Night of Quranic Reflections - Part 1 (Formatted)

This is the first instance of this type of revelation upon the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) where you have these letters that certain surahs begin with the meaning of which is not known to us. But these are part of the literary marvel and miracle of the Qur'an. Because these are the same letters by means of which the entire language, by the way, the language that these people were the masters of.

The pride, the identity of these people was their language and the mastery of their language. So that same language, the letters that constructed the language that they thought they were not just familiar with but they had mastered, now these letters are being recited in such a way that these people it's like while I'm talking to you like this, you don't even realize that what I'm talking, what I'm saying right now is constructed of the letters. It's just second nature, right? But while I'm talking, if all of a sudden while speaking like this generally, I said, now I have everybody's attention.

What happened? Even that brother that's been texting on his cell phone. I see. So, it gets your attention.

The Power of the Qalam

So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) goes in public, stands amongst the people. Now this language that they have the mastery of, that their identity is built upon and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says (ن - Nun), pin drop silence, just like this right now. And they're listening.

And then the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) goes on reciting:

"(Quran 68:1) - By the pen. And the pen we know is a symbol. It's symbolic of knowledge, of understanding, enlightenment.

"(Quran 68:1) - And whatever they write, meaning whatever humanity has written and will continue to write, that human history that's been recorded is going on right now and will be recorded in the future. Everything that will transpire with mankind. And the deeds of people, whatever they've done in the past, whatever they're doing right now, whatever they will do.

"(Quran 82:11) - The angels, they're writing. They're writing away relentlessly, tirelessly.

"Allah swears by such powerful things.

But the human ability to learn knowledge, enlightenment, understanding, human history itself and what will transpire in the future. Allah swears by these things, takes an oath by these things and then says what? You know the more stronger, the more powerful, the greater of an oath that you take. What you follow that up with better, I mean you're about to say something extremely of great importance, right? It's a symbol, it's a sign.

When Shaytan, when he addressed Allah and said:

"- Swore by the power of Allah. I mean what he's about to say right now is about to be a huge statement. I will lead each and every single one of these human beings astray.

That's what Shaytan said. So whenever you take an oath, the greater the oath, the more profound of an oath that you take, that's just a sign that what's about to come is about to be a huge revelation, a huge statement is on its way.

The Divine Reassurance

And what does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala say after taking such an amazing, great profound oath?

"- You are not, no matter what people say, no matter what these people will think, no matter what will happen later on, By means of the blessing of your Lord, you are not insane, you are not crazy, you haven't lost your mind, you're not possessed.

That this blessing of Allah, this Qur'an, this revelation, this deen, this, number one, this did not make you crazy. Because yesterday this was the man who was al-Sadiq al-Amin. This was the man that everybody loved, everybody liked, everybody trusted. Fathers would tell their sons, be like him. And today, everything's changed. Now he's crazy, he's a liar, he's greedy, he's a magician, he's been possessed, he's lost his mind, he's causing trouble, he's causing problems.

This Qur'an didn't make you crazy. You're okay. And the second thing is, it is the blessing of your Lord that you won't go crazy either.

Because what these people are about to do to you, if you think this initial rejection is hard, O Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم),what these people are about to say to you, and what they're about to do with you, if it was not for the blessing of your Lord, your Lord did not strengthen you, He did not protect you, you would've lost your mind. Any other human being would've gone crazy. I mean the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) what he endured, what he went through, for the sake of this deen, this is extremely important for us to understand today.

Modern Day Challenges

Because we as Muslims, here and now, today, are going through some difficulty. You know with the recent, I was asked just earlier today, when I was picked up for the Friday khutbah by a brother, first question he asked me, so, did the TSA get kind of friendly with you? First question he asked me. It's in the news.

Everyone's talking about it, everyone's listening to it. I won't lie, I'm very nervous about the next time I fly with my family. And my wife has to go through security. I'll think twice about planning that trip. So we're dealing with some difficulty. But what's really important for us right now, is to look back at Muhammad Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم). What did he go through?

The Prophet's Testimony of Hardship

By his own testimony, he says

- I have been threatened for the sake of Allah like nobody else.

- I have been tortured for the sake of Allah like nobody else.

- Thirty consecutive days and nights passed, two of us, we had nothing to eat that was sufficient for a living, breathing human being except a little bit of food that Bilal would hide in his clothes.

He would take some dates and he would literally stash them in his clothing. Because if the Prophet (صلی الله عليه وسلم) saw that Bilal had a few dates, what would he do with it? He'd give it away to somebody else. He'd help out somebody else in need.

The Story of Fatima's Bread

That's the difficulty the Prophet (صلی الله عليه وسلم) endured for the sake of deen, because of this deen. The Prophet (صلی الله عليه وسلم), one time his daughter Fatima (رضي الله عنها) she came to visit her father, the Prophet (صلی الله عليه وسلم). She had baked some fresh bread. She had baked some fresh bread.

When she arrived, when she came, the Prophet (صلی الله عليه وسلم) saw this fresh bread, could smell it. Said, what is this, ya Fatima? What's the special occasion? Fresh bread equaled the special occasion. She said, no special occasion.

I just baked some fresh bread and I thought of you, I wanted to share it with you. So the Prophet (صلی الله عليه وسلم) said, Bismillah, ate a bite of the bread, said, alhamdulillah, thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and then said,

- I swear by the one who holds my life in his hands.

I swear by Allah, ya Fatima.

- This is the first morsel of food your father has eaten after three days.

This is the difficulty he endured. This is the sacrifice he made for truth, to live a life of devotion and dedication, and to share this life of devotion and dedication with all of humanity. And the incidents and the stories go on and on.

The Family of Yassir: A Model of Sacrifice

Such inspirational figures. We are families today. We say, brothers, we are a family. My wife and my children. Why do they have to endure this? Just because they're Muslims? And many of us have stopped. We've become weak in our convictions of being Muslim, of living a life as Muslims, because of the difficulty that we're enduring.

That okay, if being a Muslim and calling myself a Muslim and living my life as a Muslim means that I have to put up with this nonsense, then you know, I'm not sure. If I was by myself, I'd tough it out. My family, I can't see my kids go through difficulty.

Again, we're not alone in this struggle. We have families that went through so much more. So much more. Why? What I stated in the beginning. Just to please Allah. They just wanted to go to Jannah. They just wanted to make Allah happy, make Allah pleased with them. And look at what they endured. The family of Yassir.

A father, Yassir. His wife, Sumayya, a mother. And their son, Ammar.

Their Ordeal

They accept Islam. Live a life of devotion and dedication. They're captured, tied up, to be made an example out of. To be made an example of. They would be tied up to poles and left. Tied up to poles in the middle of the city, in the middle of the town and be left there for days on end.

Sweltering away in the heat. People walking by and hitting them, throwing rocks at them, cursing them, spitting on them, degrading them, humiliating them. Because they called themselves Muslims.

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would walk by incapable of helping them. And he would walk by with tears in his eyes, crying. And he would say to them

- Have patience, oh family, Yassir, have patience. Allah will make a way for you. Eventually, the mother is brutally murdered.

In broad daylight, in cold blood, in front of her own husband and her own son. Why? Because she calls herself a Muslim. But the lesson in it for us is, she didn't give up. She believed she was a Muslim and she stuck to her values. The father, Yassir, after torture and seeing this happen, he eventually died. Now here's the son.

Now imagine this young man. What he's been through. And how broken anybody else would have been inside after enduring through all of this. Seeing his own parents killed and tortured before his very eyes. He escapes. He gets away.

Ammar's Response

The first opportunity he gets, in Quba, a suburb outside of Medina. When the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is leaving Mecca, migrating to Medina. He stops over in Quba.

The first opportunity Ammar gets, what's the first thing he does with his newfound freedom? With his new life that he's supposed to be building, he builds a masjid. With his bare hands, brick by brick by brick, he builds a masjid. Because maybe more than anybody else, he understood how important that was.

He had no family anymore. He had no home. Nowhere to go to. And he knew this is some place where I can feel comfortable. I can find peace and tranquility. I can find a sense of self here. I am somebody here. And he builds a masjid. When the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) enters into Quba, all of the Muslims of Quba, all of the Muslims of Medina have gathered together to welcome the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

They're welcoming the Prophet of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم). The Prophet of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is looking out at the crowd. He sees Ammar amongst the crowd and he begins to welcome Ammar.

Building the Masjid

Everyone's welcoming him, he's welcoming Ammar. When the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) after staying there for a few days goes into Medina, and what's the very first thing the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did in Medina, everybody? The masjid. He lived in somebody else's house as a guest for six months.

He had his family with him. When we decide to move to a new place, the first thing we do is look for a place to live. An apartment, a house. He stayed as a guest in someone's house with his own family for six months. But the day he arrived, he said, we'll build a masjid right here. The next day, they woke up early in the morning and the first thing they did started building the masjid with their bare hands.

Because that's important. That's where we find ourselves. That's where we take back barakah and blessings to our home. This is where we get the barakah and take it back to our homes. This is where we find community. Where we find strength and conviction and devotion and dedication.

So they start building the masjid. So everyone's carrying a rock or a brick in line, in succession. They're all carrying one brick. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) stops Ammar. He stops him. Everyone's carrying one rock. Ammar Radhiallahu Anhu is carrying two rocks. He's carrying two bricks. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) stops him and says, take it easy.

Take it easy. Takes one of the rocks, puts it down. He says, relax, it's okay. The masjid will get built. And his entire face and hair, everything, he was covered in dust. So excited. So enthusiastic. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) stops him and brushes the dust out of his hair and wipes his face clean with his own hands. So much love and affection for him.

So this is the sacrifice, the difficulty, people before us endured. What they went through. Because they called themselves Muslims.

Divine Promise and Reward

So getting back to the passage, which leads us right to the next thing.

"(Quran 68:3). In the third ayah, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says what? And most definitely, exclusively reserved for you is أَجْرًا غَيْرَ مَمْنُونٍ - Is a reward that will never discontinue. Is a reward that will never stop.

Meaning, this reward, you will not only be rewarded and blessed for what you're doing here in this life, in this world, you will find peace, you will find tranquility, you will find happiness and contentment and confidence and self-esteem. (حَيَاةَ طَيِّبَةً - 16:97 Quran) - But even in the life of the hereafter, you will

continue to reap the rewards and the benefits and the blessing of what you're doing right now, what you're enduring right now. And in this is a very subtle consolation to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Remember, these are the early days of Makkah.

Few Muslims, a handful of people, mostly weak, slaves, destitute, an extremely small minority, severely tortured and oppressed. And so when you, when a person would look at a situation, he would say, man, is this really worth the trouble? I mean, is this... I was from a noble family, married to a very noble, respectable woman. I was a role model in this community and society.

I was on my way to becoming a chief of the tribe. And all of that is gone. And I'm not just a nobody anymore, but I am public enemy number one now. Is it worth the trouble? Allah is telling him, you keep doing what you're doing. Because this life will end one day. And the difficulty you're going through will finish one day. And the situations and the circumstances will change one day. But your reward that you're getting because of what you're going through will never end.

Description of Paradise

These difficulties of yours will turn into gardens of Jannah. Rivers flowing from beneath them.

Water that will never stench. Milk that will never go sour. Rivers of pure wine of Jannah. And rivers of pure honey of Jannah. There will be trees in these gardens of Jannah.

That the hadith of Bukhari, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم tells us,

(Bukhari 3251)

That if a person riding a horse was to ride his horse for a hundred years, he would not be able to cross the shadow that this tree will cast. They will be laden with fruits. So accessible, so available to the people of Jannah, that in the Qur'an there's a beautiful ayah.

It's literally like two words. But just you need your imagination to translate it. And that is Allah جل جلاله in Surah Al-Haqqa, He says,

A person in Jannah will be lying in his garden in Jannah.

And he'll be lying there under the shade of a tree, the likes of which I just described, in his garden in Jannah, enjoying himself, relaxing. And while he's laying there relaxing and enjoying himself, he'll look up at the tree and he'll see juicy ripe fruit hanging from the tree. And when he looks up at this fruit, he'll say, you know what? He'll just think to himself, I feel like eating that.

Nom nom. Right? I feel like eating that. The second, the moment that thought crosses his mind that I feel like eating that, the bunches of fruit that's hanging from the tree, literally, that person will not be inconvenienced. Allah will not inconvenience that person in Jannah to the extent where he has to even sit up, where he has to reach up to grab some of this fruit. The tree will literally bend over, the bunch of fruit will lower all the way down to his mouth while he's still lying there. He will take a bite from the fruit and

when he feels like he's done eating the fruit, then the tree will move right back up and he'll go back to his chilling.

This is what's waiting. This is what's waiting.

But here's the key.

The Key to Success: Great Character

Here's the key. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, most definitely you, Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, لَعَلّیٰ - love, emphasis upon emphasis, like grammatically speaking. Most definitely, certainly, no doubt, emphasis upon emphasis here, grammatically speaking.

You most definitely are upon a very great character, conduct. You live your life based on عَلَى means like based on, that your entire life, the way you conduct yourself, the way you handle yourself, the way you respond to these people, everything, your entire existence is based upon this extremely great, amazing mode of conduct, character, temperament, morals and ethics, which are unmatched. And that was the secret right there.

The Power of Good Character

Because you and I know, that down the road, these people who so vehemently opposed him and tortured him and tried to kill him and assassinate him, did they remain opposition or did many of them, in fact, majority of them end up accepting the message? They accepted the message. The most vicious of his enemies, Abu Sufyan, Hind, Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan, the daughter of Uthbah, Ikramah, the son of Abu Jahl, Khalid ibn al-Walid, the architect of the turn of events on the day of Uhud. Some of the most vicious and ferocious of his enemies ended up accepting Islam, ended up saying the amazing, beautiful words of

They felt proud to call themselves Muslims.

How do you turn the hearts of people that hate you so much? How do you change the mind of somebody who has made his life goal to torture you and to oppose you and to make your life miserable? How do you turn that person around?

Because you don't respond to their negativity with negativity. You don't respond to their evil with evil. You don't respond to their aggression with aggression.

You respond to it with kindness and humility and forgiveness and generosity and kindness. When the Prophet 20 ,صلى الله عليه وسلم years later, when he had the upper hand, on the day of the conquest of Mecca, Fajr of Mecca, when he's standing there in front of all of the people of Mecca and by their faces he can literally pick out those criminals. You did this and you did that and you did this and you did that.

He can see them standing right before him. And they're all pleading and crying. Have mercy on us. What are you gonna do with us today? And they're all scared, fearing for their lives. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم issues his decision by saying, I'm just gonna say to you what Yusuf said to his brothers.

I have no score to settle with you people today. Allah will forgive you. You have to reconcile with Allah, not with me. And he is the most merciful of all those capable of showing mercy. Meaning your chances are very good. If forgiveness is what you're looking for, you got nothing to worry about.

Because he is by far the most merciful being you'll ever come across. Just go and reconcile with him.

Why, through all this difficulty, why is such great promise to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم? Once again, because look how endearing his action are in the eyes of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Look how beloved he is to Allah. Because at the end of the day, human beings, all human beings, are the creation of Allah. And he loves his creation. So even though they're being negative, and they're being aggressive, and oppressive with the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم,when he responds with kindness, and goodness, and generosity, he wins greater favor in the eyes of Allah. And that's why you hear these great rewards.

This is the key.

The Method of Change

This is the linchpin. This is the secret. This is what we are in need of today more than anything else. More than anything else. To remind ourselves of what changes, what turns the hearts. What changes minds.

So I was quoting that ayah from surah Fussilat. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says

idfa' literally means to repel. It's a defensive word. When you're being attacked, the instinct is to repel the attack, defend yourself. So Allah says, do defend yourself. But how do you defend yourself? ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ - Defend yourself in that way that is better.

In the way that is more excellent. With goodness, and kindness, and generosity, and forgiveness, and compassion, and empathy. What will happen?

This word فَإِذا is to show that all of a sudden, it basically means all of a sudden, instantaneously, overnight.

That between you and between him, this person, this enemy of yours, there was severe animosity. There was hatred for each other.

كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ - this person has become your most loyal and beloved friend.

Your most hated enemy will become your most loyal friend. That was probably one of the greatest aspects to the personality of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. He had the ability to take his greatest enemies and turn them into his most loyal friends and followers.

Poetic Tribute to the Prophet

By finally quoting a few couplets mentioned by Hassan ibn Thabit. Hassan ibn Thabit رضي الله عنه . companion of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and a great poet, a reputable poet of his time. He said a

few couplets in praise of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم that are very fitting over here. And he says to : صلى الله عليه وسلم the Prophet

He says that I've never seen anyone more beautiful than you. More amazing than you, more inspiring than you. And no woman has ever given birth to anyone more beautiful than you, as if you've been created without any faults or shortcomings.

It's as if Allah created you however you wanted. It's almost as if Allah asked you how you wanted to be. You filled out a request form, I would like to be like this, and that's how Allah created you.

That's who the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was. That's who we associate ourselves with. Somebody who was so magnificent. Somebody who was so amazing.

Conclusion: The Qur'an as Universal Guidance

All we are asked to do today is to take this Qur'an. These were just a few ayat I shared with you. Just the first four ayat of Surah Al-Qalam. Take this. Because at the end of the Surah, Allah جل جلاله tells the Prophet

That these people who disbelieve, who reject your message, They wish that they could literally kill you.

They wish they could just by staring at you. You know when you stare at somebody with so much hatred, you just give them the stink eye, you just stare at them like there's nothing more disgusting you've seen in their life. You wish you could just kill them just by looking at them.

لَيُزْلِقُونَكَ بِأَبْصَارِهِمْ - They wanna make you slip and fall just by looking at you. It's an expression in Arabic, it's a verbal idiom. Means they just, they look at you with so much hatred. They hate you with all their hearts.

When they hear the reminder, when they hear the Qur'an. And they say, they respond by saying, he's lost his mind, he's crazy.

But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,

But this reminder, that you are reciting to them, that you are presenting to them, that you are explaining to them, that you are calling them to, this is nothing but ذِكْرٌ لِلْعَالَمِينَ - This is a reminder for all humanity, no matter where or when they ever exist. Wherever people will live, whenever they will exist, this will be the ultimate source of reminder for them. This will solve all of their problems. This will teach them how to live the best way.

So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلمin the beginning you reassured him, you haven't lost your mind, don't worry. Now he's telling them, it's telling him at the end of the surah, after everything has transpired, after he's been equipped with this truth, he's being told, you know what, the time is about to come, when these people will stare at you, and they'll literally try to kill you with their eyes.

They'll hate you, when they hear you reciting the Qur'an, and they'll say he's lost his mind. They will say that about you. But realize that this Qur'an that you call them to, that you recite to them, this is the ultimate truth, and the ultimate reminder.

So the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is being told, the sign of the simple fact that you are right, and what you are doing is correct, and you need to stay committed to your message, is what you present to these people is the truth, is the ultimate truth. It changes their lives. It opens reality on them.

So if this is right, what you have to share with people is correct, how could you be crazy? You obviously are correct. And what we need to understand is, if this Qur'an is what we claim to believe in, and Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is the one we claim to follow, then we can never be wrong. What we believe in, what our lives are based on, is true and it is correct.

And we need to have that confidence. And all we need to do in order to realize that confidence, and in order to realize a better life, is recommit ourselves to the Qur'an, the ultimate reminder, and find inspiration within the life of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Closing Du'a

May Allah جل جلاله give us all the ability to practice everything that's been said and heard.

جَزَاكُمُ اللهُ خَيْرًا

وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ