Yaman Omran

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته. السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته. حي على السلام.

We begin by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We beg Him for His mercy, for His love and His forgiveness. And we seek protection in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala from the evil of ourselves and the worst of our deeds.

Whomsoever Allah guides, no one can misguide. But whomsoever Allah allows to be misguided, no one can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And I bear witness that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was His final prophet and messenger. We ask Allah to send His peace and blessings upon the prophet, upon his family, upon his companions, and upon those who follow him until the day of judgment. Ameen.

The Purpose of Stories in the Quran

My dear brothers and sisters, we know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us many stories in the Quran. The stories are plenty and many of them are popular. We teach it to our children and many of the stories are shared amongst the major faiths of the world.

But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala doesn't tell a story... He doesn't tell us stories just for the sake of storytelling or just for the sake of our entertainment. He tells us stories for a specific purpose that He told us about in Surah Hud. Allah is speaking to the beloved messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and informing him that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reveals stories of the prophets that came before him.

Stories of how his brothers in prophethood, what they endured, what they had to go through, and how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala delivered a miraculous victory for them in the end. And just like He did that for all of them, He will do that and He did do that for the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. But Allah says:

So that we can keep the heart that's subject to emotions and subject to being overwhelmed in the face of immense challenge and no prophet of Allah was challenged like Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was from his people.

No prophet had to endure the challenges that he did. And because he was a human being at the end of the day, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala out of His love for him, the most beloved human being to ever live, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sends stories to keep his heart firm on the mission and to continue with the work because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala promised him a miraculous victory which He indeed delivered.

The Lessons in the Stories

So whenever we come across a story, first and foremost we have to appreciate that this is a sign of love from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to His prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

And also a sign for us that whenever we feel like we're in a state of weakness, whenever we feel like our faith is being shaken by our circumstances, reading and reflecting deeply on the stories of the prophets is what can give us that firm faith, that unwavering faith. And also Allah tells us that these stories have haq, maw'idah and dhikrah, that we can extract truth from these stories beyond just the facts of the stories, that there are deep truths, deep realities that we have to learn from these stories and that there is warning in these stories as well and a reminder for the believers, for those who reflect deeply on these stories.

The Story of Prophet Yunus

So one such story we'll reflect on today is the story of Yunus alayhi salam.

A very popular story. We know that Yunus alayhi salam was a messenger of Allah, chosen by Allah to deliver a message to his people. But just like all the prophets had to endure, Yunus alayhi salam had to endure his people rejecting him.

And it got so much, it got so overwhelming to a point that he ended up getting so upset with his people that he left his people before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave him permission to leave his mission. And we know the facts of the story. That he fled from the city, he boarded a ship and a storm overtook the ship and he was thrown into the sea and a giant sea creature came and swallowed him and took him to the bottom of the ocean.

These facts we know very well. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants us to reflect on what's beyond just the facts of the story. And we can only appreciate this by reflecting on how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells the story.

How We End Up in Darkness

In Surah al-Anbiya Allah tells us, after I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan, Allah starts off by saying, ذانون which is a nickname for Yunus alayhi salam, that he became overwhelmed with anger from his people because of their constant rebellion and rejection. And because he allowed his emotions to overwhelm him, he made an incorrect assumption. He thought that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would not take him to task because he's the chosen messenger of Allah.

He thought that Allah would only take the people to task. And he only made that incorrect assumption because he allowed his emotions to overwhelm his intellect at that point.

We notice in this line of the verse that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala left out all the details that we're accustomed to. All the actual facts of what physically happened to Yunus. That's all irrelevant right now. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants us to extract a lesson in how do human beings end up in darkness.

How do we individually end up in darkness in our daily lives? In our marriages, in our relationship with our children and our loved ones, in our relationship with our creator and master. How does society end up in darkness? That's just ravaged by widespread immorality. How does the ummah as a whole end up in darkness? Where the life of human beings and the life of fellow brothers and sisters in faith are so cheap that their blood are being spilled everywhere.

How do we end up in this darkness? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala shows us, clues us in, into how we put ourselves in that situation. It's by acting on impulse. It's when we allow our emotions to get the best of us to where we're driven into action solely on an emotional basis without any intellect.

The Prophet's Guidance on Anger

And this is why the Prophet ﷺ advised his companions time and time again. In a narration by Abu Hurairah r.a, collected by Bukhari:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 78, Hadith 137)

Abu Hurairah says: A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, "Give me some advice, Ya Rasulullah." The Prophet's ﷺ reply was, لا تَغْضَب "Don't act on anger."

And the Prophet ﷺ uses the verb here. He didn't just say, don't feel angry. Because anger is a normal feeling to have as a human being. He said, don't act on it, don't act in that state. The man asked again. And the Prophet ﷺ simply repeated, لا تَغْضَب

Also in another narration by Abu Hurairah r.a:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 78, Hadith 135)

That the strong man, the strong man or woman in this case, the strong person is not the one who could wrestle the other and grapple the other to the ground. It's not physical strength. But strength truly lies in being able to control yourself when you're hot with anger. That's true strength, my brothers and sisters.

The Consequences of Uncontrolled Anger

And we see the consequences of unbridled, unrestrained anger all around us. Even in our daily lives. If we reflect on what does anger do to relationships? They say that anger destroys everything and builds nothing.

And this is what happens when we act on our anger unjustifiably. And also being angry and being so overtaken with emotion is said to be like drinking poison and expecting the person you're angry at to die. This is what happens, my brothers and sisters, when we don't follow the guidance of Rasulullah ﷺ. Anger just becomes the weak man's imitation of strength.

And even with our personal relationships, if we're so unrestrained in our anger with our spouse and our children, every little thing sets us off. Over time, we'll be seen as weak. We won't be taken so seriously. We'll lose any semblance of influence or authority we thought we had over our loved ones. If we're like ticking time bombs, which anything can set us off.

And this is true on an individual level and as an ummah, where we see that there are forces in the world that seek to manipulate us and just drive people to anger. And nothing comes out of the anger except more destruction and more darkness. So Allah ﷻ clues us in that what leads us to darkness is when we act on emotion, unrestrained by intellect.

Righteous Anger

And this is not to say that anger is never justified. There is such a thing as righteous anger. And our Prophet ﷺ also at times he did get angry, although it was the rare exception. The default state of the Prophet ﷺ was, كَانَ بَسَّامًا ضَحَّاكًا كَانَ هَيِّنًا لَيِّنًا He was always happy, smiling, very easy going.

But when it came to specific instances, we know the famous story of Abu Dharr al-Ghaffari and Bilal ibn Rabah ﷺ where Abu Dharr said a word to Bilal and called him the son of a black woman and that actually angered the Prophet ﷺ. When it came to people, especially believers, using racism or using any form of ego, tribalism, nationalism to victimize the other or to dominate over the other, that's when the Prophet ﷺ became physically angry.

And even in our times, what drives us to action a lot of times is emotion. That's why emotions can be a good force if used by our intellect. When we're upset by the oppression that happens around the world, it drives us to action. But it has to proceed with intellect. It has to proceed in consultation with those who have certain expertise, with those who have to be consulted in such a matter.

And the proof that our anger is not doing anything to benefit us is the fact that we're steeping more and more into darkness. So Allah gives us the preventive measure.

The Du'a of Yunus: Hope in Darkness

But we know that Yunus ﷺ himself ended up in darkness, ended up in layers of darkness at the bottom of the ocean, inside of a giant sea creature, under the darkness of night and in the darkness of knowing that he disobeyed Allah ﷻ.

So even when we're in layers and layers of darkness, hope is never lost, my brothers and sisters. Allah ﷻ tells us what to do in that situation. No response was better than the response of Yunus ﷺ in that situation. And it was such an amazing response that he said. It was such an amazing du'a that he made that Allah immortalized that du'a in his book until the Day of Judgment. And that du'a is:

There is no power, no deity except you, Ya Allah. Glory and perfection is yours and yours alone. Verily, I was from those who transgressed and oppressed.

The Three-Step Formula

Here we see the three-step formula to returning back to Allah ﷻ when we're steeped in darkness. That first and foremost, لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ There is no deity except you. We have to go back to basics. We have to reorient ourselves, reorient our purpose in this life. Our purpose in this life is to know, There is no deity except Allah.

And the genius of the du'a of Yunus here is that he says, لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ There is no deity except you. An amazing sign of hope that no matter how dark it can get in our personal lives or as an ummah, it's as if Allah ﷻ wants us to get closer to Him in those situations. It's as if Allah ﷻ is isolating us.

Just like He isolated Yunus ﷺ at the bottom of the ocean to realize that there is no power capable of this except Allah ﷻ. And there is no power that could help us in our predicament. There is no one that can help us except Allah ﷻ.

And that's the point of trials and difficulties. When we're swaying from the truth, when we're lost and obsessed over the temporary world, Allah ﷻ sends us trials out of mercy in order to make us realize that all the hope we might have had in any political party or any fear we had of any certain politician or country or rabbit holes we like to go down in terms of conspiracy, any fear or hope we had in those things is completely erased in, لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ There is no deity except you.

The Wisdom of Ibn Abbas

And also, our Prophet ﷺ taught us in a hadith to truly internalize this. Abdullah ibn Abbas ﷺ, he was once with the Prophet ﷺ And the Prophet ﷺ said to him:

(Sunan at-Tirmidhi, Book 47, Hadith 2516)

O boy, I am teaching you words. Remember Allah ﷻ and He ﷻ will remember you. Remember Allah ﷻ and you will find Him ﷻ towards you. If you ask, ask Allah ﷻ. And if you ask for help, ask for help from Allah ﷻ. And know that the ummah, if they meet to benefit you in any way, they will only benefit you in the way Allah ﷻ has written for you. And if they meet to harm you in any way, they will only harm you in the way Allah ﷻ has written for you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried.

The Prophet ﷺ is making Abdullah ibn Abbas really internalize this concept of relying only on Allah ﷻ. He said, احْفَظِ اللَّهَ يَحْفَظْكَ Take care of your obligations to Allah ﷻ, Allah will take care of you. Allah will take care of you in this world and the next world.

If you ask of anybody, ask of Allah first and foremost. If you seek protection in anyone, seek protection in Allah first and foremost. And realize, and this is the realization we have to make, realize that if the whole world was to unite to benefit you in any little thing, they would not be able to benefit you except in what Allah ﷻ has decreed.

The whole world can unite in recognition of the oppression in Palestine, in Syria, in Burma. We ask Allah ﷻ to lift the oppression from our brothers and sisters worldwide in faith and in humanity. The whole country can recognize the oppression that our African-American brothers and sisters go through in this country and other minorities.

But if we don't make that connection with Allah first and foremost, then even if the whole world unites to benefit us, it would not be allowed to benefit us. But even if the whole world was to unite to harm us in any little thing, they would not be able to harm us except in what Allah ﷻ has decreed.

Sometimes the fear that comes through in our conversations and politics and whatever it may be, we always want to blame the other. We always talk about the boogeyman. We always talk about forces in the world, which we should be aware of. We should not be naive of what's happening in the world. But the foundation of our hope and the foundation of our fear lies in Allah ﷻ. That's all encompassed in لا إله إلا أنت.

Subhanaka - Complete Surrender

And then سبحانك. لا إله إلا أنت was a recognition, a statement of recognition. And then سبحانك is a statement of utter surrender. That, ya Allah, all glory and perfection is to You. That I'm not going to try to pretend like I know what I'm doing right now.

As you can imagine in Yunus' situation, there's nothing he can do. He simply says سبحانك, utter surrender, giving up in the moment, and realizing that there's nothing I can do. I'm completely in the hands of Allah ﷻ. I'm completely helpless in front of Him. And in reality we always were and we always will be.

What's amazing from the statement of سبحانك is that Allah ﷻ also, elsewhere in the Quran, describes the believers in paradise. When they enter paradise, we ask Allah ﷻ to make us all from them and our loved ones. When they enter paradise, how do they greet Allah ﷻ?

That when the believer enters paradise, their greeting will be سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ, which is an incredible statement. One, because we already said سبحانك, if Allah ﷻ is telling us, if we learn to say سبحانك in this world, especially when we're steeped in darkness, we'll be from the people who say سبحانك directly to Him in paradise, bi idhn Allah ta'ala.

But also, this ayah of the greeting of the believers in paradise to Allah ﷻ, is in Surah Yunus. And that's no coincidence. Allah ﷻ is showing us to follow the example of Yunus. Not just when times are good, when we're in the most darkness, when we feel the most helpless, when we feel like we've maybe personally sinned so much that it's almost beyond repair. Or when we think that the ummah and the humanity is beyond repair.

Allah ﷻ is the most powerful. The repair really is in His hands. And as long as we're living and breathing, there's always hope. Just as there was hope for Yunus ﷺ at the bottom of the ocean when it seemed most hopeless, there is hope for us, bi idhn Allah ta'ala.

And really this is a show of what it means to be in paradise even on earth. That though that's the greeting that the believers will say to Allah ﷻ in paradise, the paradise on earth is to feel that sense of closeness to Allah ﷻ. That even deep in darkness, we learn to say:

Personal Responsibility

And finally, إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ Verily I was from the transgressors. This is a statement of personal responsibility. This is a full confession that we have sinned, that we have brought this on ourselves, and that we take personal responsibility for our actions.

And this is really what repentance truly looks like. It's recognizing the true power in Allah ﷻ, and then surrendering to Him, and taking personal responsibility for our actions.

The Difference Between Adam and Iblis

If we reflect on another story, Adam ﷺ, Adam and Hawwa, our father and mother, and Iblis ﷺ. We see that what happened in the garden before they came to earth, they both disobeyed Allah ﷻ. Adam ate from the tree that he was explicitly told not to eat from, and Iblis refused to prostrate to Adam as he was explicitly commanded to by Allah ﷻ.

So what's the difference if they both disobeyed Allah ﷻ? The difference is Adam took personal responsibility. Adam and Hawwa both took personal responsibility:

Ya Allah, we were from the transgressors. The same language as Yunus ﷺ. And if you don't forgive us, if you don't have mercy upon us, we will be eternal losers.

But what was the response of Shaytan?

Shaytan even recognizes Allah as his master. That wasn't the problem. The problem was in surrendering and listening to the commandments. The problem was in surrendering his ego to the commandment of Allah. And he refused to take personal responsibility. That is the difference. And that is the formula for turning back to Allah.

أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرحيم

الحمد لله وحده والصلاة والسلام على من لا نبي بعده وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمد عبده ورسوله

Allah's Promise of Rescue

If we thought that the story of Yunus and Adam were amazing, listen to what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says after this ayah, after he tells us of what happened to Yunus and the incredible du'a that Yunus made. Allah says:

That we immediately answered this du'a of Yunus a.s. And we saved him from his darkness and that's exactly how we save the believers. That's exactly how we continue to save the believers.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala uses the present tense in this ayah not to demonstrate what to do if we're ever swallowed by a giant sea creature in the ocean like Yunus, but what to do when we're in darkness from our own mistakes, from acting on our own emotions, how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala continues to save the believers in this fashion that's encompassed in the du'a of Yunus.

Memorize the Du'a

And just one action item from today is to memorize the du'a of Yunus a.s. The du'a of Yunus, our Prophet s.a.w. said:

(Sunan at-Tirmidhi, Book 47, Hadith 3505)

Whoever calls upon Allah with the du'a of Yunus, his du'a will be answered, his prayers will be answered. And that du'a is simply:

Memorize the du'a my brothers and sisters and reflect on the deep lessons inside of it - that first and foremost recognition of any deities that we might take over Allah s.w.t, whether that be our own ego, our love for our own race that might supersede the love of Allah, our love for nationalism, whatever it may be, that we erase all that through لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ, we surrender to Allah's wisdom through سُبْحَانَكَ, and we take personal responsibility through إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ.

Final Du'a

We ask Allah to make us from those who are in control of our emotions. We ask Allah to make us from those who say in practice لا إله إلا أنت سبحانك إني كنت من الظالمين. May Allah save us from the darkness just like He saved Yunus.

قوموا إلى صلاتكم وإن رحمكم الله