Opening Supplications

Respected listeners, dear brothers and sisters, As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make this gathering, like any other gathering of knowledge and dhikr in His house, to be a very blessed one. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that He allows every one of us to remain sincere in our coming here and allow us to receive every single answer that we are looking for in our life through the barakah of the Qur'an. May Allah azza wa jal allow us to, through the barakah of this gathering, build a stronger relationship with the book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. May He allow us to contemplate over its meanings, may He allow us to trust that the Qur'an has solutions to all of our difficulties. And may He make you and I amongst those who are blessed to be reciting it abundantly, every single day. That may our lips always be moist in His remembrance — sometimes through salawat, sometimes through Qur'an, sometimes through some other dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

So, like we always mention at the beginning of every dars, our niyyah should be: Allah, allow me to practice whatever I hear, allow me to propagate whatever I hear, and allow me to get the solutions to what I'm looking for in my life. There are a few brothers who reached out before Isha for some specific issues — I told them, come to the tafsir, and insha'Allah if you are sincere in what you're looking for, you'll get the answer. Whatever issue you're dealing with, insha'Allah Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will allow it to come about throughout tonight's discourse.

Having said that, I also want to mention that alhamdulillah there is a lot of effort being done here in making a very detailed description of each tafsir. So those of you who are listening online, and those listening here, you can go back home and listen afterwards. Under the description of each tafsir, you'll see timestamps that are meticulously being done by one of our students here — may Allah reward him for that and put barakah in his knowledge and his amal. It is very meticulously done so that anytime you want to get a gist of what was covered today you can easily go there. The entire one hour and fifteen minutes or so is divided based on the topics covered, and you can with the press of one link immediately go to that section. So I want you all to be aware of this so you can benefit from it, because I know many times you say, "Oh, I heard that story, I want to hear it again," or "I heard that one hadith, I want to hear it again," and you wonder where it was. So mashallah this is being done properly. Please do benefit from this and share it with others, so that for the sake of reviewing you can go back to those sections.

Āyahs 17–22: The Miracle of the Cave

Āyah 17 – The Sun Deviates for the Sleepers

Allah azza wa jal mentions in these verses from 17 to 22 the miracle of the protection of these individuals. He says — and the word وَتَرَى means: are you seeing? Obviously we're not there. Allah azza wa jal wants us to imagine as though we are there and can witness that scene.

What do you see in that scene? You have these people lying inside this cave, and you're seeing the atmospheric conditions changing. You would have seen the sun as it rose, inclining away from their cave towards their right, and as it set, declining away from them towards the left, while they were asleep in a deep hollow within.

What is happening here? The sun when it rose from the east and set in the west — although they were lying in an open part of this large cave, in which the sunlight would have been directly hitting them — Allah azza wa jal made the sun change its pattern specifically for these individuals so that direct rays of sunlight would not touch them, would not reach them inside the cave, even though it was an open area where, had it not been for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala making the sun deviate from its path, it would most definitely have hit their bodies. And similarly, when the sun would be setting, Allah azza wa jal instructed the sun to change its path and deviate to a certain degree, just enough so that they would not receive any direct sunlight inside.

And then Allah azza wa jal said:

This is of the miraculous signs of Allah. Whomever Allah guides then he is truly guided. But whomever He leaves to stray — notice the translation here: whomsoever He leaves to stray, He lets him stray. Not that He is actively leading him astray, but rather He leaves him to go astray. Then you shall never find for him any rightly guiding patron.

Āyah 18 – Their Eyes Open, Their Bodies Turning

Moreover, you would have thought them awake even though they were actually sleeping. Their eyes may have remained open — this was one of the methods of protecting them from any intruders. It is like a scarecrow. These are actual humans, they are sleeping, but their eyes are wide open. So someone who intends to come inside, when he sees them — seven or five people staring at him — he will be intimidated and will walk away. So Allah azza wa jal, although they were sleeping, had their eyes wide open, or somehow made it seem that they were awake.

And then: وَنُقَلِّبُهُمْ — We turn them on their right sides and then on their left. Because they cannot do it themselves. Allah azza wa jal says: We are the ones who turn them on their right sides and then on their left. So someone who sees them thinks that most definitely these people are awake, or at least not in very deep sleep. That is a second way of protecting them from any would-be intruder.

Then a third means of protection:

Their dog, while stretching forth his two forelegs at the threshold — a guard dog right at the entrance of the cave. لَوِ اطَّلَعْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ — Were you to have come upon them in this state while they were in the cave, most certainly you would have frantically turned away from them in flight. You would have been afraid, turned your back to them and run, and you would have been filled with horror at the sight of them. This was the means of protecting them.

Āyah 19 – They Awaken and Seek Wholesome Food

And so it was that at last We awakened them; thus they began to question one another. One of them said: "How long have you remained asleep?" Some said: "We have only remained so for a day, or perhaps a portion of a day." While others said: "Your Lord knows best" — meaning, let's not get into this discussion. What is the point of discussing how long we slept? We really don't know exactly; your Lord knows best. Now let's get to business — we are hungry.

So send one of you forth with these silver coins of yours to the city, and let him look as to where he might find the most wholesome food. Go search for halal food. Then let him bring back to you some provision from it. But let him proceed gently, let him proceed stealthily. Why? وَلَا يُشْعِرَنَّ بِكُمْ أَحَدًا — let no one take undue notice of you. Make sure you cover yourself. Do not attract unnecessary attention to yourself.

Āyah 20 – The Two Dangers: Death or Apostasy

For indeed, if they come to know about you, two things will happen. One: they will stone you to death — that's it. Now, they were not running away from martyrdom. The Prophet ﷺ said: the best individual is the one who has

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2329)

The one who has a long life and a lot of good deeds — that is the ideal life. They were young and wanted to live a long, successful life, to be able to guide people towards the deen. So they were not running away from martyrdom; the issue was, why not have a lengthier life if possible? If you make a foolish mistake, they may end up killing you right then and there.

The second possibility, and something worse than death:

They may force you to become apostates, force you to come back to their religion. And if you do that, never again would you succeed in obtaining salvation.

Āyah 21 – Allah Causes Them to Be Discovered

So it was that We caused them to be discovered. They were forced to wake up, forced to become hungry, forced to go find food, and then this whole secret came out. It was not coincidental — it was meant to happen. Allah wanted it to happen. أَعْثَرْنَا — We caused them to be discovered. Why? So that the people of that town might know and bear witness that indeed Allah's promise to raise the dead is true, and that Allah's promise to help those who want to remain on the deen is true. And so that, to the coming of the Hour, there is no doubt at all therein.

Behold, their people had quarreled amongst themselves regarding the affair of these youths after they had passed away. Some of them said: "Let's build a perimeter wall around them in the cave to seal off their remains, so that no one comes and tries to take away the sand or desecrate the body, or to take barakah from it. Let's seal off that area and leave it. Their Lord knows best about what is to become of such people." But those who prevailed in this argument said: "We shall raise a house of worship over them" — we'll build a masjid on top, so that at least people who come to witness this story can make some ibadah here, they can come and reflect over the grave.

Āyah 22 – How Many Were They?

The People of the Book — the Jews and the Christians — have a difference of opinion regarding how many people were in the cave. Some say there were three, and the fourth of them being their dog. Others say there were five, the sixth of them being their dog. They are but casting about in the unseen — رَجْمًا بِالْغَيْبِ — they have no clear proof. Yet others will say there were seven, and the eighth of them was their dog.

O Muhammad ﷺ, say: رَبِّي أَعْلَمُ بِعِدَّتِهِم — my Lord knows best their number. None but a few truly knows of them and their actual number. So do not argue about them except with the sure argument which is the argument given to you by the Qur'an, nor make inquiry concerning them from anyone amongst the People of the Scripture.

Key Themes and Lessons

The Laws of Nature Are Subject to Allah's Will

One of the main points of today's tafsir — as was written in the promo by one of our students — is the fact that nature, the laws of physics, the laws that we understand from studying the natural world — although these laws remain consistent usually, and for us they appear to be laws that cannot be changed — for Allah azza wa jal they are absolutely changeable, editable, and nullifiable. There is no such thing as "this is the set way and it can only happen this way."

There is usually a sunnah of Allah in how He goes about doing things, but then the qudra of Allah — the power of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — outdoes that. The qudra of Allah is not committed or locked down to any specific way of doing things. For example, usually a man and woman come together and you have a child — but then you have the story of Maryam, where without a husband Allah azza wa jal blessed her with a child. You have the story of Adam and Hawwa' — without any of this Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala blessed them with children. These are examples of خَرْقُ الْعَادَة — the breaking of the norm. خَرْق means to tear, and عَادَة means habit, or a normal means and method of doing things. There are incidents in which خَرْقُ الْعَادَة takes place — where the usual method is thrown out and you come up with something new.

That is called different things. If خَرْقُ الْعَادَة is done by a prophet, it is called a mu'jizah — a miracle. مُعْجِزَة means that a prophet is making anyone besides him عَاجِز — incapable of bringing anything similar. So Nabi Salih brings out a camel from a mountain — this is a mu'jizah, because no one else besides Nabi Salih can do that. Nabi Musa throws his staff and it turns into a snake that eats up all the magic of the sorcerers. He strikes the sea with that same staff and twelve springs gush out of a great rock and boulder. He throws it and water becomes land. You see how it changes? Water is becoming sand, stone is becoming water — all from the same staff, all at the command of Allah.

This is the crux of Surah Al-Kahf — the belief, the ability to believe, that what you see is not what it seems to be. What you're seeing and interacting with is not what it appears to be — it is rather what Allah wants it to be. If we can just understand this point: anything you see in life is not what it seems, but rather it is what Allah wants it to be.

Hence, that friend you think is going to give his life for you — he will, if Allah wills it. But he could be the actual one who will stab you in the back. That enemy who you think hates you and will destroy your life — it can be so. But guess what? If Allah wants, He'll use that very same enemy to save your life.

I remember one person telling me about a shop his father used to run — a gas station. The son went to help out one day, and a man came in to grab a pack of cigarettes and swore at his father, spoke to him very harshly. The son looked at his father as if to say, "Why are you serving this man?" His father said, "He's a regular customer, he comes every day, says all kinds of bad things about Muslims and walks away." The son said, "I can't watch you being treated like this." So after the sale was over, he sat with that man and said, "Listen, let's talk — why are you speaking to my father like that? Why do you have such animosity, and yet you come here to give business?" He spoke to him for three hours, all the way past closing time, till midnight. Mashallah, that conversation ended in a very nice way, and many of this man's doubts were clarified. Two days later, there was an armed robbery in that same store — and this man happened to be there buying cigarettes again. And subhanAllah, he is the one who tackled the armed robber to the ground and saved the life of the owner.

Allah azza wa jal is showing us: don't trust anything you see in front of you at face value. Your enemy may become your friend, your friend may become your enemy. This is why Ali رضي الله عنه said, in that famous and beautiful statement:

(Attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه; recorded in Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1997)

Ensure that you love your friend to a degree that is not excessive — love your friend to a degree that is acceptable and normal. Do not go beyond the bounds in your love for anyone, lest one day he becomes your enemy, and now he has the secrets to your entire life. Since you opened up to him to that degree and equipped him with your darkest secrets, he is now armed with something you have no idea how to defend yourself against. So when you love someone, love in a moderate manner.

And subhanAllah, we see this example in spouses — every single day. How many divorces you and I are witnessing? And unfortunately, the secrets that only Allah and those two people knew — the whole community now knows, because someone decided to use those secrets. It is a very cheap and horrible way to act, and Allah is watching who is the oppressor and who is the oppressed.

And he said: وَأَبْغِضْ بَغِيضَكَ هَوْنًا مَا — make sure if you hold animosity against someone, that you hold that animosity to a moderate level. Don't hate someone to a degree that if one day he does become your friend, all your previous hurtful statements and comments keep ringing in his ear. Don't ever burn your bridges. What an amazing and beautiful piece of advice from Ali رضي الله عنه — that in our relationships, we take the middle ground and stick with moderation in everything we do.

Trust in Allah — Nothing Works Except by His Permission

A knife — recall the story of Ismail رضي الله عنه. It will work when Allah wants it to work, and if Allah wants it to stop working, it will stop working. Fire will give you warmth and burn when Allah wants it to — but in Ibrahim's رضي الله عنه story, when Allah pulled the plug on it, can you imagine? You can pull the plug on heat from the fire. Humans cannot do that. But Allah azza wa jal can do that. He can pull the plug from a sharp knife. He can pull the plug from a sea filled with the most ferocious waves, so that it immediately becomes plain land for you to walk on. That is what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is capable of — to make the source of benefit turn into harm, and to make the source of harm turn into benefit. That is the ultimate matter. That is true trust in Allah.

Don't think: "What is the way out?" — that is what Musa's nation said:

We are caught! We have the ocean in front of us and Pharaoh behind us — we are dead! But Musa عليه السلام tried to tell them:

Indeed there is with me my Lord — He shall guide us out of this.

And then the Prophet ﷺ is with Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه in the cave on the night of the Hijrah. The enemy is just above them — perhaps five or six feet above — and if they simply look down they will see two men hiding inside. The fear of Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه was not for his own life — it was for the Prophet ﷺ and for the deen. What will happen to our Prophet ﷺ if he is caught? So he was grieving over this. And the Prophet ﷺ said:

Do not grieve — indeed Allah is with us. Notice: he did not say "with me." And Musa عليه السلام had hundreds of thousands behind him and he said, "Allah is with me." When it came to Rasulullah ﷺ, with just one companion — Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه — he says, "Allah is with us." The ulama say this is not exclusive to that moment. Although this ayah is certainly about Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه and his honour is clearly understood from it, it speaks to the virtue of the people of this ummah — that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will assist them the way He assisted the prophets of the past. Because we have to do the work of the prophets.

If you help the deen of Allah, Allah will help you and allow your feet to remain firm. The issue is that people are always afraid of what is going to happen. You know why that fear is there? Because you are not feeling Allah's help with you. Why are you not feeling Allah's help? Ask yourself: when was the last time you did something for the deen? Not for yourself — not your own prayer, your Zakat, your fasting, your Hajj and Sadaqah. For the general Muslim Ummah — when was the last time you and I made a sacrifice for them? When was the last time you and I thought of the khair of the Ummah? If we're not going to think along those lines, we cannot expect Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's help. And when you don't have Allah's help, at the smallest chirping of a cricket you are going to get scared.

Why are people so scared to dress in a certain manner today? To wear a kufi, to wear a turban? La ilaha illallah. We visited one community, and one of our students was very perturbed. I asked him what happened. He said two people came up to him after his talk, saying: "You're inviting people towards your institution, marketing the programs, and you have a man speaking at the podium wearing a turban? How do you expect people to ever come to your institution? Who's going to connect with someone dressed like that? They'll run away from you." This is the level of fear — so much fear that a person cannot even stand up and say, "I am a Muslim and I am proud to be a Muslim."

Especially during a time when people are openly and proudly saying they don't have a gender, walking around parading, saying whatever they want — and the more different you look, the more accepted and respected you become. You have the courage to be different in all sorts of ways. This is the time for us to say: "I am going to have the courage to stand on the sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ." Every man has his own wish, his own way of life — you do as you wish, none of my business. But at the same time I'm going to be the way I want to be, and I hope you don't have an issue with that. And guess what? People won't.

How can they? Everyone is lost in their own سَكْرَتِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ — people have become blind in their shahwah, in their lust. They're sitting there partying in their own lives. If you want to dress in a certain manner and pray in a certain manner, who has the guts to tell you anything? He is so worried about fulfilling his own lustful desires — he has no time to look at you and criticize the way you're dressing. This is all an inferiority complex we are suffering from ourselves.

Why? Because we are not doing anything for the deen. If you do something for the deen, then Allah will assist you. And Allah says يُثَبِّتُ أَقْدَامَكُمْ — Allah will make your feet firm. You won't be scared, you won't be worried. You'll be the only man in the town and still be saying الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ عَلَى نِعْمَةِ الْإِسْلَامِ. That type of fervor of deen will come when we start getting out of our comfort zone.

Today our comfort zone is salah, Zakat, fasting, and Hajj. Why do you need to do more? That comfort zone is not going to allow you to progress. Allah forbid, when things get difficult and challenging, you may lose your ground because you have not exceeded what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has created this ummah for. When the Prophet ﷺ passed this lantern — sirajan munira — to us of becoming inviters toward Allah:

Say: this is my path — I invite toward Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with farsightedness and wisdom. I do this, and whoever follows me does the same. So when we say at the beginning and end of each talk — brother, invite people to the tafsir, invite people to the masjid, invite people for Salatul Isha — we want you to create within yourself this temperament: I'm not going to come alone; I will bring twenty, thirty people with me. Because that is what the Nabi would have wanted us to do. We are the followers of Muhammad ﷺ, and the people of Rasulullah ﷺ invite others — they don't stay quiet or stay to themselves.

The Arabic Words: Tazāwar and Taqriduhum

Let's look at these two Arabic words in the ayah. One word is تَزَاوَرُ عَن كَهْفِهِمْ and the other is تَقْرِضُهُمْ.

تَزَاوَرُ comes from the root word زُور. If you know the word شَهَادَةُ الزُّورِ — false testimony — زُور gives the Arabic meaning of الْمَيْل, which means to turn away. So تَزَاوَرُ عَن كَهْفِهِمْ means that the sun was turning away from the cave.

The next word is تَقْرِضُهُمْ when it was setting. Where does the word قَرْض come from? قَرْض means to give a loan to someone — to fulfill their need. As the saying goes: الْقَرْضُ مِقْرَاضُ الْمَحَبَّةِ — a loan is a scissor of love. If you want to ruin a relationship, ask someone for a loan! So the Qur'an uses the word قَرْض for the sun — the sun was, as it were, giving them a loan. They didn't deserve the sun to be moving away from them, but the sun, by Allah's command, was gracious toward them and said: "I'm going to deviate from my path just for you." It gave a qard, a loan, to these people.

Mu'jizah, Karamah, and the Miracles of the Awliya

This I repeat again is the crux of the entire surah — to recognize the miracles. A مُعْجِزَة, as I told you, happens with the prophets. كَرَامَات happen with the awliya. And there are other degrees and other words for supernatural events that occur at the hands of a disbeliever, a magician, or a fasiq. اسْتِدْرَاج is there, إِرْهَاص is there, and other things.

For example, the Dajjal is going to be doing miracle upon miracle. What are you going to call that? You're not going to call it a mu'jizah. You're not going to call it a karamah. This is إِرْهَاص and اسْتِدْرَاج — a way to mislead people. He himself will think he is powerful through this, and the people will be falling into his trap.

Now, magic is different. Magic is تَخْيِيل — it is made to appear. The Qur'an says:

It is made to appear — that is تَخْيِيل. Magic is not قَلْبُ الْمَاهِيَّة — it is not where you actually change the stick into a snake. Rather, it is made to appear that way. When Musa's mu'jizah was not تَخْيِيل — it actually turned into a snake — and that is why his snake ended up eating the rest of the fake snakes. The others were a mirage; they were not real snakes. That is the difference between a mu'jizah or karamah and sihr. In black magic, something is made to appear when it is not actually there, through the help of jinns. In a karamah or mu'jizah, Allah azza wa jal actually changes the مَاهِيَّة — the very nature of something.

So this ayah is telling us: كَرَامَةُ الْأَوْلِيَاءِ حَقٌّ — the miracles of the awliya are true. We must believe that the miracles of pious people are true. Why? Because we need miracles now and in the future. In order to have your children on iman in this day and age, in order to die with iman — it is such a hard time we are going through — you need a miracle. So you had better get ready to become a wali.

What is a wali? Not someone who flies on a broom or flies on a prayer rug — that is not a wali. A wali is someone whose life is in accordance with the sunnah all the time. He is a wali of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And that wali — Allah azza wa jal will allow him at times to show karamat, miracles — for his own protection or to bring people closer to the deen. So my beloved friends, the Dajjal is going to come with some of his magic, and in order to survive that, you'll need karamat. Those karamat come through the awliya. So we have no option but to become a wali of Allah. And that wilayah comes through nothing but the sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ.

Hence, you've heard me say this before: the karamah of every wali is in reality a mu'jizah of the Prophet ﷺ. Every miracle that any wali does — in reality it is a miracle of the Prophet ﷺ. Why? Because that wali would not have been able to perform a karamah unless and until he had made his life in accordance with the sunnah of the Nabi ﷺ. So every miracle that any wali, any sheikh in the past, present, or future — any scholar, any normal person — does, it all goes back to Rasulullah ﷺ. Had that person not followed the sunnah, he would never have been able to do that.

And what is one of the greatest karamat? The greatest karamah you and I can have in our life is istiqamah — steadfastness. As the famous saying goes:

Steadfastness is more virtuous than one thousand miracles. People get excited about this miracle and that miracle — those are nice. But the biggest miracle we all need in our lives, and I pray Allah gives it to you and to me and to our loved ones, is steadfastness. Take one action and don't give it up — whatever happens, just don't give it up.

When you understand that these people went to sleep for 300 plus years — that is a karamah. That their bodies turned on their own — that is a karamah. That their eyes remained open — that is a karamah. That they didn't die of hunger — that is a karamah. That the sun evaded them — that is a karamah. This story is about karamat, and it is telling us: stop becoming skeptical of karamat.

I've literally seen people walk out of a gathering when the speaker mentions a miracle or a dream or a story of barakah. This is the problem. Get ready for it. If you can't stand to listen to a dream, and you get allergic to it, what is going to happen when you or your children face the Dajjal? If a simple story — that a person read a dua, put his hand in water, and the whole crowd drank from it — gives you a problem, how are you going to handle the fitnahs of tomorrow? Your mind needs to become accustomed to this: that forget the sheikh, the fact is he is not doing it because he is God. He is doing it because he is following the sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ, and it is Allah's qudra in that water, Allah's qudra in whatever the case may be. He put his hand on someone and Allah gave him shifa. What is all this? These are karamat that are happening because a person is obedient to Allah and His Rasul.

If he is inviting towards himself — then there is definitely something wrong. We don't follow such people. But if he is inviting towards Allah and His Rasul ﷺ, then you and I should not be allergic to karamat. And to those who say "don't tell me such stories from the books of Fada'il" — let me ask you: is it because you doubt their authenticity? On what basis? How much effort have you done to verify the authentication of this story? Or is it that you find it hard to swallow things like this? If you have an issue with authenticity, fine — let's discuss it. But you cannot say "I have a hard time swallowing a story of a miracle," because miracles and their existence are part of our aqidah. It is in the Qur'an. Right here, in this very story — no one says these people were prophets, yet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allowed a beautiful miracle to happen through them. Like Maryam — she was not a prophet, yet when Zakariyya عليه السلام went to her, he found fruits out of season. So we learn from these stories that believing in a miracle is part of our deen. Do not become allergic to Allah's qudra.

I highlight this again and again because I really think this is the crux of the issues of today — people have a hard time believing Allah can do things supernaturally. "Brother, pray — Allah will give you a job. Don't say yes to this haram job." — "What are you talking about? I've been waiting for ten years!" Or: "Live without interest and Allah will take care of your life." — "How can you live without interest? Everyone's doing it." So people have falsely put themselves into these boxes — "this is how the world runs and without this the world cannot run."

I remember when I was studying abroad, the milk vendor used to come in the morning to our madrasa. I asked him one day: "Do you put water in the milk?" He said: "How can you run a business without mixing milk and water when the whole marketplace is filled with counterfeit? How can I be the only one who sells pure milk and loses money on that?" There you go. I know the whole market is like that, I know everyone is cheating. But if you have trust that even if you sell half of what others are selling, or with 200% less profit — wallahi at the end you are going to be ahead of the rest. You're going to have something called barakah. Those who defraud the government, who defraud people with various means — let's see how long their happiness lasts. Eventually the curses of the people catch up to a person. Eventually the zulm will catch up. This is the yaqeen we must have: I am going to lead a halal lifestyle; my children will lead a halal lifestyle at all costs; and I know I'll come out successful.

These young men — what did they do? They left the luxuries of the palace and migrated to a cave. They had trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that He would take care of their needs.

The Two Types of Hidayah (Guidance)

Then the Qur'an tells Rasulullah ﷺ: this is a sign of Allah — but will everyone reflect?

Some ulama say this ayah — مَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ — is giving Rasulullah ﷺ some comfort, reminding him of the earlier verses:

That you may end up killing yourself over the sorrow that they are not believing. The Qur'an is telling Rasulullah ﷺ: their guidance and misguidance is in the hands of Allah. You tried your best; don't beat yourself up. A second meaning of مَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ is that it praises the People of the Cave — these are people who were rightly guided. And a third meaning is that it speaks to all of us: whoever reflects on the signs in his life — it is because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allowed him to reflect.

For example, a brother who sponsored Team Fajr a few weeks ago messaged me. He said: "After I sponsored Team Fajr, Allah azza wa jal gave me an immediate raise — my spouse got a raise as well. So much barakah came within just a couple of weeks." The fact that he made that connection — where did that come from? That came from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That was a sign. But many people will never think that it was their sadaqah that brought barakah — they'll just think, "Yeah, I was waiting for this raise; it was about time." Why didn't you have a raise for all those years? Why did it come right now? The ability to connect the dots in your life — to say, "I spoke ill to my parents and this is what happened" — who does that? The one who was guided.

I remember one person who came to me with a very sad story. He said: "I deserve this. Everything that happened to me, I deserve it. I have hurt my parents immensely. I know what goes around comes around. Allah azza wa jal is making me face the consequences, and I'd rather face the retribution in this world than face it in the hereafter. So I gladly accept what Allah sends my way." SubhanAllah — you should feel very blessed that Allah allowed you to recognize that. How many people do not recognize it and continue on the path of disobedience without even realizing what they're bringing upon themselves?

So the ability to connect the dots in your life is from Allah. That is what مَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِي means.

وَمَن يُضْلِلْ — does Allah forcefully misguide someone? No! Whoever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala leaves to stray — He leaves him; He does not hold his hand. Someone may say: "The Qur'an says Allah misleads people — that's why I'm not coming to isha, that's why I don't follow what is halal." We've all heard people say, "Hidayah is not meant for me — that's why I'm like this." What is the answer to these people? You're only looking at one portion of the ayah! Why can't you say: "I'm going to be guided — I'm going to force my hidayah"? You have the full right right now to say: "I'm going to come to isha, to fajr, I'm going to recite the Qur'an, I'm going to stay away from haram." Go ahead, do it! And why is it that we only speak about punishment? How come nobody says it's unfair that you do good deeds for eighty years and go to Jannah forever? No one focuses on the good side.

So let's explain hidayah now. Hidayah is of two types.

The first is called hidayatul dalalah — or إِرَاءَةُ الطَّرِيقِ — showing the path. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala shows the path to believers and disbelievers both. The masjid is here — every person passing by on this road receives hidayatul dalalah; he sees it right in front of him. Unfortunately, one of the brothers was mentioning that they went to visit a home one mile away, and three family members had never once stepped foot in this masjid. That tells you how much work is to be done in our own neighborhoods, our own apartment buildings, our own subdivisions.

The second level of hidayah is called hidayatul ma'unah — or إِيصَالٌ إِلَى الْمَطْلُوبِ — which means you hold someone's hand and take him to the final destination. That happens only to the believers — those who really want it.

This is why when our students pass out flyers, I tell them: don't force it on anyone. You make an announcement, you do إِرَاءَةُ الطَّرِيقِ — show the path. That person has to show some talab. He has to make the effort of picking up the flyer. Otherwise how will hidayah come? You cannot force deen upon people.

Do you expect me to force iman down people's throats while they don't want it? You have to show talab. What does the Qur'an say?

Allah pulls toward Himself whoever He wishes, and guides whoever turns to Him. So we must turn to Allah to receive guidance. Let's not think Allah is actively misleading anyone. When you make the first step toward Allah, then Allah azza wa jal will welcome you:

Those who choose to come toward Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — Allah azza wa jal will pave the path toward ease. But we have to make the effort.

Whatever you want to do in life, just make niyyah. There is a brother who met me two days ago. He said he had met me five years ago at a masjid in another state. He saw the construction of our seminary about to start, and apparently asked me some questions. I said, "Why don't you just move here? If you're really so interested, come one day — if you can't study now, move one day." He met me two days ago and said: "SubhanAllah, that was five years ago. I moved here a year ago, found a house right near the masjid this week, I've been a regular musalli, I'm a volunteer, my kids are connected, and I cannot be more thankful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala." How did that happen? He made niyyah five years ago, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala put everything into place. Every single week, mashallah, we have someone moving to the community — whether from out of state or from different parts of the state. Some of them it took five years to come, some three years, some one year. But they all had a sincere intention that they wanted Allah and wanted an environment where they could raise their children properly. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala miraculously made the ways for them.

The Dog of the Cave – Lessons from Companionship

So what we are learning from this story in Surah Al-Kahf is that the sun, although it has a very set pattern, Allah azza wa jal decided to show us that the sun is in a set pattern because He said so. And the day He tells the sun to rise from the west, that is exactly what is going to happen. Now let us look at the dog.

The ulama say this was a dog that was in the desert and followed along with them — not necessarily their personal dog from home, but rather a stray dog that followed because they had food. And you know — like when you travel overseas, every dog will become yours if you're walking around with food; hundreds of cats will follow you if you love animals. So this dog just happened to follow them. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions this dog in the Qur'an.

And this tells you: do not name your child by just opening up the Qur'an blindly and putting your finger on any word, as some people do. My ustad mentioned he was at a masjid overseas and met someone whose name had been written as Zaqqum Khan — and zaqqum is the name of the tree in Jahannam:

So here, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made mention of the word "dog" in the Qur'an — even though it is najis, and except for exceptional reasons a person should not domesticate a dog indoors. No one questions the love and loyalty a dog has — our ustad Mufti Elias has an entire talk on the qualities of a dog, all the good sifat of a dog and other animals. But nonetheless, the ruling of it being najis does not change. If it is saliva, it is najis.

The Qur'an mentions this dog because of the barakah and blessing of suhbah — companionship. The fact that this dog was tagging along with them got his presence mentioned honorably in the Qur'an. So the ulama say: a dog can be honored by companionship. Imagine a Muslim like you and I — if we choose the right companions and the right people to be around, why would Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not raise us with such people?

A man will be with the one he loves — a man will be raised with the one he loves. As Imam Abu Hanifa's famous poem goes:

I love the pious, although I am not from amongst them. I am hopeful that Allah will grant me piety. Loving the pious is part of our deen. Trying to find their companionship and having our sons and daughters have good, righteous companions is one of the most integral parts of safety in this day and age.

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 4833; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2378)

The Prophet ﷺ said: a person follows the deen of his friend — so be careful who you befriend. When young people or adults ask, "What is the best way for me to stay on Islam?" — we say: make sure you choose your friends wisely. Every one of us sitting here today or listening — are you not here because of someone's encouragement? Are you not listening because of someone having had a good impact on your life? If it wasn't for that good companionship, more than likely you and I would not be here. That is the lesson from the dog of the cave.

The dog's four paws were stretched out at the threshold — the ulema note that the Qur'an mentions that the people were turned from side to side, but there is no mention of the dog being turned. Some scholars in the books of tafsir mention that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has created the dog differently from the human being — and one of those differences is that if a dog sits in one position for a long time it will not develop the same sores that a human being would. This has led certain physicians, upon studying this ayah, to reflect on the different physiology of the two creations. Allah knows best. But one thing we do understand is that the Qur'an is a guidance for everyone, and there are people who find their way to Islam through just one verse that they approached from a lens we would never have imagined.

Another point about the dog: whatever condition came upon the people of the cave came upon him as well. Through the barakah of suhbah, not only was his presence mentioned in the Qur'an, but he was also kept alive for 300 plus years. When we are with pious, righteous people, we enjoy the blessings that they have. Unfortunately, what is happening today is that shaitan makes us scorn people who are ahead of us in the deen. Instead of saying, "I'm motivated by the fact that you are this way — I want to become like this, I want to spend time with you," we find fault in people who are ahead of us.

How Long Did They Sleep? – Time in the Hands of Allah

When they got up, they began to ask one another: "How long did you stay?" There were two groups — some said half a day or a day, and others said much longer.

Let us take the story of Uzair عليه السلام, mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah. The Qur'an says he asked: "How long did you sleep?" — and he thought it was a day or a portion of a day. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told him: "You have actually slept here for a hundred years." So was it a day or was it a hundred years? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala showed the proof. He said: "Look at your food and drink — has it gone bad?" It had not. So it means what you're experiencing is like a day. But look at your donkey — all his bones had disintegrated, definitely a hundred years old. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala brought two opposite dimensions of time together. That is the qudra of Allah.

Now you will understand how the Day of Judgment for some people will be as long as 50,000 years, and for others it will be the time between Asr and Maghrib. That is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Who controls the way you experience time. Look at this — I'm feeling hot and he's feeling cold in the same room. We can't customize that right now. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can customize time for each person individually.

And when we come to the Dajjali era — all of this is mentioned. Time will go very fast: a month will be like a week, a week will be like a day, a day will be like an hour. And within forty days he will take over the world. When the sahaba heard all this, the first thing they asked was: "How will we pray? That is the most important thing — how do we calculate five times a day when the day will be so long?" SubhanAllah — that practical question is the one you and I should be asking first. That is where the mind of a believer goes.

The Qur'an says they discussed amongst themselves how long they stayed. Then one group said: "Leave it — Allah knows best how long you stayed. Stop discussing useless things. Focus on the crux of the deen." Don't discuss things that are not relevant — things you will not be asked about in the grave. For example: what was the color of the dog of the People of the Cave? How many were there? Was the dog male or female? This is knowledge of no benefit. We have been taught to ask Allah for beneficial knowledge and to seek refuge in Allah from useless knowledge.

And consider what we post on WhatsApp. If I post a message to a hundred people and it takes five minutes to read — that is five hundred minutes you are responsible for. And then if they share it, that becomes four thousand minutes, and growing. You will be asked about that. Was that four hundred or four thousand minutes worth it? So before you forward an article or a video, ask yourself: what is the benefit to the recipient?

Seeking Halal Sustenance – The Lesson of Food and Caution

Then Allah azza wa jal says they sent one of them to find food. The first thing they said was: find the most wholesome, pure, halal food. As soon as they came out of their sleep and became their normal selves, they became hungry. When the special protection is gone, you need your food. And the first thing — Make sure it is halal. Make sure it is pure. What's the point of running away from all that for the sake of the deen, and then going to eat haram? This is why you should be careful where you eat when you go for umrah and hajj. Do not have a blanket statement that says, "Everything served here is 100% halal" — that is foolish. Twenty minutes from Masjid al-Haram, twenty minutes from Masjid al-Nabawi — you cannot make the location the standard for what is halal. Be very careful about everything, including what you eat.

I remember on one airline I asked for a vegetarian meal. The stewardess challenged me: "Why aren't you taking our halal meal? We're a Muslim airline." I replied because this airline has received the best wine in the skies award year after year. With the same hand they are serving alcohol to passengers all around you, you want me to trust the halal meat? The fact that an airline calls itself Muslim is not an excuse. So do not be naive: "Oh, we are going to an Arab country — everything is halal there." With that kind of naiveness you will end up in major problems.

And then Allah says they were told: when you go to get provision, go gently. وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ — be gentle. There are two explanations of يَتَلَطَّفْ. One is لَطِيف — softness — meaning: when you buy and sell, be easy and kind. The Prophet ﷺ made dua for the person who is soft and kind when he buys and when he sells:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2076)

Don't be harsh on the customer, don't be harsh on the seller. Let it go — five cents, ten cents, a dollar, two dollars. Don't make a big deal about it. This is how you get the mercy of Allah, by being easygoing in buying and selling. The more well-known explanation, however, is that يَتَلَطَّفْ here means: don't expose yourself, do it gently so you are not known. وَلَا يُشْعِرَنَّ بِكُمْ أَحَدًا — let no one become aware of you.

Very important point — our youth need to understand: practice your deen, but do it with wisdom. Don't do things that will unnecessarily attract unwanted attention to yourself. Imam al-Ghazali writes in Bidayat al-Hidayah that shaitan sometimes makes you say the most wrong things at the most wrong time, to cause harm — and he'll make you do it thinking you are speaking the truth. I've seen someone stand up in the middle of a khutbah and shout from the back that the khatib is wrong. He thinks he is doing right, but he has been deceived by shaitan. If you need to correct the khatib, this is not the time or the place — you'll cause a fitna. Report it to the administrator afterward, escalate it through the proper channel. But this is one who has been deceived by shaitan into thinking he's being brave for the truth, when in reality he is being played.

So my beloved students and brothers — when we want to follow the deen, we don't need to be loud. They say nowadays: "If it's not on Instagram, did it really happen?" Not everything has to be live-streamed. Not everything has to have a big noise made about it. Some of the best things in life are kept hidden.

There is a beautiful statement of Mawlana Ilyas and Mawlana Yusuf رحمهما الله — such vision they had. One of the things they said was: the work that you do should be a hundred years ahead, and the noise and the talk about it should be a hundred years behind. Like when you break the sound barrier — the F-22 runs in front of you, and then after a few seconds you hear the sound. That is how deen work is supposed to be. We don't always have to announce everything. Build relationships one by one, quietly. You don't always have to have a big event. But a hundred years later, people will remember and say: "This whole town changed because of him. This whole area changed because of her." When you were actually doing the work, nobody really knew you. That is very beautiful advice from what we learn here.

Allah's Promise Is Always True

Why did Allah make this miracle happen? لِيَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ — to know that Allah's promise is always true. My beloved brothers and sisters, Allah will never lie to you and I. Allah will never let us down. Allah will never forsake us. What does the Qur'an say?

It is obligatory upon Us to help the believers. What an ayah! And Allah azza wa jal says:

What a great helper He is, what a great assistant He is. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

Allah is the caretaker and the friend of the believers. We need to know that Allah is making this promise: if you follow the deen, follow the sunnah, He will not forsake you — even though it may seem difficult. Trust in Allah's promise more than you trust anyone else.

The Timeless Lesson of the Cave – No Excuses

Notice also that the discussion of exactly where the city is, the names of the people, how many there were, what era it was in — all has been left ambiguous. Because the lesson is timeless. The lesson should not be: "That was a different era, those were different people — we cannot have these miracles now." No — it is timeless and nameless. This is the principle: if you care about the deen, if you are young or old, if you are sincere and ready to make a commitment and make hijrah for the sake of Allah, Allah will protect you and preserve your progeny and generations.

Do not give excuses. I hear people making excuses for others: "Of course he's practicing — he has people helping him around the house." No, my beloved friends. That is shaitan playing tricks with you. No one has things handed to them. You have to make niyyah and make effort, and Allah will make it for you as well. Why do we sit back and say, "Oh, I can't be expected to do any work of deen because I'm not as lucky as you are"? That is a deception of shaitan. It is an open field, an open bidding place. You come and do business with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You can be at the back of the line, but you make niyyah — and you'll be at the front.

Mashallah, I came across a brother from Nigeria. A PhD in chemistry, founder and CEO of his own pharmaceutical company — and now in his late sixties, he retired. He told me: "I retired to the Qur'an." Over a period of nine years, alhamdulillah, he memorized the entire Qur'an. I was also told of another brother who memorized the Qur'an in seven years and did the alim program in twelve years — while working full time. So whenever you decide to get ahead, you can. As soon as you make niyyah, you can skip ahead in the line.

The Number of the Sleepers and Arguing with the People of the Book

Allah azza wa jal says these people are discussing amongst themselves: "Were there three? Were there four? Were there five? How many people were there?" Allah azza wa jal says:

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows their number best. The majority of people do not know their number.

Do not argue about them with the disbelievers. The non-Muslims — Christians and Jews — had different versions. The Qur'an is saying they are رَجْمًا بِالْغَيْبِ — casting about in the unseen with no clear proof. So if you discuss with them, فَلَا تُمَارِ فِيهِمْ إِلَّا مِرَاءً ظَاهِرًا — do not argue about it more than superficially. One or two minutes — if they don't listen, don't worry about it.

This is why when we discuss with non-Muslims, we tell people: Islam is not just about capital punishment, slavery, hijab, women's rights, animals' rights. If you have an issue with those things — okay, leave them for now. Why don't we speak about تَوْحِيد? Let's speak about the Oneness of Allah, prophethood, and the Day of Judgment. Those are the themes of the Qur'an. We will never end those discussions otherwise. Similarly, the number of the People of the Cave — don't argue about it endlessly.

And number two: وَلَا تَسْتَفْتِ فِيهِم مِّنْهُمْ أَحَدًا — do not try to get your knowledge of the Qur'an and your deen from the People of the Book. There is the famous story of Umar رضي الله عنه — he was sitting reading the Torah while the Rasul ﷺ was present, without noticing the Prophet's reaction. Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه saw the Rasul's face turning red with anger and immediately alerted Umar. As soon as Umar رضي الله عنه saw that, he went on his knees and said:

I am happy with Allah as my Lord, Islam as my religion, and Muhammad ﷺ as my Prophet and Messenger. I'm sorry. And the Nabi ﷺ said:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 14736; also reported by al-Darimi)

You're reading the book of Musa — let me tell you one thing: if Musa himself were alive, he would not be able to get salvation until he followed me. You're reading his book when he himself is not even around. If he were here, he would have to follow me — so why are you reading his book and being amazed by it in front of me?

This is another issue — people are amazed by various bestseller books, when those topics — wallahi — have already been written about a thousand years ago by Muslim authors. But we didn't look there, we didn't read there. If you were to go look, you'd find the most amazing knowledge written a thousand or fifteen hundred years ago by our own scholars. SubhanAllah.

Concluding Du'a

We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to grant us the understanding of today's dars. May He allow us to have the true belief in miracles. May He make us people of wilayah — of His friendship. May He allow us to believe that nothing can harm or benefit us without the will of Allah. Everything's harm and benefit is subject to Allah's will, and nothing in this world can do anything without Allah first giving it permission. So the Dajjal — whatever he does — will be with Allah's permission. We will not be fazed by what the Dajjal does, insha'Allah. Instead we will say: this is all happening because Allah willed it.

And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that He grants us the ability to focus on beneficial knowledge, and spend time searching for that beneficial knowledge. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it easy for us to find good company, and allow our children to find good company as well.

Oh Allah, we ask You to accept this gathering, accept our gathering of knowledge, dhikr, mudhakara, and reminder. Oh Allah, whatever beneficial things were shared — indeed it was from You. Enable us to practice on whatever good was shared. Oh Allah, enable us to propagate whatever good was shared. Oh Allah, if mistakes were made, I seek forgiveness from You for that. Oh Allah, we ask You to allow us to establish a proper connection with the Qur'an, a proper connection with the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. Oh Allah, fill our hearts with Your love, with the love of Rasulullah ﷺ, with the love of the sahabah, with the love of the family of Rasulullah ﷺ, with the love of the pious of the past and the pious of today.

Oh Allah, we ask You to grant us the love of the masjid, allow us to remain pegs of the masjid. Oh Allah, allow our families, our sons and daughters and our spouses to be connected with the deen. Oh Allah, we ask You to bring muhabbah and love between the spouses, between the parents and the children. Oh Allah, bring sunnah within our homes. Oh Allah, remove discord, infighting, and all sorts of misunderstandings from within our homes. Oh Allah, bring deen into our homes, bring deen into our homes.

Oh Allah, we ask You to fulfill all the permissible desires and needs of all the brothers and sisters sitting here or listening online. Oh Allah, allow this gathering to become a means of the fulfillment of our needs of this world and the next. Allow this gathering to become a means of us getting closer to You, O Allah. Oh Allah, make this gathering and every Tuesday's gathering immensely accepted and maqbool in Your sight. Allow it to be attended by millions and millions of angels.

Oh Allah, grant us all istiqamah and steadfastness. Oh Allah, if we have come here once, allow us to be accepted to come every single week. And oh Allah, please do not deprive us of coming to the masjid on a regular basis. Oh Allah, allow the masjid to be filled every day. Allow the gatherings of knowledge and dhikr to take place in all the masajid and all the madaris. Allow all of our Islamic institutions, masajid, and madaris to be protected from the evil eye, from sihr, from hasad, from nazar, from infighting, from external issues, and from internal issues.

Oh Allah, we ask You to allow this upcoming Seerah Conference to become extremely beneficial for the entire community and the entire globe. Allow the nur from this place to emanate throughout the entire world. Allow it to become a means of removing darkness from wherever it may be. Oh Allah, allow the collective millions of salawat, millions of istighfar, adhkar, and duas of all the brothers and sisters from across the globe — and those who are doing it here and from their homes — to become a powerful force of good in this world. Allow it to become a means of the establishment of deen in this land. Allow it to become a means of protection of this institution, of all the efforts of this institution, of its staff, its students, its patrons, its well-wishers, its musallis, and its attendees. Oh Allah, protection from evil eye, protection from hasad, from sihr, protection from all sorts of physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional difficulties.

Oh Allah, we ask You to grant us all health and aafiyah. Oh Allah, grant shifa to all those who requested for dua, and those who are sick from our communities — grant them all shifa, grant them shifa-e-kamil. Those who have surgeries, those who have various types of issues going on in their life, those who are suffering terminal illnesses and critical illnesses — oh Allah, we ask You to grant them all shifa. Oh Allah, those who have passed away from the ummah and from our families — grant them maghfira and the highest levels of Jannah. Ameen.