Seeing Surah Ar-Rahman as Complete Journey

Last time in the Surah Ar-Rahman series. You know how people nowadays, they just manifest positive energy. You know, manifest positivity.

Stupid. Like, call on Allah's name. That's positivity.

Don't, if you just believe that the interview is gonna go well, then it's just gonna happen. No, you can put barakah in what you're doing. Like, they're talking about all these things that Allah has talked about.

All they just do is remove Allah from the equation and then talk about it. Right? That's all what they do. And then people are like, Ustadh, what do you think about manifesting positivity? Can you read Fatiha, please? That's manifesting positivity.

To help you follow along and reflect more deeply, we've created a companion workbook for this series. Download it at bayyinah.com/rahman.

The Structure of Jannah's Descriptions

So, this is two descriptions of Jannah, yeah? Two descriptions of Jannah.

We started with gardens, springs, and fruits. That's clear to everybody, okay? And then we saw comfortable seating and service, okay? And then we saw treasure-like spouses. So, we see three components, right? The gardens, the springs, and fruits, comfortable seating, and then treasure-like spouses.

Then we saw again in the second set, gardens, springs, and fruits. Again, مُدْهَامَّتَانِ, عَيْنَانِ نَضَّاخَتَانِ, فَاكِهَةٌ وَنَخْلٌ وَرُمَّانٌ, same thing. And then we saw a change in the order, perfect spouses but luxurious surroundings.

So, we have the same elements with a slight change in the order, right? That's what we have. What's interesting also though is at the top of it, we saw the fear standing before their Rabb. So, Allah was mentioned.

Then in the middle, he said, هَلْ جَزَاءُ الْإِحْسَانِ إِلَّا الْإِحْسَانُ. You did ihsan to Allah, Allah is doing ihsan to you. So, now Allah is mentioned in the middle.

And then at the end, blessed is your Rabb's name, right? So, this forms the pillars of this entire discussion and it's organized in this way. It starts with Allah, it centers with Ihsan, and it ends with Allah, right? And these are both of these sections.

The Final Section's Beautiful Symmetry

Now, the final section of this surah, when we talked about this last jannah, really interesting. It started with Ihsan, هَلْ جَزَاءُ الْإِحْسَانِ إِلَّا الْإِحْسَانُ, okay? And it ended with أَبْقَرِيِّ حِسَانٌ. And we said then too, Allah's ihsan is something we can't imagine and he ended with stuff we can't imagine, right? Ihsan and ihsan correspond to each other.

Then he talked about how we walk into something that's مُدْهَامَّتَانِ, lush green. And what do you remember about the seating? That it was lush green. And that leaves the middle luxuries which are water and food and the spouse that comes in the middle. And that forms the final description of jannah towards the end of the surah.

So, now I've given you kind of a view of each of the pieces of the surah. And of course, the final section is just Allah's blessed name. That's the section by itself.

The Complete Journey of Surah Ar-Rahman

But let's look at the entire surah now. The whole thing from the beginning, okay?

So, we started with Ar-Rahman. Everybody knows that. Then the greatest guidance which is عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ. The greatest creation, خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ. And the greatest ability, عَلَّمَهُ الْبَيَانَ. Fine.

Then we saw the temporary perfection and beauty of this world. الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ, right? وَالنَّخْلُ. And then لَهُ الْجَوَارِ. All of that was the temporary beauty and perfection of this world.

Make sense so far? Okay. Then we saw everyone is dead. كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ. And Allah remains. وَيَبْقَىٰ وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ.

Then we see that criminals are gonna face their reckoning. We'll free ourselves up for you. Run if you can. You're gonna get shot down. You're gonna get grabbed. This is Jahannam, right? All of that is criminals facing their reckoning, right?

Then fearing being brought back to life before Allah. وَمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ. The one who feared being brought back in front of Allah. That was mentioned next.

Then we find the endless perfection of the next world. We get a view of Jannah. The branches and all of that stuff that we read about. And then finally we get the greatest rewards associated with Al-Ihsan meaning the upgraded Jannah. That's the greatest version, right? Where everything was enhanced.

And finally you see Allah's blessed name. تَبَارَكَ اسْمُ رَبِّكَ ذِي الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ.

The Perfect Symmetrical Structure

Okay. So let's look at this again. This is a quick run through the entire Surah Ar-Rahman, right?

So now let's look at it again. We started with Ar-Rahman and we ended with the blessed name. You see the connection. It's so obvious, right?

We see the greatest guidance, the greatest creation, and the greatest ability and we end with the greatest kinds of rewards. Right?

We see the temporary perfection and beauty of this world and on the flip side we see the endless perfection and beauty of the next world.

We see everyone is dead. Everyone and only Allah remains. And on the other hand you're fearing being brought back to life after you're dead and you have to stand in front of Allah and literally face Him. And it's said actually Allah's face will remain and on Judgment Day you have to face Allah, right?

And in the middle of the Surah you have the criminals have to face their reckoning. How incredible, right? How just absolutely marvelous that everything just converges.

SubhanAllah. This is the study of the nazm of the Quran, the order and the structure of the Quran. So whenever I do a study of a Surah, I like to understand the order and structure of that Surah.

There are people that are doing work on this other than myself also. This was my own but I've done a bunch of my own but some of my students really took this from me. I taught a course or two on this subject, the organization of the Quran and they really picked it up and they're doing quite a bit of work on this too themselves.

Fascinating stuff. And it's also it really gives us insight into how to make connections in the Quran and do muqabala, right? Which ayah corresponds to which ayah and how we can look at them in light of each other, right?

So the goal of doing this is actually, we should study the Quran individual ayah, the larger subject, the coherence of the subject, but also be able to see how Allah beautifully organizes his words, right? The one who organized, like Farahi used to say, the one who organized every star in the sky and every bone in my body, why would he not organize his own word, right?

So and we start feeling like, oh, the subject is jumping from here to there. Oh, it's going. I can't imagine human speech being this meticulously organized. Especially, I can't imagine somebody who speaks, just speaks not writes, right? Would organize in this fashion.

And if you remember when we were doing the piece about the world or the piece about the criminals in the afterlife, each of those pieces had its own organization. This is the overview organization, but each piece had its own structure within it, right? So there's an intricacy within the intricacy, within the intricacy that's very beautiful to appreciate.

Becoming Students of the Quran

So this, what I'm going to do now that I've completed the study of Surah Rahman with you guys, I want to give you a little bit of an idea of what's happening with this series, what I'm hoping to do and what inshallah, I think you can take advantage of. And then we're going to finish up today by talking about a couple more lenses. Remember we talked about lenses yesterday? So I'm going to talk to you about a couple more lenses. We'll call it a night, okay?

But I want you guys to actually take advantage of all the hard work myself and my team are doing. And I want you guys to, become students of the Quran and take whatever I'm doing. I'm not saying we have the best understanding of the Quran. What I am saying is, you know how you have video games and you have a walkthrough, right? We're trying to create a Quran walkthrough, right? So you get the walkthrough and then you're doing your own study. You evolve yourself and you can move on and do much, much more, right?

My hope is our work is basic, like for the next generation. This is basic. And what they're doing is much more than that. And then what they leave behind is basic for the generation after that.

So we've seen generations that have declined in their knowledge of the religion, right? But now it's time for us to lift it back up, right? And to give access to the general public.

I'm hoping, especially college students, I see a lot of young men and women in their 20s, teens, that are here, especially you guys. I want you to develop a curiosity in Quranic studies. I want you to just, this is our book, guys. It's our book. And then, I don't understand it. I have a hard time relating to it. And that's why I just, I don't even know.

Stop with the attitude. Stop being lazy. Stop making excuses and give the book what it deserves. Give it your time. Give it your focus. Tomorrow, I'll talk to you about where to begin and how to do that stuff, right? If you want to take advantage of my efforts, how do you do that in a systematic way?

Like, you can find 30-second clips of anyone on TikTok or on Instagram or whatever. I don't even know how I'm, I'm not on TikTok, but I am on TikTok apparently. So, everybody's on TikTok, but that's not steady. That's just, oh, I'm just going to share this with my friends and feel like I've served Islam, right? So, that's not learning.

So, but I'd like you to become lifelong learners of the Quran and I hope that this week, you got a taste of what that can do for you. Like, it changes your relationship. When you change your relationship with the Quran, you change your relationship with Allah. And you, at the same time, you change your relationship with yourself, you change your relationship with the world around you. All of that starts changing, right? It's the most beautiful thing. It's the most beautiful thing. And I want that for you.

So, inshallah, we'll talk about that tomorrow.

The Third Lens: My World

But today, let me get to your at least third lens. So, why don't you guys remind me what was the first lens? First lens was language. The second lens was the world of the Quran, the world of the Quran. And then the third lens is going to be my world. Actually, my own world, okay?

Now, what does that mean, my world? Well, I'm studying Surah Rahman and I have to ask myself, what does that mean for me? Okay, I know what world it wants me to go into. Well, at the end of it, this is a book that's talking to me. It's telling me something. It has a message for me. And I have to have the attitude that everything I learn in the Quran, at the end of it all, it needs to be a commentary on my life in some way, shape or form. So, how is it a commentary on my life? I want to be able to answer that question comprehensively for you today in a few minutes.

Moving Beyond Slogans

The thing is, let's get away from slogans. That's the first thing I'll say. We have to learn everything in the Quran and we have to put it to practice. Who said? Who said? Where did you get this from? That you have to put the Quran into practice.

There are some things in the Quran you have to put into practice. I get it. There are many things in the Quran you cannot put into practice because they're not calls to action. The Quran sometimes demands action. Sometimes it demands thought. Sometimes it demands a change in attitude. Sometimes it demands contemplation about something. Sometimes it demands just thinking deeply about yourself. Sometimes it means developing a sense of gratitude and sense of patience. That's not necessary. And sometimes there is action.

But when we say we have to put everything in action, okay, let's do it. الم. Action. What are you going to do? But الم does teach me an attitude. I can't know everything. So, now I'm comfortable with my ignorance. I'm okay. It doesn't hurt my pride to say I don't know. And if once I know that, then even the ayat that I think I know, right? Even the ayat that I think I understand, I should remain, keep the door of humility open and say I thought I understood it. But now that I learned something more, I realized I didn't, right? So, it's an orientation.

Turning Ayahs into Du'as

One of the ways you can bring, contemplate Quran through your own lens, the lens of your own life, is actually how can I turn this ayah into a du'a? That's a really nice easy way to start.

So, let's say you're reading Al-Baqarah and you're reading ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ. This book has no doubt in it, right? Even in easy English translation, there's no doubt in this book. How do I turn that into a du'a? Tell me. How do you turn that into a du'a?

Ya Allah, remove all doubts from my heart. Ya Allah, let me never have any doubts about this book. Get rid of all doubts from my heart.

هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ It's a guidance for people that have taqwa. What's an easy du'a? Ya Allah, make me from the متقين so that I can become a person that gets its guidance. Isn't that easy? So, you're reading and you can start making du'a.

Okay, what happens when you're reading a story? Like Ibrahim alayhi salaam is being thrown in the fire. How do I make that into... Ya Allah, don't let me get thrown in a fire. Think a little deeply. How do you make Ibrahim being thrown in the fire into a du'a? Yeah.

Ya Allah, doesn't matter how much pressure comes. When I'm under pressure and I feel like there's a... I'm about to be thrown in some kind of fire, social fire, economic fire. Fires take different forms, right? Ya Allah, just make those fires cool for me. Just like you did for Ibrahim alayhi salaam. You understand what I'm saying? So, now you start seeing yourself as you're studying, as you're learning, you start seeing yourself and you start applying your experience to it.

A Warning About Projection

Now, there's the warning side of this. This is really important. I said this when I was giving the story night here. Don't project your experience on the Quran. Like, don't say, you know what? I feel like I relate to Yusuf alayhi salaam so much, you know? Like, he went through so much and I've been through so much and like we have this connection. You know what that is? That's main character syndrome.

Okay, he's the main character. He's the main character of the story and you want to be the main character of your story. But when you read about the brothers of Yusuf, then you're like, yeah, I know a lot of Yusuf brothers in my life. Because they're not the main character, so they can't be about you. You have to be like Yusuf. You're the Yusuf of your story. You can't be the brothers of your story. You can't be the minister of your story. You can't be the minister's wife of your story. You can't be the guy in prison of your story. You have to be the Yusuf of your story.

You know what that is? You're projecting your own experience and your own desire onto the Quran. If I'm being honest, I have to look at every character, every person, even Firaun, and say, do I have a little bit of Firaun in me? A little bit?

I mean, Firaun, for example, when he heard a clear argument from Musa alayhi salaam, one of the things he said is, مَا رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ. Whatever. What God? Is it sometimes when people confront me about something serious, I just dismiss it? Do I have that tendency? Like, whatever. I don't want to talk about this. Please. Block. You know?

I mean, I'm not Firaun, but it's Firaun-ish. Right? I can see my... If I'm really honest, I can start seeing some of my tendencies maybe even in uncomfortable places. You know? It's not always spiritually fulfilling. Sometimes it's a look in the mirror. Right? So, that is contemplating the Quran with my lens, my own experience. What have I experienced?

And that also makes me question or ask Allah questions. Like, for example, when we talked about women in Jannah. As a female, you have to ask yourself, what does that make me feel? And why? And what does Allah want me to think about this? Allah gave this book to men and women. He didn't just give it to men. I can't know what you feel when you read these ayahs. I can't. There's no way I can do that. But you're Allah's slaves. You're going to stand in front of Allah on Judgment Day. And this is a... And you have to contemplate. You have to deeply contemplate. What is it that this is talking about?

One of the sisters, I asked this young lady. She's just finished her hadith, master's degree in hadith. And I asked her, what do you feel when you read these ayahs? And she said, I feel happy for men. That's all she said. I feel happy for men. I was like, what do you feel about yourself? She says, I feel happy I'm not a man. Like, Allah made this for men and Allah made something else for me. That's all I feel. I was like, okay. Okay, that was surprisingly easy. Now if the rest of the planet can get on board.

The Value of Multiple Lenses

So this is actually a very, very important lens for you to develop. It'll really beautify. Again, each one of these lenses has a value.

Somebody asked a very important question about the lens of language. Like, I don't know Arabic. What am I supposed to do? Well, yeah, I know. You're kind of, you're stuck with me. Like, my job is kind of relevant because there's not enough resources available that bridge the gap between the Arabic sources and people that speak English. If there was enough material available that's easily accessible, then I wouldn't, this service wouldn't be relevant, right? So that's kind of what I'm trying to do is to bridge that gap a little bit, right?

This is your stepping stones into getting the taste of the language so that I think if you study enough Quran with me, you're going to get restless and say, I want to read that myself. You're going to get, you're going to start getting mad. And the moment you get mad, that's when you achieve greatness. When you get sad, you achieve nothing. Oh, I don't know Arabic. So sad, I don't know it. You will achieve nothing.

But when you say, I don't know Arabic. I can't do this anymore. That's it. I'm just, I'm doing this. You will get, pardon the language, you will get pissed off for greatness. Okay? You will get angry. That's when you'll get, you'll put your foot down, you'll get it done, right? And that's actually what I want you to develop, a level of frustration.

If he can do it, sitting in Queens, like on a bus, on the Q70, he can do it on the F train. Like, if I, honest to God, if I can do it in the 90s in New York, with no internet, right? If I can do it taking trains to Brooklyn to ask a question about one word from an imam, because he's an Arab, and I'm waiting until Maghrib, he shows up. And then people are talking to him in Arabic, and I'm just sitting there going, yeah, I don't understand anything. And I was like, مَا هَذِهِ الْكَلِمَةُ And then he starts talking in Arabic, and I'm like, but I start writing stuff down. It was frustrating, but I did it.

Tomorrow's Session and Your Personal Reflection

But alhamdulillah, I'm really glad we got a chance to study the surah together. Tomorrow, we're gonna do a little bit of practice. So I'm actually, I want you to, I'm gonna let you read the surah yourself, tonight, and tomorrow. And actually, I'm going to spend about an hour with you taking your tadabbur from this surah. You're gonna share what you reflected. I shared some of my reflections, and some of the reflections of my team.

But as you're reading, you're gonna look at the, if you can't look at the language lens, maybe you'll look at the world of the Quran lens, maybe you'll look at the, my world lens. So you see something in the surah that I can't see because I'm not from your world. You're from your world, right? So you're gonna see something that only you can see, right? And we're gonna share some of those reflections together tomorrow, inshaAllah ta'ala, too. And then finish up all the other lenses. And you'll have, hopefully you have the tools now to get started with other surahs of the Quran.

Bismillah ta'ala. So I'll wrap up with that. BarakAllahu li walakum. Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi ta'ala wa barakatuh.

Coming Up Next

Coming up next time in this Surah Ar-Rahman series. One of the things you said, Allah didn't mention it. I want you to remember something. When Allah doesn't mention something, it's actually more. It's actually more.

So you know how in Surah Ar-Rahman we saw that Allah said that you're gonna get Ihsan, the best. The word best is more than the trees and the gardens and all the other stuff that He mentioned. Doesn't cover what? The best is something more.

It's also really cool in Surah Qaf is لَهُم مَّا يَشَاءُونَ فِيهَا They'll have whatever they want there. You know what, that covers it. But He says, وَلَدَيْنَا مَزِيدٌ And we have some more. What is this more?