Surah Tahrim - Ep. 3 | Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

The Unique Address to the Disbelievers

أما بعد، قال الله سبحانه وتعالى، بعد أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم، بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم:

There are places where Allah addresses people — He's addressing either believers or He's addressing humanity. And in the address of humanity, everyone's included, both believers and non-believers. Men, women, everyone.

This is the only verse in the entire Qur'an wherein Allah addresses disbelievers separately. So that's something to consider and to think about. Everywhere else Allah addresses believers separately, or humanity generally in which disbelievers are included.

Because every disbeliever, there's a chance also, if you think about it, for him to become a Muslim. But once there's a group of people — most wretched — who have already now ended up in hellfire, done with kufr. And they're never gonna come out now.

They are gonna remain within hellfire for eternity. It's something — just thinking about it, you can spend the whole night thinking about the horror of that.

Any of the worst type of situations you may find yourself in today — the worst type of situation — you always tell yourself, hey, you know what, this is short-lived. I'm gonna get over this. Today you had a bad day, okay, insha'Allah tomorrow will be a better day. Tomorrow you have a very big interview, or for many of the students, exams, masha'Allah. So a person says, you know what, in three days I'll be done. My last exam, alhamdulillah, relax. There's something to look forward to — what's gonna happen after this is over.

But for the one who's in hellfire,

There is literally nothing to look forward to. Nothing. There is no silver lining. There is nothing we can say to cheer them up. Because there is really, absolutely no hope.

So Allah addresses such people. And He wants them to listen.

Allah's Addresses to the People of Iman

When it comes to the people of Iman, for example, يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا — Allah is encouraging all of us in the Qur'an with يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا. O people of Iman:

Shall I show you a business? You guys like — we all like business. We like to make some money. Shall I show you a business which will save you from the painful torment of hellfire? So this is a business that's gonna be beneficial to you in the long run.

What is that business? To believe in Allah, to believe in the Prophet ﷺ, and to sacrifice in Allah's path with your money, with yourselves. This is better for you if only you knew how everything is gonna fall into place. This is far better — to give your money and your time for deen — this is the best possible thing.

All those people who have wealth, they're spending it in all sorts of places. If only they knew that this wealth that Allah has gifted me — man, it will be much better for my own self if I give it in the path of Allah. Because someone may say, I have this money, I wanna spend it on a car, I wanna spend it on shoes, I wanna spend it on clothes, I wanna spend it on home, I wanna spend it on vacation. My money — why are you counting my money? Telling me to give in Allah's path. Why do I need to give to orphans and widows? Why do I need to give to people who do not have what I have? Why do I need to take care of masajid, institutions and so forth?

Allah is speaking to such people: Listen, ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ. This is not going to anyone else's pocket — this is going to your pocket. In your pocket of the akhira. This really makes more sense. If you care about your own well-being, the smart move would be for you to give in Allah's path.

Because it takes a $300,000 car or a $30,000 car — literally it takes less than a second to end up in one accident, and the whole thing is totaled. Yesterday I was driving by, all of a sudden I saw smoke just down the street from here. I went to see what was going on. It was a normal car parked in front of a drug store. I don't know what caused it, it just went on fire. The whole thing was engulfed in massive flames. Instantaneously, uncalled, just like that. This is dunya. In one second a car is totaled. However many hundreds of thousands or millions they may be — finished.

And that's why someone said — it comes in a narration — that if you want an investment that will never burn, never drown, never get stolen, because that's the issue with all our investments. You have a fear of it being stolen. You have a fear of it being burnt. You have a fear of it, if it's something at sea, being taken away. If you want an investment that will be foolproof from all these things — and you could also add recession-proof — then that investment is صدقة في سبيل الله. Once a person gives quietly something, there is absolutely no concept of recession. It constantly keeps on going up and up and up and up.

Allah addresses the people of iman there. And then in another place, Allah says:

O Believers! Obey Allah and obey His Messenger. Do not turn your backs to Him while you're still hearing Him, listening to Him. Do not be like those people who say, "Yes, yes, yes, we heard," when they're actually not listening. You know when sometimes you're on your phone — "Yeah, I got it, I got it" — when they actually say, "What happened?" They have no idea. Because we're nodding our head, we're acting like we're present, but we have no idea what's going on. Allah says: do not treat the Prophet like that, acting like you're listening but you're not.

So the idea is there are many various addresses of Allah to the people of Iman in the Qur'an. And insha'Allah, this Ramadan, we're gonna have a very unique Ramadan here at Darussalam. One of the sessions we're gonna have — I'll mention it right now — is that tomorrow there's going to be a detailed unveiling of Ramadan 2024 after Salatul Isha. It's been a presentation that's been worked on for about six weeks. I'm very excited to be given the task of presenting it to all of you tomorrow after Salatul Isha. I encourage you to please come in person. It won't take too long, 15 minutes or so. Pray Salatul Isha with jama'at tomorrow, and join us as we unveil that. All sorts of things — from A to Z — from children's programs, to women's programs, to men's programs, father and son programs, mother and daughter programs, after Fajr, after Isha, after Dhuhr, Eid al-Fitr programs, all sorts of amazing things.

One of the highlights, that I'm just giving you a sneak peek of today, is an entire session every day dedicated to the explanation of all those verses where Allah speaks to people of Iman — all the يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا of the Qur'an. Because insha'Allah, we're people of Iman, hopefully. So Allah is repeatedly saying, "O people of Iman, O people of Iman." But we don't even know the translation. We don't even know the verse. We don't even know what is being asked from us. How are we gonna be able to follow through? Think about that. So this is an opportunity for all of us to insha'Allah connect with the يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا of the Qur'an.

The Verse Addressing the Disbelievers — Surah at-Tahrim, Ayah 7

So here is something very unique. This is يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا — Allah is speaking to the people of kufr. And He says:

Enough is enough. Make no excuses today. No excuses. Do not make excuses — because this is the nature of man. He does whatever he wants, he makes all sorts of lies, mistakes, flaws. And then when he gets caught, we come up with an excuse, hoping to get away. And that's how the dunya works.

You lie, and — depending on how good of a liar you are — someone said, just get a good enough lawyer and you can get away with anything. Murder is nothing. Ten murders also — you get away with it. You just have to have a good lawyer who knows how to present your case well.

And that's why the Prophet ﷺ one day said — the gist of what he said was — that you sometimes come to me to present your case. One person says this plot is mine, another person says, "Ya Rasulullah, he's stealing from me, this plot is mine." For example, you're fighting over a sword, a shield, money, property. And then the Prophet ﷺ listens to the proofs of both sides — whoever has the stronger proof — and then the Prophet ﷺ makes a decision based on that.

Then the Prophet ﷺ said: if any of you walks away after I make a decision — and the Prophet ﷺ himself is making the decision, saying "this belongs to you, go" — but deep down you know it doesn't belong to you, then remember, you're not taking your rightly owned property; you're taking a chunk of the hellfire back home with you. Even though Muhammad ibn Abdillah ﷺ is saying "this is yours." Because, he said, بعضهم ألحن بحجته من بعض — some are more skilled at presenting their proofs. You're slick and sly with your words. You've got a good lawyer. So based on that, decisions are made.

This is an amazing hadith. We talk about the court system of this world. How can we ever expect that the court system of this world is going to be just all the time? Although they might be genuinely trying — and many times, hopefully most of the time. But of course there are times when judges are bought out, and the cops are bought out. There are too many examples of that. But even if they're not bought out, if they're sincere — you cannot make a decision knowing 100% you're right, because we don't have ilm ul-ghayb, we don't have the knowledge of the unseen. We'll only try. And in this dunya, even the Prophet ﷺ himself is saying: I'm making a decision based on what meets the eye. If this is the condition of the Prophet ﷺ — he's saying it about himself — how do you expect it of any other courts?

A Note on Civil Divorce and the Misuse of the Law

Brothers and sisters, listen up. There are a lot of people going to courts and claiming things that don't belong to them — using the law which may support them for whatever reason, but they do not have a shari'i right for that. The most commonly used case is of course the case of civil marriage and civil divorce. When in the case of a civil divorce, a female can claim and use the law of the land to ask for 50% of all assets, a lifelong monthly alimony, child support, and on top of that her own support. And can doctor all sorts of documents, which our Muslimat are doing routinely. I hear it every day. I heard it today as well.

Allah is watching. I know those sisters might not be listening. But may Allah allow my words to reach them. And may Allah allow the hidayah to get into their hearts. All those oppressors who use the law of the land to ruin a man's life to such an extent that he gets so burnt out that he suffers PTSD and says, "I'll never get married again." I have seen so many people say: I'm burnt so badly, everything I've earned for the past two decades is gone. Lost my children, lost my house, lost everything. And by someone who was so close to me, I never imagined they would backstab me. I have seen this again and again in our community. Rarely anyone speaks about it.

I see a very clear pattern — in many of these cases, the women are not the ones who are divorced; they are the ones who demand divorce. The husband is crying. I'll say it: the guy is saying, "I'll do anything. What was the issue that upset you? Sorry — I'll say a million times sorry." But the girl says, "Nope." Because she knows how the law works here. She may not even be able to speak English properly. Everything her husband has given her — a beautiful home, a beautiful car, beautiful everything else. But she knows. She's been taught that this is how it works in America: 50% of your husband's assets belongs to you. So she says, "Why in the world should I stay as a wife when I can enjoy life for free?" If your husband had 2 million, you get 1 million within a couple of months without even working for it. And then every single month you're taking money.

And so when people look at it — what do you see as the common pattern? These women will be the ones demanding divorce, and the whole family will be begging her not to go for it. This makes no sense. Your husband never oppressed you. He made a mistake, he's apologizing. But she won't listen. She won't listen to her husband. She won't listen to her own parents. She won't listen to her own siblings. She won't listen to the imam. She says, "I'm going to use the law of the land."

Number two: when they go that way — if she's a niqabi, her niqab will go away. If she wears hijab, the hijab will go away. If she used to wear gloves and jilbab, that's gonna go away. If she used to stay away from social media, that will all come out of nowhere. I have seen this correlation: these type of women, when they go towards that, you will see literally they strip away their deen. And so you know that this is not just someone angry — this is such a shaytanic, demonic action. That same shaytan that's making her turn against her husband and her own family, over petty issues. And there's no willingness to sit and resolve it. "See you in court." What's the issue, my friend? "No, we don't wanna talk." That same wife who would say, "My dear husband, please do not take me outside without a mahram" — where's your deen gone? Now you've got Instagram, you're putting pictures of your makeup, your nails, pictures of yourself.

This is happening repeatedly in our community all across. It's literally like someone gets a disease. What are you gonna do? They've been injected with some sort of strange disease that makes them turn against that same person who gave them their whole life, their love, everything. Are there not cases of men oppressing women? Of course there are — across the globe and here. That's something we are vehemently against, and I don't need to elaborate on that. But right now, we do not find voices speaking about the disrespect, the disregard, and the oppression happening to husbands in their homes, and fathers.

The husbands themselves feel absolutely helpless and say: "How am I supposed to tell the community that this was happening to me in my own home?" So I'm speaking on behalf of all the men who are suffering in their homes — either those whose women have already filed for divorce, or those who are planning to, or those who simply continuously blackmail their husbands saying, "If you act in this manner — 50% of your money is mine." Those of you who are not married need to know this is how it is out there.

Now, if you're in that situation, what do you do? Allahu al-musta'an. May Allah help you. But one thing I'll tell you — I use the word "infected." This is an infection that my speaking is not going to help alone. Like someone who's become an ex-Muslim, or someone who's fallen into transgenderism — you say, "Sheikh, can you come speak to my daughter, my son?" I'm sorry, unless they're willing to listen, because more than likely they've been infected. Once they're infected, my speech is going to hit a wall. Until you make serious du'a from Allah to remove the veils from their eyes, nothing is going to go. What Allah says in the Qur'an in multiple places:

Deaf, dumb and blind — and they don't perceive. And Allah says in another place:

Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of Allah are those who are deaf and dumb — they cannot listen. O Rasulullah, you can say as much of bayan and lecture as you want to the kuffar of Makkah who are just not listening. They don't take benefit from it. It's a spiritual disease.

So this is my opinion: those brothers or sisters suffering from these type of spouses, you need some spiritual rectification, some spiritual ilaj, some ruqyah, some serious adhkar to remove whatever type of shaytan has gotten a hold of them. This is a different type of possession. There's one type of possession where a person is screaming, yelling, speaking different languages — أعاذنا الله منه — may Allah protect us from that. But this is a different type of possession.

Have you seen a person who's super angry, not himself, screaming? We learn from hadith — this is shaytan. The Prophet ﷺ once saw two people arguing. He said: I know something that, if that man were to say it, whatever feeling he has will come to an end. What is that statement?

If that man says أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ, he will no longer feel what he's feeling. The hadith speaks in multiple places about how anger comes from shaytan. That's why shaytan will try his best to get you in a state of anger. What happens in anger? Murder happens. Murder-suicide happens. A person causes massive material damage — breaks things, burns things. Out of anger. His own house, his boss's, his wife's, his parents' — Allahu a'lam. A person gives talaq to his wife in anger. The examples are many.

So just as anger comes from shaytan, similarly this level of disobedience to the man who loves you, cares for you, and takes care of you — this is also shaytan. I give the example of moms and dads. How much love mothers and fathers give to their kids. But today, you say one thing — and the kid says, "I'm out." There are so many children who have left their homes, so many who are planning to leave.

May Allah protect our wives, protect our children, protect ourselves.

The Fitnah of the Era — Dajjal and Its Forerunners

My beloved brothers and sisters, we are living in a very tough era. The hadith of Dajjal — the Prophet ﷺ mentions that when Dajjal will come, he will put on his show everywhere. Like the carnival that goes around in the summer to different towns every weekend. Similarly, Dajjal will come and put on shows across the globe. But this show will end in 40 days; he will have covered the entire world. And when that show comes, your kids say, "Baba, can we go? Mom, can we go?" Everyone's in a rush.

It comes in a narration that Dajjal will come and put on his show. And the children of the home and the women of the home — even the pious men — of course lots of fusaq and fujar men will run towards him. But even the pious men who are masha'Allah sitting in the masjid, if they have not closed the doors and the windows of their home, then the virus has infected their wives and kids. They'll tell their husband, they'll tell their dad: "Can we please go see the show?" And they'll say, "No, no, no, this is Dajjal, this is all fake, don't go." And a hadith says:

(Sunan Abu Dawud; related narrations in Sahih Muslim regarding the fitnah of Dajjal)

Whoever looks towards it will fall into it. Don't — this is a big fitnah. And he will try to grab his kids, grab his spouse. But they will try to break the hold of the husband, break the hold of the father, and say, "No, no, we're gonna come back, we're gonna come back." And as mentioned in the narration, the one who goes there — you're never gonna see him back again. It's going to be so enticing. Subhanallah. We're seeing that today. People are losing their sons — hafiz sons, those who studied some deen. إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ.

Brothers and sisters, listen up, wake up. I am not hallucinating. I'm telling the truth. There is something in the air that is affecting millions of people, and we're not realizing it. And we're losing — our kids are dropping, our spouses are dropping. All of a sudden, someone who is so practicing overnight loses his practice and says, "I'm out." Not only that, "I'm going to leave the house."

Our ustadhs have told us: no matter what the issue is, make sure your kids stay at home. No matter what they're involved in. Because outside is definitely worse than inside. One day you can have some hope — you can read Qur'an for them, you can do ruqyah for them, you can do something for them. Once they're out of the house, what are you gonna do?

Please, let's not wait till it's too late. Once the cat is out of the bag, most of us have nothing to do to help. And I say this knowing that anyone sitting here — from me to you — anyone of us could be next. It's so scary. May Allah protect us. May Allah protect our homes. May Allah allow us to understand what I'm saying and allow us to have deep understanding of this issue.

I have hope in the mercy of Allah. Allah will never put us through a test without giving us a method of addressing it. There's no disease without a certain type of medication. So this fitnah — there has to be medication for it. And one of the medications is Surah al-Kahf. Reading of Surah al-Kahf every single day. Pondering over it. Reflecting over it. Practicing on its teachings. Reading it with the niyyah of shifa. Reading it with the niyyah of protection. After you finish reading it, blowing it on water and drinking it — like we do for Surah al-Baqarah, like we do for Surah al-Falaq and al-Nas. Similarly, Surah al-Kahf. If not the entire surah, then at least the first ten and the last ten every day. And at least once a week, all of it. But the way things are going, we should try to do every day, all of it. It's about 15 to 20 minutes.

If you have not memorized it, dear brothers and sisters, try to make the goal for between now and Eid. If you do two to three lines a day, you'll be done. Just make a goal. Between now and Hajj, between now and Eid al-Adha — make a goal and start somewhere. Surah al-Kahf is one thing that we cannot leave behind. And this is the surah that has been told as the protection from Dajjal.

The Rejection of Hadith — A Sign of the Times

One brother today came and told me: "Sheikh, I have a Saturday school teacher in my community who just taught all the kids that there's no such thing as Dajjal — because it's not mentioned in the Qur'an." I said: of course, this person is a rejecter of hadith. He said, "Yes, you're right. He says, 'I only believe the Qur'an.'" I said: you're going to have to tell the people running the school. But unfortunately most of them don't have any knowledge and they don't care. Just gotta fill up the classes, put on a show for Ramadan, fill it up. The knowledge base of those who run a lot of the Saturday/Sunday schools or even other schools is very weak.

And here I have in front of you, masha'Allah, every single Tuesday, we showcase some of the books that are available at the Darussalam bookstall. Today I just saw it at my desk. It's called The Authority of the Sunnah — a beautiful book by Mufti Taqi Uthmani, which he presented as a paper in October 1989 in Chicago at an international Islamic conference. This gives us proof of what the Sunnah is, what the hadith is, and the scope of prophetic authority. Such an important topic. This is one of the Dajjali fitnas. Obviously Dajjal is gonna try — Dajjali fitnah means things that happen before Dajjal. If everyone believes in hadith, how is Dajjal gonna show up? Because everyone will be reading Surah al-Kahf and everyone will say, "Ah, there he is — Dajjal."

My Ustadh — I shared this with you in the tafsir of Surah al-Kahf — Mawlana Shabir Sahib, damad barakatuhu, asked us in class: What is the reason why Dajjal is not mentioned clearly in the Qur'an? One of the answers is:

And some other verses where Allah speaks about the signs before the Day of Judgment — Dajjal is one of those signs. But why, if he's the biggest fitnah the world has ever seen, is he not mentioned clearly in the Qur'an? The answer: his not being mentioned is a test itself. You're seeing it happening right now — mass groups of people rejecting hadith. So Allah, as a bigger test, has not mentioned it clearly in the Qur'an.

I remember I gave a talk, not too far from where we're sitting today, about Dajjal — about 12 to 13 years ago. I came out of the masjid and an uncle came up to me sarcastically and said: "Masha'Allah, you spoke about Dajjal. Tell me — which ayah of the Qur'an does Allah speak about Dajjal?" I said: "Allah doesn't mention it clearly in the Qur'an." He said, "Okay, JazakAllah khair," and turned to leave. I said: "Uncle, listen — what you're doing right now has already been prophesized by Rasulullah ﷺ himself." It is mentioned in an authentic hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari, where Rasulullah ﷺ said that one of you will be sitting on his couch saying: "I'm only going to practice what the Qur'an has, and that's sufficient." I said: "This is exactly what you're doing. You're manifesting the very prophecy. I have more yaqeen in the veracity of the Prophet ﷺ by meeting you, because this is exactly what you're doing."

And this is exactly how the Dajjali fitnah is going to spread. When he comes, there will be very few people holding on to hadith. Most of it is gonna be digitalized, and overnight probably wiped out and corrupted. How easy is it to corrupt a file? This is why hifz ul-Qur'an is such an amazing gift to this ummah. If all of it was just written — if we did not have an oral tradition — we would be completely lost. It's the fact that we have a tradition based on the memory of thousands of people. This is why our deen is protected. We need people who memorize — who preserve it in the heart, in the mind.

Rasulullah ﷺ said that a night will come — one night — wherein:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Book of Tribulations, Hadith 4049)

One night, the entire Qur'an is going to be lifted. And you wonder — how is that possible? We have hundreds of thousands of huffadh. Is everyone going to suffer all of a sudden amnesia? No. What's going to happen is that the number of real huffadh — the one who can wake up in the middle of the night and you can ask him to read from anywhere in the Qur'an without mistakes — they don't make them like they used to. And today, because of all the digital fitnah and the cell phone fitnah, the emphasis on dunya and school, what happens is weakness in memorization. And slowly, no one will be left to correct the Qur'an.

Didn't they already start installing chips? Why should we take two and a half years from school? Just go buy the chip and install it — become a hafidh. It's gonna happen. This is exactly what's happening right now. You already have glasses hooked up with cameras that can search, identify, and read whatever you look at — Vision Pro. You look at a plant and it tells you what it is. So now you understand this hadith — in one night, the entire book of Allah will be gone. Digitally erased. From all the servers. From the cloud. Qur'an is gone. The only people who will have the Qur'an are those who did not depend on that — who focused on the good old memorization. The good old: sit by the Sheikh and study. The good old: I'm gonna write notes, sit on the floor, and listen to my teacher. Those good traditional methods are what will save the ummah.

One of the scholars — there's a famous story about thieves — where he had gathered everything, written everything, and one day thieves, thinking he had money, robbed all his books and bags, only to find nothing of worldly value. They got upset, threw everything into the river. He began to cry. The thieves told him: "What use is this knowledge that you lose it if we throw it into the river? Is that called knowledge? Knowledge is what you memorize — not what you have in your books." Subhanallah.

Wisdom is the lost property of the believer — he is most deserving of it wherever he finds it. As Ali رضي الله عنه is reported to have said. You can find hikmah and wisdom even from a thief. From that day forward, that scholar said: I am never going to depend on what I write — I will memorize, memorize.

There has been a lot of research done recently regarding people who type notes versus write notes by hand. Those who write it retain it far more. So those of us who are writing on iPads and digital pads — brother, sister, please also then memorize it. This whole idea of "let me just record the bayan and I'll listen to it after" — no one listens to it. But if you sit in front and say, "This is do or die — I better retain what I'm listening to" — take a few notes. When we depend on recordings and clouds, nothing is in the heart. Nothing is in the mind. Action is far away. You've got to first get into your mind, from your mind to the heart, from the heart to the whole body.

The Meaning of Kufr — And the Types of Disbelievers

Going back to where we were addressing: the idea is that in this verse, Allah is telling the disbelievers that their chance of giving excuses is over. They did that in the dunya. They lied about it in the dunya. Today, they're not going to be given that choice.

Now, what is kufr? Kufr comes from sitr — kufr means to cover. Kafir, kuffar — kafir is also a farmer. A farmer covers up the seeds in the ground for them to germinate. Similarly, a kafir covers up the existence of Allah. He's covering up the blessings of Allah.

Now imagine if a little child — if I told my young son, "Give me that candy," and he puts his hand behind his back and says, "I don't have any." Of course he has it. Why else would he put his hand behind his back? The fact that you're covering something means you have it. So in reality, the kafir who is trying to cover up Allah is, in reality, proving the existence of Allah. What an amazing point that Allama Sha'rawi writes — that a kafir in reality is proving the existence of Allah, because he's hiding it. And you only hide something which exists. So the fact that you are hiding it means that deep down you know this is the truth — that Allah does exist.

Now Allah mentions the different types of kafir. One kafir — the worst one — is the one who was blessed with iman, and then chose to turn his back.

Indeed, those who disbelieved after becoming believers — after they had iman, they turned their backs against Allah, and then they increased in their kufr — their tawbah will never be accepted. Then there's also another very horrible type of kufr: a person who does kufr and then doesn't stop there — he says, "I am also not going to allow anyone else to remain a believer. I'm gonna push them towards kufr." That's the issue with the ex-Muslim movement. It's horrible, because not only did they leave Islam, they try their best to make effort on others. Many of our youth are being affected by this — hanging around with people who left Islam, who are poisoning their minds and hearts with doubts. So you have to be careful who your children hang out with. Just because someone is a desi brown guy or girl, and wears certain cultural or Islamic clothing, does not mean they have iman.

May Allah allow us parents to be wary and smart, and able to read the signs before things go out of hand. Ameen.

Allah says:

Indeed, those people who did kufr and then they died in a state of disbelief — an earth full of wealth and gold will never be accepted from them even if they desire to give all that as ransom.

Allah also tells us not to become impressed or scared by how the disbelievers act in this dunya. He says:

غَرَّ يَغُرُّ means to deceive. تَقَلَّبَ يَتَقَلَّبُ means to turn around. Three explanations the ulema have given. One: تَصَرُّفُهُمْ فِي التِّجَارَاتِ — do not allow the amazing success of the disbelievers in business to deceive you. Man, look at that non-Muslim making millions, making billions. Do not become impressed or deceived by that. Number two: تَقَلُّبُ لَيْلِهِمْ وَنَهَارِهِمْ وَمَا يَجْرِي عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النِّعَمِ — how they enjoy walking around day and night, burning off the blessings of Allah. Do not wish you had that. Number three: تَقَلُّبُهُمْ غَيْرَ مَأْخُوذِينَ بِذُنُوبِهِمْ — they are walking around not being caught or punished by Allah. Look at the dhulm that's happening today — yet they're not choking. The dhalimeen are not choking on their food. Allah is allowing them to enjoy it. Do not look at the dhalimeen enjoying life and think we're not on the truth. This is all part of the plan. مَتَاعٌ قَلِيلٌ — this is an enjoyment for a few days. وَمَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ وَبِئْسَ الْمِهَادُ — their final abode is hellfire, and what a horrible place of rest.

The Blame Game in Hellfire

Now, Allah in another place speaks about the blame gaming that's going to happen in hellfire. In Surah al-A'raf, Allah says:

Until when they all pile up in hellfire — millions and billions of kuffar — the last ones will scream out to the first ones: "Ya Allah! These are the ones who misled us. Please give them double the punishment." And Allah says: Not only that — all of you are going to get double. There is a sense of wanting to enjoy — even when you're in extreme pain — to see someone you blame go through more pain. Allah will not allow them even that trillionth of enjoyment in hellfire. He says: Since you're asking, I'm gonna give you all double. وَلَٰكِن لَّا تَعْلَمُونَ — subhanallah.

In Surah Saba, Allah says:

The upper class, the arrogant ones, the leaders will tell the lower class — the ones who are the followers of the influencers. Apply the word I just said: influencers speaking to the influenced ones. The influencers are saying: Did we stop you from guidance after guidance came to you? No — we chose to lead a life that wasn't good, but who told you to follow us? You are yourselves the transgressors and sinners.

Then the influenced ones will speak back:

No — it was the plotting of your day and night. When you literally ordered us to disobey Allah and to ascribe partners to Him. The influenced ones say: You planned the algorithms. You made sure those websites came in front of us. You made sure we became addicted to social media.

Two weeks ago, the CEOs of TikTok and some other famous social media apps were brought in and grilled by Congress. And what came out? The fact that these social media apps have been literally designed to be addictive — by nature. Someone was telling me — and I read it as well — that in China, when you download the same apps, the first thing you find is a video on math, on history, on something beneficial. Over here, you find the most disgusting, most fahish content as soon as you download it. That same app, built by the same people, for their own country gives educational content — but for America, this is what they've done. Intentionally making it addictive.

You know how hard it is to delete Facebook? If a person wanted to say, Ramadan is here, let me get rid of social media — they make it so hard. The colors themselves are addictive. Then they say: Are you sure? Are you sure? And they keep sending you emails every single day: "Are you sure you want to leave us? Can we get you back?" That's what it is. Even if a person deletes it, it still remains active for 30 days or so. This is what I'm giving as the tafsir of بَلْ مَكْرُ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ — the plotting of day and night. You didn't put a gun to our heads, but you knew what you were doing. You played the game very well. And we were simple innocent consumers with no idea what was behind all of this. Subhanallah.

Both groups know they're not getting out. So now — أَسَرُّوا النَّدَامَةَ — they're going to hide their remorse. They don't wanna show the other guy that they're sad. The influenced ones don't wanna show the influencers that they got them. Subhanallah. لَمَّا رَأَوُا الْعَذَابَ — when they will come face to face with the punishment. Allah says: We'll put big chains around the necks of the disbelievers. Are they being punished except in the manner equivalent to the actions they used to perform? Subhanallah.

The Sandwich of Mercy — Surah at-Tahrim, Ayahs 7–8

So there is so much more on just the disbelievers that Allah speaks about. The idea here is that this is the only verse in the Qur'an where Allah clearly says يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا — because these are the people who are not coming out of Jahannam. There's no chance of them being a believer. And so Allah addresses them and says: now it's too late.

Notice here — Allahu Akbar. The first ayah: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا. Then: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا. Then: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا. The ulema say — even in this regard — Allah has placed يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا between two يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا to give the disbelievers some hope: "Listen, man — make tawbah. Make tawbah in this dunya when you have a chance. Before this day comes, when you'll be told no excuse will be accepted." This is the rahmah of Allah for the disbelievers — He placed the verse referring to them between two verses referring to the people of iman.

Tawbah Nasuha — The Sincere Repentance

Now, Allah also addresses the believers:

O you who believe, repent to Allah with a most sincere repentance. What is the most sincere repentance? Subhanallah. This is an ayah you can spend hours on. So much has been written on tawbah.

There is one word nasuha and one word nusuha. Nasuha — when a person repents such a repentance that he plans to never go back to that. It is an attribute of tawbah: tawbah al-nasuha — nasuha is a sifah of tawbah. And nusuha — with a dhammah on the nun — is an attribute of the ta'ib, the repenter. It means a person who is sincere in his repentance — he makes a full intention never to go back to his sin.

What do we learn from this? What's one thing that comes to mind when Allah is telling the people of iman, "Repent"? Believers will commit sin. This is not يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ أَسْلَمُوا. It's يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا — the people of iman. You already are, masha'Allah, a person of iman. This is not a small thing. Like those Bedouins in Surah al-Hujurat:

The Bedouin said, "We are people of iman." Allah says: No, no — say, "You are simply people of Islam." Iman has not even entered your heart. That's a different category. Allah in يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا is speaking to the people of iman. And yet He says: تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَّصُوحًا. This gives us hope — people of iman also commit sin. It's what happens when you commit that sin. Do you repent immediately? Or do you think, "It's no big deal, I'll hopefully live past 80 and then we'll think about it"? That's the difference. Everyone is gonna sin — it's what happens afterwards.

When a person repents, what does Rasulullah ﷺ say in hadith?

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6309; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2747)

Allah is more happy with the repentance of His servant than one of you who lost his fully laden camel in the desert with all his goods for the next month. Think about it — you're in Alaska, deep into the winter lands, going to spend the summer out there, and you have all your goods in a boat. All of a sudden, subhanallah, it capsizes. Everything — food for one month — all gone. What would that do to you? A person who lost everything in a desert. He goes under a tree waiting for death, going to die of starvation, dehydration — what can he do? He literally goes under a tree hoping maybe a log will fall on him so he'll die quicker. And then he wakes up, and all of a sudden the camel came back with all his goods. Can you imagine how happy this person is going to be? And Allah says: I am more happy than that person when a person repents. Who says this? Which mother even says this? Which father says this? This is only our Lord Almighty Allah.

And this is one hadith — it is mentioned, with the gist shared by Imam Sha'rawi in his tafsir, from various narrations — that there is not a single day in which the sun rises except that the heavens call out: "O my Lord, give me permission — let me throw something down on this son of Adam, for indeed he has eaten Your food and enjoyed all Your blessings but refuses to be grateful to You." And the oceans say: "O my Lord, give me permission — let me drown this son of Adam, for he has enjoyed Your blessings yet refuses to become grateful to You." And the mountains say: "O my Lord, give me permission — let me fall upon this son of Adam, for indeed he has continued to enjoy Your blessings yet refuses to be grateful to You." And Allah tells them: Leave them. If you were to have created them, you would have also been merciful towards them. But you didn't create them. Indeed they are My servants. If they repent to Me, then I am their Beloved. And if they don't repent, I am the only one who can treat them.

(Related narration in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat of Imam al-Tabarani)

In one narration mentioned by Imam Tabrani:

(al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, Imam al-Tabarani)

O heavens and earth, hold back from My servant and give him respite — for indeed, you two did not create him. Subhanallah.

So Allah is waiting. Ramadan is shortly away. It is time for us to not wait for Ramadan. I need to make tawbah tonight. We don't know if we're going to make it. There was a janazah this dhuhr today, subhanallah. May Allah fill his grave with nur and grant him Jannatul Firdous. He was a classmate of mine — my first classmate to pass away. He had just gotten married overseas, came back two days ago. Two days after arrival, after getting married overseas, he passed away. We ask Allah to grant his wife — his widow — patience. His mom and dad patience. His siblings patience. And all those he left behind, sabr jameel. May Allah make his death a means of forgiveness for his parents as well, for their sabr. May Allah allow this majlis of khair that we are participating in to become a means of sadaqah jariyah for him.

I request you to read Surah al-Ikhlas three times before you stand up, and make niyyah of isal al-thawab for brother Shahid Ali. And all of you who are listening online also, please kindly do that. This is the least we can do. Hopefully when we pass away, someone will also remember us. Insha'Allah.

Do Not Be Ashamed to Seek Guidance

So the idea is, Allah is waiting for a person. We don't know when our death is gonna come. Let's not wait till Ramadan. Let's make sincere tawbah right now. Many of the students, previous graduates, say: "I feel guilty to come talk to you, Sheikh." What are you talking about? Your ustad is not God. What does Allah Himself say? Come back to Me. And to make things easy for you — you know what He says? He uses the word tawwab for Himself. اشتراك في الاسم — I'm also doing tawbah. Meaning: I'm gonna turn My attention to you. You turn your attention to Me, I'll turn My attention to you. You come and say, "Ya Allah, I'm sorry." I say, "No problem, come — I forgive you." Allah is using the same word for Himself to make it easy for us to come clean.

So if you need help to get out of your mess, do not hesitate to speak to a scholar. Go back to your maktab teacher, your Qur'an teacher from childhood — 20 years later, no problem. Call him, text him, say: "I need to speak to you. How do I get out of this mess?" To actually repent to Allah, you don't need anyone. But to figure out how to break your bad habits, how to break away from bad relationships, how to make up for what you have done — you need some advice. You don't need to go into all the details. Just speak about the main things and say: "I need help getting out of this mess." A person stuck in a haram relationship, stuck in a haram drug habit — whatever the case may be. You might need some professional assistance. And that's where the role of mentors, scholars, and ulama comes in.

The detail of this verse, insha'Allah — there's a lot more to cover — will be covered next week. And next week, you know, we'll have the chai early, so be ready to spend a little bit longer. Because next week will be our final tafsir before Ramadan, and we have to finish this surah as well.

Q&A Session

On Children Who Want to Leave the Home

Q: You said don't let children move out — so even after your son is married, they should not move out?

You have to listen to the whole context. That was speaking about when children become disobedient to you or disobedient to Allah and they say, "I'm on my way out." So then out of anger, all day the dad would say, "If you don't listen to me, I'll kick you out of the house." Today they say, "Dad, I won't even wait for you to say it — I'll say it before you." That's the danger right now. If a child becomes disobedient, don't trip the fuse and say "get out," because that's exactly what they will do, and the harm will be very difficult to reverse.

On Fear of Punishment When Seeking Forgiveness

Q: Is it wrong to be afraid of Allah punishing your dunya when asking for forgiveness? Should we only ask for akhira when seeking forgiveness?

No. We should ask for forgiveness in dunya and akhira, and for betterment of dunya and akhira. This is not about what we think is right but rather how our deen teaches us.

On Prenuptial Agreements

Q: With all the fitnas during divorces that you see, do you recommend prenups?

Yes. I do recommend prenuptial agreements. This is safety for both sides.

On Memorizing and Retaining Knowledge

Q: Any tips or strategies to help memorize and retain information — whether it's Qur'an, sarf and nahu?

إذا تكرر تقرر — the more you repeat it, the more it will settle. Before you go to bed, prepare — read the same page a couple dozen times as much as you can, and go to sleep with it. Then wake up at tahajjud time, before Fajr, and focus on it without any distractions, without the phone. Tahajjud time is an amazing time for memorization — on the condition that you're also getting good sleep. So for those of you with exams tomorrow, don't cram all night. Work, then go to sleep early, wake up early, and review everything after tahajjud.

On Living with Parents

Q: Can I move out if my parents are religious?

Even if your parents are not religious, you will get your Jannah by serving them. As long as they're not putting a gun to your head and not allowing you to practice deen — which more than likely is not happening at that level of difficulty — stay and do khidmah. When it comes to your own personal life, follow the deen.

On Ensuring Good Friends for Children

Q: How do we ensure the friends of our children are good for them?

You have to do a full check — the house, the mother of your child's friend, the father, the environment at home. People used to go visit the house of their son's friend. You'd learn about what the environment is there. But nowadays that doesn't help, because friendship is not in the home — it's in a whole virtual world. A person may be very upright at home but completely opposite in the virtual world. So we have to sit and teach our children the harms of being connected virtually to every single person. Say: if you want to have interactions with friends, please have it in person.

On Breaking Free from Addiction to Social Media

Q: How to speak to people — or yourself — addicted to social media like TikTok or YouTube shorts?

If you're talking about yourself — it's straightforward if you have the willpower. You have to put on a password, password-protect your phone from these apps, and have someone else type in the password. Parental lock everything. You say, "Oh, I can't listen to the tafsir" — the tafsir is uploaded on iTunes, Spotify, and several other platforms. It gets uploaded by the next day. So if you're misusing YouTube, then don't be on it. If you're an addict, you need someone to say: please remove the beer bottles from in front of me and don't let me come near it. That's what it is.

On the Profession of Law

Q: Is it okay to be a lawyer?

Like anything else, it's a profession — it's not problematic. It's how you use it. If you use it properly, it could be good. We definitely need good Muslims who are great lawyers. Masha'Allah, that's a huge need.

On the Murtadd Who Returns to Islam

Q: What is the status of the murtadd who accepts Islam again?

His sins will be forgiven. However, his nikah needs to be redone, and his hajj needs to be redone.

On Building Love for the Prophet ﷺ

Q: How do you build love for the Prophet ﷺ?

By increasing salawat upon the Prophet ﷺ, by reading his seerah, and by following his sunnah to the best of your ability.

On Maintaining Consistent Iman

Q: How do we take care of our deen that fluctuates so much?

We have to make sure that we stick around with people who push our iman up. Like we have our daily vitamins — we need a daily dose of salah with jama'ah, with the khatirah. A daily dose of spending quality time with a good, practicing Muslim.

On Gaining Confidence in Public Speaking

Q: How do you gain confidence in public speaking? Any du'a for that?

The same du'as that I read every Tuesday — those du'as at the beginning. There is one tafsir session where I spoke about 15 to 20 minutes on just those two verses and why I recite these du'as and what the benefit of it is. It's worth looking up.

On Waking Up for Tahajjud

Q: Tips for waking up for tahajjud salah?

Put on multiple alarms, go to sleep early, make intention to wake up for tahajjud, drink lots of water, sleep on the floor, put multiple alarms — with annoying alarms — far away from you. And perform two or four raka'at salah before you go to bed with the niyyah of tahajjud, asking Allah to allow you to wake up before Fajr.

On Sending Reward of Qur'an Recitation

Q: What is the process of sending reward of the Qur'an to the deceased?

Simply recite, and make niyyah — اللهم أوصل ثواب ما قرأتُ إلى روح فلان — "O Allah, allow the reward of what I recited to reach the soul of so-and-so." And when you do isal al-thawab, make niyyah for the entire ummah of Rasulullah ﷺ.

On Helping Those Who Are "Infected"

Q: What are the things to help people who are "infected" as mentioned earlier?

It depends on what the infection is and how advanced it is. But recognize that speaking is not always the best solution. Removing them from the source of infection is key. Bringing them into a spiritually uplifting environment is very important. Many times, an infection can get cured simply by bringing a person into an environment like this, where they themselves realize: "Man, what am I doing? Why am I involved in this sin?" They don't even need to be told. So when people fall into sin, many times it's because they have forgotten what they're doing. They need a spiritually uplifting environment to recognize their flaws. A person goes for Umrah — hopefully it's beneficial. Coming to a dars, an i'tikaf program, Ramadan — fasting, coming for Asr to Maghrib. These are ways to help infected people, instead of telling them "you're infected" — which will not help.

On Doubting the Sincerity of One's Tawbah

Q: What if you feel like your repentance is not sincere — should you still try to repent?

Yes. If you are repenting saying insha'Allah you're going to sin tomorrow again — well then that's not sincere, that's fake. But if you say, "Ya Allah, I definitely don't want to do this," and you're scared you may fall into it again — then that's still sincere repentance.

On Du'as Not Being Answered Immediately

Q: How do I know my du'as are being accepted if I'm not seeing immediate results?

My beloved brother or sister — the acceptance of du'a is not based on immediately getting what you asked for. We know this: Nabi ﷺ — if every du'a of his got accepted immediately, he would never get hurt, he wouldn't lose his children. Which person would want to lose his kids? Why would he have to bury six out of seven children? Not everything you want, you'll get in this life. But keep making du'a — because you will never lose in du'a. Either you'll get what you asked for, or a sin will be removed, or a difficulty that was about to come to you will be averted. Or third — for every du'a you made that wasn't answered in this dunya, Allah will give you huge upgrades in the akhira. So it's a win-win-win situation.

On Jury Duty

Q: What should someone do if asked to come for jury duty even though he or she doesn't know who's lying?

Like Rasulullah ﷺ — what did he do? He made a decision based on proof. But if you did not deserve this and you're lying, the onus is on you. When you are asked to join the jury, you make your best decision and your best judgment.

On Premarital Counseling

Q: Is premarital counseling recommended?

I won't say highly recommended — I'll say must, must, must. Two things: number one, a fiqh of marriage and divorce course — necessary, mandatory. And number two, premarital counseling — extremely necessary.

On Reciting A'udhu Billah During Arguments

Q: What should a husband do if his wife asks him to stop reciting A'udhu Billahi Minash Shaitanir Rajeem because she says, "You're thinking of me as a Satan"?

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ should be recited to control our own anger — that's the key thing. If you feel anger in the person in front of you, don't say it out loud. Say it in your heart. Recite inwardly: "Ya Allah, I'm turning to You. I seek protection from the shaytan that's causing this fight between us." So important.

On Difficulty Waking Up for Fajr

Q: Smart lights, no window shades — I can't wake up on time no matter what. How can I improve on this?

Maybe you should change your name from "sleeper" to "waker" — that will help. Because names have effects. One thing I will suggest: the sevens. Seven Salawat, seven Surah al-Fatiha, seven Ayatul Kursi, seven Surah Quraysh, and seven قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ (Surah al-Ikhlas). And then seven Salawat again at the end. Recite each one of those seven times, blow it on your hands, wipe your body, and blow on a bottle of water. Once you finish each surah or ayah, blow on your hands and wipe your body like we do before we sleep. Once you've done the entire set, that's one set. Try to do between three to five sets — with the specific intention: "Ya Allah, whatever doesn't allow me to wake up, please remove that." I want next week, Mr. or Mrs. Sleeper, please message and say: "Alhamdulillah, it worked." I'm sure, if you listen to this advice, between now and next week you will be able to, insha'Allah, overcome this problem.

On Helping Children Love the Qur'an

Q: Any tips on helping kids love the Qur'an while going through the challenging task of memorization?

One thing is to go over the stories and the tafsir of whatever they're reciting. I want hifz kids to listen — if he's 12 or 13 years old, what is being said in these tafsir sessions is not so over the top. If they know what they're memorizing and start building the connection, they'll start realizing how important the Qur'an is. Introducing them to the tafsir of the Qur'an is really important and beautiful for them to fall in love with it. Also, remind them: "You're doing this out of your own will. There are great rewards for you — you're not doing it for me, this is for your Jannah." Don't say: "I do it because of my dad's crown." No — you're doing it for your own amazing gifts that Allah will give you.

On Bullying

Q: What if you're losing faith in people because of bullying?

May Allah make it easy for you. People have nafs and shaytan — unfortunately people are mean, my dear brother or sister. There's a lot of bullying happening in the world. Don't lose faith in people — there are a lot of people being bullied as well. Address it. If you're at work, address it to your HR. If you're at school, address it to the counselors or admin and explain what's happening. There's no reason for you to be quietly suffering. If you do not get it addressed, it can have long-lasting effects on you.

Announcements and Book Recommendations

Since next week is the final session, I encourage all of you to try your best to bring a few more friends for next Tuesday night's tafsir of Surah Tahrim. This will be the final one before Ramadan, insha'Allah.

On the way out there is a QR code by the shoe racks for Ramadan iftar signups. Please participate. We have many different expenses: cleaning expenses — $1,000 per slot, 14 slots remaining. Khatm night and Eid expenses — 11 slots of $1,000 remaining. Security — 15 slots for $1,000 each. Trash expenses — 8 slots for $1,000 each. Utilities — 15 slots for $1,000 each. And then the iftar itself. Please try your best to participate before the first of Ramadan.

Additionally, on Sunday, March 2nd, for one hour, we have a sisters' Ramadan volunteer orientation. There will be lunch, a great presentation, and a chance for sisters to find a role and a way to serve in the masjid. Saturday, March 2nd, 12pm to 1pm, followed by snacks and Dhuhr, in the sisters' prayer hall on the second floor. Kindly spread this word and try your best to attend.

There is also a request for oud or bukhur to burn in the month of Ramadan. If anyone has a desire to sponsor that or would like to donate it yourself, please meet brother Yaqub in the office. Masha'Allah — I can't imagine the reward for these small, small things.

The three books I've highlighted today:

1. The Authority of the Sunnah by Mufti Taqi Uthmani — a paper he presented at the International Islamic Conference in Chicago in October 1989. It covers what the Sunnah is, what hadith is, and the scope of prophetic authority. A vitally important topic.

2. Shari'a and Tariqa by Shaykh Zakariyya al-Kandhlawi — this talks about how tazkiyah and rectification of the soul is strongly connected to the Shari'a. Some people think, "I'll just focus on being a Sufi without worrying about fiqh." Others say, "This spirituality is all bid'ah — just focus on the do's and the don'ts." No — these go hand in hand. You have to have both. This is one of the final books by Shaykh Zakariyya where he explains with proofs from the pious predecessors the relationship between external and internal sciences.

3. Qasd al-Sabeel — The Straight Path Simplified — an outstanding translation and publication, masha'Allah. This is a treatise authored by Hakim al-Ummah, Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi رحمه الله, that highlights the essential principles of suluk — treading the path towards Allah. Whether a person refers to it as tazkiyah or suluk, most believers have an inherent desire to seek Allah's pleasure. To save people from pitfalls along the way, Hakim al-Ummah authored this simple yet profound treatise. I hope these are of benefit to all of us, insha'Allah.

Closing Du'a

Oh Allah, we ask You to allow them to gain from these programs and these duroos more than they're expecting, O Allah. Oh Allah, grant them qubuliyah and acceptance. Grant their progeny qubuliyah and acceptance. Oh Allah, if You accepted us, then everything will fall into place. Oh Allah, we beg You for acceptance. We beg You for acceptance for the khidmah and service of deen.

Oh Allah, we beg You to protect our progeny from falling into kufr and shirk. We beg You to protect ourselves and our spouses from falling into kufr and shirk. Oh Allah, we beg You to protect all of our extended families from falling into the fitnah of Dajjal. Oh Allah, we beg You from falling into all sorts of confusions of the era. Oh Allah, from all sorts of addictions of the era. Oh Allah, anyone who's addicted to any type of sin — be it negligence towards salah, negligence towards zakah, negligence in protecting the gaze, negligence in protecting the ears, negligence towards their parents, negligence towards their spouse, negligence towards their children — Oh Allah, whatever major or minor sin anyone of us is involved in, we ask You, Allah, to make it easy for all of us to recognize and realize our mistakes and sins.

Oh Allah, whether sins of our body or sins of our heart, sins of our limbs — Oh Allah, we ask You to grant us all complete realization of our mistakes. Oh Allah, save us from being deluded and thinking of ourselves as righteous and pious. Oh Allah, make it very easy for all of us to recognize our flaws and faults. When someone points it out to us, make it easy for us to accept the truth. Save us from narcissism, save us from arrogance, save us from denying the truth. Oh Allah, make us all humble. Make us all aware of our faults, make us all aware of our weaknesses. Allow us to work on them, allow us to repent from our major and minor sins — those committed by day, those committed by night, those committed once, those committed many times.

Oh Allah, no one can protect us from sin besides You.

There is no strength or power except with You, ya Allah. No one can inspire us to do good except You, ya Allah. Oh Allah, we beg You to put massive walls between us and Your disobedience, and bring us all close to Your obedience. Oh Allah, the remaining days of Sha'ban — allow us to spend them in the most fruitful manner. Allow all of us to start our Qur'an readings, to focus on reading our Qur'an excessively, on dhikr excessively, on salah with jama'ah as much as possible. Ya Allah, fill up our masajid before Ramadan. Oh Allah, please save us from becoming Ramadani Muslims. Oh Allah, allow us to be Muslims throughout the entire year.

Oh Allah, allow the horrors of Palestine to wake the ummah up. Oh Allah, allow this situation, ya Allah, to get people into the masjid — if this situation does not get people to make du'a, what will? If this does not wake us up from our slumber, then what will? Oh Allah, we beg You, we beseech Your forgiveness for the genuine apathy of the ummah. Oh Allah, the inability for the ummah to stand up and go to Your house. The inability for the ummah to stand up and pray two raka'at salah and beg for Your mercy. Oh Allah, we seek Your forgiveness for the heedlessness of the ummah. Oh Allah, guide the non-Muslims and guide the Muslims, ya Allah.

Oh Allah, we ask You to grant us all the nur of ilm, the nur of sunnah. Oh Allah, inspire us to follow the sunnah in every aspect of our life. Oh Allah, whatever is shared and said — make it easy for the speaker and the listeners all to put into practice. Make it easy for all of us to overcome our struggles and become extremely regular and punctual in our fara'id, ya Allah. Make it easy for all of us to come pray our Fajr and Isha in the masjid, ya Allah. Make it easy for us to take time out to read Qur'an and do dhikr every single day. Make it easy for all of us to do khidmah of our parents every day. Oh Allah, make it easy for us to raise each and every one of our children in the most proper, appropriate manner.

Oh Allah, all those who lost their children to various isms — Oh Allah, all those whose children have run away from their homes — we beg You to bring them all back, ya Allah. Bring all those lost children of the ummah back to iman, ya Allah. Bring them back to Islam, ya Allah. Oh Allah, whoever has whatever need or desire, we ask You to grant them full acceptance, ya Allah. Fulfill their desires and needs.

Insha'Allah, on your way out, please recite Surah al-Ikhlas three times and make niyyah of isal al-thawab for brother Shahid Ali, as well as for the entire ummah. JazakAllah khayran.