Dr. Hamid Ghazali 6 30 17

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. Dear brothers and sisters, I pray to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to bless you, bless your families and make these days, inshallah, days of barakah for all of you, inshallah.

I pray to Allah to bring peace to the Muslim world and to save the lives of all innocent people all over the world. I would like to share with you today, inshallah, a concept of Islam which is taken from Surah Al-Ma'un and I would call it the concept of Ma'un, taking the spirit of the Surah. And why would I do that? As I'm finishing, Alhamdulillah, a kind of thorough analysis of the Quran, a deep analysis of the Quran, finding out from the beginning to the end, and Alhamdulillah, I'm on the last page of the Quran.

So I started to see things differently. I started to see the whole picture from Al-Fatiha to An-Nas. I could relate the verses in this Surah to the verses in other Surahs. I could see the whole picture. I can easily see how the verses are related to the concepts that Prophet Muhammad, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, brought to us. And I'm amazed at the depth that Juz Amma brings to us.

It really brings to us almost a summary of the concepts that we have. It's like putting the dots on the words in the Arabic language, and the dot can make a difference. If it's on top of the letter or below the letter, on the bottom of the letter, or if it's two dots, if it's one dot. All of that makes a difference, and that's what Juz Amma does to us. So I really started to see things clearly. Just a few words, sometimes ten words, like in Surah Al-Kawthar, for example, just only ten words. Very few words, and yet they bring you a whole concept of Islam. A summary of a concept. A summary of a principle in Islam.

Understanding Surah Al-Ma'un

With that in mind, I want you to look with me and examine. Take an example, and see how Al-Ma'un, that we all read, and our children read, and everybody reads. Especially the little kids, the younger kids. You're talking about somebody who's three years old, four years old, start to recite these Surahs. But it is very important for us to look into the depth of it, the meaning of it, and what it really brings to us as Muslims. The concepts that are hidden behind the words that we have.

And I want you to think with me. What is it that Allah wants us to learn from Al-Ma'un, Surah Al-Ma'un? Starts with:

That's how it starts. Starts with a unique way to tell us from the perspective of the Quran, what Allah wants in this case. How Allah defines the person who does not really acknowledge the deen. Belies the deen. Who is that person? Who is that model that really does not believe in the deen? Does not acknowledge the deen. Belies the deen. Who would that be? From the perspective that Allah brings to us. That's where it is very unique.

Is it the one who doesn't have the correct aqeedah? Is it the one who does this? Is it the one who doesn't believe in the angels? Is it the one who doesn't believe in... All of these things come to mind. When we want to define who really believes versus who doesn't believe. But Allah brings it to us in a very different way.

And says, that is the person who pushes harshly the yateem. The orphan. And does not encourage and urge to feed, to give the food of the miskeen.

Wait a minute. Is that how we define the one who belies the deen? That's what Allah wants. That's how Allah defines that. What is common here? Pushes harshly the yateem. Does not urge to give the food of the miskeen. What's common? What's common is the kindness is not there. The rahmah is not there. Is that what defines the deen? Yes, believe it or not, from the Quranic perspective, yes. And I'll demonstrate to you examples for that.

The Relationship Between Faith and Kindness

How about iman? The six pillars of iman. How about these? These are prerequisite. Prerequisite to Islam. Prerequisite to iman. But what really defines the deen and the acknowledgement of the deen is what? Surah Al-Ma'un defines it. And at the end, it tells us:

They show off and do not offer the ma'un, the help. The love of help to others. The kindness that we're talking about to others. They don't show it.

One question here that I want you to think with me. Is this a comprehensive list of who belies the deen? Or is it examples of those who belied the deen? Does Allah want to put a comprehensive list? Or does Allah want us to show the main features of that person? Definitely, it's the most important examples from the perspective that Allah puts to us over here. And that is consistent in the Quran.

The Significance of "Fa" in Understanding the Quran

Notice here something that I want you to learn. Whenever you study the Quran. The fa, harful fa, the letter fa, plays a significant part in understanding the Quran. If it's presence or no presence, makes a difference. So here when we read أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ فَذَلِكَ الَّذِي يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ. Then the fa here is a connection too. And listen to this carefully.

What comes after the fa, has a strong relationship to what comes before the fa. So it's like a cause and effect. It's like a reason behind something. Or it defines what was before. So it really defines to us here. Have you seen the one who belied the deen? That is indeed, that is the person who does this. The fa connects to us. Brings to us this concept.

Look into our example when it's not there. إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ. The fa in فَصَلِّ is there. When we give you al-kawthar, then therefore pray to Allah. فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ. Then is it فَإِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الْأَبْتَرُ? Or إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الْأَبْتَرُ? إِنَّ without the fa. This doesn't have a relationship between the beginning and the end. In other words, Allah did not give you al-kawthar because they said you are abtar. Doesn't have children. This is not the case. Allah would have given it to you anyway. But if the fa was there, then it's a reason for it and the cause for it. Important elements of understanding the Quran.

The Linguistic Depth of Ma'un

When we read for example in Surat Az-Zumar, Allah tells us: أَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ فَاعْبُدِ اللَّهَ مُخْلِصًا لَّهُ الدِّينَ. We have revealed to you the Quran with al-haq. The book, the Quran with al-haq. So the fa comes in and then worship Allah with full ikhlas. Then the fa here, therefore, worship Allah with full ikhlas. You can't drop the fa. So here the fa in al-ma'un defines to us and puts the relationship between the one who belies the deen and the action that comes after it.

وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَى طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ. Makes a difference. إِطْعَامِ is different than طَعَامِ. إِطْعَامِ is feeding the miskeen. طَعَامِ is the food of the miskeen. What difference does it make here? In other words, in English I would say, does not encourage the feeding of the miskeen. That's one way where I say إِطْعَامِ. Does not encourage the feeding. Versus does not encourage to give the food of the miskeen. طَعَامِ. It's here طَعَامِ. Which implies that it is the طَعَامِ. It's the food of the miskeen. It's his right or her right to get that food. And you're just giving that right. Which is the concept of zakah. Zakah is a right for the miskeen upon you. The one who has the money. It's an obligation. Little things like that makes a big difference. Makes you see the whole picture of Islam.

The Prophetic Examples of Kindness

At the end Allah defined it and said to us, that those يُرَاءُونَ وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ. Those who don't offer the help, do not encourage the helping of others and so on. And that's where in Ramadan we were told by the Prophet ﷺ, perhaps a fasting person does not get anything from his fasting except hunger or thirst. رُبَّ صَائِمٍ لَيْسَ لَهُ مِنْ صَوْمِهِ إِلَّا الْعَطَشُ أَوِ الْجُوعُ. Why? Because you're really not acting in the kind way that Allah wants you to act upon.

Just you connect things. Concepts that you really didn't understand very well before. The hadith of the Prophet ﷺ. A lady entered hell. It's a correct hadith. Entered hell because she was not nice to a cat. Imprisoned the cat. Did not feed the cat. Did not let the cat go away and eat on her own or drink on her own. Therefore she's in hell.

Is it hell? Go to hell for such a small, tiny act? No, it's not small. Here it's connected to the concept of الْمَاعُونَ. The one who doesn't have rahmah. The one who doesn't have kindness. Doesn't really understand the deen. Doesn't acknowledge the deen. أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ. Does not offer the ma'un. وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ. Stop the ma'un. Does not offer the ma'un. It's very important.

That lady didn't have the rahmah. Did not have the kindness in her heart towards animals. And that tells us also how Islam cares about animals. Cares about the environment. That is an example of a lady who goes to hell because she was not nice to an animal. And on the other hand is another hadith that tells us a lady who is a prostitute who is not really doing well went to Jannah because she was nice to a dog. She went and then put effort until she got the water from the well and offered it to that thirsty dog.

Again, think about it. Why would she be ending in Jannah in spite of all what she did? She had a good heart. Perhaps circumstances pushed her to commit the crimes that she was committing. But at the end she had a good heart. And Allah knew her heart in addition to other factors that Allah would consider. But that is the main moral part of the story. Very important for us. Takes us back to the concept of الْمَاعُونَ. It is a very important concept for us.

Connecting Ma'un Across the Quran

I was looking, examining the Quran. The people of Makkah who were fighting the Prophet ﷺ had it wrong. They believed in Allah. They believed in Allah. But their practices, their concepts were messed up. The Quran stated:

If you ask them, who created the heavens and the earth? They would say Allah. So they believed. But their actions were different. Their worship was different. And their understanding was... Allah gave me money. Allah honored me. Those yateem, miskeen, poor, don't have anything. Allah did not honor them. I believe in Allah as they do. But look into how Allah honored me and Allah did not honor them. The Quran corrects that.

And tells them in Surah Al-Fajr:

No. No way. And كَلَّا is stronger than لَا. Much stronger than لَا. Negation here. كَلَّا بَلْ لَا تُكْرِمُونَ الْيَتِيمَ. And when بَلْ comes after كَلَّا it brings you a contrast between two scenes. Between what they believe and what the reality is. The reality is you do not honor the miskeen. كَلَّا بَلْ لَا تُكْرِمُونَ الْيَتِيمَ. You're not honoring the orphan. The one who is yateem. وَلَا تَحَاضُّونَ عَلَى طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ. And you're not urging and helping to provide the food for the miskeen. Very interesting.

The Distinction Between Miskeen and Faqeer

And notice here the use of the term miskeen. How about the faqeer? The miskeen is the one who asks you. The miskeen is the one who asks. But look into the ones who really don't ask but they need money a lot. We understand it from the verse in which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said about the Muhajireen:

Like for the fuqara who left their money, everything behind. And you think they are the richest in the world because of their honor and dignity. Referring to the Muhajireen. Call them fuqara. So if you are not really, even the one who is miskeen, you are not urging to help the miskeen. How about the faqeer? He wouldn't do it. It's again back, connect this in Surah Al-Fajr.

The Obstacle to Paradise in Surah Al-Balad

You go to Al-Balad. The one after Al-Fajr. And you read in Al-Balad. You read about the one who really got it wrong. The one who is not able to cross the obstacle that stands between him and Jannah. Or between her and Jannah. In the terminology of Juz Amma, in the terminology of Surah Al-Balad. That is called Al-Aqabah. And we read:

He couldn't cross the obstacle. And you have no idea what this obstacle is. What is this obstacle that would stand between him and Jannah. The person who is there in Surah Al-Balad. Very simple.

Amazing. It's exactly same words. Word for word. As we read it in Al-Fajr. As we read it in Al-Ma'un. That obstacle that stands between you and Jannah. Is freeing a slave. Or feeding in a time of need. Feeding people in the time of need. يَتِيمًا ذَا مَقْرَبَةٍ - an orphan who is close to you. أَوْ مِسْكِينًا ذَا مَتْرَبَةٍ - or a miskeen that is matrabah. Matrabah comes from turab. That is stuck to the turab. Turab meaning the dust. Dusty from sitting on the floor. Doesn't have anything. That's how Allah defines Al-Aqabah that stands between us and Jannah. And here in Al-Ma'un, He defines the one who belies the deen as this person.

The Promise of Ad-Duha

Look into Ad-Duha. Ad-Duha comes after Al-Balad, you have Ash-Shams, then Al-Layl, then Ad-Duha. And in Ad-Duha, you find the same concept. Allah reminds the Prophet ﷺ when he was in difficulty, when the revelation didn't come to him, and tells him, the duha will come. Don't worry. The duha will come. The time where life will come back will come.

Saja means stand still. So when the night stands still, the duha will always come. Allah will bring you the duha. The beginning, the life of the beginning of the day will come back. Things will come back to normal. So don't worry.

All what you have to do is to understand what the deen is and apply it. And what is it that Allah wants from Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in return to bringing him the duha back. What is it that Allah wants in return from our Prophet? لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ. Very simple. It's the Aqabah that we talked about.

Don't push away the yateem. Same words of Al-Ma'un. فَأَمَّا الْيَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ وَأَمَّا السَّائِلَ - and the person who comes asking you. فَلَا تَنْهَرْ - don't stop him. Don't push him away. وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ - be thankful to the blessings of Allah upon you. In other words, be kind and thankful.

The Concept of Birr in Surah Al-Baqarah

When you really trace, if I have time to show you verses from the Quran from almost every place, you will find that. Do your homework and examine:

Read this verse in Surah Al-Baqarah towards the last third of Surah Al-Baqarah and you will understand the concept of birr. Combining the belief in Allah and the concept of iman with the concept of kindness. Important concepts, dear brothers and sisters, that come to us.

The Bedouins and True Faith

When the Bedouins looked harsh, didn't have that kindness, didn't have that concept of ma'un. They yell at each other, they shout at each other, they don't show respect. That kindness was not there. They put down one another, they shout the name of the Prophet ﷺ without any honor, like they shout the name of one another.

Don't call the Prophet ﷺ as you call one another as Surah An-Nur explained to us. But they didn't have that kindness. So Allah told them in Surah Al-Hujurat. Hujurat talks about that kindness, that level of respect that we show to one another. They claim, we are believers.

The Bedouins said, we believe. Allah said, no, you did not believe. Say, we declared Islam, but iman did not enter your hearts. What a definition! When you put some other people down, when you don't respect others, when you think you are the best, you don't understand the deen. When you are not kind towards people around you, you don't understand the deen. Maybe you are a Muslim, but not a mu'min.

To come to the level where the Prophet ﷺ said, مَنْ غَشَّنَا فَلَيْسَ مِنَّا. Defines for us a concept. Whosoever cheats us is not from us. Define a term for us. Those who love the Prophet ﷺ, and love ma'un, and love these concepts that are present, us. But those who don't are not from us.

The Character of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

Indeed, dear brothers and sisters, we look into the practice of the Prophet ﷺ, to see how this kindness was his character. Allah described him at the end of Surah At-Tawbah. And I wish I have time to explain to you the relationship between what I'm going to say, the verses and Surah At-Tawbah. But let's focus on the verses first. Allah said:

A Prophet from among you came to you. He cares for you. He has rahmah and ra'fah for you. Rahmah comes for the whole world. Ra'fah comes to the close. بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ. Both of them. Important parts here. That's the character of the Prophet ﷺ.

A lady comes. And a companion sees him standing with that lady for hours. And then we learn that lady was lost her mind. Didn't know what she was saying. May Allah protect and cure anybody who gets into that situation. We all can get into that situation. May Allah save every individual in the face of the earth from anything like that. But he was so kind. He was standing. He was listening to her. It didn't matter whether she understood what he was saying or not. That's kindness.

When the prisoners of war were shouting, were crying, the Prophet ﷺ could not sleep in the Battle of Badr. And ordered his companions to go and loosen the tie on them. That's kindness.

When Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, who was the head of the hypocrites, died, and he was the enemy of the Prophet ﷺ, the top enemy, the Prophet ﷺ covered him with his shirt. That's an honor. That's kindness.

When the son of Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, who was a believer, came and asked the Prophet ﷺ to pray on his father and to ask forgiveness, he went ahead. And when Umar ibn al-Khattab reminded the Prophet ﷺ and said, Didn't Allah say:

Ask forgiveness for them. Even if you ask 70 times, Allah will not forgive them. Then the Prophet ﷺ smiled and said, I'll make it 71. What an understanding. What a kind Prophet. What kindness. A level of kindness he had. This is our Prophet ﷺ. And he was about to go and pray. Until Allah sent the verse, Do not pray on them. Then he stopped.

May Allah throw the kindness in our hearts and help us, inshallah, understand Islam.