Beloved brothers and sisters, dear listeners, dear students — السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

We thank Allah Most Gracious, Most Merciful, who has given you and I the health and the life and the ability to be present for this week's tafsir. We ask Allah that He grants you and I istiqamah and steadfastness with aafiyah — with ease, with health and ability to continue to attend. We ask Allah that whatever we do here and share, may Allah make this a proof for us and not against us. May Allah enable all of us to listen with the intention of practicing, speak with the intention of practicing, and then may He allow all of us to also share it with the niyyah of spreading the deen with sincerity. We ask Allah that whatever issues and trials and tribulations anyone of us is going through this week, that this meeting of ours over the verses of the Qur'an allows our stress to be alleviated, our problems to be solved, that we find solutions to our issues and difficulties, and that it becomes a means of rejuvenating our iman.

Overview: Where We Are in the Story

Allah mentions regarding this — now we're moving on to the next aspect of the story. We're doing a huge jump from the first part of the story that we've been spending the past two to three weeks on: Allah's fadl and grace upon the children of Ya'qub, and how they were the most downtrodden and most oppressed people, and how Allah eventually brought a change by sending Musa. Then we spent the past week or two speaking about the initial part of this story — the birth of Musa and how he was raised in a most miraculous manner in the palace of Fir'aun, and how Allah allowed him to come back to his mother safe and sound, and on top of that she was being paid for her care. So when Allah wants to get something done, then no one knows the most amazing manners in which He works.

In this next part, we're speaking about him becoming a young man and an incident that happens which propels him to leave the palace and move out.

Ayah 14: The Maturity of Musa

"And when he had reached his full maturity and become fully grown, We gave him prophetic wisdom and knowledge. And thus do We reward those who excel in doing good."

Some have said that the physical quwwah is completed at the age of 18, and then a person moves on to different stages of his life. So بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ is referring to the physical completeness of the body, and اسْتَوَى is referring to the intellectual maturity, which is in the thirties. At that stage a person is able to not only lift a great physical burden but also a great mental burden and is able to make right decisions.

So Allah is now saying that Musa reached that age of full physical and mental maturity — آتَيْنَاهُ حُكْمًا — then We gave him wisdom of prophethood and knowledge of Allah.

What Should Our Goal in Life Be?

A person should ask himself: what is it that we are trying to achieve — what is our goal in life? If a person wants to merely achieve power and strength, then you have in front of you the example of Fir'aun, and that could be a person's goal. If a person wants to attain mere financial strength and wealth, then in front of him you have the example of Qarun, and a person can decide to make that their goal — obviously, hopefully a person does not have that goal. Instead, a person wants his future to be bright. So if we want our future to be bright, then we follow the footsteps of the prophets, and we see that although they may not have had a lot of material things, the sense of connection that they enjoyed with Allah is something which a person should desire.

Allah mentions regarding Ibrahim:

"Indeed he witnessed and saw some of the great signs of his Lord."

Allah mentions in Surah An-Nisa:

"And Allah taught you that which you did not know, and Allah's grace was great upon you."

So you see that ilm is regarded as a grace and a gift of Allah. Wealth — Allah gives to those whom He likes and those whom He dislikes. Some of His greatest enemies, Allah gives them insane amounts of wealth and power in this world. But ilm of deen and ilm of Allah is a gift that Allah reserves for His close ones. That is why there is the famous hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 71; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1037)

"When Allah intends good for someone, He gives them a deep understanding of the deen."

So here — آتَيْنَاهُ حُكْمًا — Allah gave Musa wisdom. And this is what you and I should be asking Allah for — not just pure knowledge and information, but rather knowledge coupled with wisdom. Allah Himself says in Surah Al-Baqarah:

"Whomsoever has been gifted with wisdom, indeed has been given a great amount of blessing."

Similarly, Allah mentions the virtue of da'wah:

"Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good counsel."

And:

"Who could be better in speech than one who invites towards Allah?"

Inviting towards Allah is amazing — something as great as that — but if wisdom is absent in that da'wah, then it becomes flawed. The most honorable thing is inviting towards Allah, but if done without wisdom, it can unfortunately have very bad ramifications.

The Virtue of the Scholar

The Prophet mentioned in hadith:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 3641; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 223)

"The virtue of a scholar over a worshipper is like the virtue of the full moon on the night of the fourteenth compared to all the other stars."

An abid is someone who worships Allah — he's there till ishraq, he's there for duha, he's there for his awwabin, he's there for his tahajjud. But he's not a scholar. And on the other hand there's a person who is an alim, serving the deen of Allah while of course also taking care of his ibadah at least at a base level. There's no comparison between the two.

This is the rank that Allah is giving to a practicing scholar — because if it isn't for his presence, everyone's ibadah also will be wrong. He is the one explaining to people how to worship Allah properly. If only we understood this hadith properly, every father and mother would be desirous for his son or daughter to be a scholar. But because the understanding of the hadith is just not present, we see the value in everything but ilm. Instead, studying ilm is regarded as something that brings down a person's value. A person wants to get married, and the suitor is a scholar or someone who studied deen — then maybe not. Why? Perhaps because he will not know how to interact with people, or perhaps he will earn less. So the dunya is making decisions based on wealth, not on ilm. And are they enjoying their married lives? Unfortunately not.

That is why there is the hadith:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1084; Ibn Majah, Hadith 1967)

"If you get a proposal from a man whose deen and character you are pleased with, then give him in marriage."

If you like someone's deen and if you like someone's character, then choose him as your son-in-law. I'm not saying that every single person who apparently looks like a practicing person is actually a practicing person, nor am I saying that everyone who sits in a class all of a sudden becomes pious or righteous or God-fearing. No — you have to do your due diligence. You have to see: is this person truly a student of knowledge? Do they truly fear Allah? Is their akhlaq a reflection of Rasulullah's teachings? That's what Rasulullah clearly said: if you like his deen and his character. Don't just look at the way he prays. Don't just look at the way he serves in the masjid. What is his character? And character you will learn through interactions, through traveling, through business dealings. Then only does a person realize what type of individual he is — because if a person's deen and character are good, no matter how tough times come upon the family, they will survive. But if a person's deen and character are not good, then unfortunately within one month — within one week even — things will fall apart.

The Crisis of Islamic Scholarship

So this is a reminder that the status of ilm is so great. Rasulullah is saying there is no comparison between a scholar and an abid — not a non-alim, but an abid, a worshipper who stays and prays every day and every night in the masjid. But there's a person who is an alim serving the deen. There's no comparison between the two. Every mom and dad should definitely aspire that their children be blessed with this honor, and that on the Day of Judgement they will be raised as the parents of students of knowledge, of scholars. Just imagine how much sadaqah jariyah they will be getting due to the efforts of their sons and daughters.

Then Allah says: وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ — "And thus We reward those who excel in doing good." Meaning: if Nabi Musa — at that time he was not yet a Nabi — if he was not a muhsin, if he did not do ihsan, if he was not excelling, We would not have given him wisdom and We would not have given him knowledge. But since he had ihsan within him and he was a good man, he became worthy of receiving wisdom and knowledge. So this wisdom and knowledge was a reward of his ihsan.

We understand here that everyone is not equal. You are going to be treated based on your qualities. When a person wants to excel and wants to have ilm and hikmah and runs towards Allah, then Allah will:

"Allah raises the status of those among you who have believed and those who have been given knowledge by many levels."

And remember — to become a student of knowledge, a person does not always need to pack up and travel for ten years. It's interesting — if you think about it: who is going to perform the nikah? Who is going to lead the salah? Who is going to perform the salatul janaza? Who is going to teach you the masa'il of zakat, hajj, umrah, inheritance? Who is going to teach you when sajdah sahu is wajib and when it's not? Who is going to teach you what breaks wudu and what doesn't? Who is going to teach you what investment is permissible and what is not? All thousands and thousands of masa'il — everyone is in need of that. But our minds don't go there: if as a community we do not dedicate people to study, where are we going to get the solutions and answers for this?

It seems everyone thinks it's not their problem. As long as they get a quick answer. Nowadays people say: we have a website — dawaislammasjid.org/question — people say no, this is too tedious. We have to type out the question. We want immediate text. Some have complained this is too tedious. Okay, if you want quick answers but don't want to send your children to study the deen, then the only answer for you is AI — Meta, AI Mufti. Then you can keep your kids at home, put them in other professions, and get your questions through AI. If that's the type of future you want — which is definitely going to happen — people will say this is not worth it, it's not worth it to send our kids to study the deen.

It hurts every single time, every single year. We have a one-year program — this is our 11th or 12th year running it — and almost every single year the most intelligent of our students, who come out first and second as valedictorians of the class, will not continue. They decide to go into a very elite MD, PhD, dental program, or whatnot. By all means — I'm sure they do have that shot. But what do you think? The teachers who taught them were all dropouts? Every single teacher here, mashallah, would honestly take the students for a ride. Alhamdulillah, the teachers who teach here are every single one valedictorians — extremely intelligent. And if they wanted to go elsewhere, by all means they would have been toppers. I have absolute full confidence of that.

But some sacrifice has to be made. If everyone says, "because he's intelligent, I've got to put him into the dunya" — what's going to happen to our deen? Deen does not mean money only — that's a small part of it. A big part is you need human resources. Deen needs people who think forward, who are progressive in their thought, who have a vision, who are intelligent, who can process things at a whole different level. When you have even one such person, subhanAllah, he brings so much benefit and khair to millions of people. But when you don't have that, we all as a community suffer.

This life is very short, my friends — very short. Most of us are already done with fifty or sixty percent of it, maybe even eighty percent. Before you know it, it'll be over. It's not worth it just to earn a little extra while depriving your family from having a scholar. We have alhamdulillah a big push for hifz, but it doesn't cut it. If you don't want to make your son or daughter a hafidh — fine. But I encourage you to please plan from now that inshallah we will send the brightest son, the brightest daughter, to the deen.

Every single scholar whose name you can read today in the library — their name would not be in the library, their book would not be sitting on our bookshelves a thousand years later, if they were not the most intelligent people of their times. Islam and deen require quality people who have the ability to provide solutions to the most intricate of issues. As we move forward, our issues are becoming more intricate and more confusing than the simple life that was there before the era of the information age, the technology age, the virtual reality age, the AI age — subhanAllah, it's going to become much more confusing. So the type of ulama that we need are people who have the ability to bring professional skills together, bring the eastern and western sciences together, and recreate an era — as I referred to in another talk — when there was no such thing as "the East and the West." It was East and East. That's what it was during the era of Dar al-Hikmah and the Baghdad days. Whether it was chemistry, science, trigonometry, biology, zoology, astronomy, or ilm al-fiqh, usool al-tafsir, usool al-hadith, balagha, ilm al-kalam, ilm al-rijal — it was the Muslims who were leading the way.

So people say, "oh I like that — so let me first send him to the MD, PhD, or JD program, and inshallah when he's 40 years old and can't memorize one surah, we'll send him to the madrasah." That's not going to happen. You don't start studying ilm at age 40 or 45. Of course if someone from that side decides to come here at any time — even at 80 — marhaba, welcome. But someone who has the ability at a young age — once you go that side, rarely does anyone come back. But once you come here, by all means — who said you can't study more? Once you finish your alim program, you can get a master's, a PhD, a double PhD — do whatever you want. The sky's the limit. But once you go on the other side, even making it to one evening Arabic class becomes so hard, a weekend fiqh class becomes so hard. We live in that reality.

So let's not fall into this delusion that dini studies will happen "some other time." The mistakes that fathers and mothers make because of flawed decision-making unfortunately make centuries and generations suffer. Because of wrong calculations by first-generation immigrants and their children making wrong decisions about what the need of the time is.

When you look at politics today, when you look at civil liberties — what an ajeeb dunya. When it comes to political involvement as a Muslim representative, we have to be representing our deen. When do we have these major blunders? When we do not have ilm in politics, when we don't have ilm in civil liberties, when we don't have ilm in social efforts. Then what happens? Let me share a real story: madrasa students who were helping in a Muslim food pantry came back and said, "We're being asked to pack pork — what should we do?" A Muslim pantry packing pork, with madrasa students helping out. This is what you call the lack of ilm. Everywhere you go — without ilm, it's not going to work.

Every single department of deen and dunya requires people of knowledge, and we simply do not have the bandwidth for that right now. South Africa is a good example where you have alhamdulillah many efforts — including humanitarian efforts, social justice, human rights advocacy — and who is leading the effort? Ulama. We saw it, we witnessed it. We are part of that when we take our students to visit South Africa every year. It's a model of what should be happening here. But right now we cannot even find a Jumu'ah khatib. Every masjid — huge masajid with three thousand people in two Jumu'ahs — saying at the last minute, "we need a khatib." Why? It's shameful. In the center of America. If this is happening in Chicago, what is happening in other states and other cities you can just imagine.

Ilm is Nur: The Poem of Imam Shafi'i

Imam Shafi'i once complained to his teacher about his weakness in memorizing — a very famous poem that students of knowledge know:

"I complained to Waki' about my poor memory, and he guided me to abandon sins. He informed me that knowledge is a light, and the light of Allah is not given to a disobedient person."

What is he saying here? That ilm is not something you just get off of an app, a CD, or a website. Ilm is actually the nur of Allah that He places in your heart. It's a very special thing. And so in order to get this nur, a person not only has to try for it through normal means, but also has to have a desire for Allah and a turning away from sin — because sin and the nur of Allah simply do not meet in the heart of a believer.

Ayah 15: Musa Enters the City

"And he entered the city at a time of midday rest when its dwellers were unaware. He found therein two men fighting — one from his own people and one from his enemies. The one from his people sought his help against the one from his enemies, so Musa struck him with his fist and finished him. He said: 'This is of the doing of Shaytan. Indeed, he is a manifest misguiding enemy.'"

Musa entered the capital city — some have mentioned it was the city called Ain Shams, also in Egypt, the capital at the time of Fir'aun. عَلَىٰ حِينِ غَفْلَةٍ مِّنْ أَهْلِهَا — when the people were unaware, meaning he entered during qaylulah time, siesta time. It is possible that he had exited from the palace of Fir'aun — perhaps after a heated conversation, inviting him towards something that didn't go well — and he left when people were sleeping.

He found an Israelite and a Copt fighting. Some have said this Copt was a cook in Fir'aun's palace, and some have said he was a carpenter. When the fight broke out, the Israelite screamed for help. Musa came and figured out that this man was assaulting the other, so he grabbed him. In the process of pushing him away, Allah willed that the grasp of Musa was so strong that it ended up killing this Copt — unintentionally. Allah did not say "so he killed him" — Allah said فَقَضَىٰ عَلَيْهِ — "and he finished him" — because obviously Musa never intended to kill him. He intended to yank him away, but this unintentionally ended up causing his death.

On Anger: When Is It Permissible?

Musa was a very well-built, strong man and was going to become a Nabi as well — very strongly built. Musa was a person who had a strong personality. He would get angry for the deen. Let me stop here for a moment: becoming angry itself is not a problem — it's about what you're getting angry for.

If a person is always angry, that's not good. If a person never gets angry, that's also not good. Instead, a person should get angry for the deen, for Allah. As Aisha said: the Prophet never avenged himself, never. He never took revenge for himself. Anytime the Prophet became upset or angry, it was always for the deen. Were there times when his face turned red? Yes. Were there times that his vein would show? Yes. Were there times that he was visibly angry — as though a pomegranate had been splashed on his face, the redness of a pomegranate? Yes. But was it for himself? No.

So we have a misunderstanding about anger — we think a person has a right to get angry if he gets cheated in business, or if someone cuts him off on the road, or if someone curses him. But to get angry for the deen, people don't understand that anymore. A man is getting angry because he loves his deen the way you love your house, he loves his deen more than you love your family, he loves Allah more than you love yourself — and that is why, when his deen is attacked, he simply cannot sit back and relax.

You see Umar, and we all know his status:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3686)

"If there were to be a prophet after me, it would have been Umar."

After he became a Muslim and a Sahabi and a Khalifah — did his anger tone down? His anger was still there, but it was channeled in a different direction: he would not get angry for himself, only for the deen. That is something we see today lacking in our community — in ourselves.

That's what Rasulullah said:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4681)

"Whoever loves for Allah, dislikes for Allah, gives for Allah, and withholds for Allah — his iman is complete."

And people just don't get it — what do you mean "dislikes for Allah"? Yes: if someone were the open enemy of your mother, your father, your beloved spouse — how would you go sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee with that person? You can't. Well if all of those things are okay — protecting those you love — then what about saying: I simply cannot enjoy a meal with someone who hates Allah? If it comes to dialogue, if it comes to da'wah — yes, we'll sit with Abu Jahl too, to give da'wah. But if it's just chit-chat and time-pass, then a person's ghayrah and love for his deen will not allow him to do that.

Standing Against Oppression

This brings us to a very important point: as a believer, when we see oppression happening anywhere — on a bus, on the street, in a workplace, in relationships — a believer does not walk away and say, "this is an issue between person A and person B, it has nothing to do with me." That's not how a believer is. A believer always regards himself as Allah's vicegerent on earth — it's his job to establish justice. He will stop oppression by his hand if he can. If he can't, then by his tongue. And if he cannot do that, then at the very least by his heart — he'll feel extremely guilty, he'll be making dua to Allah to end that oppression.

How many times at a workplace or in school do you see someone being bullied? As a Muslim, we cannot turn a blind eye. We have to stand up. If we cannot do something ourselves, we report it and follow through.

It is our job to be with the oppressed ones. And so even before prophethood, Nabi Musa always stood with the oppressed. At one instance, the Prophet said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2444)

"Assist your brother regardless of whether he is an oppressor or an oppressed one."

They said: "Ya Rasulallah, we understand how to help someone who is oppressed — but how can you assist someone who is an oppressor?" And the Prophet said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2444)

"You grab him by the hand and stop him from his oppression."

That's how you help an oppressor — by stopping him from continuing down his path of oppression. It's easy to say "I'm not going to take sides," but in reality when you don't take sides you're siding with the oppressor. The silence of those who remain silent — who are in positions of power — is most definitely equal to being a partner in aggression and oppression.

I see this happening way too often. If you know something is happening in your extended family — something is happening between spouses, between parents and children — don't stay silent. Do something about it. If you can't do something about it, then get someone involved who can. We cannot say "this is none of our business." Today someone else is going through that; tomorrow it may come back around to you.

I remember once I was told about a girl who had left Islam, and the news was spreading, and eventually it came to me. I asked: "How long has this been happening?" They said about one or two months. I said: "Why didn't anyone speak about this?" They said, "We didn't know how to confront the mom, we didn't want to break her heart." So you know she has left Islam and is spreading her views to other young girls — and you're worried about breaking her mother's heart? What if this happened to your own daughter? Would you want people to respect your feelings and not come and tell you that your son or daughter had left Islam?

This so-called akhlaq of not wanting to offend — that is no akhlaq. That is the worst akhlaq. If you see something wrong, if you think someone needs help — help them. People are not willing to go and speak to each other directly; they'll speak behind their backs to everyone but not directly to the individual. So let's change our mindset. Let's ask Allah for the strength to be able to speak the truth, to establish the truth, to guide people, to stop evil when we see it.

When you see someone make a wrong online post — don't just sit there and say astaghfirullah laa ilaha illallah. Go tell that person. I've given examples before: people who post disturbing images coming out of Gaza. They do not realize how disrespectful that is — to the innocent child, the woman, or the man who has died — that you are taking their picture and posting it on your social media, erasing their identity as though they have no value. You're not sitting in a congressional hearing in front of people who are about to sign off on a multi-billion-dollar military package. If you were in that situation, showing pictures on a PowerPoint may be helpful. But on your WhatsApp status? Put your own children in that position — may Allah never allow that to happen to your children and to mine. How unbelievably disrespectful it is to take a picture of an innocent young Muslim child, lady, or man and post it on social media for some shock-and-awe effect. What have you done about it? Do you think you have fulfilled the rights of that poor innocent murdered child by posting an image on your WhatsApp status?

So if I see something like that, I will tell that person: why are you doing this? Mohammed Abbas Omar from South Africa — Al-Miftah — has a great article on this too, on how this is absolutely indecent, unacceptable, and against any sense of care and respect to the deceased or injured.

Similarly, someone may post an affectionate private picture of themselves and their spouse on their status. If I know them, I would reach out and say: brother, it is not befitting for you to post a personal picture between you and your spouse for the world to see. This is against the chivalry and ghayrah of a man and the haya of a woman. What happens in your private space needs to stay in your private space.

And similarly — people with wedding pictures still on their profile after fifteen years: everyone's getting a chance to see how your wife looked on the wedding day. What type of nonsense is that? But that's the common thing today, just because everyone's doing it. My point is: if you see something wrong, correct it. And sometimes people will say "a general talk in the masjid will suffice." But you actually have to go put your hand on the person's shoulder and say, "No — I'm speaking to you." Each person thinks the talk is for someone else. We need people — all of us — not only who can stand up and correct what's wrong, but who are excited to accept correction when it comes to them. When someone corrects us, we say: alhamdulillah that you've corrected me. Thank you. I'm appreciative.

We get so worried about things like our car lights being left on, or the gas tank being open — yet when someone is involved in major sin, or someone doesn't know how to pray salah properly, or their sattar is showing in salah — we say nothing. You see someone in the wudu area not washing their ankles properly, not washing their wrists, not making masah — speak up. Go tell him in a nice manner: brother, this is how you make wudu. Do we do this? Unfortunately not. And that's wrong. We're not even doing the simple things — how are we supposed to handle the bigger things? Anytime you see a person being oppressed, stand up and speak up.

The Prophet said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2664)

"A strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than a weak believer, and in each there is good. Be eager for that which benefits you, seek Allah's help, and do not give up."

As a believer we should always be looking for what's beneficial and go after it. And we should seek the assistance of Allah. Don't feel incapable — say: I'm incapable, but Allah is capable, and with Allah's help I'm going to achieve anything and everything that is beneficial for me.

Part of being a mu'min al-qawi is that when a person has the ability to make a shafa'ah or intercession, they go ahead and do it. As the Qur'an says: whoever makes a good intercession will have a share of the good that comes out of it. If you're able to connect two business people together — do it. If you're able to connect a good person with a good marriage prospect — go ahead and do that. We have to always be seeing: how can we strengthen our Muslim community and our Muslim brothers and sisters?

And those of us who are in positions of power — we have to exercise that power for the benefit of the deen. There is a saying attributed to the Prophet in tafsir:

(Cited in Tafsir al-Nabulsi)

"One day of a just ruler is better than sixty years of a worshipper's worship."

A worshipper does his ibadah for sixty years — that's between him and Allah. But a just judge who ensures that justice is established — one day of that is superior to sixty years of ibadah. Meaning: if you are in a position of power and you can help people, fulfill the rights of the oppressed, and hold the oppressor accountable — do not underestimate what you have. And I think that's one big problem: people in positions of power don't recognize what a responsibility they carry.

We should learn from other communities — the level of cohesiveness, the ability to put differences aside and work on common ground to help one another. As a Muslim community we need to start doing that. And unity starts with myself. If every one of us says: let me work on trying to build bridges with those who are trying to break them — starting from my own family — then you are the building block of this unified Ummah.

Drive that extra two miles to support a Muslim business. When it comes to any service or profession, let's see where we can give our money back to the Muslim community. By helping a believer, we are helping our deen.

This is what we learned from the whole story here — of Musa coming to the assistance of the Israelite. He could have just walked by, but he stopped because he was asked for help. He could have said it's none of my business, but he said: no, I'm going to make sure you don't get oppressed like this. And the other person ended up dying unintentionally.

Musa's Repentance and the Nature of Shaytan

As soon as this happened, Musa realized the gravity of the moment. The ulama of tafsir say regarding هَٰذَا مِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ — some say he is referring to the death of that Copt, expressing regret. But other scholars of tafsir say no — هَٰذَا مِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ is referring to the original action of this Copt, which was aggression and oppression — that he fell to the temptation of Shaytan and became an aggressor. The unfortunate situation eventually led to his death.

Allah mentions for all of us to listen and to learn:

"Did I not enjoin upon you, O children of Adam, that you should not worship Shaytan? Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy. And that you should worship Me — this is the straight path."

A person has a choice to be the abd of Allah or the abd of Shaytan. Allah says in another place:

"Shaytan promises you poverty and commands you to immorality."

Not only does Shaytan stop us from spending in good, he doesn't let the money stay in our pocket either — he makes that money get spent in fuhsh, in evil and lewd acts. Here we are learning that when something bad happens, it is okay to attribute it to Shaytan. The purpose is not to take away the blame from anyone — rather, it is the proper etiquette with Allah not to attribute evil towards Him. Every single thing happens with the permission of Allah, we know that — but it is against etiquette to attribute these things towards Allah. You bring a buffer — you bring Shaytan in the middle. And Allah already told us that Shaytan will try to deceive us: he is our enemy, he will try to misguide us, and he is manifest and open.

But they say the biggest trick Shaytan played on us is to make us believe he doesn't exist. So he's very apparent, yet he plays such waswasa and whispers in our minds that he makes us hate everyone except him. Think about that: all the bad things that happen in our life — we're ready to blame him, her, everyone. But we never say: you know what, I hate you, Shaytan.

A person is willing to hate every single person under the sun — but what about Shaytan, the one Allah wants you to hate? Multiple places in the Qur'an, Allah says he is your open enemy — regard him as your enemy, hate him. But a person is willing to break ties with every single person except Shaytan.

So what happens when people get angry? They sin. Someone goes to drugs, to smoking, to weed, to drinking, to zina, to watching haram, listening to haram. Think about all the things that people do when they get angry — they go and basically worship Shaytan. Mission accomplished. He caused the fight between you and your spouse, between you and your children, between you and your business partner, between you and your boss — and instead of taking out your anger on him, you take it out on everyone else and end up cuddling up to Shaytan by sinning. How intelligent is this khabees.

That is why — you have probably heard me say before — there is no dua in the Qur'an and no dua in the Sunnah that says "O Allah, kill Shaytan, destroy him, break him to pieces." Because that is not meant to happen in this world. Shaytan is invincible and invisible in this world by the will of Allah. The only way to beat him is to hide behind Allah — that's it. You have no other way. If you come face to face with him, you will never win. The only way is: I seek Allah's protection — ya Allah, You come between me and him. Then he cannot do anything. Because at the end of the day, he is one small peon in the army of Allah — who created him? Allah. From Dajjal to Iblis — all of these are part of Allah's creation. The only one who has the power to keep Allah's creation away from us is Allah Himself.

So when we make mistakes: blame Shaytan and show your enmity to him by repenting, by coming towards Allah, by indulging yourself in excessive dhikr, dua, salawat, istighfar, sadaqah — and stop hating on people. Everyone has got so much hatred against one another, and the one we're supposed to hate, we're cuddling up with. May Allah guide us. May Allah allow us to see right from wrong, allow us to see the plots and plans of Shaytan from miles ahead, make his plots absolutely transparent in front of us, and from His infinite mercy protect every single one of us. Ameen.

Musa's Du'a and Allah's Forgiveness

"He said: 'My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, so forgive me.' So He forgave him. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful."

This is the humility of a prophet. Imagine the humility all of us need to have whenever we make mistakes — even if unintentional — that we do not try to come up with excuses. We simply say: I'm sorry, I made a mistake.

Our teacher would tell us: when you make a mistake and argue back, this is the way Iblis did. And when you don't argue back, this is what Adam did. Adam made a mistake. Iblis made a mistake. Adam said:

"Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will surely be among the losers."

And when Allah came to Iblis, he started acting smart — he said "actually there's a reason I didn't make sajdah." He's speaking to Allah! "I've been created from fire" — all this logic. You see this today very commonly: always having an excuse, an explanation for everything. Many times I tell the students: this is one habit we need to seek Allah's protection from and work on. If you always have an explanation for everything, you're walking in the footsteps of Shaytan. Don't do that. Ask forgiveness from Allah. Ask Allah to give you self-control. Even if you want to say something, bite your tongue, hold back.

If you were truly wronged, you can say it — ten minutes later, twenty minutes later, an hour later. Don't say it now. Just learn how to control yourself and not have this knee-jerk reaction. And if it's a small petty issue, don't even explain — just move on. You don't need to explain yourself every single time.

So Musa said: Rabbi inni dhalamtu nafsi — "O Allah, I have wronged myself, so forgive me." فَغَفَرَ لَهُ — so Allah forgave him. Done. إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ — indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. Of course — why would He not forgive him? That is His job.

"He said: 'My Lord, because of all that You have graced me with, I will never be an assistant to the criminals.'"

Dhaheer means assistant — "I've got your back." He said: I will never assist the defiant unbelievers. You don't have to assist only with your hand — you can assist someone with your pen, by opening a door for them. You must not participate in assisting anyone in any part of sin — even holding on to a secret of a sinner who is trying to harm someone. You are being part of that party. That's what Rasulullah spoke about when he mentioned the prohibition of riba — he spoke about not only the one who gives interest and the one who takes it, but also the one who writes the contract and the one who witnesses it, because all of them are partners in crime.

Ayah 18–19: The Next Day — History Repeats Itself

"Thus by morning, Musa became fearful and weary in the streets of the city, looking around — when suddenly the one who had sought his help the day before cried out to him again. Musa said to him: 'Indeed, you are clearly a most quarrelsome fellow.'"

We learn from خَائِفًا يَتَرَقَّبُ that natural fear of repercussions in this world is not against your iman. There are two types of fear: one type that Allah places in a disbeliever's heart as a punishment, and another type — which even the awliya and prophets have — which is a reason for their tarbiyah and taraqqī, their upliftment.

The Prophet said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 438; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 523)

"I have been assisted by awe at a distance of one month's travel."

Similarly, Allah says:

"Soon We shall cast terror into the hearts of the disbelievers because of the shirk they have committed."

So there are two types of fear: one that comes as a punishment to the sinners and disbelievers, and one that may come even to the prophets and awliya — and is actually beneficial. When a person is afraid of their creditors, or afraid of some situation, what does he do? He runs to the masjid, he starts praying salatul hajat, he wakes up for tahajjud, he starts giving sadaqah. So much benefit comes from fear. Someone who is afraid of getting sick — it prompts them to do so much good. So Musa's fear was of this beneficial type — and it does not go against a person's reliance upon Allah.

Now the next day, the Israelite cried out again — history repeating itself. Musa said to him: "Indeed, you are clearly a most quarrelsome fellow." There is a point to reflect on here: if there is an individual whom every single day has someone at odds with him, more than likely the problem is with that individual. There are individuals who say "the whole community hates me, the whole family hates me" — and will do wholesale ghiba against the whole community, not realizing that if everyone has a problem with him and everyone else is wrong except him — perhaps we need a moment of reflection. Look in the mirror. Maybe there is something wrong with my own character because of which so many people have a problem with me.

So Musa said: you are a quarrelsome fellow — but okay, I know you love to quarrel, and I don't want you to get beat up, so he intended to still protect him from the aggressor.

"But when he intended to grab the one who was an enemy to both of them, he said: 'O Musa, do you intend to kill me as you killed a person yesterday?'"

How did the word get out? Some say the news just spread — because the Israelite was so happy that Musa had come to help him and one enemy had gone down, he probably told his friends and relatives. The news spread throughout that one society: who killed that person? It was Musa. So the Copt said: are you going to kill me just like you killed someone yesterday?

"You only want to become a tyrant in the land, and you do not want to be one of those who do righteousness."

There is an interesting saying here: when the one who knows Me becomes disobedient against Me, then I will give power over the one who knows Me to the one who doesn't know Me. Meaning: when a Muslim begins to disobey Allah, then Allah allows others — who may not even believe — to have power over him. The one who knows Allah and yet disobeys Him — that is far worse. Like your own son disobeying you versus the neighbour's son: two different things entirely. So sometimes you'll see in this story that this Israelite was perhaps just a very disobedient servant of Allah — two days in a row he got beaten up by a Copt.

And unfortunately that is exactly what is happening to the Muslim Ummah today. How can we deny that the Muslim Ummah generally has turned its back to the deen, to the Shari'ah, to the Sunnah? And Allah, as He says, has different ways of punishment. One of them:

"Say: He is the One able to send upon you punishment from above you or from beneath your feet, or to make you into factions and make you taste the might of one another."

Falling into civil war is a type of punishment from Allah. Civil war within Muslims, or attack from outside the Muslim community — Allah says clearly this is part of His punishment. He is capable of doing so. Possibly this is why this Israelite was being beaten up two days in a row by a Copt.

Ayah 20: The Mu'min from the City Warns Musa

"And there came a man from the furthest part of the city, rushing. He said: 'O Musa, indeed the assembly of nobles are conspiring against you to kill you, so depart at once. Indeed, I am to you one of the sincere well-wishers.'"

Some say this man was a cousin of Fir'aun who was a Muslim. Others say this is referring to the Mu'min Ali Fir'aun — the believer from the family of Fir'aun — who is mentioned in Surah Ghafir (Surah al-Mu'min) in the 24th Juz:

"And a believing man from the family of Fir'aun, who concealed his faith, said: 'Would you kill a man because he says My Lord is Allah?'"

He is known as the Mu'min Ali Fir'aun — the believer — and the whole surah is named after him, subhanAllah. His status is immense. And so when you follow the deen in a non-Muslim country, when it's not conducive, your ajr and reward will be extremely great. When you are a principled Muslim in a university campus, in a big company where no one is following the deen — and you follow it, you wear it wherever you go — inshallah your ajr is going to be great.

Now, the Qur'an says the nobles were يَأْتَمِرُونَ — conspiring. If Musa had actually committed a murder deserving of punishment, the Qur'an would not call that ita'mir (conspiracy). Conspiracy is when dhulm is happening, when oppression is happening. So we know this was definitely oppression — meaning Musa did not deserve to get punished because he did not intentionally kill that individual.

"So he departed from it fearful and wary, looking about."

Wisdom in Acting on Advice: Not Against Tawakkul

Dear brothers and sisters — taking precautions and taking the advice of those who advise you sincerely is not against reliance upon Allah. It's not being cowardly. Just like the Prophet, during the Hijrah, spent three days in the Cave of Thawr — hiding — and that is not against prophethood. That is part of the wisdom of a believer, the wisdom of a prophet.

Musa could have said: "Why should I be afraid? I'm going to stay right here under Fir'aun's palace." But the world would never have been the same had he stayed. They would have taken him and killed him. He left only to come back as a victor. Things take time. You can't say: right now I want victory, and I didn't do anything wrong, so I'm staying here.

And today there are many youth doing that — willing to lose their jobs, their degrees, by making impulsive moves. That's not a smart move. The smart move is: pray Fajr, fast Mondays and Thursdays, give 15% of your income in sadaqah, be respectful to your parents and elders, become a student of knowledge, write letters, become politically involved, recruit from universities, organize phone banks — these are great moves. But to simply say "I'm fearless" when you're actually being foolish — don't tell me you have more taqwa, tahara, tawakkul, and strength than Musa. And yet even Musa decided it's not the time to stay around — let me go. He took the advice and left.

And mashallah — how did his amazing life change after that? We'll inshallah talk about that next week, specifically his interactions with the daughters of Shu'ayb and the lessons of haya and so forth. But it's something amazing to think about. Today, the youth — and not just the youth — need to realize: it's not worth it to lose your job or your degree over an impulsive move. If the most powerful presidents and board members of the most prestigious universities in the world can lose their positions over one percent of political miscalculation, then we have to understand what we are dealing with. Every move we make has to be measured, strategic, done through mashwara and advice.

My advice to people who are getting extreme — if you know someone who's all worked up, watching videos all day and sending them to you at 2 a.m. — I request you to go visit that person. Because this is leading people to depression and uncontrollable anger, and they do not have deen with them, they don't have sunnah, they don't have mentors. Depression and anger together are a very dangerous cocktail. When a person feels cornered, hopeless, helpless, angry, depressed — what that person does can not only harm himself, it can harm millions of people for decades to come.

So if you know anyone going through a meltdown, who is constantly messaging disturbing videos — please immediately seek help for that person. Reach out to people who can help. Because if we let these things slip, what may come will be so challenging and difficult that we will lose our hair in one day thinking: how do we get out of this? I know married professionals with families who are having meltdowns and calling and crying for half an hour. I can't imagine what the nineteen- or twenty-year-old youth who live online all day, with no mentor, no spiritual direction, no connection to any masjid — what's going to happen to them? So if you know anyone — go meet them, speak to them, bring them to the masjid, connect them with us, and we will try our best to help.

From ayah number 22 inshallah, we will begin next week.

Q&A Session

Can a female dentist treat a male patient?

When a male dentist is available, a man should go to a male dentist — especially given how close the interaction is in that situation. When a male dentist is available, there's really no need.

Posting images and videos regarding Gaza — what about posting for awareness?

In order to raise awareness you do not have to post gory things. You can post something inspirational, something that really is heart-touching about the iman of the people over there — those type of things are fine. But things that are absolutely horrific — decapitated heads, crushed legs — for what? Which sense of decency would allow you to do that?

You mentioned correcting others — but most of the time people get offended. How do I correct others without offending them?

This is where the hikmah part comes in — we talked about hikmah today. Part of the hikmah is: run it by someone first. Say: "I see a mistake happening. I intend to correct him in this manner — what do you think?" If this keeps on happening and people keep getting upset, more than likely you don't know how to correct people properly. Find out the proper way — run it by a teacher or an elder. A few things to keep in mind: do it softly, in a quiet manner. Don't blow it up in a person's face. Preface it with: "May I share something I noticed? If you're open to it, I'll share." And also say: "We all make mistakes, and I need your corrections just as much — please do tell me if I make a mistake." Sometimes you might just leave an anonymous note by a person's desk, by their shoes, or by their phone.

Should we drink water sitting down? Why do masajid have water fountains?

The sunnah is definitely to sit and drink. However, it is also permissible to stand and drink at times. But a person should use a water fountain to fill up a water bottle and then sit down to drink — that's what you should do. And alhamdulillah, some anonymous brother brought nice bowls — that is actually the sunnah method, drinking from a bowl. May Allah reward that person.

Did Musa kill the Mu'min from the city?

No — the Mu'min came to him. The person who came running from the other end of the town was possibly the Mu'min Ali Fir'aun, or some other well-wisher who came and said: the people are plotting against you — run. The Copt was the one who had died, so the Israelite is the one who spread the news initially.

How to tell your parents you want to become a student of knowledge?

One way: start part-time. Start attending classes in the evenings and on weekends without leaving. Use your summers and winter breaks — start studying during that time. When they see the change in your character and development, inshallah that will be an extra reason for them to be motivated to allow you to study more.

Going for Umrah without a group?

I would first suggest you try your best to go with a group. If you cannot afford the full group package, at least fly at a time when a group is also going, match your timing with them, attend the durus and lessons of the scholars going in a group, and meet the ulama in Medina and Mecca. You can reach out to me and I can give you some contacts. But to go there — even for the tenth time — without a group may not be the best thing. Many people say "I've been to Umrah so many times and nothing has changed." The reason is often that you didn't go with a proper mentor, someone who ensures you focus on repenting, on making tawbah. That's what you're supposed to do in Umrah — hit the iron while it's hot. Part of tawbah is not only regretting, but coming up with a game plan for how you're going to change. We have hajj and umrah resources on our Dar-us-Salam YouTube channel, and a hajj and umrah package in the book stall downstairs.

Inshallah I'll be leaving with Allah's grace at the end of the month — December 28th. My teacher Maulana Abidullah from Pakistan will also be joining. We'll have daily dhikr sessions and daily talks morning and evening — it will inshallah be very spiritually uplifting. I encourage anyone who is available to try their best to join us.

How do I tell my non-Muslim parents I will not convert back to Christianity and I don't want to give them false hope?

May Allah strengthen you and may Allah guide your parents towards Islam. I think you have a valid point — you don't want to give them false hope. But it's natural for them to feel the way they feel. It's like the biggest blasphemy they can imagine has happened. For them to feel like this is completely natural. Don't get irritated or annoyed. Just smile and say: "Alhamdulillah, I'm at peace with my faith." Keep up your great character with them, make lots and lots of dua for them, and one day inshallah, hopefully Allah will open the doors for them.

If you think someone recently married has been divorced, is it okay to ask to make dua for them?

You can ask someone else who is close to them. Or — you don't even need to ask to make dua. You can simply say: "Ya Allah, whatever marital issues they may be going through, ease them." You don't have to ask to be able to make dua. Since when has asking been necessary to make dua?

It's really tiring to get up for Fajr — what to do?

From amongst many things: obviously a person needs to sleep early — surfing until 1–2 a.m. doesn't help. Put on multiple alarms and put some phones far away from you so you have to get up to turn them off — make it something super annoying that forces you to wake up. If you're sleeping in a comfortable bed, maybe sleep on the floor or a hardwood floor. Drink lots of water so there's a need to use the bathroom. Tell someone in the family or your group of friends to call you and make a carpool — when someone is outside your house waiting for you, that will really force you to wake up. Additionally, reading the last ayah of Surah Al-Kahf is reported to be of benefit for waking up at a certain time. Also read your duas before you go to sleep, sleep in a state of wudu, make a firm resolve, and when you blow on your hands and wipe your body make the niyyah: "Ya Allah, loosen the knots that Shaytan ties on my head to prevent me from waking up for Fajr."

If co-workers at work are pro-Israel, should I speak out or stay silent to avoid issues?

I think I've tried to address that throughout today's talk. Fighting with one co-worker doesn't change the situation over there. A person who truly desires to be close to Allah should focus his energy on the most impactful actions — as we discussed.

If a person repents every day and has a full resolve not to miss prayers but then still misses them the next day — will he be forgiven?

If his repentance is sincere — meaning he says with absolute resolve: "I will not miss prayers tomorrow, I promise" — and then it so happens the next day he misses them, that is another sin. But then he seeks forgiveness again with a firm resolve not to miss prayers again. That sincerity in each individual act of tawbah is what counts. However, if at the time of seeking forgiveness he is already thinking "I'll probably miss two of them tomorrow" — that is not sincere tawbah. Brother or sister, you need to figure out what exactly is preventing you from praying.

Is it better to study in a madrasah abroad or locally in America?

There is benefit in both. For your initial studies, I think it is beneficial to study locally — with people who can help relate whatever you are studying with the everyday life you are living, by teachers who know exactly what the shaytans of this country are and the nafs you are dealing with. If you study elsewhere, those teachers may have no idea of what you're connected to and dealing with. For every area, treat the allergies with the honey of that same area. Similarly, the virus of this area will more than likely be treated by the antidote of this area. But traveling abroad is very beautiful, especially for sitting in the sohbah and companionship of senior ulama — that is priceless. However, in order to truly benefit from the company of senior ulama, you have to become something yourself first. The mujahada and sacrifice of studying abroad — not having water for 12 hours, difficulty with food, healthcare, etc. — is good to go through. But someone may not be ready to go through that immediately. So studying locally first is important before going abroad.

How can a person study or do anything if they are facing task paralysis?

If this is a psychological issue, get a therapist involved. If it's a psychiatric issue, get your psychiatrist involved. If it's more of a waswasa issue, then utilize your dhikr — لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ, your wudu, your ruqya — listening to it and reciting it. And from the du'as of the Prophet: seek refuge in Allah from incapacity and from laziness.

Can nikah over Zoom or phone be valid?

Where the nikah is taking place, there needs to be one representative (wakil) of the other person present in that same gathering. So if I am here as the qadi, the groom is here, and the bride's representative is present here — then that's fine.

What are some practical religious and spiritual ways to prevent feeling hopeless about Gaza?

Study the Seerah of the Prophet and see the difficulties the Sahaba went through. Read Hayat al-Sahaba. Read the fitnas the Muslim Ummah has gone through — including what the Tartars did in Baghdad, how they completely destroyed culture, knowledge, libraries, arts — and then see how Islam grew right after all of that. Also focus on the fact that every single one of the people who are dying in Gaza, they are going straight to Jannah inshallah — we have full yaqeen in that. The fact that we don't know how we're going to walk out of this masjid today, we don't know where we'll be tomorrow — but these people are dying on iman. And inshallah on the Day of Judgement, more than ever before, we are going to feel envious of their lot.

Dhikr and Du'a

Announcement: The Passing of Brother Sabir

Many of you have heard that one of our students here in the Dar-us-Salam Tahfidh program — his father — and two of our female teachers — their father, as well as the father-in-law of two of our teachers — subhanAllah, Brother Sabir, passed away this week on the way back from South America. He was in khuruj — in the path of Allah.

A few hours before landing in the United States, he passed away on the airplane. His janazah is tomorrow in Cancun, Mexico. Alhamdulillah, a good group of brothers is going from here to attend the janazah. He was someone very dear to us as a family, and to hundreds and thousands of Chicagoans whom he knew through his decades of effort in da'wah and tabligh here in this city and across the country. And notice how Allah took him — in the path of Allah. The way you live is the way you die. He passed away coming back from South America, in khuruj — subhanAllah.

His daughters are set to get married ten days from now — two of his daughters, who are teachers here, to two ulama who are also teachers here. So this is a loss not just for the entire Chicagoland community, but specifically for our Dar-us-Salam community. Let us pray regularly for his forgiveness, and ask Allah to elevate his status, allow us to be inspired by the life he led, and allow us to follow in his footsteps. May Allah take care of his children — his wife had passed away earlier, about eight to ten years ago. May Allah take care of his four children and his extended family as well.

Announcements

We have just about ten days left for our Winter Intensive, which will start Saturday, December 23rd to December 25th. Topics include: riba, Eid and zabiha, Islam in the workplace, medicine as a case study, shari'a-compliant financing and investing, contextualizing Islamic law in this country, spousal support and child custody, historical origins of the controversy of bid'ah versus sunnah, and more. Please register today at masjiddeus.org. We will also have a parallel youth program, babysitting, and the program is open to both men and women and will be offered online as well.

If you are here for the first time, please scan the QR code to join our WhatsApp group and receive messages and updates for all of our programs. Every Saturday we also have our post-Fajr tafseer — if you would like to sponsor one, there is a sign-up sheet outside.

The Dar-us-Salam 2024 calendars — Gregorian and Islamic — are out. We didn't print last year, but alhamdulillah we have a print this year. Please take some on the way out — they are complimentary but they cost approximately $9,000 to print. I encourage brothers and sisters to support this effort — $100 a month, a one-time $1,000, or whatever you can. It's an ad-free, clean calendar with programs of the entire year already listed. You can Zelle or donate at masjiddeas.org, or give in cash or check.

For today's Q&A, you can scan the QR code or go to slido.com and enter 4086832.

JazakumAllah khair. Was-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.