When Allah Says "This is a Reminder" | Tafseer Surah Al-Insan |EP. 10 |FINAL| Ustadh Mohamad Baajour

Introduction and Opening Du'a

And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, I am of those who submit to Allah. May Allah teach us what benefits us, benefit us from what He taught us and increase us in knowledge. May Allah make us from the people at the end of the gathering they will be told:

Get up and all your sins are forgiven and all your evil deeds are switched into good deeds.

Our True Purpose

You know, we were taught and trained that when we are asked, "Why are you here? Why are you in this dunya? What's your purpose?" We all learn to answer, we are here to worship Allah. But actually we are here to know who is Allah. Because when you know Allah, you have no other choice but to worship Him. When you know how great is Allah, when you know His attributes, you will find yourself enjoying the worship.

What are we doing? For me to sit down and listen to a talk and because of that, not only my sins are forgiven, they are switched into good deeds. Is there any more generosity than this?

Remember I gave you the example once before. Like I took you to court or you took me to court because I owe you $50,000. It was $100,000. You took me to court because I owe you $100,000. And then when we get to the court and the judge ruled in your favor for me to pay you $100,000, you told the judge, "I forgive him." And you know what? "Sheikh Bajur, here's $100,000 extra." This is literally what's happening. We do not deserve, سُبْحَانَ اللّٰه, but this is how كَرِيم is Allah.

Returning from Umrah and Community Support

So, الْحَمْدُ للّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِين. I don't know if you felt it, but I made a lot of du'a for you in Umrah. And الْحَمْدُ للّٰه, it was amazing with the help of Allah. And you know, as some of you know that I was not supposed to be here last week, but I came a little bit earlier. And we'll discuss that later. And so that's why I invited Sheikh Okasha in my absence, and it was disrespectful to tell him that I'm here, I don't need you. So may Allah reward him and bless him for covering for me when I'm away. And all the shuyukh that covered for me.

And this is the beauty of Dallas. You know, سُبْحَانَ اللّٰه, we didn't have that in New York, unfortunately. In Dallas, you could ask the imam of a next door masjid to cover for you, and they would come with a smiling face, سُبْحَانَ اللّٰه. And may Allah reward them all, from Imam Bashir, to Imam Durra, to Imam Salah, to Sheikh Okasha, to all of the people who covered. May Allah bless them, and may Allah give me the ability to pay them back, because it's going to cost me. Everyone before they said yes, said, "I need you for a khutbah." And I knew that, you know, when you ask for something. So let's see what happens, إِن شَاءَ اللّٰه.

Continuing Tafsir of Surah Al-Insan

So we continue إِن شَاءَ اللّٰه today with the tafsir of Surah Al-Insan. And before we left, we finished with the ayah where Allah said, that these people, he's talking about the kuffar, they love the عَاجِلَة.

What does the عَاجِلَة? Who remembers? Instant, instant gratification. إِنَّمَا حَيَاتُنَا الدُّنْيَا نَمُوتُ وَنَحْيَا - "This is it, this is our life, this is it, there's no akhira." They love this.

The Proper Relationship with Dunya

And of course there are Muslims who love the dunya, and there's nothing wrong with loving the dunya, but where's the problem? When you make the dunya your main concern, your main goal, all you think about is the promotion, and the new house, and the new car, and to get these things you are ignoring your duties. This is when the dunya becomes haram. Otherwise, Allah, as a matter of fact, there were two ahadith.

One of them, when Rasul (Sahih Muslim) was - one of the wives of Rasul was asked, what is his most du'a? In one hadith, she said:

"O turner of the hearts, keep my heart steadfast on your deen." That was one of the answers. And the other answer was, who remembers?

So that was one of the most du'a that Rasul said. And he's asking in this du'a, which is an ayah in Surah Al-Baqarah. رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا - if the dunya is horrible, and we do not need to do anything in this dunya, why would Allah mention in the Quran that there are some people who would say, رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَة - not only that, وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَة. But if you say only for the dunya, then you have a problem. No, no, no. Ya Allah, I want in the dunya hasana.

Understanding the Du'a of Hasana

And we explained, and we said, when I say hasana in the dunya, سُبْحَانَ اللّٰه, that's why I want you - we all know this du'a. And we all say it in umrah and hajj, and maybe every night, you say it in your sujood, you say it before you make salam in the salat. I want to change your concept of this du'a.

When you say, رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَة, when you say the word hasana in the dunya, I want you to remember a few things. Hasana in the dunya includes good children, good spouse, good job, good health, good environment, good masjid, good community. Anything hasan in the dunya is included in the hasana of the dunya. رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَة.

So when you're saying that, because most of the time, unfortunately, and this is where the biggest problem in our du'a, is what? There's no focus. رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا - Habibi, what kind of hasana is this? Focus on what you're asking for. Imagine I'm asking you something in dire need. Iyad, please, I need, and I have no clue what I'm asking. It's just, oh, I learned this du'a. No, no, no. You're asking the كَرِيم, you're asking the عَظِيم, you're asking the one who told you to ask him with this du'a. Right? It's in the Quran.

Those Who Ignore the Heavy Day

So, these people, their problem is that's all they care about. And unfortunately, if I ask you to raise your hand, you will say, yes, I know a guy, that's all he thinks about, is dunya matters. May Allah guide us all.

Not only they love the عَاجِلَة, they love the instant gratification, they love the dunya, but they are ignoring this day that Allah called ثَقِيل, heavy, very heavy. إِذَا السَّمَاءُ انشَقَّتْ، إِذَا الْكَوَاكِبُ انتَثَرَتْ، إِذَا الْقُبُورُ بُعْثِرَتْ، إِذَا الْبِحَارُ سُجِّرَتْ. Very horrible, terrible, very scary day, they are ignoring it because they are focusing on the dunya.

But the Muslim, the true believer, is constantly thinking, you know what, today is my last day, سُبْحَانَ اللّٰه. He is always focusing, what if I die tomorrow? Today, like I mentioned at dhuhr, we buried an 89-year-old today, and tomorrow a newborn after Jumu'ah. سُبْحَانَ اللّٰه. May Allah give patience to their families, especially the newborn, سُبْحَانَ اللّٰه.

Allah's Power of Creation and Recreation

So, then after that Allah said:

"And it's us who have created them. And we have perfected their physical form, but if we wish, we can easily replace them."

Now this ayah came right after when Allah told us that they love the عَاجِلَة. How come? After Allah told us that they love the عَاجِلَة, and they're not preparing for that heavy day. Let me ask you a question. Why do you think, think about the question before you answer. Why do you think they love the عَاجِلَة, and they are ignoring this heavy day? Anybody?

They do not believe that there is a day of judgment. That's why. They do not believe that there is a day of judgment. How many times in the Quran, as a matter of fact, the sheikh just recited from Surah An-Naml, when we are bones and ashes, we will be brought back to life, in the last page in Surah Yaseen:

"Who's gonna bring back this?" They do not actually believe. So Allah is telling them, "I have created you. And if I wish I could replace you for people who will obey me." And obviously we all know, even the youngest among us will answer, if I ask the question, which one is harder? The first creation or the second recreation? Of course the first creation is harder. So Allah is telling them, "You think it's hard for me to bring you back?"

The Hadith of the Man Who Feared Resurrection

You know the hadith is in Bukhari. Rasulullah ﷺ, he said there was a man, again the hadith is in Bukhari, 100% authentic. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3481)

A man came to his kids, and he said, "How was I as a father? Was I a good father?" They said you were a very good father. He said, "Listen up. When I die, you burn me. And when I turn into coal, you crush me. And when there comes a windy, very windy day, you take my ashes and scatter them in the wind." And he insisted on every single son to confirm that they are going to do this. And he took a promise from every single one of them. So they did everything that the father asked after his death.

Then Allah commanded all these ashes to come together, and he was right there in front of Allah. And he said, "Oh my slave, what made you do what you did?" He said, "Ya Allah, I was very scared of you, out of fear of you." The hadith continues. The point is, they did not believe that there is an akhira. They did not believe that Allah can bring back all these ashes back together. They did not believe in all that.

So Allah is telling them, نَحْنُ خَلَقْنَاهُمْ وَشَدَدْنَا أَسْرَهُمْ - "I perfected your image. سُبْحَانَ اللّٰه. And you are disobeying me. وَإِذَا شِئْنَا بَدَّلْنَا أَمْثَالَهُمْ تَبْدِيلًا - I can replace you in no time. I can replace you in no time."

The Greatest Problem: Knowing the Truth but Not Following It

Then after that, Allah, you know before that, you know what the biggest problem is? That Allah in this surah, he told them what is the destiny of the people who do evil. Then he told them the destiny of the people who do good. Then he threatens. Then he gives glad tidings. All of that, and the biggest problem is, they know. This is the biggest problem. They know that Muhammad ﷺ is telling the truth.

Imagine I'm sitting down, and I'm arguing with you for hours, and I know you're telling the truth. This is the problem. If I have doubt, maybe I have something that will come up from this argument. But I know that you're telling the truth. Where am I going with this? You said this is blue. And I said no, this is green. And we kept on arguing back and forth, and I know it's blue. I know that before Islam, we used to love him and trust him with everything we have. Now, with this information that is no way coming from a human being, we do not believe him. That was the biggest problem.

So Allah said, "I can replace you in no time." Wallahi, that is the biggest misery. When you know the truth, and you do not follow it.

A Crucial Du'a for Steadfastness

And I want you to please, wallahi, always, always ask Allah, which is again, it's a du'a in the Quran, in Surah Ali Imran, first page, last ayah:

I beg you, I beg you to constantly make this du'a. "Ya Allah, keep me on your deen."

Wallahi, wallahi, wallahi, don't be fooled by your beard. Don't be fooled by your sheikh talking to people. Don't be fooled by you attending Fajr and Isha, and you memorize the Quran, and you memorize the hadith. Don't be fooled by any of that. This is all great, and keep doing it, till we meet Allah. But, why would Rasulullah ﷺ's most du'a be "keep me steadfast on your deen"? They knew the truth, and they did not follow it.

Opening Du'a and Reflection

We beg Allah, Ya Allah, I beg you in this blessed night of Jumu'ah, Ya Allah, for me and everyone in this room, and their spouses, and their parents, and their children, and everyone who is watching us, Ya Allah, do not take our soul, except that you are pleased with us. Wallahi, I beg Allah, because you know, especially in this world that we are living in, you have no clue how your life will end. There's so many temptations, and so many fitan all over.

So, look how Allah is so forgiving. Come back to me, follow my path. Even now, for example, Ramadan is coming. Look, subhanAllah. Rasulullah ﷺ said, all these hadith, you will be hearing them very soon.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 38)

Whomsoever fast Ramadan, whomsoever pray the Qiyam of Ramadan, whomsoever get up in the Laylatul Qadr. Look, listen, look how great is Allah. You are not able to fast, don't worry, you can get the maghfirah from Qiyam. You are not able to Qiyam and fast, you will get the maghfirah from Qiyam of Laylatul Qadr. And of course, you are excused.

Allah's Multiple Paths to Forgiveness

So subhanAllah, there is always a way to find, to get Allah's maghfirah. You cannot do this. Why? It should have been من صام رمضان because Ramadan is month of Siyam, khalas. No, no, no, maybe you are very sick, you have a chronic pain, you are diabetic and you take medicine, and you cannot do the Ramadan, and so you get scared, you know what, I'm not fasting Ramadan, maybe I'm not going to get my sins forgiven. Oh, من قام رمضان. You can still pray. Oh, I cannot even perform Qiyam, I have this. Okay, no, Laylatul Qadr. One night. SubhanAllah.

Of course, again, I keep repeating. Oh, Shaykh said, قام ليلة القدر. Yalla ya shabab, I'll see you at 27. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. No, no. I said with excuses. Tayyib.

This is a Reminder - Free Will and Divine Will

Now, look at Allah.

This is a reminder. And, whomever wills, will take a path to Allah. You could tell from this ayat, that the surah is about to end. After he told us all this, the above, إِنَّ هَٰذِهِ تَذْكِرَةٌ I reminded you what's gonna happen if you're a kafir. I reminded you of all the luxuries of Jannah. We saw all these luxuries of Jannah. I reminded you if you obey me, what's gonna happen. This is just a reminder. And, whomsoever among you, will follow this reminder, and will get to my... will earn my pleasure, and eventually will end up in Jannah forever. This is your choice.

Common Misconceptions About Divine Decree

I heard this with my own ears. When you see someone who's not praying, and committing a lot of sins, and you try to remind them of Allah, ya akhi, don't worry. We are from the Ummah of Muhammad, and he will intercede for us on the Day of Judgment. He will intercede for us. Or, I also heard this, I am a Sayyid. I am a Sayyid. Ya'ni... Should I show you my Jannah seal?

Ya habibi, please listen carefully. No matter who you are, you're not close to Rasulullah ﷺ as much as Fatima. And he told her, ya Fatima, I cannot do anything for you on the Day of Judgment. Take whatever you want, ya Fatima, from my wealth, but on the Day of Judgment, لَا أَنسَابَ بَيْنَهُمْ Surah Al-Mu'minoon لَا أَنسَابَ There's no, oh my father was an Imam, my grandfather was a Mawlana, my daughter is... No, no, no, لَا أَنسَابَ. There's nobody. No, my father, my mother, my cousin, my sister, my son, nobody. Rasulullah ﷺ, he told Fatima, ya Fatima, I cannot do anything for you. Allahu Akbar.

So, إِنَّ هَٰذِهِ تَذْكِرَةٌ ۖ فَمَن شَاءَ اتَّخَذَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِ سَبِيلًا

Now,

After, listen to this now, here, many people use this in the wrong meaning. After Allah said, okay, this is a reminder, Whomsoever among you follow my path, follow the way to me, Whomsoever wishes, مَن شَاءَ اتَّخَذَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِ سَبِيلًا Then Allah said, but you're not gonna have sha' except with my permission. إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا

Misusing the Ayah About Divine Will

Okay, what do people say? Brother, why don't you pray? If Allah wants me to pray, did you hear that or no? Sister, why you're not wearing the hijab? If Allah wants me to wear the hijab, He would have told me, look, I have a daleel, Surah Al-Insan, وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ MashaAllah, they give you evidence also from the Qur'an. You see, if Allah wants, I would have worn the Qur'an. Wallahi, it's not me, it's Allah.

No, no, no, no. Allah said this, so we can constantly go back to Him and beg Him to guide us. إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ Why إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ 17 times a day. As a matter of fact, InshaAllah Ta'ala, this Ramadan, I will be covering after Isha, the Khatira. Sheikh Yasser won't be here, so I will be the whole Ramadan. Let's keep it a surprise.

The Proper Understanding of Divine Guidance

So, why did Allah, after He said, whoever shall, let him come to Me. And then He said, you will not have Mashi'ah without My permission. So many people abuse this ayah. Oh, Allah did not wish me to be guided, that's why I'm not guided.

Remember, I taught you this before. When someone tells me, let's discuss it a little bit. When someone tells you, I, if Allah wants me to be guided, He would have guided me. How do we answer? Remember, who remembers how do we answer this? So you're just sitting here and looking at me and shaking your head, and I'm thinking that you're understanding what I'm saying.

When someone tells you, brother, if you tell him, why don't you pray? And he says, Wallahi, Allah did not guide me. Why don't you fast? Allah did not guide me. You answer and say, what did you do to be guided? What did you do to be guided?

And we use the same concept of rizq. Do you stay at home, you wake up in the morning and you stay in the bed and you say, brother, why don't you have money? Wallahi, Allah did not provide for me. No. You get up like a good boy, and you go to work, and you make sure you're there on time, and you do your work fully, so you can get paid. You did something to get the rizq. Why don't you do something to get the guidance?

Come to the halaqah, sit down, listen to something at home, listen to the... SubhanAllah, with this access that we have right now, you can bring any shaykh to your living room. What did you do to be guided?

Have you ever seen someone with complete... you can say that he's sane, and he said he's very sick. Did you go to the doctor? No, no, no. Allah is the shafi'. Absolutely, with no doubt, Allah is the shafi'. But the shafi' said, go to the doctor. The shafi' said, take the medicine. So similarly, he is al-hadi', just like he's al-razaq'. So what did you do for the al-hadi' to guide you? You must have done something, you have to do something.

So, وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ At the end of the day, it's the mashi' of Allah, there's no escape from it. Allah, nothing happens without his permission, but we have to do the effort. And then, Allah ended the ayah. وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا

The Final Ayah - Allah's Mercy and Justice

What's the last ayah?

Allah will make whomever he wishes come into his mercy. There's no way, no way, no how we can get to Jannah without the mercy of Allah. That's why when someone dies, we beg Allah, اللهم اغفر له وارحمه and وارحمه وارحمه الرحمن الرحيم الرحمة Because without the rahmah of Allah, we will never be able to enter Jannah.

Our Deeds and Allah's Mercy

Our a'mal, all our a'mal that we are doing, is to increase the possibility of getting the rahmah. But the entrance of Jannah, what are we doing to deserve Jannah? Really, what are we doing? If you look at your day, from the moment you wake up, till the moment we sleep. What is it? You know what, Allah Akbar, you deserve Jannah forever. What is it?

The salat that is half distracted, the siyam that we can't wait till it's over, the hajj which is coming up, that we constantly, you know, when you ask people about hajj, what's the first thing? Or about umrah? What's the first thing that people say when you, how was your umrah brother? What's the first thing? Come on, don't pretend you don't know. It was very crowded.

What do you expect? No really, you're going to hajj with 3-4 million people, what do you expect? Oh Allah, it was, it has to be crowded. 365, 24-7, it's very crowded, it's always very crowded. Alhamdulillah that Allah gave me the opportunity to see the crowd, to be from the crowd. It's a blessing.

By the way, talking about hajj, inshaAllah ta'ala, I will be going to hajj this year. If anybody is interested in going to hajj, let me know inshaAllah ta'ala, I will guide you with the steps, because someday they're going to open the registration. And you know what's going to happen someday, usually, every time they open the website, it, yeah, immediately. Tayyib, يُدْخِلُ مَن يَشَاءُ فِي رَحْمَتِهِ وَالظَّالِمِينَ

Understanding Zulm (Oppression)

But if you're a zalim, zalim is not only a person that does oppression to others. Zalim also could be a zalim to himself. A zalim li-nafsih, the person who have wronged himself. How? By disobeying Allah. إِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ. Because you're committing a lot of zulm when you're committing shirk, associating partners with Allah. When you're saying that Allah has a son, that is the biggest shirk ever.

Closing Du'a

So, we beg Allah to make us from the people who listen and apply. We beg Allah to accept this tafsir. And everything that I said that is good is from Allah and all the mistakes are all from me. May Allah forgive me. May Allah make me from the people who practice what they preach. May Allah make you from the people who apply what they listen to. May Allah forgive all our sins. May Allah give us the ability to worship Him till the last breath that we have. May Allah make our last deeds our best deeds. May Allah make our last words, لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ.

May Allah fill all our homes with love and mercy and tranquility. May Allah grant our sons righteous wives and grant our daughters righteous husbands. May Allah make our spouses the coolness of our eyes. May Allah keep the shayateen of human and the shayateen of jinn away from our masajid, away from our homes. May Allah keep our hearts united. May Allah gather us, just like He gathered us here, gather us under His shade when there is no shade except His shade.

I love you all for the sake of Allah. And if you only came for the candy, this is the time you come here inshallah. I love you all for the sake of Allah.