Our Relationship with the Quran
By Nouman Ali Khan | 2026-01-09T13:35:03.745626+00:00 | Topic: Relationships
Our Relationship with the Quran
Nouman Ali Khan
Opening Greeting and Introduction
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan. In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Now, what I wanted to use this opportunity for is to talk to you about a surah that I've been meaning to talk about for some time. And, you know, share some lessons with you from the beginning of Surah Al-Kahf.
The Significance of Surah Al-Kahf on Friday
And some insights that some great scholars of the past have had on this remarkable surah. Obviously, this is a good occasion to talk about Surah Al-Kahf. So, a lot of scholars have talked about this surah.
It's particularly relevant to talk about this surah on Friday. Anyone know why? Why specifically Friday is a good day to talk about this surah? It's Masnun. You know, it's part of the sunnah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and part of his recommendations that before the Friday prayer that we recite.
So, Al-Kahf, part of it, all of it, there are different ahadith, different narrations. But regardless, you know, it's part of our church. And out of those various instructions and advice and teachings of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is the idea that this surah will somehow protect us, or it has to be protecting us, from the fitna that is coming, that will be the greatest trial, the greatest difficulty to befall mankind, the fitna al-Dajjal.
Protection from Future Trials
So, it has something to do with protecting us from future troubles, future difficulties. When you study those ahadith, and I don't know ahadith, so I can't speak on behalf of those ahadith with any authority. But as an overview, when you study those ahadith, you learn of some great trial, great war, great trouble, that is coming the way of humanity, and great clash that will happen between the forces of good and the forces of evil before the world itself comes to an end, and the entire saga of humanity is finished.
This surah, and if those are the greatest wars to ever fall against humanity, and the greatest troubles that will ever come against humanity, this surah offers somehow protection and counsel, and somehow prepares us to deal with some of those greatest troubles. And the idea is that it prepares us for those greatest troubles, and it can help us deal with the troubles we're facing now too, before that time also.
The Warning Against Attributing a Son to Allah
Now, Allah عز وجل in this surah, in the very beginning, gives us a really interesting warning. After describing the greatness of the Qur'an, which we'll talk about in a second, Allah عز وجل gives us one of the reasons for which this book was sent.
To warn those that say Allah has taken a son. It's very interesting as a chronology in Qur'an, in surah al-Isra, also called surah al-Bani Israel, is the surah right before this one.
And in the previous surah, Allah talks at some length about Jewish history, the history of the previous nation that was Muslim. And from the hadith of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلمwe learn that this surah has something to do with the future of these Muslims. In other words, the past of the former Muslims, and then the future of the current Muslims.
The Christian Context and Consequences
It's like a timeline that's been created. It's a timeline that's been created in these two surahs together. Now, in this surah specifically, Allah didn't highlight in the beginning the Jews, but rather the Christians.
He says وَيُنذِرَ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا اتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ وَلَدًا - Quran 18:4 One of the functions of this book is to warn those who say Allah has taken a son. Obviously, the Christians.
They have no knowledge of what they say. And they don't possess knowledge. They have nothing of it, nor their ancestors who made such claims. How enormous the words are that are coming out of their mouths. They're saying nothing but a lie.
The Prophet's Deep Concern
But here's the word that I really want to highlight before you. The ayah I want to talk to you about today is this ayah.
Allah tells His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلمIs it a possibility then that you will worry so much about them? يعني تهلك نفسك destroy yourself thinking so much about what? عَلَى آثَارِهِمْ Over the consequences, their consequences.
آثار Literally an athar is a footstep left behind in the sand. That's an athar آثار Athar is the consequences. Somebody's been through here, these are the traces that are left behind. These are athar.
Another meaning of the word athar is ruins. Like we say الآثار الرومانية الآثار المصرية Egyptian ruins, Roman ruins. Buildings left behind, traces of what came before.
The Consequences of Christian Beliefs
Allah جل جلاله is highlighting that there's something about the Christian faith. Something about it in the future of the world. It will have some very deep and scarring consequences.
And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is so worried about these consequences that Allah says, You worry so much you almost kill yourself out of grief, out of worry. أَسَفًا If they don't come to believe in this perfect speech, this Qur'an, out of grief, Out of grief, out of stress, out of sadness, you'll end up dying. That's how worried you are.
Historical Context: The Scientific Revolution Against Christianity
What is the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم so worried about? Some of our scholars in recent times, as late as the late 1800s, tried to explore this idea. What about Christian creed? What about the effects of Christianity on the world? Is it that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is so worried about it? And how is it related to the end of times?
I want to take you on a short journey. You all, I mean many of you are, I see some young faces here, you're in high school, a lot of you are done high school, a lot of you are, mashallah, way beyond high school.
But you've studied something of American history. You've also studied something of European history. You're familiar with the idea of the French Revolution, yes? The European Enlightenment, you're familiar with those concepts.
And you're familiar with the idea that essentially the revolution was against one major institution. What was that institution? Anybody know? What was the revolution against? The institution of the church. The institution of the church.
I mean the idea of the revolution, there are many steps in it, but essentially the church was arguing and preaching to the people that the world, the earth, is at the center of the universe and that the earth is flat. And there are all kinds of unscientific ideas. And when scientists in Europe started to disagree with these ideas, their books were being burned.
Libraries were being torn down. People were being put to death for having ideas that contradicted the Bible. And more and more people realized that this religion and what it has to force on us doesn't make any common sense.
The Rise of Scientific Worldview
We have to fight against it. And so there's this revolution that happens against the church. Even though Christianity survived, Christianity lives even beyond the effects of that revolution.
Obviously we're still living in a Western world that is predominantly Christian. But the original revolution was actually against fundamental Christian creed. Essentially that was replaced.
Those ideas, the world is flat, the human being is special, he's at the center of the universe, etc. Those ideas were all replaced. They were replaced with something else.
They were essentially replaced with a scientific worldview. And in the scientific worldview, everything that Christianity had to say about the world had to have been wrong. In other words, the world is not flat.
We're not at the center of the universe. And if Christianity argued that the human beings are the most special creature in the world, we're the special creature chosen by God, etc. etc.
Well, that idea must be dumb also. We're just any other creature. We're just like any other animal. We're just more evolved than they are. That's all we are. This idea started taking hold.
The Impact on Religious Thinking
The scientific mind started arguing and wrestling with the religious mind. So even those that are religious, when they go into higher studies, they say, you know what, when it comes to evolution, when it comes to higher philosophy or science, I leave my religion out of it. I don't like to think about it.
Because I know there's too much of a contradiction. I just can't handle it. So I'll just, I'll stay religious if I can on Sunday. If I can. But other than that, I have to move on with my life and think about things, you know, in the real world, through what is the real study of the world, science, technology, research, etc. etc.
The Spread of Scientific Superiority Over Religion
As a result, something else happened. This idea of science replacing Christianity slowly started becoming science replacing religion ultimately. In Europe, there was already an idea that they are the supreme civilization.
All other civilizations are somehow beneath them. To this day, actually. And originally, you know how it's called Orientalists? Orientalists are people that study the Orient, meaning the East.
But the original inquiry into the East was very similar to, maybe some of you have seen Discovery Channel documentaries where they study animals. And they have a camera on their lap and say, look how interesting, the lion is waiting for his prey. He's about to attack.
And he's off. What a remarkable study. And they're studying these animals and they say, what a remarkable study.
Well, they study Chinese civilization. They study Hindu civilization. They study, you know, Muslim civilization.
They say, what a remarkable religion. They chant their Quran. With this underlying assumption that somehow they are the superior religion and they're studying these inferior cultures that are so interesting.
We find their artifacts in their art so interesting. I was talking to a professor like that. I was talking to him about Islam. All he kept bringing up to me was the architecture. It's really remarkable. The tapestry.
I'm not talking about the architecture. I'm talking about the architecture of the human being. Not of our buildings.
But, you know, this lens by which you're looking down at all religions. Because religions in and of themselves, their falsehoods aren't even proven. So since Christianity has been disproven, that must mean all religions have no doubt.
They're all out the window. And all the arguments for faith that Christianity has to produce, well, how can any other faith have any other kinds of arguments? This was obviously the number one religion. So if this one lost, everybody else lost by default.
They don't even have to be entered into the contest. You understand? This mentality, as a result of it, there are several consequences. We're talking about the consequences of Christian civilization.
Personal Educational Experience
Allah says, if you kill yourself in grief, what were their consequences? We're seeing more consequences of Christian creed in the world today than ever before. Than ever before. As a result of that war against an irrational faith, a war against all faiths began.
And it didn't have to be a war of weapons. It was a war of ideas. It was a war of education systems.
How many people here got an education in India, Pakistan? Where is that? A little bit of an indication. Okay. Me too. I'm a Pakistani. Proud Pakistani. Okay.
If you don't know what Pakistani is, then you're probably not. So... Okay. But anyway, let me tell you something about that.
So we're in eighth grade in Pakistan. And we study, matter can neither be created nor destroyed. We're still learning. In the 90s, we're still learning Newtonian physics. In my exam, on the paper, I literally had to write, matter can neither be created nor destroyed. And if I don't write that, I'll get points off.
That's taking it in that the self is against what we believe as Muslims. The only one who is not created and the only one who cannot be destroyed is Allah.
And yet, Muslims, in a Muslim country, sitting in a Muslim school, and after that they have to recite Quran, are writing on a paper, matter can neither be created nor destroyed. And if they don't agree with
that, they will fail their exam. Isn't that crazy? It's like science is somewhere else and religion is somewhere else.
The Spiritual Consequences of Materialism
And I know we're in Einsteinian times now. We're not in Newtonian physics anymore. We don't believe that anymore. But that's how backwards some of our countries are. We're still teaching Newtonian physics in this era. It's a part of life.
But they're writing that. And we're documenting it. And we're accepting these ideas.
But it has spiritual consequences. And let me tell you what they are. In a religious world, in a religious world, you have two concerns.
Your primary concern is saving your soul. Concern is serving God. Even if you don't have Islam as your religion, whatever your religion is, your focus is God, your focus is worship, your focus is your soul.
When God is removed from the picture, your soul is removed. There is no soul. Can you scientifically prove there is a soul inside us? No.
There is no EKG scan. There is no monitor that you have in the hospital that can check whether you have a soul or not. So let's not worry about the things we can't see.
The Shift in Focus from God to the Universe
The entire point of the scientific revolution is let's study and explore and focus on things we can see. If we can't see it, don't worry about it. Whether it's there or not, who cares? So let's... Okay, God.
No God. Who cares? I'm an agnostic. I don't care.
That's not the point. What is there right now in front of me? It is the human body, the physical universe, science, technology, finance, etc., etc., etc. That's what we should worry about.
So your focus should be on serving God and being unseen. Or being amazed by God. You know what they are now? They are amazed by the universe.
I've seen recently, I've seen some documentaries too about the universe. And of course we're supposed to, as Muslims, appreciate the universe. And we're supposed to study the universe and explore it.
Because the more we appreciate how great the universe is, it makes us realize how great Allah's creation is. But I was listening to this documentary and this physicist is talking about the creation and the constantly expanding universe and how tiny the earth is compared to the constantly expanding universe. And constantly, it's almost as if he's praising the universe itself.
It's such an amazing thing. It's so incredible, this universe. I love studying it. I'm fascinated by it. Nature is such a powerful force. Etc, etc, etc.
Where is he not? He can't go one step further. The last thing he can appreciate, the thing he will appreciate more than anything else is what? The universe itself. What study is he not willing to take? Allah.
Who put this universe in? He can't take that study. They will study everything. They'll study the human body. They'll study the human body. They'll study health. And they'll come to appreciate the intricacies of the human being but not appreciate the one who designed it, the one who put it in place.
The Materialistic Focus on Worldly Things
And so the focus of humanity, not just some people, humanity, regardless of your religion, the focus became the things we can see. The focus became your job, your promotion, your money, your physical health, your worldly things. And if your religion does have a place, it has a place, maybe once a week.
Maybe once a week we can make some time so the Hindu might show up at his temple, the Christian might show up at his church, the Jew might show up at the synagogue, the Muslim might show up at the masjid. But that's just once a week if you have time. And usually, what should you try to do? Try to leave as late as possible so you catch as little of that annoying khutbah as you can.
And park outside the parking lot because you don't want to get stuck anywhere and you don't want to spend too much time in the masjid. You might get infected. So just spend as little time as you can in the masjid.
Come in basically barely catch a second rakah, that's what the majority of Muslims do. Barely catch the second rakah and then get out of there. Immediately.
That's, okay, that's what we have to give to religion. Now we can focus on why we are really on this earth. To get our promotion, to expand our business, to go further.
Christianity's Attempt to Stay Relevant
You understand? And then the even crazier thing happened. Christianity felt like it wasn't worth it. I told you originally the war was against science and what? Christianity.
Then it eventually expanded to all religions. But Christianity felt like, hey, what about us? You left us behind? We can't just leave us behind, the Christian faith behind. So Christianity started trying to keep itself relevant.
How did it keep itself relevant? It started pushing the idea, hey look, the Bible has a lot of science in it. The Bible has a lot of scientific facts in it. And therefore the Bible isn't as good as science.
Because science is the top dog now. So if we want to be relevant, we have to be at least close to it. At least we agree with science.
So let's show the scientific phenomena in the Bible so that people will say, okay, okay, okay. It's not entirely irrational. At least some of it makes sense.
So we can accept it a little bit. We can have this movement. In the Bible, the person who's evaluating, who's comparing the Bible and science, and they're looking at scientific measures.
You know what they've already accepted? They've already accepted science is superior to revelation. Revelation has to come and compete with science. And if it agrees, then we'll take it.
Warning Against Scientific Validation of Revelation
If it doesn't agree, then we'll use revelation. And guess what happened later on in Christian history? And I'm not saying we shouldn't study science in the Qur'an. Please mark my words carefully.
I'm not saying we should study it. But the attitude has to be right. If we're exploring science in the Qur'an for the purpose of, hey look guys, there's science in the Qur'an.
That must mean we're a legitimate religion. Islam has been a legitimate religion with clear proofs before any scientific development that we see today. Before any of it.
The proofs have always been there. They're not new proofs. They may further help us, fine.
But this is not the reason for which Islam all of a sudden, now we know for sure, yes, Islam is the truth because it has certain scientific embryological facts. It has certain geological facts, etc, etc. It's not the correct way of thinking.
But this mentality shows you something. That even many Muslims have in the back of their minds accepted the superiority of what? Science. The knowledge that human beings seek to learn.
And they put that in a place higher than the knowledge of revelation, the knowledge that Allah Himself gives. The knowledge that Allah Himself gives. It's a strange situation.
And even the Muslim finds himself in that situation. So that's one. The intellectual problem.
The Problem of Materialism
But the second is even a deeper problem. To help you understand the second and the deeper problem, which is what this surah, what the Qur'an is all about. It's about materialism.
Let me tell you what that means in simple terms. I for one, and I've said this many times in my talks, I listen to a lot of Christians on radio, and I listen to a lot of preachers. I want to know what they have to
say.
The different denominations. And there's one theme running across the Protestant faith in all of its variations. The Catholic faith said, this world is evil.
You, in order to get close to God, you have to deny yourself pleasure. So the highest, the most spiritual people, the popes, the rahban, in the Christian faith, were the ones. And the higher you are spiritually, that means the more you have denied the world and its pleasure.
You don't eat delicious food. You don't wear comfortable clothes. Allah (عز وجل) says
They tried to deny dunya, even though it's natural for them.
They weren't able to give it consideration as it deserved. They tried though. They tried to deny the world.
They're not going to get married. They're going to live in a monastery. They're going to deny it, because the world itself is evil.
Human beings are essentially, the world and everything in it is evil. The Protestant faith comes along and says, No!
The Protestant Response: Prosperity Gospel
You've been focusing on the next world, and this world is evil. The scientific revolution tells us not to focus on the next world, but on this world.
This world is not evil. This world is great. And God wants us to do great in this world.
So the preacher will come on Sunday and say, God wants you to get that promotion. He wants you to get that new job. He wants you to refinance your home.
He wants you to get that nice car. And praise be to the Lord, when you drive your fancy car, that means the Lord loves you. That's how you know.
The Lord loves you. In other words, the more dunya you have, the more worldly acquisitions you have, that must be proof that who loves you more? God. The Lord is great.
The Lord has helped me out. He's been doing it so kind. That's what He wants you to do.
This mentality, the more dunya you have, that must be proof that Allah is really happy with you. And if you don't have a lot of dunya, there must be something wrong with you. You need to pray, brother.
In other words, even if you pray, you should pray for dunya. You see that? Even something that was supposed to be focused on God, it had to be focused on dunya.
How This Affected Muslim Thinking
Did that affect the Muslim mind, this attitude? Did it affect the Muslim mind? Did the Muslim end up only asking du'a for dunya? Did that happen to us? Even when we make du'a,
And you know in this du'a we ask for two things, dunya and akhira. But you know what's going on in your head, don't you? Ya Allah, I know it says dunya and akhira, but akhira can wait until the akhira. Let me just get my promotion now.
Let this interview go well. Let me get a green card. Let our families say yes. Let the immigration interview go properly. Let me become a citizen. Like a permanent resident.
Like a permanent resident. Let me just get that. Even though we ask in that du'a itself, we're asking for dunya and akhira, our focus in our head is still dunya.
It just, it affected us. We got affected by it.
A Personal Story: Misguided Understanding of Divine Favor
I met a, some years ago, I met a brother, had a very difficult life. SubhanAllah, he had a very difficult life. He was actually, he used to work in one of the gulf states, Muslim brother, Pakistani brother. He used to work in one of the gulf states, and his shaikh took his visa, his iqama, the passport, and he wouldn't give it back to him.
And he kept on working for him for five years and he had nothing to take. Just food, food and a room, that's it. And somehow or another, he stole his passport and ran off.
And got away, he moved to America. And he started, you know, he took a mortgage out, and, you know, got into some shady businesses, and eventually ran an ice cream truck. And he was making good money running his ice cream truck, and he was paying the mortgage on his ice cream truck off, etc.
You know, by selling it. Selling ice cream to sellers. And I met him at the washrooms, he used to sell ice cream at the Sunday school.
So I met him at the washrooms, he was telling me his life story, because Allah has been really good to him. As soon as I applied for my mortgage, I got approved right away. And when I wanted to refinance, I got approved right away too.
And I don't, most of my cash is, most of my income is cash. I don't have to report most of it. Because it's cash.
So I report like maybe $10,000 and I get government support on top of that. Allah has been very kind. There's proof.
There's proof that Allah is kind to him because he gets to get away with a lot of cheating. He gets to, you know, get involved with questionable practices, financial transactions. He gets to get into that stuff and make a lot of money.
If Allah was mad at me, I wouldn't be making this much money. I used to be in big trouble, now Allah has made my life good. This is proof that Allah loves me.
The Story of Two Gardeners in Surah Al-Kahf
This is the same surah that will trash that mentality. It will destroy that mindset. In this surah, we learn the story of two gardeners.
One of them is very wealthy, and he says
I don't think this will ever perish.
Even if I were to go back to my master, I will surely find something better than this.
If Allah gave me so much in this dunya, that must mean he really likes me. He's gonna hook me up in the akhira. Oh my God. I can only imagine.
I've got a big screen TV here. I can't even see. Imagine the dimensions of what he's gonna give me. My entertainment system in my paradise. You know, my mansion in paradise. That's his mentality.
The Islamic Balance: Neither Denial Nor Worship of Dunya
This mentality is poison. What we enjoy in this world, what Allah gives us in this world, when Allah allows you to buy a house, when Allah allows you to pay off the house, when Allah allows you to get a nice car, you're allowed to have all those things. By the way, one said, only worry about dunya.
The other said, dunya is evil. What does the Muslim say? What does the Muslim say? Allah (عز وجل) tells us what to do.
We established you on the earth. We gave you means of living well. How little you are grateful? In other words, you should have nice things in this world. Allah gave them to you.
It's not a punishment. The world is not evil. And you should be grateful to Allah (عز وجل) for it.
Life as a Test: Wealth and Poverty Both Trials
We understand that the things Allah gave us in this world, all of them, the luxuries and the difficulties, all of them are a test. It's not good and bad in and of itself. A lot of money is not necessarily good.
And no money isn't necessarily bad. That's not how we think of good and bad. The wealthy person is not better than the poorer person.
They're not. They're not. One is closer in the eyes of Allah than the other.
It doesn't work that way in Islam. It doesn't work that way. Both of them are a test.
It's just a different test. Some people, Allah tests them with money. Other people, Allah tests them with poverty.
Some people, Allah tests them with luxury. Some other people, Allah tests them with difficulty. Some people, Allah tests them with health, strength.
Some other people, Allah tests them with sickness, weakness. They're all a test of the iman. Now, this is the world in which we live.
Teaching Children About Success: A Practical Example
I'll tell you how these things affect us. This seems like a philosophical conversation. Let me bring it down to the level of children.
Specifically children. I was in front of Sunday school kids one time in my life. It used to be Sunday school.
And I brought some pictures with me. I brought some pictures with me. I brought a picture of a guy driving a really expensive, like, convertible car, driving up into a mansion.
Then I have a picture of a homeless guy, living in a cardboard box in, like, what, L.A., New York City. Right? Then I had a picture of somebody, you know, like, having a lot of cash in his hands. Then you have a picture of somebody holding his hand out like this.
And he's got a couple of pennies in his hands. I mean, asking for money, or, did you take pennies? So I asked the students, you need to tell me which one of these people is successful. Point out the pictures of the successful people, and point out the pictures who are losers in life.
There was no disagreement. All the kids said, what? The wealthy one is successful. The poor one is a loser. He doesn't have money. If he doesn't have a house, obviously he's a loser.
You tell me, did Nuh (عليه السلام) have a nice house or not? He had a nice house or not? Was he a loser or not? He was successful, wasn't he?
Ibrahim (عليه السلام) lost his home or not? Was he kicked out of the house? So he was homeless? A winner or not? We don't, we don't judge by those things. The messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) Ibrahim (عليه السلام) He was literally deported. He lost his citizenship.
He was deported from Mecca. He (صلى الله عليه وسلم) came. Successful or not? Successful.
The Problem with Materialistic Mindset in Muslim Culture
Our judgment is different. The way we think about these things is different. But the world is wrapped up in a certain mentality.
It's wrapped up in it. And it's constantly being reinforced. This materialism is constantly being reinforced.
And it's not just being reinforced by some kafir media. It's being reinforced by Muslim cultures too that have been affected by these ideas. Your parents will tell you, yes, studying Quran is nice, but your real goal is to become a doctor.
I have no problem with these kids becoming doctors and Arab kids becoming engineers. Let me qualify my statement. I have no problem with you guys pursuing law and medicine.
Go ahead, be the best doctor. Actually, own the hospitals. I encourage you.
Don't be a doctor at the hospital. Own the hospitals. Be the best you can be.
Fine. But you know, when the parents are pushing their children into these careers, they're not thinking, my son is going to save lives. My son is going to become a force of goodness in the world.
Allah will use him to show his mercy to people better and better. What's the thought in their mind? Money. This is success.
This is not success. This is not how Islam works. But this is how we started thinking.
The reality is that is how we have started thinking. This is the mentality that has to be cut at its roots.
The Solution: The Perfect Book of Allah
Allah (عز وجل) says in the beginning of the surah, I'm almost done.
All praise belongs to Allah who sent upon His slave the book, and He didn't leave any crookedness, any deviation, any room for criticism or attack in this book.
The whole revolution against religion happened because they found crookedness in a book. And Allah says, I sent a book and there's no crookedness in it. So if the world has gone crooked, what's going to bring it back is the book of Allah.
We have to become people that internalize the book of Allah and are able to effectively communicate its ideas. So we are healed by them, that we're able to heal others with them. That we're able to share with others the powerful ideas that this book contains.
Stand up right, this book is not going anywhere. Philosophies in the world will come and rise and fall. Systems will rise and fall.
Economies will rise and fall, and we're seeing that today. Who could have said the European Union is going to go somewhere? 15 years ago, 10 years ago, who was going to say the European Union is done? Greece? Forget it. You know how desperate Turkey was to join the European Union? How desperate they were? And now they're like, actually, no thanks.
You know what, can I get back my application? What are they going to do to you? Send me a copy for it. The world changes. But Allah says, this book, its teachings, its values, its principles, its solutions for humanity are upright.
It will stand upright. It will be in place. It won't move from its place.
The Timeless Value of the Quran
Now I want to leave, one last thing I want to leave you with. I don't want to dwell too much on this part of it. I just wanted to highlight the timeless value of the Qur'an in this conversation.
This one. The timeless value of the Qur'an. At this point, maybe I'll take, what time is Salat back? It was kind of like Yusuf (عليه السلام)'s conversation with the prisoners.
He told them, wait, by the time lunch gets here, I'll be done. Right? And when the lunch got here, he didn't say, wait, just five more minutes. And I joked with him, have you ever heard those speeches? I do those too.
And my final point is, 35 minutes later, and in conclusion I say, Right? So I'm giving myself 15 minutes. 10 to 15, flat.
Okay. So what I want to share with you now, Insha'Allah, is our attitudes. We talk about our attitudes towards the world.
Common Muslim Attitudes Towards the Quran
What are Muslim attitudes towards the Qur'an? What are the common Muslim attitudes towards the Qur'an? The most common attitudes Muslims hold across the world, many Muslims are knowledgeable, many of them are not. Many of them are people that come to the masjid, a huge number of them are people that don't even know where the masjid is.
They live in San Antonio for 10 years, they don't know where the masjid is. They've never seen one. They've never been to one. But all of them share at least one idea about the Qur'an.
The Qur'an is something special, it should be respected. At least that much. Even if you go to a Muslim family's home, where they drink alcohol, and they don't care about anything else, you'll still find a copy of the Qur'an up in the top shelf somewhere.
And it's on the top shelf somewhere. Why? Because, respect. You'll have weddings here.
Wedding ceremonies. And of course in wedding ceremonies, even if you're not religious, you still need to get exposed to some religious people, because the imam is going to come and perform the nikah. So at least one bearded guy is going to have to show up.
You know. So he shows up at the wedding. And when he shows up, because he's a hafidh, and he's going to recite the Qur'an, out of respect, people put napkins on their head, or find something in some paper bag, some people just throw it away, whatever it is.
Just respect for the Qur'an. Even if they don't know what that means, somehow they have to respect this Qur'an. That much attitude is there.
The Qur'an as Source of Blessings
Then on top of that, there's another attitude. And the attitude is, this book has a lot of blessings in it. So even though I'm really messed up, I'm really messed up.
When I die, make sure you call a lot of people, and they should all recite what? The Qur'an. And through its blessings, all my messed up stuff will somehow disappear. So that's what we should do.
Whether you're religious or not doesn't matter. Just make sure you enjoy the blessings of this Qur'an. Right? Just place a recitation of it in Ramadan or something at the home.
And you'll be fine. Or there's a new one. When the whole family is messed up, at least take one kid and make him a hafidh.
He's the guarantee for everybody else. He's the gatekeeper. He'll open the door and say, Come on guys, it's okay.
You guys get through. So at least make one kid hafidh in the family. That's a new one.
That's our attitude towards the Qur'an. It's gonna include blessings. We will be saved.
We don't have to change ourselves. We can be who we are, but we'll just recite some Qur'an, and all our problems will disappear. All our troubles will be gone.
The Qur'an for Special Occasions Only
Then there's another attitude that the Qur'an is awesome for special occasions or special problems. When you get really sick, guess what? Time to bust out the mushaf and start reciting. When you have a serious problem, time to start reciting the Qur'an.
When you're about to get your daughter married, when you're about to, you know, or you just bought a new house, at least have a Fatihah reciting the Qur'an. Special occasions. This book is for special occasions.
Every day, if you're reciting Qur'an every day, then you're a religious extremist. What happened to you? That's not why you came to America. If you wanted to do that, you should have stayed back home.
So you don't need the Qur'an, you just call it for special occasions, that's it. You don't need it for anything.
The Qur'an as Protection Charm
Then on top of that, there's another interesting attitude. Qur'an will protect you. Qur'an will protect you. It will keep you from having a car accident.
So take Ayat al-Kursi, buy one from the store, and hang it in your rearview mirror. Right? Because you don't have full-size airbags, you have an old car. At least you have that.
Right? You're never going to recite that copy of Ayat al-Kursi, but you buy a plaque, and you put it in your dashboard. Why? I mean, come on, my brakes failed last week, and now what? I need to have some insurance policy.
So you have that. In so many parts of the Muslim world, they have cups, with Ayat al-Kursi inscribed on the inside. You drink from this, and your sinus problem disappears. Or people will go, they'll put Ayat al- Kursi, make a patch out of it, and put it around their arm, and now that it's here, now alhamdulillah, my motorcycle will never have a bad transmission.
Because this is protecting me right here. This is what Qur'an has become for us. This is for most Muslims, this is what the Qur'an is.
You ever see, you know, in New York, I saw a lot of times, like Christian cab drivers, or limo drivers and stuff, as a symbol, as a tribute, they'll put a cross in the back of their van. Or they'll, you know, they'll put a fish symbol on their car. Symbol of Christianity.
Or they'll hang a crucifix from the window. Their religion is reduced to trinkets. And when they get really scared, they hold their crucifix.
They kiss it, you know. And what happens to the Muslim? I don't know. He holds his Allah chain.
His Ayat al-Kursi chain, his bullet proof vest, right here, Ayat al-Kursi chain. That's what he holds. This is how many Muslims treat the Qur'an.
It's a book to be respected. It's a book to be celebrated. So, if anything, just listen.
Listen to some nice recitation of it. And then, you know, or just bless your ceremony. And move on.
You don't need it for anything else. You don't really need it for more than that.
The Real Purpose of the Quran
The Qur'an came to solve your problems and my problems. The Qur'an came to help you with the trouble you're having with your wife. The trouble you're having with your husband. The Qur'an came to help you to deal with your parents better.
With your children better. The Qur'an came to help you to get a decent job. To do your business and dealings the right way.
The Qur'an came to help you make your mornings right and make your evenings right. The Qur'an is the best advice you will ever get. It's the best advice you will ever get.
But you and I never thought of the Qur'an as advice. When you and I need advice, we go to a specialist, a counselor.
Sometimes we have serious issues, we go to a therapist. You go to a psychologist, a psychiatrist. And the psychiatrist lies you down and says, tell me about your problems. And for an hour you just sit there and say, yeah, you know, my sister and my brother.
You just cry about it for an hour and at the end of the hour he says, so how does that make you feel? And you say, I just told you how I felt when you told me before. Oh well, times up, that'll be $350. That's therapy.
The Qur'an as Direct Therapy from Allah
You and I, when we stand in Salat and we're reciting Qur'an, we're not reciting the Qur'an. The Qur'an is reading us. It's therapy for us.
We're supposed to be getting counsel from Allah directly and immediately. That's what the Qur'an is supposed to do.
"And We send down of the Qur'an that which is healing and mercy for the believers"
There's healing in it. And when you experience that counsel of Qur'an for yourself, it has to be personally experienced. No lecture, no talk will help you experience that.
You have to get that experience yourself for yourself. And the best time to experience that is in Salat itself. The way the Qur'an was meant to be experienced was in Salat.
That's the real experience of the Qur'an. You come to understand certain ayahs, you memorize those ayahs, now you're standing in front of Allah and you recite those ayahs, something happens inside you. Something changes.
Something beautiful happens.
The Problem with Rush in Prayer
Even Salat for most of us has become cardiovascular exercise. It becomes a speed contest.
We put a timer. My uncle used to take me, one of my uncles used to take me to Tarawih. And he used to take me.
And when I said that he started taking me to another masjid for Tarawih, he goes, why are you going to a different masjid now? He goes, this one finishes 20 rakah in 38.5 minutes every day. That one takes 45 minutes. This guy's faster.
It's a speed contest now. You know. I don't have time for Salat.
I don't have time, so I'll pray. The quickest Salat I'll pray is the Asr prayer.
The one that's supposed to make you respect your time for Allah. You don't give that prayer any time.
The irony of it all.
The Need for Reconnection with the Quran
So the point I'm trying to make before all of you is that an intellectual decline has happened. A spiritual decline has happened. And the solution to both of those declines is us seriously going back and redeveloping our relationship with the Qur'an.
I want to share something personal with you in seven minutes. I have seven minutes left. It's looking at my time.
Personal Story: First Encounter with Quranic Translation
When I first read the Qur'anic translation, it was high school. Late high school. I read the Qur'anic translation.
I read the Yusuf Ali translation in a lot of work. I tried to read it. I got through about 200 ayat of Baqarah and I quit.
Couldn't take it anymore. Couldn't do it. The English was so hard.
It was so Shakespearean. And even if you do get the English, there was way too much going on. I thought I was reading about a battle and all of a sudden hajj came up and fasting and... What's going on here? Why are all these subjects like... Why isn't there like a chapter on hajj? I can just read about hajj.
Why isn't there just a chapter on the battle? I can read about the battle. Why do we need to jumble together? I don't get it. I give up on it.
I give up on it.
The Life-Changing Experience
That next Ramadan is the first time I actually heard the Qur'an being explained in simple language. Just like somebody is talking to you.
My teacher, Dr. Israr Ahmad, was doing a dars of the Qur'an in Urdu but basically the Qur'an is a conversation. This is the first time in my life. I've been Muslim my whole life.
But that was the first time in my life that something hit me that had never hit me before. Allah is actually talking to me.
Allah is actually giving me personal advice. This is a conversation between Master and slave. He spoke to His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and through him to all believers. We're supposed to... You know, many of you know this but we're reciting Surah Al-Fatihah.
What are we supposed to do?
Why not? Of course.
Allah says something, we say something. What is that called? When somebody says something, somebody says something else. It's a conversation.
Exactly, it's a conversation. Qur'an itself is a conversation between me and Allah. I thought it was a book before that.
Just like any other book.
The Personal Connection with Allah
Since that day, I started reading Qur'an. Like literally, Allah is talking to me.
He's giving me advice. He's giving me counsel. And when you come to the Qur'an with that attitude, you will discover advice.
You will discover wisdom for your own life that you never thought possible. And when I started discovering, I'm hearing my teacher talk. And there's like 200 people sitting in the audience, right? And I'm thinking, he's just talking to me.
That's what it felt like. He's just talking. He's not talking to anybody else.
He's like, how does Allah know that? And then he goes to the ayah.
Doesn't He know who He created? SubhanAllah, He knows.
He knows who He's talking to. This becomes a relevant, direct, immediate conversation between us and Allah. And that's the first step.
Us fixing ourselves is Allah to once again engage Allah in the perfect conversation. To become connected with this Qur'an again, especially in our salawat. Especially in our prayers.
Preparing for Ramadan
This needs to happen. The month of Ramadan is around the corner, is it not? You and I have to start gearing up. We have to start making time for the Qur'an.
Every day. We have to start getting ready from now. I don't know if I'm going to see this Ramadan or not.
You don't know either. We don't know if Allah will take us before that. But if we have the intention, we have the intention, this Ramadan will be the one where I will experience the Qur'an as Allah wants me to experience it.
I will come closer to Allah's book. And by coming close to Allah's book, I will get close to Him. I will understand better what He wants from me.
The Qur'an is not just a book of halal and haram. It's not just a book of Jannah and Jahannam. It's not.
The Qur'an is a book of beautiful things. Even the way He talks about halal and haram is so beautiful. No book of fiqh. No scholar, no Imam is going to explain to you or give you the beauty to which Allah says it. When Allah says it, it just has a different effect. This is a completely different effect.
Personal Transformation Through the Quran
So my personal experience when I first discovered the Qur'an as a conversation, my attitude towards the Qur'an entirely changed. And that was maybe 12 years ago that that happened for me. And those last 12 years, if I had something to study that I said I really want to study, it's been the Qur'an.
For that reason. And I still continue. I'm still very much a beginner student of the Qur'an.
I'm very much a beginner. But the more I studied the Qur'an, the more I realized, man, this is what I was looking for. It's like sometimes I read ayahs and it's the first time I came across this problem.
This problem I had just got solved. This counsel I needed was just given to me. It's just immediate, relevant, perfect advice.
Perfect, perfect advice.
Practical Steps to Connect with the Quran
So this is the, inshallah ta'ala, the attitude in which I want all of us, we're going to make the intention that we're going to really make the month of Ramadan the month of the Qur'an. And we're going to gear up for that from now.
I'll give you some practical advice. In the three minutes I have left. How can you do that? How do you gear up to get, like, really close to the Qur'an as much as it would be possible?
Number one, if there are halaqat of the Qur'an happening at the masjid. If there's a tafsir halaqah happening. If there's a study circle happening at the masjid. Come to it.
It doesn't matter who's presenting it. Just come. Come and attend.
At least for now, make the time. Come and attend. If you cannot come and attend, find whatever tafsir videos or resources you can find online and start watching.
Notice I didn't say read translation first. I didn't say that. You know why? Because I can't recommend that experience.
I tried that myself. That's the one that left me confused. Right? So I can only imagine when you're reading translation of the Qur'an, you will probably get more questions than answers.
Recommended Resources
If you are going to read something by a tafsir, I recommend that. In English, Tadabbur-i-Quran is available. Pondering of the Qur'an is available in English.
I recommend that. Mufti Muhammad Shafi's Ma'ariful Quran is available in English, and I recommend that. It's good reading.
It's good simple reading, and it's a good concise tafsir to give you fruits of the ayaat and things like that. If you really don't have any time whatsoever and you just want to read a translation of the Qur'an, I recommend by Oxford University Press. It's good, powerful translation.
I don't agree with it 100%, but nonetheless, it's a good flowing translation, and it's not hard on you. You're not going to find words like verily, behold, nay, seen, and be confused. Like, what is this talking about? It's not going to be Shakespearean reading.
But get involved. Start reading. This is for your understanding.
The Importance of Memorization
But a real relationship with the Qur'an does not happen until you and I are trying to memorize. Start memorizing the Qur'an. After Fajr? 15 minutes, just one ayah.
You don't have to memorize a page. You don't have to do a lot, just one ayah. Just do a little bit.
Let's start. Don't be lazy about it. Don't overdo it.
If you try to do too much, you'll give up. You'll do it one day for two hours and pat yourself on the back and the next day you'll be like, I don't have two hours anymore. Do short, but consistently.
What would you do? Would you give it 10, 15 minutes? Memorize a little bit of the Qur'an every day. Little, little steps, and inshallah ta'ala through that, your Salat will start becoming more and more beautiful. You'll start experiencing more of a joy in your Salat.
Conference Announcement
I wanted to, as I close, I wanted to make a quick announcement. And that is, I'm exactly on time. The announcement I wanted to make is that at Bayyinah, which is in Dallas, over a long time, I hope to bring some programs here to San Antonio.
It's been on my radar for some time, but my schedule simply hasn't allowed it because of campus obligations and family obligations. I'm pretty sure you guys can understand that. But I do hope to make a trip here as soon as possible.
But before that, I have a serious request for you. The reason I came here for this trip today, and I dragged some students here with me, is to actually invite you guys to come to Dallas for a day. I wanted as many of you as possible to come to our conference.
Bayyinah's putting its first conference together, and the title of the conference is Amazed by the Qur'an. That's what the conference is called. And it's actually at AmazedByTheQur'an.com Myself, Sheikh Abdul Nasir Jangda, and Imam Suhaib Webb are the three presenters at the conference.
It's a one-day program. It's a short program. And it's meant for me to expand the whole agenda for the program.
The whole point of putting that conference together is to get a whole lot of Muslims together and study a little bit of the Qur'an and refresh in ourselves, why are we so amazed by this book? What's so awesome about this book? The point is not education. The point is appreciation. Education is easy.
Appreciation is hard. Our children, you can teach them something, but it's very hard to have them appreciate it. Your child can memorize the surah, but he won't appreciate what's the point of memorizing the surah.
Why is the surah so awesome anyway? I don't get it. The point of the program is to encourage Muslims or to help Muslims appreciate the power of the Qur'an, the beauty of the Qur'an. Each of us are going to have two sessions each, myself, Sheikh Abdul Nasir, Imam Suhaib Webb.
Closing
So I'm really excited to have this opportunity to come and speak to you and try to invite you to the program. I'm going to ask that you guys help me pass these out as I was speaking before you. And my time is up, past the announcement, so whatever questions you may have at this point, you're welcome to ask.
And I hope you guys don't forget about the Qur'an. And I also hope to see you guys very, very soon. This is on June the 30th, by the way.
So if you can mark your calendars, this is Saturday, June the 30th. And I hope you guys and your families can come and make it and sign up early so that the seats aren't filled ahead of time. If there are any questions, I'll take them now.