Allah Is The Author of History | Sr. Sarah Sultan | Juz 21 Qur’an 30 for 30 S7 | Ramadan Series

Allah Is The Author of History

In today's world, we often hear people saying, "I am living my truth." A lot of times we end up chasing false quote-unquote truths. They are not truths at all.

You know, like when kids be like, "man, he's the truth." Or they'll say, "well, see, he's him." What does it mean when we say "he's him" or "he's the truth"? That means that person showed up on the court or showed up wherever they did in a way that they cannot be denied.

Well, of course, when it comes to Allah, He is always al-Haqq. He is the truth, no matter what.

That's what makes Islam so beautiful because it is submission only to Allah. And that's what I think made me come into Islam. السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته, everyone.

Welcome back to Quran 30 for 30. We now enter into the most precious and blessed of nights of the last ten nights of Ramadan. May Allah accept them from you all.

May Allah allow you all and all of us to find Laylatul Qadr and to be embraced by Allah's mercy on that special night. And may Allah accept all the good deeds that have been done thus far and forgive all of the sins before Allah. Ameen.

Supporting the Work

I want to remind you all this is the time in which we truly count on you to contribute. What you can do insha'Allah is go ahead and plug in any donation insha'Allah for the last ten nights of Ramadan. And that will automate throughout the last ten nights. And this is a major source of support for the work of Yaqeen.

And so by doing so, think about how many lives, how many hearts you are changing, how many people you're connecting to Allah, all of that being from your scale of good deeds bi-idhnillahi ta'ala. So please do insha'Allah, whatever amount it is, there is no insignificant amount. And we need your du'as as well for acceptance.

May Allah reward you all and I pray that we're able to continue to benefit you by the permission of Allah. And we certainly benefit from your du'as, your feedback and your support.

Sister Sarah Sultan's Work

With that, we have with us sister Sarah Sultan from Houston. May Allah bless you and elevate you. I was sharing with her that subhanAllah that one of the early books, might be the earliest book publication that we actually had was the book, Your Lord Has Not Forsaken You with yourself and sister Najwa. And subhanAllah that book, I've actually been giving it to people in prison, printing it out and giving it to them.

And they've come back with how much they love that book and how much comfort they found in it. And that has been the case. So may Allah reward you for that work, you and sister Najwa.

And also, of course, the series we did a few years ago about attaching to Allah, very relevant to this year's series as well. How Ibrahim teaches us how to connect to Allah in different vulnerabilities. And everything else that you're doing, may Allah reward you and may Allah reward your family.

May Allah be a source of comfort and acceptance for you. Allahumma ameen. Is there anything you'd like to share about the work that you're doing, the work that's in the pipeline?

Well, JazakAllah khair. First, I want to convey my gratitude that you're sharing our book with just people who are so incredible that I can't believe that, you know, them reading my words, if I can get one dot, if Najwa and I and our families can get one dot from them, we're just so, so grateful. And may Allah protect them and free them and elevate them in status and in ranks. And I'm going to tell Najwa that she's going to be so appreciative to hear that too, insha'Allah.

In terms of the work that I'm doing, Alhamdulillah, I'm really grateful to continue to work with Yaqeen. Najwa and I are co-writing a parenting series right now, where I think about three papers in. Alhamdulillah.

And it's about raising children who are connected to Allah, who grow in strong Muslim identity, to be able to face the trials of this world, the trials of the next, to raise them in that way. And then Alhamdulillah, I'm blessed to do the work that I do with Al-Maghrib Institute, the classes and the videos that I'm able to record with them too. So I'm grateful for those opportunities, Alhamdulillah.

Favorite Names of Allah

Allah bless you and put barakah in it all. Ameen. Just Sarah, really quick, is there a favorite name of Allah that you have?

Yes. It's very hard to pick one, but it's a tie between two. So the first is Al-Latif, which is the subtly kind, the gentle guiding hand of Allah, where like we see it in the story of Yusuf, where in the end he calls Allah Al-Latif after everything that he's been through, where he is put in the well by his brothers, he is sold into slavery, he is imprisoned, he is lied about by someone of high status. And then all of this culminates in the end of his story to him being in one of the highest positions in the land.

And if only one step had been missed, then he wouldn't have gotten that position. And that is the subtly kind nature of Allah and the way that Allah uses his gentleness to guide us. So sometimes we don't realize the grand scheme, like the tapestry that Allah is creating for us.

And when plans, mishaps happen, we find them really unfortunate. But in the end, that's actually creating the trajectory that we need for success. So that's one of my favorite names.

The other one is Ash-Shakoor, because as a mom, knowing that I have the appreciation of Allah, even if there's no appreciation elsewhere, I find it very powerful also for intention, you know, that when you know that Allah appreciates what you do, it allows you to do things without needing that validation or appreciation from people. So those are my two favorites.

Allah as the Author of History

JazakumAllah khair, Allah yimanik feekum.

Alhamdulillah, we are in Juz 21. And subhanAllah, it actually fits the nature of the book that you all wrote. You know, last Juz, there's a lot of a'ilahun ma'allah, is there another God beside Allah and the things that Allah does for us on an individual level that no one else could do.

And the things that Allah does for this universe that no one else could do. And the way that we call out to Allah desperation and darkness, and he's always there, a'ilahun ma'allah, which is both, is there any God besides Allah? And would you want a God besides Allah because of who Allah is to you and what he can be to you.

This Juz subhanAllah, I was thinking about something entirely different. I'm going to frame it bi-idhnillah ta'ala with this one sentence. Allah is the author of history, Allah as the author of history. Why? Because if you read this Juz, it goes from Al-Ankabut, and then Surah Ar-Rum, right, Luqman, As-Sajdah, and then to Al-Ahzab.

So from the closing of Surah Al-Ankabut, but really you're looking at Surah Ar-Rum to Surah Al-Ahzab. So if the last Juz is more on like a personal level of a'ilahun ma'allah, is there any God beside Allah that could have done this or that could do this for you? You also look at history. Is there any God beside Allah that is privy to everything that is happening and that is controlling everything that is happening and that anticipates and waits and knows the outcomes and knows what is coming and is always on the side of the believers.

The Alif-Lam-Meem Surahs

So let's kind of just sit with this for a little bit insha'Allah and we can have a brief discussion about it bi-idhnillah and then we'll get into a very specific ayah. These surahs are the Alif-Lam-Meems. They're part of the hawameem that were revealed in Mecca.

They kind of come one after the other. I teach Tafsir Surah As-Sajdah within Maghrib and so we sort of talk about this grouping of surahs. They're very pronounced with the power of Allah.

Like these surahs Allah is really putting us in our place like constantly as humanity. You need to expect tests, you need to expect trial, you need to expect that there are going to be times where you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel and none of that matters because Allah's promise is true and Allah is going to bring you out of it and the focus should be on your sajdah. You're humbling yourself to Allah.

Collectively what does it look like as an ummah when we're in sajdah? Collectively right? An ummah that submits itself to Allah, submits itself to his will, submits itself to his power.

From the Romans to the Muslims

But then there's one connection that I was thinking about subhanAllah. It starts off with Surah Ar-Rum. The Romans thought they were done right? The Romans thought they were done. And Allah gave them victory over the Persians when they thought they were done.

And the end of the juz is Surah Al-Ahzab where the Muslims thought they were done in the khandaq, in the trench and Allah showed them the light not just outside of the trench but a light that spreads throughout the entire world through the hand of the Prophet.

That you are not done. This is in fact the beginning of your victory and indeed after khandaq there's a turn that takes place, a very palatable turn that takes place. What comes next in terms of the major instance or Hudaybiyyah right? Victory over the hypocrites on the inside and those that betrayed them on the inside, Bani Qurayza and then of course I'm skipping some events in between but Hudaybiyyah and Hudaybiyyah was a fath.

It was a great conquest and opening and of course it preceded the great opening of Mecca. Now subhanAllah also with the Romans and the Persians Allah said that it's between three and nine years. If you actually read what happened between those three and nine years there were openings that were happening before the big opening right? And that's how victory actually takes place.

It's never just this one boom and then there's an opening. It goes from place to place and so Allah is the author of history and he presents himself as such in this particular juz and Allah promises when the Romans will be defeated but he also says he originates creation and then he repeats it. One of the fawa'id, one of the benefits of that is he repeats history as well right?

You know one set of heroes and villains dies, the next set comes. One generation dies, another generation comes. Their problems and their promises are eerily reminiscent of the generations of the past and through that the lessons are timeless and so Allah says that he has the knowledge of the hour that it's not just history that Allah knows. Allah knows the hour and no one else knows the hour right?

So it's like he takes you to the very beginning and he takes you to the very end and commands you to just be in a state of submission everywhere in between and that is his promise to us that if we do so that he will make of us a great ummah.

Reflections on History and Time

Sheikh Abdullah I'd love for you to start insha'Allah any reflections you have on that.

Yeah it's beautiful I mean like how just when pondering over Allah and his greatness and how he is the originator of all things and how when you look at history in and of itself how Allah creates time and then he creates as he says you know and these are the days that we cause to repeat one another and it's for us to know more about ourselves individually personally but then collectively as an ummah we have to look at ourselves as an ummah and then see what are we doing within this time that Allah has created firstly recognizing that he is the creator of time and then seeing how we are acting in accordance to that knowledge.

So when we see what has happened with the Romans we see what has happened with the Prophet throughout history then we look at what's happened to ourselves and see what are those things that are consistent in the ways that they responded to the taqdeer of Allah to the creation of Allah and that is foundationally speaking our belief in him our creed our connection to him firstly our knowledge of him and then how do we respond to that knowledge that's what I think is the most important aspect of history and this is why Allah tells us within these qasas and these stories they're a lesson and the lesson is not just to be something that is for education but for enrichment initially spiritual enrichment and that's what I think is so beautiful that when we look at the history we repeat what was good from it and then we learn from what needed work from the creation which also as a result reminds us that Allah is one that is perfect that we are not right so that's the reflection that I have from.

Allah Is Al-Haqq: The Ultimate Truth

Beautifully so close there you know the what you were saying about Allah putting us in our place in these surahs it's incredible because you know in a lot of the Quran we see Allah talking about his creation his signs and for us to open our eyes and to reflect on them right and that only those who are righteous are actually going to be able to see those signs and reflect on them and so I the verse that I have for today is exactly this is exactly Allah putting us in our place where in Surah Luqman he says:

And so Allah here saying that that is because Allah is al-Haqq and what they invoke besides him is falsehood and Allah is the most high and the all great and just in this short verse we see three incredibly powerful names of Allah that all put us in our place right we see al-Haqq that Allah is the ultimate truth and al-Ali that he's the most high and al-Kabir that he is the most great.

Living My Truth vs. Living Allah's Truth

And when we understand them we look at the context of where they're showing up in this juz in this surah and just before this verse Allah is reminding us of his power he is telling us how he alternates the night and the day how he resurrects and creates how he commands the sun and the moon and then he says that he is al-Haqq the ultimate truth and when I read this verse the first thing that popped into my head because you know a lot of times when we hear the word truth in today's world we often hear people saying I am living my truth you know I'm just living my truth this is my personal truth.

And a lot of times we end up chasing false quote-unquote truths they are not truths at all and we chase false comforts false refuges instead of prioritizing Allah over everything and so when he tells us that he is al-Haqq that he is the truth it is something that is so powerful because when we submit to Allah when we humble ourselves to Allah we anchor ourselves in a reality that doesn't change we anchor ourselves in stability when the world is constantly in motion and constantly changing subhanAllah.

And so when people say I'm living my truth usually what they mean is I'm doing what feels good right now I'm living in accordance with my emotion right and I'm not living in accordance with revelation and it reminded me of the verse where Allah says have you seen the one who takes his desires as his god in Surah Al-Furqan because do we consult our feelings first or do we consult Allah first and you know as a therapist I get it feelings are important I view feelings as very important you know but they're not the most important and sometimes sometimes we have to put our feelings aside to do what's right we have to put our comfort aside to choose what Allah wants for us.

The Essence of Arrogance

And so allowing our feelings to become our guide that's us choosing our ego and putting our ego above what Allah wants for us rather than actually submitting our ego to Allah and that's what Iblis did right when Allah commands him to bow down to Adam and he decides I don't want to that doesn't feel good because you made him from clay and you made me from fire I'm better than him so it doesn't feel right that's not my personal truth that I should bow down to this man but he prioritized his understanding his rationale over Allah and that is the essence of arrogance right and when Rasul was asked about arrogance one of the ways he defined it was it is rejecting the truth right because Allah is al-Haqq right rejecting the truth of placing the self above Allah.

And so I want to pause there before I talk a little bit more about some thoughts I have insha'Allah to hear your thoughts.

There's a lot of fawa'id and jewels there masha'Allah I mean I love how you mentioned al-Haqq and you mentioned how people say their truths especially in a day where it's a day of hedonism and and you know people just saying you know we just follow your feelings and do what you feel and how you feel and that's your truth and it's subjective right so you know when the name al-Haqq as some scholars say means ath-thabit that which is firm and doesn't move but when you look at batil what they call other to other than him it's batil it's not thabit it's not firm it's not that which will stay forever it's not timeless.

And that's beautiful how you're mentioning that because if we were just to rely on our feelings it would be would be destroyed there's that ruins the essence of ubudiyyah of servitude because servitude from servitude as a part of servitude within the process of servitude is jihad an-nafs is fighting the self right the self the nafs which some scholars mention that there's three different types or three different scenarios of the nafs which we won't go into but one of those is to where you know the nafs the self the part of the self that calls you consistently to do evil but to do that which is not ultimately in your benefit because immediately we may see the immediate benefit but our fitrah knows that okay this may not be the best for me but the hawa the desires the feelings that you talked about cause us to indulge upon those things which we if we were to sit and think about Allah and ponder over where is this going to take me right where is this going to take me in this life in the next week the next month the next year or in the afterlife which the muslims are pillars of his or her belief we would say okay we would fight ourselves to do the things that's better for ourselves.

So when you realize Allah it reminds me as well as Allah says Allah says that this Quran calls to that which is most upright and this is you know meaning that this is the best that doesn't mean that there are not other ways that you may view as upright and that may not be other ways there are other ways that may be upright in reality but the Quran is the best so when Allah is he is calling you he is a truth and he is calling you to the truth over every and anything that you may view as true but if it's contradictory to what the truth has revealed in the system that he's revealed that's where we have to do some self reviews some self renewal some purification of the self and the best purification is understanding and trying your best consistently consistently of that purification through actions and through remembrance with all the limbs the tongue the heart and the limbs as well so that's beautiful.

Trend versus Truth

I like how you really just you know just unpacked that name it's make it easy upon us it's really interesting that like even when you when you translate this to like what it means societally what is true without moral objectivity today was not true right last generation right like when you say that al-Haqq means that he is ath-thabit that he's firm falsehood is so trendy there's trend versus truth right so falsehood is based on trend and there are all sorts of factors that create that truth for the moment right society sets different standards there are people that profit off of those different standards there are all sorts of incentives to believe this to be the truth because you benefit from taking this as a truth right so i think about someone that was deeply devoted to an idol in Mecca you know you benefit from that you don't really believe that the idol has power but you benefit from that when Allah says and you know when you think about arrogance like most people and the Prophet said to deny the truth and to look down upon people or to belittle the people which has which has a very specific application here in this hadith but the first one which is like people don't usually think about that in terms of arrogance right like the the person that completely denies revelation denies the existence of God but is humble and nice and courteous people won't call that person arrogance but there's no greater arrogance than denying the truth right than denying your creator just like if a person denied their parents it doesn't matter how good they are to everyone else but if they treat their parents like you know like dirt then at the end of the day there's a denial there's a component of denial that is there as well so Allah elevates himself as the truth that has multiple connotations this also shows up in this in this juz that the promise of Allah does not betray his promise so he is the truth his promises are true like it has all sorts of connotations that he is true his promise is true his reward is true his meeting is true his jannah is true his hellfire is true the Prophet's life is true right so truth emanates from him.

I was thinking about this like in terms of modern lingo like you know like when kids be like man he's the truth or you know like or they'll say what's the he's him what does it mean when I say he's him or he's the truth right that means that that person showed up on the court or showed up wherever they did in a way that like they cannot be denied all right well of course when it comes to Allah he is always he is the truth no matter what right so when you go through the rest of the ayah sister sarah like this pair at the end that that he is to pair that off with the most high the most great like what more do we derive from them.

Al-Ali and Al-Kabir: The Antidote to Ego

I think that it's one of the like I think that those two names being paired at the end makes it so much easier for us to accept Allah as the truth right because you know what you were mentioning Sheikh Abdullah about quelling our desires he says that whoever wishes to purify his heart must prefer Allah above his own desires right and so when we think of those moments where we decide that Allah is he is the most high that Allah is that he is the most great when we say we say Allah is greater greater than what greater than everything right so in those moments when you wake up for fajr and you get out of your warm bed or you tell the truth even though that truth might cost you right or you walk away from a sin even though you're you're like there's such an intense desire for it those are the moments that you're accepting that Allah is higher than my ego higher than myself and i'm going to put him in that that position and that he is greater greater than everything that's standing in my way of worshiping him and that his truth is the truth that that i hold on to so i think that those two names when they're paired they really they really form an antidote for us against our our ego and it really helps us to you know.

Signs for Those Who Are Sabir and Shakur

In the following verse in Surah Luqman I love the way it transitions from al-Haqq al-Ali and al-Kabir that when we talk about the ego it's all about me myself and I it's all about looking inward and the following verse Allah says do you not see that the ships sail through the sea by the grace of Allah so that he may show you his signs and he is bringing our attention outward externally away from like the inside the inners of our ego and then he ends this verse by saying that surely in this are signs for those who are sabir and shakur the ones who are steadfast like sabr I know people define as patience but I think it's more perseverance discipline steadfastness right and shakur the ones who are grateful and those are two antidotes to our ego as well to help us to be humble right because you need like sabr is an essential part of the equation to put Allah above your desires to really decide that Allah is al-Ali and I if I want any lofty status then I turn to al-Ali and shukr also is necessary because a lot of times we do something and we're like you know I did that and we we pride ourselves on our capability but where did that capability come from it came from Allah and so shukr is another antidote to help us be be humble and to realize that Allahu akbar right Allah is greater than my ability than any capability because he is the source of that capability right and so when we tie those two names to al-Haqq it makes us so much easier to accept the truth of Allah rather than the false fleeting truths that we might have based on our desires based on our feelings because it really helps us to remember that Allah is higher than my ego and I choose to have that supersede my worship of Allah my purpose in worshiping Allah supersedes whatever desire I have and he is greater than any obstacle that might get in the way of me fulfilling that purpose right.

The Importance of Dhikr and Reflection

And that's why it's important subhanAllah to always subhanAllah you know the dhikr of Allah even dhikr with the lisan as you know as mentioned just always mentioning his names and when you mention that name you try your best through continuously mentioning that name to ponder over it and when you ponder over it you start to look at your life and that's when the introspection takes place and all this is a process and that's you know I used to always wonder subhanAllah when we at the end of the salawat why is it 33 times why do we say it over and over and over and over again and you know subhanAllah maybe not the first second third or 15th time that you say it but hopefully eventually especially after just finishing the salawat you know you think of Allahu akbar what does that really mean subhanAllah glorification to Allah what are the differences between the two you know alhamdulillah what's the difference between subhanAllah and alhamdulillah and Allahu akbar in each one of these names has the sifat al-'uluw you know Allah is above all of these other forms of creation above everything other than him he is greater than that.

And subhanAllah when you think of that Allah as you mentioned in the next verse he talks about creation and what was mentioned about that when you know Allah ends with a sabr and shukr you know some scholars mentioned that when you're in the fulk in the bahr in the sea that if there's the waves that are very very strong and impactful and it's hitting you whether literally or figuratively you know it will require what it will require patience the turbulence of life but when when the sea is anikhashiya when is there's a level of sakinah when it's tranquil that's when it's time for you to what to show shukr and in both times you need to mention the names of Allah to to bring forth that sakinah in your heart or to make you more thankful the tranquility in your heart from being patient or to make you more thankful from what you are currently seeing.

And that's why subhanAllah when we look at look at these names of Allah in this particular situation where he's talking about what they call on his batil because the previous verses were speaking about how they made inkar of the ba'th how they would deny resurrection and denying of these things as you mentioned denying what the Prophet said denying prophethood and some of them knowing prophethood but their desires still cause them to deny whether it's the ego of them themselves or their tribe or whatever the case may be you know recognizing that Allah is the truth does take an element of taking from yourself and submitting to Allah and that's the essence of Islam that's what makes Islam so beautiful because it is submission only to Allah and that's what I think made me come into Islam you know since that everything else has a level of a level of greatness whether I in me internally with my personal experience with that thing that person that experience or generally on a communal level we may view this as great but Allah is greater than all of it because he is the originator of it he's the one that brought into existence and he can easily take beautiful reflection.

The Connection Between Worship and Character

You know I was thinking about like Surah Luqman even as Luqman the wise is teaching his son adab he's connecting every one of those small adab to the greatness of Allah right the way you talk the way you walk the way you carry yourself that there is a humility that comes through submission to Allah the way you treat your parents the way you treat everyone around you right there's a humbling impact of that submission and it's true to sajdah right like this imagery of like the revelation hitting a person they immediately fall in in humility in their in their worship and they're you know prostrating and there's to Allah bowing and prostrating to Allah.

You look back at right his denial of the truth led his back to straighten up when he was commanded to bow and to prostrate right so those things of batr al-haqq and ghamat an-nas are greatly connected batr al-haqq which is denial of the truth is largely in the domain of ibadah domain of worship and ghamat an-nas belittling people largely in the domain of character and this just really does address both.

Closing Du'a and Call to Support

For coming and being a part of this and for your continuous work and helping people to make sense of the world around them and their feelings and then channeling that to submission to Allah may Allah reward you and elevate you as always for the beautiful reflections and to everyone else please keep us in your du'a in these last 10 insha'Allah and again please do donate insha'Allah whatever amount it's going to be in the link barakAllahu feekum wa السلام عليكم ورحمة الله