Contents: Track 01 | Track 02 | Track 03 | Track 04 | Track 05 | Track 06 | Track 07 | Track 08

Track 01

• Allah has told us in the Qur’an, “إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ”: “Surely, Allah will not change the state, or the condition, of a people unless and until they change that which is in themselves” (Surah Ra’d, Ayah 11). Therefore, unless the Muslims change their way according to what Allah likes, Allah will not relieve them of the trials and troubles that they are going through.

• The best place for us to begin to think of changing ourselves and in our lives is to get to know Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). As we get to know Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), we can determine our relationship with Him. Is it positive, or is it negative? Is it a relationship of devotion or one of “take it, or leave it”? Is the relationship one of commitment, or is it one of those things that “when I feel good, I’m in with Allah, and when I don’t feel good, I’m in on my own”?

• If we know Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), we will begin to respond in a different way in terms of our relationship with Him. Of course, if our relationship with Allah is strong and one of commitment, devotion, and zero tolerance when it comes to making excuses or justifying the way that we are living right now, then our situation will change very quickly by Allah’s will.

• There is no place to know Allah better than through His Names and Attributes. Allah tells us in the Qur’an, “وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا”: “Allah has many beautiful names, so call upon Him by using these names”. All of you know the famous Hadith of the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) wherein he said, “Surely Allah has ninety-nine names: one hundred minus one. Whoever counts them shall enter Paradise.” Counting here, as you know, doesn’t mean to enumerate them and to just say 1,2,3,4, all the way up to 99. Rather, counting in this case means to know those names and meanings, to memorize them, and to practice them in our lives.

Track 02

• As we begin to practice the names of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) in our lives, we will become more and more beloved to Allah and we will begin to see the mercy of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) evermore. There are many names of Allah; much more than 99. There are so many names that we don’t even know how many and only Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) knows how many names He has. There’s more than 99, and that’s for sure.

• In our relationship with Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), let us just take one name of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) and see how it influences our life, or how it should influence our lives and what type of impact it should have in our lives.

• Ar-Rasul (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) says in a Hadith, “Allah is very Modest, Shy, and is one who loves to cover and conceal. He is One that loves this quality of concealment and of modesty, of shyness.” Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), as Rasulullah (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) told us in another Hadith, “Allah is very Shy, and is Shy in relationship to His Servant. When he or she extends his/her hands in Du’a, Allah is Shy to return them without an answer or giving them nothing back in return. Of course, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is Shy to refuse to answer your Du’a. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is very Modest when it comes to sinning; when human beings sin, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) does not like that, and therefore, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) provides a lot of opportunity for us to seek forgiveness from Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). It’s part of the Love of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) for us.

• For us as Muslims, we have to emulate Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) so if Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is Shy and Modest, so we ourselves as believers, those who have submitted themselves to Allah, must also be shy. Our Hayaa’, our shyness, is, of course, different from Allah’s Shyness because we are humans while Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is our creator and as Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) says, “لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيُْ”: “There is nothing like Allah (Surah Shura, Ayah 11)). However, when we’re shy as Muslims are supposed to be, emulating and following the lead Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), it means for us to be shy to refuse to do the work of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). If Allah has asked us to do something, we must go ahead and do it, and we must feel shy if we refuse to do it. We must feel that something is wrong and a sense of shame. We should feel shy to refuse Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), to do what we’re supposed to do.

Track 03

• If Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has told us not to do a particular thing, we should stay away from that particular thing, and if we begin to approach that thing, we should shy away from that particular sin. This is the idea of us having Hayaa’ as believers.

• Hayaa’ is so important for us, as Muslims, that it means the very life our faith. As a matter of fact, many scholars in the past used to say very clearly, “If a person does not have Hayaa’, they’re not alive”. If a person does not have shyness or this sense of shame of recoiling and shrinking from anything that is bad and displeasing to Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), that that person is not alive; they are essentially dead and their hearts are dead. If a person is alive, they have a sense of Hayaa’. That means that it bothers them to know to no end if they do something that looks strange and weird in front of people (something bad, that is, not something good), and they know that people are not going to be happy about it.

• So if they curse, and they know that cursing is not right, and they still go ahead and curse: if they Hayaa’, first of all, they won’t do it. And if they happen to slip, then they’re going to hit themselves constantly. They’re going to be so ashamed and it’s going to bother them to such a degree that they’re going to be thinking about it over and over, telling themselves that “I shouldn’t have done it”. You see, they have that Nafsal Lawwamah. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) tells us in the Qur’an as He swears, “وَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالنَّفْسِ اللَّوَّامَةِ”: “And nay, but I swear with the self-reproaching soul.” This is the state of the soul that all of us can have, in which our soul gets upset, irritated, and bothered when we do something wrong. It’ll constantly keep on telling us, “I shouldn’t have done it. That was wrong. I shouldn’t have done it.”

• That feeling only comes when you have Hayaa’. When you have Hayaa’, your soul begins to eat at you. You curse someone and you know you weren’t supposed to, then you keep on telling yourself, “I knew I shouldn’t have done it.” If you backbite, again knowing that you shouldn’t have done it (if your heart is alive, that is), if you go on the Internet and you know that you’re not supposed to be going on certain websites or that you know that you shouldn’t be putting your profile on MySpace.com: if your heart is alive, and have Hayaa’, you’re going to eat away at yourself. Your heart is going to bother you. Your soul is going to bother you. The Nafsul Lawwamah is going to keep on hitting you that, “I shouldn’t have done it. That was wrong. I should have Hayaa’ and I should be shy before Allah because Allah is watching me. Allah is noticing every little thing that I’m doing, so I should be watching every little thing I’m doing. I cannot escape Allah. I’m under Allah’s watch: ‘إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا”: “Surely Allah is Ever-Watchful and is very Vigilant” (Surah Nisa, Ayah 1). He can see anything that you are doing and everything that you are doing at any moment in time. “اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ”: “Allah, the One that nobody deserves to be worshipped but Him, and the One that is Ever-Alive” (Surah Aali Imran, Ayah 1). He doesn’t ever go to sleep, so no matter when you are doing something, Allah knows. The believer is shy and does not want to disappoint Allah. He knows that Allah is watching, so he/she has a shame of doing the wrong thing.

Track 04

• For those that are going to put their hand in the donation box to steal some money: if they have Hayaa’ and their heart is still alive, then they’re not going to be able to put their hands in there and steal some money.. If they have Hayaa’, they will not call up another brother/sister, and talk to that brother/sister, because they know they’re not supposed to since they don’t have a Wali’. If that brother or sister is not married, they know they will not meet in the back of the building, in the parking lot, or in the park, all alone without a Mahram or Wali’, that is if they have Hayaa’. If they don’t have Hayaa’, forget about Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), and their hearts are dead, they will go ahead and have a girlfriend/boyfriend and even if the girl has Hijab, they’ll keep on talking to each other without a Wali’..

• Hayaa’ is what separates us from animals. You see, animals go ahead and do stuff; they don’t have a sense of shame, of what’s right and what’s wrong. They just do whatever they want to do and follow their desires and their lusts. But we are humans, and as humans, we have Hayaa’. We’re supposed to, at least.

• Hayaa’ is one thing that you learn in an Islamic environment, in an Islamic school. You don’t learn that if the school is not Islamic. And by the way, Hayaa’ is what many refer to today in the West as your moral conscience. What they’re really talking about is Hayaa’. You can’t have a moral conscience, you can’t have Hayaa’, unless you know where it’s coming from and how to do it. You can only do it if you know the names of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala).

• There’s a certain way we’re supposed to behave with Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), and a certain way that we’re supposed to be shy before Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). One time, the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) came to the Sahabah and he’s telling them, “Have the Hayaa’ from Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) in the proper manner that you’re supposed to have Hayaa’.” So the Sahabah said to Rasulullah, “Oh Messenger of Allah, we are shy in front of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), and Alhamdulillah, all praise be to Allah, that He gave us that quality to be shy in front of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala).” Rasulullah (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) tells them, “That’s not what I mean. That’s not what is meant by having the true Hayaa’ from Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). The right way to be modest from Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is…” and Rasulullah mentions four things:

1. To be mindful of what is in your head, and what you understand. In other words, all the thoughts in your head should be thoughts that are pleasing to Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). There should not be any thoughts like, “Well, let me choose another way outside of the Qur’an and Sunnah”. Your head should not have anything such as, “Well, this person is this and that person is that” and to have bad thoughts about another person, or to try to hurt someone, or to try to think negatively, or to always be pessimistic. Your mind should not have those types of thoughts in them. Your mind should not be, “Nobody’s watching, so let me go onto MySpace.com. Nobody is watching, so let me take a dollar out of the donation box. I might as well go to a website that I’m not supposed to if my parents were watching. Nobody’s listening in, so let me turn on the music and let me listen to my favorite group”. Your head should not have those thoughts.

Track 05

2. Your stomach and the other parts of your body, like your hands, your legs, your hearts your eyes, and so on: also watch what they do. In other words, they should Hayaa’ and not to do anything that’s displeasing to Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala).

3. You should remember death.

4. You should also remember the trials that will come after death.

• That is having Hayaa’, the real Hayaa’: Watch what your mind has in it, watch your heart and the rest of the body has and is doing, think about death, and what will come after it. He (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) says after this, “Whoever wants to make it successfully to the Hereafter, should leave pleasures of this world, the glitter and glamour of this world. Whoever does this, they are the ones who have the real Hayaa’ from Allah. They are the ones that are really shy in their relationship with Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala).

• Hayaa’ is a quality that we must have in our lives. These days, you tell many people not to go on MySpace.com, don’t listen to music, not to talk to this certain person because they don’t have a Wali’ there. I don’t care if it’s on a bench in the parking lot, or wherever, you’re not supposed to talk to another brother/sister: that is the rule of Islam. But if you go ahead and do it anyway, that means you do not have Hayaa’. If a brother goes ahead and looks at a sister, knowing that he’s not supposed to look at a sister unless it’s for marriage and there’s a Wali’, that means that person does not have Hayaa’. Each of us knows that we’re not supposed to curse, use bad words, or any foul language, but when we get upset, we still use it and justify it by saying, “Well I had to get it off my chest” or “You know, I had to give him a piece of my mind.” Well, you just missed out on your Hayaa’.

• A lot of us ask the question, “Is it Haraam to watch television? Is the internet Haraam?” But the question is, “What are you doing with that television or what are you doing on that Internet?” If you’re doing Haraam stuff, then yes, it is Haraam. If you’re watching television that will take your Hayaa’ away, then it’s Haraam. If you’re on the Internet and doing stuff that will weaken your Hayaa’, then it’s Haraam. If you’re on the television to watch a show, or on the Internet, to increase your Iman and Hayaa, then it’s ok. But most of us know that we don’t go on the internet or watch TV to increase our Hayaa’. Most of the programs that are there destroy our Hayaa’. That why you have brothers and sisters who seem to be practicing, but they have boyfriends and girlfriends, or they’re listening to music or rap artists that have nothing to do with Islam, or sisters who are wearing the Niqaab and they’re sitting with brothers, talking to them while they know they are not supposed to. Why? Because the Hayaa’ is missing. Because they forgot that Allah is watching.

Track 06

• Brothers and sisters, if we want to change our situation, we got to know Allah. We took just one name of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) and you can see its tremendous impact on our lives, if we reflect on it on our lives. So critical is this Hayaa’, this sense of shyness, that if we see that a sister sees that a brother wants to talk to her and they’re not married or related by blood, then they shouldn’t be talking to each other and if the sister lets herself get into that situation, that means she’s not being shy of Allah and is not maintaining her shyness. If the brother, doing the same thing and talking to a sister that he shouldn’t be talking to, whether on the phone, Internet, back parking lot, restaurant, or wherever, that means that brother does not have Hayaa’ and is not being shy of Allah.

• A lot of us are careful on how we appear in front of others. You know that we spend a lot of time in front of the mirror, making sure everything is in place; we wear clean clothes, and we’re very careful on the way that we talk in front of other human beings. We’re shy in front of other human beings and we don’t want anybody to know our faults and don’t want to be exposed. How about Allah? What happened to Allah? “َمَا قَدَرُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ”: “They didn’t care or value Allah the way that they were supposed to” (Surah An’aam, Ayah 91).

• Hayaa’ is so critical that it goes hand in hand with our Iman. Ar-Rasul (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) says in a Hadith, “Iman and Hayaa’ go hand in hand; they go together”. In other words, if you don’t have Iman, you don/’t have Hayaa’. If you don’t have Hayaa’, then you don’t have Iman. That’s how closely linked they are. “If one of them is taken away, then the other is taken away”. So if you lose your Iman, you’re going to lose your Hayaa’. If you lose your Hayaa’, you’re going to lose your Iman. That’s how important this is. It’s not something to be taken lightly. It’s not something like, “Oh, it’s recommended, it’s something Mustahab and we’ll do it if we can and if we can’t, we can’t”. No; if you want our situation and condition to change as an Ummah, we have got to go back to Allah, and we have to follow Allah the way that he wants us to be. That’s when our situation will change, if Allah wills it to be.

• This is why Rasulullah (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) says, “Hayaa’ comes from Iman”. It’s part of Iman. So if you see someone who does not have Hayaa’, that means that their Iman is deficient. I don’t care how much you know about the Aqeedah of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah; if you’re not practicing and you don’t have Hayaa’, then your Iman is deficient. A lot of people say that we have to have the right Aqeedah – okay fine, you have to have the right Aqeedah. But part of that Aqeedah is to believe in the Names and Attributes of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala); Tawheed Al-Asmaa’ was Sifaat. So if you believe in the Names of Attributes of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), one of his Names is Al-Hayyiy: The One who is greatly Modest and Shy. Therefore, that’s what we have to practice in our lives. So if you lie to someone, that means that you’re not being shy of Allah and could care less if Allah is watching or not. If you cheat another brother and you’re selling him a car, knowing that it has problems, you’re not being shy of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). You could care less if Allah is watching or not. If your parents ask you not to do something, and when they’re gone or they’re not watching, and you go ahead and do it, then you don’t care about what Allah thinks and you’re not being shy of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). You don’t have Hayaa’, and if you don’t have Hayaa’, then you don’t have Iman.

• I’m sure that many of you know the famous Hadith wherin Ar-Rasul (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) defines Iman and says that, “Iman has seventy-some or sixty-some branches. The most prestigious of all those branches is the statement of La Ilaha IllAllah, and the slightest and least of it is to remove something harmful from peoples’ paths and the road”.

Track 07

• He comes at the end of the Hadith and what does he say? “…and Hayaa’ is a branch of Iman.” Why did he mention Hayaa’ all by itself? Out of the seventy-some branches of Iman, he mentions this particular one at the end. It’s because Hayaa’ is the basis for all of those other things. If you have Hayaa’, all those seventy other things are going to fall into place because you want to serve Allah as if you see Him. So if you are aware of Allah, you want to make sure that everything is right because Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is watching and it’s all for him. This is why we say Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahman, In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful, because everything we do and say is for Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) (or it’s supposed to be anyway). That’s why we say, “إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ”: “You are the only One we worship” (Surah Al-Fatiha, Ayah 4); we don’t worship ourselves. We don’t worship our desires: we worship you, Oh Allah. So Hayaa’ is the basis for all of the things that we do in Islam. This is why that’s it’s so critical because it has a relationship to whether we’re going it make it to Paradise or not.

• Ar-Rasul (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) says, “Hayaa’ is part of Iman, and Iman will land you in Paradise. Lewdness, or indecency (doing shameless things), comes from the hardness of the heart (Al-Jafaa’)”. When your heart becomes hard, you become shameless and you begin to do stuff that is very shameful, and you could care less if other people are watching or not or if Allah is watching or not. You could care less about yourself and how you look in front of other people. That’s a person without Hayaa’, with a heart that’s become very hard, and very lewd. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) continues the Hadith, “Lewdness is from Al-Jafaa’ (hardness of the heart), and Al-Jafaa’ will land you in the Hell-Fire”.

• In another Hadith, Ar-Rasul (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) says, “Hayaa’ will bring nothing but good in your life.” In another Hadith, the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) says, “Whenever lewdness is in anything, it disgraces and blemishes it. It makes it look bad. And whenever anything has Hayaa’, it beautifies, embellishes, and adorns it. It makes it look nice.” So if you have Hayaa’ in all of your affairs, you’re going to look good not only in front of Allah, but in front of other people too.

• As a matter of fact, believe it or not, this is the hallmark quality of the believer. As Muslims, one of our hallmark qualities is that we have Hayaa’. Ar-Rasul (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) says, “Every way of life, every religion, has a special characteristic. And the special characteristic, the special quality, and the hallmark quality of the believer in Islam, is Hayaa’.” Hayaa’. Hayaa’.

Track 08

• Many of us today, when we tell each other, “Sister, you’re not supposed to be talking to that brother because there was no Wali’” or “Brother, you’re not supposed to be looking at that sister walking across the parking lot because you’re supposed to keep your gaze away” or “Sister, you’re not supposed to put your profile on MySpace.com without Hijaab so everybody else, Muslim or Non-Muslim, can look at your profile”, and they still come back and goes ahead and does it anyway, that means that they don’t have Hayaa’, don’t care, and will sin openly. You know what the danger of that is? If you’re told what is the right thing and you still do the wrong thing, and you could care less: you’re told not to curse, but you do it anyways. You’re told not to backbite, but you do it anyways. You’re told not to have a boyfriend/girlfriend, but you still have it and you think that your parents are not watching but Allah is watching and the angels are recording and your body will bear witness against you on the Day of Judgment: you’re told all of that but you still don’t care? That means…that you don’t have any Hayaa’. The danger of that is that Allah may never forgive you and may not accept your Tawbah. This is for those who commit their sins openly and don’t care even if you tell them and just tell you, “Leave me alone and let me lead my own life”. If that’s your attitude and you could care less if Allah is watching or not, then your repentance may not be accepted.

• Rasulullah (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam), “My entire nation is apt to be forgiven, except those people who are Mujaa7ideen, those people who commit sins openly. And included in those people who commit sins openly despite the fact they’re told not to, are those people such as a man, who will do something at night and then Allah concealed their sin, but they will get up in the morning and they tell someone, ‘You know, last night, I did such-and-such and such-and-such’. Allah had already concealed their sin, but they get up in the morning and they expose themselves to the people”. These are the people that know they are not supposed to do certain things, but in the morning, they brag about the fact that, “You know, I talked to this sister or I talked to that brother. You know, I smoked last night and my parents didn’t know. You know, last night I went on such-and-such website, and you should go on it also. You know, we were totally shot last night. You know, I missed my Fajr”. There are people that brag like that. “…Those are the people that Allah will not forgive.”

• How can you increase your Hayaa’? Very simple: just remember ABC:

1. Be aware of Allah’s presence at all times. Know that He watches every little thing that you do and say, so be aware.

2. Think about the blessings that Allah has blessed you with. Respond to Allah with these blessings in a way that He will be happy with you, and don’t use them in a way that will make Him displeased with you.

• • You see, Allah has blessed you with eyes so you don’t want to use your eyes to look at the opposite gender or to look on the Internet at things that you’re not supposed to.
  • Allah has blessed you with hands, so you don’t want to use them to hit someone, to steal something, or to punch a code online to go on a certain website.
  • Allah has blessed you with feet, so you don’t want to go to the mall or to the store when you know you’re supposed to be at the Masjid. You think that your parents are not watching and you may tell others that you’re just going to the store, but you know that you’re going there to meet some guys. You know that you’re going there to check out the opposite gender.
  • Who are you fooling? No one but yourself.

3. Good company: Be around those people who practice Hayaa’ and are ashamed to do those things that Allah would be unhappy with. In a Hadith of Rasulullah (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam), “Each person is affected by the way of the people that they keep company with. So each one of you should choose your friend carefully.

Continued from Part 1.

Ta’if (continued) was the third and the hardest of the three afflictions that he had faced. Aisha’ (radhi Allahu anha) once asked him if there was a worse day the Prophet more than Uhud (when the Prophet himself had gotten wounded, had a spear stuck in his cheek, had blood streaming from his face, and many of his beloved including Hamza had passed away) and the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) responded, “Yes, the day of Ta’if”. With his own testimony, he said that the day of Ta’if was the most traumatic and difficult day for him. Ta’if was ruled at that time by three brothers, who have agreed ever since their father’s death that they wouldn’t bicker and that they would rather rule the city together.

When the Prophet came to them, they rejected the religion in the utmost contempt and sarcasm. One of them said, “Has Allah not found anyone more worthy than you to be a Prophet?” A’udhobillah. Another one said, “I am never going to speak to you”. Why? H said, “Because if you’re a liar, then you are too ignoble for me to speak to. If you’re a true Prophet, then you’re too noble for me to speak to.” In other words, he was being very sarcastic and contemptuous. Not only did they reject him, but they sent their slaves and the riff-raffs of the city to physically pelt him with stones, to physically hurt and torture him. Because of all of this, the incident of Ta’if was the single most traumatic time in the whole entire life of the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam).

So, in the context of Surah Yusuf, we find a number of things.

1. First and foremost, the fact that the Prophet had been calling in preaching and doesn’t find a positive response in his people and is physically and mentally tortured and ridiculed can also be found in Surah Yusuf, when Yusuf (alayhis salaam) is tempted, tortured, and rejected by his own brothers and people, and accused of crimes that he did not commit. All of these are recurrent themes in the theme and Tafseer of Surah Yusuf.
2. We notice the loss of loved ones. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam)’s uncle and wife had died, and we notice in the Tafseer of Surah Yusuf that Yusuf (alayhis salaam), even though he didn’t die, but he was separated away from his father and was not able to enjoy the love and comfort that he would have otherwise enjoyed. There is the traumatic scenario when the families are split apart.
3. There is also the rejection theme when the Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) was rejected and in the same way, verily the blood brothers of Yusuf had rejected him and had persecuted and even tried to kill him. If the Prophet suffered in Ta’if, surely Yusuf also suffered greatly in his life.

Therefore, we now understand the context behind the Surah. Now, this is just the general context. However, there are specific incidents that occurred in the Seerah that precipitated certain Ayaat from Surah Yusuf. This is what we call “Asbaab An-Nuzool”.

There are two very specific incidents that occurred that Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) had revealed verses from Surah Yusuf. The first of these are that the people of Makkah went to some Jews in Madinah (as there were none in Makkah and the Prophet never contacted any of them while living in Makkah). The Makkans considered the Jews to be learned people and considered them to be superior in terms of civilization as they had a Book and could read and write. Therefore, they used to go to the Jews countless times and asked them how they can discredit the Prophet. One of the questions that the Jews told the Makkans was to ask him about Yusuf (alayhis salaam). If he is a Prophet, he will respond and if he is not a Prophet, then he will not respond.

The second cause of revelation was because the Companions asked the Prophet, “Oh Rasulullah, why don’t you tell us stories from the Prophets of Allah in the past?” because they wanted to know their trials and tribulations. That is why Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) said about Yusuf’s story,

نَحْنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ أَحْسَنَ الْقَصَصِ

“We relate to you, [O Muhammad], the best of stories” (Surah Yusuf, Ayah 3).

It is human nature that we want to listen to stories; just look at children and how they love bedtime stories. It inspires them, gives them morals, and a world that existed before. It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not as the children’s imagination begins to work and it begins to think of other cultures and civilizations. Even as an adult, there is an element that all of us love to hear, and that is why we love to hear stories. That is why the Qur’an has stories, and each of them are true stories that have benefits in them. That is why Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) revealed not just a story, but the best of stories.

~Tafseer Begins~

We began with A’udhobillah because it is commanded for us to say this before any time we begin to recite the Qur’an. Allah says in the Qur’an, “فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ”. So when you recite the Qur’an, [first] seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the expelled [from His mercy] (16:98). This means that “I turn to Allah for refuge. I turn to Him to seek help and protection. Allah is the one that is my Protector. Allah is the one whom is my Refuge and my source of all serenity and peace. I turn to Allah in refuge from the Shaytaan and that is the name, title, and description that is given to Iblis. Shaytaan means the one who has gone beyond the bounds and out and above what he should be doing. This is Shaytaan; he has transgressed the bounds. Ar-Rajeem means the accursed. He is somebody who is cursed and has been deprived of Allah’s Mercy. Before we begin understanding and reciting the Qur’an, we must seek refuge in Allah from the Shaytaan so that our minds do not get clouded and we can concentrate.

We must also say, “Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem”, and this is true whenever the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) used to begin a Surah, except for Surah Tawbah. Bismillahir Rahmani Rahmeen basically means that you are beginning this recitation by mentioning Allah, the Most Merciful, the Extra-Beneficent. The point of beginning with this has many benefits.

• It reminds you of why you are doing this deed. I begin this for the sake of Allah. We should say Bismillah before doing any good deed.
• We seek Allah’s help. After I have sought refuge from the Shaytaan (protection), you want even more and you want help, which is a level higher.

Ar-Rahman means the Most Merciful and Ar-Raheem means the Most Merciful in His Actions. If you begin from the beginning of a Surah, you must say Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem but if you are starting from the middle, then you don’t have to, but it is permissible.

The first letters of the Surah are Alif, Laam, Raa. We know that many Surahs begin with letters (Qaaf, Alif Laam, Meem, etc.) What are the meanings of these letters? There are many interpretations of this, but the meaning that seems to have the most strength (and indeed, Allah Knows Best) is that Allah has used these letters as a means of indicating that the Qur’an is composed of the same letters that you have, it is used with the same words that you use, but it is not the same Speech of men. It is the Speech of Allah. If you take the letters together, it makes 14 letters. There are 28 letters of the Alphabet, so it is as if Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) is saying here is half of the letters; let Us see if you can make anything similar to the Qur’an out of the other half.

Allah says, “ۚ تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ” – One phenomenon that we notice is that almost every single time that Allah begins a Surah with letters, the very next Ayah talks about the Qur’an itself. Perhaps the reason is that these letters indicate the powerful nature of the Qur’an and the miraculous aspect of the Qur’an. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) says that these are the verses of the Clear Book. So Allah mentions that this Qur’an is composed of Ayahs, and in other parts, it mentions that the Qur’an is composed of Surahs, which shows that Allah Himself has differentiated from Surahs and Ayahs. Allah Himself mentions that a Surah is a Chapter in the Qur’an and that Ayahs are verses within the Chapters in the Qur’an. In Surah Noor, Allah mentions ‘Surah’, while here in Surah Yusuf for example, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) mentions letters.

To be continued…

The Qur’an is composed of 114 Surahs. Surah Yusuf is among these 114 Surahs. However, it is unique in a number of ways:

• The whole Surah was revealed entirely in one go, which is unlike other Surahs such as Surah Baqarah which was revealed over a period of two-three years.

• The theme of Surah Yusuf is a constant theme; it is the story of Surah Yusuf. If you look at other Surahs, you will see that there are a number of themes, all of which complement each other. As for Surah Yusuf itself, we see that apart from perhaps a few introductory verses and the ending of the Surah, the whole Surah is pretty much about nothing but the story of Surah Yusuf. Hence, we find that this Surah is a complete and holistic Surah of the Qur’an.

• It came at a very crucial time for the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam). The Surah was revealed at the end of the Makkan period. The life of the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) can be divided into two simple perfect parts; simply the Makkan and the Madani period. The Makkan era lasted for about 13 years (ended with the Hijrah), while the Madani lasted for 10 years. The Makkan era witnessed the revelation of the Quran in a certain style, in a certain manner, in a certain eloquence which was unlike the Madani style. There is a different wording and rhetoric that were employed. They were both eloquent, but each one had a different purpose in mind. In Makkah, we notice that the Qur’an concentrated on the fundamentals of law and doesn’t deal with law (inheritance, marriage, divorce, etc.). These came in Madinah once the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) established himself in Madinah and had a state and society to run.

The Makkan period was mainly about the fundamentals of our religion and it shows the importance of our theology, which in Arabic, is called Aqeedah. It is the science which is the basis for all of the other sciences and it is the foundation of our religion. It makes a Muslim increase in his or her love of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). Hence, the first foundation that we lay is the foundation of theology. We find that Surah Yusuf doesn’t stray from this as it follows the Prophets, the methodology of the Prophets, and the trials and tribulations of the Prophets. Hence, it has a very pertinent theme in regards to the Makkan era. It came, as we said, towards the end of the Makkan era. We do not know exactly when it came down, but we have a rough idea that it came down in the last two years of the Makkan stage. This is very pertinent because when we understand the context when the Surah was revealed, we gain more appreciation for the Surah and this in Arabic is called “Asbaab An-Nuzool” or the reasons and causes why a Surah was revealed. This is very important because when you understand the context, you understand the meaning of the verse. When you understand the situation in which the verse was revealed, you will understand the meaning of the verse in a more profound manner.

So in Surah Yusuf, the context can be summarized in one sentence; it was a very depressing situation for the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam). If we were to put a low on all of the 23 years of the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) and all the stresses and tribulations that he faced, it would have been at the stage right before the revelation of Surah Yusuf (around the 9^th or 10^th year of the Hijrah). Why was this time the most stressful? It was due to a few factors.

Among them, the Prophet had been preaching for about a decade now in Makkah, and instead of finding his community accepting his message, he finds that most of them, especially the elite and the rich are opposing him. He finds his own close relatives, especially the Quraysh, not only didn’t accept it, but they opposed him. They persecuted him, they tortured him, they killed many of his followers, and they did not even allow him to get public access to the pilgrims. They taunted him, they ridiculed him, and they did many things to try lowering his morale. So we don’t see for some time the fruits of the efforts of the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam). He is feeling a type of despair; why are my people not accepting me?

He also felt a sense of despair over a number of incidents that had occurred and especially demoralized a lot of the early Muslims and that especially caused the Prophet much grief.

• One of these incidents was the death of Abu Talib. Abu Talib was the one who took care of the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) after his mother and grandfather, and loved him more than any of his sons. Abu Talib was actually a full brother of the Prophet’s father, Abdullah, unlike other half-brothers such as Abu Lahab. When the Prophet began preaching, the Quraysh applied pressure on Abu Talib because he was the senior of the Prophet’s family and he was the leader of Banu Hashim, which the Prophet belonged to. He was of paramount importance of the Prophet because if he withheld his protection, the Prophet would find much more opposition. He had at first caved in to the Quraysh’s requests to talk to his nephew and that is when the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) made his emotional appeal to Abu Talib that, “Oh my uncle, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left (meaning if they were to give me control over the objects upon the whole world depends on by the mercy of Allah), even then I wouldn’t stop conveying the teachings of Allah until I die or Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) rules something else.

When Abu Talib saw his determination, he agreed that he would never go between the Prophet and his teachings, and gave his full support to propagate, but never became Muslim because of his pride that he was the son of Abdul-Muttalib and said that he could never give up the religion of my father. He preferred tribalism over the religion of Islam, but he was the physical support of the Prophet Muhammad and was a political supporter as opposed to a religious supporter. Nobody could harm the Prophet without incurring the wrath of Abu Talib and behind that, the whole tribe of Banu Hashim. This is a lot like getting a passport in modern times; if somebody revokes our passport, then we have no one to go back to for support. Abu Talib passed away at the 10^th year of the Hijrah, and this caused a lot of problems for the Prophet and he had to flee for his life as a result. His death was a personal loss for the Prophet as he was his uncle, but it was also a political loss.

• The second incident was even more personal, as it was the loss of his wife, Khadijah (radhi Allahu anha). She gave up everything she had for the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam). While he was married to her for 25 years, he took no other wife and she was his personal comforter in the same way Abu Talib was his political comforter. Khadijah was not only the comfort of a wife, but she was his financial supporter. Even after her death, if the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) ever received a gift, he would send it to the sister of Khadijah, the cousins of Khadijah, and even the neighbors of Khadijah. Aisha’ (radhi Allahu anha) said that even though I had never met Khadijah, but I have never been as jealous of any of the wives of the Prophet as I was as jealous of Khadijah because of her status in the heart of the Prophet. She passed away six weeks right after the death of Abu Talib…

• His third loss was perhaps the most profound, and that was the rejection that he had faced in At-Taif. He had employed every type of tactic in Makkah, but they ridiculed him so much so that he decided to go to Makkah’s nearest city, Ta’if (a very old city on the top of a mountain). Sadly, they also rejected him very brutally there…

Islam is a very strong advocate of marriage. We view marriage as the foundation of society, family, and life because through marriage, families are established. Furthermore, the families are the fundamental unit of our society. In the Qur’an and the Sunnah, marriage is the only Halal and legitimate way in indulging in intimacy with another spouse. Allah calls marriage مِّيثَاقًا غَلِيظًا – a strong covenant.

Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) says in Surah Rum:

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا لِّتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَّوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً

And among His Signs is this, that He created for you wives from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them, and He has put between you affection and mercy.

Mawadda (مَّوَدَّةً) is interpreted by Ibn Abbas, Ibn Katheer, and others to mean Mahabbah, the Arabic word for Love. Now, why is love mentioned before mercy? The need of love in its general meaning is vital for the continuation of a marital life. When couples first get married, they’re constantly on the phone with each other at work. A few months later, they’re talking every few hours. A few months, they call each other once a day. Sometimes, they stop calling each other altogether! Does that mean their love has disappeared? No, because the initial passionate love transitioned and evolved into Rahma (رَحْمَةً), or mercy.

To explain love, let’s use the analogy of a boat. The captain is the husband. The captain needs someone who can navigate and that is the wife. Sometimes, the ship has to go through rocky waters and at other times, calm waters. This is a summary of the martial life. The husband must learn to treat his wives in a kind manner. Once, some women came to the Prophet, complaining about their husbands’ treatment of them. The Prophet replied and said, “”The best of you are the best to their wives; and I am the best to my wives.”

Shaykh Riad once read a book called “Why men don’t listen and why women can’t read maps”, which is a book that goes through the physiology and psychology of men and women; they are so different, and many of us don’t understand this. It took my 14-15 years to actually realize that there are differences. The brain of a man is made of different boxes – one for work, one for money, one for family. What women don’t understand is that these boxes are not always connected. A man takes a box, talks about it, and puts it back. A women’s brain is made of circuits and are somehow all connected – she can cook, take care of the children, and talk on the phone at the same time.

An example would be the bathroom; a man goes for a specific purpose. However, women go there for also socializing and getting to know others. When I was in Dubai as a company senior executive, I used to make Wudu’ in a bathroom and then go to the Masjid. Every single time I would go in the bathroom, I would always hear the same woman always in there talking – she really seemed to always be there. Seriously, the bathroom should be renamed and called a lounge…A woman criticizes a man for not being sensitive, for not caring, for not listening, for not talking enough, and for not giving or showing enough love. A man criticizes women for not being able to drive, not being able to read maps, talking without giving a point, etc. The fundamental point is that men and women are different.

There are twenty things that one should keep in mind to increase love:

1. Patience – The most important and crucial thing is to have patience in the family. As a marriage counselor, I notice that the most divorces happen in the first year. There is no patience; one woman wanted to actually divorce her husband because he snored too much.
2. Exchanging Gifts – It really helps to increase love, as reported by the Prophet when he said, “Give gifts to each other, as this will make you love one another” (narrated by Muslim). Give flowers or at least a smile to your spouse. But don’t make this mistake: one brother in Toronto told Shaykh Riad that he brought his wives flowers and then said, “Here are some flowers for you. They were on sale!”
3. Allocate time to sit and talk with each other – We have very busy schedules, but we need to make the time to sit with our spouses instead of watching television.
4. Warm Greetings – Give the Salaam as soon as you enter home. The Prophet used to say, once entering the home, “Assalamu Alaikum. How are you?” (Any language – could even be ‘Kya haal he?’). The Prophet said, as reported in Sahih Bukhari, “You will not enter the Garden until you believe and you will not believe until you love one another.  Shall I show you something that make you love one another?’  They said, ‘Yes, Messenger of Allah’.  The Prophet said, ‘Spread the greeting among yourselves”. The best would be if it is coupled with a hug. Psychologists say that for a woman to truly feel secure, she must be touched at least thirty times per day.
5. Praise Each Other – “I’m so happy you’re my wife”, etc.
6. Don’t compare your spouse to others – When you compare your spouse to someone else, then he/she says, “Why don’t you go and just marry him/her?” They hate it and it’s a killer. Give each one their right.
7. Pamper each other – Cherish each other. A man also needs some little pampering too. Tell one another: “You look so beautiful today. This ‘Itr makes you smell so good. I didn’t like this dress before, but when you put it on, it looks very beautiful!”, etc.
8. Chores – Participate in the chores at home together. Aishah, when asked about the Prophet, she said, “He used to keep busy serving and helping members of the household.” The best chef is a man. Homework for all the husbands – you must cook with yourselves. If you’re not married, go cook for yourself.
9. Charity – Say a kind word or at least give her a smile. But make sure to do it with wisdom: once a farmer had a donkey that had passed away. The wife said, “Don’t worry. You’re better than a hundred donkeys.” Once, Ibn Abbas was combing his hair before meeting his wife and was asked by others for the proof of this. SubhanAllah, Ibn Abbas was given a true understanding of the Qur’an and showed this when he uttered the verses from Surah Nisa:
   

   وَلَهُنَّ مِثْلُ الَّذِي عَلَيْهِنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ

   “And they (women) have rights (over their husbands as regards living expenses, etc.) similar (to those of their husbands) over them (as regards obedience and respect, etc.) to what is reasonable.”

   ~Give each other a hug~

10. Spend some time out together – Just go out with your spouse and spend some time with each other. Does it have to be an outing, like eating out at a restaurant? It’s better if you do, but you should, at the very least, take her to somewhere beautiful. The trees here remember me of Canada.
11. Peaceful Gathering – Sit down with your kids in a circle and talk to them instead of sitting on the couch and watching television.
12. Show your support and care – For the brothers, be there for your wife especially if she is sick. If you’re not there, she will never forget. She left her family and her small teddy bear… for the big bear. A husband must be five things:
    1. A Husband – Protection
    2. A Father – Naseeha
    3. A Brother – Support
    4. A Friend – Conversation
    5. A Son – Cherishment
13. Break the routine – Does this mean that when everything is beautiful, we need to make a fight? No, that’s not what this means. Rather, it is when the routine gets dull. To stop this, surprise your husband when he comes home. He opens his drawer and sees flowers. She opens her drawers and finds a love note. When things would get dull, some of the Ahl-al-Salaf (pious predecessors) would go away for three days. During this time, the wives would start missing them and then they would return.
14. Be honest – Don’t hide your feelings. Talk about your problems, but not in front of your children. Problems and these little things are the spice of the marriage. It is related that Aishah said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to me, ‘I know when you are pleased with me and when you are angry with me.’ I asked, ‘How do you recognize that?’ He said, ‘When you are pleased with me, you say, “No, by the Lord of Muhammad.” When you are angry with me, you say, “No, by the Lord of Ibrahim.”‘ I said, ‘Yes, by Allah, Messenger of Allah. I only leave your name.’ For the sisters, don’t just pick up the phone and call your parents on every small thing. Try to work it out first. If not, then have someone you trust as the mediator. If that doesn’t work, then the very very last resort is to engage your parents.
15. Call each other with the most beautiful names – The Prophet used to call the Aishah, “Ya Aa’ish and Ya Humaira (the one with rosy cheeks)”. If your wife likes to be called honey, call her honey. Vinegar? Then call her Vinegar!
16. Don’t talk about your problems at the time of when going to bed – The problem with many women is that they bring in the bills and begin complaining at this time. That shouldn’t be the case because the bedroom is a place for relaxation. The most investment shouldn’t be at the living room because we don’t receive daily guest, but they should rather be in the bedroom because we spend so many hours in there.
17. Thank each other – This is different than praising each other. Ex. “You work so hard. BarakAllahu Feek.”
18. Apologize after making a mistake – Especially for the husbands, if they make, a mistake, then say sorry and say: “I really didn’t mean it.” One woman’s husband would beat and oppress her. Because of this, she was once crying and her parents happened to come at that time. When they asked her why she was crying, she said that I remembered you and I began to cry. She then brought her family in and treated them with refreshments whilst never mentioning that she was just beat. Her family was very happy, but the man felt great remorse at his action and felt like nothing. After they left, he bought her a big gift, gave it to her, and thanked her for teaching him a lesson.
19. Respect – A marriage without respect will never last. There must be mutual respect for one another. What’s worth that phone call you gave her? What’s worth the flower that you gave her? What’s worth the ring you gave her? What are all those worth if you don’t show respect? Without respect, the marriage becomes a failure.
20. Don’t be stubborn – Be his slave and he will be your slave. Be her sky and she will be your earth. The Prophet told the Sahabah, “Don’t you want me to tell you about a woman of Jannah? It’s a woman whose man has transgressed her and she cried, and before going to sleep, she went to him. She held his hand and said, “I will not go to sleep until you are pleased with me. This woman is from the women of Jannah.” However, don’t make your wife go through an ordeal, for Jannah is not cheap.

Abu Said Al-Khudri reported that the Prophet said, “The men have rights over the women. Even if the man had a wound and the wife, in order to prevent the man from feeling pain, licked the wound, she would still not be fulfilling the man’s right”. The same holds also true for the man: he must also treat his wife with love and respect. Once, Aishah went to the Prophet and asked, “What is the worst hardship you had ever gone through? The Prophet started talking about Ta’if and his various hardships. After talking, he brings a cup of milk and asks Aishah to please drink first. She politely declines and tells him to drink first. The Prophet also declined and asked her to drink. This time, she said yes, took the cup, and began to drink. After her, the Prophet took the cup, turned it, and then drank from the exact place that she had just drunk from…”

If you can put these twenty things that increase love into practice, then you will find your marital life to be beneficial. If you’re not married, then get ready to put these into practice!

In the brief Khutbah today, as you all know, it’s the final farewell Friday sermon of the month of Ramadan, the month of the Qur’an. I figured it would be appropriate to share some realities in regards to the Book of Allah, and our times, and the attitudes that Muslims and Non-Muslims have towards Allah’s Book, and what needs to be done about it Insha’Allahu ta’ala.  First and foremost, I want to share with you something you already know: we live in a religiously pluralistic society; a society in which many different people follow many different religions. You have people of different faiths at your work, people of different faiths at your school, at your college, at your university, in your neighborhood, pretty much everybody else. It’s a diversified society in terms of religion.

And when people live in such a society, there are certain ideas that aren’t even said, but they creep into the thought process of the people, and this is something that creeps into the thought process of the Christian, the Jew, the Hindu, the agnostic, whoever, and even sometimes the Muslim. And this idea of, you know, part of getting along with everybody, and part of, sort of, respecting everybody else, one of the ideas that is pumped into a pluralistic society is that all these religions – people follow these different religions because they come from different backgrounds. They come from different cultures. You’re from Morocco, and you’re from Spain, and you’re from, you know, Egypt, or you’re from Bangladesh or something, that’s why you’re Muslim. You know, I’m from the Philippines, I’m from Sri Lanka, or wherever else, and that’s why I’m a Buddhist, or that’s why I’m a Hindu, or that’s why I’m a Catholic, or that’s why I’m a Protestant, etc.  So really, we’ve just learned to accept religious differences almost as though they are cultural differences, right? So this idea is presented that religious differences; there’s no distinction between them – it’s just, you could think of it like another cultural difference. So the fact that you fast, in the month of Ramadan, and your neighbors know that you fast, they think that it’s such a cool thing to do in their culture. The first thing that comes in their minds isn’t religion; the first thing that comes in their minds is these Eastern people, these brown people, these yellow people, these colored people, they fast: it’s a thing they do out there, right? That’s what it is. And you know sometimes the Muslims themselves, especially the youth, start thinking like that: “Yeah, we are Muslim because we were born in a Muslim family” or “that’s our heritage; that’s how we are. These are the kinds of things we do because we’re from that background.” And the idea and the conviction that we are Muslim because it is the truth; it has nothing to do where we come from or what our parents are. The fact that the Deen of Allah, Islam, is the truth – that idea becomes diluted. It gets reduced to just a culture, gets reduced to just a religious heritage – that’s all it is. And when you lose sight of the fact that this is the truth, then you don’t feel the urgency to want to share the truth with others. You’re okay with the fact that somebody else is whatever other religion, and you are this religion; it’s just traditional differences. You know, these are differences of heritage. But when you’re convinced this is the truth, and then when you’re convinced of that, you know everybody else – what they have is falsehood – then you feel a sense of urgency to want to share the truth with others.

If there is a building on fire and you’re the only one who knows it’s on fire, it’s only decency that you would want to let other people know: “Listen, we need to get out of here; it’s on fire.” There’s a sense of urgency that creeps up into you. But this sense of urgency is gone; it’s gone because we don’t associate the Deen of Allah, the Book of Allah, the legacy of His Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) as being the ultimate truth that demands to be shared with humanity. That’s one problem: a change of attitude needs to take place. Here’s another change of attitude that I want to talk to you about. Those of us who do work in the field of Da’wah, or organizations, groups, writers, websites, etc., dedicating to spreading and, you know, enlightening the people of Islam in whatever capacity – may Allah help all the efforts of Da’wah, big and small, local and national. May Allah help all of them and put Barakah in their work and accept the work from them, and may Allah make all of us contributors to the work of Dawah in all lands, including this one. Now, having said all of that, the work of Da’wah, of sharing the message of Islam with the larger society – let’s just talk about it in the American context briefly. This work has a few obstacles in front of it, and this work has right now been reorganized, and it’s been shaped not according to our liking or according to the principles of our Book in our legacy, but according to a different agenda. And this is what I wanted to bring before you. You know, in the Prophet’s time (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam), the Qur’an was the main vehicle of Dawah. The Messenger (alayhis salaatu wa salaam) was commanded, “وَاتْلُ مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِن كِتَابِ رَبِّكَ- Read what has been revealed to you from the Book.” Read it onto the people. Recite it onto them. “فَذَكِّرْ بِالْقُرْآنِ مَن يَخَافُ وَعِيدِ. Remind by means of the Qur’an.” Makkan Surah, right? Who are you reminding by Qur’an? Whoever fears the promise; even if a disbeliever has some fear of the promise, they will be reminded by the Qur’an. The Qur’an was a means by which the message of Allah was delivered to people. You know, when this message was delivered, some people didn’t want to hear it; some people wanted to distract this conversation. They didn’t want to have this conversation that’s the central message of the Book. So they started this tactic, you can call it irrelevant questions, they started asking the Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) questions that are almost tangents so that he would be so busy answering those questions, he never gets to talk about what he wants to talk about. So they would say to him, “We will believe in what you have to say, but just answer this: who sends you revelation? Which angel? What’s his name? If you just tell us that, we’ll believe”. So the Ayaat come down and he answers properly and he says, “Jibreel”, and they say, “Well, we don’t like him actually. Let’s ask you another question. How about this: who are the people of the cave? If you just answer that, we’re going to believe.” So the Qur’an answers, “أَصْحَابَ الْكَهْفِ”, right? We recite this in Surah Kahf. So now, when that answer was given: “Well no, we have another question actually: what is the Ruh? Where does it come from? Who’s Dhul-Qarnain?”

Are these central questions? You have to understand the central idea was believe in this Messenger, the central concept was ‘La Ilaha Ill Allah”, the central concept was don’t change with your tongue the book that Allah had revealed to you – don’t hide what Allah had sent to you; that was the message. They don’t want to accept that message, so what’s the easiest tactic? Change the conversation by changing the questions. It’s a very clever tactic, it’s very clever, and you know, it’s even used today; you go on a TV – it’s a TV interview – and the host, the guy who’s hosting the show, and there’s an expert, some scholar, whatever area. Maybe it’s a historian, maybe it’s a political scientist, whatever. That historian will never get to say what he wants to say because the host keeps on changing the question; he controls the entire conversation. What I’m trying to get across is that whoever controls the questions controls the conversations. This is true in media, this is true in Da’wah; this is true in discourse in general. Whoever controls the questions controls the conversation. The thing in the Qur’an is that Allah did address some of their questions and then He stopped. Then Allah started asking questions himself because Allah (Azza wa Jal) himself takes control of the conversation – “أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ? Why don’t you think?” “أَمْ لَكُمْ كِتَابٌ فِيهِ تَدْرُسُونَ? Do you have a book that you study from? هَاتُوا بُرْهَانَكُمْ Bring it forward!” Asking questions and making demands from the people who disbelieve.

However, now we’re living in times when we are not the ones – the Muslims are not the ones, the Da’ees are not the ones asking the questions. Questions are being asked of us. “Hey, how come Islam condones terrorism?” “How come you people hate women so much?” “How come you do this? How come you do that?” and we’re put in a position that we’re constantly telling people, “No, No, No. Islam is not this. No, Islam is not that. No, Islam is not that either. And it’s not this either. And no, this is not what the Qur’an actually says. And this is not the Sunnah.” So we’re so busy telling the people what Islam is not, that we don’t get to tell them what Islam is. We never get a chance to speak because the questions are not in our control.

We have to understand the Ayah I recited before you from Surah Anbiya is a very powerful Ayah. In this Ayah, He depicts the message of this Deen and the book of Allah and this truth, this La Ilaha Ill Allah, this Muhammadar Rasulullah (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) that is running in our blood. This truth. Allah gives it an image – sometimes in the Qur’an, a lesson is taught by means of drawing a picture in your mind. Allah says, “بَلْ نَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلَى الْبَاطِلِ” – “We spear the truth against the falsehood”. The image being drawn is that the Truth, Islam, is like a spear. Truth is like a weapon, and its being hurled, its being launched against falsehood, who is a guy running away from the spear obviously. So who’s on the offensive? The spear! And who’s running away? The falsehood! Compare that to our times; who’s actually running after who? It’s like the guy is running after the spear; it’s the other way around. We’re on the run. We’re not the one asking the questions. The tables have been turned. Then Allah describes, “فَيَدْمَغُهُ – Then the spear dashes the skull of falsehood in.” Now, this is a very graphic image in the Ayah; Allah doesn’t just say, “Truth defeats falsehood.” Truth kills falsehood; it bashes its skull in; its brains get bashed up. In other words, what we’re learning is that truth has no tolerance for falsehood. Islam has no tolerance for ideas that are contrary to the truth. We’re not saying we’re intolerant of Non-Muslims – that’s not what we’re saying. We are saying truth cannot stand falsehood. Truth has no tolerance; no, it cannot stand next to it and be okay. If it sees it, it has to bash its skull in it. That’s what it has to do. That’s what it must do by definition. In other words, truth is incredibly offended by the existence of falsehood. It’s offended by the existence of falsehood. And we are in a time now that falsehood is offended by the existence of Islam. It’s offended by the existence of the truth.

This is one problem that I wanted to share with you. But add to this one more thing. The elders among us, those of us that come from the Muslim countries especially – maybe they were attending Halaqaat when they were younger. They were in the company of scholars when they were younger. They built this love and affection for the Deen as they were growing up. So they have this غيرة for Islam, they have this chivalry towards Islam. They have courage and this confidence for the Deen. But that confidence does not exist today amongst their own children. It does not exist today among our youth. Our youth are only at the Masjid because we drag them here. They’re only at Sunday school because you left without them. They’re not here. They’re not at the Halaqaat; the Halaqaat are filled with people with grey beards and white beards. They’re not being attended by the sixteen-year-olds and the fourteen-year-olds and you know what? When they go to school, they are learning that ‘Izlam’ worships the moon-god; that is what they are learning in public school. I was listening to a preacher – you know, I live in Texas, and there’s a lot of Christian talk radio shows. And now, there are actually talk radio shows dedicated to the Muslim audience; they want to talk to Muslims, want to bring them from darkness to light and they want to bring them to Jesus. They’re talking to Muslims and they’re inviting them to call in. They actually have a supposedly Qur’an expert on the radio show: “We want to share our faith with you. We understand you think, you know, that believing that Jesus is the Son of God is Shirk, and they know these terminologies, and they can quotes Ayaat from the Qur’an.

They’re actually out there to give the message of Christianity to Muslims, right? And I’m listening and their evidences are almost, WAllahi, laughable. They are laughable, but you know, I also got very scared when I was listening. I called in to see just what happens and they hanged up on me, but I was very scared – you know why? What’s the biggest weapon these people have? What’s the biggest weapon those who call to falsehood and instead of falsehood being on the run, now it’s attacking the truth, right? What’s the biggest weapon they have? The biggest weapon they have is the ignorance of the Muslims. The biggest weapon they have is that we don’t know our Deen. Our kids don’t know their Deen; they don’t have the confidence that this is the truth. Instead, and this is the point that I want to actually conclude with because this is the heart of the matter, what I want to share with you. I don’t just want to bring the problem before you; I want to share with you how do we get to a solution. How do we start fixing things too?

Look, in our times, if you want to learn something about the Qur’an, of course you ask the ultimate Shaykh…Google, right? You put in ‘Qur’an’ or whatever, and you want to learn something about the Qur’an and a bunch of hits come up. You know, on the internet, in the media, on YouTube, whatever else, there is far more literature, and media, and content available against the Qur’an and attacking the Qur’an. There’s far more against the Qur’an and very little in comparison available in defense of the Qur’an or pro-the-book-of-Allah. The criticisms far outweigh the appreciation of the Book of Allah. I want to share something else with you: for a millennium and a half, this Ummah and its scholars that span every continent, every continent, they have been obsessed with the miraculous power of this Book. They have been obsessed with the Qur’an’s incredible majesty and how it can’t possibly be the words of a human being. Thousands upon thousands of scholars have given their entire lives studying the miracle of the Qur’an in the Muslim tradition. And then, for the last three to four hundred years, the Christian tradition (move up Insha’Allahu wa ta’ala; the crowd is filling up, so move as much as you can). In the Christian World and the European World, the Qur’an started being studied formally about four hundred years ago; they started studying Islam. Why did they start studying Islam? So that they can defeat the new enemy, that was the idea, right? So they have been writing critical works against the Qur’an for about four hundred years now in the Christian World basically, ok?

If you try to, say, we’re not even talking about the non-Muslim, let’s just talk about the Muslim – if the Muslim wants to learn something about the Qur’an, do they have today, more access to what has been written by our own scholars about the Qur’an, or do they have easier access to what is the attacks on the Qur’an? They have easier access to the attacks on the Qur’an. Even the Muslim today says, “How come this Ayah says, “One day is equal to fifty thousand” and that Ayah says, “One day is equal to one thousand”? How come He says over here this, how come he says over here that? The Muslim is asking these questions. The Muslim is saying how come this doesn’t make any sense, about the Quran. We have reached that point. We have reached that point. Here we were, supposed to poke questions to others, and now our own are asking questions about their own Book. That is the reality in which we live. How do we counter this reality? How do we produce youth, especially youth, young men and women, that we are so scared, so defensive, right? One of the things before I conclude this Khutbah is the impact of this mentality. This mentality that we have to constantly answer and defend ourselves, right? Instead of Islam being on the ideological offensive, it’s on the defensive constantly. What is the consequence of that? We have the idea that we have to protect our children from the Fitna of the outside world, right? This is Haraam, and that’s Haraam, and how are we going to raise our children when we’re scared to death about what’s going to happen to our kids – isn’t that the case?

You know, if we were really producing children of Islam, if we were producing members of this Ummah, carriers of this message, then the entire high school would be scared. “Man, my kid’s Christianity’s going to go away because there’s a Muslim kid in the school.” They would have that kind of confidence. We wouldn’t shake because of what’s around us; everything around us would shake because we are there. That’s the kind of confidence Islam puts into someone when they understand what they believe, when they have the Book of Allah empowering them, right? I know of a case of a brother I know actually that when he was in high school, he had memorized Qur’an before he studied his Deen, and he went into public school. And his parents were told, “Don’t put him in public school. Keep him in an Islamic school, or keep him in a Madrassa” and this and that, but he said, “No, I want to go to a public school”. Ask him why he wants to go to a public school: “Those people need the message” – that’s what he said. That’s a fifteen-year-old kid. And he goes – by the time he graduates from high school, eighteen kids become Muslim in that high school. This is confidence in your Deen. This is what we’re supposed to produce.

We’re supposed to – you know, they say in sports, the best defense is offense, right? The best preservation of our youth is the production of Da’ees. You produce people that carry this message, and deliver this message, and are content with this message, and are deeply confident with this message. You produce that and you don’t have to worry about them, you know, they’re not going to end up at the nightclub, and they’re not going to do alcohol, and they’re not going to have a girlfriend. You’re not going to worry about these things because they have a higher mission in life then. You have empowered them with something greater. When there’s a void of a higher purpose in life, then you have these problems. Then they look for other things to fulfill that void. But our Deen give us purpose. WAllahi, it empowers youth and it puts them on a different scale. It puts them on a different platform than anybody else. You know, we’ve become a people that want to protect ourselves, cut ourselves off from the rest of society. The only justification ‘Ulama have told for you decades now, I’m not the first one to tell you this, the only justification for Muslims living in this land is Da’wah. That’s the only real justification. Before all this hiding away and saying, “Oh my God”, if we’re like that, then there’s a serious problem. If we don’t know how to handle somebody who walks into the Masjid, a Jehovah’s witness, or a preacher, or a guy with tattoos all over his body, walks into the Masjid and we don’t know how to handle it; that’s our problem, not his problem. That’s our problem; we don’t know how to deal with them. We don’t know how to deal with the larger society. And we were here to deliver this message, to carry this message in our speech and our actions. In the four or five minutes that I have left, I want to share with you a couple of things, Bi’idhnIllah, that are hopefully food for thought for you and your family Insha’Allahu wa ta’ala. First and foremost, there are two things about the Qur’an that, at least in the Qur’anic studies, not in the larger Islamic studies, just in the Qur’anic studies, that all families should be aware of. This book is something we should understand, but it’s at the same time something that we should also appreciate. The Qur’an is not something just to be understood, but it is also something to be appreciated. What does that mean? We have to appreciate the fact that this is actually from Allah. We have to appreciate the fact that a human being couldn’t possibly produce this. It couldn’t possibly be from a human – it’s impossible. That cannot be.

Now, how do you come to that appreciation until you become a student of its power and its majesty, until even for the English speaker – you know, the vast majority of Muslims today are not Arabs or Arabic speakers, the vast majority of Muslims. But if you ask the question what is the amazing power of the Qur’an, what makes it so perfect, what makes it so flawless, what makes it so inimitable (it can’t be reproduced), the answer will always be its pristine Arabic. It’s Arabic is so perfect that it cannot be reproduced. Isn’t this the answer that you always get? Now, for the majority of Muslims who don’t know Arabic, are they ever going to benefit from that answer? No. So do we stop there and say well, the natural knowledgeable person comes in and says, “I want to know why the Qur’an’s a miracle” and the Shaykh tells him it has amazing Arabic and it couldn’t be by a human being. The poets couldn’t come up with anything like it. He says, “Well, I want to know how that works. That’s not enough for me. How is it better than Shakespeare? How is it better than any other literature? I want to know more.”

“Well, you have to know Arabic?” “Uhh, I don’t have time to learn Arabic.” “Well, too bad for you.” We can’t do that. We can’t do that, just because we’re living in a time, this Da’wah, this miracle, this beauty of this book. Yes, all the Balagha of the Qur’an cannot be shared with people in any other language. But a lot of it can be. A lot of the beauty and the power and the majesty of this Book can be shared. A lot of the questions can be answered. You know, when the average Muslim is even asking, “How come the Qur’an repeats itself so much? How come it says the same thing over and over and over again? How come a little bit of the story here, a little bit here, a little bit there, a little bit there? And why are they placed so sporadically, right? Muslims are asking these questions. WAllahi, Muslims are asking these questions. “How come for example in the Qur’an, there’s a Makki Surah, there’s a Madani Surah, there’s a Makki Surah – it’s all chronologically all over the place. How come “اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ”, the first revelation, is not in the beginning – it’s all the way at the end, right? All these kinds of questions, Muslims are asking today, and they have answers, but we have to sit and seek them. We have to sit and actually explore this. And when you do explore this, you will come to the conclusion that this Book, this Book, is superior in terms of its beauty. You will appreciate it – it is superior than any literature ever known to man. You will come to that conclusion yourself. And when you come to that conclusion yourself, then you have the confidence in this Deen that cannot be shaken. You have to have confidence in this Book first. I wanted to share with you in the beginning, I’ll do this in the conclusion now, the Ayahs from Surah Ankabut, “وَقَالُوا لَوْلَا أُنزِلَ عَلَيْهِ آيَاتٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِ” The Kuffar said, “How come no miracle comes to him? How come he just has words? How come the sky doesn’t crack open, water coming out of the ground, or maybe gold being delivered from the sand? Some miracle – show us something! The previous Prophets, you know, a dead guy come back to life, a river parted, some pretty cool stuff happened. How come he doesn’t show us a miraculous sign? Allah says, “قُلْ إِنَّمَا الْآيَاتُ عِندَ اللَّهِ وَإِنَّمَا أَنَا نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ. Allah tells the Messenger to say, “The miraculous signs belong to Allah. And I am only here to clearly warn. I am a clear warner to you.” That’s it. The next Ayah says, “أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِهِمْ أَنَّا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ يُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ – Isn’t it enough for them that we have sent the Book to be read to them? We have sent the Book onto you to be read to them?” They asked for a miracle and Allah said, “Isn’t the Book enough?”

Allah said, “Isn’t the Book enough”, right? They wanted to be convinced, they wanted to see something super natural, they wanted to see something that couldn’t be human, and Allah says, “Isn’t the Book enough?” If Allah said the Book is enough then, then it’s true even now and it’s still enough. We’re not studying it. We’re not spending the time. We are not appreciating its miracle. The Book is still enough. “أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِهِمْ أَنَّا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ يُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ ” SubhanAllah, it’s such a powerful message, this Book is such an empowering message, but we have to stop being apologetic, we have to stop being defensive. We have to learn to equip ourselves what that spear, the spear of knowledge of this Deen, of confidence of this Deen, of really standing up and saying, “Yes, we have the truth. We’re not just another religion and please just accept us as another acceptable religion in society.” They’re okay with Chinese Americans, they’re okay with Sri Lankan Americans, and they’re okay with Hispanic Americans, and they should be okay with Muslim Americans then too. They should be, but we’re here for more than that. We’re not just here so that people are okay with us – we’re not just here for that, we’re here for a higher purpose. We’re here to deliver a message, and, you know, in the history of the Prophets, whenever a Prophet got up to deliver the message, they got in trouble. They suffered because they delivered a message – every one of them. So if you are thinking you should be okay here, then think again. If we’re going to do Da’wah and if we don’t do Da’wah, then Allah’s punishment will come. If we don’t do our job, Allah’s punishment will come, and if we do our job, then Allah will test us definitely. He will definitely test us. May Allah (Azza wa Jal) make us capable and strong, to withstand that test. May Allah make us an Ummah that carries the message of Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) with confidence. May Allah (Azza wa Jal) infuse into our youth especially, the ones that are surrounded by Kufr and surrounded by Shirk and surrounded by doubt; they’re surrounded by these things, may Allah make them carriers of this message with great confidence. May Allah (Azza wa Jal) infuse into ourselves and our families a love of the Sunnah of the Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) and a love of learning, and reciting, and remembering Allah by means of His Book.

Video can be found here

Who is exempt from fasting? Once we ask this question, we have to realize that the default is that everyone must fast unless they are among the following type of people:

• Mentally incapable

• Children – They have to be adults and in Islam, an adult is one who has reached puberty and is between the ages of 11-14.

• Women who are in their monthly cycles and who are still suffering from the bleedings from childbirth – Unlike children who are allowed to fast and they and their parents get rewarded for it, these women are not allowed to fast; it is actually forbidden for them to do so. They need to make it up after their period is over and that obligation takes place as soon as they have the discharge that finishes their period.

• The travelers – What is travel? It is whatever your culture considers travel, so commuting to work doesn’t mean travel, but rather if you’re going to another town, city, state, or country, etc. If the travel is easy, that doesn’t mean you have to fast; Allah made this religion easy and you can do whatever’s easy for you. Just realize it’s not extra piety for you to fast while traveling, as the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) stated in a Hadith.

Suppose you have a flight at 5 and the Iftar is at 6 – you have to fast while you’re still in the city until 5 and since you have only an hour until you have to break the fast, then it is better for u to fast. If u have a difficult travel, then it’s better for you not to fast and to make it when u get home.

• Sickness – By sickness, it means the type that if you fast, the sickness get worse. The sickness doesn’t have to be life-threatening or severe, but just one that would be impacted by the fast. There are two categories of sickness:

• Temporary sickness – This includes sicknesses such as fever and such. They don’t have to feed the poor but they have to make up the fast when once they feel fine.

• Permanent sickness – This includes diabetes, cancer, and other types of sicknesses that remain permanently. A permanent sickness can also mean one who is very old and weak. For these people, they should give food to a poor person per day. They can give a meal per day or they can calculate all the 29/30 meals and give them all out on day. It is also permissible to feed one person 30 meals and it’d be ok. The best thing to give is food and the type of food that should be given is what is regular according to your culture; If chicken and rice are a normal meal, then that is what you should give. However, if that is considered a luxury in that culture, then that definitely is not what you have to give. You should basically give staple food – in some cultures, its chicken and rice and for others, its lentils and bread. As there is no end to these sicknesses, these people do not have to make up the fast.

• Pregnant women and breastfeeding women – Muslim sisters, realize firstly that just because you’re pregnant or breastfeeding doesn’t get you off the hook. Only if you feel that the fast will make it difficult on you or that a Muslim reputable doctor tells you that the fast will have adverse consequences on you or your child, then you’re exempt from the fasting. There is difference of opinion on whether they should feed someone or if they should make it up for that missed fast – my personal opinion is that they should make it up.

Video can be found here.

Dua 1 – Right after Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) gives Ibrahim (alayhis salaam) the glad tidings that he is a friend of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), the first thing that Ibrahim asks is, “What about the future generations after me?” This is the mindset of a genius. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) said, “Nay, My guarantee does not extend to wrongdoers.”

Dua 2 – Ibrahim (alayhis salaam) does not give up and makes a dua that “Oh Allah, make this city peaceful, and provide its children from all types of provision”. In English literature, this would be known as peace and prosperity, and in political science, one learns that the first thing needed for a functioning society is law and order, which is essentially peace. But even in a peaceful society, jobs are also needed, so a society actually needs both peace and prosperity. Ibrahim (alayhis salaam) then adds a disclaimer, “Only provide for the children of mine who believe in Allah and the Last Day”. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) then says, “I will also provide some for those who do not believe, and then will drag him into the punishment of the Fire.”

Dua 3 – Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) countered his dua twice, but Ibrahim (alayhis salaam) does not give up and makes another Dua (while building the Ka’bah with his son), “Our Lord, accept from us”. In this Dua, Ibrahim (alaihis salaam) made Dua not only for himself, but included his children as well.

Dua 4 – Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) did not respond, which means the Dua was answered. So Ibrahim (alayhis salaam) continued, “And make us in complete submission before you. And out of our children, guarantee that some of them will only submit to You. And for those who are in submission to You, please teach us our rituals. And accept our Taubah (the fact that he is asking Taubah is showing his humility in the case he might have done something wrong).”

Dua 4 – The Dua continues as Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) remained silent as the Duas were being answered, “Appoint from our future generations a messenger from among them.” This was genius because an outsider is looked on as less relevant and cannot be the people’s leader. “A messenger, who will read onto them their miraculous signs, and will teach them their book and wisdom, cleanse and purify them.” The advent of the Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) was the response to this this Dua.

The mentioned passage of verses are all concerned with parenthood. This is the concern of a father who thinks ahead. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) finished talking about Ibrahim (alayhis salaam) with, “We had selected him in this world and in the Hereafter. Truly, he is from the righteous.”

The Ayah after this talks about Yaqub (alayhis salaam) and his advice to his children; instead of “Do not get less than a 90 in Math”, it was “Do not die except as Muslims.” Furthermore, the fact that it was Yaqub (alayhis salaam) that is in this Ayah shows that the Dua was not only answered for the progeny of Ismaeel (alayhis salaam), but the progeny of Ishaq (alayhis salaam). Yaqub, on his deathbed, says to his children, “What are you going to worship after I am gone?” The children answered, “We will worship your God, and the God of your fathers, Ibrahim, Ismaeel, and Ishaq, and we are Muslims completely to him.”

Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) finishes the passage by saying, “That’s a nation that was already gone. That group earned what they earned. And you will get what you earn and will not be interrogated for what they did.”

Yasir Qadhi

Ramadan Special: Virtues of Ramadan

The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam), during the time of Ramadan, stood up on a Minbar, called the Companions, gave them a Khutbah, and said,

“Oh people, know that a month is upon you. Know that you witnessing a month that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has made sacred, that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala made obligatory to fast during its days and He has requested that you stand during its nights (it’s not obligatory, but it is rather good to do so).

Locked Up

This month, as said by the Prophet, is one that all of the doors of Hell are shut and chained, and all of the gates of Ramadan are opened, meaning that every opportunity to do good is opened up, you are safe from the fire of Hell, and go to Jannah. This is a month that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) has said that all of the evil Shayaateen are locked up, and they are not allowed to go around, whispering evil thoughts and this is a month that every single night, Allah suhanahu wa ta’ala saves people who were destined to go to Hell, and this month has a day that is better that is better than a thousands months. This month is Ramadan.

The Preferred Month

Allah has preferred certain months over others, and Ramadan is the most preferred month in the sight of Allah.Realize that this month has been made very easy as the Shayaateen and gates of Hell are locked, and also realize that 100 percent of the evil deeds that you do in this month is solely from your soul. Therefore, Ramadan is a reflection of your soul.

The Three Ameens

One day, when the Prophet was giving the Friday Khutbah, he was climbing up the pulpit, which had three steps. When he climbed the first step, he said Ameen. Then he climbed up the second and said Ameen. Then he climbed up the third and said Ameen. So the companions were confused and said, “Oh Messenger of Allah, we have never heard you say Ameen every time you climb a step. What is the reason for this?” The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “When I was climbing the pulpit, Jibreel came to me and told me, ‘Oh Muhammad, anyone in your nation who manages to be alive when Ramadan comes and does not manage to get his sins forgiven, let him perish in the HellFire – Say Ameen!’ So Muhammad said Ameen. Then when he climbed the second step, Jibreel said, ‘Anyone who manages to catch Laylatul Qadr and does not managed to get his sins forgiven, may he perish in the HellFire – Say Ameen!’ So the Prophet said Ameen and when the Prophet climbed the third step, Jibreel said to him, ‘Oh Muhammad, anyone of your Ummah who manages to catch one of them or both, when they are elderly and they need his help and is not able to service them properly and get his sins forgiven, may he perish – say Ameen! So the Prophet said Ameen. So three duas are made – three golden opportunities that even the worst of men can get all of their sins erased by turning to Allah. Two of those opportunities are related to Ramadan – the entire month and Laylatul Qadr. Therefore, if you cannot be righteous in this month, then there is no hope for you because there are no excuses.

Three ways to forgive all bad deeds:

So what do you have to do? The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) mentioned three things and anyone of them will unconditionally forgive all of one’s bad deeds:

1. Whoever fasts the entire month of Ramadan, believing in Allah and hoping for Allah’s reward.
2. Standing up at night in Ramadan  (ex. Taraweeh)
3. The night of Laylatul Qadr.

Ar-Rayyan

One more blessing of Ramadan is that it is the month when you perfect your fasting in it, and you can enter through a special door set aside for those who fast. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “In Jannah, there is a special door called Ar-Rayyan” and Ar-Rayyan means that which will give you a lot of water, because the way to get to that is to deprive yourself of water (by fasting).

Ramadan has been put for you to achieve righteousness and piety – this is the ultimate goal; Allah does not benefit when you tire yourself out. Rather, you are the one that benefit. May Allah make us among those whose sins are forgiven in this month, whose fasting is accepted, whose reading of the Qur’an is accepted, and whose Qiyyam is accepted, and may He make us among those who enter Jannah through the gate of Rayyan…

Video can be found at here at HalalTube.com (Please be sure to watch it)

During the Olympics (this lecture happened during that time), one sees that before they do the ‘clean jerk’, they start screaming and barking. Right before tennis players serve, they start skipping around the court. The reason they do this is to enhance and increase their level of alertness and activeness in them.

Surah Nahl
Allah also talks about this energy we have. He talks about the day and night in Surah Nahl:

Faalikul Isbaah – Allah describes this as the sunrise that is totally removing the darkness – when you see the sun rays coming out, all of the darkness just leaves, as if the night was split asunder with a ray of sunlight.

Wa ja’alal laila sakana – And Allah created the night as a time for rest.

Wash shamsa wal qamara husbana – The sun and the moon are two things that are used to measure time.

…so why did Allah create the day and night in separate proportions? If a person does not sleep at night and use it for rest and reinvigoration, you will find this person very lazy the next morning and is very much against the physical nature when one stays up all night and sleeps during the day because we are not nocturnal creatures. Day is for work, and night is for rest. We are not talking about people with night shifts, but people who just choose to stay up at night.

Energy

This whole energy, this Nashaat, is what the Prophet used to demonstrate. If you see when the Prophet entered Madinah, he stayed in the southern part of Madinah for about 14 days. After he stayed there, he started to actively look for a piece of land to build the Masjid and the Bani Najjar said that we would not sell this land to you, but give it for the sake of Allah, but the Prophet insisted to buy the land. They discovered that there were two graves at this location, so they removed the two graves. After the land was ready, the Prophet himself would take the adobe brick and move it. The Prophet could’ve just asked others to do it and excuse himself, but he would move the bricks himself.

Likewise, when the Prophet was with the companions at the battle of Khandaq, you will see how beautiful the Prophet used to encourage the companions. As digging got boring very fast, he would recite verses of poetry to invigorate the companions. He would say (speaking to Allah),

“If it was not because of you, we would never have been guided. And if it wasn’t because of you, we would never have given charity or thought of praying. And send down tranquility upon us. Stabilize and make our feet steadfast when we meet our enemies. Verily, they have transgressed upon us. If they want to cause Fitna, we refuse to allow them to cause Fitna”.

Fajr

When we go to sleep, forget about bed bugs that bite, it’s Shaytaan who bites. The Prophet said,

“The Satan will sit right here, next to the head. And if he sleeps, he will put three knots over the head. And as he ties each knot, he makes sure to tie the knot nice and tight and tells the sleeping person, “You have a very very long night. Sleeeep (tight)! If the person wakes up and remembers Allah (dua when waking up and when Fajr is), one of the knots will be untied. If he makes Wudu, then a second knot is untied. If he prays Salatul Fajr, another knot is untied. Then this person, after doing all three things, will wake up in the morning with full of energy and in a very good mood. Or this person will otherwise will wake up lazy and with a very bad temper.”

Aisha used to describe how the Prophet would wake up during Fajr time. He would sleep in the first part of the night and get up during the very end. If he needed something from his family, then he would help them and then go to sleep. At the time of the Adhan, by Allah, she didn’t say he would stand up, but would JUMP (wathaba) out of his bed and go to Fajr. Aisha, when describing the Wudu he would do, didn’t say that he would do it all nice, but would rather splash all over, to make sure he would do it with force, and if he didn’t have the Janabah, he would do the Wudu of a man.

Falaq and Naas

Back to the beginning of the Khutbah, we spoke about the morning and how Allah splits the night with the sunlight. And there is a surah known as Surah Falaq and Surah Naas. These were brought down by Angel Gibreel because he was hexed by one of the Jews. It was not very severe, but it would sometimes make him confused (ex. if he was clean or impure). When Jibreel brought the Surahs to him, he also showed the location (a well). The Prophet ordered his companions to go destroy the well. Once they did so, the Prophet stood up, refreshed with energy, as if he was relieved from something that was tying him down.

The Companions

If you look at the companions – Umar once saw a man who was just sitting down. Umar immediately asked him, “What are you doing here?” The man said, “I am waiting for the provisions from Allah”. Umar smacked him, beat him, and told him to get up and go do work, which leads to this point of laziness.

When you look in the dictionary for the word Kasal (laziness), you will see that there are many definitions. One of them is to not give something priority and importance, which in it of itself needs importance.

If you looked at the companions, and how they moved from Makkah to Madinah; even though they had nothing, they entered Madinah with an active lifestyle and some would say, “Show me the Sooq” and in three days, they would become successful merchants.

Makrooh

If you look at the Sunnah of the Prophet, it is actually Makrooh (extremely disliked) to sleep after Maghrib because when one sleeps after Maghrib, their sleep goes on and there is a fear of them passing the Isha prayer. Likewise, it is also against the Sunnah for one to stay up for no reason after Isha. After Isha, he would pray Witr and then immediately go to sleep without a word. Hmm, but New York is city that never sleeps…

The companions had said, “We had pledged our allegiance to the Prophet that we would obey him at times of ease and hardship, even at times when we feel lazy and tired. Musa was once asked by one of the Children of Israel on who is the most knowledgeable man in the earth. When Musa replied, “I do not know of any except for myself”, Allah sent him on a journey to seek out a man named Khidr. Musa and his servant went on a journey (active lifestyle), and if you see their experiences with Khidr, it was always a journey and they were always moving.

Ideal Work Schedule

The ideal work schedule is to wake up for Fajr (best time to work is after Fajr as there is Barakah), make dhikr, pray Salat ad-Duha, eat your breakfast, go to work, and take a break at Dhuhr (sleep for about 30 minutes before Dhuhr for reinvigoration).

Jannah is surrounded by the difficult things – one of the characteristics of the 70,000 that will enter Jannah without reckoning is that even if their whips fell from the horse and dropped to the ground, they will not ask assistance from any another.

They weren’t lazy. For them, it was an active lifestyle…

From Halal Tube: http://www.halaltube.com/tahir-anwar-do-not-waste-your-wealth

Theme: Money & Discussion of the beginning of Surah Isra’

- There are certain ayahs for all of humankind and others only for believers.

- Certain situations may be faced in which the person feels that Allah is talking directly to them.

- Allah always begins His Decrees by reminding us that we should worship him alone.

- The Prophet said, “Beware of living sumptuously because the true believers of Allah do not live like that”.

- According to a Hadith, the servant of wealth is an individual is one that the Prophet despised.

- As long as the wealth stays in our pockets and does not enter our hearts, we will be successful.

- Three things will follow an individual to the graveyard. Two things will return and only one will stay. The three are money, family members, and deeds. The money and family members will leave, but the deeds will stay.

- A man once came to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam and asked for charity. The Prophet asked him if he had any posessions, and the man said yes; he had a bull. The Prophet made him bring it, auctioned it, gave the money to the man, and said, “Buy yourself an axe and work to make your living.” Moral: Make do with what you have.

- Allah knows what is in your souls and is well aware of everything that you are doing. You can deceive your parents, friends, employees, and employers, but you cannot deceive Allah.

- Earn from Halal money and spend from Halal money.

- Do not be stingy, nor stretch it forth too much = spend moderately