed my fardh salah in the masjid. How much shukr are we doing? So the name of the game is shukr or sabr — one of the two.

The Blessing of Hearing and Sight

"Thus We made him a being endowed with hearing and seeing." We have talked about this before — sama' is mentioned as one of the first blessings because when the baby is being formed, the ability to hear is one of the first senses Allah gives to a forming baby — before any of the other senses. So it has been mentioned first. And Allah says:

"Indeed, the ears, the eyes, and the heart — all of them will be questioned on the Day of Judgment." So part of the ibtila, the test of the human being, is that Allah wants to see how we use our ears and how we use our eyes.

The Path Has Been Shown

Allah says: إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ — "Indeed it is We alone who have shown him the path." Allah gave us the hidayah. And Allah says in another place:

"It is a responsibility upon Allah to show the path." So my brothers, if we say "I'm lost, I don't know how to get to Allah" — we are lying. The answer is there; we're just not looking where it is. How can we say we don't know how to get to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? We simply have to connect ourselves with the right people — the company of the awliya Allah, those who are connected with Allah. Through the barakah of their company, inshallah, we will be rightly guided as the vicegerents of the anbiya.

I spoke about this so much in the last 10 nights of Ramadan — again and again honing in on the same topic: the importance of good companionship, the importance of being connected with awliya Allah. Ramadan is gone. But if we remain connected with the right company, we will see ourselves still staying strong. And if we are not connected with the right company, unfortunately we will lose that.

So Allah says, "I have already guided you, I have shown you the path." Now it is up to you — are you going to become shakir, or are you going to become kafir? Are you going to be thankful, or ungrateful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?

The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2486; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1764)

"The one who eats and is grateful is like the one who fasts and is patient." So he is eating, but he makes so much shukr that he can possibly get the reward of someone doing a nafl fast. We are enjoying unprecedented blessings here in this country. And we ask Allah azza wa jal, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, that He does not take away these blessings from us. One of the du'as we should be focusing on:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2739)

"O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the cessation of Your blessings, from the removal of Your well-being, from Your sudden punishment, and from all forms of Your anger." Four things: zawal ni'matik — the sudden collapse of Your blessings; tahawwul 'afiyatik — Your well-being being moved away from me; faja'at niqmatik — sudden punishment; and jami'i sakhatik — all forms of Your anger. We cannot handle Allah's anger.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions:

"O Rasulullah, if you were to obey the majority of the people on this earth, they will mislead you from Allah's path." Allah is telling who? The Prophet ﷺ. If you were to take a consensus and follow majority opinion — the Prophet ﷺ is being told — you will be misled. Because why?

"Very few of My servants are grateful." Majority of the servants are not grateful. We have heard this many times — in the Qur'an, great numbers are often used in a negative sense and qalil (small number) in a positive sense. So do not be afraid of being with a small group. Those who are the disbelievers — what has Allah prepared for them? Chains, yokes, and a flaming fire — already prepared. It is not that it is going to happen later. It is waiting for them. Every single day they are digging their place in Jahannam deeper and deeper.

And on the other hand, as for the righteous people — what should we talk about? Their living arrangements? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is simply speaking about the way they are going to drink, and the type of mixtures in their drinks. If this is the condition of the goblets — we are going to continue in Surah Al-Dahr inshallah — there is so much emphasis, so much description in Surah Al-Dahr about the drinks. What type of glass they will have, what will be in it, who will be serving it. So much emphasis on just one blessing of drink.

Every single time we drink water in this dunya, or any other juice, and are enjoying it — think about the blessings that Allah has kept for us in the akhirah. And when a person is restraining himself from smoking haram, from drinking haram — think about what is waiting for us in the akhirah.

Practical Guidance for the Era of Fitnah

Inshallah, I want to share some du'as that my ustad shared with me today, and I want to share them with our community. One of the things I asked him: what should be the way forward for our community in this era of fitnah that we live in? He said: we are living in a dajjali fitnah, big time. And what we need to emphasize to all those who want to stay strong and become that 0.1% or 1% who come out stronger through this fitnah is — Surah Al-Kahf.

Reading of Surah Al-Kahf. I encourage all of us. If you become fluent in it, it will take you no more than 15 to 18 minutes to read. The only way to become more fluent is by reading it more. If you start reading it every day, then inshallah, easily within a couple of weeks — within one month — you will be able to read it within 15 minutes. And inshallah you will be motivated and enjoy it.

You should also make a niyyah that within the next 3 to 4 months, you will memorize it ayah by ayah. Honestly, every one of you should make this goal — those who are not already hafidh of Surah Al-Kahf. It is not impossible. Slow and steady wins the race. Take one line, two lines. Have a teacher — don't try to do it on your own, because then we fall off. Have an online or on-site teacher who will hold you accountable.

For those who say they can't memorize the whole thing or read the whole thing every day — my appeal to you is to read the first 10 and the last 10 ayahs every single day inshallah.

The Second Practice: The du'a that the Prophet ﷺ recited in Khandaq — the du'a of Khandaq. In the battle of Khandaq, as you know, which was one of the toughest battles the Muslims faced. Allah describes how tough it was:

"The hearts reached the throats, and you were shaken to your core." The Sahaba said: "Ya Rasulullah, is there any du'a that we can recite? For indeed our hearts have reached our throats from fear." You know when you say your heart starts beating fast when you're scared? Imagine how fast it would have to beat for you to feel that your heart has been dislodged from your chest and gone through the throat to reach your mouth. That is what the Qur'an says happened to the Sahaba. And so the Prophet ﷺ gave them this du'a:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 23606)

"O Allah, conceal our shortcomings and give us safety during fear." And in the hadith of Imam Ahmad, what happened? Allah accepted this du'a and then He smashed the faces of the enemies at Khandaq with a powerful wind. Allah azza wa jal struck them and defeated them with the wind.

My ustad said: read this at least 21 times every single day. Make niyyah for your spouse, your kids, your home, your iman, your local masjid, the masajid, institutions, ma'ahid, seminaries, madaris, deeni efforts across the globe, and the entire Muslim ummah in general. Please make a habit of reading this minimum 21 times — you can read it after any one salah, or more if you wish.

The Third Practice: For those asking how to help the people who are oppressed, who are without any charges being thrown into prisons, in jails, in torture chambers — read this du'a 21 times or more with the niyyah of Allah azza wa jal bringing ease for all those mazlumeen across the globe. This is an ayah from Surah An-Nisa, ayah 75:

"O our Lord, rescue us from this town whose affluent and influential people are oppressors. And appoint for us from Your presence a guardian. And appoint for us from Your presence a helper." We give up on the dunya. No human being is standing up for us. Ya Allah, appoint for us a guardian from Your presence and a helper from Your end.

I ask Allah to grant me and all of us tawfiq, and our family members inshallah, to recite these on a daily basis. Please make this a habit inshallah ta'ala.

Recitation: First 10 and Last 10 Ayahs of Surah Al-Kahf

In order to practice on what we are saying, let us read the first 10 and the last 10 ayahs of Surah Al-Kahf together. Hopefully you can do this on a regular basis every single day.

This doesn't take too long — 3 to 4 minutes a day. InshAllah make this a habit. I ask Allah to grant me tawfiq, and all of us and our family members inshallah, to recite this on a daily basis. And may Allah through the barakah of Surah Al-Kahf allow us to distinguish between right and wrong, between truth and falsehood, and be able to be amongst those who stand firm on the truth and warn others from falsehood.

Announcements

Inshallah our Salam Collective programs will begin from next week. Monday nights inshallah for working adults 35 and above. Thursday nights for college students. Friday nights for high school students inshallah. The Seerah program will also restart this Thursday — the weekly Seerah Dars. If you do not receive our messages or are not aware of our programs inshallah, you can scan the WhatsApp group link here. If you are coming for the first time and would like to get the link to any of the programs or the live streaming, please join us through the link provided.

We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make all of these programs a means of our hidayah and the hidayah of thousands of people across the globe.