POWER OF THE QUR AN
By Hussain Kamani | 2026-01-10T03:31:59.962959+00:00 | Topic: Iman
The Power of the Quran
Opening and Praise
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَكَفَى وَسَلَامٌ عَلَى عِبَادِهِ الْمُصْطَفَى، خُصُوصاً عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا الْبَشِيرِ وَالْخَاتَمِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ الْأَصْفِيَاءِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ الْأَنْقِيَاءِ، أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَأَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ، بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
The Greatest Miracle - The Quran
"Had We sent down this Quran upon a mountain, you would have certainly seen it humbled and torn apart in awe of Allah. We set forth such parables to people, so that they may reflect."
صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم. The greatest mission of the life of the Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم was to fulfill the role of a messenger, and the role of a messenger is to deliver a message. The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم had many great miracles in his life, however the greatest miracle of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم was none other than the Quran, for it is a miracle that remained even after the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم left this world.
Understanding the Prophet Through the Quran
Until today, if we wish to understand who the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم actually was, and for us to understand who our Lord Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is, the only way to this goal is to read and understand the Quran. The companions, they came to Aisha رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهَا on one occasion, and they asked her to describe to us the character of the Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم. She replied back by saying the character of the Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم was the Quran.
The Excellence of the Quran
Now this Quran is the word of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم, while explaining the greatness of the word of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he says that the excellence of the Quran, the excellence of Quran over all other books is like the excellence of the speech of Allah over all the speech of mankind. If you were to compare the speech of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with my speech or your speech, what kind of comparison would that be? Now imagine the greatness of the Quran and its rank in comparison to all other books in the world. The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمhe enlightened the hearts of people with the Quran.
Guidance Through the Quran
People were guided through the Quran. A nation which will be such a large nation on the Day of Judgment. For the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم desired to have the largest nation on the Day of
Judgment.
When we gather together, our actual source of guidance is nothing other than the Quran. That's why the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمhe encouraged his companions to read it frequently. The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him encouraged his companions to recite it.
The Virtue of Memorizing and Reciting the Quran
The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم encouraged his companions to memorize it. The very beautiful hadith that you can find in the Sahihain in Bukhari and Muslim. The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم told his companions that there is no such thing as being envious but for two people. (Bukhari and Muslim)
Don't be jealous or envious over anyone but for two people. The first person the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم says is that person whom Allah gave the Quran to, meaning he's memorized the Quran. And not only has he memorized the Quran but he wakes up during the hours of the night and he recites it in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Be jealous and be envious of that person because he has something you don't have. The second thing the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم said, be envious of the person whom Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave wealth to and he spends it in the darkness of the night, meaning he spends it secretly without exposing his deed to the entire world.
The Prophet's Dedication to the Quran
The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمhe was regular in reciting the Quran and he used to endure the recitation of the Quran.
The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم when he would start the recitation of the Quran in the hours of the night, the prayer would become so long that Aisha رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا herself is saying that the beloved feet of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم would swell. And this wasn't something that happened one or two nights, this was a regular routine of the life of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم.
The Early Commands of Night Prayer
Our beloved reciter at the beginning, he recited the verses of Surah Muzzammil.
And in these verses Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the initial stages of Islam ordered the companions and the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم to spend a great portion of their night worshipping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And they were standing in front of Allah at tahajjud for long hours. And the companions couldn't bear it anymore because their feet were swelling up.
And they couldn't bear it anymore because it was hard on them. They were standing for long hours. And the scholars of Tafsir, they say Ibn Kathir says that this order of standing for long hours actually remained
for close to one year.
How many years? One year, imagine that. One year of standing for:
O you who wraps himself [in clothing], Arise [to pray] the night, except for a little - Half of it - or subtract from it a little, Or add to it, and recite the Quran with measured recitation.
And you know these verses of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saying stand during night but a little bit. نِصْفَةٌ or half of it. أَوْ انْقُصْ مِنْهُ قَلِيلًا or a little less than a half. أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ or a little more than that. Allah azawajal is saying that spend the majority part of your night standing in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, worshipping Allah azawajal.
The Difficulty of Receiving Revelation
What the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم went through to receive this Quran was great. And this is one thing we as the Muslim community truly misunderstand and we do not appreciate. We think for a moment that the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم, the revelation that was given to him was easy.
Some of us think of revelation like the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم going to the local market, making the payment and walking out with a bag of revelation. When the reality is far from that. And the shaykh at the Qari Sahib at the beginning he recited at first:
Indeed, We will cast upon you a heavy word.
Allah azawajal says that indeed we are to reveal to you a very heavy statement.
The Physical Impact of Revelation
And it was so heavy on the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم that the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم feared his life when revelation was revealed unto him. Imagine that for a second. You know if I told you that you have to cross this wire right here, this rope right here from one high rise building to the other high rise building.
Cross this rope on balancing yourself without falling down. Because on the other side there is a message that you have to deliver to these people. Most of us would never risk our life for a part of the person.
Here the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم and almost every other day or every few days when the revelation comes down to him he feels this weight onto him. And the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم one day while he was lying down on the thigh of another companion the companion says that revelation begins to reveal to the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم. And it was such a heavy weight that I actually thought my thigh was going to crush because of the weight of revelation.
Aisha رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا says that when revelation would come to the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم even in the winter season sweat would begin to appear on the forehead of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم
The First Revelation
The first revelation when Jibreel عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام was squeezing the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم during the revelation of Iqra. While he's squeezing the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم each time he says that he squeezed me until the point that I thought I would be destroyed.
Meaning that was the end of my life. Each time he squeezed me, he squeezed me, he squeezed me. When we talk about the sacrifice of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم it seems we forget this one point.
The Prophet's Concern for Preserving the Quran
That the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم went through such a long journey of life preserving the Quran. And when he was given the Quran he was worried about it. The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم when the Quran was revealed to him you have to understand he had a responsibility.
That responsibility was not to attain this revelation and convey it to the people. Therefore the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم when the revelation would come down to him he would quickly repeat the verses of the Quran. So he wouldn't forget it.
He would just be repeating them again and again and again. You know how we repeat our phone numbers again and again to make sure we don't forget them. He would repeat the words of the Quran again fast, fast, fast to make sure he wouldn't forget them.
And Allah azawajal he says to the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم:
Move not your tongue concerning to make haste therewith. It is for Us to collect it and to give you (O Muhammad SAW) the ability to recite it (the Quran perfectly).
There's no need for you to worry about repeating it frequently. إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا جَمْعَهُ وَقُرْآنَهُ that once you've gone through the hardship of taking the revelation we will make sure you never lose it again. And the Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم he lived for this.
The Companions' Love for the Quran
The greatest gift the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم gave to the ummah today is nothing less than the Quran itself. You know the companions they had such great value for the Quran. The hadith is in you know you can find the hadith in Sahih Muslim that there was a young man he wanted to learn the Quran but he lived far from the city of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم Medina Munawwara and he couldn't travel to Medina Munawwara. (Muslim)
So what he would do is he would stand outside his city limits on the pathway that led to Medina Munawwara. And when the caravans would go would return back from Medina Munawwara when they would be heading out from Medina Munawwara he would go to the people of the caravan and ask them Have you learned any new verse? Have you learned any new verse? Have you learned any new verse?
And if they learned a new verse they would read it for him otherwise he would pass them on and wait for the next caravan to come.
The Historical Sacrifice for the Quran
Where is that nation gone that cared so much for the Quran? That made such a great sacrifice to stand in the middle of the day in the burning hours of Arabia just to learn a few verses? You know our teachers used to tell us a story I remember one of my teachers if I'm correct, Sheikh Shuaib he taught us Adab and he told us this one beautiful story he said to us that you know when Russia when the Muslims in Russia were overpowered by communism and they were going through great oppression to be a Muslim was a crime.
Communism right? It speaks for itself. And the Muslims weren't even allowed to hold Qurans with them. What they would do is they would dig in their houses, basements, small cellars and inside they would have a tunnel that would lead to another cellar and inside that bottom cellar right in the corner they would have a small room where there would be Qurans there would be candles there and they would secretly sit there and read Quran.
The Value of Difficulty in Learning
You know where were people gone who actually went out of their way to read Quran? Today every person in this gathering here has a cell phone in their pocket and we all have easy access to the Quran. But the problem with life is that when things become easy we lose value for them. When things become easy we lose value for them.
But when they're hard to achieve you have the value for it. You know I went to Hajj a few years back and I was sitting in Medina Munawwara behind the grave of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and there was a man from Mauritania he was sitting next to me.
The Story from Mauritania
So he was sitting next to me I was sitting here I was just waiting for Salah so I was just reading some Quran I had memorized the Quran so I was reading it off my heart.
This man looked at me and he said to me As-Salaamu Alaikum, so I said Wa Alaikum As-Salaam. He said where are you from? I said I'm from America. He said you're reading the Quran off my heart.
I said Alhamdulillah I memorized the Quran and I live in America. He said literally you know he gave me this like you know OMG look he's like Muslim in America? There's Muslims in America? I was like yeah there's a lot of us actually. We have a lot of Muslims and we actually have Islamic institutes we have you know hifz factories.
I call these hifz schools hifz factories. Because they just keep producing new students in the community more and more children. You know how many kids in our community have memorized the Quran? I'm sure London is probably greater than Chicago.
How many kids have memorized the Quran? It's a miracle. It's such a beauty that so many people have memorized the Quran. And we got into this conversation that you know by nature I put the question on him.
I said to him that do you guys have you know where are you from? He said I'm from Mauritania in Africa. And I said to him wow you're from Mauritania.
You know have you memorized the Quran? And then he gave me that look again.
Like you're crazy look he's like what? I was like have you memorized the Quran? He said me memorized the Quran? Every single person that's related to me has memorized the Quran. I was like whoa that's crazy. Everyone's memorized the Quran.
My family's like my mother, my father, my sisters, my uncles, my aunts, my wife, my children, my cousins, everyone. The entire family's memorized the Quran. I was like wow.
The Challenge of Memorization in Mauritania
But then he looked at me and he said to me I want to tell you a little secret. I was like yes. He said we don't memorize the Quran the easy way like you guys do.
He was getting challenging now right? Confrontational. I was like really? Tell me what your big challenge is I'll show you my challenge too. So the next thing he told me I realized that he was right.
We have it the easy way out. He said that when we come to the madrasa in the morning, our teacher has a big black board and he has a piece of chalk.
And each student in the madrasa, when you enroll into the HIFZ program, they give you a small little tablet like this.
You know like a small little black board and they give you a chalk. And when you come to the school, the teacher will write the ayah of the day on the chalkboard. You have to write it on your small chalkboard and then you have 24 hours to see that ayah.
How many hours do you have? Then the next morning what happens to that? They wipe it off for the next ayah and you're never going to see that ayah again. It's gone. He said in our community we can't afford hard copies of the Quran.
So this is how we memorize it. And I was thinking la ilaha illallah. La ilaha illallah.
People who don't have copies of the Quran value it. And those who have copies of the Quran, they let dust grow on it. Where is the community gone who actually value the Quran? You know who actually cared for the Quran?
The Companions of Badr
You know the companions of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) are of different ranks.
You guys are aware of that, right? There were those before migration, there are those after migration. Then from the companions, there are those who participated in the battle of Badr. And the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, he testified for them saying that this group of companions who participated in the battle of Badr are forgiven companions.
Allah Azza wa Jalla is going to grant them Jannah. You guys are aware of these narrations, right? Yes, no? Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, there is a surah in the Quran called surah Al-Anfal. What is the name of the surah? Al-Anfal.
Very beautiful. Does anyone know what the word Al-Anfal means? What is that? Not the Shia, you guys. Spoils of war.
Very good. Who's that? MashaAllah. Very good.
MashaAllah. Accept me. Spoils of war.
Yes. Al-Anfal is referred to as the spoils of war.
The Battle of Badr and the Spoils of War
What happened was that one of the first battles that took place in Islam was the battle of Badr.
And in this battle of Badr, the second year of Hijra, after the battle was over, they received the spoils of war. You know, someone's armor, someone's sword, someone's horse. They gathered all together.
Now the young companion said that we should get a bigger portion because we were the fighters. The elderly companion said no, we should get the bigger portion because we were the brains behind the battle. There was a little conflict here now.
They came to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and they asked the Messenger of Allah, who gets what from the spoils of war? Revelation came from Allah جل جلاله and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) recited to them:
"[They ask you, [O Muhammad], about the spoils [of war]. Say, "The spoils are for Allah and the Messenger."]"
Allah Azzawajal says that they ask you regarding the spoils of war, tell them you don't get anything. It's all for Allah and the Rasul (صلى الله عليه وسلم). You don't get anything out of it at all. Now this verse was actually abrogated by the first verse of the 10th Juz of the Quran where Allah Azzawajal then gives them a portion.
The reason why they were first told very clearly that you don't get anything was so that the Sahaba can rectify their intentions. They don't fight for the sake of the spoils, for the sake of Allah Azzawajal. And then Allah Azzawajal reveals the verse that abrogates it:
"And know that anything you obtain of war booty - then indeed, for Allah is one fifth of it and for the Messenger and for [his] near relatives and the orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler, if you have believed in Allah and in that which We sent down upon Our servant on the day of criterion - the day when the two armies met. And Allah , over all things, is competent."
Allah Azzawajal splits the categories of the people who benefit from the spoils of war.
The Conditions at the Battle of Badr
Now in this very same surah, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in the following verses, He describes the companions who participated in the battle of Badr and explains their reason of victory. How were the companions victorious? Now I want you to really subjectively look at this battle. The companions are 300 more or less in number.
Underarmed. They're standing there with sticks, most of them on their feet, without any armor on their body. They came to stop a caravan not to participate in warfare.
On the other hand, you have a thousand men who left their homes with the intention for battle. They're dressed in armor. They have swords.
They have shields. Many of them are on horses. They have their spears with them.
They're on their camels. These people were ready for battle. They were so ready for battle that they actually came with a confetti to the battlefield.
You guys know what confetti is? The celebration. They throw confetti in the air. They came with their musical instruments that we're going to celebrate over these guys in the battlefield.
And the women came out with them so they can celebrate their victory as soon as they were going to squat the Muslims in the battle of Badr. Now you look at this. You have a man here who has just migrated.
When they arrived in Medina, we all know, for those of us who study history at least, that the sahaba were very weak. They became very weak and ill because of the weather in Medina. So they're standing there and most of them are weak.
They're skinny. They're not even ready for war. They're just standing there with whatever they have.
And in front of them, you have these huge soldiers. And they're ready for war. And the sahaba are looking at them.
And Allah Azawajal, He says, that this battle was a very big battle. يَوْمَ الْتَقَى الْجَمْعَانِ )Quran 3:16( This was the day where Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, Allah Azawajal, He proved...
The Companions' Fear and Allah's Guidance
were worried. The companions were very worried when they looked into the eyes of the enemy.
When they were looking into the eyes of the enemy, they were worried. And Allah Azawajal gave them console when He revealed the verse of the Quran:
"O you who have believed, when you meet a company [from the enemy forces], stand firm and remember Allah much that you may be successful."
O those who believe, when you meet your enemy إِذَا لَقِيتُمْ فِئَةً When you meet the enemy فَاثْبُتُوا Stand firmly. Don't shake. وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا Remember Allah abundantly. لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ Perhaps this will help you be victorious in the battlefield.
Now this battle is just about to commence. They're about to start. And this beautiful battle, you know, it's a great moment in the history of Islam. How these companions, 300 more or less of them, end up defeating their enemy.
And they are victorious in the battle of Badr.
The Five Characteristics of the Victorious Believers
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in the verses of Surah Al-Anfal, He tells us of five things that the Sahaba held that caused them victory in the battle of Badr. How many things? Five things.
What were the five things? They had great cardio. They all had gym membership. Protein shakes.
They were very flexible. And these guys were very good at archery. No, none of these things.
These guys didn't have protein shakes. They didn't have, you know, gym membership. These guys weren't going to LA Fitness or X4 or none of this stuff.
They were body lifting. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala when He talks about the five characteristics the Sahaba had that caused them victory in the battle of Badr. What are they? Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says in the very same Surah Al-Anfal, next ayah after that:
"The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith; and upon their Lord they rely - The ones who establish prayer, and from what We have provided them, they spend. Those are the believers, truly. For them are degrees [of high position] with their Lord and forgiveness and noble provision."
These are the five characteristics they had.
First Characteristic: Hearts That Tremble at Allah's Name
What are they? Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ (innama) in Arabic for those of you who are aware of the language is for hasr that maa that (innama) is for hasr which means that only it's to exclude anything other than that. The true believers إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ the true believers are those that when they hear the name of Allah their hearts tremble.
Can you imagine that? Imagine what kind of deep love you have to have for someone that just by hearing their name it brings a smile to your face. You know you haven't seen your mother in years. Imagine this.
You haven't seen your father in years. And you meet someone who has the same name as your father or mother what does that do to your face? It brings a smile to your face. You see someone that just resembles your beloved it brings a smile to your face.
My teacher Sheikh Bilal used to give an example of true love. He used to say that there was a student that used to go to the madrasah. Madrasah is the Islamic school.
So on the way to the madrasah there was a lady that he would cross by every time and that lady would be standing by her door and she used to stare at him. And when he would pass by she would go back into her house. On the way back he'd be walking past and that very same lady was standing there she'd be staring at him.
So this had happened for some time this lady was you know, in our words someone stalking him and she was looking at him as he was passing there and back. Finally one day when he was passing the lady came to him she confronted him and she said, my dear friend, young man I have a request. He said, yes, what's your request? She said, I'd like to invite you to my house for dinner.
He said, what? You want to invite me to your house for dinner? You've been looking at me for all these days and now you want to invite me? But at the end of the day like all madrasah students you can never turn down the offer of a free dawat. So he said, I'll be there. So the next morning he showed up to the house.
Not the next morning, the next day he showed up to the house the lady's house when he walked inside the house here's an old lady he walked inside the house and she had spread this beautiful tablecloth with all this food starters and this and that all this and she put a grand dinner in front of him. He didn't ask any questions. That wasn't his responsibility.
He just started jamming down the food. And he's eating away, eating away, eating away and finally after he's done eating he says to the lady okay, now what's the occasion? After he's done eating he says,
what's the occasion? The lady says to him, look the truth of the matter is I really don't know you neither do I care about you. The only reason why I stand here every day and watch you as you pass by the only reason why I called you here today to my house for dinner is because I had a son who passed away.
And he looked exactly like you. And before he passed away he was traveling and I always had a dream to have one meal with my son before he passed away. And she says, I stood here by the door every day when I would see you I would remember my son and it would bring peace to my heart and I would feel so good just standing here looking at you.
And in order to fulfill that last desire of mine I invited you to my house and these dishes on the tablecloth right here were all the dishes my son used to love to eat. So I had one last meal with my son again. See, that's what love is.
That when you see someone it directly impacts your heart. You know, for those of you who are married I want you to rewind back to the time where there were two or three days left for your engagement not even marriage two or three days left for your engagement the proposals were made and you're going through the thinking process and right when someone said your fiancé's name what kind of emotional effect would that have on you? Bring a smile to your face you start blushing a little bit a text message and your friends are looking at you like, I don't know where that text came from. You know, where emotion when you're really attached to someone that has a big impact on you.
You know, the uncles are giggling I stop, man. I really wasn't asking you to think about it. It's one of those questions that you're not supposed to respond to rhetorical question.
Anyway, you know this is what you call real love. The companions have this love and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says this is the love a believer has. You know my teacher Shaykh Hussain Muhtara he said something very beautiful and please don't take this statement of his as a fiqh ruling or a legal matter.
That's not what he was trying to convey. He was trying to convey a very deep spiritual point. He said that the greatest sin a person can ever commit and again, please don't take this as a legal ruling.
This is just a statement from the ponderer. He said the greatest sin a person can ever commit is to say the name of Allah without meaning it, without having love. That's a big sin.
To just say the name of Allah without your heart craving that love that a person should have in their heart when saying the name of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You say the name of your children, you smile and say it. You make gestures while you say it.
When it comes to the name of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala today it's so passive that people can sit here you know, Hasan Basri used to say our istighfar requires another istighfar because of how terribly we did the first istighfar. Now that's the statement. Allah is always there while describing his companions who participated in the battle of Badr.
The first thing he said is, "The true believers are those that when they hear the name of Allah their hearts tremble and their hearts shake. They have a very serious connection with Allah.
Tears fall out of their eyes. Their heads turn and they say did I hear Allah somewhere? Did I hear someone talking about Allah? I want to join this conversation. I have to be a part of it.
Not move away from it.
Second Characteristic: Faith Increases Through Quranic Recitation
The second thing,
When they heard the recitation when they heard the verses of the Quran being recited in front of them their iman would increase. How many of us can actually make this claim that when I hear the Quran being recited it actually increases my iman? Most of us stand at the back without even knowing what the Quran is saying. And how do we justify standing back there and saying that oh I don't speak the Arabic language.
Well if you don't speak the Arabic language then you have a responsibility to understand what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying. We all have a responsibility to learn some basic Arabic so we can at least understand what is being recited in the Quran what is being recited in the salah. How many of us sitting here can confidently you know on a board on a white board write down the correct translation of al- Fatiha.
The surah al-Fatiha that we recite everyday in our salah. How many of us can actually write it down confidently on a white board and say that is the exact translation. We lack in confidence.
That's where our distance and that's where our connection is with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That's where our connection is with the Quran.
The Problem of Substituting Filth for Purity
And then what we've done is that not only have we distanced ourselves from the Quran but we've substituted the Quran and its spiritual effect with filthy things.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the Quran says that the remembrance of Allah is the true cause of contentment.
(Quran 13:28)
But today you ask a person that if you want contentment most young people, most young men, even our adults, you know, the truth is the truth. When they're sitting at work, when they're bored, how many of
them actually turn the Quran on? When you're driving your cab around, how many of us actually turn the Quran on? When you're getting ready for your exam the next morning or in a few hours, how many of us put some Quran on to cool our nerves down? Most of us are listening to music and we've replaced filth.
We've replaced filth and we've taken this filth and we've moved up the purity. The purity has been replaced with filth. And this is where we are today.
The Story of the Bhangi
I remember I went to my teacher, Shaykh Bilal, who we studied Surah Masih from and I asked him, Shaykh, I have a question. Why is it that people feel contentment through music and they don't feel contentment through the Quran? Most people while they're listening to the Quran they doze off, they're just here and there, they don't enjoy it as much. Why do they enjoy listening to Bollywood out of all the things in the world? You know, Bollywood is terrible poetry and terrible music.
It was an FYI. And the same thing with Hollywood music. You know, your MTV music.
It's all full of profanity and foul language and foul messages. You listen to the stuff that our youth are listening to today and you'll be ashamed. You'll feel shocked of yourself.
We'll come to that very soon. So I asked him this question. He said to me, I'll explain to you through a story.
And he told me this story, a very interesting story. He said, what happened was that there was a man, he was a bhangi. You guys know what a bhangi is? A bhangi is a person who carries the filth from the houses of the people, the stool and urine from the houses of the people and dumps it in the wasteland.
People didn't have drainage systems. So they would leave themselves in a pot or some basket at home and a man would come, he would collect all the filth from everyone's house on a big basket, carry it on his head and go to the dump yard and toss it out there. This is what we call a bhangi, right? Or they also call it a mehta, a person who gathers the filth and throws it out.
So there was this man, he was collecting the filth from everyone's house by going to the stool and their waste and he was carrying it and he was going and while he was going, he fainted. Now imagine what happened to that basket. It fell over.
So everyone in the pathway were like, eww, that's yucky, that's nasty and they stopped. A crowd came around and they saw this guy was on the ground, he was out of his senses, they were trying to put fragrance there to wake him up, he wasn't waking up. So one man was passing by and he saw there was a big crowd in the pathway and he said to the people, why are you guys all gathered here? They said, because someone fainted.
He cut through the crowd, came to the front and he saw the guy that fainted, it was his co-worker. So he went to the guy and he saw someone was trying to put fragrance by his nose. He said brother, this doesn't work with him.
He's around impurity all day, this is what you have to do to wake this guy up. He stuck his finger inside the stool and he took it out and put it by his nose.
And that guy went, ahh.
He woke up right away. And this is where our sheikh used to say, my teacher used to say, for pure people is purity and for impure people is impurity.
When you train your body to be excited by impurity, that's what happens.
You lose, you become desensitized, you lose that connection with purity. You know, that purity, you lose connection.
The Entertainment Night Story
I once had the opportunity to speak at a youth camp.
You know, hundreds of youth had gathered together for a camp. The camp, they were outside the masjid in the camping, you know, camp grounds in the cabins and I was invited to speak there. So, they had this special session at night time and that special session was where the youth gathered together and they present skits.
They call it entertainment night. So, someone will do this skit, someone will do that skit, all the youth will be sitting there and they'll be performing skits.
So, one of the young men, he said to me, Sheikh, we'd like for you to participate in our entertainment night.
So, usually I don't participate in this stuff but because they're really insistent, I said, okay, I'll watch it. So, I was sitting on the bench in the back and I was observing them with their skits and their entertainment and three hours had passed by. How many hours? Three hours.
And they were doing so many crazy things. It was funny. It was a really good entertainment session to be honest with you.
But after it ended, I called all the youth nearby and I said to them, look, this is not my place to speak because I was invited as an observer for this particular session but I have to say something to you guys. For three hours, you guys performed an entertainment night and at the beginning or at the middle or at the end, at no point did you guys ever consider the Quran as entertainment. No one recited the Quran at all.
This is where we are today. We think of entertainment being movies. We think of entertainment being TV.
We think of entertainment being our TV shows, our internet, our phone, our radio. But how many people actually gain that true contentment and they can entertain their soul and body simply through reading the Quran.
The Prophet's Love for Listening to Quranic Recitation
And here you have the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). He comes to Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and he says to him, Ibn Mas'ud, read some Quran to me.
And Abdullah ibn Mas'ud says, O Messenger of Allah, how can I read the Quran to you when it was revealed unto you? The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says Allah, I'd like to listen to it from someone from my ummah. So, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud says, I sat in front of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and I started the recitation. And he started reading from Surah An-Nisa.
Which Surah? Surah An-Nisa. And he said, I kept reading and I just had my head down and I was nervous and I just kept reading. Imagine when you read Taraweeh prayer, Maghrib or Isha prayer, you know how you get nervous if you're pushed forward as an Imam.
Here he's reading to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). This is real game now. This is not, you know, some side game. It's not going to get any more intense than this.
He's reading to, you know, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). And he says, I was looking down and reading and I was very tense. And finally, I peaked up a little bit. I peaked up.
And he said, I was reading the verse:
(Quran 4:41) The translation of which is, how will that day be فَكَيْفَ إِذَا جِئْنَا مِن كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ بِشَهِيدٍ When we bring from every nation a witness to testify against them? وَجِئْنَا بِكَ عَلَىٰ هَٰؤُلَاءِ شَهِيدًا Then over all of these witnesses, we will call you, O Muhammad, to witness over the entire creation, all human beings.
And he says, when I looked up, I saw the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). His face was covered in tears and he was crying away. And he said to me, Abdullah, stop now.
Abdullah, stop now. You have made me cry enough.
Abu Musa al-Ashari's Beautiful Recitation
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was one day walking at night time and Abu Musa al-Ashari (رضي الله عنه) is reading the Quran.
And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم likes his melody, he likes his tone. He's enjoying it. And he's standing behind Abu Musa al-Ashari رضي الله عنه and then he prays to Allah.
And after Abu Musa al-Ashari finishes his prayer, someone comes and tells him, that you know when you were reciting, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was standing behind you. And he was enjoying your recitation. So he went to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said to Abu Musa al-Ashari, you recited the Quran mashaAllah.
He said, O Messenger of Allah, I didn't know you were behind me, otherwise I would have showed you my real game. I didn't know you were behind me. If I knew you were behind me, I would have shown you guys what recitation is.
But I didn't know you were even behind me. You know, where is that gathering, those people who enjoy the recitation of the Quran?
Shaykh al-Hind's Analysis
We as a community need to build our connection with the Quran again. There was a very famous scholar from the Indian subcontinent by the name of Shaykh al-Hind, rahimahullah wa ta'ala rahmatullahi wa as'ala.
Right? Shaykh Mahmood. And he was a very good scholar, one of the pioneers of one of the great institutes of the subcontinent, Darul Uloom Deoband. And during the colonial occupation, he was arrested and taken to prison.
And when he was released from prison some time later, he gave a very beautiful speech. And Shaykh al- Hind, rahimahullah wa ta'ala, was a mufakkir, he was a thinker. He was a very deep thinker.
If you read his books, you read his tafsir, even his footnotes, or his brief explanation of the Quran, you'll find so much depth inside that you can actually ponder over his words. So Shaykh al-Hind, rahimahullah wa ta'ala, after sitting in the prison for so many years in Malta, and after being beaten during the night and all this, he had gone through a lot. So he really gave some solid time to think.
And when he came out of the prison, he gave a very beautiful speech. And in this speech he said to the people that today when I look at the Muslim ummah, I ask myself, why is the Muslim ummah where it is today? Why are we where we are? Because that time the country was splitting, the Brits were taking over the country, scholars were being mass murdered, and institutes were being destroyed. He had seen basically a nightmare of what Islam was going through, what the Muslims were going through.
And he said, today I ask myself, why is Islam where it is, and why are the Muslims going through this? He said, I ask myself this question every day and every night while I was in the prison. When they were
beating me, I was thinking in my mind the answer to this question. And he said, today when I walk out of that prison, I have the answer for you.
And he said two things. He said, the first thing, our disunity. Today we don't treat each other as brothers.
Each person looks at the person next to them as a foreigner, but a companion, a friend, someone that they can share a prayer hall with, nothing more than that at all. How many of us sitting here who regularly attend the Masjid actually know each other's names? You know, we're united, but disunited.
And the second thing that he said, is because our attachment and our connection with the Quran.
Today we do not have connection with the Quran.
The Prophet's Final Advice
And this is one of the last advices the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم gave as his Hajj was concluding, as it was coming to an end, the farewell Hajj. He said to the companions:
(Tirmidhi 2676)
I'm leaving behind with you two things. You can never be misguided as long as you hold firmly to them. Don't let go. Don't let go.
كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَسُنَّتِي The Book of Allah and my Sunnah.
You know, today our situation is such that many adults in our community, let alone the kids, can't even recite the Quran properly. You know, I'm not sitting here to put anyone on a guilt trip, but so that we have a realization. You know, if you guys lived in some rural city in America, or some rural village in America, and you told me you couldn't recite the Quran, I would probably say, brother, make dua to Allah, Allah help you.
But you live in London, for crying out loud. How many scholars are sitting in this gathering alone? You know, how many people, the recitation of the Quran is local or not? Akbar, are you local here? He's local, and your imam is local, and I'm not even sure how many other scholars you guys have here.
And you guys, if you as a community, cannot recite the Quran fluently, and you're not proficient in the recitation of the Quran, then we have an issue.
Because then it's not about ignorance now, now it's about being careless. It's about being careless. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala doesn't like people that are careless.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم doesn't like a person who's careless. We need to step up to our responsibility.
The Need for Tears and Spirituality
When is the last time you've seen people in your community, or our community, or I've heard it myself, you could ask yourself, that we actually cry while reciting the Quran.
We cry while we listen to poetry, we cry while we watch Bollywood and Hollywood movies, because we don't have anything, we don't have a soul within ourselves. We're such a depressed nation, that in order to become emotional, we have to sit in front of a screen, watch some artificial, fake, fictional story, and then bring tears to our eyes and cry. Because we don't know what a real spirit is.
We're hollow from within. You want to build that spirituality by reading the Quran and learn how to cry. And if you think it's impossible, that is a deception of shaitan to you.
Because there are people across this world who cry at hearing the recitation of the Quran.
Qari Abdul Basit's Story
Shaykh As-Sulfiqar, a very famous scholar from Pakistan, from Jammu, he's written this story in his book, that he met Qari Abdul Basit, the very famous Qari Abdul Basit, he read it, he met him. And he asked Qari Abdul Basit, tell me the most unique story of your recitation.
Tell me the most unique story that happened during your life while reciting the Quran. He said that what happened was that the Russians and the Egyptians were having discussions, Jamal Abdul Nasser was having meetings with the communists, with the Russians. And he said the leaders of the Russians would meet with the Egyptian leaders frequently.
And on one occasion what happened was Jamal Abdul Nasser, when he was in Russia, he was meeting with the leaders and after the meeting was over, one of the leaders said to him, that we'd like to entertain you with an entertainment session. And he said these girls came out, they were dancing, there was some music playing, and Jamal Abdul Nasser said to the Russian leaders after the entertainment session was over, thanks a lot, but next time let me bring the entertainment. I'll show you guys next time.
He came back, he had a message sent to Qari Abdul Basit, he said to Qari Abdul Basit, I need you for a trip next time, we'll go to Russia together. Qari Abdul Basit said, safe, let's do it. They get there, Qari Abdul Basit is made to wait outside because there were private meetings, after the meetings were over they called him in.
And Qari Abdul Basit says that I came inside and these Russians were sitting there, they didn't even know what, they didn't even speak my language, right. They don't even speak Arabic, they're Russians. And they don't understand Arabic, they're not even Muslims.
And he said we're sitting there on the table and Jamal Abdul Nasser gives me that gesture like, go for it, I'll show these guys what's up. And he says, I just said, Bismillah, and I just started reading. And I was reading, you know how he gets into the zone, he's putting his hands all over his face and he's like swaying left and right, not swaying as in dance swaying, but just he gets into the zone when he reads, right.
And he said at some point, I looked up during my recitation and all these people were in tears and they were crying. The effect of the Quran.
Jafar's Recitation to Najashi
Jafar رضي الله عنه is standing in front of Najashi, and Najashi says to him, I've seen him lead a king.
Najashi says to him, read some Quran for me. And Jafar رضي الله عنه says okay, here you go. And he starts reading the Quran, and some narration is he started reading Surah Yasin.
And while he's reading to him, he looks up at some point to see how the king is reacting to the recitation. And he says, when I looked up, Najashi was crying. He wasn't even Muslim at that point.
He accepted Islam at that point, he was hearing the recitation. Allah azawajal mentions this in the Quran:
"[And when they hear what has been revealed to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of what they have recognized of the truth. They say, "Our Lord, we have believed, so register us among the witnesses.]" (Quran 5:83)
When people hear the recitation, tears come into their hearts.
The Importance of Respecting the Quran
We need a community that is attached to the Quran. You know, I was once giving a lecture, and I was telling the youth that it's inappropriate that many of us have the Quran hanging from our rear view mirror. Have you guys seen that? In the car, sometimes they have ayat of the Quran hanging down, or they have a small little Quran that's really... Have you guys ever seen small Qurans that come like literally this big? Have you guys seen them? I just want to mention one thing.
Most of those Qurans are actually incomplete. So this is an important point to note down. And I believe that's a big deception because you can't cut out parts from the Quran.
The scholars have written against this. This is what we call tahrif. If you're going to print anything less than the complete Quran, you should say very clearly this is not the complete Quran.
When I was in Haramain last time, I found that once because I purchased it and I had it in my pocket. And while I was doing tawaf, I needed something to read from, so I said, let's pull it out. I know the print's really small, but I thought I could figure it out if I had any mistakes.
I was looking at it, and it was skipping pages. And it was skipping pages. I'm like, what's this? And then at some point, it skipped 10 juz altogether.
And then after that, I thought maybe mine was a misprint. I went back to the store, and I was going through this pile, and all of them had missing pages inside there. So be careful of that.
In the rear view mirror, one of my good friends, he had a Quran hanging there. And when I got inside his car, he turned the engine on. He was taking me somewhere.
He turned the engine on, and the music started busting. You know how they have that? It's sort of pumping really loud. You have subwoofers in the back. The whole car just started shaking with music. And it hit the button right away. Sorry, I left this out.
That wasn't supposed to happen. So I said to him, my dear friend, it's very disrespectful that you listen to the Quran. The music's so loud, meanwhile the Quran is hanging here.
Is that disrespectful or not? This is what we call jubah. You're making a challenge against Allah. You have a TV, and on top of the TV, you have an Adhan call.
Astaghfirullah, and horrible scenes are going on in that TV while you have an Adhan call sitting on top of it. So I told him that it's bad that you're listening to the music when the Quran is here. So you know what he did? Guess what he did? He pulled the Quran off.
I was like, bro, what are you doing? Put that Quran back and throw that CD out. I'm not asking you to take the Quran out. I'm asking you to take your CD out.
Building a Connection with the Quran
We need a group of people that are connected to the Quran. We should encourage people to recite the Quran. We should have gatherings in our homes where we sit down and recite the Quran.
Find verses of the Quran, read their meanings, and share their understanding with one another. Obviously through the guidance of your teachers, and your scholars, your imams. But understand some basic ayah.
You see a verse regarding Jannah, there is nothing wrong with finding out the translation of what it is. You find a verse regarding Jahannam, there's nothing wrong. Open the verse and read its translation.
Build a connection with the Quran.
Completing the Five Characteristics
I want to finalize the five things, the five characteristics, and then this will close. The first thing that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says regarding the companions who participated in the battle of Badr, that when they heard the name of Allah, their hearts would? Tremble.
They would shake. The second thing, when they heard the recitation of the Quran, what happened to them? They would not cry, their faith would increase. (زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا - zadat'hum 'iimanan)
Their faith would increase.
Third Characteristic: Complete Reliance on Allah
The third thing (وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ - wa 'alaa rabbihim yatawakkaloon). They relied on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
They didn't rely on anyone else other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And when you look at the companions and their reliance on Allah, it's really intense, man. It's really, really intense.
They really relied on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Anyway.
Fourth and Fifth Characteristics: Prayer and Charity
And the fourth thing, Allah azawajal says (الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاةَ - alladheena yuqeemoonas salaah)
What did they do? They established a prayer. Because the first two things are spiritual. And some people believe that deen is all about being spiritual.
But Allah azawajal refused that by adding the fourth thing. What is that? You have to do actions too. You have to pray.
And what actions are in two categories. We have the maali ibadah and we have the fi'al ibadah. The monetary actions.
And then we have the physical actions. The physical deeds and the monetary deeds. So Allah azawajal says (الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ - alladheena yuqeemoonas salaah)
Those who established their prayers, referring to the physical deeds. (وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ - wa mimma razaqnahum yunfiqoon). They spend in the path of Allah.
Therefore referring to the? Monetary deeds. The person who brings all of these things together. Actions with his branches, and spirituality, and his totality, and his completeness.
Allah azawajal refers to these people as (أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ حَقًّا - ulaa'ika humul mu'minuna haqqa). These are the true believers. These are the true believers.
The Friends of Allah
We should all make an intention to build a connection with the Quran. The people who have a connection with the Quran are the friends of Allah.
(أَهْلُ اللَّهِ وَخَاصَّتُهُ - ahlullahi wa khaassatuhu)
As the hadith mentions. (Abu Dawud 1464) They are the friends of the Quran, of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And they are the special people of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) says that just as the stars shine in the night, in the earth, the people who recite the Quran, they shine while the rest of the earth remains dark from an outside perspective. This is the value of those who recite the Quran.
The Delivery Man's Story
Our teacher Shaykh Yusuf Muhtara Sahib, he once told us a story, that in South Africa there was a person, there was a man there, he had memorized the Quran, and he was a delivery man.
And what he would do is every morning when he would go for his deliveries, when he would turn his engine on, when he would ignite his engine, he would start off by reading the Fatiha (الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ - alhamdulillahi rabbil 'aalameen). And he would keep reading, and at home when he would come back 8-9 hours later, when he would power down his engine and turn it off, he would read (مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ - minal jinnati wan naas)
Every single day the man was completing a recitation of the Quran. He never got tired of it. Because the reciters of the Quran actually never get tired of it.
Shaykh Zakaria's Practice
Our teacher told us of Shaykh Zakaria rahimahullah wa ta'ala, he tells us regarding his teacher, that Shaykh Zakaria rahimahullah wa ta'ala, he used to complete the recitation of the Quran every third day. How often? Every third day. You know how many portions we have of the Quran? How many Juz do we have? 30.
You know what these 30 Juz resemble? These 30 Juz were... Obviously we know during the time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) there was no concept of Juz. We all know that, right? There was no such thing as the first Juz, the 10th Juz, the 15th Juz. There was none of this stuff.
Shaykh Isa, with a lot of detail, has discussed the history of where the Juz comes from, where the Juz model comes from. And according to one narration, there was a group of the sahaba who came with a model of dividing the Quran into 30 portions for the facilitation of the... so the Quran can be recited.
And according to the second opinion, he says that it was the generation after that came with this model of dividing the Quran into 30 portions so that people can recite it.
The Purpose of the 30 Portions
The reason why the Quran was divided into 30 portions is so that the Quran can be completed every single month. The Quran recitation should be completed how often? Every single month. And now you guys may think, oh that's for the people that have memorized the Quran.
That's not for us. We have jobs, we have work, we have college. We're too busy for that.
Well that's not true. Because for them, for the huffaz, they created the manzil model. Which is you have to finish the recitation of the Quran every single week.
The Solution: Listening to the Quran
If your complaint is that I can't read the Quran because I didn't learn how to do it. If your complaint is that I don't have time to read the Quran, then let me give you guys a compromise to at least start with. Tell me you don't have the ability to listen to the Quran.
We all have the ability to listen to the Quran. Yes or no? We all have these expensive phones in our pocket. We use it for everything but for the sake of Allah.
That's crazy. You have the ability to listen to the Quran? Even if you download the entire Quran on your phone, the average recitation of one juz takes half an hour. I don't know how many.
How long does it take? Half an hour. And I don't know how it is here, but they say in America, the average person on the way to work and on the way back from work spends three hours on transport. I'm not sure how it works here.
They spend two to three hours. If you're spending three hours on transport, how many juz can you listen to possibly in a day? Six. In five days you can finish the Quran very easily.
Very easily. In a comfortable manner, just listening to the Quran and its recitation is done. Listening to the Quran has a lot of effect.
The Story of Children Learning Through Listening
I want to share one more story with you guys and then we'll end. I once went to a dinner. When I went to a dinner, after the dinner was over, the host, we put the kids to sleep and the adults were sitting inside the living room and we were just having some conversation.
And all of a sudden, I heard the Quran being recited loudly on a cassette player. So I asked the host, what is this Quran being recited so loudly? He said, what it is that every night when we put our kids to sleep, we put the Quran loud and they listen to the Quran while they fall asleep. I was like, wow, that's interesting.
I said, how did that affect your children? He said, how it affected my children is that my daughter now is 10 years old and inshallah, next month she'll be completing the Quran. I was like, which Quran? The Qaidah Quran, or Inside Looking Quran, or Tajweed Quran? He's like, Sheikh, I'm talking about memorization of the Quran. 10 year old girl.
And that makes sense to me because when's the last time you saw someone who actually sat down and printed out the lyrics of a song and said, memorizing it like that? Who memorizes the lyrics of a song after printing them out and going line by line? No one does. Most people memorize the lyrics of songs by how? Just listening. The average lady, she can sing a song while cooking her suhoor in that home because she's heard that bad song Allah knows a million times.
And you're telling me that if you don't listen to the Quran frequently, you're not gonna memorize it? It's gonna have an effect on you. You know, Sheikh Abdul Rahman is sitting here, he can testify to this because it's his classmate's story. Mufti Shabir Sahib was a sheikh that we studied Tirmidhi from.
Mufti Shabir's Story
His older son, Muhammad, did not climb up. No? One last story, guys. I'm sorry, guys.
These stories are just coming at me. They're coming with such, you know, such force that I just can't stop. Last one, I promise, okay? Mufti Shabir Sahib, we'll end with our teacher's story, okay? Mufti Shabir Sahib was a teacher that we studied Tirmidhi from and he also taught a portion of Sahih Bukhari to us.
When it came time for him to get married, his father asked him, what kind of girl do you want to get married to? He said, my dear father, I'll marry any girl in the world as long as she has memorized the Quran. His father said to him that, okay, so he started searching. He found a girl.
She was Gujarati and in the Gujarati community it's important that you marry within the clique. So he's like, you got to know she's Gujarati and she's also, she's alima. She's, what do you call it? She cooks good food and she'll take care of you, all this other good stuff, right? But the only thing is, she's not hafiza.
She hasn't memorized the Quran. He thought about it. His parents wanted him to get married to this lady.
He said, you know what? I'll do it. He married her. When he married her, he told his wife to look.
My biggest, my first mission in life is to make you memorize the Quran. Can you imagine telling your wife that? I'm going to make you memorize the Quran. Imagine like the look on her face, right? And he made her memorize the full Quran.
He made her memorize the full Quran. She memorized the Quran and then within a few moments after, not too long after her marriage, she was expecting, she was pregnant with Sheikh Muhammad's classmate, Sheikh Muhammad. Sheikh Muhammad, when he was born, he went to the Hifz school.
He was in one of the Hifz classes and he started memorizing the Quran. And he flew through almost 20 plus juz. How many juz? He flew through them.
Then when it came to the last 7, 8 juz, he slowed down and it took him almost a year and a half to go through them. So then the teacher came and complained to Mufti Sahib saying, your son, he used to study hard before, now he doesn't study properly. So when Mufti Sahib heard the whole situation, he said, no, the reality is that the juz that he flew through were the juz that his mom was memorizing while she was pregnant with him.
The juz that he flew through, these were the juz that his mom was memorizing when she was pregnant with him. And you think to yourself, wow. That's the effect.
Doctors tell the women this, right? Doctors after some part of the pregnancy tell the women to talk to your kids. Yes or no? Say, talk to your kids. Read Quran to your kids.
Read Quran to your kids. It's going to have an effect on them.
Creating a Quran-Centered Environment
We should have a house that's full of Quran.
We need a car that's full of Quran. We need phones that music goes out in, Quran comes in. These ears, we need to stop oppressing them with music and we need to start having mercy on them with a recitation of the Quran.
Don't give me the excuse that you don't have the ability to listen to the Quran. Don't give me that excuse. Don't give yourself that excuse.
Be honest to yourself, make a change, and change our entire community. Make it a wholesome, beautiful, spiritual community of ours and spiritual environment of ours.
Closing Prayer
May Allah Azza wa Jalla accept from us all.