Surah Qasas - Ep. 10 | Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

Opening: The Quran as the Supreme Remedy

Please be mindful of those who are performing Salah, please move forward, make sure there's no gaps in between. As always we remind ourselves our intention — my intention, your intention, all of us — is to take the full benefit from the words of Allah. With this firm belief that there's nothing that can solve the problems of our own and the problems of the world more than the book of Allah can.

There's nothing that has the capacity to treat us of our spiritual and physical illnesses the way the Qur'an has. One of the ulema I met this past week on my Umrah journey was saying repeatedly — and every time I meet him he always says the same thing — that people are always looking for treatments here and there, but not realizing that the best ilaj is the book of Allah.

People look for treatment for various things, for various adhkar and awrad. And that's just the mizaj of our people. One person said, "I drive my car really fast, can you give me some wazifa?" Another said, "I suffer from laziness — susti — can you give me something for that?" He said, susti means you just roll up your sleeves and get to work. So if you're feeling lazy, just basically strengthen your willpower and stand up and do what you've got to do.

When a person begins to read the Qur'an, when a person begins to practice on the Qur'an, when a person begins to live his life according to the Qur'an, then there's no doubt all his issues will get solved. But now the question is — what about different types of ruqya that are there, that I myself prescribe many times here and to others privately as well? What's the role of that?

The example that came to my mind: think of a car that is in a ditch. An amazing car — high-end, expensive, luxurious — but with these types of roads, we see how many of them end up in the ditch. Now you want this car to be able to run on its own. So if a sheikh says, "Read Surah Fatiha seven times," or "Read Ayatul Kursi this many times" — a person should be reading a lot more, should be reading three juz' a day as a hafidh, at least one juz' if not a hafidh. He should be reading after every salah the prescribed adhkar. But that's not happening. And now you're telling me I need to do that, but I'm not able to. I haven't prayed fard salah in so long. You're telling me to pray nawafil and pray salah with jama'ah in the front row. How am I going to get to do that when I'm having a hard time with Jumu'ah, for example?

There's no doubt the solution to your problems and my problems lies with salah on time, with staying away from drinking haram, from looking at haram, from thinking about haram, from indulging in haram, from investing in haram. We know that. Who does not know that? But to get ourselves to that point, we're having a problem. So you have to give a quick fix. The quick fix is just to get you out of the ditch. Once you are out of the ditch, then you need to use your own, mashallah, wheels and your own tires and your own engine to cruise. Not to say that for eternity you're going to be on the back of a tow truck. The goal is to get you out of that.

So these adhkar from the Qur'an that we prescribe, or our teachers prescribe, are simply — you could say — crutches, to get yourself out of the mess, and for your life and my life to be on sunnah. For the day where our life becomes according to the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, and we are running on a'mal, alhamdulillah — that's the day our success comes.

Success and Trials: The True Measure

Does that mean our problems will end at that time? My beloved brothers, my dear friends — who said that the ending of problems is a sign of success? This doesn't work like that. If there's anyone who should have had his problems ended, it should have been the Prophet ﷺ. But his difficulty knows no bounds. From the day he claimed prophethood and invited towards Allah, till the day he passed away — in pain, to the extent that in his maradul wafat, as he's passing away, he's putting his hand in a bowl of water. And he said:

"Indeed, death has its very strong pangs." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6510)

Because of the intensity of the pain, he says this as he puts his hand in the bowl of water, sweating out of pain. Allahu Akbar. These are his final moments. They weren't easy. And so why should a person think that if I become obedient to Allah, then mashallah, all my problems must immediately get solved? If not, what did Islam give me? I changed my haram business into halal. I changed my haram relationships into halal. I gave up all my bad habits and started doing good habits. And yet my life has become even more challenging.

This shouldn't come to you as a shock. This is something that you have to have deep down — this yaqeen — that good deeds will benefit you and sins will harm you. That has to be the conviction and yaqeen that we must have. But that harm and that benefit may not be manifested right now. It may actually never be manifested in this entire life of yours. It may be manifested only in the hereafter.

Reflections on Palestine: True Success vs. What Meets the Eye

You think about what's happening month after month in Gaza, and that whole area, Palestine. For a moment, would there be someone in their right mind who would say, "You know what, subhanallah, I wish my relatives, my friends were on the other side, part of the IDF, and not being killed the way the Palestinians are"? I don't think there's a single person — not sitting here, not outside — who would say that.

But based purely on what meets the eye, that's what's happening. Someone is slaughtering another. Someone is getting stronger and the other is getting weaker. Someone has billions pouring in, and the other doesn't have light, no electricity, not a single hospital that's running. 65 masajid gone. Universities bombed out. What's left? Why should you not desire to be on the winning side? Because what meets the eye says success is with the oppressors, and failure is with the Palestinian Muslims.

But none of us would say that. Because we're not judging based only on what meets the eye. We're looking at the long picture:

The curse of Allah is going to be on these worst oppressors. Every single day that they keep on oppressing, it's only digging their hole deeper and deeper in Jahannam. And those who are suffering — their suffering is going to be such that every one of us sitting here will envy them on the Day of Judgment. Ya layt — I wish I could go back into the dunya and suffer the type of suffering that our Palestinian brothers and sisters went through. I wish my son could die this death. I wish my daughter could suffer like that.

Wallahi, when the people of aafiyah will see the people of musibah and the shuhada on the Day of Judgment — who would not wish that, if given one more life to go into the dunya... what is that? 30 seconds? 15 seconds? What is dunya compared to the akhira? One day of Yawm al-Qiyamah equals 50,000 years. What is all of this? What is my life and your life compared to the history of humanity? My 60 years of life — out of which 3 months of suffering, 5 months of suffering — what is it, my friends? It's not even a speck compared to the akhira.

So a person of aafiyah will wish that he could have suffered in this dunya. As it comes in hadith — the people of aafiyah on the Day of Judgment will ask Allah: "Ya Allah, we wish our skin could have been cut into pieces through huge scissors, our skin would be peeled off and cut into tiny pieces — without anesthesia — because we have now seen the people who got tortured and the upgrades they have received in Jannah for eternity." Of course we say this over there, not over here. Because what meets the eye over here is, "Oh, this is too hard." But my point is that we deep down in our heart also believe that Islam is haqq, no matter what happens.

That's why all of us here would never side with the zalimeen. Even a major sinner who hasn't prayed salah in years still wouldn't say, "I side with the oppressors." But you see success — if you're purely judging it — well, success seems very clear. One group is winning. One group is expanding. So let us remove from our minds the idea that failure and success is the failure and success of this world. Otherwise, not only the Yahud of today, but the Fir'aun, Qarun, and Haman of the past and present would be the most successful people — based on what meets the eye, based on the value of their bank accounts, based on brute physical power and the strength of their armies.

But we're not like that. We don't judge failure and success based purely on material things. Now we have to bring that into our own lives. In my own life, if ever since I started coming to the masjid I have experienced a decrease in my wealth or some issues in my business — I cannot count that as failure. And if I have disobeyed Allah, distanced myself from the masjid, and have seen a growth in my business — I absolutely cannot count that as success. These are just things, the pattern of this world, that Allah — in order to keep this test real — makes it such that He tests those who obey Him to see: "Why are you obeying Me? Are you obeying Me for material gain? That's not what I want."

Imagine if everyone who comes to the masjid became materially successful — there would be no place to stand. This would be the easiest shortcut. If you come the night before an exam, all your exams will pass without studying. We do see usually in exam time the masajid fill up a little. So, Allah, if He made it such that He connected immediate dunya success with ibadah, then there would no longer be a test. And if He connected failure with disobedience immediately, it would also not be a test — because anyone who disobeyed would immediately suffer and make that connection.

The Connection Between Sin and Punishment

Many times people do disobey Allah and they suffer, but they just don't make the connection. The famous story of someone who came to a sheikh and said, "I hear that disobedience of Allah brings punishment. I have not seen any punishment — I have disobeyed Allah left and right." So the sheikh asked him, "When was the last time you got up at night and prayed tahajjud?" He said, "What? I don't even pray Isha, I don't even pray Fajr — what tahajjud?" He said, "Khalas. What greater punishment would you like than Allah saying to you: I don't want to see you. I'm going to deprive you of having an audience with Me." What greater punishment could you want than that Allah shuns you away from His house, shuns you away from the musalla, shuns you away from doing good things.

Many times we do get punished when we disobey, but we simply cannot make the connection. That's why shaytan and the nafs come in, and they do not allow us to sense it. Instead, they actually make us feel that disobedience has led to a much more enjoyable life. SubhanAllah.

So the yaqeen we have to have is: if I bring the book of Allah into my life, all my problems of the akhira will go away. And my problems in this dunya may or may not get solved — but they will be easy to handle. Just like our brothers and sisters in Palestine — their problems have not come to an end. They're praying. They're probably praying more Fajr than we are, more tahajjud than we are, more du'a than we are. But Allah has given them resilience and strength. We cannot take a thorn pricking us the way they take a bullet. We cannot take a fender-bender the way they take their whole house being demolished.

And what are they saying? "We are simply pleased with whatever Allah has decided." That is success. Because every single thing that's happening, you and I have to have this conviction, happens only by the will of Allah. The difference is — they are pleased and accepting Allah's decision, while we are not. We always have something to complain about. We're upset, frustrated, anxious. Why are things not going the way we want? So in reality, I am the failure and they are the successful ones. Because the condition of their heart, through their connection with deen, has allowed them to take in whatever Allah is sending down towards them with strength, resilience, and iman.

Beloved friends, as we mark months after months, and 26,000 and increasing the number of shuhada, I want to take a moment to say that we need to also continuously reflect on the sifat of those people. So many people, alhamdulillah, are waking up across the globe, protesting, writing letters, and doing all those things. But just think — how many of those pictures coming out of Palestine show women walking around with their hair uncovered, with clothes unbefitting a muslimah? Even in all the pictures you see of women screaming or crying — subhanAllah — all of them are wearing scarves. All the women wearing big jackets, long jilbabs. Whatever they are going through, they haven't given up their haya.

And as we, mashallah, stand up to support them — what's going on with us? Where's our haya? Where is our sense of dignity? Look at these people — they're dying, but they're not missing their salah. They're dying, but they're not missing their adhkar. They're dying, but they're not missing their haya. Why is it that in all the luxury that we have, we're completely passing by this as though it's not even relevant?

On the Day of Judgment, I feel like that's what they're going to be saying: "The amount of effort you put into saving us — we wish you had saved yourself. Look where you are." What are you going to say on the Day of Judgment? If these people see you and me in a place where we should never be — that subhanallah, you gave so much focus on ending our oppression in the world, but little did you realize what a great oppressor you were on yourself by sinning and breaking the orders of Allah.

Every single time we break an order of Allah, we're stabbing ourselves. That's why Allah says:

Who is the greater oppressor? The one who oppresses himself by sinning against Allah. So these are major things we have to reflect on. In any dars of Qur'an, we always remind ourselves that not only are we going to practice on whatever good we hear — we're going to propagate it. But my dear brothers and sisters, let us always come with an open, hopeful heart. Please be hopeful. No matter how bad your situation may be. Say, "Ya Allah, I'm coming to Your Qur'an to find solutions. I'm coming to Your Qur'an to get me out of this mess."

Against Despondency: Shaytan's Greatest Trick

My dear friends, there is no such thing as despondency. Someone asked me earlier this week, "When should I know that I can give up, and when should I know that giving up is from shaytan?" I said, "Brother, this question itself is a completely shaitani question. There is no such thing as good giving up. There is no such thing as despondency. There is no such thing as 'it's okay, we can give up now.' In our dictionary, despondency doesn't exist. We must always, always remain hopeful — no matter how bleak things may look."

And what I mean by bleak? Not only bleak in your dunya, but bleak in your akhira. Many will say, "I've sinned so much, and I change, then go right back. I change, I go right back. I'm done with this." How does that help, saying you're done? I hear this from our community and our youth reaching out for help — they keep feeling despondency. And this despondency is actually a full-blown attack of shaytan. First he gets you into sin, and then after getting you in there, he laughs at you and says, "Ha! You can never get out of here." That's what bullies do. They try to beat you, and if they beat you, they make so much fun of you that your whole self-esteem breaks down. That you give up and say, "I'm done." Even if they lost by one point, they say, "Just watch, I'm coming." Intimidation — you intimidate your opponent so much that even though he hasn't actually lost, he gives up.

And that's what the kuffar are doing today — intimidation. We cannot fall into this trap of shaytanic intimidation. Allah says in the Qur'an:

Shaytan promises you poverty and instructs you to commit lewdness — acts of zina, acts of fuhsh — they all come from shaytan. يَأْمُرُكُم — he pushes you, encourages you. And he promises you poverty: that if you spend in Allah's path, you'll become poor. And when you don't spend, he wants you to go towards sin.

Allah also says:

Indeed, that is shaytan who is intimidating you through his friends. يُخَوِّفُ أَوْلِيَاءَهُ — some students of Arabic may wonder: is he intimidating his friends? There is a بَاءٌ مُقَدَّرٌ here — يُخَوِّفُ بِأَوْلِيَائِهِ — he is intimidating his enemies through his friends. So all of those people who try to intimidate us...

I'll be honest — tonight is a big night. It's been announced who won New Hampshire. So now everyone knows the Muslim ban is coming. I remember the first time that happened — it was such a build-up, I was so overwhelmed, just like everyone else. And I remember one day I said, "I don't know what to do, I'm so overwhelmed." I just picked up the Mus'haf and started reading. I was just so anxious. And subhanAllah — just reading the Qur'an gave such a level of peace and comfort. How dare I get scared? Every single thing — today no one can control how many times you use the bathroom, besides Allah. Whether you can even relieve yourself or not — that's in the hands of Allah. How can I think that someone can stop me from obeying Him?

That fear itself is wrong. By being afraid of the creation, I am elevating someone to the status of divinity. Allah Himself says:

You give honor to whoever You wish and You give disgrace to whoever You wish. You give kingdom to whoever You wish and You snatch it from whoever You wish. So anyone who is winning an election anywhere in the world, anyone who is ascending the throne, is only doing so because Allah wills it. That yaqeen has to be there. How can I be afraid and intimidated by this and that? Every action of Allah is filled with wisdom. And what He has in plan, we don't know — what khair will come out in the long run for the ummah. When our connection with the Qur'an becomes weak, we start becoming intimidated by all sorts of things.

We ask Allah to strengthen all of our relationships with the book of Allah. We ask Allah to allow us to find solutions to our problems in the Qur'an. We ask Allah to make us humble and sincere in front of the Qur'an. Ameen, Rabb al-'Alamin.

Tafsir of Surah al-Qasas: Allah Creates and Chooses

Last week, we spoke about many topics, but one of the things we ended on was the ayah:

Your Lord creates whatever He so wills, and He alone chooses whatever He wants. One tafsir is that He chooses who is going to become His prophet. But it's not just that — every single thing is also in the hands of Allah. Why is this very important, my friends? It's connected to what I just ended off about elections. Allah is the one who is creating the heavens and the earth, and every single thing you can imagine.

Allah created you, and Allah created your actions as well. The Mu'tazila say that a human being is the creator of his own actions — 100%. And Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah say no, that is incorrect. Although whatever the Mu'tazila say always seems very logical — that's why we call modern-day neo-Mu'tazilites those who love to make pure logic the criterion of right and wrong. Very shallow, not looking beyond what meets the eye.

So Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah say: our job is kasb — we work, we make an effort, our job is irada — we make intention and try. But the quwwah, the ability to fulfill our intention, the ability to follow through, that has to come from Allah. Like Sayyiduna Ali radiyallahu anhu was asked: how do you balance and explain the connection between tadbeer and taqdeer — your planning and Allah's decree? He said, "Lift up one leg." The person lifted up his leg. Then he said, "Now lift up the other one." He said, "I can't." He said, "Well — lifting up the first leg? That's your tadbeer, your irada, your ability to do that much. Lifting up the second leg while the first is raised — that is beyond you. That is taqdeer, the will and decree of Allah."

So when Allah rewards us or punishes us, it's based on our choice and our effort. But we are also not able to achieve anything without the will of Allah. That's why they say a person doesn't come to the masjid only because he wanted to — he is here because he wanted to be here and Allah gave him the qudrah and ability to fulfill that intention. When our intention meets Allah's mashiya, then things happen — the spark happens. This is where we realize how much you and I are in need of begging Allah for tawfiq to achieve goodness.

The Ayah at the Top of the Dome

We had some non-Muslims and some Muslims come on a tour of the masjid this week, and I was explaining to them the top ayah that's written on the dome, 55 feet above you:

Indeed Allah holds up the heavens and the earth from falling. And if they were both to fall, none besides Him can keep them afloat. Indeed Allah is all-forbearing and all-forgiving. I give them first a tour of the 99 names of Allah on the dome — starting from هُوَ الرَّحْمَٰنُ الرَّحِيمُ, الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلَامُ, and going around. And then eventually I said: look at the verse at the very top. Why is that verse all the way at the top? It's telling us that whatever feat you have achieved — architectural, or in your own life, whether in your career, your entrepreneurship, your business — understand that you're not successful because of your own will. You're only successful because Allah has allowed you and enabled you.

He's the one who's keeping the heavens and the earth in motion. And if He pulls His power back, let's see you do it. You can't. So the one who's keeping the heavens and the earth running is the same one who's keeping our houses running, our masajid running, our businesses running. "Ya Allah, we've been so disobedient. Why is my house still running? Why am I still able to go to work? Why am I still able to come back home safe and sound even though I've disobeyed You?" And the answer is: إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا — Indeed Allah is forbearing and forgiving. Otherwise, if He were to treat us based on how we ought to be treated, our whole lives should have been destroyed. We should have lost our eyesight. We should have lost everything.

SubhanAllah — she started crying. And so many non-Muslims, when I share this in larger and smaller groups, they get so touched. We are taught to be humble — may Allah make us humble. But never attribute your success to yourself. Whatever level of material, emotional, spiritual, mental, or physical success you and I have ever achieved, it is only due to Allah. The biggest mistake anyone can do is to attribute that success to themselves. And that's exactly what we'll see in next week's dars — what Qarun did. Lots of wealth, unbelievable amounts of wealth. But he attributed it to himself, and Allah made him into an example for the whole world to see. His material success did not save him in the least from being pushed to the bottom of the earth, right in front of his community.

Allah's Complete Knowledge

Your Lord knows well all that their hearts harbor, and all that they make known. There are three levels here. First: what is apparent and public — everything your actions that people know. Allah knows that. Second: sirr — what you do in seclusion, your secrets. And third: akhfah — that which is more hidden than the secret. Things about yourself that you don't even realize, that don't even cross your mind, but you are involved in, or you have done, or you have forgotten.

As Allah says:

Allah knows exactly what actions you have undertaken throughout the day. Allah knows what you have done at night. And those thoughts that cross your heart — and those thoughts that have not crossed your heart yet, that you haven't even figured out are going to come:

People forget what they have done, but Allah never forgets. Ask yourself — three days ago, what did you eat for lunch? Who's going to remember? Twenty years ago, did you owe some money to someone? Did you snicker at someone? Did you make fun of someone? Did you say a harsh comment? Did you break someone's heart? Allah has preserved it all. Allah remembers it:

Your Lord doesn't forget, and your Lord is never misled. So many people — law enforcement or whoever — the best of the best, they're always prone to making mistakes. The criminal just ran away. Happens all day every day. You forget, you don't connect the dots, you are misled. That does not happen with Allah. Allah does not forget. You and I can run and hide from people, but we can never run and hide from Allah.

No place to run, no place to hide, no place to seek shelter from Allah — except by coming back to Allah. This is from the Qur'an (Surah al-Tawbah, 9:118). No place to hide, no place to run, except by coming back to Allah.

I'd like to give an example of a child who is upset. A three or four-year-old child — his mother didn't give him what he wanted. He says, "I want this chocolate bar." The mom says, "No, you've had enough." He gets upset, throws a tantrum, and runs away. And after a while, he looks around and can't see his mom. Now he starts crying, but for a different reason — he can't see his mother. And when he's brought back to the mom, he hugs her tight. The very one who just ran away. And now he's crying again, but a different cry — angry that she let him get lost.

What does the child understand? That all his needs get fulfilled through his mother. Whether he likes it or not, he has to stick with her. This relationship is very unique. That's the relationship we're supposed to have with Allah. If I feel I'm in trouble with Allah, you don't need to go ask anyone else for forgiveness — go right back to Him. If I'm upset about why things didn't happen the way I wanted, go talk it out with Allah. Any issue that you and I have — go right back to speaking with Allah.

The Du'a of the Prophet ﷺ on the 15th Night of Sha'ban

That's why there's a beautiful du'a that the Prophet ﷺ would recite profusely — in which night? Laylat al-Nisf min Sha'ban — the 15th night of Sha'ban, which is about a month away from now. The Prophet ﷺ was in sajda in such a long sajda that his wife thought he had passed away. And he raised his voice in this du'a:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 1427; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3566)

"Oh Allah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your anger. And oh Allah, I seek refuge in Your giving me well-being from Your punishment. And I seek refuge in You from You." Allahu Akbar. This is so deep. أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْكَ — I seek refuge in You from You.

Usually, when the father is angry, the child will run to the mother. When the mother is angry, run to the father. When the teacher is angry, run to the parent. But when it comes to Allah, we have no place to run, no place to hide from Allah — but right back to Allah. And Allah is so kareem, so raheem — Allah doesn't make fun of us, doesn't call us names, doesn't taunt us and say, "Why you coming now, huh? Tough guy? Let me see your arrogance, let me see your wealth." He has the full right to say that, but He never says that.

Allah instead says in Hadith Qudsi:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1145; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 758)

"I wait every single night so that the one who sinned all day — maybe tonight he wants to repent." And every morning: the one who sinned all night — today maybe, just today, he sees the sunrise and says, "How many more sunrises do I have left? Let me make tawbah today." Every morning and every evening, Allah is waiting for the sinner to repent.

And He tells the heavens and the earth, the mountains and all the forces of nature — that are absolutely fed up with the human being. Think about it: you're a focused, mature student sitting in class, taking notes, you gave up your job to be there. You're very serious. And there's a little immature kid next to you cracking jokes, making holes in a water bottle, spraying it, making paper airplanes. How annoyed would you be? Imagine how the earth and the oceans and the mountains feel, looking at you and me. That you — this little dot — you walk on me, use me as shelter, enjoy my fish and whatever I hold in my belly, and yet you disobey the one who created us.

So they say to Allah: "Ya Allah, please give me permission." Not a day goes by where the ocean doesn't seek permission from Allah: "Ya Allah, allow me — let the angels stop holding me — and let me just wipe these people out." Every single day the earth asks: "Ya Allah, please allow me to open up and swallow them." How long would it take? One small earthquake lasting 30 seconds — what does it do to us? One tsunami lasting half an hour — what does it do to us?

And it comes in one hadith that Allah holds them back, and eventually when they keep on begging Him, Allah tells them: "If they are your creation, then go ahead. If they are My creation, then step away. I am waiting for the day that they will want to repent." SubhanAllah. That's why He says: حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا — Allah is forbearing, and Allah is forgiving. Can you find a mother like this? A father? A teacher? A mentor? All the love out there — honestly, nothing compares to the love of Allah for His servants.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

"Even if a person breaks his repentance 70 times in one day, if he repents the 71st time, Allah will forgive him just as He would forgive him the first time." (Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 1514)

Allah knows his sincerity. Allah knows this person is trying but has problems. So why, when we have these types of hadiths, should we ever listen to shaytan's whisper when he says, "Give up, you can never change"? He himself gave up and is suffering. Misery loves company. He knows where he's headed, so he wants as many people to join him in Jahannam. May Allah protect us from ever becoming despondent from the mercy of Allah.

Spiritual Diseases We Don't Recognize

We said there are three levels of what Allah knows: what is apparent, what is hidden in your heart that you know, and what you do not even know yourself. What is it that we don't know? All the things we forgot, and all the things most of us do not realize we are sinning in. A bigot doesn't realize he's a bigot. An arrogant person doesn't realize he's arrogant. One intoxicated with love of wealth doesn't realize it — he says, "What are you talking about? I'm humble, I don't care about that." He can't see it. That's the issue. We have loads of spiritual diseases but we simply cannot acknowledge them. And that is also encompassed within the full knowledge of Allah.

Allah says in Surah al-Mulk:

Speak softly or speak loudly — indeed Allah knows what is in the hearts. How strange is this verse. You'd expect Allah to say, "He can hear both." But He says, "No, I know what's in your heart — you don't even have to speak." Meaning, if someone backbites, lies, cheats, breaks someone's heart — and we think just by speaking softly we're not going to get sin for it. What about Allah? The phones here, Google is listening, that is true — but this should make us reflect on the knowledge of Allah, al-Sami'. Can we be afraid of any other listener besides that?

When we start recognizing who Allah is, our lives will be different. Honestly, this goes back to our weak ma'rifah of Allah. Look at how much we are afraid of the makhluk — afraid of the creation finding out what we do, what we said, where we went — while having no concern for the one who created the night. As a poet says: when in the midst of the night you find your nafs encouraging you to sin, ask yourself — how can you hide from the one who created the night?

The sahaba always thought of themselves as hypocrites. The tabi'een would say there was not a single sahabi they met except that he regarded himself as a hypocrite. When is the last time it crossed your mind that you might be a hypocrite? If someone calls you a hypocrite today you'd be furious. But the sahaba — that was their norm. And that's where there is a chance of safety — when there is that level of fear. Whereas the person who thinks Jannah has got his name on it will never be motivated to do what he's supposed to do.

Story of Mufti Ahmad Khan Puri: The Clean Heart

I was listening to a recording of a bayan of my honorable ustad, Hazrat Mawlana Suleiman Choksi, speaking about his honorable ustad — whom I had the honor of visiting and meeting in Gujarat — Hazrat Mufti Ahmad Khan Puri, one of the last of the top ulama of the entire subcontinent. May Allah put barakah in his life, grant him shifa, allow him to live many beautiful years ahead, and allow all those around him to benefit from him.

I was in Sri Lanka back in 2016 or 2017, spending a few days with Mawlana Choksi Sahib on his travels. And subhanAllah, in that same masjid in Sri Lanka, Hazrat Mufti Ahmad Khan Puri — his ustad, who is decades older than him — also arrived. And so it was an amazing honor for me to be not only in front of my teacher but my teacher's teacher. Because we grew up with a huge level of awe of our ustad, Mawlana Choksi Sahib — but then to see him in front of his ustad... it was just like, does this even exist? A 70-year-old man who instills so much awe in you, but he is awestruck in front of the one ahead of him.

Allah says: over every knowledgeable person is one who has more knowledge. This is the sifat of ulama. No matter how old you become, no matter how knowledgeable you become, in front of your ustad you are nothing. Just as a child — no matter how old and wealthy he may become — in front of his father or mother, he is still a baby.

So he was talking about Mufti Ahmad Khan Puri, and he said: in all the 40 years I spent with him, he never, ever took out his personal vengeance against anyone. People who were sworn enemies against him, who hurt him immensely — with literally one signature he could have ruined their life. With a fatwa, with a statement, with an announcement. He said he never once lifted his pen in a manner that would hurt someone who had hurt him. Never lifted his voice to instigate people against someone.

He said there was an incident where Mufti Sahib was coming on a motorcycle, and a drunkard came and crashed into his vehicle, and Mufti Sahib broke his leg. And the crowd gathered — this is the Mufti of Gujarat, on the floor, bleeding, with a broken leg. And the mob mentality was about to take over. He said right then and there, Mufti Sahib started begging the people: "This is my leg. I got hurt. Not you all. I beg you in the name of Allah — all of you move away. Please do not touch him. In front of all of you, I make Allah my witness that I have forgiven him for the sake of Allah. Please do not touch him. No charges."

And then for three months he was in a cast at home, teaching from home, and he said, "I cannot come in, so I should not take a salary." And after three months of staying home and not taking salary, he said: "Allah has been providing for me without the madrasa salary. From today I will never take a salary again." SubhanAllah.

The Du'a of Looking in the Mirror and the Charity of Honor

What did we end last week's dars on? The sahabi whose charity shook the throne of Allah. It was giving the charity of honor — تَصَدَّقَ بِعِرْضِهِ. He had no money to give. And before he went to sleep, he said: "Khalas, I give my honor in charity. Whoever has attacked me, backbited me, lied about me, spoken ill about me — I have forgiven him for the sake of Allah, and I will not hold him accountable on the Day of Judgment." That is billions worth of hasanat, just given away. That charity shook the throne of Allah like none other. That is something we need to do every single night.

And the du'a of looking into the mirror — what Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' radiyallahu anhu would recite every night in tahajjud:

"Oh Allah, the way You have made my physique beautiful, make my character beautiful as well." (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 3823)

His wife asked him, "Why are you making this du'a throughout the night?" He said, "If this du'a gets accepted, I will get two huge rewards. First: I will become a means of great sadaqah jariyah for my parents. Because if my character becomes better, I'll become more helpful to people. When people see my good character, they will automatically make du'a for my parents — 'May Allah reward your parents, may Allah give them Jannah.' So even after I sleep, even after I'm gone, my parents are getting du'a made for them because of me." And the second: "I will have hasanat accumulating even while I am sleeping. Because the person you helped at 2 AM in the freezing cold — changing their flat tire, saving them with their kids in the back — he is going to go home and tell his wife, tell his kids, tell his parents, 'May Allah reward that brother.' He cannot forget you. Ten years from now if you meet him he'll say, 'Oh my God, you're the brother who helped me that cold night.' You're asleep, but your hasanat are continuously accumulating."

Look at Abu al-Darda's futuristic thinking. That is the vision of a sahabi. The gist of it is: with character and a clean heart, the level of honor you'll get from Allah is second to none. No matter how much we grow our beards, wear our thobes, wear our scarves, carry our miswak — if we turn around carrying bags full of jealousy, hatred, and animosity for our brothers and sisters, for our relatives, we are very, very sick.

So ask Allah to give you and me the willpower to factory-reset our hearts. We have to ask Allah to allow us to forgive everyone who has hurt us. Let all of us make the intention — say: "Ya Allah, I am going to attempt to forgive everyone who has hurt my feelings, who has backbited me, for Your sake. Ya Allah, that huge donation I am giving now of my honor — make that a means of allowing me to restart my life and to live it in the manner that You want." Can we do that? Make this intention now. You don't have to swipe your American Express. Just say: "Ya Allah, I am giving my honor away in charity. And through the barakah of this donation, allow me to begin to lead my life in a manner that You want."

Continuing the Tafsir: Surah al-Qasas

For it is He — Allah — alone who is God. There is no god but Him. To Allah belongs all praise in this world and in the hereafter. We're not going to only praise Allah here. On the Day of Judgment, inshallah, when we're headed to Jannah and we're on the bridge going over Jahannam, what will the people of Jannah be saying?

"All praise belongs to Allah who guided us to this. And we would have never found our way had Allah not guided us." So even in the hereafter, every single moment we enjoy Jannah, we will be praising and thanking Allah for enabling us to do what made us worthy of His mercy. Remember what I said — not worthy of Jannah. Because actions do not make you worthy of Jannah. Sincere actions make you worthy of the mercy of Allah, which will make you worthy of Jannah. Because the Prophet ﷺ said:

"None of you will enter Paradise by his deeds alone... unless Allah enshrouds me with His mercy." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5673; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2816)

The Sahabah said, "What about you?" He ﷺ said, "Not even me — except and unless Allah enshrouds me with His mercy." So if the Prophet ﷺ is saying that without Allah's mercy you cannot get to Paradise, what about you and me? The question is: what's the point of doing any actions then? If I'm dependent on Allah's mercy, why try? That's shaytanic thinking. The answer is: in order to become deserving of Allah's mercy, you're not going to get it through disobedience. The more you obey, you just hope Allah says: "I make you worthy of My mercy."

To Him alone does all judgment belong. And to Him alone all of you are returning. This ayah is reminding us that every single thing — ups and downs in this world — is nothing compared to the day when Allah will hold the book of deeds in front of us, and the decision of Jannah and Jahannam will be before Him.

The Story of Asma' and Her Answer to Hajjaj

Mufti Hasan did a beautiful ta'lim about Asma' radiyallahu anha — Dhat al-Nitaqayn — the daughter of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq radiyallahu anhu, the one who helped Rasulullah ﷺ in the night of the hijrah. Hajjaj called her to his court when she was very old and had become blind. He began to make fun of her and said, "I told your son not to mess with me, and he decided to become a rebel." So she responded, and subhanAllah, what did she say to Hajjaj? She said: "You may have ruined his dunya, but he has ruined your akhira."

What an answer. Epic. You may have thought you destroyed his dunya — in reality he died as a shaheed. But he has definitely ruined your akhira. Whatever is happening in this world — let's not become despondent, let's not become afraid. The actual decision-maker is Allah. Allah is the supreme power. He's just not manifesting that fully in front of us right now — otherwise there would be no test. He will manifest that on the Day of Judgment, when all of us return to Him.

The Night and the Day: Allah's Challenge to the Arrogant

Say, O Rasulullah ﷺ, to humanity: "Have you ever considered — if Allah were to make the night endless over you, sarmad, until the Day of Judgment?" What would happen? The earth would plunge into bitter, bitter cold where no human could ever exist. Animals would die. If you had no sun — utter darkness for billions of years. What would you do? You would not be able to live. "Who is the god other than Allah that would bring you sunshine? Will you then not hear?" Allah is asking: if you are so powerful, why not show me control over the sun? If I bring an end to your days, how will you be able to bring the day back?

Say, O Prophet ﷺ, to humanity: "Have you ever considered — if Allah were to make the daylight endless over you until the Day of Resurrection? Who is the god other than Allah that would bring you night in which you repose? Will you then not see Allah's signs?"

These two ayat — Allah is speaking about two massive creations: the day and the night, the sun and the moon. And He is reminding us that no matter how great you may think you are, you are not the greatest of creation. You will only be great if you follow His orders and become His vicegerent on earth. If not, you are:

The lowest of the low. Below any rank of any animal. An animal will not sink so low as a disobedient human being does.

What is the reason Allah has created the night and the day? Allah says:

Allah has created the night for rest and sleep, and the day for effort and work. We have flipped that. The nights have become the time for enjoyment, staying awake, surfing, watching. And the day — we sleep into it. The real fun, they say, starts at night. What a massive issue of the ummah — the broken sleep cycle. People staying awake late at night. Not just in America — across the subcontinent, the Middle East. You go for Fajr salah, no one is there. You wake up trying to find breakfast and all the stores are closed.

Rasulullah ﷺ said that Allah has put barakah in this ummah's mornings. What you can achieve in the morning, you cannot achieve the whole day. That sleep you get at night — you can try to sleep three times as much during the day, it's not going to give you that same barakah. Allah has made it so Himself. The night was created for rest, and the day for effort — both for this dunya and the akhira.

Signs of the Hour and the Day of Judgment

Towards the end of times, one of the final signs before the Day of Judgment strikes: the sun will rise from the west. And part of that arrival will be the destruction of the sun and the moon. Allah says:

The sun and the moon will collide. All these gravitational forces will go out of bounds.

The sun will be wrapped up, rolled up like a turban is rolled up. The stars will fall — انْكَدَرَتْ — these massive objects, the way snowflakes fall. The entire universe, the nizam of it, all the forces of nature keeping everything in proper orbit:

Everything swimming in its orbit — all will fall apart. And before that, we are bringing the Day of Judgment closer with our own actions. When you see the global warming. I spoke to someone in Pakistan, and I saw yesterday in Kashmir that there is absolutely no snow for the first time — they are losing millions in tourism. Everything is out of season. Where it is supposed to be raining, it's drought. When it's supposed to be dry, it's raining.

And Rasulullah ﷺ said that the Day of Judgment will not come until the dry deserts of Arabia will once again become green pastures. Anyone who has been to Umrah lately will see — I saw it, alhamdulillah, two weeks ago. The mountains are literally green. Within these past three years, mountain upon mountain, from Makkah to Madinah — just green. How did this happen? This is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Rasulullah ﷺ. Through our own actions, humanity is bringing the Day of Judgment closer and closer.

And it is only out of His mercy that He has made for you the night and the daylight — for you to repose therein, and for you to seek out of His bounty, and that perhaps you would be grateful. Going to sleep is such an amazing restart. MashAllah, subhanAllah — a blessing of Allah. When you wake up, give shukr. And when you have a successful day — or not successful, whatever it was — you worked hard, alhamdulillah. Make shukr that Allah gave you the tawfiq to work, to study, to do ibadah. The purpose of this switching of day and night is for us to become grateful.

The Day of Judgment: Where Are the False Gods?

Remember that day — Allah will call the people to judgment and say: "Where now are My associate gods that you used to allege that I have?" Now we don't, alhamdulillah, worship idols. But we do worship others in the sense that we are afraid of them more than we are afraid of Allah. We value other people's happiness, friendship, and pleasure more than we value Allah's. So Allah may ask: that wife because of whom you broke Allah's orders, that husband, that friend, that cousin, that son, that daughter — the non-Muslim friend because of whom you gave preference to their happiness over the pleasure of Allah. Okay, bring them. Let's see how much they can protect you.

It is mentioned in the books — a governor was being pressured by Yazid to do something improper and oppressive toward one of the Sahabah. He was confused — should he obey his leader or stand for what's right? So he asked a tabi'i, who responded:

"Allah will be able to protect you from Yazid, but Yazid cannot protect you from Allah." That's the reality. All these people putting pressure on all of you and me — so many things we do just because of friend pressure, social pressure, workplace pressure. This whole idea: I need to fit in. Are you ready to take on Allah on the Day of Judgment to protect you? That is what Allah is saying — bring those false gods and say: "Come, save me from My Creator." A person will not be able to answer.

Moreover, We shall bring forth from every community a witness. Then We shall say to those who rejected the prophets: "Bring us your proof — for all that you used to claim in life. That you said there's no Nabi, no Islam, no Qur'an, this is all fake. Okay, I want to hear the proof now." They shall know then — but it's too late — that all truth belongs to Allah alone. And all the false gods that they used to forge shall have vanished from them.

It's like a straw man created in the mind. "I'm doing things because of what's expected from me in college. I'm doing things because society expects it. I'm doing things because my job expects it." All of those things will fall down. Every single thing will fall down. And a person will not have anyone to protect him from the punishment of Allah.

Closing Reflections

SubhanAllah — I've touched upon a few things today. Honestly, each ayah we could go so much deeper into. But it's not about how deep we go, it's about what we take back from here. Even if one sentence, one point of any of these verses hits us, alhamdulillah — that's a success. If it brings a tear to my heart tonight when I reflect. If it makes me think: I need to bring a change in my life.

One of our ulema, mashallah — the author of a book from which I benefit a lot — Shaykh Dr. Ratib al-Nabulusi from Syria, who is both a scholar and a medical doctor. His Tafsir al-Nabulusi I benefit tremendously from, along with Tafsir al-Sha'rawi. Alhamdulillah, he was in Turkey visiting a conference, and some scholars from Dar es Salaam were also at the conference. They met at breakfast, and one of our colleagues sent me a picture. I got a chance to video call him and speak to him. I said, "You know, I benefit so much from your tafsir, and hundreds of thousands of people benefit." He said, alhamdulillah, his website — Mawsu'at al-Nabulusi — gets 2 million hits a day. MashAllah. May Allah increase him in barakah, ilm, amal, and khair, and allow all of us to become a sadaqah jariyah for all those mashayikh and ulama from whom we have benefited.

He mentions that a person may be sinning, a person may be in ghafla and heedlessness, but do not underestimate these gatherings. Just pop in for an hour of tafsir — you're tired from work, tired from school. But just the barakah of angels in the house of Allah, and the righteous and sincere people sitting around, that is so powerful in keeping us away from sin the rest of the week. Or making us at least realize where we have sinned. Even if we just realize our mistakes, we can repent ourselves. No one needs to teach us how to repent. Go down on your knees and say, "Allah, forgive me." The issue is we don't get the motivation.

So I encourage my dear beloved students and brothers here today, and those who are listening online, and those who are not here — please encourage your friends. No matter how far a person has fallen off, tell them, "Brother, it doesn't matter that you haven't prayed. Just come, man. Just come for one week. One and a half hours a week. That's it." That one and a half hours a week of any majlis — inshallah — will, by the will of Allah, give you what you need to hear. I say this with 100% confidence: every one of you who is sincere and comes to this tafsir saying, "Ya Allah, allow me to hear what I need to hear" — you will never walk away empty-handed. Not because I'm special — because Allah is great. That's why. You are sincere, you present your case to Allah, and Allah will never allow you to go back empty-handed. But you've got to get yourself here. Simple as that.

I ask Allah to grant us steadfastness, and allow me most importantly to practice on whatever I have been preaching as well, and not make what I share with you a proof against me. Ameen, Rabb al-'Alamin.

Upcoming Programs

Quickly, a few programs. Please make a note immediately on your phones:

February 18th–19th — Unplugged No-Tech Retreat. An outstanding program — the only one of its kind in the entire year. It's a long weekend — President's Day weekend — Monday will be off for all schools. You can fly in with your children and your spouse to Chicago, arriving on Saturday and leaving Monday. Join us at Saturday Maghrib — the program begins. We are going to have i'tikaf and we will be fasting — inshallah. Suhoor and iftar will be served here. Please be here before Maghrib to do a 24-hour i'tikaf. For sisters who are coming — you are more than welcome to join for all programs; for the sleepover, there are Muslim-owned hotels across the street. We will have individual and collective dhikr, individual and collective tilawat of the Qur'an, nine talks on different aspects of spirituality — including the art of change and how to break bad habits — tahajjud, collective and individual du'a, and time to connect with scholars. Shaykh Zakaria Patel, a senior scholar from Canada and a khalifa of Mawlana Yusuf Muttala rahimahullah, will be joining us along with other ulama. Please share this far and wide, inshallah.

Friday, January 26th, 2:30–4:30 PM — Sisters-Only Program. We have a female guest scholar coming all the way from California. The topic will be: "Exceptional Women in Our Tradition and Scholarship in Islam." It is an opportunity for our sisters of the community as well as the girls of our seminary to listen from a mashallah accomplished 'alimah who has studied extensively. Please invite your daughters, your sisters, and all the women in your lives to join on-site, inshallah.

If you're joining for the first time, please take a quick screenshot to receive all the flyers by WhatsApp. Please sign up for your weekly reminders, inshallah. JazakumAllahu khayran.

Closing Dhikr and Du'a

Let us join for a few minutes of dhikr. Please come close together. Allahumma salli 'ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa 'ala alihi wa sallim.

When we say لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ, let's focus on all the false gods — all the things we trust besides Allah, all the things we fear besides Allah, all the things we look up to besides Allah — all of that is being removed from our heart. And only the strong belief in Allah's Oneness — the oneness of His Being, the oneness of His attributes, the oneness of His actions — is penetrating to the heart. Then we send salawat upon the Prophet ﷺ, invoking Allah's mercy. And lastly we seek forgiveness from Allah for our major and minor sins, individual and collective.

Oh Allah, we ask You to put love and muhabbah between parents and children, and every member of the household, Ya Allah. Remove the evil effects of sihr from our homes, Ya Allah. Remove the evil effects of nazar and ayn from our homes, Ya Allah. Remove the evil effects of shaytanic deception from our homes, our children, and our spouses, Ya Allah.

Oh Allah, allow us to push back against all the evil plotting and planning of shayateen — from humans and from the jinn, Ya Allah. Grant us absolute protection from these plots. Do not allow these plots to become successful against us, our communities, our masajid, our institutions, our ulama — senior and junior — Ya Allah.

Oh Allah, all those who have come here today and those who are listening — whatever issues they are going through — we ask You, Ya Allah, most qadir, most capable, to remove their issues from their life. Allow them to find hope in the deen. Allow them to follow the deen. Allow them to find comfort in the deen. Allow them to be able to find You, Ya Allah. Allow them to be able to find the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. Allow the direction of the heart to change from dunya towards akhira, from wealth towards a'mal, from the creation towards the Creator.

Oh Allah, we ask You to have mercy upon our brothers and sisters across the globe, wherever they are being persecuted and oppressed, Ya Allah. Especially our brothers and sisters in Palestine — Ya Allah, we ask You to have Your special, special mercy upon them. Oh Allah, through their patience and because of their patience, Ya Allah — remove the difficulty from them, and remove the ghafla and heedlessness from all of our hearts and minds, Ya Allah. Bring an awakening within the Muslim ummah. Bring an awakening within the non-Muslim world as well, Ya Allah. Open up the doors of Islam across the globe, Ya Allah. Allow people to find the beauty of deen, Ya Allah.

Oh Allah, we ask You to grant us all the khair and good that the Prophet ﷺ sought from You, and we seek refuge in You from all the evil that the Prophet ﷺ sought refuge from, Ya Allah. Oh Allah, protect this madrasah and this masjid, and all our volunteers, students, patrons, well-wishers, and all the musallin and those who attend the programs, Ya Allah. Protect all from the evil effects of shaytan and nafs, Ya Allah. From any and all natural calamities, Ya Allah. We ask You for protection for this entire place, Ya Allah, and all deeni institutions and madrasas, Ya Allah.

Oh Allah, whatever khair and good was said today — indeed it was from You. We ask You to accept it, Ya Allah. Whatever mistakes were made — indeed they were from our own selves. We seek Your forgiveness, Ya Allah.

Ameen. Ameen. Wa jazakumullahu khayran. Wassalamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.