Surah Ghafir - Ep.3 | Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

Opening Supplications

The Opening Verse — Sūrah Ghāfir

Recap: The Role of the 'Aql (Intellect)

Last week we covered up to Āyah 4 of Sūrah Ghāfir. If you have not had a chance to listen to it, please do so. You can find the previous episodes on the Darul Uloom New York YouTube channel. This is the third episode of the series on Sūrah Ghāfir.

We spoke about the role of the 'aql — the intellect — and this is something we could spend a very long time on, because Allah gave us intellect and intelligence so that we can figure out what is right and what is wrong in life. Think of it as a double-edged sword. You have a printing press, and you use it to print beautiful things and sell beautiful things — your business can thrive and you can become very well known for it. But if someone uses that same machine to print counterfeit money, he will eventually get arrested and serve years in jail. It is a double-edged sword.

Similarly, the 'aql — we can use it to understand Allah and become from amongst the chosen ones, or we can use it in a non-beneficial manner and harm ourselves. This is what we learned last week: the importance of using our intellect in the best possible manner.

Number two, we learned about the fact that we should not use our intelligence to argue back with Allah. That is when you know you have crossed the limits. There are many harmful ways that people use their intelligence, and we spoke about that last week.

Attributing Natural Phenomena to Allah

One thing I may not have gotten enough time to address was when people are not willing to accept that nature is a sign of the greatness of Allah, and that whatever happens in nature, instead of being attributed to Allah, is constantly attributed to so-called "natural phenomena" — not realizing that natural phenomena is natural because Allah created it like that.

So, for example, if an earthquake happens, a tsunami happens, a natural disaster occurs, some abnormal weather incident takes place — instead of attributing this to Allah, a person will say, "This is nothing. Is this an act of God?" — and they will sit there and try to negate the hand of Allah in any interesting, supernatural, or unusual incident. Whereas the hand of Allah is in every incident, regardless of whether it is unusual or not. Every single second that we move forward in life, whatever is happening is because of the will of Allah.

But if you cannot understand that, then at least recognize when you see things out of the ordinary. Yet these people immediately want to tie everything up with "this is a scientific, natural phenomenon." They have this allergy to attributing things to God. This is where the problem lies. We should not feel allergic to it. We should feel excited. We should say: this is our Rabb. Even if sad things are happening, our answer is: whatever Allah wills is happening — this happened by the will of Allah.

Loss of life or wealth from a natural disaster — is global warming involved? Sure. But where did global warming come from? It came from Allah. Did humans have a hand in it? Of course. So we have this outstanding balance as Muslims: we acknowledge a share for human action, a share for the physical laws of nature, and on top of all of that, the overarching hand is of Allah. There is no contradiction in believing that pollution is causing global warming, and that global warming is causing natural disasters, and simultaneously believing that Allah is the One who has allowed everything to happen and who created this world in this manner.

There was an incident that took place recently — flight turbulence. You may have heard about it. A person died, and about twenty people were critically injured and rushed to the hospital. I travel often, alhamdulillah, so I am always reading about these things. The weather is getting crazier. You ask why there is so much turbulence, and the pilots and flight attendants will tell you: this is part of the changing environment due to human pollution. They say there are certain weather phenomena you do not even know about until you are in them. You cannot do anything about them. They are invisible to the radar, invisible to the pilot. This is not going to decrease — more than likely it is going to increase.

Look at the earthquakes, this tornado in Texas, every single moment some incident is occurring. Papua New Guinea — just because they are not part of Europe or the Western world, no one even cares about them. The death toll is around two thousand — and most of you did not even hear about it. SubhanAllah. That is a country. That is where humans exist. There was a Pakistani Jamaat that came through about five or six years ago — they spent an entire Paida Jamaat in Papua New Guinea and went through areas where there are cannibals. SubhanAllah. They were telling me it was an incredible experience.

Anyway, what I am trying to say is it did not even make it to the front pages. None of you even knew about it. Now let us connect this back with our Nabi ﷺ. He said that towards the end of times, there will be so many natural disasters that when people meet each other at an intersection or at the coffee shop, everyone will say, "What happened on your side?" One person will say, "I had a flood last night." Another will say, "I had an earthquake." Another will say — imagine a Zoom call or WhatsApp call in the morning where from different parts of the world everyone is speaking about what happened on their side. The Prophet ﷺ said a day will come where every morning people will be speaking about the natural disasters that occurred. We already heard about this 1400 years ago. Rasulullah ﷺ said this was going to happen — and that era has begun. Fires, mudslides, tornadoes, hurricanes, snowstorms, tsunamis — every single natural phenomenon you can imagine is happening.

The Quran says:

Corruption and chaos have spread on land and in the seas due to the actions of mankind. There is no contradiction between acknowledging that these are natural phenomena, acknowledging that this is happening by the will and permission of Allah, and acknowledging that we as human beings have sinned — because of which this is a punishment — and that we have oppressed the earth and its natural resources, which has disrupted the entire balance of the ecosystem. This Islamic perspective is a cohesive, well-rounded perspective that tells us: stop polluting, stop sinning, and start fulfilling your role as vicegerent of Allah on this earth.

The Allergy to the Unseen: Miracles, Jinn, and Angels

The weak Muslim today — and certainly the non-Muslim — does not like to hear the word of God. He becomes allergic to it. He makes fun of it. If you say "this is an act of God," he will start making foolish arguments like, "Well, when that murder happened — was God sleeping? Did He not care?" Allah says:

They will use their intelligence to debate with you and argue with you, and in reality they have lost themselves. We should naturally always revert everything back to Allah — that everything is happening by the will of Allah, good and bad — and that we need to repent, make tawbah, and utilize all available worldly means to bring change.

Another thing I want to mention is the allergy to miracles. You give a Jumu'ah khutbah and speak about miracles, and half the crowd wants to leave. I remember one day I was giving a bayan about the signs of the Hour, and I spoke about how before the Day of Judgment the Prophet ﷺ said that a truthful believer's dream will rarely be false — that Allah will communicate with the nation through the dreams of the pious.

You may have heard the narration that 1/46th of Nubuwwah has been mentioned as dreams. What does that mean? 23 years of the Prophet's prophethood times 2 equals 46. Each unit of this represents 6 months. The 1/46th means that 6 months was the initial portion where Rasulullah ﷺ did not receive Jibra'il Amin directly, but instead Allah communicated with him through dreams. This is mentioned in

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6987)

So as I was sharing one story about this, one man stood up and left. The masjid board later said, "Oh, in this masjid you can't talk about dreams." I am sorry — what am I supposed to do? People become allergic. You talk about any miracle — miracles of the Prophet ﷺ, the Sahaba, or the Awliya — and people get uncomfortable.

Why is our ummah allergic to miracles? Our deen is not based on miracles, but miracles are part of our 'aqeedah. In Aqeedah al-Tahawiyyah — a book of creed that everyone from Barelvis to Salafis, Ahl al-Hadith to Deobandis — everyone believes in. The miracles of the Awliya are affirmed in Aqeedah al-Tahawiyyah. But people do not like to hear about miracles.

I am not saying every talk should be filled with stories of miracles — we have many other things to discuss. But if your reason for denying a miracle is because it sounds too outlandish — outlandish for whom? For you? For me? Or for Allah? If someone thinks something is outlandish for Allah, that is a serious problem. Nothing is outlandish for Allah.

And we must speak about miracles more than ever before — because of what is coming on the other side. Today we stopped at a store on the way to the airport with some visiting scholars. I showed them the Ray-Ban glasses with a built-in camera — $400. Connected to Meta AI. You can focus on anything, say "Hey Meta," and ask what it is. The AI scans it and tells you. You can look at the Statue of Liberty, a tree, or a person — and it gives you full information. Very soon you will be able to look at a person, and it will pull up their name, job, LinkedIn profile, and so forth.

This is power that even 50 years ago the most powerful emperors did not have. Napoleon did not have it. No one had this type of power. My point is: we are entering a level of technology that looks — astaghfirullah — God-like. This is what you call the Dajjal. If we do not keep speaking about miracles, people will actually think that this technology is God. That is why it is so important to speak about miracles now. Prophets are gone, so the miracles of the prophets alone are not sufficient — we must also speak about the miracles of the Awliya. That if you follow the Quran and the Sunnah, Allah can make miracles happen through you. We will not be shell-shocked and amazed by a pair of glasses. That is a creation of Allah — so what? We have our own miracles.

We must remove the uneasiness from the hearts of the youth when they hear: "Not again, a story about a Wali flying!" What is your problem? Why can't he fly? Is the deen based on miracles? No. But you should be able to say: Allah can do whatever He wants. If you say Allah cannot make a Wali fly — then how is He running this entire world? That doubt, if allowed to grow, will eventually lead a person to stop believing in Allah altogether.

And next — the world of the jinn. We do not need to speak about jinn at length, but if you feel allergic to the very discussion of jinn, if you feel uncomfortable with the fact that jinn exist, then you have a problem. You should feel completely at ease when someone says there is an invisible creation called jinn, that they exist, that they have their own parallel world. You do not have to do anything about it — but you should have no problem believing it. If you have a problem believing this, I am worried about what will happen to you in the fitna of the Dajjal — because there will be such a heavy emphasis on believing only in the seen and rejecting the unseen.

A college student once told me that his professor asked: "Whoever believes in God, raise your hand." Four or five students raised their hands. The professor mocked them. Then he said: "Okay, how many of you believe in Satan?" Even fewer hands went up. And he said: "What?! I could maybe — barely — let you go for believing in God, but how could you possibly believe in Satan?"

SubhanAllah — the biggest trick the devil ever played on mankind was making them believe he does not exist. So when you see people becoming allergic to jinn, shayatin, angels, and miracles — these are all symptoms of a person's iman in the unseen becoming weak.

My beloved friends, do not use your intelligence to attack the unseen. That is not what Allah gave you the 'aql for. I am speaking to a certain mindset — the skeptical mindset that is so skeptical it scares me that it might one day lead to losing iman. Skeptical about things that are not normal. Always wanting to give a physical explanation for every paranormal occurrence. You do not need to. You can simply say: Allah made it happen. It is from the world of the unseen. Whether He used angels, or it was miraculous, or jinn — something happened. We do not always need a physical explanation for everything.

Because if your mind is always accustomed to demanding a physical explanation, you will be in serious trouble when a genuine miracle occurs — like the splitting of the moon — and there is no physical explanation. I heard a famous scholar recently, someone shared his link, saying the moon never split — it does not make sense for it to have literally split. This is a mindset of using one's intellect to say: "The Quran has to make sense to me." Yes, it riles up the crowd. You can say something that "makes sense" to a modern audience and they will laugh with you against 1400 years of tradition — because they simply do not know any better.

Dear students, do not fall into this trap. Anyone who speaks against tradition — the ending of that road is not going to be sweet. Today it is the splitting of the moon; tomorrow it will be another miracle. When we make our intellect the deciding factor of what is sensible and what is not, we are in trouble. Make yourself accustomed to hearing things you do not understand and saying:

That is why Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه became Abu Bakr. When the Isra and Mi'raj did not make sense to others, he said: I do not care whether it makes sense to me or not. If Nabi ﷺ said he went on the Isra and Mi'raj, then I believe in it. Until we do not reach that level of iman, we are going to be in serious trouble.

Even if your nafs, your intelligence, and twenty years of a certain kind of education forces you to say "This doesn't make sense" — tell your brain, tell your 'aql, tell your nafs: it does not make a difference whether it makes sense to you or not. What Allah and His Rasul ﷺ have said is the absolute truth.

When you have a three-year-old child in the house who says "That doesn't make sense" — you just laugh at him. You think: you are three years old, what sense do you even have? Similarly, for us to say to Allah and His Rasul "This doesn't make sense" is even more senseless than that. What knowledge of the unseen do we have? What knowledge of the past or the future? We barely know what is happening right now. We do not know what is behind that wall or above this roof. We are so limited in our knowledge — so how do we have the right to say we only believe what we understand?

This is a dangerous direction the ummah is heading in. May Allah give you and I the understanding of what has been said, and truly grant us the highest levels of iman bil ghayb — for that is exactly what is required.

Āyah 4: Do Not Be Deceived by Their Worldly Power

Do not allow their seeking of worldly gain across the various lands to delude you. Do not become impressed by their power, by how swiftly they move in killing Muslims while the world says nothing. Do not become impressed by their wealth, or by how the world receives them. The way they rule the world should not cause you to be impressed by them.

Allah distributes the dunya — wealth, power, fame, political authority — upon the people of the earth as a test (ibtila'), not necessarily as a blessing (rahmah). He made someone a billionaire today as a test. He made someone politically powerful — as a test — to see how he handles it. And we see that the majority of people use their wealth and power in a harmful manner. We should not become impressed by that. On the Day of Judgment, Allah will reward people based on how they used what they were given — and we must make sure we come out on top on that day.

Āyah 5: The War Between Truth and Falsehood Is Ancient

Before the Quraish — before the nation of Rasulullah ﷺ — the people of Nuh belied Allah's revealed word, and so did all the disbelieving alliances after them. Every nation made alliances to seize and kill their Prophet. What does this tell us?

In this āyah, Allah is telling us that the war between truth and falsehood did not start six months ago, a year ago, or twenty years ago. It started from day one — from the time Adam عليه السلام was created. When Iblis saw the form of Adam عليه السلام being created — before the soul was even blown into it — he was already circling around that form, conniving, figuring out how to mislead him. He noticed what he considered a weakness in the construction — a construction made by Allah Himself — and he said: I am going to attack from there. We did not pick a fight with Iblis. Iblis is the one who picked a fight with our father. And when Adam عليه السلام came to earth, Iblis stayed committed to that fight — and he succeeded in recruiting Qabil to his side, and so Qabil killed Habil, the first murder on earth, by the insinuation of Iblis.

This war between truth and falsehood is a very, very old one. Rasulullah ﷺ is being told: do not become overwhelmed. You are not the only one being called crazy, disgraced, or having obstacles placed in your path. This is what every prophet before you faced — including Nuh عليه السلام.

The Alliances of Falsehood and the Disunity of the Ummah

Number two — the ahzab: all the groups and alliances. Muslims will always find themselves surrounded by alliances of batil. Islam is one. Falsehood may come in many different colors, ethnicities, and ideologies — but when it comes to Islam, opposition to Islam is something that brings them all together.

Many times we get disheartened and say, "How come the disbelievers are so united and we are not?" Allah says: it appears they are united, but their hearts are also broken inside. However, there are certain things that bring them together — and that is the animosity toward the truth. That is why the Nabi ﷺ said before the end of times, nations will unite with one another to attack the Muslims — just like people sitting around a platter of food invite one another to eat from it.

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4297)

So the united alliances against the ummah — we are seeing this today. But within the ummah, what is happening? So many factions. I want you to understand that the factions created within the ummah are also part of falsehood's effort. It is called "divide and conquer." Why don't we wake up to that?

Look at the largest so-called mosque in all of Europe — a massive building given by the government for one pound. It is the Qadiani masjid. Read about the history. What is the first fatwa that Mirza Ghulam Ahmed issued? That it is haram — mansukh, abrogated — to do jihad against the British. His entire effort was to pacify the Muslims of undivided India and to say: no, no, no — the British are your friends, work for them. Use your brains and think about where this is coming from. Every place where a genuine Islamic effort is happening, you see one thorn standing in its way — every masjid, every institution.

How many places, any deeni effort is taking place — you see fighting, fighting, fighting. Whether it is the shayateen from the jinn or the shayateen from the humans — they have a hand in it because they want to stop the work of the deen. The destruction of the Ottoman Khilafah was not done from the outside alone — it was done from within. Whatever you see happening today — in Palestine — who is behind the backstabbing? Who is closing the borders? Who is doing under-the-table dealings? Allah is watching.

One of the scholars today mentioned a very powerful point. He said: you have the mainstream news media and then you have the alternative media. Many times, a certain report coming from an alternative media outlet is actually also part of the same institution — but they want to create a boogeyman saying something outlandish, and then use their mainstream outlet to dismantle it. It is a diversion tactic. The alternative story is also fabricated by the very same people who are calling things fabricated. Top to bottom, falsehood is utilizing every single tool to create disunity within the ummah.

Let us not become tools of falsehood. Dear brothers and sisters — do not allow shaytan to use you as a pawn. Do not use social media to attack people. Do not use WhatsApp and Twitter to attack institutions. Do not use Google reviews to attack institutions. If you care about the ummah and you have something to say, go speak to someone personally. Take gifts. Soften hearts. Guide people to the truth. But let us not become agents of shaytan. If you are working somewhere and there is fitna happening and they will not listen, try your best — and if it does not work, quietly leave. Do not write up a petition and rile up the whole crowd. That does not help our masjids. That does not help our deen.

Allah says in the Quran:

And chaos is worse than murder. Do we need change? Yes. But do it in a proper, meaningful manner. That anger and frustration — that's good, it means you care about the deen. But there is a proper way to channel that. We are already bleeding from all directions. We are not here to start a new organization that will dismantle all the others. Every one of us needs to see how we can be an agent of good wherever we go.

Understand that the disunity of the ummah was already prophesized by Rasulullah ﷺ — just as the natural disasters were prophesized, just as the non-Muslims uniting against the Muslims was prophesized. You know when we go to Madinah al-Munawwarah, there is a place called Masjid al-Ijabah — the masjid where Rasulullah's ﷺ duas were accepted. He made many duas there. One of them was that his entire ummah should not be destroyed by a natural disaster or a tyrant — and that was accepted. But another dua he made was: "Ya Allah, do not allow my ummah to have infighting." And he was told that this dua has not been accepted.

So this is part of the decree. How many youth are becoming disenfranchised from Islam? How many adults are saying, "I've had enough — always arguing, always fighting, I only see this in the masjid"? But our Nabi ﷺ already said this fitna would come. Do not allow it to push you away from the deen.

The Prophet ﷺ said: perform salah behind every righteous person and every fasiq. Even if you know the person leading the prayer is a sinner — go pray behind him, because salah with jama'ah is of such importance. There was Hajjaj ibn Yusuf — the butcher of the Sahaba and Tabi'een — and yet certain Sahaba would pray behind him. Not because they liked him, but because salah with jama'ah is salah with jama'ah. Now in our masjids we say, "This person has this issue, that issue" — and instead of going to another nearby masjid, people just use it as an excuse to stop praying altogether and pray at home.

There is no organization, no masjid, no institution that you will agree with 100%. You cannot agree with your own wife 100% — so how are you going to find an institution run by 20 people that you agree with? Stop distancing yourself from your local masjid, local madrasa, local Islamic school. At the end you will have no one left beside you and your phone — and that is how we go down the drain. We must overlook the wrong, take the good, leave the bad. Go pray your salah, do your dhikr and dua, and leave. Make dua that Allah puts khair in the masjid.

I told one imam whose masjid was filled with infighting: go to all the doors of the masjid and give the adhan — not the adhan for the mic before salah, but to ward off the shayateen. Give the adhan five times at all the entrances. You can do this in your home as well if you feel strange things are happening. A lot of what the shayateen do that should worry you is the fighting. If there is too much fighting in your masjid, your Islamic school, your institution, your home — read Surah al-Baqarah and give the adhan. Before your board meetings, read Ayat al-Kursi. Tell all the board members to read Ayat al-Kursi and the Mu'awwidhatayn. And read this ayah from Surah al-Mu'minun:

"O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the insinuations of the shayateen, and I seek refuge in You, my Lord, from them being present near me." This is a very powerful and beautiful ayah. Read it before your meetings. Go to the homes of those who are fighting — separately, before or after the meeting — and say: brother, please stop it. Wallahi, we will do whatever. But you do not understand — the ummah is bleeding everywhere. This is not the time for this.

What will this November bring to this country, I do not know. If the global situation does not unite us, what will? We have very few people on our side. If we are also arguing among ourselves — pitting each other over whether someone raises their hands before salah or does dhikr out loud — astaghfirullah. We cannot allow these secondary issues to become means of infighting. If someone's 'aqeedah is genuinely incorrect, let us go with love and try to guide them. But let us not become agents of shaytan.

I was in Khorash in California around 2009 or 2010. After Jumu'ah I met a brother. I told him we were inviting people to the masjid. You know what he told me? He was a foreign student. He said: "Why are you calling them? If he does not pray salah, he is a kafir — why are you bothering yourself?" SubhanAllah. Whereas a scholar was asked: "What is the ruling on a person who misses salah?" He thought the answer would be that he is a kafir — leave him. SubhanAllah — the scholar said:

"Hukmuhu an ta'khudahu bi yadihi wa tadhhaba bihi ila al-salah." — The injunction about him is that you grab him by his hand and take him to salah. Take him — make the effort to bring him close to the masjid. SubhanAllah. This is the empathy the ummah needs today more than ever.

How Falsehood Targets Scholars and Institutions

I want to tell you about what I was told by scholars who sought refuge and came to us from abroad. They would be approached by women who would say: "We need dua from you, we need ruqya, we have a very private situation." He would say: "We can speak publicly." They would insist it is private. One sheikh told me: a "mother and daughter" came to him — they wanted to come to his house. He said: "Only come when my wife is present." They came when his wife was not there, but he never allowed it. After two or three attempts, the "mother" came and confessed: "I am not this girl's mother. We are both government agents. We were paid to get you into a scandal. I am here to warn you — give me something and I will let you go." She was a double agent. And she said: this other girl is not going to give up — she has been hired to entice you into something inappropriate, we have cameras and microphones, and the goal is to release it to the journalists. This is how scholars are targeted in that country. They get them in a compromising situation and release it to destroy their credibility.

And then a year or five years later, when everyone has forgotten, the exoneration quietly comes — but it does not make the front page. Only the scandal did. This is the old trick in the book: using scandals to make scholars and the ulama lose credibility. And so when you hear of a scholar caught up in a scandal — yes, it can happen. But our deen does not change. People stand up and people fall. Islam does not change. Take your deen from scholars, yes — but remind yourself from day one: he is a human. He sins just like I do. The only difference is he perhaps sins differently from how I do. We are all sinners. No one is free of sin.

However, Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful. When we turn to Him, He forgives. You do not know who has already been forgiven. So do not judge people for past sins the way you would not want to be judged for your past sins.

A person who works closely with the FBI told me — and this was about ten years ago — he said: we will access someone's computer in ten seconds, open up a bunch of inappropriate websites on the office computer of a masjid, take screenshots, send an email to the imam and say: "This is going to go in our weekly email to the masjid — unless you work with us." So many imams have been caught in this type of fitna. How are you going to explain yourself? Your wife may leave you, your kids may disown you, the board will confront you. No one will believe you said you never did it. This is how people are blackmailed. Batil does this — so give people slack. When you see scholars say or do something, please do not judge them. You do not understand their situation. Just thank Allah you are not in their situation. You do not know who has a gun to his head or a gun pointed at his family — and that is why he is saying what he is saying. If any of us were put in that situation, we do not know what would have happened to us. May Allah protect us all.

Our eye must be on the truth. Do not judge the truth by the people. People may change. The truth will not change. That is the important thing.

فَأَخَذْتُهُمْ — Then I Seized Them

What did Allah do? He eventually seized them. All those people who tried to kill the prophets — they are gone. They are in the deepest parts of Jahannam, suffering in their graves. From Adam عليه السلام to Rasulullah ﷺ, anyone who opposed the Awliya, the Ulama, the Sahaba — they are destroyed and suffering even before the Day of Judgment comes. The Kasrah at the end of عِقَابِ denotes a Ya — 'iqabi — meaning "my punishment." And:

The truth has come and falsehood has melted away. Indeed, falsehood is destined to melt away. And Allah said to Musa and Harun عليهما السلام:

O Musa and Harun — I am with both of you. I am listening and I am watching. It did not look like it was going to happen — but Allah had a watchful eye, and He is ever present with those who speak the truth.

The Plotting of Falsehood — and Allah's Greater Plan

Apply everything I am saying to today's world. Indeed they plotted their plotting — and Allah is absolutely fully aware of all their plots. Even if their plotting is so powerful that it can move mountains from their place — what horsepower would you need for that? What grand power would you need to move billions of tons of rock? Allah says the makar and plotting of the people of falsehood is that deep.

You and I will go to sleep tonight — falsehood does not sleep. You and I come to these lessons once a week for one hour — falsehood does not work once a week. 24/7, multiple shifts, constant thinking about how to destroy haqq. Never-ending money for this, never-ending effort, never-ending strength. That is what you are up against. And Allah knows it. Allah allowed it — because this world is a test.

Think of a treadmill. You are tired, panting — what does the treadmill do? It keeps going. It does not stop. It does not get tired. It was built that way. You pay $50 a month to stand on it for your own physical health. Similarly, the fitna never stops — and that fitna is created by Allah via shaytan, and the purpose of it is your spiritual strength.

Remember the example of the fish: the Japanese fishermen found that fish would die on the way from the fishing boat to the restaurant. They eventually figured out that if you release one of the fish's natural predators into the holding tank, it keeps all the other fish moving — and that movement keeps them fresh and alive until they are served. The shaitan is like that predator. The fitna is like that — in one sense it is a blessing, because it keeps our spiritual strength alive. The constant worry about protecting ourselves from the plots of the shayateen — from humans and jinn — is what keeps our spiritual strength strong.

Do not ever think that Allah is unaware of what the oppressors are doing. Allah is well aware of what is happening today. Then why does He not act? Because Allah is choosing to give them respite — for a day when the eyes will roll over in absolute terror, and there will be no turning back.

Think of an entrapment operation: the police themselves are the drug dealers. They supply the guns, the bombs. The target picks up the load, puts it in their truck, starts moving toward the target — and that is exactly where you catch them. Allah has His method as well. He allows the people of batil to keep on indulging in killing and oppression against the prophets and the people of truth — soaking themselves in the blood of innocent people — and then Allah eventually lights them on fire. And that fire will never be extinguished.

What happened in the tents of Rafah — the most painful death of those innocent children — but they passed away within moments, and before they passed away they already saw their place in Jannah. They would never wish to come back and live in any other place. What they are enjoying there, we cannot even imagine. But those who have the blood of innocent people on their hands — once the fire lights on them, it will never stop. It will only increase in intensity. So Allah is waiting for that day — li-yawmin tashkhasu fihil absar — the day when the eyes will roll over.

Imagine a 400-page book where the detective is working to find the murderer, and on the last page the killer is caught. Would you want a sequel? What happened after? If the dunya came to an end with innocent children burned alive and oppressors on private islands — that is not a good ending. We need part two. Part two is the Akhira. There is no way Allah is going to end this world on that note. Allah is the best storyteller, the best author, the best narrator — and He will not end on that note.

Why does Jahannam exist? Now you know. Allah created Jahannam because there are people He created it for. Now you see with your own eyes the evil within them — and you say: subhanAllah, now it makes sense why such a horrible place was created.

The Intention of the Believer vs. the Disbeliever

There is so much hope that Allah gives every one of us. They say:

(Al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, Al-Tabarani; also cited by Al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman)

The intention of a believer is better than his actions. Many times you want to do something but you are not able to, or you are able to do it but not to the extent you wanted. Your intention was better than your action — and Allah will reward you for the intention. You were on your way to salah with jama'ah and you missed it — you will still get the reward of jama'ah. You wanted to give sadaqah but did not have your wallet — Allah will give you the reward. You wanted to give someone a ride but did not have your car — Allah will reward you for the intention.

And correspondingly — the intention of the disbeliever is worse than his actions. Whatever harm he is able to cause — his actual intention was far greater. What is their actual goal?

They want to extinguish the nur of Allah completely — that the deen should not exist. That is their actual goal. But Allah will complete His light. So what they desire will not be achieved. Now you understand that statement: the intention of the disbeliever is worse than what he is actually able to achieve — because Allah will not allow the deen to be extinguished.

Do Not Give Up — The Plan of Allah

No matter how large the plotting and planning of kufr may be — do not give up. That is the gist of the message of these ayat of the Quran. If the Prophet ﷺ was being told to be patient, you and I must be patient.

Many times you dislike something but it is good for you. Many times you like something but it is bad for you. What the ummah is suffering right now — it is like going to the dentist. It is painful, the child cries — and yes, the parent cries too. But it is good for you. If left untreated, it causes more problems. The suffering of the ummah, inshallah, will bring an awakening unlike any other. And hasn't it already? How many people have you seen accept Islam? How many people who never prayed are now praying?

That is shaytan who uses his cronies to intimidate you. So do not be afraid of them — and be afraid of Me, if you are believers. The only way you and I can overcome fear — whether it is fear of what an election will bring, fear of what is happening in India, Gaza, or Rafah — there is only one way: that you fear Allah more than you fear the creation. You have hope in Allah more than you hope in the creation. You expect from Allah more than you expect from anyone else. Once your eyes are fixed on Allah, you say: Allah is with me. Allah is watching. Allah has a plan.

Allah was with Rasulullah ﷺ in Ta'if. A million Muslims perishing cannot equal one drop of our Nabi's blood bleeding in Ta'if. Where was Allah that day? The same Allah was present in Badr. The same Allah was present at the Fath of Makkah. The same Allah was present at the fall of Persia and Rome at the hands of the Sahaba. But the same Allah watched our beloved ﷺ bleed in Ta'if. And Rasulullah ﷺ said — and I paraphrase his du'a:

"I will keep on seeking forgiveness from You until You are pleased. If You want to see me in this situation, then I have nothing to say — if this makes You happy, I do not mind." That level of strength and resilience only comes when you love Allah more than the creation, you fear Allah more than anyone else, and you trust in Allah more than you trust anyone else.

Fear is a powerful mechanism that kuffar and ahlul batil use to intimidate and control people. And we will use the fear of Allah to resist being controlled by them. What will happen if I water down my deen? If I give up my tradition? If I stop standing for the truth? How will I face Allah? That fear of Allah is what will protect us.

I spoke to a mechanic recently — may Allah make things easy for him. He said he hates his job. I asked why. He said: something costs two dollars to repair and they tell you to make it a thousand. They break things, order unnecessary parts, and charge customers ten times the cost. He said: "I refuse to do that." I said: "How do you still have a job?" My point is: in all our jobs — whether as a mechanic or as a politician — we will be asked to give up on our deen, to backstab, to compromise. That test will come. And you have to fear Allah more than you fear retribution from your employer.

You will be pushed toward various things — pronouns, diversity mandates, June being a certain month, putting up certain flags as your status. People say: "It's okay, as long as it's not in your heart." But where does it stop? Imagine if someone says to put the blue and white flag — "as long as it's not in your heart." Many people get upset about that. Then they will say: "Just put the rainbow flag too — as long as it's not in your heart." Where does it stop? That is the question. If you do not fear Allah and you fear people instead, you will always cave in.

It is very important for us to read about how Muslims have been destroyed by disbelievers using our own people to sow seeds of disunity — the fall of the Ottoman Empire, what money was given to whom and how. Use this summer to read about it. Batil repeats the same old tricks. When we discuss Surah al-Qasas, we see the exact same things happening today between Musa and Fir'awn as what is happening now.

Remember when the disbelievers plotted against you, O Rasulullah — to tie you up, to kill you, or to exile you from Makkah. They kept on plotting, and Allah also plots — and Allah is the best of plotters. This is called mushakala in Arabic — using the same word twice even though the application differs, because Allah does not need to hide anything from anyone. He is not afraid of His enemy. It is a figurative usage meaning: Allah shall always have the last laugh. Allah has it all organized.

Allah is all-powerful over His affairs — but the majority of people do not realize it. This is the summary of the entire story of Yusuf عليه السلام — and it is the summary of all our affairs today. Who could have expected that the innocent child thrown into a well, left to die, would one day sit on a throne and the very same people who threw him there would come seeking to prostrate before him? This is how this world turns. Allah will turn the tables — and you will see this happening today as well.

The Dawah of Rasulullah ﷺ to 'Adi ibn Hatim

Look at Nabi ﷺ speaking to 'Adi ibn Hatim, as mentioned in Ibn Hisham's Sirah. Nabi ﷺ was giving da'wah to 'Adi and inviting him to Islam. He said:

(Ibn Hisham, Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah)

"O 'Adi, perhaps what is stopping you from entering this deen is that you see kingdom and power in the hands of others. I swear by Allah, a time will come when you will hear of a woman traveling from Iraq on her camel to perform Hajj, and she will have nothing to fear — the roads will be ours, we will have full safety." Then he said: "Perhaps what stops you, O 'Adi, is the number of enemies of the Muslims." And he swore by Allah that soon the palaces of the Persians and Romans would open their doors for the Muslims. Then he said: "Perhaps what stops you is the poverty you see among my companions." And he swore by Allah that a time will come when wealth will flow among them to the extent that they will have difficulty finding someone to take it.

Look at the tawakkul of Rasulullah ﷺ. The Sahaba had nothing. For months Rasulullah ﷺ had not been able to turn on the stove in his home. He is running from Makkah to Madinah. And when he meets Suraqa ibn Malik — who is out to get him for a reward of 100 or 200 camels — he says to him:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4424; and narrated by Al-Bayhaqi in Dala'il al-Nubuwwah)

"O Suraqa, how will it be when you wear the bangles of the Persian emperor?" He is sitting in a cave, being hunted, with nothing going for him — and he is saying that Suraqa will one day wear the bangles of the emperor of Persia. That is because he has a level of unfettered tawakkul and reliance upon Allah that is unlike anyone else.

The time has come, O Muslims and O young people, that we revive that level of fear of Allah, hope in Allah, and reliance upon Allah — the likes of which we have never had. That strength is the only thing that will get us through the years ahead. It will give us the ability to keep our heads straight and say: we are ready for whatever comes. We know the ending will be sweet, inshallah.

Do they not see that We are surrounding them bit by bit from all sides — that the disbelievers are suffering losses — and the final decision lies with Allah? No one can change His decisions.

The makar can happen, but Allah's plan is greater. The Muslims have been through this before — no one more than our Prophet ﷺ, who said:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 23784; also cited by Al-Tirmidhi in Al-Shamail)

"I have been put to test and tortured for the sake of Allah like none before me." If Allah allowed him to suffer like no one else, why can He not allow us to suffer? If our goal is Allah's pleasure, then inshallah we should be ready to handle whatever comes. We do not ask for punishment, fitna, or difficulty from Allah — but our commitment must be that we will never, ever give up our deen no matter what happens.

We are people of usul — fundamental values. We do not chase material things. We live by values, we give our lives for values, and we invite people to join us on those values: the values of truth, peace, and justice. These are the most beautiful values the deen has brought us — justice for all. We will not sell our souls and sell our deen to the highest bidder.

Closing and Du'a

The solution to today's problems lies in the Quran. The solution to today's problems lies in the Sunnah. It starts with us having the right perspective. If your paradigm and your perspective are correct, you and I will be able to handle anything and everything.

I pray to Almighty Allah that He grants us the tawfiq to have a deep understanding. May Allah keep us on the truth, allow us to live on the truth, and allow us to die on the truth.

We will be leaving for Hajj this coming week and will be gone for the next many weeks, inshallah. Other honorable colleagues of mine will continue with the tafseer. I request you: do not come based on personalities. Continue to come because you are coming for the Quran. The same books and same resources will be used, inshallah — so please continue to come and bring others. This summer many of you are off from school — do not miss these Tuesday nights. Come in even greater numbers.

Please make dua for an accepted Hajj — and for the trips ahead as well. Hopefully we will meet again in the coming weeks. And if any needs arise, alhamdulillah the ulama are here, Darul Uloom is open, the teachers are available — any questions or needs, they are always there to assist and help.