Surah Mu'minun - Ep.6 | Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

Surah Al-Mu'minun – Episode 6

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Beloved brothers and sisters, dear listeners, dear students, Alhamdulillah, Allah has blessed us to be back together on the 22nd and 23rd ayah of Surah Al-Mu'minun. And we ask Allah Azza wa Jal and we pray to Him and we beseech His assistance and help and ask Him to inspire us with those words that will be of most benefit to all of us. May Allah Azza wa Jal make this dars a means of our forgiveness and a means of us finding solutions to our problems, answers to our questions, a means of removal of any and all barriers between us and Allah Azza wa Jal. Amin Ya Rabbil Alamin.

Moving from this ayah, Alhamdulillah, we are grateful to our colleagues who were covering for the past two weeks. And now we're here, Alhamdulillah, at ayah number 23 — the story of Nuh alayhis salam.

The Story of Nuh (alayhis salam) as Consolation and Warning

After mentioning the way the disbelievers were turning away from the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and accusing him of various things — among them, "you are just a human like us; if you were an angel or someone else, we would be more willing to listen to your message" — similar accusations and reasons were given to Nuh alayhis salam when he was also rejected by his community.

So Allah mentions this as a warning to the mushrikeen of Makkah: look, Nuh alayhis salam was not obeyed, people disrespected him, denied his message, and you know what happened to that nation. So do not do the same to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) lest you suffer the same ending. Additionally, this is a tasalli — a way of consoling the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) — that you are not the only one faced with this type of difficulty. The Prophet Nuh alayhis salam also went through it. So it is part and parcel.

Interesting, right? You are trying to serve the people, you are trying to help the people, and what happens? You get pushback. And you'd expect that the Prophets — the greatest well-wishers of humanity — should be honored and respected and loved by everyone. But that's not the case, because people do not understand and appreciate what the Prophets are inviting towards.

And this is not only with the Prophets. This is with people who come after the Prophets as well. Those who do amr bil ma'ruf wa nahy 'anil munkar, who are trying to invite people towards good, will suffer all sorts of pushback, retaliation, hatred, and anger. It's part and parcel of it.

On Jealousy: An Incurable Disease

One scholar I met on this past journey was telling me how, with all the work he is doing, there is so much pushback and retaliation from people, so much jealousy and anger. And he said his mother, mashaAllah in her 80s, tells him all the time: never ever respond. Just keep silent. Never respond.

And this is the strongest way of moving forward — that you do not engage with people who are not going to change anyway. Yesterday I was going through one of Imam Ghazali's books, and he talks about responding to people. He speaks about the different types of people you should engage with. One very interesting point he makes: one group of people there is no point engaging with are people who criticize you based on jealousy. He said those people, no matter what answer you give them, will never accept it. They will always find something to come back to you with, always find something to criticize you with. He said jealousy is almost an incurable disease — it is something beyond you. If a person is afflicted with this disease, you just have to ask Allah to cure him. But it is very difficult for that person to get cured. And definitely you do not want to waste your time engaging with someone who is jealous of you, because no matter what you do to try to appease or satisfy him, he will never be satisfied. It is that type of horrible disease which burns within a person. Anything and everything you say — your right seems wrong, your right seems black. Every single thing you present to him is going to be the opposite of what it actually is.

So we should understand this. Number one, we have to make sure we never find ourselves in a state of jealousy regarding anyone. This is a very horrible disease that will bring down a person, will destroy a person's dunya, deen, and akhirah.

In one hadith, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said regarding jealousy that halaq means to shave one's head. And then he explained: "I am not talking about something that shaves your head — rather, it shaves your deen." Jealousy is something that will shave your deen off. It is a horrible disease that a person may suffer from. So that is why we need to make sure our hearts are clean.

And number two: if you find someone who is jealous of you and always finding reason to criticize you and go after you, there is no point engaging. Instead, we should recite Surah Al-Falaq and Surah An-Nas:

Seek Allah's protection from the evil of this individual and move forward. This is the beautiful advice of Imam Ghazali (rahmatullahi alayhi).

So the Prophets also faced people who were jealous of them — because they felt, "he has miracles, he has power, people are attracted to him and sitting around him," and they wanted that for themselves. Many times they knew the truth, but out of jealousy they refused to listen and obey the Prophets, as Allah mentions clearly:

"O Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), they know everything — the kuffar, the disbelievers, especially the Ahlul Kitab — they know exactly what is right and what is wrong. But why don't they believe you? Hasadan min 'indi anfusihim — this is because of the jealousy from their own end. Min ba'di ma tabayyana lahumul haqq — after the truth has become very clear for them. After the truth has become very clear, yet because of the horrible disease of jealousy they are refusing to accept you as a Prophet. What should you do? Fa'fu — forgive them. Wasfahu — turn away from them. Hatta ya'tiyallahu bi amrih — until Allah chooses to bring down His decision." Meaning Allah will give them hidayah, or bring death, or bring a punishment for them in this very world, and then death. So do not engage.

Once you know you have done your job of trying to explain to people, but it is jealousy that stops them — what an amazing advice. So this is not something specific to the Prophets. People who do the work of the Prophets and invite towards the truth will also suffer the same lot.

"In this manner We have deputed and set aside enemies for every Prophet — from humans and from jinn." Allah Azza wa Jal is already saying that enemies have been placed there to face the Prophets as a test, as a means of increasing reward and ajr. And these enemies are both from humans and from the shayateen. So anytime we want to do the work of deen — let us say you want to serve in some capacity — let us always have it in mind: expect retaliation, expect opposition, expect people not to appreciate what you are doing. It should not come as a surprise that people are not appreciating what you are trying to do for their own good.

The Qur'an is replete with stories of people who loved their nations and who sacrificed for their nations, but their nations had nothing but hate and anger towards them. This is how shaytan deceives people.

And so a father gets very hurt, a mother gets very hurt, when they do everything for their children and the children turn against them. The parents are crying, wondering what more could we have done. We've done everything for this child — why did this happen?

Well, unfortunately this is how this world is. Allah says:

"Very few of My servants are grateful." If people are not grateful to Allah who has created them, would you expect them to be grateful to their parents, to their teachers, to their Prophets? If we cannot be grateful to Allah — who brought us from non-existence into existence — what makes us expect people to appreciate us?

When people don't listen, don't obey, don't appreciate the blessings that Allah has used us to favor upon them, we need to do some self-therapy, some self-talk, and tell ourselves: most people are going to be ungrateful. Most people are going to be unappreciative. And it is those few who are blessed and lucky that will not only be appreciative towards me, but will be appreciative towards Allah.

Imagine how ungrateful we have been to Allah who brought us out of non-existence into existence. Think about every single time we use the restroom. How many times did we use it today? SubhanAllah — if Allah Azza wa Jal chose to give us hardship and pain in the bathroom, what would happen? If Allah stopped our flow, or stopped our ability to relieve ourselves from the filth inside our bodies — what would happen? One small withdrawal of Allah's aafiyah, and all hell breaks loose. Everything is gone. How many tens of different illnesses can afflict any one of us on any given day — when Allah pulls back the aafiyah? The fact that we did not get tested today with a headache, constipation, bloating, diarrhea, a broken toenail, a painful tooth, an ear infection — and the list goes on — how much shukr have we done for all of that?

We are just moving on with life. When we say "what do you think — you're getting everything for free, you're inside this house, and you have no appreciation for your dad, no appreciation for your mom" — well, guess what? We do the exact same thing with Allah. We are moving on with life, never for one instance thinking: I could have been in a very different situation; I could have been suffering so much, but Allah has allowed this day to go by so peacefully, so easily. Alhamdulillah.

Every single morning, sadaqa becomes necessary for every single joint in our body. Every single joint that is working requires sadaqa. So when did we give sadaqa on behalf of every single joint? That is why the hadith mentions that saying SubhanAllah is sadaqa, saying Alhamdulillah is sadaqa, smiling at your Muslim brother is sadaqa, removing something from the path is sadaqa. We have to constantly be searching and looking for opportunities to do good deeds in order to thank Allah for the blessing of aafiyah and well-being that we enjoy.

The Secret Ingredient: Not Having Expectations from People

So the Prophets had this difficult job of loving people selflessly, working for their good, and not expecting any return. It is easier said than done. But because we have the stories of the Prophets mentioned in the Qur'an, we must read through this repeatedly and ask Allah to create this quality of selflessness within ourselves. When we have this level of ikhlas and khidmah, it will be easy for us to be with our children, easy with us to be with our siblings, easy with us to be with our relatives, and easy with us to be with the general community — because we will have stopped having expectations from them.

And this is what Mawlana Shafaitani (rahmatullahi alayhi) writes is the secret sauce, the secret ingredient to having a successful life on this earth: not having expectations from anyone. And if they happen to be nice to you, then this is some unexpected gift that has come your way. But the basic rule is — do not expect anything from anyone.

When a person can understand that, he will not have arguments, fights, anger, or upset feelings — because he never expected anyone to do anything nice in the first place. It is not that you are angry at the community or the world. No. It is just like walking down a road: you are walking, you do not expect anyone to give you a ride, but someone stops and says, "Bhai, where are you going? Jump in!" SubhanAllah — unexpected. That is how we have to lead our life in this world, as though we are walking down the road, not expecting anyone to pull over for us. And when someone does, you feel so indebted and so happy.

Ayah 23: Allah Sends Nuh (alayhis salam) to His Nation

"Surely, We have sent Nuh to his nation. He said, 'My people, worship Allah — you have no god whatsoever other than Him. So do you not fear Allah?'"

Allah emphasizes most definitely and surely: We have sent Nuh alayhis salam. Nuh alayhis salam is the first of the Ulul 'Azm. From amongst the 124,000 Anbiya, Allah sent 313 Rasul — 313 Messengers. And from amongst those 313 Messengers, there are five Ulul 'Azm — five who are of the highest caliber and highest status among the Prophets. And Nuh alayhis salam is the first of those.

So Allah mentions the story of Nuh — that he was sent to his nation. The fact that Allah sends a Prophet is out of the honor, the ikram, and the generosity of Allah to the human being. Allah has given the human being free will. Like a father tells his son, "I'm giving you free will — you can become this or that, it's fine." But he still gives good counsel, still advises him.

So Allah has given humanity free will to do as they wish. If Allah forced people into disbelief, there would be no sense in punishment. And if Allah forced people to become believers, there would be no sense for paradise — there would be no test. Instead, Allah has given free will to the human being. He may choose to believe or to disbelieve. But still Allah gives advice — out of the love that Allah has for humanity, He sent Prophets to warn, to invite, to encourage the people. That is what has happened.

"Whosoever wants to believe may believe. And whosoever wishes to choose the path of disbelief may do so. Remember — indeed We have prepared for the disbelievers a hellfire whose very walls will be made of fire surrounding them." So there is free will. If a person wishes to leave the deen, he may do so. But he should know that on the other side of it is Allah's wrath awaiting him.

Beloved brothers and sisters, dear parents and students — in reality, no one can guide us besides Allah and our own selves. If a person wants to remain grumpy, no effort of your parents or friends can bring happiness to you. If you say, "I want to be angry, I want to find excuses" — everything is in front of you, but you are just finding excuses to be angry.

Similarly, people willingly choose to become believers or disbelievers. When a person willingly chooses disbelief, no one is forcing him — and once he willingly chooses it, it is very hard for anyone to guide him.

This is one of the things I was discussing with my teacher, Mawlana Sulayman Choksi Sahib, when I got a chance to sit with him and visit him in South Africa. I asked him: "How is it that sometimes you see a student in the environment of a madrasa, surrounded by amazing, outstanding teachers, given everything, but still the change that is supposed to happen within him does not happen?" And this is what he said: unless and until a person does not decide himself that "I want to rectify myself, I want to straighten out" — no matter even if you try a million times with all your tools, you will not be able to help him. Because a man must make the decision himself.

Sometimes as a mom and dad you have done everything you can. You were not a horrible parent, not abusive of any sort, you gave them the environment, you taught them, you did everything. But a person then chooses to simply follow his desires and jump off the boat. What can you do? It is what it is. You see people committing suicide so often around us, people doing foolish things, hurting themselves. Sometimes parents are absolutely shocked that their own child could have done something like that.

The parents should not be blaming themselves for something they really had no share in. A person, if he himself chooses to jump off the boat, only Allah can bring him back. If a person himself does not make that step, it will not happen.

So this is a really important point — that Allah sends down the Prophets out of rahma for the people. He has given them free will. Allah says:

"Indeed We have guided the human being towards the path, and now he chooses — if he wants to be grateful, or if he wants to be ungrateful." And:

Every individual has his own direction in life he may take. Every man has his own qibla. Fastabiqul khayrat — but what you should be doing is running towards goodness. Try your best to run towards goodness.

"What shall Allah do by punishing you as long as you are grateful and as long as you are believers?" Meaning, if you are grateful to Allah and have iman, then why would Allah want to punish you? How does punishing an individual create greatness within Allah? There are people out there who need to show their wrath and anger and various forms of punishment in order to prove a point that they are all-powerful. Allah Akbar — Allah is the greatest. He does not need to prove anything. He is great without punishing anyone. That is why there is one beautiful du'a:

"O Allah, do not punish me — for I acknowledge that indeed You are all-powerful. You do not need to prove a point. Do not punish me because I already acknowledge that You are all-powerful. And do not disgrace me — for indeed You already know all of my secrets. You already know every aspect of my life. I am acknowledging that You are aware of what happens in the night and what happens in the day, in private and in public. There is no need for my veil that You have placed over me to be removed, because this is something I already acknowledge from the outset — that You are aware of my shortcomings and faults."

What a beautiful du'a. This is how we should seek Allah's help — with this humility and this faith in His greatness. "You do not need to prove a point by punishing me, ya Allah. I am a simple, small, insignificant creation of Yours. Let me go towards paradise. You are All-Merciful. Shower Your mercy upon me and allow me to go to Jannah."

Desires as a Stepping Stone to Allah

Allah has put shahawat — desires — in this world. Shaytan, shahawat, desires — all of these in reality are steps towards Allah. Every single time we have a temptation to commit a sin, and a person does not do so, and he does sabr from fulfilling his shahwa in a haram manner — he is taking a step closer to Allah. And every time someone fulfills his shahwa of any sort through a lawful manner and then does shukr, he takes a step towards closeness to Allah.

For example, a hadith mentions that a person who lowers his gaze from looking at a non-mahram — the gist of the hadith — lowers his gaze from looking at haram, then Allah will allow him to taste the sweetness of his iman, and on the Day of Judgment will give him to choose from so many various blessings.

And then the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) mentions that the one who fulfills his natural desire through his lawfully wedded spouse receives the reward of sadaqah. The Sahabah were surprised and said, "Ya Rasulullah, someone fulfills their natural biological need and there is reward in it?" He said, "Yes. If he had not done so with his lawfully wedded spouse and had gone elsewhere, would he not have gotten a sin?" They said, "Yes, he would have." "Well, so there you go — since he did not go down the path of haram, Allah is giving him the reward for fulfilling it through a proper channel."

So what we are saying is that desires are actually a stepping stone to get to Allah, to get to Jannah. When you navigate away from that desire through patience, you make one step towards Allah. When you fulfill that desire through a lawful means and do shukr, you go towards Allah. So there are two doors of reaching Jannah — the door of shukr and the door of sabr. The door of gratitude and the door of patience. And both are connected to the shahawat that a person has.

So living in this life, in this world, in 2023 in America, might be challenging for a college student, a high school student, a workforce employee. But remember — these same challenges are what will propel you to the highest levels of Jannah. Through your patience and through your shukr, insha'Allah, Allah Azza wa Jal will take you to places you would have never imagined.

The Message of Tawheed

What is the message of the Prophet that Allah sent to his nation? It is the same message that all Prophets have: tawheed fi ibadatillah — the oneness and the worship of Allah.

I was hearing Mufti Azam Sahib mentioning that if tawheed were something so simple, Allah would not have mentioned it hundreds and thousands of times in the Qur'an. It cannot be that simple. Why would it come on every page? Why is every Prophet's message repeated again and again and again, from Surah Al-Fatiha to Surah An-Nas? Tawheed, tawheed, tawheed. It is not only super important — it is also super challenging.

To have true tawheed — to truly believe only in Allah, and to believe that not only is Allah the Supreme Being and unique in His existence, but unique in His actions — that truly no one can grant me shifa and cure besides Allah. No one can grant me a job besides Allah. No one can grant me peace of mind besides Allah. No one can satiate me besides Allah. No one can fulfill my needs of this world, of the grave, and of the next besides Allah. No one can make me happy besides Allah. No one can remove sadness, depression, anxiety, frustration, and anger from my life besides Allah. No one can take care of the needs of my spouse, my parents, my children besides Allah. And that not for even an instant does a person feel motivated to turn towards anyone besides Allah — this is not easy.

Because we are all bombarded by people and things inviting towards themselves. Saying: I will give you comfort, a pain-free solution, enjoyment, happiness, ecstasy. The dollar bills are screaming at us — gather as much of me as you can and you will be happy. All the purses are saying — purchase me and you will be happy. All the latest phones are saying — get me and you will be so happy. The beds are saying — purchase me and you will have peaceful sleep. Everything around us is constantly inviting us.

And for a person to say: a bed does not give you comfort without the will of Allah. A phone does not give you happiness without the will of Allah. A car does not make you feel better without the will of Allah. A beautiful home is not going to give you comfort or happiness without the will of Allah. Only Allah does. None besides Allah can do. And whatever it seems like people or things are doing — it is a mirage, it is false. Everything seems as it is, true — but behind that is the amr of Allah.

Even a simple leaf cannot fall to the ground without Allah's knowledge, without Allah's permission. A single seed cannot germinate in the ground without Allah's permission. A person cannot swallow a morsel of food, cannot drink a sip of water, cannot digest his last meal without the will of Allah.

Look at this beautiful chandelier above us — it can't do anything right now. It is off. 160 bulbs, all off. It can't give you anything until you turn on the switch. What is that magic thing? It is electricity running through the wires. All the switches, all the bulbs, all the fixtures can be in perfect condition — but if electricity is not running, nothing shall happen. Similarly, everything in your life can be perfect. But if the will of Allah is not there, nothing shall happen. Nothing moves.

And so we need to work on tawheed. Because it is mentioned most in the Qur'an — and if something is mentioned most, it means two things: it is the most important, and also the most difficult. When our tawheed comes right, then naturally ibadah will come right.

(Attributed to the scholars of tasawwuf as a wise saying — "If you were to know Allah properly, you would have fallen in love with Him. And if you were to fall in love with Him, you would have obeyed Him.")

Our disobedience of Allah is a direct result of us not loving Him. And our not loving Him is a direct result of us not knowing Him well enough. That is why, as much as we think we know tawheed and want to move on to the next topic — we really have to go back down to the basics. The ABCs of Islam. This is what is required today.

Why? Because people are hafidh of the Qur'an, people studied three or four years in the 'alim program somewhere, and then come back and say, "I'm not a Muslim." We're seeing all of that. What was going on? How does a person memorize the Qur'an, study a few years in ilm, know Arabic, and then say, "I don't believe in Islam, I don't believe in Allah"? The issue is not a lack of knowledge. The issue is a lack of tawheed — the weakness of tawheed. When tawheed becomes weak, all hell breaks loose. Everything falls apart. All that knowledge literally comes piling down and breaking apart.

So many times people think the answer to our problems is more apps, more booklets, more books. Reality is that is not the issue. Knowledge is at our fingertips. The issue is belief. The issue is yaqeen. The issue is tawheed. And that doesn't come merely through a book or an app. It is a lifelong effort where a person needs to study the verses of tawheed in the Qur'an, sit in the company of ulama who are muwahhidoon — people who truly have tawheed inside them — and they will give off tawheed through their presence.

There are instances when we read stories of mashayikh who were true mountains of tawheed. They would sit down, look at the crowd, and be silent. And there were times when they would simply say "Allah" — and just that would send a wave of ecstasy through the entire crowd. People felt as though they had been hit with a sledgehammer — a sledgehammer that had hit the hypocrisy, the kufr, the sins in their hearts. It was as though they were being electrocuted with nur. Because that "Allah" was said from a person whose heart was a mountain of tawheed.

And that is what we all need — to go back to the basics, really asking Allah to fill our hearts with tawheed, to have a deep understanding of what it means to believe in the oneness and the uniqueness of Allah — not only in His being and existence, but in all His actions as well. Because people say, "Yeah, there's one Allah, I believe that." But when it comes to His actions, they start attributing them to others as well: "Allah gives me shifa, but so does medicine. Allah gives me shifa, but so do hospitals." And so instead of giving sadaqa right now, instead of praying salah right now, a person says, "Let me just depend upon the hospital." Instead of asking Allah to grant shifa, "We'll see about that later." Or: honor and happiness comes from Allah, maybe — but more so from a job, so let me neglect my prayers, neglect my Qur'an, and focus only on my job. This is the mistake we make every single day.

So tawheed is what every single Prophet spoke about.

It is not نَعْبُدُكَ وَنَسْتَعِينُ مِنكَ — "Oh Allah, we worship You and we seek assistance from You." That is not how the Qur'an mentions it. Instead: إِيَّاكَ — the object of ibadah is mentioned first. "Only You do we worship." This is what we call in Arabic hasr. When the object is brought before the verb, the purpose is exclusivity. When I say نَعْبُدُ — "we worship" — as I say that, before finishing the sentence there is a possibility: whom do we worship? You and someone else? When I begin with إِيَّاكَ — "only You" — not for a millisecond is there an opportunity for someone to say there is shirk happening or even a possibility of shirk. "Only You do we worship. Only from You do we seek assistance." That is the tawheed we are learning from Surah Al-Fatiha — that not for a moment can our attention go towards anyone besides Allah.

"I have not created humankind and jinn except for the exclusive purpose of worshipping Me." A person cannot worship Allah without the belief in tawheed. Allah says:

"Worship your Lord until death comes upon you." How is a person going to worship until death? He will not be able to do so until his tawheed is very strong.

"Whomsoever Allah opens up the doors of mercy — no one out there can close those doors. And whomsoever Allah closes the doors of mercy for — none besides Him can open those doors again for him. And He is all-powerful, al-Hakim, Most Wise."

When a person has this ayah in his heart, he will not get depressed if he doesn't get the job today. Because he knows he was never meant to get the job. The man says, "Go away, I reject your resume." Okay — guess what? He was made to reject my resume. He cannot even control how many times he blinks in a minute. He cannot control whether the food gets digested or not. How dare he think he has the ability to grant me a job or not?

If I have true belief, how can I think that someone has the ability to take away my house? I wanted to purchase a house but someone else came and took it. No — it was never meant for you. I wanted to marry someone and someone else got married to her. No — how is that possible? We always say, "That was mine and he took it." It was never yours. It was never meant for you. If you don't have it, that means it was never meant for you. No one can take away what is meant for you. No one can take away what is written for you.

You have to try as hard as possible, and then after that, when you don't get what you want, realize it was never meant for you. Who understands that? The one who is a muwahhid. He understands — why should I sit there crying over something that was never meant for me? This is foolishness. This is objecting to the decree of Allah. So if we have tawheed in our lives, so many obstacles will go away. This anger and frustration of not getting what we want, trying to be ahead of others, frustrated over someone else getting what I wanted — all of it will end. Because we'll say: rida bil qada — we will be pleased with the decisions of Allah.

"He is all-powerful, all-overarching above His servants." No one's irada can supersede the irada of Allah. Nothing can incapacitate Him. Nothing can overpower Him.

The Greatest Fear for the Ummah: Hidden Shirk

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said in a hadith:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 23630; also referenced in Ibn Majah)

"The thing I am most afraid of for my ummah is committing shirk with Allah. Indeed, I am not saying that I am afraid my nation will begin to worship the sun, the moon, or an idol. But what I am afraid of is that they will start doing things for someone besides Allah — that ikhlas will be gone, sincerity will be gone — and a hidden shahwa."

What is shahwa khafiyya? For example, a person is worshipping and fasting for Allah, and then a desire is presented to him and he says, "Let me break the fast and fulfill this desire of mine." Or a person is doing something for Allah, and someone comes and offers him something, and he leaves the good he was doing and runs towards that. This is a form of shirk — that you were worshipping Allah by fasting, praying, being involved in some good work, and then you just gave it up for an opportunity from someone besides Allah.

So what the Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is afraid of is the shirk of insincerity. How much are we plagued with this huge problem — that we do actions of deen, but the sincerity that needs to be there is not present?

Ikhlas: The Secret Ingredient

My beloved brothers and sisters — this is the main point of having a successful life. If you and I can somehow receive the gift of ikhlas from Allah, game over. Done. Relax and enjoy the rest of your flight towards paradise. Once Allah gives a person ikhlas, every single thing will fall into place.

(A statement of Shaykh Muhammad 'Awwamah)

Shaykh 'Awwamah's beautiful statement: "Ikhlas produces miracles." It produces things that baffle you. When you see some amazing work of deen happening in the world and you say, "How did that happen? Where did they get the money from? How did this madrasa, this da'wah effort spread?" — remember the reason it spread was not merely because of money or management. Those are asbab, apparent reasons. But the real secret ingredient is ikhlas. When you have ikhlas, you can do anything. So let us all emphatically ask Allah Azza wa Jal to grant us tawheed and grant us ikhlas.

Ayah 24: The Disbelievers' Response

Then Nuh alayhis salam says: أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ — "Are you not afraid?" Meaning: when you are leading a life of shirk, are you not afraid that the punishment of Allah will overtake you in this world or in the next world?

Imam Ghazali in his book Ayyuhal Walad mentions regarding Imam Shibli — a great scholar and great Sufi who read hundreds of thousands of narrations of the Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). In one instance it is mentioned that he came across 400,000 hadiths. He read 400,000 hadiths. And he said: "I have found one hadith that I have taken as my go-to hadith — this was sufficient for every aspect of my life." After reading 400,000 hadiths. What is that saying?

(Attributed in Imam Ghazali's Ayyuhal Walad; narrated by Imam Shibli)

Number one — i'mal lil dunya biqadri baqaika fiha: work for the dunya equivalent to how long you will stay in it. Work for the dunya based on the amount of time you are going to be spending here.

Number two — wa'mal lil akhirati biqadri maqamika fiha: work for the akhira equivalent to how long your stay shall be there. Work for the dunya in proportion to the stay in dunya, and prepare for the akhira in proportion to the time you shall be staying there.

Number three — wa'mal lillahi biqadri hajatika ilayhi: work for Allah equivalent to your need of Him. How much do you need Him? You need Him to blink your eye. You need Him to be able to walk out of this masjid. SubhanAllah. So work for Allah equivalent to your need and dependency upon Him.

And lastly — wattaqi annara biqadri sabroka 'alayha: protect yourself from the fire of hell based on the strength and patience you have of handling the flame of Jahannam. How much can you handle? If you can handle a lot, okay. If you can handle a little, then you can afford a little sin. But if you say, "I cannot handle anything" — then you better stay away from any and all mistakes and sins, both of the heart and the body. What a beautiful narration.

So the disbelieving chiefs, the mala' — the big shots, the noblemen, the nobility of his nation — said: ma hadha illa basharun mithlukum — "This man is nothing but a human being like you." He eats like you, he drinks like you — just as they said to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). They even said he goes to the marketplace and goes shopping the way you do. Going shopping should be a good thing — they could say, "You can connect with him." But they thought it was a problem. And of course, had Allah not sent a human and had sent an angel instead, they would have said: "This person — we can't really relate to him. He says, 'Don't look at haram.' Well, he has no inclination to look at haram. He says, 'Take care of your spouse.' He doesn't have a wife. He says, 'Be nice to your kids.' He doesn't have any children." Anything the angel would say, people would say, "We can't relate to you — you're not human." So Allah sent down a human. And now they're saying, "No, we'd rather have an angel." If you don't want to listen, you don't want to do something, then you'll have a thousand excuses.

Ma hadha illa basharun mithlukum — "This man is nothing but a human being like you." Yuridu an yatafaddala 'alaykum — "He wishes to impose his superiority over you." I told you about the jealousy that comes in. He doesn't wish for superiority — you wish for it. And because you wish for it and he happens to be coming in your way, you hate him. It is you who wish to have superiority over the people, O disbeliever. And since this man is literally just humbling himself, being pelted by stones, going door to door, person to person, saying La ilaha illallah — what kingdom has he made for himself? He has not become rich from the people at all. So this is only your own spiritual issue — because of which you are angry at the Prophet.

"Had Allah willed, He would have sent down angels instead of him." But He didn't. It is like someone who says: "If Allah had changed the roles for women and men, I would have accepted Islam." And we are seeing this today — people criticizing aspects of the deen, saying, "I don't jive with Islam anymore because of this command, this role, this thing." May Allah protect us and our progeny from falling into this huge entrapment of shaytan.

"We have not heard of such a thing amongst our forefathers." But you not hearing something from your forefathers does not prove that something is invalid or untrue. Just because your previous forefathers did not know about certain scientific discoveries does not mean those discoveries are automatically wrong. If you didn't hear about something, that does not mean it doesn't exist.

"He is none but a man suffering from madness." You know, جِن، جِنَّة، جَنَّة، جُنَّة — all these words from جيم، نون، نون share the meaning of covering. A jinn is hidden. A person who has jinnah is mad — his aql and intelligence is covered. A junnah means a shield that covers your body from an attack. Jannah is a garden whose trees are so plentiful and whose branches intertwine so much that everything behind it is hidden. So all these words carry this common meaning of being covered. They said he is a madman whose intelligence is covered by his whims — or that he is actually possessed. "There is a jinnī in him. He's possessed. Look at what he's talking about — tawheed. He's either crazy or he's possessed."

Fatarabbasu bihi hatta hin — "So wait for what happens to him until some time." Wait — he himself will die. Or the shaytan that has possessed him will eventually finish him. A'udhu billah.

Imagine — this is what the Prophets were accused of. Being crazy, being possessed. So similarly, those who walk in the footsteps of the Prophets should not find it wild that people accuse them of being madmen. Anyone who speaks on the path of the Prophets, invites to their path, and is a muwahhid speaking against shirk — he may definitely be accused of being crazy. And we are seeing this right now happening. The ones who speak common sense are being labeled as crazy people. The world is literally upside down.

Some of the things happening here — matters we talk about regarding gender, LGBTQ and other things — I literally shared these with my asatidah and they literally looked at me in disbelief. Some of them laughed in disbelief, some of them cried in disbelief, couldn't believe it. They said: "Really? The world has come to this?" And I said, "I swear — whatever is happening in America is 100% coming to you. It is a matter of months or years. Whatever is happening here is definitely going to come your way, so you can actually try to put up some barricades, do some level of protection, and run some programs to protect yourself and your community from the onslaught of this constantly shifting phenomenon." And anyone who speaks against it is definitely going to be called majnoon — crazy. "You're not with the times. What's wrong with you?"

Nuh (alayhis salam) Calls Upon His Lord

He said: "Oh my Lord — help me, for they have rejected me." Note: this is رَبِّ — "my Lord" — not رَبَّ. The kasra is under the shadda, as though it is under the ba' — meaning "Oh my Lord." I am mentioning this because I heard someone recently make a mistake in it.

He lived for 1,050 years according to some scholars of tafsir. He got his nubuwwah at age 40 and made da'wah for 950 years — then after the flood, he lived an additional 60 years. So imagine: 950 years of working and making effort, inviting them, and only then did he say, "Ya Allah, I'm done. I need help." How hard must he have tried before reaching that point.

"So We sent revelation to him: Make the ship under Our eyes and under Our revelation." Meaning: I am not going to just tell you to do something and leave you on your own. I am going to tell you what to do, and it will be under My watchful eye. Every action of yours will be done in front of Me. Build the ship under Our eyes and under Our revelation.

"So when Our command comes — and the tannur — the oven in the ground in which you bake bread — gushes forth with water, that is the sign: run. Take on board a pair from each species, along with your family."

Some ulama of tafsir have explained that this means each species you want to survive — because there may have been far too many species to take all. Take a pair from each so they can continue living in this new world. Wa ahlaka — "and your family." In Surah Hud it is mentioned "believers and your family." Here only "your family" is mentioned. So ulama of tafsir have said that for a Prophet, his family is the believers, and the believers are his family. That is why when Nuh alayhis salam asked about his son, Allah said:

"Do not ask Me about your son — your son is not from your family." Because his actions were not righteous. A person whose actions are not righteous, who is not a believer — he is not from your family. And someone who is not blood-related to you but has good actions and iman — he is definitely part of your family. That is why on the Day of Judgment they will be called Ahlullah wa khassatuhu — the family of Allah and His close chosen associates. Who are the people of the family of Allah? He said: Ahlul Qur'an — the people who recite the Qur'an, who loved the Qur'an, who are passionate about the Qur'an. They have been called the family of Allah. SubhanAllah.

"Except those against whom the word has already come to pass — and do not speak to Me in favor of those who have done wrong. Indeed, they are sure to be drowned." Those who decided to remain disbelievers in this world and die in kufr — the word has already come to pass for them. And Allah says to Nuh alayhis salam: do not ask Me, Ya Allah, to save this one and that one. Game over.

Look at what type of heart Allah has given this Nabi. 950 years, brothers. Not 9.5 years. Not 9.5 months. Not even 9.5 days — we cannot keep inviting the same person if he chooses to turn us away. We cannot. 950 years — it is something we just say quickly without even understanding what it means.

We don't have time here to get into Surah Nuh and all the other powerful places where Allah explains how they rejected Nuh alayhis salam — but it is painful reading it. If you have a heart, you will cry. How did he handle this? Just reading it is so painful. Imagine going through this one day, two days, one year, two years, one decade, one century — and then nine and a half centuries. Unbelievable. And then yet the Nabi is so loving and caring that Allah knows when the flood comes, his heart will soften and he will say, "Allah, please save him." And Allah says: no. When that punishment comes, you have to look the other way and get in your boat. You cannot ask Me now to save anyone.

It is just amazing — how merciful the Anbiya are. The hearts of the Anbiya are something we cannot comprehend. The mercy placed within them by Allah is beyond description.

The Quality We Need: Love for the Ummah and Selfless Khidmah

If we want to do the work of deen and be like the Prophets, you and I have to love the ummah. We have to have an unbelievable, incomparable love for the ummah. If you don't love the people, it's not going to work.

Hazrat Mufti Al-Aqsa, I witnessed a graduation of muftis — an Ifta graduation — in the small island of Réunion, about four and a half hours by plane from South Africa. Alhamdulillah, I got a chance to travel there and witness a graduation of muftis. All the students and teachers are basically graduates of Darul Ulum Zakariya and other madaris in South Africa.

And this is the amazing piece of advice he was giving to the graduating muftis. He had just come back from Pakistan — may Allah grant shifa to his wife, who was suffering from cancer. He said: when you graduate as a mufti and serve the ummah, you have to realize — he said — a person comes at 9pm, 11pm, after Fajr, knocking on the door: "Mufti sahab, I have a question." About talaq, inheritance, divorce. And the mufti — especially on these delicate issues — says: "Write it down." Because everything, every tiny detail in what you are telling me, changes the whole answer. I can't just answer a question on divorce verbally on the spot. So questions need to be written out.

So he comes knocking in the village. I'm sure he had just experienced it a few days before. And he says, "Bhai, write it down." The man says, "No, you write it — I don't know how to write." "Okay, give me your pen and paper." "I don't have a pen." "You get the pen." "I don't have paper." "You have some paper in your house?" So the mufti uses his own paper and his own pencil to write the man's question. And then he writes the answer. And then he said: iske bawujud bhi naraz nahi hona hai — "you cannot get angry." Because there are simple people in this world. That is how they are — they don't have the culture, the tahzeeb, the akhlaaq, they don't understand what is the appropriate time or the appropriate question. You just have to humble yourself, keep quiet, control yourself, and serve the people.

That is what exactly, if you are doing the work of the Prophets, you have to do. You have to develop a super thick skin and say: I am here for the people.

And this is what moves me every time I visit my teachers — the level of selflessness. Some famous scholar doing great work in this country — I said, "Brother, you have not seen my teachers or his teacher or even his teacher. If you want to see true scholarship, true akhlaaq, true humility, true selfless khidmah for the ummah, you have to travel and go see people."

You see people who travel for an hour on their only day off from teaching — a Sunday — to go sit and visit one sick person. One of my ustads told me: one student couldn't get married for a long time, the father was crying. Eventually he got married. The ustad said: "Alhamdulillah — as soon as Jum'ah class finished at 11:30, I drove an hour and a half, performed his nikah in 15 minutes, gave the Jum'ah khutbah in that masjid, drove back, and was back in class teaching by 3 o'clock." He said: "I left the food there, didn't take a drop of water — forget about eating a meal, I didn't even take a glass of water, because that's not what I went for."

This is the khidmah and selflessness for the sake of Allah through serving the people that I witnessed. It always amazes me. Because we live in such a materialistic society over here, it is very hard for us to believe such people exist.

A classmate of mine picked me up from the airport. I asked him what he does. He said: "I teach in the morning in an alim course at one madrasa, and in the evening I teach maqtab." We started talking about tuition and how schools are set up. He said: "The madrasa I teach has no tuition. Everything is free." I said, "How do teachers get paid?" He said: "We don't get paid." I said, "What? You?" He said, "No one gets paid." I said, "What about the evening class?" He said, "Sometimes a parent gets very happy at the completion of his son and comes and gives a gift." I said, "Then where do you make money from? You have children and everything else." He said, "I try to sell things — buy things, sell things, make things happen." And he is living a normal, happy life.

He has a house, a car, electricity, everything — it is normal, SubhanAllah. But this level of contentment and the absence of materialism — it is something we haven't seen in so long. We can't believe people like this exist.

When I went to Réunion, how do these madrasas run? Huge madrasas, Darul Ifta, alim courses. They said: no one pays a single cent of tuition. Not in the entire system. Seven years — no tuition. Here we talk about scholarships, 60% of students get in on scholarship. But I am telling you about a French colony that looks exactly like France or Miami — tropical, hot place — and the entire madrasa system has no tuition. People support it. People say: SubhanAllah, those who are studying the deen — we are going to give our sadaqa to the madrasa to give education to those who are willing to make a sacrifice of leaving the dunya to study.

SubhanAllah — it is just a different world. We are so accustomed to this materialistic lifestyle over here. Visiting elsewhere and seeing the level of ikhlas and sincerity that people have out there is a great reminder. Not everything has to be about money. We have to learn how to do things solely for the sake of Allah — asking nothing in return. Not even a thank you. Not even an appreciation. Even when people do not appreciate us.

Starting from what we spoke about at the beginning: don't expect appreciation from people. If you are expecting appreciation from people, then what are you expecting from Allah on the Day of Judgment? The Prophets said:

"My reward is from Allah — I do not ask you for any wealth, nor do I ask you for any compensation."

Insha'Allah we will continue from ayah 28 onwards next week, bi idhnillahi ta'ala.

Announcements & Reminders

As a reminder, insha'Allah, we have this amazing program: The Digital Detox — Clearing the Clutter and Reconnecting to Reality. This is our second annual no-tech retreat. I am inviting all those who are listening now or afterwards — please join us this Saturday, Maghrib to Sunday Maghrib, 24 hours. It will be a life-changing experience, insha'Allah. We leave our cell phones, laptops, and everything at home or in our cars, and we come together to listen to two great visiting scholars, as well as our own scholars from Darul Salam — Shaykh Tamim Ahmadi and Shaykh Hamza Mehtar, both from California — who will be traveling here to spend the weekend with us. We will also have talks by some female scholars.

The sessions will include: a spiritual salah workshop — how to build spirituality in your salah — followed by actually performing that salah; a workshop on du'a followed by actually making a proper du'a together; a session on the importance of dhikr of the heart and tongue followed by sitting in a corner and actually doing dhikr. This will be a very hands-on, practical weekend. We will have suhoor and iftar served here. Everyone is expected to be fasting. We will wake up for tahajjud. We will complete a khatm of the Qur'an. We will make du'a collectively.

It is open to brothers and sisters, except the i'tikaf is only for brothers 18 and above. Please go to masjidds.org/detox and register for free so that we can make proper arrangements.

I want to share a message from a brother who posted in the volunteers group about last year's retreat. He said: "Last year I was new to the area and saw the advertising for the no-tech retreat, and after some reservations decided to try it. The impact that the 24 hours had on me cannot be overstated. I went from averaging 5 to 6 hours a day of phone usage to around 1 to 2 hours a day just the following week. For years I felt like I was constantly in stress, always in a rush, but somehow still late for everything, including salah, and wondering at the end of the day where my time went. After the retreat I became more mindful of my tech use, and was able to reduce it, and suddenly I actually had time to slow down, focus, and start making small but meaningful changes over time that are having a positive impact, Alhamdulillah. After some trial and error, I was eventually able to replace my phone with a cellular watch, which gets the job done for me without the distractions. And now in the rare case when I have a need to carry my phone, it feels more like an inconvenience. I know there's a lot going on in the world that requires attention, but what if we work to get ourselves in the right space, where we have more time to do even more to help? It's just 24 hours, but it can be a launch pad to start a self-improvement journey. Imagine where we could be in six months or one year from now if we could dedicate a few hours a day doing things that are important and impactful — things we have not been able to do due to the lack of time, and that time now is available, but currently being consumed by things that are not important, like phones and other distractions. After the program, it's a good idea to start implementing the lessons learned right away, with high urgency, to avoid giving yourself time to talk yourself out of it. Even starting with small but consistent changes is good enough — over time they'll add up, insha'Allah."

I thank Allah Azza wa Jal that this brother shared this beautiful message. I hope it hits my heart and all of your hearts. Make the intention, insha'Allah, to be here for the entire time. We want to create an environment where most of us are here from beginning to end.

If you do not yet receive the weekly Qur'an tafsir text message reminders, please sign up via the QR code displayed here.

Questions & Answers

Q: Prophet Sulayman (alayhis salam) lived a life like a king. Allah blessed him with goodness. Can I make du'a that Allah not test me with sabr but test me with shukr?

Most definitely — that is what we should all ask Allah for: aafiyah, ease, and comfort. And believe it — if you are sitting in America asking this question, you are already being tested with shukr. And so am I. But look at what is happening in the rest of the world, SubhanAllah. We are already being tested with shukr. May Allah allow us to truly fulfill its demands and dictates.

Q: If we have looked at haram, then afterwards fulfill our desires lawfully after marriage — does it not count as sadaqah?

The haram is haram — you will have to make tawbah for that. Yes, afterwards, if a person fulfills his desires lawfully through nikah, that is still sadaqah. But what happened in the past, the person needs to repent for.

Q: How should you deal with a Muslim brother who is a leader and power hungry?

Well, if you don't have to deal with him, don't deal with him. But the question needs more context — are you a wife asking, a daughter, a son? It depends on the specific situation. It is definitely a big problem when people begin to love power — it destroys them and those around them. If you can provide more context, perhaps we can address it more specifically.

Q: Is it better to give sadaqa every day or every two weeks?

Both are fine. But if you have the ability to give every single day, it is possibly more beneficial — because we do not know how long we have to live. Who knows if we will make it to the end of two weeks? So giving every day is great. If every two weeks, that is great too.

Q: If I miss Fajr by sleeping in — I had my alarm on but I have bad sleeping habits — is this considered a form of shirk?

This is not a form of shirk. This is a disobedience to Allah. But if a person genuinely tried to wake up and overslept, that is also forgiven — as long as he does not make a habit of it. You have stated yourself that you have bad habits of sleeping late — that is what needs to change. If you constantly feel guilty about missing Fajr but continue to sleep at 2 a.m. without trying, that is going to be a problem. If waking up is genuinely hard, sleep early, sleep on the floor, drink a lot of water before going to sleep, put on multiple alarms, use different methods to wake up in the morning.

Q: How do I know if I'm being jealous? If I see someone achieving success, is it wrong to wish I have that as well?

That is not jealousy. Jealousy — hasad — is when you wish that the other person suffers and is deprived of their success, whether you gain that success or not.

(Definition of hasad as stated by the scholars of Islamic jurisprudence and ethics)

It is when you desire that the blessings of others be taken away from them at all cost, whether you get it or not. That is what is haram.

Q: Do you give tafsir in Urdu?

The only tafsir in Urdu I do is the few sentences I throw in the middle of my talk. And for those non-Urdu speaking people who feel they missed out — trust me, anything I say in Urdu I always translate.

Q: If a person accidentally committed shirk, what should they do?

Whether it was actually shirk or not — you might be suffering from waswasah. Some people suffer from doubts and are always thinking they are committing shirk — a type of OCD on this matter. If you have such an issue, please speak to a mufti, or write to our Darul Ifta at masjidds.org/question and ask about your specific situation. But if someone does actually commit shirk — Allah forbid — then he does tajdid al-iman, renews his iman, and insha'Allah will be forgiven.

Q: Does sadaqa remove calamities?

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) has said this in a hadith — that indeed sadaqa is such that calamities cannot overcome it. It is like a shield. And the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) also said:

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

"Treat your sick by giving sadaqa."

Q: How are we supposed to protect our family and future progeny from modern issues like atheism and LGBT?

It is a very good question and a struggle every single day. Number one: we have to choose good sohbah — the right environment and the right people — for ourselves and our children, all the time. Number two: we have to equip ourselves with knowledge. Number three: we have to focus on spirituality — the dhikr of Allah. And lastly: lots of du'a. It is all about sohbah.

I came across in my travels a multi-millionaire — unbelievably wealthy. He literally built a whole city. When I went to his house, SubhanAllah, he had a dhikr counter in his hand the entire time. I asked him: "Uncle, what is your inspiration behind this whole thing? What were your first steps?" He said: "The first thing I did was build the masjid. The masjid attracts the people. The mercy of Allah comes towards it. So I built the masjid first, and after that I did all my other projects around it." And I later found out from one of my teachers that just 40 years ago, this uncle's children did not have money to buy shoes. And now — SubhanAllah — what I witnessed was something I had never seen before. But how did the money not get to him? How is he still sitting there doing dhikr? He himself told me the word: sohbah. Good companionship. Mawlana Yunus Daya (rahimahullah) — one of the great pious saints and ulama of South Africa who passed away a few months ago — he was very close with him. And that companionship of the pious left such amazing iman in his heart that the money did not corrupt him.

So what do we need to do? Good sohbah for ourselves and our children. Increase in knowledge. Increase in spirituality. And lots of du'a.

Q: Do we leave everything on Allah, or should we do whatever we can and then leave it to Allah?

Of course you know the answer — you have to do whatever you have to do. And as you are doing it, you do it because your Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) did it, and Allah asks you to use the means.

The Qur'an says "Eat and drink" — even though in reality the one who satiates is Allah. Why am I eating then? I am eating because Allah asked me to eat — not because food will fill up my stomach on its own. I eat because Allah asked me to do so and my Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) did it. So we use the means of this world without the slightest belief that the means can do anything by themselves. Use the means while having 100% yaqeen and conviction that only Allah does. That is the name of the game.

Q: Sometimes people closer to our hearts hurt us the most. Is it okay to completely cut them off?

If they are a relative, then:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 17452; also narrated in similar wording in Sahih al-Bukhari)

"Join ties with those who have broken ties with you." And that is your gateway to paradise. You do not have to overdo it if they don't want to talk to you — but keep saying: my door is open. On Eid day, Jum'ah day, at a family wedding, you still call, you still invite. You're not inviting them so that they invite you back. That is the real quality of a believer — join ties with those who break ties with you.

Q: Is it okay to complain to Allah if you feel someone has wronged you?

Yes, you can complain to Allah, as Yaqub alayhis salam did:

You can do shikaya ila Allah — complain to Allah. You cannot do shikaya of Allah. Complain to Allah, but never complain about Allah.

Q: If you made istikhara and went against the signs that came, what should you do? Does this upset Allah?

Mistakes are made. Just make sincere repentance and move on. Maybe you misinterpreted or misunderstood your istikhara — that is fine. Don't worry about it. Make sincere repentance and ask Allah Azza wa Jal to improve your situation. Allah knows best.

Closing Reminder: Preparing for Ramadan

A reminder: we have approximately 40 days left before Ramadan. This is the best time, if you have not already started, to begin your Qur'an recitation. Half a juz a day, a quarter juz a day — and if you are still at a beginner level, one page a day. But make sure tonight, after hearing this message, you make a plan for your daily recitation. If you are not fluent in your reciting, please get an ustad. If you are fluent but too busy, get a teacher online — with your work schedule, your study schedule, you can have a teacher online for even half an hour or 20 minutes a day to sit and read with. If you need to find a male or female teacher, email us or talk to me after the dars and I will get you in touch with someone insha'Allah.

We only have 40 days left. We start right now. By the time Ramadan comes, insha'Allah, we will already be in the groove of reciting Qur'an. Hopefully we will have already completed one Qur'an — bi idhnillahi ta'ala. It is very doable. Small baby steps.

Additionally, one of the brothers mentioned that having a daily checklist at home of all the a'mal he wants to do has helped him a lot. Daily recitation of Surah Yasin. Morning and evening du'as. Fajr in the masjid. 15 minutes with his Qur'an teacher. Dhikr after Maghrib. Isha in the masjid. Du'as before going to bed. You have that list and you check it — whether you are 16 years old or 60 years old. When you have a checklist and you decide what you want to do, you already know what you need. You just need to start doing it.

Make that list. And every single day between now and Ramadan, start bringing yourself up — so that when Ramadan comes, you are not starting the race. You are already halfway through the race. So that as soon as Ramadan starts, we are ready to complete the marathon. Insha'Allah, Tabaraka ta'ala.

And Allah knows best. صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ وَسَلَّمَ.