Qur an Revelaed or Written - Sh. Mufti Ismail Menk [HD]

Qur'an Revealed or Written - Sheikh Mufti Ismail Menk

Opening

We praise Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad salallahu alayhi wasalam, his entire household, all his companions. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless them all and bless every single one of us and grant us all goodness and ease. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless our offspring, those to come up to the last day.

Main Khutbah

Introduction

My brothers and sisters, before we understand the message of the Qur'an, and whether it was revealed or written, we need to understand the one whom Allah chose to be the best of creation, and that is Muhammad salallahu alayhi wasalam's status, his level, and who he was, and why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala chose him above all to give him that message of Islam and revelation.

The truth is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows best and He chooses, and no one has a choice in this regard. This is why Allah says:

"Allah chooses the messengers from the angels as well as from the people. So from the angels whom Allah has tasked with the various tasks, that Allah alone chooses. Why Jibreel alayhis salam is the one appointed to come down with revelation is not my choice, it is not your choice, it is the choice of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

So we cannot question Allah. He is the creator, He is the decider. Just like amongst us, some Allah has blessed them with more wealth than others. Some Allah has given them, for example, the looks that some might consider handsome or pretty or beautiful and so on, more than others. It's up to Allah. It's Him who decides what type of eyes I'm going to have, you're going to have, the type of lips I'm going to have, and how high or low, how tall or short I may be, how high or low in society I may be.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala blesses us in so many ways. Every one of us has blessings, but sometimes they are different from the blessings that have been bestowed upon others. So I am blessed, and so are you.

What are the blessings Allah gave me? Sometimes they are different from what He has given you, but you are gifted in a way, and this is something you and I need to realize. A lot of us become depressed solely because we don't have money. But we don't understand that sometimes we have other gifts of Allah, we have health sometimes, we have perhaps the capacity to sleep sometimes, we have sometimes the capacity or intelligence and various other things, we might have so many gifts of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

So similarly, it is Allah's choice whom He gives, what He gives. And this is why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has mentioned this in so many different places in the Quran. For example, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"Allah says, are they jealous of what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has bestowed upon some above the others, that which Allah has bestowed upon the people? Are they jealous of the distribution of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Let them know that Allah has bestowed the family of Ibrahim a.s. with prophethood, with wisdom, with wealth, with kingdom as well.

Muhammad's Character and Early Life

The children of Ibrahim a.s. if you take a look, Allah has blessed them with so much. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has indeed gifted them. However, Allah has gifted us in different ways.

We don't have prophethood in our midst, because Rasulullah s.a.w. is the final of all prophets. But at the same time, we have different gifts of Allah. And we have the opportunity from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to spread the good message of the prophets of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Rasulullah s.a.w. in particular.

And that would automatically give us the status that would be higher than those who do not do the same job. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala use us to spread goodness. No matter who you are.

You could be a doctor, a lawyer, an accountant, a school teacher, a worker, a cleaner, a domestic worker and so on, a helper, a nurse, a maid, whoever else. But you need to reach out to people, remembering that the message of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will only reach people if we have good character and conduct. Without good character and conduct, you can be as knowledgeable as you want.

You can be as clever as you want. You can have so much of information, but you will never ever be able to let that information be disseminated in the correct sense. Because people look at you and they will get irritated.

They will not want to listen to what you have to say. But if you have good character, good conduct, even if you know very little, they will want to listen to what you have to say. Because of the way you do it and the akhlaaq, the character, that you have chosen to dress yourself with.

Continue asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for this blessed character. So why do I start in this way? Because all goodness in terms of character is taken from the character of Rasulullah s.a.w. Allah blessed him as being the best of creation, but Allah chose for him a beginning that happened to be a specific direction. So if you take a look at the beginning of the life of Muhammad s.a.w. on this earth, you will come to realize that he was born an orphan, from birth.

And that is a consolation for those who are orphans. That it does not mean Allah hates you just because your father has passed away, that Allah abandoned you. No.

I always tell people, if you're feeling down and depressed and sad, read surah ad-Duhaa, read surah al- inshiraah al-sharaah, the one after it. Read it with its meaning and you will understand the gifts of Allah upon Rasulullah s.a.w. And at the same time, you will understand the gifts of Allah upon you and I. And read the next surah where Allah speaks of difficulty and how every difficulty comes with an ease, with something easy about it.

Those who have never seen difficulty, will never appreciate what ease is.

The Example of Different Salaries

You know someone, for example, is earning 50,000 dirhams or riyal, 50,000 riyal a week. Wow! Is that a good salary brothers? Is that a good salary? Or should I ask the sisters if that's a good salary? MashaAllah. Or do the brothers spend, inshaAllah.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us people who are generous. Ameen. If you are earning such a great salary and you've always been spoiled for taste, you will never be able to appreciate it.

One day when you lose your job and suddenly you have nothing. A week pass, a month passes, a week passes, and so on, a year passes and you are struggling because I used to earn 50,000 a week. Now I have nothing.

So then even if someone offers you a job for 20,000, you will take it and you will thank Allah, Allah, Allah, I thank you so much ya Allah. What happened? You went through difficulty in order for you to appreciate the value of less than half of your salary. But the time when you had it, there was no value.

The Value of Orphans in Islam

So when Rasulullah s.a.w. was born an orphan, subhanAllah, it draws the attention of all of us to the fact that orphans, it does not mean that you have been orphaned, that Allah has punished you, He doesn't like you, He has abandoned you, you are worthless. And at the same time, the value of the orphan in our eyes should be very, very high. The Prophet s.a.w. says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith 5304)

"Myself and the one who looks after the orphan child shall be like this in paradise. And he pointed with the two fingers, he joined them together. So if you'd like to be in paradise, one of the ways of achieving paradise, and there are a million ways of achieving paradise, remember this, not only the way that you have is the way of entering paradise, there are a million ways of entering jannah. A million, and maybe even more.

When I say a million, I mean a lot. So one of them is, to look after the orphan. Obviously you need to believe in Allah and your pillars of Islam need to be solid.

Then inshaAllah the path will be made clear. May Allah s.w.t. help us through these paths. So amazingly, if the Prophet s.a.w. was not an orphan, one wonders whether we would have taken a moment to look at the orphans, as it is a lot of us who haven't had the difficulty.

Questions About Our Care for Orphans

We sometimes don't even bother. We don't even look. We've never thought of orphans.

How many of us have visited an orphanage here in this beautiful city of Doha? How many of us have just visited the orphanage? Let's see these orphans. They have value in Islam. We haven't.

How many of us have tried to look out for orphans or dropped a few riyalat, a few little coins or dollars, into a little tin or donated to an organization that looks after orphans? How many of us? We are not saying a big donation, but a small thing. But we imagine, we have been conscientized about it, and at the same time, we have still led our lives far away from it. What if it was not there at all in Islam? What if that wasn't a hadith? What if the issue of widows was not stressed in Islam? What would have happened? The Prophet s.a.w.'s mother was widowed.

Before his birth. So Rasulullah s.a.w. was born that way. And he was born from amongst the families that were respected in Quraysh.

Muhammad's Character Before Prophethood

And at the same time, as he grew up, he was known as a truthful person, very calm. There were a lot of blessings surrounding his upbringing. So many.

We believe the best of creation, the highest of all prophets (أَفْضَلُ الْخَلْقِ وَأَكْرَمُ الرُّسُلِ). The best of creation and the most noble of all the prophets of Allah s.w.t. If you take a careful look at the entire upbringing of Muhammad s.a.w., it was the plan of Allah so that people would know when revelation came, it was actually revealed, and it was never ever written by him. Subhanallah.

Had he been a person who was the top, most eloquent, in the sense that before prophethood, if he was one of the most highly educated in the terms of the worldly understanding. You cannot say he was (نَعُوذُ بالله).uneducated

That is derogatory, and that is not correct. He was the most highly educated in terms of what Allah had given him. But in terms of worldly ability to read and write, Allah kept it away.

Allah kept it away. And we need to understand this. Allah s.w.t. mentions it in several places in the Quran.

"It is Allah s.w.t. who has sent amongst the community of unlettered. The bulk of the people were unlettered. The word unlettered is not a disrespectful term.

Not at all. It is Allah s.w.t. who chose that for them. It was something that was not the in thing at the time in that community.

The number of people who could read and write were actually, we could have counted them on our hands, on our fingers. We could have counted them.

So it was nothing bad or derogatory, but Allah kept him to be from one of those so that no one would doubt later on.

"Allah says, you did not used to read and write. You did not used to read and write. You never read a book before this. Before what? Before revelation. And Allah says, had that been the case, perhaps those who had doubt in their hearts would have created a doubt in revelation.

So if Muhammad s.a.w. was well-lettered and he read before, and people would have accused him of having read the scriptures, and they would have said, no, this person has read all the scriptures and he's just come with something and it's being written. That's it. But no, Allah says, we kept it that way so that nobody can create a doubt in the fact that this is revelation.

The Accusations Against the Quran

It's not just written. And this is why Allah s.w.t says, Surah Al-Furqan. Al-Furqan referring to the Quran.

And it is known as the criterion, the distinguishing factor. Allah s.w.t says quite clearly, regarding the kuffar and their accusations. What did they say?

"They said that these are the folk tales of the past and they are being written and dictated morning and evening.

So this is some stories that those of the book are familiar with and they are only being repeated or dictated and he's taken it from other people. Allah says:

Say, indeed, it is He who has revealed this who knows the secrets of the heavens and the earth. The one who knows the secrets of the heavens and the earth.

The Quran's Scientific Miracles

So you will find the contents of the Quran such that nobody can debate it. No one can ever say a man in the desert who was unlettered has actually come up with this type of scientific finding that even science disagreed with at one stage but as it is progressing, it is becoming confirmed. Do you know what that means? You know we have wise cracks sometimes in our midst as human beings and they tell you, the Quran is wrong because science negates it.

And you always close your eyes and tell them, you know what? Science is wrong today, tomorrow it will correct itself. Subhanallah, it's happened in the past. The people who said that the sun does not move, you remember they said that sometime back, later on they said, oh, sorry, you know what? It moves, but very little.

We didn't say how much it moves, we only said the Quran says it moves. And you wise cracks thought that science was it. Scientific discovery depends on experiment.

Your experiment could be flawed completely. You could have the Hubble telescope and the bubble, well the only bubble I know is the chocolate, have you seen it? Mashallah, you could have anything, Hubble and bubble, but at the same time, that bubble will burst if you're not careful. One day when you realize that the findings are actually wrong.

Allahu Akbar. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala strengthen us and may He grant us an understanding.

As-Sadiq Al-Amin (The Truthful and Trustworthy)

So as Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) grew, he was known as As-Sadiq Al-Amin.

He was known as the truthful, the trustworthy. Why was that the case? He was not known for a single lie, not one lie, throughout his entire upbringing.

And on top of that, it is proven by several incidents that he was known as a very intelligent person, very just and balanced, very fair.

Why was he known as very fair? Let me explain. Do you know the incident of the Hajar Aswad, when they had to put it back? Who did they select to solve the problem? The man who walked in was Muhammad

(صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). And they said, the next man who walks into this area, he will be the one who will solve our problems.

We have so many tribes, and each one wants the honor of putting the stone back in place when they were rebuilding the Kaaba. So Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) walked in, immediately they said, oh, this is As-Sadiq Al-Amin who's walked in. Had it been a drunkard, had it been another person who perhaps did not have a good reputation, they would not have agreed.

They would never. Even though they said, the next man who walks in, they would say, not this man. But because it was him chosen by Allah, they all agreed.

That was already confirmation that this man is very fair, very balanced. And you know how he solved the problem? He said, okay, bring a big cloth. So they brought a cloth.

And he said, right, all these, the corners, the leaders of each one of these little clans within, these little tribes within, you hold one corner each, and in the center, and all of you will hold, and you lift it up, and I will be the one who will have put it there, and I will lift it from there into place.

So the small job of lifting will be done by me. But the rest of the job of carrying it and transporting it to where it's supposed to be will be done by everyone collectively.

No one will be able to say, we did it alone. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala safeguard us. May Allah grant us goodness.

Unity in Serving Islam

I learn a lot from this. You see, Islam is a powerful religion. So we all serve Islam in different ways.

I teach, subhanAllah. And at the same time, I lecture once in a while. This is the first lecture internationally that I'm delivering within the last perhaps since Ramadan.

I haven't been out. You know, people say, I think you travel more than you're on earth. You're in the sky more than... That's not true.

That's not true. You probably don't know. It seems like that.

It sounds like that. But it's not true. Okay, but alhamdulillah, this is part of the job I do.

We ask Allah to accept it. But every one of you, you do so many things, I may know, I may not know. Allah knows.

Some may be teaching. Some may be printing. Some may be helping to build.

Some may be contributing with their wealth. Some may be contributing with their time. Everyone together contributes towards the deen.

Don't they? But if I thought that my job is the only job. Mine is deen. The rest of the guys are not on the deen.

Some people think this. And it's a mistake to think that this is the only work. There is no other work.

That is a very big mistake. Because you are discounting everyone else. All of us together are holding this huge sheet.

You know, like a builder of a house. The guy who does the plumbing cannot say, I built the house. The guy who put in, for example, the windows cannot say, I'm the one who built this house.

The guy who painted cannot say, I built the house. The architect cannot say, I built the house. The guy who put in the roof, or the carpenter cannot say, I built the house.

But together they say, we built the house. Subhanallah. So together all of us are serving the ummah.

We need each other. This is the concept of the ummah at large. And this is why do not discount even the smallest job that you might think is very small in the eyes of Allah.

It might just be so big and so huge. The fact is you need to be fitting in somewhere. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala help us.

The Covenant of Virtue (Hilf al-Fudul)

So Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم - s.a.w.), that was the incident of the stone. The other incident that happened, hilful fudul. When one man was oppressed and they gathered together in order to pledge in order to pledge that they would not allow the oppression of anyone who was involved.

One of them was Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - s.a.w.). He attended it at the house of Abdullah ibn Jad'an. And he says later on, after nubuwwah, after prophethood, that wallahi, before Islam, I was invited to the house of Abdullah ibn Jad'an for this hilf, for this covenant of virtue. If I were to be invited for something similar today, I would respond to it in the same way.

Which means I would attend. And that shows that they respected him because they did not have in that meeting people who were not respected in society. And not held very high in high esteem.

The Test on Mount Safa

And this is why when the prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - s.a.w.) got up on Mount Safa, and we need to remember this, he asked them a question before he told them about revelation. What was the question? Beautiful. He says, Ya ma'ashara Quraysh, O people of Quraysh, and these were the top brass.

You know we say the crem de la crem. The top of Quraysh. And he tells them, if I were to tell you that on the other side of the mountain is an army coming to attack you, would you believe it? What did they say?

Yes.

Not one of them disagreed. Imagine. That shows you that he was a man already.

People confirmed that if this man says something, then I will believe it straight away. If he tells us, hey, outside there, there are lions, don't go. We would close the doors.

You understand what I mean? Subhanallah. Then when he told them, I am warning you about a day that is going to come. That is a day of judgment and so on.

And to worship Allah and whatever else. He said that day. What did Abu Lahab say? He said, Tabbalaka Ya Muhammad, Ali hadha jamaatana.

Woe be to you, O Muhammad. (صلى الله عليه وسلم - Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Is this why you gathered us? And yet, a moment before that, he said, wallahi, we will believe you if you told us that there is something behind there which is harmful.

Abu Bakr As-Siddiq's Faith

And this is why, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq r.a, when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) came back from Isra wal-Mi'raj, you know, he went up physically. You need to know this. People think, oh, it's metaphoric.

No, he went up physically. And he went up, in fact, he went from Makkah to Baitul Maqdis. May Allah grant us freedom there.

He went up from Makkah to Baitul Maqdis and from Baitul Maqdis up to the seven heavens. Physically. And he came back, and he returned to his bedding.

And they tried to create, they tried to create doubt in the hearts of the believers. One of them was Abu Bakr as-Siddiq r.a, Abdullah ibn Uthman r.a, that was his name. So, they asked him a question, that you know what, there are several narrations, I'm mentioning one of them.

If someone were to tell you that they went from here to Baitul Maqdis by night, and they went from there up to the seven heavens, and from there they came back, and all this was within a short moment, the same night, would you believe it? Subhanallah. They said, well, your friend has said this. What did he say? If that is what he said, then I believe it.

No doubt. No doubt. Subhanallah.

Subhanallah. As-Siddiq, that's when he was known as As-Siddiq. You know what, not only was he a truthful man, but he understood the truth, and accepted the truth, and he confirmed it.

This is the truth. Why? Because he says, according to one narration, Abu Bakr As-Siddiq says, Wallahi, I believe something more severe than just what you've told me now. What was that? He says, you are

telling me that he went from here to Baitul Maqdis, he went up, and then he came back here in his bedding, that's minor.

I believe that he gets revelation from the heavens. I believe he gets revelation from the heavens. And Jibreel a.s. comes to him with revelation.

And I believe that completely. So to believe that he went physically here and there is actually minor. Subhanallah.

When he tells me there is a life after death, I believe. When he tells me that I need to answer, and I'm accountable to my maker, I believe. So to tell me he said this and that, I believe it completely, it's actually smaller.

Subhanallah. So with us, now let's get to our topic, and let's get to what the question is on the subject. The Quran.

The Quran: Revealed or Written?

Revealed or written? Number one, Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - s.a.w.) was unlettered. And you know what? There are people who think that that statement is disrespectful. You know, we love Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم - s.a.w.) Our interpretation of love of Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم - s.a.w.) is that we will try our best to follow him, we will obviously praise him, we will also say (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) wherever his name is said, we will try to follow his footsteps, what he has said we should do, we should do, inshallah we will do, and what he has stopped we will not, and we will not add any act of worship that he did not teach us, because his mission was to teach us acts of worship and how to worship Allah.

So if that was his mission, how can we add? If you add an act of worship, you are insulting Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - s.a.w.) because definitely Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم - s.w.t.) told him clearly:

O Messenger, convey in the best possible form the message from Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم - s.w.t.), from your Rabb. Whatever has been revealed to you, convey in the best possible manner. You know, (صلى الله عليه وسلم - بَلِّغْ) is not just to convey, to convey in a beautiful way.

So he did it, because at the end he asked the sahabah r.a. the time of hajjatul wada, he says, have I conveyed the message? What did they say? They said, yes you have. He said, Allahumma fashhad. O Allah, bear witness.

Why? I've conveyed the message. What was the message? The message was how to worship Allah. That was the message.

He was sent by Allah to us, to tell us how Allah s.w.t. wanted to be worshipped. So subhanallah, he did that, he conveyed the message, and now, how can we then add an act of worship, to say, no this is something he didn't teach, but we know it's very very good. It's really something helpful, it will benefit you.

You know when you're reading salah, you don't need to stand on both feet, if you want more concentration, stand on one foot. Come on man, relax. It's not from me or you, you need to know the language and understand it.

The Arabic Language and the Quran

You know, the Arabic language is beautiful, the Qur'an is revealed from Allah s.w.t. Even the Arabs, even the Arabs will confirm that language is taken from the Qur'an. Subhanallah. Not a single blunder.

Wallahi, ask any professor of the Arabic language across the globe, from before up to today, go anywhere across the globe. If you want to study the Arabic language, you have to know parts of the Qur'an. Because the laws of the language are derived from the Qur'an, because it's revelation from Allah.

Wallahi. Ask those who are masters in the Arabic language. When there is a mistake or when there is a problem with their own speech, or something in writing, or a discrepancy when it comes to a law of language, they will go back and refer to the Qur'an.

If the Qur'an has it, it's over. The debate is over, the discussion is finished. That's what it is, and this is how it should be.

Subhanallah. So you tell me, which linguist taught Muhammad s.a.w? Who? It was not written. He could rattle it out, subhanallah, because it was revealed, reciting.

And this is why Allah says:

Recite that which was revealed to you by Allah s.w.t. and establish your prayer. May Allah help us also to recite it, to understand it, and to establish our salah. So, if language is taken, listen carefully, if the entire language, which is one of the most sophisticated languages to exist, one of the deepest languages, do you know that? Arabic language is deeper than English by a thousand times and more.

The Example of Salah

Subhanallah. There are certain words in Arabic that cannot be translated in any other language. Can I give you one example? Every day we use the word, salah.

Salah. What's the interpretation? Anyone wants to try? Salah. Say it.

Oh, mashallah, he said namaz. Subhanallah. Okay.

Subhanallah. Can we say it in English? Salah. Say something.

Prayer. Supplication. Subhanallah.

The reality is none of those words do justice to the salah that we just read now. Do you agree? But you look at it linguistically, even in Arabic, if I were to explain it to you, I would have to tell you it is words, actions, combined with intention that starts with takbeerat al-ehram, meaning Allahu Akbar, and it ends with salam. That's just a part of it.

I haven't yet explained it fully to you. That's salah. And salah, perhaps linguistically, it might include the term supplication, include the term prayer and so on, but it has a longer shari'i meaning to it.

And this is why we say, the Arabic language is the only language where if you use the word salah, every word you use, they will ask you, what context do you want the meaning in? Is it linguistically alone? Is it to do... You know, they say, ma'naahu fil-lughah, ma'naahu fil-istilaah, ma'naahu fil-shara'ah, ma'naahu fil-istilaah al-usuliyeen, for example, ma'naahu fil-istilaah al-fuqaha, for example. What is the meaning of it in the context of the jurists? In the context of the shari'ah? In the context of the linguists alone? And so on. Arabic is the only language that that happens.

Every noun you have, you're going to have that issue. May Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala help us. You're trying to tell me that they took such a powerful, deep, meaningful language from a man unlettered in the desert, who was confirmed unlettered by all the people around, so much so that in Hudaybiyah, you all know that when they were striking the deal, and Uthman ibn Affan r.a was writing, and the other companions were writing, Ali ibn Abi Talib r.a were writing, that particular agreement that was being written when there was an issue regarding Rasulullah.

The Treaty of Hudaybiyah

You know what I'm saying? Quraish had a problem with the fact that at the top, they wrote Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. And they wrote, this is a treaty between Muhammad and Rasulullah. They said, who is Rasulullah? Had we believed that, the problem would have been solved between us and you.

So, you cannot say this. So what happened? Immediately, he said, okay, remove it. They said, we won't remove it.

We won't remove it. You want us to rub off Rasulullah? When we believe you are Rasulullah, this is unreasonable. So, according to one of the narrations, the Prophet s.a.w. said, okay, show me where is it.

Show me where it is written, so that I can rub it off. Why would he say show me where it is written if he was a lettered man? If he knew exactly where it is, why would he say that? When, for example, the letters were sent to the Romans, it is reported that the Sahaba r.a told him, Ya Rasulullah s.a.w., they won't read

your letter unless it is sealed and stamped according to their system. What did he say? Did he say that, oh, that's the system of the kuffar.

It's okay, we don't want it. Leave it. And we are not going to adopt it because that's it.

We've got our own way. No, no, no, no. He knew that if that is the technology that they are using, and if the message of Islam is only going to get to them through the same technology, then use it.

So, immediately he said, what should be done? And, you know, they had a lot of views and so on until they got the view of the khatam, you know, the ring.

And the ring, it had engraved on it, Muhammad Rasulullah s.a.w. Why would he have to use that if he were lettered? And he would seal with it the letters.

Subhanallah.

The Message of How to Worship Allah

Why? I've conveyed the message. What was the message? The message was how to worship Allah. That was the message.

He was sent by Allah to us, to tell us how Allah s.w.t. wanted to be worshipped. So subhanallah, he did that, he conveyed the message, and now, how can we then add an act of worship, to say, no this is something he didn't teach, but we know it's very very good. It's really something helpful, it will benefit you.

You know when you're reading salah, you don't need to stand on both feet, if you want more concentration, stand on one foot. Come on man, relax. It's not from me or you, you need to know the language and understand it.

You know, the Arabic language is beautiful, the Qur'an is revealed from Allah s.w.t. Even the Arabs, even the Arabs will confirm that language is taken from the Qur'an. Subhanallah. Not a single blunder.

Wallahi, ask any professor of the Arabic language across the globe, from before up to today, go anywhere across the globe. If you want to study the Arabic language, you have to know parts of the Qur'an. Because the laws of the language are derived from the Qur'an, because it's revelation from Allah.

Wallahi. Ask those who are masters in the Arabic language. When there is a mistake or when there is a problem with their own speech, or something in writing, or a discrepancy when it comes to a law of language, they will go back and refer to the Qur'an.

If the Qur'an has it, it's over. The debate is over, the discussion is finished. That's what it is, and this is how it should be.

Subhanallah. So you tell me, which linguist taught Muhammad s.a.w? Who? It was not written. He could rattle it out, subhanallah, because it was revealed, reciting.

Language Rules and the Quran

So language was taken from revelation and is still taken because it is revealed. Had it been written, it would need to be. You see, two things.

It would need to be looked at with the rules of language. But rather the rules of language look at it in order to be derived. See the difference? Let me say that again.

If the Quran was written, it would need to be put forth to the rules of language to see if it is correct. The proof that it is revealed is so much. One of it is that language alone looks at it in order to be corrected and rectified in terms of rules and regulations.

Subhanallah. Without a dispute, ask the Christian Arabs and ask those who are not Muslim from the Arabs how much of the Quran they know. They will have to know it because of Arabic language.

Ask them. Ask the professors. Ask whoever you want.

And this is a challenge. There is no doubt about what I'm just saying now. Subhanallah.

A Christian Arab's Testimony

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala help us. May He grant us goodness and ease. I once met a certain gentleman who was an Arab, but a Christian Arab from Lebanon.

And I asked him this exact question. I said, do you see in the Quran any linguistic errors? He used the word wallahi. You know wallahi? He says, wallahi not even one.

I said, so come on, it's revealed from Allah. And then I realized guidance is in the hands of Allah. Some people read one or two verses of the Quran and their lives are moved.

And some people read khatma after khatma every other day, but their lives are not moved. They haven't changed. They haven't developed.

We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to help us. So, we've just confirmed that the Quran is revealed by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It cannot have been written.

Not at all. And this is why it is sacred. One of the reasons why as muslimin, we have to fulfill our salah.

Why Salah Must Be in Arabic

You know now I'm using the word fulfill. Did you notice? Some people say read your salah. Some people say learn your salah.

You know when they want to say salli. In Arabic you just say salli. Salli is made up of two words.

In fact, three if you want to be technical, but two if you just look at it. Saad and laam. The laam has a shadda.

So you could say saad and laam and laam. Salli. What does salli mean? It means fulfill your prayer.

Or fulfill your salah to be more accurate. Then we need to translate salah. But a muslim would know.

So, some say learn your salah. Some say fulfill your salah. Some say offer your prayer.

Offer your salah. That's correct. And so on.

But, what is the main factor regarding salah? Salah, it has to be in Arabic. So every time there are reverts to Islam, they ask a question, why does salah have to be in Arabic? And I enjoy answering that. I really enjoy it.

Because it makes a lot of sense. And I sit them down and I tell them, you know what? Why does salah have to be in Arabic? Oh, good question. Salah is not just a mere supplication.

When you want to supplicate, you can call in any language. In fact, Allah knows your supplication before you even called out. You know, I want something and I don't know how to word it.

And I say, oh Allah, okay. What's in my heart, give it to me. Allah knows, right or wrong.

Oh Allah, what's in my heart, you know. Fulfill it. InshaAllah, may it be halal.

Ameen. So, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, this is an amazing gift of Allah. If you take a look at the previous scriptures, the Torah, the Injil, and so on.

Comparison with Previous Scriptures

Let's take a look at the Bible. What happened to it? What was the language it was revealed in? What was the language that Isa a.s. or Jesus Christ, may peace be upon him, spoke? Did he speak English? No. He spoke Aramaic.

Agree? He spoke Aramaic. So, how come we don't find the Aramaic scripture? Someone might say, well, Paul and Peter were involved. Okay, they wrote it in Hebrew.

Whatever it was, where is the Aramaic? I want to see it. It's not there. Why is it not there? I'll tell you why.

One is, Allah intended it such that all the books, somehow, would be tampered with besides the Quran, because it is the final and eternal book, which comes and confirms what was in the previous books, but you don't actually need the previous books anymore, and this scripture is final and it's complete, total. So, one is that, Allah. But the other, amazing, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala had kept something for us to learn.

What was it? When they wanted to understand their scriptures, guess what they did? They translated it and they deleted the original. So they adjusted the word of Allah, for them to understand it. And in the process, they lost it.

With us, we adjust ourselves to understand the word of Allah, so we won't lose it by the will of Allah. You see the difference? Clear cut. They adjusted the word of Allah and they have translations of it alone.

And they started reading it in the other languages alone, only. So you have the Bible in English, more than 42 different versions. In fact, now, someone was actually correcting me and saying, no, no, no, it's beyond 50 actually.

Whatever it was, the last count, 42 different versions of the Bible in English, and each one is fighting with the other. Some have entire books of the Bible that are lost. So you have the Orthodox version, and the other version, and the King James version, and all these versions, and each one has a different number of books.

Imagine the whole books are lost of the Bible. The gospel of Barnabas, some will disagree that it's part of the Bible, and some will say, no, it is. Well, there is a debate.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us the ability at least to understand, study, and protect the Quran as best as possible. You know, when we say:

It means two things. It means to memorize the Quran.

It means he has memorized the Quran. But it also means he has protected the book.

Hafiz also means to protect, to guard. So you've become a guard. You're a guard of what? A guard of the Quran.

I'm looking after the word of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. I've kept it consolidated as original as possible. In fact, I'm convinced it's the original.

The Preservation of the Quran

And how is that? So we go back and we say, every single Muslim without exception, even if you've reverted today, you have to undertake to learn some of the Quran, at least about three chapters minimum, your duty in the Arabic language, whether you understand it or not, as eloquently as possible without change. You have to make an effort. It won't take you longer than a day if you are really interested in doing that.

It won't take you. What are those surahs? Minimum is surah al-Fatiha. And at least two other short surahs or some verses that you will be able to read your salah or fulfill your salah with.

Because in salah, your salah will only be accepted if you have the Quran in Arabic that is being recited by you in that salah. How are you going to do that?

Well, you might say, I don't know Arabic. I can't pronounce the words.

Well, you know what? You're a Muslim. A Muslim means one who has surrendered to Allah, and Allah has instructed you to do that, so you will do that.

And then once you've done that, you can proudly say to yourself, and thank Allah, ya Allah, as much as I don't know a word of Arabic, but I've learned your word solely and only because of your instruction.

Today, I'm one of those who has contributed towards the protection of this book of yours. So we are seated here, mashaAllah, in large numbers. Can I ask a question? Put up your hand if you do not speak Arabic properly.

Put up your hand. Hi. MashaAllah.

You see how many hands there are here? Almost all. Put your hands down. Put up your hands if you can read minimum three surahs of the Quran.

Al-Fatiha, maybe, Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad, Surah Al-Ikhlas, and one other. Put up your hand if you can read them properly. See these hands? SubhanAllah.

We just proved a point. We have proven a powerful point, and that is, although we do not know the Arabic language, all of us, if not almost all of us, have, subhanAllah, memorized the Quran, at least a bit of it. Don't you understand? This is the preservation of the Quran.

If the imam gets up, and you do not know Arabic, and you're standing behind him, and he gets stuck after saying:

And for some reason, his mind slipped and he went somewhere. How many of you would know how to correct it? Put up your hand.

Same amount of hands. Wow! But you don't know Arabic. Do you agree? This is the gift of Allah.

It's revelation. It's only possible because Allah has revealed it.

We have indeed revealed this reminder.

We have revealed the scripture, and we will ensure that we protect it. The means that we choose to protect the book, that is our business. One of the means is that every one of us, we are living 1436 years after hijrah, and we know part of the Quran in its original pristine form, not one of us can fool another one regarding the Quran.

Not one. Subhanallah. This is revealed.

This is the only book. And this is why I tell those who have reverted and who ask the question, why do we have to read the Quran in the Arabic language?

Well, here you are. You need to contribute towards the protection of the book.

The Importance of Understanding the Quran

And this is the minimum. But the problem is, we forget the other duty of ours. What is the other duty? One, is to be able to read it.

And two, is to be able to understand it. There we fail. A lot of us fail.

How many of us are going to make an effort to understand the word of Allah? Put up your hand. Alhamdulillah. I hope and I pray that it wasn't just a hand because your friend put up his hand.

A True Story About Language

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us ease. I can tell you a true story of what happened to me, myself. I was flying Saudi Arabian Airlines.

How many years ago? I was a student in Madina Munawwara. We were going back home. And I was dressed like this and I was sitting next to a man.

And, you know, the steward and the air hostess, they pass. So, there was a gentleman. I greeted the gentleman next to me and he did not greet me back.

And it seemed like he was very upset for some reason with me. And then when I sat down, he looked at me, he says:

Why do you only want to speak English, English, only English? Why do you want to speak English? And I looked at him and I pretended like I didn't understand what he said. And I just looked at him and said, because I saw he was angry.

Maybe, you know, that time there were no mobile phones. Believe me, it did not exist. So, subhanAllah, I don't know what exactly made him angry or upset.

So, anyway, I didn't know what itched him and what hit him. But, end of the day, this woman comes and she offers us a drink. So, she says, what would you like to have, sir? So, I told her, can I have a mango? So, she put the mango.

She actually poured it in and she put here. Now, this gentleman wants to show me now. He wants to show.

Now, he's angry, he's upset. He wants to show that he too knows English. So, sadly, the only word he knew was water.

He didn't know anything else. So, she says, what would you like to have, sir? And she was, you know, an expatriate person serving, mashaAllah, good manners and so on. So, he said, water.

So, mashaAllah, she gave him water. And a little while later, she came back and we had finished. Now, he desperately wanted something different, but he didn't know how to say it.

So, he was desperate to find out how to say it. So, she looked at me and she offered me. She said, what would you like to have, sir? Can I offer you anything more? So, I looked at her and now he was listening very carefully.

Listen to this, it's a true story. He's listening carefully. So, I said, can I have the same, please? And I gave her my glass.

And I didn't know. So, now, this man says, she says, what, can I offer you something else? So, he says, exactly as I said it. Can I have the same? So, she poured water for him.

She gave him the water. And he exploded. He says:

And he started getting so upset and so angry. And I looked at him, I said (مَهْلًا مَهْلًا). You know, I said, relax, take it easy, you know.

I said, no, I said, I want the same thing. And I explained to him, subhanAllah. The moral of the whole thing is, we need to make an effort.

Because when you don't understand, sometimes you can make big big blunders. Allahu Akbar. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala safeguard us.

The Importance of Learning Arabic

MashaAllah. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless us and open our doors. Wallahi, my beloved brothers, my beloved sisters, it is about time, we made an effort towards not only being able to recite the Quran, but even understanding the word of Allah.

I always say, when you know the word of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you will never be fooled. So I was saying moments ago, when we use the term unlettered, some people think we are disrespecting Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. Wallahi, to be honest with you, their understanding of love of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is, we can smoke, we can club, we can do whatever we want, and all we have to do is, we've got to become passionate and say, I love the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and so on. But it's got nothing to do with following his example.

With us, the love of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is connected to following his example. And so when we have a bad habit, we work on it. We will be the best of people.

It's not just a passion, that we do all bad things and come Rabi'ul Awwal, and we are dancing, and that's what we call the love of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. That's not it. Our love extends well beyond Rabi'ul Awwal. Our love is true love.

True Love vs False Claims

You know, what's the point of a man who really is nasty to his wife, whatever she says, he doesn't listen. Not at all, nothing. He's not interested in anything.

And he keeps on saying, I love you, and I love you, and I love you so much, and I love you, and so on. What's the point? Subhanallah. May Allah s.w.t. bless us.

May He open our doors. Instead, a person who really loves, even if he doesn't have to say, I love you, I love you. They know this man is really in love because, subhanallah, look at his whole life.

It is dedicated towards whatever he loves. So, we love Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم so much that our lives are dedicated towards his teachings. We make an effort to learn the meaning of the Quran.

The Danger of Being Prevented from Learning

And we are never ever fooled by people who tell us that you're not allowed to go through the meaning. I've had people tell me this even a few weeks ago.

That, you know, we are not allowed to read the meaning of the Quran.

No. We'll get confused. Allahu Akbar.

If you have a confusion, go and ask the scholars. But they must not stop you from reading the meaning. Write down 50 things that you are confused about.

InshaAllah, it will be clarified for you. But if you haven't even tried, they are fooling you. That's what's happening.

When they tell you, do you know what? You're supposed to worship me. Here's my feet. Can you wash these feet and drink the water and you'll get shifa?

You say, mashallah, maulana, alhamdulillah.

Let's go and do that. And after you drink the smelly water, you're feeling good. Allahu Akbar.

Why? Because you have not yet read the Quran. You haven't read the Quran. Wallahi.

I know of people who go to a maulana and a sheikh, and they take his vest, and they wash it, and they drink the water. And they believe that that's shifa.

And they do it passionately.

And when you tell them no, they say, you don't love the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). How? What is this? And I tell them, you haven't read the Quran, and you're not interested in reading it. That's the problem.

That is the problem. If you read the Quran, you will know why you are here. So the point I want to end today's talk with is a powerful one.

Treating the Quran as Revelation

We all do believe that the Quran was not written, it was revealed. But do we treat it that way? Do we treat it like the revelation, the only revealed word of Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) that we have in its pristine form, yet we don't want to make an effort to understand it, and to look in it, and really to spend every day, one hour a day is not much. If you can't do an hour, ten minutes a day, not much.

Learning the words of Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala). What did He say? It's so easy today. I was driving in a doha, and I'm looking forward inshallah to the next few years, I see a lot of expansion on the roads.

But for now, the traffic jams, really. The traffic jams are like jam. Now I understand why they call it jam.

You know we used to put jam on the bread, so that it sticks together. Two pieces of bread stick together. Now you have a traffic jam, the cars are stuck together.

Allahu Akbar. May Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) help us. Really, traffic jam.

Using Technology to Learn the Quran

Now you understand? But it doesn't come in different flavors, you know. You don't have strawberry and everything else. But I thought of something very interesting, that you are so fortunate, that if you had to put in a CD, a CD, into your vehicle, and today you have technology mashaAllah, from your phone straight on to the system in your car.

Alhamdulillah. And in that traffic, you can become so knowledgeable, that you will look forward to the trip back home everyday. And you will look forward to the trip to work, because you know, subhanAllah.

May Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) make it easy for us. While technology has advanced, and it's reached our pockets, we have become so lazy, that we cannot even press the right buttons in order to try and learn. May Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) bless us.

Closing

I've really enjoyed my evening here, with the brothers and sisters, and I've enjoyed the weather here this time. It's beautiful weather outside. Shukran so much.

Thank you. May Allah bless you, and bless us all. Barakallah fiqh.

May Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) make it easy for us. While technology has advanced, and it's reached our pockets, we have become so lazy, that we cannot even press the right buttons in order to try and learn. May Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) bless us.

I've really enjoyed my evening here, with the brothers and sisters, and I've enjoyed the weather here this time. It's beautiful weather outside. Shukran so much.

Thank you. May Allah bless you, and bless us all. Barakallah fiqh.

May Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) help us to use technology, the latest technology, no matter what it is and what is to come, in a good way, to spread the deen. You know, people say, oh, this is technology, leave it out. Wallahi, they will engulf you and they will control you through the same technology because you tried to walk away from it and it followed you and carried on following you and you drowned in it.

And there was no goodness in it because all the people who could teach goodness ran away from it. No. Today we will use the internet, we will use the phones, we will use whatever else it is, Twitter, and everything that is there, but in a good way.

And we will discipline ourselves. My brothers and sisters, all this technology can make it very easy for you to go to jannah. And it can also make it even easier for you to go to hell.

Allahu akbar. May Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) forgive us.

I really appreciate the sisters, for having taken care of the little children.

If you notice, the sound of the babies has not been heard. May Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) bless the sisters. It's not an easy task.

And one of the most difficult things, is to be able to get up with your child, when they're making a noise, or when they're crying, and to go to the auditorium. Oh, that's a jihad. In fact, those footsteps are your footsteps to jannah.

Allah bless us. It's so tempting to just remain, and to be, you know, perhaps to let the noise disturb and so on. But we don't realize.

I know many men like myself as well, we are quite patient when it comes to this. But to be honest with you, not everyone is the same. Some people cannot concentrate, it's not their fault.

But they can't concentrate. So they need a specialized sort of, you know, attention mode within themselves. And then they will be able to concentrate.

May Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) protect us all. Shukran. Jazakumullahu khaira.

Looking forward to seeing you again tomorrow.