@Maryam Masjid
By Nouman Ali Khan | 2026-01-09T13:56:18.598887+00:00 | Topic: Quran
Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan Khutbah - Surah At-Taghabun
Introduction
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. In today's sermon, I'd like to share with you some teachings from the 64th surah of the Qur'an, Surat At-Taghabun. And before I share the ayat that I'd like to reflect on and share some things with you about, I want to put a little bit of background in place.
Background: Makki vs Madani Revelation
This is a Madani surah. Most of you are familiar, there are two different kinds of surahs in the Qur'an, Makki and Madani surahs, early surahs and later revelations. Later revelations, for the most part, are the ones that came to the Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him after he migrated to the city of Medina.
And most Muslims that are familiar with the Qur'an know that in Madani Qur'an, in later Qur'an, is when Allah revealed most of His instructions for the community, things that are permissible, things that are not permissible. When we think of Madani Qur'an, we think of the rules and regulations of Islam. When we think of the early revelations, the Makkan Qur'an, we think of the fundamentals of our faith.
Two-thirds of the Qur'an is Makkan, early. And early Qur'an deals with matters of faith, matters of belief. But this surah is unique. Even though it is Madani in nature, it's a later surah, it still deals with matters of faith. And it begs the question, why? It's a very particular purpose for the revelation of this surah.
Understanding Quranic Context
And this is important to understand when we study the Qur'an or try to get any benefit from the Qur'an. What context and in what background is Allah giving this speech? Because every surah is a speech of Allah. And a speech is given at a particular address. Especially when it comes from a particular authority, right? An authority like for example in politics, you have a president, a senator, a governor.
He's gonna give a press release, he's gonna give it at a particular occasion. And his speech is going to have to do with issues that are happening at that very moment. So it's gonna be very relevant for us to know when was this speech given? Who was this speech given to? What occasion was this speech given at? What made him say what he said? The same thing happens in the Qur'an, Allah Himself is speaking.
So it's really important to know when is it that Allah said this? At least have some idea of who is it originally that Allah (عز وجل - azza wa jal) was talking to? So I wanna lay a little bit of that in a couple of minutes before we go into the ayat. And then I wanna share with you why is it that in this khutbah I chose to talk to you about this particular surah.
The Difference Between Mecca and Medina
You know in Medina, when the Prophet migrated, becoming a Muslim became a lot easier. Being a Muslim in Mecca was a difficult thing. Because you were on the outskirts, you were the obscure, strange, new religion. Anybody who believes in this man to be a Prophet is basically outcast immediately.
They're looked upon as weird. Everybody around them is kind of even ostracizing them, cutting them off from their own circles. The biggest thing, you know what we think of as nationality or citizenship nowadays? That was tribal association back in the day.
So they were even willing to basically disavow your citizenship, cut you off from the tribe, if you became a Muslim. And early on it was just words and media propaganda if you will. But later on it even became physical.
It became extremely difficult for someone to come into Islam. But once the Prophet migrated to Medina and he came to a welcoming city (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Where people were already waiting for him to arrive.
Before he even got there, there's celebrations happening that the Prophet is coming. The atmosphere is totally different. He didn't have to come and find it difficult to get an audience that wants to listen to him.
The Opposition in Mecca
This is what would happen to him in Mecca. Every time he would speak, people would just walk away. Or start making noise.
لَا تَسْمَعُوا لِهُذَا الْقُرْآنِ وَالْغَوْا فِيهِ
"Don't listen to this Qur'an. Don't listen to it. Just make noise every time he speaks. Ignore him, avoid him, insult him."
That's not the case in Medina. In Medina he gets a warm welcome. He's honored from the very first day. People are even singing and praising before he even arrives into the city. It's amazing. But you know what? What also happened at that time? It became easier to become a Muslim.
The Value of Sacrifice in Faith
It became easier to become a Muslim. It's not like when you became Muslim, your house is in danger now. Your family is in danger. You might lose everything you've earned all this time. You might lose all of your tribal associations. You might get yourself into serious trouble. People might stop doing business with you just because you've become a Muslim. You didn't have those dangers in Medina. You had those dangers in Mecca.
So the reason I put this before you is because the people of Mecca, the companions of the Prophet (صلی الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) may Allah be pleased with them, they sacrificed a lot to become Muslims. And when you
sacrifice a lot for something, you have a lot of value for it. You have a real appreciation for it.
So this thing that we say (لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم - la ilaha illallah muhammad rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) It's very easy for us to say. It was very difficult for them to say. So when they said it, they paid for it sometime with tears.
And so they had a value for it. But now the Muslims in Medina, though a lot of them, a good number of them extremely sincere, a good number of Muslims also started coming into Islam not realizing that this is some serious business. It requires a lot of sacrifice.
They became Muslim kind of in a convenient way. Not through difficulty but more conveniently. And therefore their iman, their faith hadn't really been put to the test.
The Mixed Community of Medina
The reason I chose this surah, because in this surah Allah basically says to this Muslim community that is a mix of people that have made a lot of sacrifices and a bunch of people that just came into the religion. Some of them understand it very well. Some of them really not that well.
Some of them don't even have very good intentions for being Muslim. They just see Muslims as the new rising power, so might as well join the winning team. Some of them haven't come in for good intentions.
Incidentally the surah I'm sharing with you, right before it is the surah called surah al-munafiqun. The surah dedicated to the subject of hypocrisy. People who came into Islam with the wrong reasons.
Or their faith got corrupted over time. Now in this surah Allah talks to the entire Muslim community, the strong believer, the weak believer, the mature believer, the freshman, the rookie into Islam. And even the corrupt one, he's talking to all of them together and saying, look, we need to have a refresher on who Allah is.
Refreshing Our Faith
You need to go back to faith 101 and take a refresher course on your iman. This is what this surah does. It talks to a Muslim community, I'll put it in easier terms for all of us.
It talks to a Muslim community whose faith may be getting rusty. Their iman may be getting rusty. Time to clean it up and time to start from scratch again. So though most of these teachings, you don't find them in Makki Qur'an, you find them in Makki Qur'an. Allah dedicates this as a direct, immediate and very relevant subject for the Muslim community.
Why This Topic is Relevant Today
Why did I bring this up as a matter of khutbah? I was thinking, I was looking, you know, generally I thought I'm gonna give a khutbah about the subject of iman, about faith. And I'm gonna pick a passage
from the Qur'an that deals with the subject of faith. But then I said, well, who am I talking to? I'm talking to a bunch of Muslims including myself. I'm also talking to myself.
And for most of us Muslims, have we made a lot of sacrifices to come into Islam? No, we haven't. Actually for many of you that come from different parts of the world, your grandparents and your grandparents' grandparents almost paid with their blood, and sometimes they did, to hold on to la ilaha illallah.
But we didn't pay that price. Our children didn't pay that price. And you know what, when you don't pay a price for something, sometimes you don't have a value for it. Maybe you never even give it a careful look, because it's always been sitting there.
The Analogy of Gifts
You know when you give somebody a gift, they look at it. You give a child a toy, they look at it. Every single way. My daughter just got a gift from her grandmother on a road trip here. She's been playing with it the entire four hours, looking at it, changing it, this way. Because it's a new gift.
But if you look at her old gifts, her old toys, old toys that's always been sitting in the house, they don't get a good look, do they? They don't get much attention. So there's something about being refreshed, having a new look. And that's what this surah does.
Beginning of Surah At-Taghabun
So let's go, at least take a few of these refreshers that Allah is giving us in this surah. He begins (يُسَبِّحْ لِلَّهِ - yusabbihu lillah) (Quran 64:1) Very beautiful. This surah belongs to a group of surahs in the Qur'an, all of which have the same beginning.
The same theme in the beginning. Allah compares the rest of the universe, the rest of everything He created, on the one hand, and human beings on the other. Everything is on one hand, and the human beings are on the other.
There's a comparison between these two. Of course, both of them, the Creator is Allah. But He starts with everything else. The rest of everything I created. He says (يُسَبِّحْ لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى - yusabbihu lillahi ma fi as-samawati wa ma fi al-ardi subhanahu wa ta'ala) (Quran 64:1) Everything in the skies and the earth continues to declare God's perfection. Continues to perfection of Allah.
Everything in the skies and the earth, continually by means of its very existence, is a praise of Allah Himself. And everything is fulfilling that purpose without taking a break. Now before we even go further, who's gonna be mentioned next? Human beings, right? Are human beings fulfilling their purpose the same way? That they're continuously by their very existence, continually praising God's existence, declaring His glory, praising Allah.
Are they doing that? There's already a comparison. And you're supposed to be the greatest of all creation, according to Allah Himself. You know (لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ - laqad khalaqna al-insana fi ahsani taqwim) (Quran 95:4) We made human beings in the best possible way.
Allah's Attributes
So He says (يُسَبِّحْ لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ - yusabbihu lillahi ma fi as-samawati wa ma fi al-ardi) Now look at the attributes of Allah. (لَهُ الْمُلْكُ - lahu al-mulk) He alone owns all kingdom. Let's stop right there and understand something.
After He mentions, everything is constantly praising Him and declaring His perfection, then He lets us know, the only true king is He. The only true governance is His. The only true sovereignty is His.
You know, when we think of government, king, authority, whenever you think of these things, the very next thing that comes in the mind of a listener is criticism. We criticize governments. People criticize their kings.
People criticize the authority. If there's one party to blame for all of your problems, it must be the party that won the election the last time. That's how it works.
The party to blame is the party that's in power. Allah (عز وجل - azza wa jal) declares Himself the owner of all power. But what is in human experience whenever we think of power and authority, the very next thing is, they're not doing their job right.
The authority is not doing what it's supposed to do. What does He say right after that? He says (لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ - lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-hamd) He alone deserves all praise and all gratitude. This is the one authority, the only thing you can say about Him is praise and gratitude.
Examples of Earthly Authority
You're not gonna find this in any other authority. Whenever you find an authority, you'll find something to criticize about. A lot of you have minimal authority.
For example, you have a boss. Your boss has an authority over you. Some of you have to run out of here. Almost when you say, (السلام عليكم و رحمة الله - assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah) there's gonna be a dash. You'll notice some people, before they even finish their salam, they're gonna be in the sprint to the door. You know.
Last one in, first one out. And you know, even though they take a two and a half hour break from their boss, they spend 30 of that here, and the rest of it is I don't know what, but it's the religious break because it's my Friday, right? So a lot of people do that. That's fine.
And they still complain about their boss. Right? Ah, my boss is too tough. My teacher, ah, he gives too much homework. You know. The government, the cops, the this, the that. Always when you think of authority, you think of blaming.
HEADING
And here Allah says, He owns all the authority, and He alone owns all praise and all gratitude. This is who Allah is.
When Faith Gets Rusty
Let me tell you, when iman, when faith gets rusty, people start complaining about Allah. People start saying, How come Allah does this? How come Allah does that? How come this is happening? How come that's happening? How come Allah doesn't change our state? They start asking questions about Allah. Forgetting that Allah deserves all praise, not criticism. He already owns all praise.
This is a basic lesson. But sometimes Muslims forget that lesson. So they need to be reminded too.
And then after mentioning وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ He says وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ He's in complete control over all things. Obviously we already know He's in complete control over all things. He said that many times in the Quran even before this.
Allah's Authority and Our Position
But this is a new lesson. Because now Allah is saying, Look, I will do what I will. And whatever I do is worthy of praise and gratitude. And by the way, I have the power to do whatever I want. So Allah does whatever He wants, and we're still not gonna criticize. We're still only going to have praise and gratitude for Him.
Don't you think He has to submit to your standards of what you think is a good idea, of what you think is a bad idea. He is master and you are slave. Know your place.
He will make His decisions whether you get them or not. Whether you understand them or not. And whatever decisions He makes are the best decisions. They still deserve praise. This is who Allah is.
The Creation of Humanity
He's the one who created all of you. He created all of you. Out of you there are some who disbelieve. The word kafir in Arabic also means ungrateful.
Kafir in Arabic doesn't just mean a disbeliever. It also means someone who is ungrateful. So it's the opposite of iman. Iman and kufr also shukran. Gratitude and kufr are also opposites in the Arabic language. So it is as though Allah is saying He is the one who created you and there are among you those that are grateful.
Grateful for what? For having been created. And on top of that having been shown the straight way. And then there are those of you that are just disbelievers. They don't believe in what was revealed. And on top of that they are not even grateful for being created.
The Ungrateful Creation
I've met young people, even Muslims sometimes and people of other faiths. They say, I didn't ask to be created by God. Why did He create me? I didn't want to be created. I don't owe Him any thanks.
So Allah says it flat out. Yeah, you'll find idiots like that too. Allah just says it. He says
He created you. You'll find disbelievers and you'll find a lot of them. And Allah at the same time says, you'll find a lot of ungrateful people. That won't even appreciate the fact that He created them. And those that will find their faith.
Every time I meet a person like that, I say, Man, Allah spoke the truth.
And then He adds something really beautiful. Whether you realize it or not. Whether you believe in God or not. Whether you are grateful or not. One thing is true, the camera is always on. The surveillance is always going on. The record is constantly being written.
Allah's Complete Vision
And Allah is in full view of what you're up to You know رؤية and بصير are two different things in Arabic رؤية you see something. You saw something. بصير in Arabic is you got a full view of something.
You know what's going on in the front, in the back, every side. You got a full view. So everybody can see a building. But maybe somebody can see, Oh, I know what kind of foundation they poured. I know what's inside. What kind of construction materials are being used. I know how deep this building goes, how far in it goes. That's بصير,full view. Allah doesn't just see one angle of what we do.
He sees it from all angles. Why did you do what you did? When did you do it? Who did you do it to? What were your intentions? What was the quality of your work? The inside and the outside of everything we do. We can't present to Allah half-baked excuses.
The Teacher's Limited View vs Allah's Complete View
I'm reminded of that in my role as a teacher. One of my jobs is to be a teacher. It's a lot easier now because I'm teaching adults. But when I used to teach children, it was a lot tougher. Children, you know, kids talking in the back. I say, hey, why are you talking? No, no, I was just discussing the homework. I was just asking a question about the homework. I have no way of knowing. I don't have full view of what just happened.
I just got, okay, fine. Or I believe him, I don't believe him. I don't have the full picture. I don't have the full event. Allah does. So when someone has the full view, you're not able to make excuses in front of him.
The word baseel, the benefit of the word in the ayah is, we're no longer left with excuses. Ungrateful or not, your entire deeds and your entire motives are on record.
Creation with Purpose
And He mentions this for those who are not clear in their faith. If you really know who Allah is so far, how He's introduced Himself, He says He created the skies and the earth with a purpose. بالحق What did He say? What did He create in the previous ayah? He created all of you. When He said He created all of you, He said some of you believe, some of you don't believe.
In the next ayah, He said He created everything else and everything else He created has a purpose. What do you think? He created you without a purpose? Did you forget that you have a purpose too? How can you not understand that your life is headed towards a questioning, a reckoning? You need to understand that you and I have a reason for which we are alive. There's a reason for which Allah has given us these few thousand days to live on this earth.
These few years that we're gonna be on this earth. There's a reason for which Allah put us here. You need to understand your purpose. Everything Allah does is with purpose. So you too. In another place in the Qur'an, He says,
Did you assume He created you with no point? Just out of play? I was just bored and I created human beings? No, no, no.
I made you with a real reason. And by the way, you'll find the most ungrateful people say, yeah, God is just playing games. He just made us, whatever. That's how they'll talk. They'll fulfill Allah's word to the T. This is what they will say and they'll say it. Allah even tells us what's gonna come out of their mouth.
Back in the Arabian desert and today sitting in a philosophy class in the university. What comes out of their mouth, Allah already knew. What will come out is nothing new. And you listen to it and if you really know your book, then you will know, man, Allah does speak the truth. This guy by spewing his poison is fulfilling the word of Allah. SubhanAllah.
The Beautiful Creation of Humanity
What a beautiful transition. He molded you. Allah says He created the rest of the skies. He could have added, He created you too. But He's already said that before. He changed it.
He said وَصَوَّرَكُمْ He molded you. صور in Arabic is to fashion something, to mold something, to sculpt something, make a sculpture that's perfect and beautiful. Allah Himself says, I did a really good job making you.
He Himself is telling us. He takes pride in how beautifully He made us. You know what the ungrateful says? Why am I so fat? Why am I so skinny? Why am I so short? Why do I have freckles? Why do I have this? Why do I have that? How come I'm not smart like my brother? How come that one's rich and I'm poor? How come I don't have this? And how come I don't have that?
The Modern Obsession with Appearance
And you know what happens in this society? Especially in modern society. And it's happening globally, not just in America. People start getting old. The hair starts going. Start turning gray a little bit. Right? Then you notice, you know, wrinkles on your skin. And this entire multi-million dollar industry to make sure that you look like you did when you were 20.
And you end up looking like a zombie. Right? But they'll put hair implants on you. And they'll stretch your skin for you. And they'll tuck your belly in for you. And they'll do all these things to you. So maybe you can pretend you're still 25.
Allah is saying, Accept who you are. I think you're beautiful. Why do you think you're ugly? Why do you have to be so unhappy with yourself?
He did a beautiful job with you. And molding is not just in the physical sense. Even in our personalities, our capabilities.
All Gifts Come from Allah
Allah has given each and every one of us certain strengths, certain abilities, certain talents. He is the one who gave them to us. So when we don't appreciate what we've been given, then we're not appreciating Allah Himself. Because He's the one who gave. Just like when somebody gives you a gift and you don't appreciate it, it's a disrespect to the one who gave you the gift. All of what we have been given is a gift from Allah.
. And if you don't recognize that. You'll all be going back to Him anyway. Whether you take advantage of these gifts or not, they will have to be returned to the original owner. To Him is the final return eventually anyway.
Allah's Complete Knowledge
He knows whatever goes on in the skies and the earth.
You see the constant comparison between the universe and ourselves in this surah? Look at the sky. Look at how much is happening in the sky. Look at how much is happening in the universe. He knows every, every millisecond and every millimeter of what's happening in the sky and every atom and inside of every atom, every subatomic particle. He knows it directly. He knows it Himself.
He doesn't know what you're up to
He knows the things you keep secret. And He knows the things that you expose.
The Contradiction Between Heart and Tongue
There's a very powerful expression in the Qur'an. It demands a little bit of attention in the few minutes I have left. Allah knows the things we keep secret. Allah knows the things we make public. What Allah is telling us is sometimes people really have a deep problem in their faith but they cover it up with some other words. So what they're saying on their mouths is not exactly what they have in their heart.
So Allah says, I know what you keep inside and I know what you're saying with your mouth. And I know the contradiction between the two too. There will be a person, I'll give you an example, I'll call it out just by means of a short example.
Example of Internal Contradiction
There's a young student. He's got some friends that are non-Muslim. And they're trying drugs. And they offer him some. First time he says it's haram. Second time he says it's haram. Third time shaitan comes to him and says, Hey, come on. It's not that haram. Go ask the imam.
Ask the imam, You know, imam, I have a friend who says that drugs aren't haram. He won't say, I'm having that thought. Or my shaitan just gave me a response. He'll say, I have a friend who thinks drugs are okay because they're not mentioned in the Qur'an. Pharmaceutical products by their name have not been mentioned in the Qur'an. Therefore, is it okay? Is it okay to try some of these pharmaceutical products? And the imam says, no, it's not okay.
Then he'll go around and say, You know what? Our imams, they're so backwards. They don't understand modern society and modern chemistry. And therefore, they have these outdated fatawa. And he'll give a whole rant about that. But what's really going on inside? I really want to try that drug. I really want to try that.
What's so wrong with dating anyway? What's so wrong with having a little fun? What's so wrong with this or that? You'll see it in nice ways on the outside. But the real whispers of shaitan that you have submitted to on the inside, Allah knows. You can cover them up on the outside when you talk to me or somebody else. You can even cover them up for yourself. But Allah knows that you're even lying to yourself. You can't even be honest to yourself.
Allah's Knowledge of the Heart
Allah is completely and fully knowledgeable of what's going on in the chest. What's going on inside here? What feelings you have?
What thoughts you have? What temptations you have? What evil thoughts you have that you never tell anybody? He knows those too.
Lessons from Previous Nations
Haven't the news come to you people? Haven't you seen the news, the events of those who came much before you? فَذَاقُوا وَبَالَ أَمْرِهِمْ And how they tasted the consequences of their behavior? Those who came much before you and tasted the consequences of their behavior? Those news haven't come to you? Allah asked that question in Madani Qur'an.
I told you how much of Qur'an has already been revealed? Two-thirds. Meccan Qur'an has already been revealed. Meccan Qur'an is full of stories of previous prophets who came and warned their people and the people made fun of them and then they died and they were destroyed.
And then on top of that they're eternally punished in hellfire. And the Muslims are being asked now, you think those stories are just for non-Muslims to read? Haven't those news come to you?
Haven't you heard the news of those who disbelieved before? The irony here is Allah is talking to Muslims. Madani Qur'an talks to Muslims.
Warning Against Hidden Disbelief
And He's saying, aren't you afraid of those who disbelieved in the past? Don't you think you'll end up in that place? Why would Allah talk to us as though we're non-Muslims almost? Why is He talking to us like that? Because Allah is warning us of a very serious problem. Faith on the tongue and disbelief in the heart. And He just in the previous ayah said, I know what's going on deep inside your chest.
So He's interrogating that and saying, look, they disbelieve with their mouth, but I can see disbelief on the tongue and I can also sense disbelief. I also know disbelief when it's in the heart and it never makes it to your mouth. I even know that one.
Take warning of those nations. They tasted the consequence of their decision.
And they have a painful punishment.
The Common Reason for Rejecting Guidance
And the last ayah I wanna share with you because time is up.
Listen to this. It's such like powerful advice from Allah عزوجل. This is by the way, I consider this surah, the surah of the fruits, the benefits of faith.
First, the first half of this surah is a summary of our faith, the practical summary of our faith. And the next half of this surah is, what are the advantages of being a believer? What good comes in your life because you're a believer? I didn't get to share that with you this time. But at least I wanna tie up the first part.
Allah describes, summarizes basically one of the most common reasons people refuse to accept guidance from Allah. One of the most common, not the only reason, but one of the most common reasons. What is it?
That is because messengers came to them and they continuously came to them. They used to come to them with the clearest arguments, the clearest proofs.
(Quran 64:6) And they would say in response, flesh and bone, this human being, this guy looks like us, he's gonna guide us, you want me to listen to him? Have you looked at him? Have you looked at his house? Do you look who he hangs out with, all these poor people that have become Muslim with him? Do you know who you're talking to? You want me to become a believer because of this guy? This is how they would talk about prophets.
Examples from Previous Prophets
Firaun would say about Musa alayhis salaam, look at him, he can't even talk clearly, he stutters.
(Quran 43:52) He can't even open his mouth. Ha, look at him. You want me to listen to him? People would come to Nuh alayhis salaam. He would walk by them and they would
(Quran 11:5) They would pull their clothes in, like, don't touch me, old man, you're dirty. That's how they would talk to Nuh alayhis salaam.
Shuaib alayhis salaam, other messengers would come, give a message and they would say, listen, I want to listen to you, but I'm a millionaire. I have a certain appearance to keep up. And you keep all these homeless people, these poor people, these believers around you, why don't you get away from them and then we can have a meeting in the executive office. Because I don't want to see this riffraff near me.
I don't want to be seen with this low class, you know, this scum of society. I don't want to be seen with them. Get rid of them and maybe I'll listen to you. The criticism was always the same. Another human being is going to guide me? He's just like us.
Criticism of Prophets Throughout History
What did they say about Jesus, about Isa alayhissalaam?
(Quran 25:7) What is his messenger? And they said about the messenger too, (صلى الله عليه وسلم) about Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Well, look at his messenger. You think he's a messenger? He goes shopping. He walks around like everybody else does.
He eats food too. I saw him having lunch the other day. How can he be a messenger? That was the argument.
The Root of Arrogance
In other words, and this is what I'm tying it up with, one of the most common reasons people refuse to accept guidance because they don't see that they're submitting to God. They say, why is there a messenger in between? He's just like me. I can have a relationship with God myself. I don't need a messenger in between. And Allah says, that is the very source of arrogance.
Iblis was not asked to make sajda to Allah. He was asked to make sajda to Adam alayhis salaam. Because it was a test of arrogance. He didn't directly show arrogance to Allah. He actually showed arrogance to Adam alayhis salaam. He said, he's made of clay. I'm made of fire. I'm better than him. Nobody's gonna say, I'm better than Allah. But Allah wants to see, are you gonna say, I'm better than X, Y and Z. I'm better than these messengers.
I don't have to follow them. They're just human beings. They make mistakes. They do this, they do that. When you, that is the very essence of arrogance from the very beginning of creation. From the very beginning.
Even Iblis said, O Bashar, a human being? Are you kidding me? Have you looked at my resume? I'm gonna follow him? It's not gonna happen. That is the same exact pride that comes, the mutant of that pride is still among us today.
Pride in Daily Life
Somebody tries to give me advice. First thing that goes in my head, who are you to give me advice? Who do you think you are? Somebody gives, I'm the khateeb today. I'll lead the salat. After salat, somebody says, brother, I didn't like what you said. I'll say to him, do you know who you're talking to? I'm on YouTube, you know. You know? You know who you're dealing with here? That is the very definition of arrogance. That is the very definition of negating guidance.
Allah says, nations of the past were destroyed because they couldn't take guidance from another human being. If the messenger is not with us today, his words, his instructions, his teachers, his students who teach on his behalf are here today. The scholars are here today. The da'is are here today. The people of reminder are here today. It could be your father giving you advice.
Rejecting Guidance from Family
It could be your brother, your cousin giving you advice. But you look at him and say, dad, you're always saying the same thing. Leave me alone. You don't understand. You tell your son, who are you? You're gonna tell me? I used to change your diaper. You don't talk to me. Get out of here. And you can't take advice from your son. This is the same exact thing that keeps people from accepting guidance.
Refusal to take advice from others. Because pride gets in the way. May Allah عز وجل remove the pride from our hearts. And may Allah عز وجل make us a people that really truly believe for the sake of Allah.
And can put their ego aside, especially when advice is given. May Allah عز وجل revive in us the iman that Allah intends to revive by means of His majestic Qur'an.
Homework Assignment
All of you inshaAllah ta'ala, as a short homework assignment, when you go home today, with your family, recite Surah Al-Taghabun. Surah number 64. Recite it, read a little bit, even if in translation. Read it with your family. Remind them of some of the things you heard about today. And refresh that in your hearts inshaAllah ta'ala. It's just a page and a half. So even memorizing it in a week is not difficult for any of you. Do that and slowly you get closer and closer to the Qur'an.
Closing
(Quran 16:90, 4:103, 29:45)
O servants of Allah, may Allah have mercy on you. Fear Allah. Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded. Establish prayer. Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times. And the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows what you do.