How The Qur’an Makes You Rich | Dr. Tahir Wyatt | Juz 3 Qur’an 30 for 30 S7 | Ramadan Series

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, everyone. Welcome back to Qur'an 30 for 30. Alhamdulillah, we're in juz three.

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Today we have our favorite Shaykh from Philly, Shaykh Tahir Wyatt. I wore my Philadelphia Eagles colors, you know, just to be prepared for the moment.

Actually, before we say anything, the documentary on Muslims in Philadelphia, the history of that. If you haven't watched it, the first Muslim town. Is this the first Muslim town in America? It's beautiful.

There's a larger project, more on the academic side, which is just kind of covering that history. A little bit more methodically. However, I would just say one of the major takeaways is what you call the izzah. You see these Muslims who have so much dignity.

They're so happy that Allah guided them to Islam. And they want to hold on to that with their molars, man. You know, it's kind of like, this is a very far stretch. But think about that first wave of converts with the Prophet, alayhi salatu wa salam. And how dedicated they were to the deen. And how really nobody that hasn't tasted what disbelief is like or rejection of faith is like. They may take Islam for granted, because, subhanAllah, you know, you haven't really tasted the other side. What you see with that early wave of converts to Sunni Islam in Philadelphia is a type of izzah. They are in love with the deen. That's incredible.

SubhanAllah. And you also see an attachment to the book of Allah. Like these people were reading the Qur'an and trying to understand what is it that my creator wants from me.

SubhanAllah. And that's where you see that level of both dignity and integrity. It's like what literature was there in the 1930s and 40s? What seerah book do you read? What tafsir? What translation of the Qur'an do you pick up at that time? You're just trying with anything you can find.

And subhanAllah, it's like that's something that you look at the early converts to Islam with the Prophet. What Asma of Allah did they know? What did they know about the names of Allah? They had such a radical shift in them from just لا إله إلا الله, kalimat at-tawheed. Like it switched everything for them. SubhanAllah.

They were ready to adhere to anything that would come from that. What I saw from all of those early converts was resilience, man. SubhanAllah. Like a tenacity and just no matter what came their way, subhanAllah, trying to figure out ways to work through it.

And Sheikh Abdullah and I, we were interviewing one of the brothers and he brought up something I hadn't thought about. He said, you know, in Philly, we got that rebellious spirit. And it was interesting because there's the part where it's just like, I am not going to let somebody take me away from what I believe is the truth. That's one thing. There's another thing when the environment actually reinforces that.

And he was talking about Philadelphia as the place where the Declaration of Independence was signed. Like, no, we're not paying you any more taxes. This is what we do. But the thing was, on a serious note, it's like there is somewhat of an environmental factor in there that reinforces some of those traits that may be inside people.

Your Favorite Name of Allah

Shaykh, your favorite name of Allah in this moment?

Subhanallah, it is so difficult, Shaykh. So difficult. I will say, I think because it's Ramadan and because we are seeking for Allah's mercy so much, Ar-Rahman is powerful, Shaykh.

And I know you want to go for something a little more rare. But subhanallah, Ar-Rahman is the name Allah used to name one of the surahs of the Qur'an. And it's powerful and it's a reminder of the favors of Allah that despite our transgressions, He still shows us so much mercy, subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And that, you know, as you mentioned in the first episode in the Names of Allah series, that it wasn't Sufyan, if I'm not mistaken, or one of the other from the Salaf, they say, you know, if I was given the choice between my mother and Allah, you know, calling me to account, I would choose Allah. Because He's more merciful to me than my own mother. So, you know, these are times when we think about that meeting with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and we want His mercy, we need His mercy.

Overview of Juz 3

JazakAllah khair, Shaykh. So I'm going to give a very short overview, inshallah, of the Juz, and inshallah, it's open for conversation. Obviously, we're in the third Juz of the Qur'an.

And in this Juz, you have Ayat al-Kursi, the most complete self-portrait that Allah gives of Himself in the entire Qur'an.

And in that verse, it's awe-inspiring, like the way Allah presents Himself in Ayat al-Kursi. It's so awe-inspiring. Every single word of it, subhanAllah, is truly awe-inspiring. And in that, and we always talk about this when you're approaching Allah, that it's hard not to sometimes feel distant when you talk so much about His perfection, not how to access that perfection via du'a and via manifesting whatever exists of human implications.

And Ayat al-Kursi is so awe-inspiring. Like Allah is perfect in every way. And He glorifies that perfection in every way. And He points immediately to the idea that you are overtaken by sleep and fatigue. Like He doesn't get tired. He doesn't tire. He is ever-living, ever-sustaining. And that self-governance of just everything is transcended. And His attributes are transcended.

But subhanAllah, right after that:

Look how quickly Allah makes the connection back to His creation, particularly the believers amongst them. That He is the wali of those who believe. He brings them out from darknesses into light.

So, looking at that, and then coming into Al Imran, and Allah has this verse again:

Allah presents Himself as the authority, as the king. Allah presents Himself as the most honorable, and He dispenses what He wants to. And this is actually, subhanAllah, such a powerful framing of the Qur'an as the stories are going to start to come about. He dispenses of honor and power and authority, what He wants to, upon whom He wants. And so, you have to seek it from Him if you want it.

So, it's like Ayat al-Kursi gives that awe-inspiring description of Allah. And then the personal access and the personal relationship that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is willing to grant to the believers. May Allah make us amongst them.

Allahumma ameen. And then Allah dispensing, not just through personal relationship guidance, but also honor, power, everything that you would want even in the worldly sense. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala being the sole source of that.

And you have to think like in a communal sense, like this is being revealed around Badr and Uhud. Like what a powerful time to learn as a community. قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَاءُ وَتَنزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَاءُ You give and you take as you will.

Like what a powerful time to learn that. Like Badr is such an example of one manifestation of that. Uhud, also a manifestation of that.

And as we are turning back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you'll notice throughout this, how do you prove that you want that from him? How do you prove that you're seeking that from him? Number one, you'll notice in the beginning of Al Imran, Allah mentions after Ayat al-Kursi that the gift that he bestows upon you is guidance. And in the beginning of Al Imran, in those du'as:

So the greatest gift is guidance and you're so afraid of losing that and that should be your number one priority is maintaining that guidance from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala because that's the greatest gift that you're going to receive from him. But then how do you prove that you love Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the fullest sense and that you are willing to turn all of your attention towards him to receive whatever he dispenses?

If you truly love Allah then follow me, follow the Prophet ﷺ and Allah will love you back. Like there's no time here for empty claims. You follow the Prophet ﷺ and Allah will love you back and Allah will forgive your sins and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is truly the forgiving and the merciful.

So it's very interesting how there's the communal lessons that come out of this immediately within like Al-Baqarah going into Al Imran. Like what you're learning beyond just guidance but everything else coming from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and also where success and failure truly comes from and how Allah tasks you with something meaningful so that you don't remain in the abstract. You can follow the Prophet ﷺ if you claim that you love Allah. The Prophet ﷺ is made accessible to you.

He's a human being alayhi salatu wa salam. Perfection manifested in the human sense. So you have character, you have a standard in the human sense. So you can't claim to not know how to manifest that awe-inspiring description of Allah. The way the Prophet ﷺ does because Allah sent him as a hujjah in that sense. That this is the top of the line for a guided human being and this is your standard for the rest of your life. Follow it and all of this good will come from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as a result.

The Greatness of Allah and His Authority

SubhanAllah. I mean the Ayat al-Kursi as you mentioned which is even in the Sunnah to recite it when going to sleep. You think about the Prophet ﷺ mentioning to go to their bed before you go to sleep to recite this Ayat al-Kursi that he is not overpowered by drowsiness nor sleep. When Allah mentions his greatness and mentions those characteristics of his greatness by negating and mentioning that certain things that are not of his majesty subhanAllah that him being drowsy or him going to sleep or anything of that nature.

Then Allah further going on in Al Imran and mentioning his power and his authority of how he takes away the mulk and gives the mulk to people which is always a reminder if he's a repository of all of the goodness that we are given. And to always remember that we are given. He is the one that bestows it upon you.

When one remembers the greatness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and they continuously remember that throughout their lives what they're facing it serves as a huge opportunity for us to turn to him even more and to call on him. And again whatever you are facing particularly in the salat. So when you're praying for example and your mind diverts away, it goes away. You know it's diverted from the remembrance of Allah.

Whatever thing that you are thinking about you can think of a name of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that's connected to that and that can ultimately bring you back to your khushu and your undivided attention in that regard.

And Al Imran was one of the most, my favorite chapters when I was memorizing in Al-Madinah. You know, Allah speaking about His greatness. And then Allah speaking about the different incidents that took place, particularly in the Battle of Badr.

How Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is constantly throughout the Qur'an but he's constantly reminding you that reminder that we always need as human beings when not if but when we fall short to remember those beautiful names and the authoritative nature of those names. The authoritative nature of Allah taking away something and how we react when it's taken away. And that's the test again. When Allah takes something away, you know that. But when it's actualized in your life with something that you have a strong connection to what do we ultimately do?

I think in this beautiful juz and particularly in Al Imran, mashaAllah, tabaraka Allah. It is something that reminds me countless times of that. Particularly the verses you mentioned at the very beginning. It reminds me of that numerous times.

Bringing Life Back to the Dead

You know, subhanAllah, this juz as you mentioned is rich. But there's a particular point that I think is extremely important when it comes to al-khitab al-aam, we'll call it. Like so addressing humanity as a whole. And not just the fact that it is addressing the believers because some of it is definitely, you know, an address to the Muslim community at the time.

And it's this emphasis on Allah bringing life back to the dead. And so you see that from the second page of the juz, you know, you have this Ibrahim alayhi salam having this debate and saying that Allah brings life to the dead. And then this tyrant saying, but I bring life to the dead. And then, you know, or I give life and I cause death. And so Ibrahim responds to him that Allah is the one that brings the sun up from the east and causes it to set in the west. You do the opposite.

And, you know, but then right after that, or the person who's going to this town that is this village that is dead. Like it was alive at one point, if you will. It's a bustling place. Or there's crops, whatever way you want to look at it, from the fact that it's a living place. And now it's dead. Like the same way we would go by certain towns. It's a dead town. And this man is also questioning that.

But then fast forward. I don't want to go too deep into the stories. But then Ibrahim alayhi salam even asks Allah, show me, show me how you bring life back to the dead.

So there's this constant theme in a row of bringing life back to that, which has already died. And this is where a lot of people's shoelaces are. Like there are doubts about Allah's ability. So you have people that believe in a creator. Statistics show that more people believe in the creator than believe in an afterlife, which is actually weird. You would think that if you believe in a creator, then you should believe in the afterlife. But it's not like that. It's not correlated.

And so that emphasis on belief in a next life and an accountability for what you did with the blessings that the creator gave you in this life, I think that's a really important part of the juz that I wouldn't want to get lost.

That's powerful because people want to offer because it's just so illogical to say otherwise, that, yeah, there's probably a God, there's probably a designer and a creator, but I don't know enough. He's too inaccessible. I can't even begin to like, I was watching even like Sam Altman, like founder of OpenAI. And he's like, just like, you know, I'm not saying there is a creator. I'm not saying there isn't a creator. I'm saying that it would be hard for me to imagine that this all came from, but you don't want a creator you have to commit to.

You don't want a God you have to commit to. And the akhirah, the hereafter necessitates commitment, because that means if there's a hereafter, that means there's consequence. That means there's accountability. And I don't want to deal with that. That's such an uncomfortable thought. So let me just acknowledge the baseline logic side of this, which is, yeah, there's probably a designer and a God, but that's going to fail you when you actually need something. You actually need to call upon a God and actually need help. That's going to fail you very quickly.

How the Qur'an Makes You Rich - The Names Al-Ghani Al-Hameed

So Shaykh Tahir, I'm going to bring this back. Actually on that same note, there's a verse here in Surah Al-Baqarah:

Allah mentions spend from the best of what you have. Don't give your leftovers. Like, okay, if you really believe in this creator that has all and that gives all and that is the one who dispenses of honor and humiliation, of mercy, of power, of wealth and poverty, then it's going to show especially when it comes to your sadaqah, your giving. And that's why it's a burhan. It's a proof of your faith.

So Allah mentions donate the best of what you have earned and what we have produced for you from the earth. The end of that ayah, وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ حَمِيدٌ And know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is Al-Ghani Al-Hameed.

So he encourages you to give generously, not just from your leftovers. So can you tell us a bit about what the wisdom is of this, in particular the pairing of Al-Ghani Al-Hameed as well with this ayah?

Absolutely, but before we get into the ayah, subhanAllah, because I do think that we need to look at this ayah in the context of what we're living right now in the month of Ramadan. This is the month of generosity. And Ibn Abbas, radiya Allahu ta'ala anhuma, who was a young man, I mean, he was a teenager when the Prophet ﷺ died.

But he unprompted, he said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6)

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was the most generous of all people. He was the most open-handed, giving freely. And he was the most generous that he would be in this month of Ramadan when Jibreel would meet him and he would what? Read the Qur'an to him.

SubhanAllah. Because there's a correlation here, and Ibn Abbas radiya Allahu ta'ala anhuma is drawing that correlation for us. That there's a direct correlation between your reading of the Qur'an and your internalizing the meanings of the Qur'an and you becoming a generous person and giving freely.

Why? Because you start adapting the qualities of Al-Ghani, subhanahu wa ta'ala. The one who is self-sufficient, who is rich. And when you're rich, you don't feel like you need anything. So you can give.

And I want us to look at it in the context of this ayah. Allah makes that call to the believers يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا Which is really important for us to pay attention. Like Ibn Mas'ud radiya Allahu anhu said:

When you hear Allah say يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا O people of Iman, then give it your full attention. Lend it your ear.

Right after that, as you mentioned, Allah says to spend from the tayyibat that we have or that you have earned. So now you are told to spend from the tayyib From the halal, the pure and the good that you have earned. وَمِمَّا أَخْرَجَنَا لَكُم مِّنَ الْأَرْضِ And also from that which we have produced for you from the earth.

Which is interesting that in the beginning, he says كَسَبْتُمْ It's your work. You went out, Allah gave you these abilities. You went out and you worked and you earned something through trade or whatever it is. But when it comes to the earth, Okay, you planted the seed, you might even put some water in it, but you can't make that thing grow. That's from Allah. For it to actually come up, for it to actually sprout. That's from Allah. It's not your work that made it do that.

And so Allah says وَمِمَّا أَخْرَجَنَا لَكُم مِّنَ الْأَرْضِ What we brought forth, what we produced from the earth for you.

And then he says, So that's the first part, spend, spend. Spend from the good, from the halal. But then there's this point وَلَا تَيَمَّمُوا الْخَبِيثَ مِنْهُ تُنفِقُونَ Don't intend to go to the khabeeth.

Now here, khabeeth doesn't mean, sometimes we would say filthy. It's talking about inferior. Don't bring some inferior product and you give it, saying that it's for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And I'm not going to go into details about the past because I think a lot of us can actually picture this today. When there's a call for a coat drive or clothes are needed or blankets are needed or whatever. Don't go get the thing you were going to throw out in the trash in the first place and then go give that as sadaqah like you're doing who a favor with that.

You're in fact, your spending is for you before it's for anybody else. What do I mean by that? It's because you want to respond to the call of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala first and foremost. This is what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has commanded me to do. I want to respond to that call.

Second of all, one of the greatest things that we get from spending is that our hearts become free. My heart now is not attached to something material. It's transcending that. And it's being, I make my heart pure. My heart is now pure for the one that created that heart to know him subhanahu wa ta'ala And so now all these other things, they become toxins that pollute the heart. You get rid of that by spending because now it's like, I don't have, I'm not attached to this. I have wealth, it's in my hand, it's not in my heart. It's not holding me back.

And when you look at it, like the Prophet ﷺ often talks about himself as a Musafir. We're just traveling through this land. Traveling with heavy bags, man, that's a problem. Like I want to lighten this load. So these blessings that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given, spend from the good of it and don't come and bring a lot, as you mentioned, don't bring your leftovers, you know, don't bring the crumbs. Bring the cake, you know, like bring something that's khayr.

وَلَا تَيَمَّمُوا الْخَبِيثَ مِنْهُ تُنفِقُونَ وَلَسْتُم بِآخِذِيهِ إِلَّا أَن تُغْمِضُوا فِيهِ You yourself would not take that unless almost literally, I mean, this is an idiomatic phrase we say in English, but that you would have to turn a blind eye. إِلَّا أَن تُغْمِضُوا فِيهِ That's not the kind of charity you give for the sake of Allah.

And so, honestly, subhanAllah, we are going to hear, we probably already have heard some appeals, you know, for sadaqah in this month of Ramadan to support our Islamic institutions, organizations, so on and so forth. Don't bring something you would not accept yourself.

Like if somebody, if you have, you're able to give, like, mashaAllah, Allah has blessed you. And you come and you give $10 or $20. Alhamdulillah, that's a good thing. And nobody said it was wajib for you to give in that sense. But if you needed quite a bit, you needed some help, and somebody that you know could give you $20,000, gave you $10, like you would almost feel like that was a bit disrespectful, you know? And so it's like, don't give Allah your crumbs.

وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ حَمِيدٌ And you, at the end of all of this, know that Allah is Al-Ghani, so He doesn't need your sadaqah. He doesn't need it, because He is self-sufficient, independent of need, perfect, subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And so His perfection precludes Him from any need, and any dependency. So He doesn't need it, but you do. You need to give it. And Al-Hameed, meaning the praiseworthy one.

And I just, you know, subhanAllah, sometimes a person's ghina, their self-sufficiency, their wealth, can actually make them arrogant, which is not praiseworthy. Also, Allah when talking about human beings:

Insan does what? Mankind, a person does what? He transgresses. أَن رَّآهُ اسْتَغْنَىٰ When he thinks he doesn't need. But Allah isn't like that. Allah is Al-Ghani, and He gives generously Himself. Subhanahu wa ta'ala So He is Al-Hameed. He is praiseworthy in His actions, in His names, in His attributes. It's inherent in Him subhanahu wa ta'ala that He is praiseworthy.

Final Reflections

It's beautiful how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala He gives you the adab, He gives you the mannerisms and the ways to do these actions that He's telling you. So I love that. Don't give away what you wouldn't take yourself. And remember that this is for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's for Allah. Not meaning that Allah is in need, therefore He is Al-Ghani.

And He is Al-Hameed because He is Al-Ghani. You know, you think about these names when you're giving charity, when you give insha'Allah in this beautiful month and outside of that. It's a beautiful, beautiful reminder. The implementation of your aqidah and your faith when you're giving away to someone else. Beautiful, beautiful.

JazakAllah khair. Please continue to tune in. Insha'Allah we'll see you throughout the month. Wassalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.