Session 1: Tafsir Surah Taha | The Journey of Musa (AS) |Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed |Knowledge Retreat

Session 1: Tafsir Surah Taha — The Journey of Musa (AS)

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And to Him is the return of the righteous. And peace and blessings be upon the most honored of the prophets and messengers, our master Muhammad, the Prophet of the worlds, whose name is written in the Gospels and the Torah.

Allah Almighty said in His Noble Book, after I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan, In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:

O people, a promise has come to you from your Lord, and healing for what is in the breasts, and guidance and mercy for the believers.

The Love of Allah for His Prophet

There is no love in this world that is more prevalent, more powerful than the love that Allah had for His Habib, صلى الله عليه وسلم. This is a love that was not only present when the world was created. This was a love that was pre the time of creation. This was a love that existed between Allah and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم before anything and everything, and will continue to survive after everything ends.

So of course, Allah had unique ways to call upon His Habib. Nowhere in the Qur'an does Allah say, يَا مُحَمَّد. Nowhere in the Qur'an does Allah call the Prophet by his direct name, but rather He chooses different names and different nicknames — not because there is forgetfulness, or not because He does not enjoy his name, but rather every laqab, every nickname had a purpose. It showed context. It showed what the Prophet was dealing with. It showed what the Prophet was going through.

And by calling him through that name, it reminded the Prophet that: I know where you are. I know what you are experiencing. I don't have to tell you that I know what you are experiencing. I will just call you by a name that will give you the idea that I understand where you are.

So Allah would use names like وَالضُّحَىٰ — when the Prophet was experiencing darkness — I swear by the light of the morning, I swear by the light of your face. When the Prophet was thinking and hearing aspects about what people were saying in regards to the Qur'an and they were disagreeing with him, Allah says, يٰسٓ. When people started saying names to the Prophet, Allah would use words and laqabs that would make the Prophet understand: We are there for you.

And amongst those beautiful nicknames that Allah used for the Prophet — when the Prophet came down after wahi and he ran to Jibreel and said, cover me, shroud me — Allah didn't say يَا مُحَمَّد or يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ. He said:

Because: Now I know what you're experiencing. You don't have to tell me. I know where you're coming from.

As a sign of closeness in love, as spouses, loved ones, children, and parents use for each other based upon the situations that they're experiencing. Other Prophets were called يَا مُوسَى, يَا عِيسَى, يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ, يَا زَكَرِيَّا, يَا يَحْيَى. So it wasn't a Prophet thing. It was unique for our Habib صلى الله عليه وسلم.

The Name Taha

So amongst those beautiful names, one day Allah called upon the Prophet and said: طَهٰ. Now what does Taha mean? And what does it refer to? The beauty of these names are unique as well — that no one but the person being spoken to and the one speaking truly knows what the meaning is. That is unique about nicknames. Sometimes you'll hear someone calling someone, and you'll think, what does that even mean? You're not supposed to know. It's between them. It's a private conversation. This is our way of showing love to one another.

Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah speaks about this — why did Allah use such unique names to call upon the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم — and he says that they're unique to us but they're known to them. Because it was a different way of conversing: Now it's only you and I, and I'm calling upon you. Taha.

These are names that no one knows the full meaning of, though the mufassirun have spoken about the meanings of these words. One of the meanings of Taha is that Ta refers to Tahir — all you who are pure from all filth:

You're pure. And Ha refers to Hadi — that you are a source of guidance. In other words, a person can only be a source of guidance if they have purified themselves. قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ — which means stand and deliver, stand and call upon Allah, stand and call people towards that which is the absolute truth, the unequivocal reality. You stand and do it, but it will only have an impact if a person has purified themselves from external filth and internal filth. Therefore a person cannot touch the Mus'haf when they're not pure, because the impact of these things is contingent upon the purity of our bodies and hearts. So Allah says: you are pure, and you have become a source of guidance by extension of your purity.

The Qur'an Is Not a Burden

O Prophet of Allah, I know what you're dealing with. We have not revealed this book. We have not revealed the Qur'an so it can become a source of burden upon you.

A lot of times when people start engaging with religiosity, with deen, with commandments, one of the first things that we hear is: it's so difficult. Deen makes life so hard. So many obligations, so many do's and don'ts, so many boundaries and limitations. And Allah makes it clear to the Prophet — deen did not come down for it to make our life difficult. It wasn't to make your life hard.

In life we can only see things in two ways: either they're a blessing or a burden. And if we ever engage with something, how do we know it's a burden? When the increase of it causes irritation — it's a burden. When you go to school and your professor says, we have more homework for you, everyone knows that student in the class who, at the end of class, says: any more homework or anything to take away for us? The students all glare at that person. Because we see homework to be a burden, and the increase of it causes a sense of irritation.

Whenever we see something to be a blessing, the increase of it only causes fulfillment and submission. When we see the increase of wealth, we don't get irritated — we feel content, we feel fulfilled. A promotion doesn't cause irritation; a promotion causes a sense of fulfillment. Children are a blessing — when someone is blessed with a child, it brings more contentment, it brings a sense of the coolness of the eyes — because the increase of things that cause fulfillment are known to be a blessing.

So deen can only be one of two things — a burden or a blessing. And how do we tell? If the increase of it causes a sense of irritation, that means we are engaging with it as if it is a burden. And if the increase of it creates a sense of fulfillment and comfort, that means indeed it is a blessing.

And the Qur'an was revealed in a community where both effects were found. When the Qur'an was revealed, the companions would see it to be a form of comfort and solace. So commandments never came at the response of why and if and what, but rather came at the response of: finally, we have something to do. Because it's fulfilling.

Ten years into Makkah al-Mukarramah, the Prophet goes to Mi'raj. He comes down from the blessed journey, and he comes to his companions, and he says: I have brought you a gift. Revelation has come to me through the journey of Mi'raj, and my gift to you is praying five times a day. The response wasn't why, what, if, when — rather, finally, we have a blessing. Because they saw it to be a form of solace and comfort.

When the verses of alcohol were revealed that alcohol is haram, and people were drinking it within the homes of Madinah al-Munawwara, and Anas ibn Malik came out in the streets and announced that Allah has ordained that alcohol has become prohibited — no one glitched. No one asked what type of alcohol. No one asked, is it really haram though? Because when we love someone, their symbols and signs are enough for us to understand whether or not they enjoy us doing it. Because we love them. So when this verse was revealed, the sahabahs had alcohol within their cups and they poured it out. Some of them had just drunk, and it is only logical that you might say, at least one more drink. We say today, don't tell me if it's haram, brother, don't tell me — because then I'll have to stop doing it. But if it's haram because Allah doesn't like it, please tell me. If it's something reprehensible because our Habib does not enjoy it, then please tell me. Because the sahabahs never saw it to be a burden. They put their fingers in their throats and made sure they vomited the alcohol they had just drunk. Because it brought the Prophet peace.

The Companions and the Prophet's Gaze

One day the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was walking in the streets of Medina and he saw a structure that was built by his companions. He just looked at it. And the sahabahs could understand a commandment, a preference, or an approval just by the look of the Prophet, because they understood that his look was not just a look — it was either approval or a sense of disliking something. He looks towards this building and says, who does this building belong to? And they said, رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْأَنْصَارِ — a man from the Ansar. Companions were very intelligent. Do you think they didn't know the person who owned the building? Of course they did. But they didn't want to cause friction between the Prophet and that person. They didn't want to snitch.

And the Prophet was the greatest teacher. He did not ask, who? What is his name? Because for the sake of giving advice, we don't need to call people out. It just needs to be said. Advice isn't given for the sake of it being given — advice is given for the sake of it being accepted. And if we're giving it and it's not being accepted, perhaps we need to look inside of ourselves and say: Am I even at the place in my life that I should be giving advice? Am I giving it correctly? Because they say, speak the truth even if it's bitter — but speak the truth within the right vessel, lens, time, place, and person.

The Prophet walks away. The companions knew he didn't like the building because he asked about it. So they went to that companion and said, the Prophet walked by and he asked about your building. The companion could have said, let me go ask the Prophet why he looked down upon my building. Instead, he went and destroyed and broke the building. Ibn Hajar says that one of the reasons why the Prophet didn't like the building is because it was made in a way that it was in the middle of the path, blocking people's area of walking and being able to ride their animals. So the person didn't ask why. And he never went to the Prophet afterwards saying, Ya Rasulullah, that building you didn't like — it's gone, finished, no more. They didn't do it for the sake of recognition. They did it for the sake of approval from the Prophet in this world and the akhirah.

We have 124,000 companions. How many names are recorded and documented in the books of the names of companions? Less than 20,000. That is a high number — 100,000 names are not even known. Because their goal was never to be known in this world. Being known is not synonymous with people knowing our names. Being known is synonymous with people identifying the qualities that we wish to convey to others. The sahabahs are not known because of their names. The companions were known because of their qualities. So when Allah speaks about them in the Qur'an, He doesn't need to mention them by name, but He mentions their qualities:

Allah speaks about their qualities. And another day the Prophet was walking by and, being so present-minded, he looked and realized the building wasn't there anymore. He said, what happened to the building? And the companion said, we told him that you didn't like it, so he broke it. And the Prophet smiled and walked on.

One day the Prophet was sitting in a gathering and he looked at a man for a moment longer — the man had long hair, cut in a different way, and the Prophet just looked at it. He didn't even say anything. We ask today: is it really authentic? Is it really necessary though? Because we see it to be a burden. We're not referring to what we are or are not doing — we all struggle. If Allah wanted to send down creation in this world that did not struggle, it wouldn't be us, it would have been angels. We do struggle. And the beauty of a human being is that they recognize their struggle and seek repentance.

So the Prophet looks at this person, and the person leaves, comes back the next day with his hair cut. And the Prophet recognizes him again, because he was present within his gatherings, and he says, what happened to your hair? He says, Ya Rasulullah, you looked at me, and the only reason why I think you looked at me the way you did was because of my hair. So I cut my hair, because I want you to look at me with love, not with that sight. They cared how the Prophet looked at them. And for us, we care as well — but the Prophet isn't looking at us in this world because he's not with us. But definitely in the akhirah, we get a sight of love. We get a hug. We get a sip of that water from the Hawd al-Kawthar, because he likes looking at us, and he's honored that we are part of his ummah. The Prophet says, I didn't look at you for that reason, but this is still better — that you kept it.

A man was wearing an entire red shawl — not the burgundy of a miftah, that's permissible, that's actually mustahab, preferred — and when the Prophet saw him, he looked at him. He went home and burnt the shawl. Some would say this is extreme. Others would say this was their way of showing their love. Today, we consider things to be extreme because we've changed the definition of what the norm is. When concessions become the norm, norms seem extreme. And the extreme is not even found. These were the norms in their societies. This was not recognized to be extreme.

He comes back the next day, and the Prophet says, where's that shawl? He says, I burnt it. The Prophet said, why did you burn it? It would have been better if you had given it to someone in your family, from the womenfolk. They could have used it.

The mentality of engaging with revelation is that it is not coming down to depreciate my value. It is not coming down to confine my abilities, limit my talents, make me suffer, and compress what I have to give to society. No. This is coming down to allow me to blossom. This is being revealed for allowing me to shine. This is being sent down so that my talents can be shown to the world.

The sahabahs were nobodies before Islam. It was a society in which the entirety of this world frowned upon them. They had the same talents. They had the same abilities. They came from the same culture. They had the same literacy rate. They had the same wealth — rather, maybe it decreased after becoming Muslim. They had the same lineages. But their impact was absolutely different. Because Iman came into their lives. And they understood that Islam, and Iman, and Qur'an, and the prophetic tradition being added to their life was not a supplementary need — but it was a necessary need. Because it gave them something that the world was in need of.

Qur'an has not come down to make your life hard. The Prophet was there:

17 times in the Qur'an, Allah refers to revelation as rahma — it's a source of mercy. How is it a source of mercy? Imagine if we did not have the Qur'an — how would we deal with our families? How would we fulfill the ties of kinship? How would we assure ourselves that we would not lie in business, and cheat our family members? How would we know to seek perfection in whichever responsibility we are given? How would we have a lifestyle to follow? Because the lifestyles of this world are ever changing. And the only system in this world that has not changed since it was sent down to us was Islam:

It was sent complete and perfect. Some things are complete but they're imperfect. This was complete and it was perfect.

How Revelation Transformed Relationships

Before the Prophet's coming, parents would not show love to their children. One day a Bedouin walked into the Prophet's community, and the Prophet was kissing Hasan رضي الله عنه. And the Bedouin looks at the Prophet and he says, that I have 10 children — wallahi, I have never kissed any of them. What is this? This is not from manliness and being a man. Why are you kissing your son for? And the Prophet looked back at him and smiled and said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5997; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2318)

Well, alhamdulillah — Allah has not stripped mercy from my heart. Because loving your children is mercy from Allah.

If it wasn't for divine revelation, before wahi, what were people doing to orphans?

When they say we need a new system to give people honor, we say — which system could be better than the system that took Bilal from being a person who was persecuted in the streets of Mecca to being a person who was made to stand on top of the Ka'bah and call the adhan — as a symbol that: I am not honored today because of the color of my skin. I am honored today because of what I call to, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. My honor is dependent upon Allah's name. My honor is dependent upon the Prophet's sunnah. They recognized that their sense of honor was in reference to the Prophet's happiness.

مَا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْآنَ لِتَشْقَىٰ — it was never a source of burden. And naturally, when it first comes, it's hard, it's challenging. There is no change in life that in the initial phases is not challenging. It's always going to be challenging.

Ask a parent when they become a parent — how challenging is it to be a mother? How challenging is it to change your schedule? But ask that mother if she would do it all over again. In every single response it would be: well, it was worth it, because the challenges reap fruits. The challenges gave me a child that when I look at, I can smile with happiness and fulfillment.

Ask a person who gets married. They thought it was always going to be happy and just chill and have a good time. But then it became a challenge. But then you ask them, was marriage worth it? Every single married person who talks about marriage being difficult — you ask them, should I get married? They would say yes. Because it still brings fulfillment:

I referred to two of the most common blessings in this world — marriages and children — and even those initially come with challenges. They come with struggle. So to think that a blessing will not come with an attached challenge is being oblivious to the realities of what blessings are. Even wealth comes with challenges. Though money is a great blessing — that Allah refers to as khayr in the Qur'an. So just because it's challenging doesn't mean it's not a blessing. But rather it's a sign that it is a blessing.

And how does it become easier? It doesn't become easier and then we enjoy it. We enjoy it, and then it becomes easier. Al-deen yusr. We don't have to make it easy. We don't have to change aspects of what Allah's deen sends us. It is innately easy. But how do we sense the ease? When we start enjoying it. It will not become easier and then we start enjoying it — we will start enjoying it, and then it will become easier. And then we'll realize how much worth it gives to us. Islam added value — it did not depreciate value. Islam gave honor — it did not repel honor.

Showing Our Affiliation with Islam

It's supposed to be hard in the beginning. Even the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, the initial recipient of this divine revelation, found it to be difficult — rushing down from the cave of Hira, rushing to Khadijah, sweating, shaking, shivering, scared. Not because he didn't know what happened, but because he realized the blessing that he was given.

We don't walk around hiding our blessings. We walk around with our badges shown to people. I am a student at the University of Michigan. We walk around with our scrubs on, letting it be known that we work for so and so hospital. Our affiliations are our greatest source of honor. We walk around with our badges, because people should know that I'm someone honorable — not because of what I have internally, but because of the badge that I wear. And the moment someone's job is gone, and the moment someone doesn't get accepted to a certain university, they feel like they are not honorable, because they attach all of their honor and value to an affiliation that is temporary. It's a temporal affiliation. It will give us temporal honor and joy.

The greatest affiliation that a person could have is the affiliation of being in the ummah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. So if the logic says that we show our affiliations that give us honor, then why do we hide that we're Muslims? Because we're honored by being Muslims.

It's not because of the way we dress — it's because of the values that we keep. We are the most inclusive community that the world has ever seen when it comes to our skin colors, our demographical backgrounds, our economical needs and limitations. We are the most inclusive community when it comes to cultures that have spanned over all seven continents. But we are the most exclusive community when it comes to ideals and values — when it comes to what we believe in. Because everyone in this community values لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللهِ.

We show it because we're happy. You don't have to tell someone you're sad — you can just tell. No one has to tell someone that they're happy — you can just tell. We don't have to scream from the rooftops that we are Muslims, but people can just tell. Because it's shown in the subtle movements of our life.

When people ask us how you reached this level in your life, we could simply say what Qarun said — I worked hard for it — or we could say that my religion allowed me to reach this level. Everything negative in our life, we say, oh, well, my religion says that interest is haram, so I couldn't get there. I can't network the same way because al-ghiba is haram. So everything that is negative or limiting, we respond to it as if it's our religion's fault. And everything that is positive — we say, well, my parents raised me well. My culture taught me well. America is a land of opportunities. I worked hard. Everything positive is attributed to something other than our religion.

The person that is listening will then understand that we don't really value what we have. We value what they gave us. So why would they want what we have if we don't value it ourselves? A person is the greatest marketer of what they love. They say that the best marketing is when you speak to people — not ads or banners. It's when you tell someone how you experience what you experience. So if we are the natural du'at of deen, we will let people know what we experience. And we can only let them know if we understand that it was not a burden — it was not confining, it was not limiting.

What was it then?

It was a form of reminder. It was a form of encouragement for those that have a heart that wants to listen, for those that have an attentive heart, for those that have a heart that wants to learn.

Allah says even prayer is something which is very difficult except for those that have Allah's fear in their hearts. The Qur'an was not revealed to pacify our intellect only. The Qur'an was revealed to pacify the hearts:

The heart was the primary recipient of the Qur'an. If we make the words of Allah and the Prophet's lifestyle go through a funnel of our rationality and then reach our heart, it will end up reaching the heart sooner or later — because there is nothing the Prophet did or Allah said that was irrational — but it will take longer and there will be glitches in between. So we say that we will first take it to our heart:

It will be a reminder for those that wish to listen. Because everyone in Makkah understood the honor of the Qur'an. Even Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab would sneak out in the middle of the night to hear the words of Allah. And they would say to each other, not after today. The next day they would come back again. Four nights straight they came because they were mesmerized by the words of Allah. Being mesmerized was never the ending of the discussion — it was the beginning. The ending was belief. They heard the words of Allah and they were in awe of it. But they couldn't believe. Recognition is not in itself a blessing. Recognition that leads to change is a blessing.

The Jews of Medina — Allah says about them:

They recognize the Prophet as being the true Prophet more so than they recognize their own children. But they couldn't believe. Our recognition and our validation does not add value to deen. It was always correct. Every system in this world — the honor of it, the prestige of it — is dependent upon you and I. The graduates of a university are the ones that give the university honor. But the honor of deen is not dependent upon us. It gives us honor. It gives us value.

Where Did the Qur'an Come From?

It was a revelation that came directly from Allah. Now you want to know who Allah is? First you want to know where it came from. Allah says, it came from me. Now who is Allah? The one who created the heavens and the earth.

الرَّحْمَٰنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَىٰ — He doesn't introduce Himself by saying, you want to know who I am? I am al-Jabbar. I am al-Mutakabbir. Because He's saying this Qur'an wasn't revealed as a burden. So to make that point come home, He says: الرَّحْمَٰنُ — I'm the most merciful. I got you. We are allowed to struggle. The condition of earning Jannah was never that we do not sin. The condition of earning Jannah is that we recognize that we made a mistake and we just return:

We will come back to Allah. It's going to be hard. And those that make it harder have an Allah to respond to. Those that push people away by their tone or voice or by the demeanor that they keep — that person is responsible:

Who is a bigger oppressor than a person who pushes people away from Allah? And sometimes we do it knowingly and other times unknowingly. Our responsibility is to pull people in, draw them near. Our responsibility is not to be the judge, jury, and executioner. Our responsibility is to make them fall in love with deen.

Marketing deen is the easiest thing in the world. It's a proven process. They say in English, don't fix what's not broken. We don't need new systems — we need to adhere to old systems. There were systems that took people like Umar رضي الله عنه who became a Muslim by just simply hearing these verses — it touched the chords of his heart in such a way that he said, I came to kill the Prophet today. I will kill my nafs and say, I accept that I was wrong. Because this was the impact of the Qur'an:

That it increased their iman.

لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَمَا تَحْتَ الثَّرَىٰ — For him, everything in this world belongs to Him. Everything in this world is within the domain of Allah:

All of this world is within the grasp of Allah. Allah says the heavens are wrapped up in one hand of mine:

Do they not know the world was compressed? We let it grow. We let it flow. We let the trees blossom. We let fruits come out. We let the seeds grow. We let the water seep. We let the children grow. We let the parents love. We let this happen.

If we decided there will be no more rainwater to come from the clouds, who can bring water again? In Flint, they had lead in their water. The entirety of the country was trying to remove the lead. But Allah left the lead. No one can remove that which Allah brings. No one can add that which Allah suppresses:

If Allah decides to open goodness, no one can remove it. If Allah decides to bring difficulty, no one can repel it. If Allah decides to take a life, no one can bring the life back:

He is the source of life, and He is the source and cause of death. No one can give life except for Allah. No one can give death except for Allah. It came from the same source. And when we identify the source to be consolidated, the results don't really matter. Then we say:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1284; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 923)

For Allah is what He gave, and for Allah is what He takes. Because only Allah can give it. He is the source of everything. A person appreciates their boss because he or she is a source of their yearly income. Appreciating Allah is easy. If we had no eyes to see with, how would we study? If we had no intellect to grasp with, how would we educate ourselves? If we had no parents to show us love, we would feel so lonely. Ask a child who has nowhere to go for Eid, what Eid feels like. Ask children who have no parents, what birthdays feel like. Allah gave it to us. So we appreciate Allah.

لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَمَا تَحْتَ الثَّرَىٰ — Allah says, what you see is mine, what you cannot perceive is also mine. Allah owns commodities; Allah owns feelings. Feelings can also come from Allah. Hence we ask Allah for قُرَّةَ عَيْنٍ. We don't ask Allah just for spouses and children — we ask Allah for the feeling. We don't ask Allah just for wealth — we ask Allah for wealth that can keep us fulfilled in a permissible manner. And that person who you buried and hid beneath the ground — he also belongs to Allah. I don't lose value for people based on what they have to give to my religion. It doesn't matter where they are and who they are — I love them.

(Hadith Qudsi — referenced in various collections)

Where Allah says in a beautiful hadith qudsi: O son of Adam, I love you. I absolutely love you.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم one day saw a janazah of a Jew being passed by. And he stood up and began to cry and weep. And the sahabahs, looking at the Prophet perplexed, say, Ya Rasulullah, إِنَّهُ يَهُودِيٌّ — just to make it clear, he wasn't one of us. The Prophet said, yes, he is a Yahudi. But one more person will be deprived of the blessings of Jannah and thrown into the torment of Jahannam — should I not weep for that? We cry when people lose their jobs. Do we hurt when people leave this world without Iman? Because that is the blessing that saved us in the akhirah.

وَمَا تَحْتَ الثَّرَىٰ — the person that we put down belongs to Allah. For years the seed was hidden. And one day it became a tree. In order for us to become people who are known in the eyes of Allah, we have to spend time in absolute seclusion where nobody knows us. For years people trampled upon the seed under the ground, and nobody knew that a seed was there. But when it finally grew, everyone stopped to marvel over the beauty of the tree. It takes time.

And one day in the akhirah, as we sit, the Prophets will say, who are these people?

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2566)

The Prophets, shuhada, martyrs will look at people and say, يَا رَبِّ، مَنْ هُمْ؟ — Who are these people whose light on their faces is emitting all across the plains of Mahshar? Who are these people who are given such beautiful manabir from pearls and rubies? They must be Prophets. Allah says, no, they're not Prophets. They must be martyrs and shuhada. Allah says, no, they're not shuhada. Then they say, مَنْ هُمْ؟ — Who are these people who are sitting with us in our gathering? Allah will say: they were simply people who love one another for my sake.

How loving is our Lord — that we love for Him, and we're honored by Him. These were people in one narration who made an attempt to study the deen of Allah. Made an attempt. Results are in Allah's hands. The effort is in our hands.

We are responsible not for creating the results. We are not God. We are not Allah. We are responsible to make the effort. Other systems require results in order for us to be considered successful. No one cares how hard we tried — if we didn't pass the exam, we are called failures. The only system which values effort is Allah's system:

We make the effort — with or without results. Allah says, I got you. I'll take care of you.

The Light After the Darkness

Then Allah says to the Prophet: I know Qur'an was difficult. You were shivering. You asked Khadijah to cover you. You were shook by it. Sometimes when we're sitting in a room that is completely dark for such a long time, our eyes adapt. In the beginning, it's difficult to move around and maneuver. But a little while later, that same dark room becomes easy for us to see in because the eyes adapt. And then we think we don't need light. But when the light does turn on — when it initially turns on — our eyes are shocked by it. It takes us a moment to adjust. Not because the light is blinding, but because our eyes got used to the darkness.

In the beginning, revelation is heavy. Not because revelation is decapitating, but because we got used to the norms of society. And it comes and it hits us in the beginning. But then we allow it to bring us closer to Allah. And then that same light becomes a source of our guidance.

So Allah says, I know this happened to you. And He's saying that this is the Prophet. There are multiple ayahs in the Qur'an that refer to the Prophet being challenged by wahi. They ask, Ya Rasulullah, you have white hair — why do you have white hair? You're so close to Allah. He says:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3297; classed as hasan)

What caused me stress, what caused me a challenge, is Surah Hud and the surahs like it — because it speaks about the punishment of other nations. And I'm afraid that Allah will punish my nation. Therefore in Arafah, he made du'a for five hours asking, oh Allah, do not destroy my nation all at one time. And it was accepted.

Has the Story of Musa Not Come to You?

Allah says, I know it's challenging. However:

Have you not heard the story of Musa? You can prove a point by giving facts, but you can cement it by giving examples. So Allah gives the facts — that this Qur'an is not a burden, it is not hard for you — but then Allah gives an example. Because there's no speech that is more eloquent than Allah's speech. Speech is not eloquent because of the words that are used. Speech is eloquent because of the impact that it has. The Qur'an's words are not the most difficult words — if you ever read an Arabic newspaper, you'll probably find more difficult words in it. The Qur'an does not use challenging words; it actually repeats words multiple times in different ways. But the Qur'an is the most eloquent speech because of the impact that it was able to have. Till today, it's a miracle because of the impact that it had and still has.

Has the story of Musa not come to you? And Allah uses the word حَدِيث. The word حَدَثَ in Arabic means something new, something that originated. This is why the Qur'an is called qadim and the prophetic tradition is called hadith — because it's new in comparison to the Qur'an. أَحْدَثَ شَيْئًا — it means something coming to life, something originating. This is why the Prophet said:

Whoever invents or innovates something in my religion, then it is not accepted — meaning it's new.

So Allah is saying to the Prophet: هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَىٰ — did the hadith of Musa come to you? In another word saying, did the brand new story of Musa come to you? And there is no story in the Qur'an repeated more than the story of Musa alayhi as-salam. It seems oxymoronic but it's not. Because the Prophet is being taught as a listener and recipient of the Qur'an — that even though you've heard the story multiple times and you've come across it so many times in the Qur'an, you must engage with it as if it's the first time that you heard it.

I've already heard this talk so many times. I've already heard this hadith. I've already heard this halaqah. I've already heard this ayah. We've heard. But the moment we engage with that mentality as if we've already heard, there will be no new benefit to come to us. And when we engage with it as if it is the first time that we are hearing it, then new impacts are felt, new effects are felt.

Umar رضي الله عنه would say, I would recite the same verse multiple times and it would have different effects. Because they would not engage with it as if they already knew it. And you ask someone who loves someone — a child and a mother, a husband and a wife, a father and a son — if they're saying a story to you and you say, ah, I already heard that one. It hurts them. Because they wanted to be the first one to tell you that story. It shows that you're special to them. So Allah is saying, you are special to me. حَدِيثُ مُوسَىٰ — and I should be special to you. So when you listen to this, engage with it as if it is the first time you heard it. And then you will see the impact and the effect of it will be far more than anything you could have experienced.

هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَىٰ — you make a point by stating facts. You cement the point by giving examples. Allah made the point, now Allah gives the greatest example: the story of Musa alayhi as-salam. And inshaAllah, if I do have a second session, we'll be able to go over the journey of Musa till the point that he went to Firaun and started giving him da'wah.

May Allah make us amongst those that don't see our deen to be a burden, but rather see it to be a form of honor — not depreciating us, but adding value to us. And allow us to continue engaging with it. It's hard in the beginning, then we enjoy it, and then it becomes easy.

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.