Surah Qasas - Ep. 2 | Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

Surah Al-Qasas — Episode 2

Opening Remarks and the Virtue of Consistency

When we think about paradise, we see beautiful, attractive things, we think about Jannah. And when we see things that are painful and difficult, then we are reminded of what awaits a sinful person or a disbeliever in the hereafter. And then we use this as a moment of reflection, seeking protection in Allah from that difficulty.

So this is huge — that in this cold, bitter, cold night, people have come from far and wide and attended the dars in person, men and women, and those who are listening online as well. May Allah allow your coming and your ikhlas and your sincerity to become a means of forgiveness for all of us. And may He make it a means of all of us having our hearts rejuvenated, with the true love of Allah and the true love of the Qur'an penetrating into the deepest parts of our hearts.

And we ask Allah to remove all the evil effects of our own sins that we are suffering from — and the evil effects of any and all types of things that we are aware of, and those things which we are unaware of. We are, alhamdulillah, now in Part 2 of Surah Al-Qasas.

This is continuing on the lengthy discussion of Musa and Fir'aun. And as was mentioned earlier, there is so much to reflect upon and benefit from and think about in this surah, which we could apply to our current context across the globe. Many lessons are to be taken from here.

And so if we are all sincere in our coming here, and we ask Allah that He allows us to hear what we need to hear, and allows us to share what we need to share, allows us to benefit from whatever we hear and share, and allows us to propagate it to others as well — then insha'Allah we'll walk away from every single gathering here absolutely rejuvenated, refreshed, and feeling that all of our necessities have been addressed.

And I would recommend that we make istiqamah. As it is said:

Steadfastness is even more superior than a thousand miracles. The biggest miracle we need to have in our life is istiqamah.

So if we want to begin a surah, the best thing is that we make a commitment to listen to all of it. If you are here but were not here last week, make sure you listen to the first part. And this way, alhamdulillah, there will be barakah in our knowledge and in what we're trying to achieve when we remain consistent. So much nuqsan and so much harm happens when we miss out on anything — we start and then leave off in the middle.

Whatever action you do, just please be consistent with it, even if it is small. As the hadith states:

The most beloved action in the sight of Allah is that which is done consistently, even if it may be little. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6464; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 783)

Recap: The Four Blessings of Allah Upon Bani Israel

I mentioned last week that we covered four — rather, four to five — blessings of Allah upon the nation of Musa. Because of Fir'aun's policy of divide and conquer — choosing to kill the boys and keeping the girls alive, putting them through so much harm — the killing of children is not something new. It happened not only in recent wars, but thousands of years ago to the Bani Israel. Remember, they were not being killed through some sort of bomb from above all at once — no, they were actually being choked or slaughtered. Thousands of them.

And Allah took the Bani Israel from that level of absolute debasement and disgrace. And Allah says:

We want to confer our favour upon these people. And We want to make them imams in faith. Allah did not say He was going to make them kings — there are two things: one is to be a king, and one is to be an imam. The status of an imam is higher than the status of a king. There are some kings who are imams, but not too many. Most kings are just kings. The kingdom ends in this world. There is no one whose kingdom remains forever, and nothing they benefit from after they die — it's only a few good things they may have done. Most of them use their kingdom solely for their own comfort and not for the betterment of humanity.

But a true imam who is an imam in deen — what happens? His enjoyment only begins after his death. While he is serving the people, he may not be appreciated or taken care of. But once he leaves this dunya, due to the immense khidmah and service done for the people — if sincere, of course — then his reward will outlast him, and he will enjoy his reward in the hereafter.

The Hadith of Khaybar: Love Allah and His Rasul

Saʿd ibn Abi Waqqas رضي الله عنه narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said on the day of Khaybar:

Tomorrow I will give this flag to a man through whose hands Allah will grant victory. He loves Allah and His Messenger, and Allah and His Messenger love him. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2942; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2406)

They had besieged the fort and were making no progress for over a month. He said: tomorrow Allah is going to grant us victory through his hands — a man who loves Allah and His Rasul, and Allah and His Rasul love him.

The people spent the night twisting and turning — who is going to be that man? Everyone would love to be him.

When the people woke up the next morning, they all came to Rasulullah ﷺ — every single one of them hoping, "I hope it's me." And everyone was on their tiptoes. Then he said:

Someone said: he is over here, O Messenger of Allah — he has pain in his eye.

Ali was brought. The Prophet ﷺ placed his saliva on his eyes and made du'a for him. Immediately Allah cured him, as though he had never had any problem in his eye. Then the Prophet ﷺ gave him the flag. Ali said: O Messenger of Allah, shall I fight them until they become like us? He said:

Go forward calmly until you arrive in their courtyard. Then invite them to Islam and inform them of what is obligatory upon them with regards to Allah's rights. By Allah, if Allah were to guide one man through you, it would be far better for you than having red she-camels. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2942; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2406)

Look at this hadith — he is saying this after one month of being in the difficult circumstance of a battle, a stalemate. And he says: do I fight until they say لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ? And what does he say? No — first, before we do that, try your best to get everyone to accept Islam. Fighting is a last resort. We don't enjoy that. We actually want them to enjoy a life of pleasure in this world and the next.

When a person is in the midst of battle, right? This is battle. And you have been suffering losses too and you are so tired. Imagine the desire of vengeance. But look at how Rasulullah ﷺ, even at this moment, told them: no, your main objective should be to invite them towards Islam. Try to get them to accept this deen. This is something very powerful that we understand about our religion — we are always supposed to be hoping that others will see the beauty and the light of Islam. That is what a true believer's desire is.

You Never Know Who Will Flourish

One day I was in South Africa — this was when I was still studying there. I went with my Ustaz, Maulana Choksi Sahib, to one city. There was one graduate, senior to me by many years. He came and was explaining to Maulana all the great work he was doing: how many thousands of students were studying in the different maktabs, helping the poor, and so on. Maulana was very happy and made lots of du'a for him. And then Maulana told me: you know, when this man was a student, he used to come first place in class — first place from the bottom. He was the most failing student in class. But when you get accepted by Allah, this is the type of work you can do.

This past weekend I was in a masjid and a young brother — who was a little kid when he was here studying, long ago he left — mashaAllah, he brought me multiple young men while I was in i'tikaf to meet me: his friends and new Muslims. And mashaAllah, this young college student — who had actually flunked out here and was just not interested as a 13–14 year old — mashaAllah, seven brothers accepted Islam through his hands in the past year or so. Who would have ever thought that this kid would grow up to become a means of guiding people?

And he told me — it was so wonderful — he said: I started writing a book on Islam for beginners. I said, you're writing a book? He said, yeah, because I have a way of speaking that I think other people don't write like that, and I'm able to connect very well with this crowd. So I want to write this book insha'Allah so all these new Muslims can get guidance from it. It was just amazing, listening to this kid who is now in his 20s, already started writing a book. May Allah allow him to complete that book and make it a means of lots of people coming to the deen.

Humility vs. Low Self-Esteem

Sometimes we ourselves don't have hope in our own selves. We feel very ill-prepared to face the world. What am I going to do? I'm a nobody. It's nice to have humility — it's not just nice, it's fard, it's necessary to be humble. But you have to ensure that humility and humbleness does not tip over into having low self-esteem, self-hate, and not trusting yourself. You don't trust yourself — you only trust Allah, that He will give you some amazing gifts.

When people say "I'm nobody" — they think they're being humble. In reality, I tell you, you are being ungrateful to Allah. Self-pity — what does it mean? "I'm nobody, I'm nothing, I can't do anything." These types of words are actually not good. You should thank Allah for whatever He has given you, and whatever you want to become in the future, it is right there — through du'a, you'll get from Allah whatever you want.

Our youth suffer from inferiority complex and low self-esteem. We need to explain to them the difference between tawadu' and self-hate. Tawadu' and humility means a person is saying: I don't have anything on my own — everything I have is from Allah. But I have a lot. And it's all given to me by Allah. Alhamdulillah. That's what it is.

So just like wealth and health, as well as any other gifts we have — attribute it to Allah, and keep on asking for more. Why not make a du'a today: Ya Allah, make me a means of giving shahada for a hundred people? Why not? All of you make this niyyah — that I want to live a life in which at least a hundred people say the kalimah through my hands. And at least a thousand people who were falling away from the deen — through my being there at the right time and in the right place and saying the right thing — alhamdulillah, they come back. That is an imam. That is what we call being an imam. And this is what every single one of us should desire.

How Do You Become an Imam? — Surah Al-Sajdah, Ayah 24

Now how do you achieve imamah? How do you become an imam in deen? Let us look at Surah Al-Sajdah, ayah 24. Allah says:

Indeed, We made from amongst them imams who would guide people by Our command — when they had patience. That is the number one thing. In order to be an imam, you have to be patient, you have to have sabr. It is hard dealing with people — it is hard dealing with your spouse, with your kids, with your parents, with your siblings. And then of course it is very hard dealing with the general masses, dealing with students, dealing with everybody else.

People don't appreciate. And on top of that, whenever you try to help them, they think you're actually trying to harm them. It's very frustrating. A doctor, for example — people will pay him, and the insurance will pay, and they'll wait for three months in line. And then go an hour before the appointment, quietly wait, and then the appointment will come half an hour after the actual appointment time. When you go in, you get maybe five minutes, maybe three minutes, with the actual physician. Then you walk away with a simple basic diagnosis, a $250 bill plus your insurance — and you feel happy. And if he says jump, you'll say, okay, how high?

On the other hand, the scholar, the imam — he tries to say something to people, and if you don't immediately respond, done, you're a loser. And no matter what time of the day or night it is, you must respond immediately. And on top of that, no one has patience to listen. When you do share something, they're not going to believe it. They'll say: "Where does this come from? What you're saying doesn't make sense. I found someone else saying something different."

It is a very tough job trying to explain to the ummah what to do when you have the solutions and they just don't listen. So in order to be serving the community, you have to have sabr. Our graduating students — we tell them the same thing: if you don't have sabr with the community, you won't last one year. If you have sabr, you can be an imam in the same community for 20 years. You can have the best qira'ah in the world, the best looks and the best of everything — but without patience, it's like marriage. Everything can be present, but if you don't have patience, that marriage is not going to last.

The Second Quality: Yaqeen

The second quality in Surah Al-Sajdah ayah 24 is: وَكَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يُوقِنُونَ — and you have to have yaqeen. If you don't have yaqeen in the promises of Allah, eventually you'll get burnt out. Many scholars tell me they're getting burnt out. It happens. But one basic thing — your relationship with Allah must be strong. When our relationship with Allah becomes weak and our relationship with the people becomes strong, you're going to suffer burnout. But someone who is blessed to stand before Allah in tahajjud at night, raising his hands, being able to shed tears and cry in front of Allah — by the will of Allah — you will not suffer burnout.

If the people of Gaza are not suffering burnout, what about you and I? Allahu Akbar. You see prisoners of war coming out and just talking about their stories of how they've been tortured — and when they speak, subhanAllah, it's with such a straight face. What do they have? They have yaqeen, they have sabr. And that's exactly what we're speaking about.

Today we are suffering emotional burnout very quickly. Everyone seems to be depressed, everyone says they're burnt out. And I think, Allah knows best, the biggest reason is that our ta'alluq and relationship with Allah is very weak, and our time in seclusion doing dhikr of Allah is very little. What is dhikr? When you sit and quietly do dhikr, this is a type of meditation — it really allows you to start controlling yourself. You can't control the environment around you; you need to learn how to control yourself. I can't change the weather, but I need to learn how to dress up for the weather.

Breathing in and out — لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ, اللَّهُ اللَّهُ, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. Or simply closing your eyes and imagining Allah's mercy descending upon your heart, and your heart beating with الله الله الله. Try that for 10–15 minutes — this type of meditation, this type of spiritual exercise. And what will you see? You'll have a very strong sense of being able to control yourself. Something will make you angry — you'll be able to keep calm. But when our relationship with Allah is weak, then anything and everything will make us feel burnt out.

So my beloved students, dear brothers, and alumni — let's take this word "burnout" out of our vocabulary. Because I feel like we are scapegoating, finding excuses to blame other people and society for our problems. The world is not going to change for you. No one cares about your burnout. You have to take care of yourself. And that's where physical health comes in — and more importantly, spiritually building ourselves.

The Four Blessings Allah Promises Bani Israel

So all of us should desire to be an imam. As we mentioned in the ending of Surah Al-Furqan: وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا — O Allah, make me the imam of the muttaqeen. I want to be the imam in my home, and I want every single member of my household to be a muttaqi and I be the imam. That is the desire for all of us.

Number Two: وَنَجْعَلَهُمُ الْوَارِثِينَ — Allah made them heirs. Either heirs to His commandments — as in ثُمَّ أَوْرَثْنَا الْكِتَابَ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَيْنَا مِنْ عِبَادِنَا, meaning they became ulama and inheritors of the deen — or another explanation is that they became heirs to the treasures of Fir'aun and his people, that they inherited that wealth.

Allah mentions this in Surah Al-Nur, ayah 55:

Allah has promised those from amongst you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will grant them vicegerency on earth, just as He granted it to those before them. And He will allow that deen — that is, Islam — which He chose for them, to flourish. And Allah will change their fear into peace, comfort, security, and safety. Just keep worshipping Me and do not ascribe partners with Me. And whoever chooses to disbelieve after all of that — those are the open transgressors.

So what Allah is saying here is: if you take care of your iman and your amal as-salih, I will take care of giving you power on earth. This is what Allah is telling the Bani Israel — that you are going to go from the bottom of the ladder, from being slaughtered and killed, to becoming leaders in deen and leaders in the dunya.

Number Three: نُمَكِّنَ لَهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ — And We are going to establish you securely in the lands. Things will switch. There is a beautiful statement attributed to Ali رضي الله عنه:

Allah does not forsake the truth and hand it over to the enemy. Instead, Allah lets the truth alone for some time — under His watchful eye — in order to test the ghayrah of the people, that possessive jealousy, that concern: are they going to stand up for the truth, or are they going to allow the forces of falsehood to wipe it out? He throws the truth into the middle of the field, and it is being attacked, and Allah does not come to its defense initially — because He is using that to test the people, to see who chooses to come to its support. And when everyone's ghayrah dies out, then Allah's ghayrah comes to life. And then you see what happens. SubhanAllah.

In the process of that shake-up, all those people who did not stand up for the truth — they're going to pay the price as well. Anyone who is not doing whatever they can — whether it's du'a, whether it's speaking up, whatever is possible for them — if they just turn their heads the other way and move on, worried only about their material success and not caring about what is happening around them, then they will eventually pay the price here or in the next world. What an amazing statement of Ali رضي الله عنه.

Number Four: وَنُرِيَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا مِنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا يَحْذَرُونَ — And We are going to show Fir'aun and Haman and their armies, from them, that which they feared most. Haman was the chief of staff of Fir'aun. Besides the public national armies, Fir'aun and Haman had their own private armies as well. And the fear they had — the fear of losing their kingdom — is exactly what Allah made them experience. What an amazing threat from Allah.

The Wahi to the Mother of Musa — Surah Al-Qasas, Ayah 7

So, وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ أُمِّ مُوسَىٰ أَنْ أَرْضِعِيهِ — Allah speaks about the wahi to the mother of Musa after she had delivered him. Nurse him. فَإِذَا خِفْتِ عَلَيْهِ فَأَلْقِيهِ فِي الْيَمِّ — Then when you fear for his life, cast him into the river in a basket. وَلَا تَخَافِي — Do not fear Fir'aun. وَلَا تَحْزَنِي — Do not grieve over this parting with your son. إِنَّا رَادُّوهُ إِلَيْكِ — Indeed, We shall most surely return him back to you. وَجَاعِلُوهُ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ — And We shall make him one of the messengers of Allah.

An amazing ayah. You see miracle upon miracle here. What is this surah about? This surah is all about recognizing the qudra and the power of Allah. As I said last week:

If Allah is with you, who can be against you? And if Allah is against you, who can ever help you? This is the khulasah of the surah.

Or in another way — Rasulullah ﷺ speaking to Abdullah ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه:

Know that if the entire nation were to gather together to benefit you with something, they would not benefit you except with something Allah has already decreed for you. And if they gathered together to harm you with something, they would not harm you except with something Allah has already decreed against you. (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2516 — classed as sahih)

May Allah give us yaqeen on this hadith. May Allah give us yaqeen on this important aspect of our aqeedah. If the entire ummah — humans, jinn, animals, technology, everything put together — were to try to benefit you somehow, they will not be able to benefit you in the least unless Allah has already destined and ordained it for you. And if they gathered together to harm you — that's the conviction we have to have. They will not be able to harm me in the least, except what Allah has already written. They didn't harm me because they are strong — no. You can only harm me if Allah has written it. And then you can't say "ha ha, we got you" — because you never got me because of you. Allah had ordained it. Allah had ordained for me to get the reward in the akhirah. That's why He allowed you to harm me today. That is the level of conviction we should have.

Where are we from this? We are so far away. This is why there is oppression in this world — because no one is willing to speak the truth. No one is willing to speak up because they'll lose their job, their career, their financial stability. All the oppression that happens in the workforce, in corporate America, in government — so much cheating, so much deception, so much zulm of every sort — and everyone turns a blind eye and moves on. That is why 'adl and insaf and justice have gone down. Oppression has taken over because people's yaqeen and aqeedah are weak.

The Six Elements of Ayah 7: Two Commands, Two Prohibitions, Two Glad Tidings

Now — which mother would ever, ever think of placing her son in the river so that he could be saved from Fir'aun? Fir'aun killing him is dhanni — likely but not certain. But throwing a newborn baby into the river is 100% death. You are giving preference to something which is absolutely going to kill him, in order to protect him from something which may happen. That doesn't seem very logical. No mother in her right mind would ever do that. It is because Allah is inspiring her to do something.

And it is very remarkable that although Fir'aun ordered every single child to be killed — the one child who was actually going to bring down his kingdom, he not only kept alive, but raised in his own house. How ironic. And you understand that when Allah wants to do something, He will place veils over people's minds and hearts and eyes. They cannot see it.

We put a wall in front, a wall behind, and made them blind so they cannot see. This happens all the time. You make du'a and someone who was stopping everyone — they let you go. And when Allah does not want something to happen, the person who was sleeping wakes up and comes your way and causes problems. So when you have a lot of obstacles coming your way, you need to ask yourself: what's going wrong? Maybe there's something wrong. Use this opportunity to turn to Allah. Give sadaqah, fast, get up for tahajjud, and ask Allah to remove these obstacles.

There is a powerful ayah of Surah Al-Anfal, ayah 24:

Know very well that indeed Allah can come between you and your heart. This is really deep. That is why there is this du'a:

O Allah, the way You come between me and my heart, come between me and Your disobedience.

Sometimes people say: I was so convinced I was going to do something — and then what happened? How did I back out? That means tawfiq was taken away. How many thousands of people have made intention to do good things but don't do them? Allah is coming between you and your heart. So what should we do? We should beg Allah for forgiveness — Ya Allah, please forgive me for whatever I may have done because of which I am now losing out on tawfiq. Do not make excuses. Instead, reflect: why am I not able to do this good deed? Why don't I feel like it anymore?

People say: I just don't feel like it anymore. Well, no — you need to reflect. And you need to make du'a:

O Allah, turn the direction of my heart towards Your deen.

O Allah, grab me by my forelock and drag me towards Your goodness. Even if I don't want to — this is how we should ask Allah. If you ask Allah, why will Allah not give it to you? But if we become arrogant and say we don't want to do it and don't care — then why would Allah guide us?

O Muhammad ﷺ, are you going to force the people for them to become believers? Allah is not going to force you to do anything. You have to want it yourself. So how do we move forward? We start making du'a for that.

Qabd is a term used in tazkiyah for the heart becoming disinclined to do what it is supposed to do — just disinterested in the deen. If you're going through qabd, what have the experts of tazkiyah told us? They say: you don't do things because you feel like it — you just do it. You grudgingly get up for Fajr. You could be angry at the person who woke you up. Go ahead and get up and pray. Drink water, say أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ, and do dhikr. The deen is not about doing what you enjoy — it's about doing what you have to do whether you like it or not. And sometimes you will actually get more reward because you are going against your nafs. Because there's no enjoyment in it, it's pure ikhlas.

The Mother's Heart and the Comparison of Surah Taha and Surah Al-Qasas

This ayah — وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ — applies here as well. In so many different places. Because the mamta, the motherly love, would not naturally want her to throw the child away.

It is mentioned in Tafseer Sha'rawi, based on some other tafaseer, that when the army showed up outside the house and she knew her son was going to get caught, she unknowingly pushed him into a little hole in the wall between her house and her neighbour's. And she was so perturbed and worried. After the army left, she found out that it was an oven — and that the oven was still hot from the previous meal. But Musa, the little newborn baby, was absolutely sahih salim — completely protected, not burnt. So this was a bishara and a glad tiding: what you're about to do — throwing him into the sea and the river — he is under special protection from Allah. He is not like your normal baby.

Similarly, Allah did not allow the mother to act on the natural dictates of motherhood. Instead, she went ahead with what Allah inspired her to do. Then Allah says: keep on nursing him until you're scared, then throw him into the river.

The ulama say this ayah is very interesting — for students of Arabic, there are two imperatives (amr), two prohibitions (nahi), and two glad tidings (bishara) all together in one verse:

أَرْضِعِيهِ is the first amr. أَلْقِيهِ is the second amr. لَا تَخَافِي is the first nahi. لَا تَحْزَنِي is the second nahi. رَادُّوهُ إِلَيْكِ is the first bishara. جَاعِلُوهُ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ is the second bishara.

There is another verse we covered in the tafseer of Surah Taha, ayah 38–39:

When We revealed to your mother what was to be revealed — to throw him into the basket, then to throw him into the river, and the river will cast him onto the seabank. And then My enemy and his enemy shall take him. وَأَلْقَيْتُ عَلَيْكَ مَحَبَّةً مِّنِّي — O Musa, I placed your love in the hearts of the people. وَلِتُصْنَعَ عَلَىٰ عَيْنِي — And so that you would be raised right in front of My eyes.

What is the difference between these two passages? There is a difference. Surah Taha, ayah 38–39, and Surah Al-Qasas, ayah 7 — they use a whole different method of speaking. The first one, in Surah Al-Qasas, is specifically about nursing — informing Musa's mother beforehand how long she should nurse and when she should let go. The second, in Surah Taha, is when the army actually attacks — what should you do? The method of speaking is naturally different. One came first, preparing her in more detail, with words that give ta'anni and waqar, things slowly building up. The second one is fast-paced, with less detail. Qadhafah means to throw with strength — throw him into the box, throw the box into the river. Whereas in Surah Al-Qasas, the word used is أَلْقِيهِ — place him. And there you have the reassurances: don't fear, don't grieve, We'll bring him back to you. SubhanAllah — every single thing in the Qur'an is placed in such a beautiful manner.

The House of Fir'aun Retrieves Musa

فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ — Thereafter the household of Fir'aun retrieved him from the Nile. The box simply popped up and manifested itself right as Fir'aun and his family were on a stroll on the riverbanks. Someone from the household — his soldiers, his security — picked him up.

Now, Allah said in Surah Taha: وَأَلْقَيْتُ عَلَيْكَ مَحَبَّةً مِّنِّي — I placed your love in the hearts of the people. The ulama say here that Musa alayhissalam was not necessarily the most attractively handsome baby in terms of physical appearance at that time — he also had a lot of jalal. It was not the natural cuteness of a baby that was capturing people. This was pure karama mu'jizah — a pure miraculous love that Allah placed in the hearts of whoever saw him. This adds to the miraculous way Allah took care of Musa.

Our iman is being renewed again. Stop depending on the means of this world. Stop thinking that if you don't have wealth, money, or looks, you can't get anywhere. When Allah has a plan for you, you don't need any of those things. And when Allah does not have a plan for you, all of those things won't help you either. In every portion of every ayah — our iman in Allah must keep on increasing.

Now who fell in love with Musa? We all know one was the wife, Asiyah. But there was also Fir'aun's daughter, who apparently had a skin disease — white spots all over her. She had seen a dream that her cure would come through the banks of the river, from a box, and she should take something from there and place it on her skin. And then this incident happened, and she opened the box and found Musa. She took the saliva of this newborn baby and applied it to all her spots, and Allah granted her shifa'. And Asiyah fell in love with him. Two women of the household had fallen in love with this baby — one was the daughter, one was the wife.

The Soft Power of Women

The way Musa got inside the house was through two women — the wife and the daughter. And this is the key to the heart of a man: his wife and his children, and more specifically his daughter, even more so. And they can use this for great benefit or for great harm.

Addressing women — making them understand that Allah has given them some very unique abilities. From among those abilities, Allah has given them what I call a soft power. Allah anatomically and physiologically made men and women different and made men usually physically stronger and largely in positions of leadership and power in the world. So if Allah did not give women something to balance this out, women may have ended up oppressed all the time — especially at the hands of men who do not have control over their nafs, who simply follow their instincts and do whatever they want.

So Allah has given women the soft power — the attractiveness that Allah has put in a woman in a man's heart. If a lady uses this for benefit — using her husband's love for her, her children's appreciation for their mother, the mercy that brothers may have for her, the love her father has for her — if she uses this for the deen, the whole house can change. Not just the house — the whole tribe can change. And unfortunately, if she uses this soft power to stop the deen from spreading and only uses it to fulfill her own plots and plans, then not only will she ruin her akhirah, but she has the capacity to take hundreds and thousands with her. This is the power women have which they may not always realize.

That is why there is a hadith, the words of which are weak — perhaps even very weak — but the meaning is definitely true:

Women are the snares of Shaytan. (Narrated with weak chains — see Ibn Abi al-Dunya, Dhamm al-Dunya; the meaning is supported by other authentic texts)

The meaning simply is talking about the fact that women are a fitnah for man — this is not as much a rebuke to women as it is a wake-up call to men. Men are being told: you need to realize that your soft spot and weak corner are the women in your family — your wife and your children. Because of the love you have for these people in your lives, if you don't watch yourself properly, you may end up breaking the orders of Allah in order to please them. And Shaytan knows that.

Look at every thriller story, every movie — the main character dodges missiles, dodges bullets, dodges poison — but he simply cannot dodge a lady. This is still today used as a strategy by many intelligence agencies across the globe. Men are being told: you need to understand that your weak spot is women. Do not allow the love for them to make you fall into sin or break the orders of Allah. How many men are there who are happily married but then fall into affairs? Thousands, millions. Because Shaytan makes someone else seem more attractive, more kind, more exciting. But this is all Shaytan.

The hadith of the Rasulullah ﷺ also comes to mind:

A child is a source of cowardice and stinginess. (Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 3666; Sahih Ibn Hibban, Hadith 4176)

And again, I highlight this so people don't think I'm pointing fingers at women — this is an authentic hadith. When you're asked to give in the path of Allah, everyone says: "Oh man, I've got three kids, their college fund, their marriage." So the love for the child has created stinginess. And when you're asked to put yourself in harm's way for the deen, you say: "I've got little kids, who's going to take care of them?" — and it creates cowardice.

Indeed your wealth and your children are a test. Indeed, some of your spouses and some of your children are your enemy. So be careful — do not allow their love to overtake you.

Allah says the household of Fir'aun took him up. They didn't take him for what Allah intended — they took him because they wanted to adopt him. Asiyah said: Oh, I love him, we don't have a son, our daughter doesn't have a sibling — let us take him in as an adopted son. Allah says: No, I'll tell you why you're really taking him:

So that Musa could become for them, in the future, their enemy and a cause of their grief. Isn't this powerful? In our daily lives, you think you're doing something for one reason — but Allah forbid, if something else is written for you, then things unfold very differently. You don't even know what you're getting yourself into. This is not just about Fir'aun — it applies to all of us.

This is called Lam al-'Aqibah — the lam that refers to the eventual outcome. Did Musa become an enemy as soon as he entered? No. Much, much later. Did he become a source of grief immediately? No — only much later when Fir'aun drowned. So many times, things will take time to come to fruition. Just relax. Be patient.

Indeed Fir'aun and Haman and their entire armies were sinful people — and also, they were wrong. They made such huge blunders that they actually shot themselves in the leg. They raised their own downfall.

The Heart of the Mother of Musa

Yet the heart of the mother of Musa became devoid — she was only thinking: what's going to happen to Musa? إِن كَادَتْ لَتُبْدِي بِهِ — She was very nearly going to disclose his identity. She was about to say — some say when she was about to throw Musa, she almost cried out: "O my son!" She would have been caught. Or when she was called because no other woman was able to nurse him — when Musa immediately began to nurse from his own mother, she could have cried out: "O my dear Musa! At last!" Any such exclamation would have let the cat out of the bag and it would have been game over.

But Allah allowed that mother to control her tongue. Where does that strength come from? The mother's emotions for a newborn — there is nothing in the world comparable to that. What gives you the strength to remain silent? Allah. Allah has the ability to make the one who cannot speak, speak. And Allah can make the one who should be speaking, not speak. As in the story of the young lady who used to take care of Fir'aun's family's hair — the Prophet ﷺ mentioned her story in hadith. And of course Isa alayhissalam speaking as a newborn — those who don't speak, Allah can make them speak. And those who should be speaking, Allah can make them silent.

We strengthened and secured the hearts of those young men when they stood up to the king and spoke the truth — otherwise they should not have been able to speak the truth; they should have been scared. But they spoke truth to power because Allah gave them the strength. Similarly Allah gave the mother of Musa the strength and secured her heart so she would not speak up.

لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ — So she could remain from amongst the believers of unfailing faith. We'll stop here insha'Allah.

Questions and Answers

How Can I Turn Weight Lifting into a Form of Ibadah?

Make your intention correct. Don't miss your salah. Don't do weight lifting in a place where there are non-mahrams in front of you in extremely inappropriate clothing — that is obviously not ibadah. You should try to use your own home gym or the masjid gym. And make niyyah based on the hadith:

A strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than a weak believer. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2664)

With that niyyah, insha'Allah it will be ibadah.

If a Husband Makes a Mistake While Leading Salah, Can His Wife Correct Him?

Anytime a male makes a mistake while leading salah, the hadith mentions:

The men should say SubhanAllah (to alert the imam), and the women should clap. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 684; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 422)

Even the tasbih should not be said out loud by a woman, because it is not befitting for a lady to raise her voice in the presence of men. SubhanAllah — just think about how far we have gone away from that teaching. So even if it is a wife at home in the same prayer, since it is salah, she should not verbally correct — instead she does the clapping sound (tasfiq).

Du'as for Sustenance and Finding a Job

May Allah grant you with ease a halal job, ameen. One of the recommended practices is reading Surah Al-Waqi'ah consistently. And read this du'a from Surah Al-Qasas — we will come across this ayah insha'Allah soon — for people looking to get married and people who are looking for a job, because Musa alayhissalam read this and Allah gave him sustenance and gave him a wife:

O Allah, I am most in need of whatever goodness You send down for me. (Quran 28:24)

If Everything Happens by the Will of Allah, Why Are We Responsible for Our Actions?

Yes, this is the issue of taqdeer. The simple answer is: the Prophet ﷺ has taught us that predestiny is something no one will ever be able to truly understand. Whoever dips into the discussion of taqdeer will drown in it. This is a sirr — a secret that Allah has kept with Him.

What we can say is: none of you would sit back and say, "It's predestined whether I'm going to go to work or not, so I'll just stay home." You wouldn't do that. "It's predestined whether I'll get a 4.0 or a 2.0, so I won't study." You wouldn't do that. Your job is to continue being focused and working on your deen and your dunya. The only time you think about taqdeer is when you try everything and it doesn't happen — then instead of blaming yourself, you say: Allah willed otherwise.

When something horrible happens and you don't believe in taqdeer, you'll blame yourself for it endlessly. This is why people commit suicide — because they don't believe in predestiny. When you believe in taqdeer, you say: no, this was already set beforehand; there's no way I could have averted this. We also believe that if you are sincere and constantly striving for Allah's pleasure, Allah is not going to let you down. The Rasulullah ﷺ — did he say, "I'm Nabi of Allah, I'm relaxed"? He was the one who cried the most, stayed awake at night the most, made ibadah the most — even though he is the Nabi of Allah. He continuously showed his haja and need for Allah. That is how we are supposed to be.

If thoughts about taqdeer keep on coming to you, read:

And seek the protection of Allah from this.

Are Turbans Sunnah or Culture?

Abu Jahl also ate food. Abu Jahl also slept. Abu Jahl did everything. So that doesn't mean we're not going to do anything he did. We're going to see what the Prophet ﷺ did — that is our model. And did Rasulullah ﷺ wear it? Yes. Did Rasulullah ﷺ walk around with his head uncovered? Most of the time, honestly, no. There is a book called Crown of the Believer, which contains around 200 hadiths on the topic of covering the head. People think it's a desi thing. It's not. There's even a confirmed sunnah before Dhuhr. If a person does not wear it, we are not going to say he committed an act of haram. But yes, it would not be according to the sunnah.

What is the Difference Between Wahi to a Prophet and Wahi to a Non-Prophet?

I will speak about this in detail next week insha'Allah. Briefly: Allah does wahi not only to prophets — He does wahi to animals, to angels, and to humans. The word wahi is the same but its implications are different. It means communication — Allah's communication done in a khufya, hidden manner. Allah even uses the word wahi for the shayateen:

The shayateen do wahi to their cronies and friends. So wahi in all these cases means general communication done in a hidden manner. Wahi to a prophet, of course, becomes the foundation of a shari'ah. Wahi to an angel is different.

On the Du'a When Your Mind Wants to Change but Your Heart Doesn't

If you know something is haram logically but your heart is attracted to it — what do you do? You ask Allah to create a barrier between you and this haram relationship. Ask: Ya Allah, if You know in Your infinite knowledge that this can become halal, then pave the path for it. If not, then please turn me away from it. And there is this beautiful du'a:

O Allah, do not allow my heart to go after things which are not meant for me. I don't want to run after something for five years and then realize I was never going to get it. So you make this du'a.

On Intrusive Thoughts During Salah

Yes, it happens. Shaytan attacks us during wudu and during salah to make sure we remember everything except what we should be focused on. Some people have a whole army of shayateen — they only get these thoughts when they start their prayer. So now you need to focus: make sure your wudu is done properly, read manzil — the 33 verses of the Qur'an for protection — read the mu'awwidhatain regularly. Before you start your salah, after the sunnah, read Ayat al-Kursi, Qul A'udhu bi Rabb il-Falaq, Qul A'udhu bi Rabb il-Nas, blow over yourself, and ask Allah to protect you from the shaytan that attacks you during salah. If this persists, you can reach out separately.

On the Love Placed in Hearts — Is It Like the Love Between Spouses After Nikah?

You could say that. Allah says:

Allah is the one who places love and mercy between the spouses. That is the power of Allah. Allah sometimes also makes a not-so-attractive face seem very attractive. That is definitely true.

On the Couples Who Wake Each Other for Tahajjud

Rasulullah ﷺ said:

May Allah have mercy on a man who wakes up at night, performs his tahajjud, and then wakes up his wife. If she refuses, he sprinkles water on her face. And may Allah have mercy on a woman who wakes up at night, performs her salah, and then wakes up her husband. If he refuses, she sprinkles water on his face. (Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 1308; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1336 — classed as sahih)

O dear couples — those who are not yet married, when you make du'a for a husband or wife, don't just make du'a for someone with money and a G-Wagon and blonde hair and blue eyes. There's something more to life than that. There's something called deen. Make du'a for: I want a wife or husband that will make sure I don't miss my tahajjud and will pray with me. What a life that would be. And for those who are already married — it's time to work on creating that environment at home. How many of us actually sit down and make a plan: how am I going to create an environment in my home this year to bring my spouse closer to the deen?

All those women — use the intelligence and smartness that Allah has given you to figure out how you are going to draw your husband towards the deen. And all the men who are mashAllah CEOs and CFOs and directors in your companies — why don't you start thinking about how you're going to come up with a plan to bring your wife towards the deen? Once the husband and wife are both on the path towards the deen, the children will follow. They'll realize: this is the environment of the home — we go with the flow.

So understand what happened in this powerful story. Allah placed the love of Musa into the heart of Fir'aun's wife and daughter — and game over. Fir'aun couldn't do anything. So for the wives who are trying to bring their husbands to the deen — your husband might not be the most loving or practicing. But I promise you, he is not Fir'aun. And Allah even changed things through the wife and daughter of Fir'aun. So there is hope.

Alhamdulillah — if anything was said correctly, it was from Allah. If any mistakes were made, may Allah forgive us for that.