We ask Allah that He allows us to embark on this new surah with khair and barakah, and that He grants myself and all of us steadfastness and istiqamah. We ask Allah that He accept our coming here tonight, our sitting from Maghrib to Isha — both fard of salah in the state of wudu, in the state of i'tikaf. This is a big blessing, and while attending a gathering where we are listening to the explanation of the words of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet — a majlis of dhikr, a majlis of ilm — we ask Allah to allow us all to become rejuvenated from this gathering, and may He allow our needs to be fulfilled. Whatever issues we are going through in our lives, may Allah allow us to hear something which will allow us, inshallah, to gain some strength, some solace, some comfort, some understanding, and how to deal with our individual issues inshallah.

Introduction to Surah Al-Furqan

We are starting now, inshallah, Surah Al-Furqan. It's not that long of a surah compared to the other surahs we've been completing, alhamdulillah. It is the surah after Surah An-Nur and the surah before Surah Ash-Shu'ara. It starts off in the last quarter of the 19th juz and goes on to the first quarter of the 20th juz. We'll try to cover the first 4 to 5 verses today, inshallah.

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Blessed is He who has sent down the Criterion upon His servant, that he may be a warner to the worlds — whose is the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and who has not taken a son, and who has no partner in dominion, and He has created all things and has measured them with a measure. And they have taken besides Him gods who create nothing, and they themselves are created, and they have no power over harm or benefit for themselves, and they have no power over death or life or resurrection. And those who disbelieve say: "This is nothing but a lie which he has invented, and other people have helped him." So they have come with injustice and falsehood. And they say: "The legends of the ancients — he has had them written, and they are recited to him morning and afternoon." Say: "He who knows every secret in the heavens and the earth has sent it down. Indeed, He is ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

The Three Major Themes of Surah Al-Furqan

Allah in this surah starts off with the discussion of the oneness of Allah — Tawheed. He then moves on to Risalah — Prophethood — a big theme of the Qur'an. And then third, about things related to the humans and the Sharia in regards to that.

What is Al-Furqan?

Surah Al-Furqan — the Criterion. This is one of the names of the Qur'an, and this is the name of this surah. Furqan comes from the word farq — we use this word besides in Arabic, it's used in Urdu as well — meaning difference. What is the farq between this and that? What's the difference? So Furqan is that which differentiates between two things. And here, when it's referring to the Qur'an, it means that which differentiates between truth and falsehood, between haq and batil, between vice and virtue, between right and wrong.

So in every aspect — with regards to how our belief should be about a creator — you have extremes. You have those who say no god exists, everyone has come out on their own. You have the other extreme that says no, there are multiple gods — two, three, all the way up into the hundreds. Islam came and said, the Qur'an came and set the standard and mentioned clearly what the deal about a creator is: there is a creator, but it's only one. It is wrong to ascribe to Allah that there are multiple gods, and it is obviously incorrect to say there's no god. Right in between: there is a god, and that is one.

When it came to the prophets, some said that the prophets should be angels, not human beings. How can a prophet be a human being and we be expected to follow him? In the obedience and the love of the prophets, some of them ascribed divinity to them — claimed them to be the son of Allah or god incarnated in the form of a human. Some simply said that they would not believe a prophet who is human — he must be superhuman, he must not have a need to eat or drink, buy and sell, get married. The other extreme went and said no, prophets are just like us — actually sinful — and attributed all sorts of human weaknesses and sins to their prophets. And then, a'udhu billah, some of them went ahead and went into battle against the prophets and actually killed the prophets.

Islam came, the Qur'an came, and set the tone about that. The prophets are true, they are sent by Allah, they received the message of Islam and the message of true oneness and guidance and hidayah from the one divine and only Allah. However, they are human — they're still human beings. But they're not the human beings you think that can commit all sorts of sins. They're humans that are ma'soom — protected from falling into sin. So every action of a prophet is a source of inspiration for us. A prophet does not speak even out of his own whim or desire. But they're still human: they need to eat, they need to drink, they need to lead their normal lives. And being a human being is actually a gift, so that we can connect with them and see ourselves in them to a certain extent. They have emotions — they get sad, they get upset at times, they feel overwhelmed at times — all these things happen. So they are human, but not like any other human:

Basharun laakal bashar — a human, but not like other humans. Different. But you are not going to ascribe divinity to them, you're not going to say that they are angels.

Then when it comes to humans and all of us here — do we have a law to live by, or can we live as in the jungle? Even the jungle, as we've spoken about in previous tafsirs, has a law there. There is a law and order within the jungle too. Everyone hunts what they're supposed to hunt, they don't just randomly hunt everything, and they only attack those that they regard as prey. There is also a hierarchy, a whole system. This is all in nature — what we call nature — from Allah. As He says:

Your Lord revealed to the honeybee: build your home, your hive, in the mountains, and you can build it in trees and places away from human interaction. This is why you will always see bees make their hive in tight, obscure spots — they're not going to sit there on your kitchen table and make a hive. They naturally do that. What does that mean, "naturally"? Always talking about naturally this and naturally that — that's all divine guidance. Your Lord guided them, Your Lord ordered them, Your Lord created an instinct within them. So whatever we see in the jungle and outside in nature, none of that is haphazard.

SubhanAllah — if you study the fire ants, the varied types of ants out there in the jungles, it is something that just shocks you. We're talking about millions of ants — how they communicate, how they move, how they hunt, when they hunt, how they build their burrows. It is seriously something where every moment you study it your jaw drops and you say, Subhanak — glory be to You, O Allah — this could be none besides You. Who could have done something as amazing as this?

If you haven't gotten a chance to read, study, or watch a documentary on any of these small makhluqat of Allah — an ant, a bee, a wasp, a spider — do so, and it will be one of the most inspiring things. That's why they say there are ayat qur'aniyyah, ayat matluwwah — verses of Allah which we recite — and then there are ayat manzur ilayha — those ayat that you look at, those ayat that you study, not in the book but around you. We have to look at and study that, and it will inspire us. So this is wahi from Allah that tells these insects to act in the manner that they do. So what about us? Do we have a Sharia?

You have one group of people that says no, do whatever you want, we don't have anyone to guide us, we follow our nafs. And the other group holds to previous scriptures — or even non-scriptures — with rules and laws so strict and so difficult, like it's mentioned regarding the Torah, that it becomes so difficult to live by and you're forced to come up with loopholes.

Allah calls it:

The Qur'an came to remove the chains that were upon the previous nations — meaning the commands were so tough to follow. Aghlal is what you call like a tawq — a chain you put around a neck, around a prisoner. The commands of the Torah were so tough to follow that the Qur'an itself calls them aghlal, those chains around the neck which were upon the previous nations. The Qur'an came, Rasulullah ﷺ came, to remove them.

So the Qur'an came as fariq bayna al-haq wal-batil, bayna al-ifrat wal-tafrit — between two extremes. The Qur'an came and said: you are not able to live however you want following your desires, you have to follow divine guidance. But also the divine guidance is not going to control every single aspect of your life. As we mentioned last week, there are many things that are simply mubah — permissible. You want to do it, you do it. You don't want to do it, you don't do it. Every single thing is not controlled.

There are certain things that are controlled — certain things you don't eat, certain ways of earning a living that are haram. But beyond that, the doors are open. So we learn that the deen is so easy in that sense, that it does not try to control every single aspect of our life. There is something which is completely haram — stay away from that. Something which is doubtful — stay away from that. But then what is permissible is such a large amount of things that you have the option of choosing as you wish.

The Three Purposes of Our Mission — Rabi'i ibn 'Amir

Rabi'i ibn 'Amir when he came to Rustam, the general of the Persian army, Rustam asked him why he was there. Rabi'i ibn 'Amir told him: I haven't come to you out of my own will — don't ask "why are you here?" as though you have something that would make us want to come. Allah sent us to you. That's it. The mentality that the Sahaba had was just amazing. Allah sent us. Okay, why did Allah send us? For what?

(The words of Rabi'i ibn 'Amir to Rustam, the Persian general — recorded in Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah by Ibn Kathir, Vol. 7)

To take out humans from the servitude and slavery of fellow humans to the servitude of the Lord of all humans — the Lord of all servants, the Lord of all creation. We have been sent to pull you out. Imagine the entire army and all the servants — those who are used to making sajdah to the emperor — listening to this man giving this talk. He says: we have been sent to have mercy upon all of you, to take you out of the slavery from one another and bring you into the servitude of the Lord of the humans, the Lord of all creation.

Number two: wa min diq al-dunya ila si'atiha — to take you out from the constricted difficulty of this world to the vastness and enjoyment of this world. Not even the akhira — right in this world — we have been sent to take people out from the tightness, the constrictedness, of the life you're leading because you don't have iman in Islam. So no matter how much wealth you have, you're always going to be a slave to this dunya, always suffering some sort of depression, some sort of anxiety, some sort of stress, some sort of hollowness. Islam has come to take you out of that constrictedness of this world to the vastness and the relaxedness of this world.

As a Muslim in this world, no matter what your situation is, if you have proper deen in your life you will genuinely be happy, genuinely be upbeat, genuinely be optimistic, genuinely be hopeful — even if the odds are all stacked up against you. Because we have something — we have a belief in the hereafter. So even on the worst day we say, guess what? Allah has a better day inshallah in store for me tomorrow. And in the akhirah — today, if it was the worst day — trust me, for the patience I have shown, for the patience that Allah has given me to handle this so-called worst day of my life, the reward I'm going to get in the hereafter will make me wish I had a day like this every day of my life. Only a believer can say this.

Many times we think that if I live like a Muslim I just have to suffer here and then enjoy in the hereafter. No — as a Muslim you will come out of the suffering of this world and enjoy the amazing things of this world. It doesn't mean you'll immediately make a lot of money. It's about the heart — your heart and your mind will be at peace. You will have such a viewpoint on life that will allow you to enjoy no matter what's given to you.

And number three: wa min jawr al-adyan ila 'adl al-Islam — from the oppressive ways of all isms and all other religions to the justice of Islam. This is why Allah has sent us.

Yawm Al-Furqan — The Battle of Badr

This word Furqan has been used in another place in the Qur'an as well:

Allah has called the Battle of Badr also Furqan — yawm al-taqal jama'an, the day when the two armies met. Badr was the first major battle that was fought, and in it Allah gave victory to the Muslims against all odds: 313 against over a thousand well-equipped soldiers, while the Muslims were absolutely ill-equipped. And Allah called that yawm al-Furqan — this is the day of separation. You figure out what side of the fence you were on.

We have such an amazing book that we should feel so attached to and so much in love with. That this book is called Al-Furqan — that even today, when there is so much confusion, when people are lost, alhamdulillah we have Al-Furqan which tells us what's right and what's wrong.

My brothers and sisters, when you pass by a Sikh temple, when you pass by a Hindu temple, when you pass by a Sunday service, when you pass by a Saturday Sabbath service — you look at what's happening in those places, even those who think they're following God. You look at their service, their prayers, their goals, who and how they're worshipping, and you say:

All praise belongs to Allah who has guided us towards Islam, and if it wasn't for Allah we would have never found our way. So we ask Allah to grant us the ability to make shukr and gratitude for this blessing.

Verse 1: Tabarakallahi — The Meaning of Barakah

Tabarakallahi — blessed is Allah — the one who has sent down upon His servant the Criterion. 'Ala 'abdihi means upon His servant. Liyakuna lil'alamina nadhira — so that the Prophet ﷺ could become the forewarner to all the worlds of the nearing judgment of Allah.

Now let's talk about tabaraka. The word barakah — bi barakah — usually comes in the meaning of ita' al-khayr al-kathir — to give a lot of good, more than you can imagine. Barakah, as explained by our honorable Mufti Raza ul-Haq, our ustad, would be: manafi' kathirah ma'a al-asbab al-qalilah — a lot of benefit with little means.

I have a hundred dollars and I go buy a hundred dollars' worth of things — that's normal. But I have a hundred dollars and I went to the store to buy a hundred dollars' worth of things, and I found — SubhanAllah — everything on my list was fifty percent off, and then someone said there's an extra special discount for a certain category you qualify for. That hundred dollars now ended up getting you everything you needed for twenty dollars. Sometimes a person says, take it — free — here, take this. A hundred dollars giving you a hundred dollars' worth of return is not barakah. A hundred dollars giving you a five hundred dollars' worth of return — that's what's called barakah.

When a person has a seventy thousand dollar salary and is able to take care of all expenses and still has money left over — that's called barakah. You have a two-hundred-fifty-thousand dollar salary and you're still behind on your bills, still have credit card debt, still worried about how you're going to get out of your mortgage — that's called no barakah. You see people today earning half a million, more than a quarter of a million, and everyone you speak to is still pareshan — worried. Why? There's no barakah. No matter how much they earn, it never seems to be enough.

The flip side — you have a person, SubhanAllah, earning forty-five, fifty thousand. You ask him: brother, what credit card debt? Everything that comes in, I cut it, shred it, throw it away. I don't have a single credit card. Alhamdulillah, I'm comfortable. If I die today, everything's paid for. My kids don't have to worry, my wife doesn't have to worry about any debts. His kids are well fed, he's well fed, his wife is well fed, everyone's wearing clothes — multiple pairs even — SubhanAllah, with fifty thousand. Why? What happened to the four-hundred-fifty-thousand-dollar guy? No barakah. Especially when the intentions are not good, and you're investing in haram, earning haram — of course there's no barakah.

I remember Hazrat Mufti — our honorable ustad — he would say: once, the salary he would get when he was an ustad in Pakistan in Binnori Town, in the late seventies or early eighties — I can imagine it was pennies. That also an ustad in Karachi in a madrasa — what the ulama make, SubhanAllah, even now, but especially then. And he would say that now in South Africa, of course it's not in Pakistani rupees, it's in rands, and it's a much larger amount than that. But he said: I remember the money I would make over there — there would be so much barakah in it. In that poverty, there was just something always left over. In that difficulty, there would always be extra available.

So when a person, depending on where they're earning the money, where they're working — if the person who is giving you your income and your salary is himself a person of taqwa, or if you are serving in a place that is a place of taqwa, then that little salary, SubhanAllah, might be barakah. But if you go earn a million a year at a casino or some position there — there's not going to be barakah in that. How can you be at war with Allah and have barakah?

So it really has a lot to do with what type of rizq we are gaining — where it's coming from. If we are making the right decisions, then we will see, inshallah, that there will be barakah in our earnings. That's why, besides just worrying about our expenses and our earnings, we have to make dua to Allah to put barakah. Ask Allah — all of us should ask Allah: ya Allah, give me halal mubarak rizq. Don't necessarily ask for more. Ask for barakah in it. More is sometimes less — you're still now in bigger debt than you were before.

Three Meanings of Tabarakallah

The Qur'an uses barakah in many different places. What are some of the meanings? One meaning is that Allah — tabaraka — is free from any similarity with His creation. There's nothing, no similitude, no similarity between Allah and His creation. The second meaning is Allah ta'ala qadruhu — that Allah's status and His honor is great. And the third meaning is a'zuma khayrahu wa 'ata'uhu — that His khayr and what He gives is great. So all three meanings apply here: Allah is above all, Allah is free from any similitude with His creation, and His gifts are amazing.

Notice that every gift of Allah, like the gift of the Qur'an especially, is a mubarak gift — a gift that never ends. They say a diamond is something so-called everlasting, but SubhanAllah, when Qiyamah comes, when the Day of Judgment will come — will the diamond be around? Everything has to go. Every single blessing of this world that was from this mud must come to an end. Any blessing that is coming from elements of the akhira — reward, Jannah — if it's not made from the elements of this world, it will be everlasting. But any type of blessing from this world must come to an end.

So when you think about Allah's gift — which is the biggest gift He gave us — the Qur'an — this is definitely the most everlasting gift. It will be with us even in the grave. That is why we are reminded to recite Surah As-Sajdah and Surah Al-Mulk every night between Maghrib and Isha, or afterwards. Allah will allow Surah Al-Mulk and Surah As-Sajdah to have a shape and form in our grave, and the person will look — who is this person standing at my feet, guarding me? This is the Book of Allah, this is the Qur'an, this is your Sajdah, this is your Mulk that you recited. Where is the diamond ring going to be? What blessing out there can you think of that's going to be with you in the grave, protecting you?

My beloved brothers and my dear students — think about the investment you and I are doing in seeking ilm and studying the deen. There is nothing more blessed than this. If you're wondering: is it worth it? I'm sweating, is it worth dealing with so much hardship, with things that go against my nafs, with people I don't necessarily get along with? Trust me — if you think about where you're headed, that this ilm you're gaining, this Qur'an you're memorizing, this Arabic you're studying, this hadith and fiqh you're studying — where is the reward? Are you really doing it to get a paycheck at the end of the year? No. It's all about the akhira. So if the reward is in the akhira, then whatever difficulty you go through is well worth it.

'Ala 'Abdihi — Upon His Servant: The Highest Station

Notice here — Rasulullah ﷺ has been called abd. Because my beloved brothers, when a human being reaches the highest level of progress, what is that? He becomes an abd of Allah. That's the highest level of progress. When a human being's relationship with another human being becomes that of a slave, that's the lowest level. Highest level is you become a slave of Allah. Lowest level is you become a slave of another human being.

Today there is modern-day slavery happening all over the world — let's leave that for another day. But the trends and fashions that people around us are involved in — social media addiction, constant posting, constant purchasing, having certain brand names, everything related to that — what is that in reality? That is also a slavery to people. Because a person doesn't even know why he's doing what he's doing. He's simply doing it because everyone else is doing it. He simply doesn't want to be left out, doesn't want FOMO, wants to make sure he fits in, wants to make sure he's got something to show like the rest. One person bought a certain type of car — you'll see the next-door neighbor buying it. And I'm sorry, even seventy year olds are in the same rat race — I've got to fit in. Whether you're seventeen or seventy, this disease doesn't go away.

Who is a man who's not a slave? He says: I will do whatever I need to do and I don't care if people ostracize me. I will speak the truth, I will lead the life I want and think is correct, no matter who says what. I don't need to be on social media. I don't need to have a certain purse, a certain cell phone, drive a certain car, dye my hair a certain manner, have a certain fashion, go to a certain vacation spot, a certain Instagram spot. Ajeeb — the Instagram trends — some of these trends are such that a person ends up dying, and so now you have police and healthcare people warning: for Allah's sake, don't fall into this TikTok trend, don't fall into this Instagram trend, because people are like "he did it, I have to do it." I have to go to a certain city, go to a certain restaurant, take a picture there and post it. What are you doing?

All of this behavior in our society, if you start studying it, you'll see to what degree it's senseless. We have become slaves in society, we're not free people. All these musicians — they're masters, they control the masses. Two-hundred-fifty million, three-hundred-fifty million subscribers. When they say jump, the whole crowd says: how high? What is that? That's slavery to a human being. That's the worst thing you can be. That's the lowest — that's when you drop and hit rock bottom.

And when you ascend and ascend all the way to the top — what happens? Subhana alladhi asra bi'abdihi laylah — Glory be to Allah, He is the one who took His servant on that night. That is the height of any human's spiritual flight — Al-Mi'raj, the Prophet ﷺ's heavenly ascension. And at that time Allah uses the word abd — He doesn't use the word Rasul, He doesn't use any other word, He doesn't use his name. He uses the word abd. Because this tells us that this is the height of a person's progress — that you become a slave of Allah.

There is also a very nice explanation by a scholar: when a person becomes an abd of Allah, he becomes an abd to take from Him. And when we become a slave to another human being, we become a slave to give him — the slave serves the master. When it comes to our relationship of servitude with Allah, it's not about serving Him because He needs us. What can you do for Allah? The reason we serve Him and serve His deen is because He gives so much. Imagine if I say I'm going to pay you $400 an hour to come and vacuum the masjid — who would think they're doing a favor? I'm in for the money — $400 an hour, this is amazing. A person doesn't think he's doing ihsan, instead he feels so honored that he's getting paid so much for such little work. Why are you worshipping Allah? Does Allah need you? No — because Allah pays so much, He pays so high, He pays so great. That's why I'd rather be a slave of Allah than a slave of anyone else.

Liyakuna lil'alamina nadhira — Warner to the Worlds

Liyakuna lil'alamina nadhira — for Rasulullah ﷺ to become a forewarner for the world. Was Rasulullah ﷺ only a nadhir — a warner? No, he was also a bashir — a bearer of glad tidings. Why is bashir not mentioned here? Because the discussion in the next few verses is about those people who deny the Qur'an and deny Rasulullah ﷺ's status. That's why we start this verse by saying the purpose of Rasulullah ﷺ is to warn you, to forewarn you. Glad tidings have not been mentioned because we're dealing with people who from the very get-go need a little wake-up call — their ear has got to be pulled.

There are many worlds: there's a world of humans, a world of jinn, a world of angels, a world of animals of the sea, animals of the earth, animals of the heavens — possibly in different dimensions as well. All of these are our alameen, plural. But the Nabi ﷺ was sent for the alam — the Qur'an is sent as a sharia for who? For the humans and the jinn.

Verse 2: The Absolute Dominion of Allah

He is the one to whom belongs all the dominion — mulk means dominion — over the heavens and the earth. And who has never taken for Himself any offspring. And He has never had any partner in all of the dominion. And He alone is the one who has created everything. And He has determined all of it with a precise determination.

The last ayah of the previous surah — Surah An-Nur — was:

Listen — to Allah belongs everything that is in the heavens and in the earth. So there, Allah is speaking about how He owns everything that's inside the heavens and the earth — what's inside the container. And then here in Surah Al-Furqan, Allah is speaking about the heavens and the earth itself — which means the container. So Allah in the previous surah ended it by speaking about owning what's inside the container, and in this surah He begins by saying He also owns the container. It's like: one is you own the cookies, another is you own both the container and the cookies. SubhanAllah — Allah owns the heavens and the earth and everything in between.

And then, beyond that — Allah's game plan is that He's in charge forever. He doesn't have a son, He doesn't have a child. And what about arguments and fights between partners that can happen over time? No — He has no partner, He has no one to mess with Him, He is alone, complete, complete, complete owner of everything. Why should it not be so? Because He's created everything. Who would have the ability to challenge Him when every single thing besides Him is makhluq?

One of the meanings of shay — everything — and the meaning of alameen: they say ma siwa Allah fahu 'alam — everything besides Allah is 'alam. And another meaning: 'alam summiya 'alaman li annahu 'alamatun, ya'ni 'alamatu wujudillah — the world has been called an 'alam because it is an 'alama — a sign — from the same word 'alama. The entire world is a sign for the existence of Allah.

It's sad when someone sees multiple signs and keeps rushing through. Imagine SubhanAllah — a person who lives in this entire world for eighty years, and every single thing is a sign pointing towards Allah. Everything — from this laptop, to this phone, to this mic — every single thing. It's a piece of metal I'm speaking into right now. How did man come with this creation, to have this sound emanating from all these different places in the building, and from there people simultaneously are listening live in many continents of the world? Yes, the engineers and their intelligence — but then who's behind that? Allah. Every single thing is a sign of Allah's greatness and existence. How sad that a person leads his entire life in this world and dies without recognizing Allah's existence.

Allah — The True Creator

There are many ways a person can create. Allah says He created everything. When Allah says:

In Surah Al-Mu'minun, Allah says He is the best of creators — ahsanal khaliqin. So does that mean there's more than one creator? Isa (alayhis salam) says:

I create something — I mold something like a bird, and then I blow into it, and it flies away with the permission of Allah. Here Isa (alayhis salam) is talking about akhluq — "I create." Allah says He is the best of creators — plural. So does that mean there are a lot of creators and one best among them?

How are we supposed to understand this? There are two types — one is making, one is creating. What we all do is we make. We take raw materials that are existing in the world and, using the raw materials created by Allah and the intelligence that Allah has given us, we take them together and form them into something. An airplane may have hundreds of millions of parts from all different things — but at the end of the day, they came from the earth, from something that was already in existence.

Allah's method of creation is to take something from non-existence and create it into existence. He's not using existing materials. He's taking things that were never present and making them present. But Allah is so kind — He still calls us khaliq. He says, no problem, I will let you attribute this to yourself. Ahsanul khaliqin — you are sitting there mixing things together and you want to call yourself a khaliq? Go ahead.

It's like little kids with their little toy kitchens, SubhanAllah — sometimes they're making roti, sometimes they're making biryani, sometimes they're making tea. And what do you do when they offer it to you? Do you get mad at them? No, we sit there and sip it and make them happy, because we just let them play. Same thing — Allah says, you want to call yourself a creator by doing these things? Okay, no problem. But the real Creator, of course, is Allah.

How did He create it? Faqaddarahu taqdira — every single thing is very predetermined, very precise. From the amount of rotations the earth makes around itself on its axis, to around the sun, the galaxies, all their movement — nothing is haphazard. Otherwise our days and nights will be messed up, our seasons will be messed up, temperatures will be messed up. You look at every single thing and you'll see there is absolute precision.

Verse 3: The Helplessness of False Gods

Unfortunately, these people are blind. Those who disbelieve have taken gods apart from Allah — gods that cannot create anything; rather, they themselves have been created. They do not hold for themselves the power of harm nor benefit. How could they harm or benefit someone else when they cannot harm or benefit themselves? Nor do they hold the power over death, nor life, nor resurrection.

Three different stages of human being have been mentioned here — mawt, hayah, nushur: we were non-existent, then Allah gave us life, then we shall die, and then we'll be raised up again. These false gods do not have the ability to put their finger into any of these three stages of life. They cannot help themselves and they cannot help anyone else. Rather, as we did in the last surah — Surah Al-Hajj:

Indeed those false gods that you invoke besides Allah — they cannot even create one fly, even if they were all gathered together with all their might and power. They cannot create one fly — meaning they cannot put the soul in it. They can make something that looks like a fly, a 3D print and whatever else, but they're never going to be able to put the ruh in it. It may become robotic, it might move around — sure — but the ruh? Where are you going to get the ruh from? That they cannot do.

Verses 4–5: The Accusations of the Disbelievers

Moreover, those who disbelieved said: "Indeed, this is nothing but a fabrication — ifkun iftarahu — that he who claims to be a messenger, meaning Muhammad ﷺ, a'udhu billah, has forged. And wa a'anahu 'alayhi qawmun akharun — he's been assisted in this forgery by another group of people." Allah says about this type of accusation against the Prophet ﷺ: faqad ja'u zulman wa zuran — thus, truly they have come forth with a grave wrongdoing and falsehood.

When something is true and one takes that truth and misrepresents it as false — that's even worse. That is buhtan, as was done to 'Aisha (radi Allahu 'anha) in the story mentioned in Surah An-Nur — the waqi'at al-ifk, the story of the false accusation. Here the Prophet ﷺ is the only one who has the truth — everyone needs the truth he came with. But instead of accepting it as truth and saying "we are here to learn," they flip it and say: not only is what you are saying wrong, but you are actually falsely ascribing prophethood to yourself and falsely claiming to receive revelation. This is ifk. And you have your cronies, a'udhu billah, who are helping you promote this type of message.

Allah says — who said this? Nadr ibn al-Harith began to say these things, and then other kuffar began to repeat the same propaganda — that the Qur'an is false and fake, and that the Prophet ﷺ is forging all of these things. Allah says: faqad ja'u zulman wa zuran.

You know, when a judge makes a decision about something, he first listens to witnesses and then passes a judgment. Imagine if the witnesses are giving false testimony — then the decision is going to be wrong. Notice here: zuran is referring to the testimony, which is false. Zulman is the wrong and incorrect decision. A decision comes after testimony — but notice that Allah brings the false decision first in the Qur'an, and then after that mentions false witnesses. Because that's what the disbelievers did — they already decided from the very get-go that they were not going to believe in Allah and His Messenger, not going to believe in the Qur'an. That's what they said they were going to do. Now they go around searching for false witnesses.

Isn't that what happens today? People already decide — I'm not going to follow the deen, this is too hard, this is backwards — they decide. It's not like they want to search for the truth. No, I don't feel comfortable with this, I'm not going to follow this part of the deen. They decide that. Then they'll go fatwa shopping and will find some misguided person in some part of the world who doesn't know anything about the deen but wrote a fatwa that X, Y, Z is permissible. Because you will always find enough reckless individuals all around the world. Just because you can take a verse from Google and post it somewhere does not make you a mufti. But that's what they'll do.

Today, every single deviant idea out there — you'll find someone from the Muslim community supporting it and bringing proof from the Qur'an, a'udhu billah. The people promoting that are not looking for the truth. They have already decided that they want to accept a certain type of ideology, so let's go find a bunch of false witnesses. Like there are people who have written books saying how, a'udhu billah, LGBTQ is supported by the Qur'an. People who do workshops and seminars all over the country and beyond. Who speaks about that? People have already decided — I feel that Islam should be open to this — so now I'm going to go find some false witnesses. This is exactly what is happening here. Zulman — they've already decided, oppressively and incorrectly, that they're not going to follow the deen. And then they go trying to get false witnesses.

And the disbelievers also said: asatiru al-awwalin — these are the tales of the ancients, asturah, asatir — that the Qur'an is a bunch of stories of past people. Iktatabaha — which he has sought to have written down. Fahiya tumla 'alayhi bukratan wa asilan — thus, they are dictated to him by another person — early morning and late afternoon. Meaning: he doesn't know how to write — they themselves said that, it was well known. He doesn't know how to read, he doesn't know how to write. But he's got these amazing things. Well, what's the answer? They came with something foolish — that someone comes in the night or in the morning, maybe multiple times a day, and is dictating.

Brothers, can you just find who's doing this dictating? Are you saying that there are people within Arabia — some unknown people — who are actually more eloquent in the Arabic language than you lot? All of you put together cannot bring one verse of the Qur'an. Allah challenged them — bring something equivalent to the Qur'an. Okay, you can't do that? Bring a surah. You can't do that? Bring one ayah. If you can't do that, how can you think that there's someone dictating all of this every day? Bring him, let's see him.

Isn't it so ajeeb? When a person decides to go the wrong way and become a slave to his desires, literally he loses his mind — there is a hijab, a veil, over his 'aql, over his intelligence. This is the type of speech they had: there's someone sitting there dictating because he obviously couldn't have come up with it himself. Okay — if you can come up with it, why don't you? No. Where is this guy? They don't know where he is, but somehow he's dictating the Qur'an.

Verse 6: He Who Knows Every Secret

Tell them — oh Prophet of Allah — it's not being dictated by anyone. The one who alone knows every secret in the heavens and the earth has most surely sent it down as a divine revelation. Indeed, ever is He Oft-Forgiving and Mercy-Giving.

In this ayah, Allah could have said anything — He could have said: the one who created you sent the Qur'an, the one who provides for you sent the Qur'an, the one who gives you death and life sent the Qur'an. But instead He says: alladhi ya'lam us-sirra — the one who knows the secret. SubhanAllah. He's saying: okay, you think it's being dictated by someone — how does this someone know so many secrets of this creation? How does this someone come with miraculous explanations of things?

For example, when the Romans were beaten by the Persians — and the Nabi ﷺ was sad about that, although both were non-Muslims, but he had a stronger affinity because the Romans were at least people of a book as opposed to the Persians — he recited the verse:

The Romans have been defeated in the nearer land, but after their defeat they will overcome their enemy. How do you sit there in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, when the news reaches you that the Romans have been defeated, and make such a bold claim — which you know, if it's wrong, even the people following you today will forsake you? This is not something you have to wait till the Day of Judgment to see — within the next few years we'll see. How do you make such a big bold statement about world events, knowing that if you're not right even your own followers will turn their backs on you? He knew what he was speaking was from Allah. This is the secret that you all don't know.

And sure enough, the day came. Allah says: wa yawma idhin yafrahul mu'minuna bi nasrillah — and the day this would happen would be the day when the believers themselves would be joyous over their own victory. What day was that? The Day of Badr. The Day of Badr is the day when the Romans also beat the Persians on the same day — and it was all mentioned years before this incident happened.

Allah is speaking about the various animals in the Qur'an, the creation of the heavens and the earth, the water cycle, embryology — these are all secrets. So this person who is supposedly dictating to the Prophet ﷺ — how does he know these secrets? Who is he? Let's go see him. The idea is: O disbelievers, please be logical. The Qur'an is filled with so many amazing secrets of the world — this cannot be from a human being. You know it. Just accept it. The one who knows all these secrets is the one who revealed this Qur'an.

Then the ending of this ayah: innahu kana ghafuran rahima — indeed He is Oft-Forgiving and Mercy-Giving. We've been talking about people who are disbelieving for the past five ayahs — why does Allah now say He is Oft-Forgiving and Mercy-Giving? Allah wants us to know that the doors of tawbah are always open. Even the disbeliever — look within the next few ayaats — even now if you wish to repent, you will find Allah to be the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

Isn't that beautiful? Whenever Allah shows His jalal, He will immediately — either in that verse or in the next few verses — show His jamal. If Allah shows His anger, He will definitely show His mercy as well. And so also when dealing with people in the world, we also have to do the same — as parents, as teachers, as caregivers. If our position entails showing sternness at times, we then also have to show softness immediately — in that same few minutes, a few hours — and balance it out.

Umar ibn al-Khattab — someone came to him and said: do you know, this is the one who killed your brother Zayd ibn al-Khattab. So Umar ibn al-Khattab said: wa madhaa af'alu bihi wa qad hadahullahu lil-Islam — what do you want me to do? Allah has already guided him towards Islam. I've got to keep my hands off of him. And Hind — who motivated Wahshi to kill Hamza and then mutilate his body — yet Allah decided to guide her. Hands off — no one can say anything.

So people who've done the worst possible things — ghafurun rahim — Allah has forgiven them. Anyone who chooses to seek forgiveness from Allah today, who's listening, who will listen tomorrow — and we haven't done any of these types of evil sins, alhamdulillah — we are believers. And inshallah the day we repent, Allah will find Him to be the Most Forgiving and Most Merciful. We ask Allah to give us the tawfiq to do that, inshallah ta'ala.

Questions and Answers

Is a credit card permissible if one pays off the whole amount?

If a person is avoiding interest, is set up on auto-payment, and is not falling behind, then that is permissible.

Why does Surah Al-Jathiyah have multiple back-to-back verses describing the punishment of Allah?

Surah Al-Jathiyah — the name itself is filled with awe. It's when people are begging for their safety, on their knees — that's what jathiyah means. So this is where the anger of Allah is present. But definitely, it's not possible that you do not find the names of Allah's mercy even on the first page — Allah will use the word rahim and hakim and ghafoor. You will definitely find it all over the surah.

Why does the Qur'an mention the oneness of Allah over and over?

Because this is the most fundamental thing. You cannot get anywhere in life if we do not get to this point — which is Tawheed. Tawheed, tawheed — we have to get through tawheed first, and after that everything else. Once you understand tawheed, then you will logically come to Risalah — Prophethood — and then you will logically come towards the Qur'an. But if a person doesn't understand tawheed, then everything else won't make sense.

Prophet Lut (alayhis salam) was asked to move from his city — is that a hukum for us in a situation where LGBTQ is widespread?

Allah told him to move because He was going to destroy that nation. Right now we are not going to be destroyed inshallah, if we are doing our job to protect ourselves. This LGBTQ is not something only in the United States — it is spreading across the globe, and eventually sooner or later this will become more common elsewhere as well. So we have to educate ourselves and our children, and take care of our deen, our homes, and our masajid to the best of our ability.

I'm in a relationship and trying to make it halal, but her parents want her to finish education first. Please advise.

The best is to speak to them again, have someone speak to them, and together as a family try to iron things out. If it's not possible, then there are two options: either you wait, or you move on.

Are addictions that we suffer the hardships mentioned in today's tafsir, or are they self-inflicted and in a different category?

Addictions to sin are also a test from Allah. As long as a person continuously feels guilty and is repenting, you should regard that as a test. And inshallah, if you keep on repenting and keep on begging Allah for a way out, Allah will provide a way out. Do not feel overwhelmed by it to the point of thinking you're destined for hell because you keep slipping into something. You should have hope — the fact that Allah gives you this sadness over the sin and hatred towards the sin is itself a very great blessing of Allah.

Closing Du'a

There is a request for one of the brothers here — his uncle passed away in Hyderabad. We ask Allah to grant him forgiveness — Brother Muhammad Habib, we ask Allah: may He forgive him, have mercy on him, forgive him, let him enter paradise, purify him from his sins, make his grave a garden of paradise and not a pit of hellfire. O Allah, do not deprive us of his reward and do not put us to trial after him, and change it to a better home than his home and a better family than his family. Ameen, O Lord of the worlds.

And peace be upon the messengers, and all praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Wassalamu alaykum.