Top 10 Motivational Moments from Moments with the Quran | A Ramadan Series

The Love of the Sahaba for the Prophet ﷺ — The Story of Sawad ibn Ghaziyyah at Badr

So you have the Sahaba in the Battle of Badr. None of these people were afraid to leave this world. But from one Sahabi's gesture, you realize what they were sad about. They were not sad about leaving their mother, their brothers, their children.

You hear the story of Sawad ibn Ghaziyyah, may Allah be pleased with him. He was a seerah master in the Battle of Badr. The Prophet ﷺ was putting everyone in saf in the Battle of Badr, and he sees one person standing a little bit ahead of the line. So the Prophet ﷺ says to him:

"Stand properly, oh Sawad." And then the Prophet ﷺ takes a spear or an arrow and pushes him back. So Sawad says:

"You hurt me, O Messenger of Allah. Allah has sent you with the truth and justice, so let me take my right of retaliation." So the Prophet ﷺ agreed. He removed his garment, exposing his stomach — because he had struck Sawad on his exposed stomach. So this person, instead of taking revenge and putting a spear in the Prophet's ﷺ stomach, he did this:

He hugged the Prophet ﷺ and kissed his stomach. And the Prophet ﷺ said:

"Oh Sawad, what made you do this?" And he said — subhanAllah, these are the emotions of these people — he said:

"O Prophet of Allah, you see a thousand people in front of us. We are 313. I don't think I'm going to make it out of this battle. I wanted the last thing that my skin touched in my life to be your skin." That was the last thing he did in his life. And that's exactly what happened, and he became a shaheed, rahimahullah.

If you start reading about the Sahaba, for them, leaving the Prophet ﷺ was so difficult. That's how we understand how powerful that love was.

Imaan and Understanding — Not Everything Has to Make Sense Right Away

Don't wait for it to make sense. Because that part of it — the child who's one and a half, two years old, it doesn't make sense to that child why he or she can't drink Coke, or why he or she has to stay away from phones, or all those small things that we make the kids do — but they don't understand. Because they're right now immature. Their brains are still maturing.

Right now our iman is still maturing. There are many things where our iman level right now is at a level where it's not mature yet. So it's going to take us time. It's not that Allah is not — Allah is Hakeem. And the Prophet ﷺ is a Hakeem as well. So everything is full of wisdom. But it is okay. It does happen that there are certain things that don't make sense when they happen. But Allah is saying, the first fundamental thing is: it doesn't have to make sense for you to apply it. Apply it first, continue to do it, and inshallah it will end up making sense.

The Vision of Allah in the Hereafter — and the Role of Salah

Allah will say to the angels: "Remove the veils." And mankind will look at Allah directly. In the first ten or eleven verses, Allah brings up salah over and over. And really the people who are able to enjoy their moment in front of Allah in this dunya — those who pray with presence and attention — they will enjoy their stand in front of Allah on that Day.

Those who fear Allah in the times of remembering Him, in times of temptation toward sins — they will get paradise. That's one translation. And those who fear Allah's maqam — His grandeur, His greatness, His presence — they also get Jannah.

People will see Allah and enjoy this sight. But this is for believers. The greatest gift to any human in this world is being Muslim. And the greatest gift to a Muslim in the next world is Jannah. But the greatest gift in Jannah is being with the Prophet ﷺ, of course. But greater than that is that Allah removes the veils between you and Him and you are enjoying His sight. This comes through salah.

Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl — The Power of Sincere Intention

That reminds me of the story of Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl. He caused so much harm to the Muslims. And finally when he accepted Islam and came to Madinah, the Prophet ﷺ said:

Welcome to the riding emigrant (muhajir). — Referenced in seerah accounts of Ikrimah's acceptance of Islam.

The Prophet ﷺ loved Ikrimah. He was such an amazing person. And even though his father was a horrible man, the Prophet ﷺ said beforehand:

Ikrimah is going to come now as a believer, as a muhajir. Don't say anything about his father. Saying something bad about someone who is dead affects and breaks the heart of the one who is alive, but does not reach the person who is dead.

Then Ikrimah says to the Prophet ﷺ, right when he accepts Islam — look at his intention:

"O Prophet of Allah, every single place that I have stood against Islam, I am going to stand in support of Islam." In another narration, he said, "I am going to do ten times more than that for Islam."

"I spent so much money trying to bring Islam down. O Prophet of Allah, I am going to spend much more than that in support of Islam."

And after all those years, Allah gave him an opportunity to fulfill his intention. Yes, you get tested —

Yes, you get tested. And you also get the opportunity. Everyone will get an opportunity to fulfill their intention, inshallah. And even if you don't get to fulfill the entire intention, you will get the reward for the entire intention.

Ikrimah at the Battle of Yarmouk

So in Yarmouk — in Jordan — when all the odds were against the Muslims, Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl comes out and says:

"Who is going to pledge allegiance on the fact that we are going to give our life for the sake of Allah in this battlefield?" The odds are against us — there is no looking back. Remember the intention he made? After all these years, in Yarmouk, he was fulfilling it.

At that point, Khalid ibn al-Walid comes up to him and says, "Ikrimah, don't do this — if you do this, you are going to break the spine of the Muslims. We need you alive." And Ikrimah says to Khalid:

"O Khalid, you became Muslim before me. I am going to become shaheed before you." SubhanAllah — so powerful. Khalid and Ikrimah were best friends. "You became Muslim before me. I am going to become shaheed before you."

And all 400 of them passed away as shuhada in the path of Allah — except for one Sahabi, whose name was Dirar ibn al-Azwar. That is another whole story about him.

Khalid ibn al-Walid knew the story of those three companions who were dying on the battlefield — thirsty — and each one said, "Give the water to him instead." Ikrimah was one of them, and he passed away out of thirst, giving water to someone else. Khalid ibn al-Walid held him in his lap, crying, washing his face with his own hands, cleaning the blood and the sand.

Allah gave them what they asked for. They made an intention, and Allah gave them an opportunity. And that is what Allah says:

They were truthful with Allah when they made their intentions.

The Barakah of Knowledge — Imam Abu Yusuf and the Transfer of 'Ilm

Growing up, I loved Imam Abu Yusuf's story with Imam Abu Hanifah, rahimahumallah. And Yaqub is Imam Abu Yusuf. He was the qadi of his time — a great faqih, the qadi under Harun al-Rashid. And he said: the ilm that I have — he said — I can still feel the barakah from the effect of the Prophet's ﷺ hand on my great-great-grandfather. Like, I could still feel it.

As the Prophet ﷺ touched his head, ilm transferred down — because the Prophets don't leave behind gold nor silver nor the treasures of this world, but they leave behind ilm. He said: "I could still feel the barakah of the Prophet's hand on my great-great-grandfather."

And from this, there's a beautiful segue: isn't the first transfer of ilm through touch? —

Jibril hugged the Prophet ﷺ and squeezed him until it was very hard for him. — Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3

The transfer of the original first revelation was through the medium of touch as well. So we as a community go to the ulama and ask them for du'as. But imagine receiving the du'a of the Prophet ﷺ. If that was the effect of the hand of the Prophet ﷺ on someone's head, then imagine the effect of his du'a.

People don't get this. The Prophet ﷺ made du'a for people. And he made du'a for you and I. And if you want to be part of his du'a, you have to be part of those people he made du'a for.

The Neighbor of Allah in Jannah

Just a quick digression — the idea of being next to Allah in Jannah: Allah already told you how to get there. Because on the Day of Judgment, Allah will ask: "Ayna jirani?" — "Where are My neighbors?" And the angel will say, "Ya Rabb, how could You have neighbors? It is not befitting of You to have neighbors. Who could be Your neighbor?" And He says: "Ayna ummarul masajid?" — "Where are those who used to frequent the masjids?" If you are going to your neighboring masjid regularly, then you will be the neighbor of Allah in Jannah.

La ilaha illallah. It's not far. It seems so far away. But it's as close as your local masjid. That's how close it is to be the neighbor of Allah in Jannah. Just go to the masjid. Be someone who frequents the masjid.

The Three Stages of Returning to Allah

There are three stages to returning to Allah:

Awwaluha at-tawbah — The first is repenting. May Allah make us true repenters on these beautiful nights.

Wa awsatuha al-inabah — The middle is inabah.

Wa akhiruha al-awbah — And the last level is awbah.

And you know, in the Qur'an Allah says:

Allah talks about "innahu awwab" — "What an excellent servant! Indeed he was ever turning back to Allah." Who is Allah referring to as awwab? Brothers and sisters, you have to tell me that.

The Qualities of Each Stage

At-tawbah — sifatul mu'mineen. Repenting is the quality of a believer.

All believers, return to Allah. Allah uses the word tawbah.

Al-inabah — sifatul awliya' al-muqarrabeen. Inabah is the state of the heart of those who are close to Allah.

The one who fears Allah without seeing Him and comes to Allah with a heart that is muneeb — meaning it keeps turning back to Allah. It doesn't matter how many times they fall. They know who their Rabb is. They know who Allah is.

Al-awbah — sifatul anbiya'. Awbah is the quality of the Prophets. May Allah make us among those who are ta'ibs, then muneebs, and inshallah we can also attain the quality of awbah — the last and highest stage.

Strategic Investment in the Akhirah

When we think about investment in our akhirah, there has to be a strategic plan. You don't just randomly do deeds. You do those deeds that will have a long-term effect and will continue to benefit you even after you pass away.

In America, people — before they even get their first paycheck — are already thinking about when to retire, how to retire, where to retire. But truly: before we even reach adulthood, the moment we come of age, we have to start thinking about our retirement — not at 65 years old, but in the akhirah. How are we saving for it?

These people are so worried about their retirement. They invest time in it, invest money, put things away — and they'll get it after 65. But truly, the best investment is our righteous children. When you are retired, it is not that you are staying at their house — they feel honored to be staying at yours. That is the true investment: raise good children, make them righteous, and inshallah when they are able to take care of you, that is an investment worth far more than any sum of money. And our true retirement is in Jannah.

The Prophet's ﷺ Advice on the Best Investment

The Prophet ﷺ was approached by a man who said:

"O Messenger of Allah, I have kept on buying and selling until I earned 300 silver coins today." He was the richest man in the whole valley that day, a smart businessman. So the Prophet ﷺ said:

"Shall I not tell you of something more profitable than that? Two raka'ats after salah." Allahu Akbar. That's it. If you pray two raka'ats after salah, that profit — you will see its athar in this world. But the ajar you will receive in the akhirah, nothing in this world can compare to it.

Ayatul Kursi — The Greatest Ayah in the Qur'an

Protecting our good deeds and protecting our lives — Allah also gives us an ayah that, if recited, Allah will protect us from failures in this life. And that is Ayatul Kursi. Ayatul Kursi is a security not only for people's physical and financial assets, but also their spiritual assets.

The Prophet ﷺ said: whoever reads Ayatul Kursi after salah, or in the morning and evening, the shaitan cannot affect this person. They have a buffer zone — a security around them.

Ayatul Kursi is the greatest ayah in the Qur'an —

I didn't want to finish this session without speaking about the most obvious and most important ayah in the Qur'an — Ayatul Kursi. Reading this ayah protects you from any mishap of this world and any loss in the akhirah. This ayah must be recited.

When Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, had the goods from the sadaqah and zakat, someone came into the room at night and stole some of the money. Abu Hurayrah caught him and said, "I'm going to take you to the Prophet ﷺ." This person said, "Listen, I will teach you something — if you read this, you will be safe from me." Even the shaitan told Abu Hurayrah: if you read Ayatul Kursi, I cannot touch your property. This happened three times. The Prophet ﷺ said: "He told you the truth, but he is a liar." Even the liar spoke the truth.

Ayatul Kursi is such a powerful ayah. It is the greatest ayah in the Qur'an. It should be recited morning and evening as protection for our financial, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. It should be recited by our children. We should blow it upon ourselves, blow it upon our bodies, and we should not sleep until we have recited it — because it buffers us from the shaitan. We need this so we don't lose our good deeds, so we don't lose our compass.

Allah's Incomparable Patience and Mercy

Some of the coldest-hearted people in America are prison guards. They are supposed to help prisoners rehabilitate — to help these human beings — and yet they oppress them. And after putting them through all that hardship, the prisoner knows that the only one who can give him water or food is this guard. So no matter how much the prisoner hates this guard, he ends up staying quiet, humbling himself — and then finally gets a glass of water.

But Allah doesn't treat us like that. Even the one who is saying the worst things about Allah — that Allah doesn't exist — Allah does not treat us like that. Allah says: "You know what? I am still merciful to you. I'm not asking you for your desperation. I don't need you to get to that point of your life." You know the saying — there is no atheist on a sinking ship. Allah doesn't need you to reach that point throughout your life.

There is no one more patient with harm than Allah. They claim He has a son, yet He still grants them well-being and sustenance. — Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6099; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2804

There is no one more patient and tolerant than Allah. People are saying the worst things about Him. Imagine someone saying something bad about us — no matter how great a scholar we might be, we would not invite them to our homes, we would not be gracious to them. But Allah says: look at how I treat those who disobey Me, and see My ni'mah in that. Look at how I treat those who say negative things about Me. Look at how Allah blesses those who speak negatively about the Prophet ﷺ — Allah is still giving them water, still giving them oxygen.

This can make us love Allah even more and appreciate Him even more. And that is why this ayah — right in the middle of Surah ar-Rahman — is so profound.

The Honor of the Night Prayer — Qiyam al-Layl

The honor of a believer is to make a habit of getting up at night. We have tarawih, alhamdulillah — people pray 8 raka'ats, 20 raka'ats. But you know what's more powerful than that? Once you finish the 8 or 20 — you still pray those, that's not skippable — but what really helps is this: when you're working out, and you're really, really tired, and your arms are like spaghetti, and you take those last 50 shots — those are the ones that are going to fix your form. The last few reps you take, those are the most effective ones.

When do you start counting your push-ups? When it starts hurting. So too: you pray 8 or 20 raka'ats of tarawih, and then you wake up in the middle of the night and pray two more, four more — alone in front of Allah. Those are the ones that are going to count. Those are what will bring real change in your life.

So we have to combine the two. We have so much to ask from Allah. Be humble here, and you will be elevated there. Tolerate here, and you will be respected there. That's how it happens. And when a person starts doing that, it reaches the point where in front of Allah, they can start crying. And once you get to the point of crying — that means you've made it.