Qiyam Night 02 | Shaykh Salah Mahmood | Haris Nadeem & Arshad Aslam

Opening Du'a and Welcome

Amma ba'd (And after this), I was speaking outside with my brother and I said alhamdulillah, it is dear to me to be here. Perhaps this is six years, masha'Allah, that I come again in Ramadan - except for COVID of course - but this is always one of my habits to come to this legendary masjid. Alhamdulillah, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless you all and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless this community. Allahumma ameen.

The Importance of Connection

I see many children here, alhamdulillah, and this is wonderful - always good to see. But let's have a meeting. We are in the last years of Ramadan and this is the last year and we want to make more of it. So I ask you, if you want to use your phone to take some news, I ask you - I ask you - this is one of the expectations, one of the demands that I give at the beginning of all my services.

I ask you to disconnect a little because we are brothers and sisters living in a difficult time and they become attached and very tired when they get attached to the phone and social media. And the mind is real - why? It's real. You feel excited when you don't get your phone with you and we wanted to...

The Reality of Modern Distractions

One of our team members went to a village in Kuwait, and I had all my notes on my phone. But they told me I couldn't take my phone, so I had to give up my phone. I went outside and said I would speak from my heart, whatever comes from my heart, insha'Allah I would go with it. When I arrived at the house and saw the event there, they gave me the microphone and asked me to speak. I told them the story because I think it's a very interesting story.

I told them I had lots of notes on my phone, but I didn't know they would take my phone away. But the clear point here is that I was inside the house for 4 hours - there was a big program inside for 4 hours I was there, and Allahu akbar, I was very anxious for 4 hours. Without your phone for 4 hours, and every 5 seconds I was checking for my phone. There was something missing, I felt there was something missing. Then I realized we are living in a difficult time and I can't stay away from my phone for three seconds.

The Interview Experience

After the interview, they interviewed us - there were Muslim scholars and they interviewed us. It was a different interview, it was an open conversation and they wanted us to feel welcome. So I was talking with them and in my question I said to them, can you tell me how is life without a phone? Because inside, it's a different story. Allah protects us and always provides us the means to correct our mistakes. We should always correct our mistakes, and if you're doing the right plan, alhamdulillah.

If you're outside you feel freedom, because freedom - the real freedom is that you're in the masjid now and you're alone. I promise you it's a blessing from Allah for someone else where freedom has been taken away completely. This blessing that you can't thank Allah enough for.

The Power of Right Choices

The truth is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given you the mind to make right choices. It's a blessing from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. I want you to always appreciate it because I talked to someone and I'll come back to the main point insha'Allah. I asked someone about the story and all that. He said, "Listen, I made the right choice in a few seconds. I wasn't myself, but because of that, I've been in the masjid for ten years because I made the right choice. I couldn't control my emotions without the details, I couldn't control my emotions for ten seconds." SubhanAllah!

For this reason I always say: A moment of patience in a moment of anger. I want you to remember this, especially for young people: A moment of patience in a moment of anger saves you thousands of years of regret. Again: a moment of patience in a moment of anger saves you thousands of years of regret.

Digital Communication Wisdom

You know sometimes someone sends a message and they feel a certain feeling - they feel like they want to send it quickly. For this reason I always say: don't send quickly, no! If you have to write something, write it in your notes, but don't send it. Then come back and review it. Visit it for some time, for some time, and you'll change your mind more than that. You'll say, "Man, I'm so happy I didn't press the send button," okay?

Life Without Phones

So back to talking and asking them who live without phones - how does that look? Without having your phone and social media and all that. And they said, "Man, we're fine, we're fine, we just relax," okay? You outside are struggling with your phone and this should be very telling. If I can't stay away from my phone for four hours and I feel like my life - I don't know - there's something wrong, okay? There's something missing.

Certainly, I was fine all the time before phones were introduced to the world, okay? So for those brothers who were a little older, subhanAllah, do you remember our life before phones? There were no smartphones. We were normal kids, we used to go outside and play, we used to talk about certain things, okay? There was nothing like a phone. You were in school and there was nothing - no phone. And how was life before? It was just natural, it was enjoyable, it was good, okay?

The Attention Crisis

We used to play on the street every day and we felt energetic, we were healthy and we didn't have any major problems. And now 5 seconds, 7 seconds, 10 seconds - you watch videos and you watch the right time. It doesn't matter how entertaining the video is, the right time is 6-7 seconds approximately. Can you imagine? And now you're sitting and you have to listen to me for 30 minutes, okay?

So I know we've reached a point where our focus is not there. So my advice to myself - and alhamdulillah I can help myself, alhamdulillah rabbil alameen - is to get yourself out of this mental state. This word is used a lot now in 25 and 26 also - "brain fog" - the reality that you can't focus. You feel there's fog in front of you, like in front of your eyes everything is foggy. I feel I can't be productive, I can't read, I can't read. I'm anxious.

The Dopamine Problem

We're always trying to chase dopamine hits. When you chase dopamine hits, this is what happens - even the most beautiful scenes you won't be able to watch them. Why? Because your mind always says the next time will be more amazing, so you skip, okay? Let's scroll more and get more hits. This is what happens, okay? Because dopamine hits, they call it.

Insha'Allah try to get yourself out of this unhealthy mindset. If you feel you're watching beneficial videos, okay, this information won't benefit you in the future because you find yourself watching for three or four hours, watching halal and educational content and all this, but the outcome is almost nothing. If someone asks you what you learned after the three hours, you'll tell them there was something real talking about this and that, but it's not as if you watched beneficial videos for three or four hours or read books for three or four hours - it won't be the same.

So we feel we're educating ourselves and getting knowledge, but we're not doing that. Insha'Allah, try to get yourself out of this unhealthy mindset because everyone is there. I promise you, I promise you, everyone is there. And if you want me to prove it to you, I'll tell you to put your phone away for some time and you'll see what will happen. You'll be very anxious.

The Value of Boredom

If I tell you to sit somewhere and be bored sometimes - by the way, it's good to be bored sometimes. I know I'm bored, as you know our kids say "I'm bored, there's nothing to do." Sometimes it's good to be bored. You sit and do nothing, just do nothing. It's good, it's good for your spiritual state, it's good for your mental state to be bored sometimes. Just sit and think. Look at the ceiling, look at the chandelier, look at anything. Don't do anything. This is very important.

But if you always need to keep yourself busy like "I need to do this" - this is not good in the future. How can you get out of this busy situation? You force yourself to do something you don't want to do. Force yourself to watch a long video. Force yourself to watch a long video - it's 30 minutes. If you deserve it, force yourself to watch a long video. If you can watch a movie approximately 2 hours, you enjoy that, it's good. Watch 2 hours, read a book, read a book, continue.

Yes, it will be very annoying, it will be very annoying. Continue, because you're helping yourself get out of the busy situation because it's very dangerous for you. Otherwise you'll waste your day, you'll waste your time, and your relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala won't be there, won't be there.

Impact on Prayer

Your خشوع (khushu') in prayer - where will you get the focus? You're always anxious, you're always anxious. You want the prayer to end because you always want to take the phone out of your pocket and see who sent you a message, okay? And someone telling you something. Okay, the world changes outside just because you didn't check your phone for 5 minutes. Nothing happens! The world will remain the same crazy world. Nothing changes. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala makes it easy for us, my brother.

Connecting with the Quran

So this is my advice, and this takes me to actually the main topic that I have for you guys: connecting with the Quran, connecting with the book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is the most important thing. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave this Quran, my brothers, for a reason. This Quran is not here so we can just put it on the shelf and bring it out every Ramadan, you know? Just dust it off, you know, clean the dusty cover or whatever, then we start reading, okay? This is not what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent the Quran for.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in Surah Al-Baqarah said: "Alif Lam Meem. That is the Book, no doubt in it - guidance for the righteous." This book should be treated as a manual, okay? As a manual. You know when you buy something, they give you a manual - how to use it, okay? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent the Quran to you to tell you how to live your life, okay? To understand what's happening around you.

The Quran as Your Guide

You look at the outside world, as I said it's a crazy world outside. So everyone is confused - what's happening, what's going to happen, okay? Why do things happen the way they happen, okay? The Quran tells you all this. The Quran tells you all this. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells you what happened in the past, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells you what's happening currently, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells you even what will happen - even the Day of Judgment and what will happen after the Day of Judgment. Can you imagine? The Quran tells you all this, but we don't look at it, okay?

Why? Because we use the Quran not as a manual, not as a guidebook, but we use it as a storybook - a storybook that has some beautiful things, but that's not the message that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent to me.

Personal Connection with Allah's Word

So the best way to connect with the Quran is to deal with it personally. It's a personal message from Allah azza wa jal to you. So if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا (O you who believe) - are you a believer? Do you say La ilaha illa Allah wa Muhammadur rasul Allah? Then this message is for you.

If your name is Muhammad or Fatimah or Zainab or Ahmad or Zubair or Umair, and someone says "O Umair, O Umair, O Zainab" and you don't look at them, if you don't care what they're saying to you, okay, they're calling you and you don't even care about them. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is calling you! He's saying "O you who believe" - believers, do this or don't do this, okay? Stay away from this or do this, okay?

"Seek help through patience and prayer" in Surah Al-Baqarah. Seek help and assistance through patience and prayer. You will face difficulties, there will be lots of hardships, there will be lots of things you can't understand and explain. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying you need lots of patience to understand these things, okay? But if you don't look at the call from Allah azza wa jal, how will you learn anything, okay?

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: "O believers! Intoxicants, gambling, idols, and divining arrows are all evil of Satan's handiwork. So shun them." Satan wants you to be completely intoxicated, okay? So avoid it, stay away from it. And you know you don't look at the Quran? How do you connect with the Quran?

Teaching Islam Through the Quran

So if you want to connect with the Quran and establish this - number one: treat the Quran as a personal message to you, okay? Personal message to you. You know when, by the way, when someone tells me "I want to learn about Islam," please don't overwhelm them with, you know, messages and Quran and hadith and lectures. Please don't do that. You know what I do? When someone comes to me to learn about the Quran - someone who's not Muslim comes to me and says "I'm interested, I want to learn about the Quran, about Islam," you know what I do?

I don't even talk to them about anything. I tell them: take this copy of the Quran - a good translation. Make sure it's a good translation, don't give them a weird translation. Make sure it's a good translation and tell them: read this book, follow the book and take some notes. And if you have any question, come to me. You will be amazed how the Quran does the work for them, because it's the word of Allah and that's what they're looking for. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks directly to their hearts and their feelings.

So they come back to you saying "I found everything here" - not about books and curricula and taking this course from this person, no no no. They need to connect with the Quran. If someone comes and says "I want to become Muslim" without reading the Quran, I tell you they won't be ready. But if someone comes and says "I read the Quran or a big portion of it," they'll be more ready because they found their answers in the book of Allah azza wa jal.

Responding to Allah's Call

So my advice to everyone here: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا - I think I mentioned this maybe before Ramadan - "O you who believe." How many times does Allah mention this in the Quran? I think more than 80 times in the Quran, close to 90, okay? "O you who believe" - the Quran. If you can do this, if you have i'tikaf, especially if you have i'tikaf here, this is a great opportunity for you.

My work will not focus on making lots of ختمات (khatams - complete recitations). If you finish khatams, alhamdulillah, that's good. But the main focus now is that I will check every call in the Quran and I will try to get the message - if it's a direct message to me: "O you who believe, do this or don't do that."

Abdullah ibn Abbas said: "When you hear 'O you who believe' in the Quran, pay attention to it, because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will tell you either to do something good for you or stay away from something that's not good for you." This is one of the ways to deal with the Quran, my brothers.

The Quran as More Than Information

Dealing with the Quran - if you want to build a relationship with the Quran and make the Quran develop your life, treat the Quran not as a book for information. The Quran is not a reference book, it's not a book for any references, it's not much reading. You may find it here, you may not find your problem exactly, you may not find the exact situation you're looking for. So you feel it's outdated - 1,400 years ago. But I promise you will find something very relevant to what you're doing today.

The Story of Pharaoh - Timeless Lessons

For example, how many times does Allah mention the word Pharaoh in the Quran? Pharaoh - it's the most mentioned story: Musa and Pharaoh, right? Musa and Pharaoh. Do you know Pharaoh? This is not his name. This is not his name. No one knows the name of Pharaoh. I'm from Egypt and they told us it's Ramses II, and I said I saw the mummy - and Allah knows how true this is - that Ramses II is the Pharaoh. But we don't know.

Pharaoh - what is the name of Pharaoh? Do you hear that? It's a title, it's a title. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala never mentioned his name. Why didn't He mention his name? It's not important, it's not important for you to know the name of Pharaoh. Who cares about his name? But the most important thing is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is telling you that in 2020, in 2026...

The lesson continues beyond just historical knowledge - it's about recognizing the patterns of tyranny and oppression that repeat throughout history, and how we should respond to them with faith and patience, just as Musa did with Pharaoh.