How To Memorize Allah’s Names | Dr. Haifaa Younis | Juz 9 Qur’an 30 for 30 S7 | Ramadan Series

Imagine Allah saying about himself, what a wali I am. How can you not know that there is no better one? That you seek protection, seek love, seek taking fear from other than Allah. To Allah belong the most beautiful of names, so call upon him by those names.

And you're not going to remember any of these names unless you incorporate them into your life. There's a level of disappointment that you may had in that person because you had a certain expectation. But that can serve as a means for you to turn more to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Allah is the one that has your back. Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh everyone. Welcome back to Quran 30 for 30.

Alhamdulillah, we are in Juz 9. We are now going into the middle 10 days of Ramadan where people tend to lose their steam. And we're here to remind you it's still Ramadan inshallah ta'ala. We're still going through the Quran.

We always see the drop off in the Ramadan series and everything kind of tailors off. So make this Ramadan different from your previous Ramadans inshallah ta'ala. Keep the steam going.

And one of the ways that you can discipline yourself inshallah to keep the steam going is to use these various markers so that you're not falling off. These are consistent things that are coming out. Your own personal reading of the Quran.

Read your Juz every day. Or whatever it is that you have as your wird. But do not lose that steam and that momentum.

And to help you not lose that momentum. Alhamdulillah we have with us today Dr. Haifa Younis. Alhamdulillah.

Who alhamdulillah obviously runs Jannah Institute. Is a part of Yaqeen Institute. Even if she doesn't claim it.

We claim you. We claim you as part of Yaqeen. But more than that alhamdulillah we benefit from you alhamdulillah.

That's what we mean by that alhamdulillah. We are blessed to be touched by your wisdom alhamdulillah. To see the amount of people especially sisters that are growing under you alhamdulillah.

I mean I can't tell you how many sisters that I've personally heard from who are on the spectrum from new Muslims to people that have been Muslim their whole life that have benefited from you. May Allah bless you. May Allah increase you.

May Allah make you a light of the Quran to the world. Jazakumullahu khayran for joining us. Alhamdulillah.

Jazakumullahu khayran for having me. It's always a pleasure to be back. I know subhanAllah you two actually went to Syria and Turkey together.

Reflections from Turkey and Syria

Turkey. Turkey when the earthquake happened. You know subhanAllah when I think about that the Turkey Syria earthquake by the way was actually part of the inspiration for the Why Me series.

Because that's like the whole world pre-genocide in Gaza feels so blurry right now you know. But back then it was like why did this happen to these people all these things. Maybe we can actually start from there inshallah.

What was an experience that stayed with you? How many years ago is that? Actually three years, two months ago. Like March, February 2022. Am I correct? Yes.

So what's a memory that stays with you both from that trip to visit the earthquake victims? SubhanAllah I mean for me it's just the resilience of the people. Remember we went to that tent with the children. Oh man that was... The resilience of the people that all of this is taking place and they're still smiling.

They're very thankful that we've come there to see how they're doing. I think the main word is resilience for me. The same answer to a question I asked so many people.

How did it feel? Now remember the earthquake happened at the border between Syria and Turkey. And there was a lot of the Syrian refugees so they were speaking Arabic. And I asked so many people.

It's the same answer. 4.25 we were sleeping. We heard a voice and everyone saying ooh.

And we thought it's the day of judgment. Wow. And then the shake, the shake, the shake.

Everyone is the same. And every time they answer it comes to my mind:

When the earth will shake its shake. And to me it was one of the, of course nothing like Gaza.

But it was before that. It was one of the trips that really affected me. The destruction was devastating.

I wish people would spend more time going on these trips. And not like in a cheap, like what they call volunteerism. Like go take selfies with refugees.

Not in a cheap way. Go put your phone away. Meet people.

Soften your heart. If people can afford to take trips to go on vacation. There is nothing more beautiful than like maybe if Allah facilitates Umrah for you or something like that.

Just take a detour to Jordan maybe. Or to Syria now Alhamdulillah. You can go to Syria maybe directly now.

Or Turkey. Work with some of the refugees that are there. Work with some of the victims.

But this is so good for your heart. Like it gives so much perspective. Take your children also.

Yes. Let them see. Let them see the blessings Allah have them.

And what other people are going through. It changes human beings. Subhanallah.

I love going to these trips actually to be honest with you. For me. Yeah.

On Allah's Beautiful Names

Dr. Haifa before we get started on the juz as well inshallah. Just a quick question. What's your favorite name of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala at this moment?

I love this verse. Subhanallah. It's raheem okay. But wadood.

Subhanallah. You know like he does things so we love him. Subhanallah.

Yeah. Yeah subhanallah. Rahimun wadood.

Mashallah. Alhamdulillah. That actually fits perfectly with the way we introduce this juz inshallah ta'ala.

Overview of Juz 9: Allah's Mercy and Names

We're in juz 9. And some of the main verses actually that frame the Ramadan series this year and beyond come from this juz. So for example when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, Verily my mercy encompasses all things. But I will write it.

I will ordain it for those who are mindful of me. Which shows us that there's a mercy that encompasses all things. But then there's a special mercy that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala writes down for the believer.

So Allah azza wa jal introduces himself in this juz as the possessor of infinite mercy. But at the same time he links his mercy to righteousness as well. Right? To piety as well.

The point of fasting is that you gain taqwa. Piety. And this is the month of mercy.

Where rahmah descends in accordance with all of those good deeds and all of that istighfar, all of that seeking forgiveness that is taking place within this month. Rahmah descends upon all of us. May Allah azza wa jal make us amongst its recipients.

Allahumma ameen. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions the expansiveness of his mercy. But then he mentions as well the special manifestations of his mercy that belong to a select few.

And sometimes giving a practical example helps people here. That in Ramadan, there's no way that the person that's fasting and the person that's exerting themselves is going to receive the same amount of mercy as a person who is disobeying Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala this month. But they are all operating under the mercy of Allah azza wa jal.

So, Also in this juz:

To Allah belong the most beautiful of names. So call upon him by those names. The point of knowing these names is to know these different dimensions of Allah azza wa jal so that you can use them in your du'a.

And you're not going to remember any of these names unless you incorporate them in du'a. So I remind everyone, you know, as we're going through the names of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala this Ramadan, incorporate these names in your du'a. That will be a means of hifth, a means of memorizing, protecting these names, guarding these names and their understandings inshallah ta'ala in your life.

And so Allah azza wa jal speaks to us as the one who teaches us how to know him. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grounds us in his names. So that we can understand that every du'a should be made with one of his names.

Every or more than one of his names. Every victory comes from as a manifestation of one of those names. And every moment that we make of repentance is going to connect us to those names bi-idhnillahi ta'ala.

Now the part that you also see here is Allah azza wa jal speaks to himself as the protector and the helper of the believers. So in this juz you find:

That victory is only from Allah. Indeed Allah is exalted in might and all wise.

So when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala pairs off in this particular thing, in this particular verse, his might and his wisdom and the decisiveness. It's deeply powerful. And what we find as well, and this is the last verse that I'll mention sort of in the overview that I see.

One of my favorite verses, and it's a portion of the verse, is where Allah azza wa jal says:

What a powerful, powerful verse. You did not throw when you threw, rather it was Allah azza wa jal that was throwing. You shot your arrows, you moved forward.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not just overcome the enemy. Allah azza wa jal enables every motion of yours. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is with you in the deepest and most intimate sense.

Lessons from Badr

And subhanallah, like you think of the precision. Like the numbers by the way, if you were a Muslim in Badr, and you saw what happened in Badr, you had no doubt this was a miracle. For one, the presence of the angels obviously, the obvious presence of the angels.

Where the Muslims mentioned that they would see like their enemies charging at them and then something just takes them and hearing the sounds in the sky. أَقْبِلْ حَيْزُونَ Like the sound of the angels being called upon. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam saying, جِبْرِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ just arrived with his angels.

He felt them in every way. Even the enemies felt the angels striking them from place to place. I actually want people to think about the visual here.

The visual is you had a bunch of Muslims with two horses and they were not equipped for a large battle. They had just the basic rudimentary weapons that you would take like on these journeys. And they're facing an army three times its size.

That's horsed out. They have horses all across, camels all across. Full armor and the best weaponry for a full out battle.

And they beat them. And that's the first decisive battle in Islam. If you were coming from Badr back to Medina, you're like there is no doubt.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا Allah is with us. And Allah azza wa jal is the one who is making this happen. So the reassurance and this of course comes in Surah Al-Anfal.

This reassurance. And Surah Al-Anfal of course sort of summarizes this long section of surahs where you have some of the battles that are being brought back up. But also a reminder.

It's almost like a summary of all of them through and through. And then you come to Tawbah which is the last surah that was revealed in its full which is a warning to the hypocrites and a call to them to come back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So this is kind of the overview and there's a specific verse I want to get to but I'll stop for that.

Dr. Haifa's Reflections on the True Believers

Subhanallah I look at it completely different. There is two verses again if we're talking about Surat Al-Anfal which is part of the part nine is when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala start but they ask you about the booties. There's no answer. The answer comes later but then he goes into إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ and I want everybody especially in Ramadan literally expose yourself to this verse.

It's two verses actually and then say is it me? So what he says:

For the believers, when Allah is being mentioned their heart wajila tremble not only of fear, fear of love of overjoy, over fear emotions al-wajal in Arabic language is way deeper than. When his verses is being revealed or they've been recited to them زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا my iman has to be stronger in even a small fraction and they rely totally on Allah.

Scholars will tell you this is all internal responses it's not an external so the true believer is internally first and then the external comes after the next one so what happens to me I ask myself when I hear the name of Allah when I hear the verses of Allah when I am tested in as you just said beautifully rely on me and rely on him whether in war whether in exam whether in any of decision.

Then comes:

It's not only internal because you hear it many people tell you iman in my heart absolutely but not all of it then you have to perform salat then you have to spend from your money then the third one:

You fulfill five criteria you are the true believer and in this one different than the last because at the end it's very similar verse but little bit shorter those who fulfill these five things the true believer what I'm gonna get ya rabbi لَّهُمْ دَرَجَاتٌ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ it's one of the few ones where Allah did not come to jannah yet you have levels which level you wanna be I always ask people especially when they talk about jannah it's hundred it's hundred levels between every level is ma bainat samai wal ardu this distance between heavens and earth where do you wanna be at the door second or a hundred?

Ask yourself where do you wanna be at the end of Ramadan. وَمَغْفِرَةٌ and then you have the وَرِزْقٌ كَرِيمٌ and he didn't say ajrun here rizq when the generous gives you what is he gonna give me رِزْقٌ كَرِيمٌ generous sustenance in akhira not in dunya.

These two literally the beginning of the end and in between comes مَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ comes in about the booties comes in when you face them because he describes the numbers right:

He made Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made the Rasul alayhi salatu was salam see the numbers are small so they are not scared and he made the sahaba in the verse after made the sahaba see them as small so they don't get scared and made the disbelievers see the Sahaba small so they belittle them. Subhanallah, subhanallah, it's amazing.

It's beautiful way, if you're gonna ask me, what do I learn? I'm not in better these days. You know what? Are you a true believer? A question. How do I get there? And then when I face something that normally everybody will be scared, he can make it very easy for me. Subhanallah.

The Beautiful Names: Al-Mawla and An-Naseer

So let me ask you this, Dr. Haifa, like one particular verse, and I think it might be the last verse in the Juz:

If they turn away, then know that Allah azza wa jal is your mawla, your protector. نِعْمَ الْمَوْلَىٰ وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ. What an amazing protector, what an amazing helper he is.

So this ayah is reminding us that in every struggle, true protection, victory comes from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. What's the wisdom of these names in this context?

SubhanAllah, it's amazing. Every time you finish this, it's like you just take a breath and say, Alhamdulillah, Allah is my Lord, is how I say, Alhamdulillah.

Now he said نِعْمَ, and then he said الْمَوْلَىٰ, and then النَّصِيرُ. You go to the mawla, what is al-mawla? It's loosely, I mean, to translate an Arabic word to one word of English doesn't give it due right. It's not only the protector, definitely it's a protector, but there's way more.

You know, one of the meanings of it is the lover. One of the meaning is the one who takes care of all your affairs. One of the meaning of it is he will not let you down.

Right, al-wali, the origin of it is al-wali, like the woman when she gets married, right, you have a wali. What is al-wali? The person who's gonna take care of her affair and he's gonna make sure this marriage contract is in the best interest of her. That's Allah.

And then he said in his shura, مَن يَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ, they took another wali, another protector, another one who takes care of them. اللَّهُ هُوَ الْوَلِيُّ, right? وَهُوَ يُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ.

I think looking at the names of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, not just name and just not, you know, many of us put them in our homes, looking at them. Maybe you wanna memorize them because of the hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2736)

If they really know them, you go to jannah. But if you look at it in detail and say, where is al-wali in my life? And where do I need al-wali in my life? I will answer personally.

I need him in every breath in me. I need him to love me. I need him to protect me. I need him to take care of me, right? When I feel I'm so low, I have no energy. I have no ability to fight anymore. We all go through this on a personal level I'm talking about.

Leave it. He's my wali. Turn to him and says, ya rabbi, you take care of me. I can't do this anymore. And then he said نِعْمَ. Where did the word نِعْمَ in the Quran came in? Whenever Allah is describing somebody, the best description, نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ.

When he described Sayyidina Ayub, what a servant of mine he is. So imagine Allah saying about himself, subhanallah, it's beyond me, honestly, beyond me. He's saying, what a wali I am.

Meaning, اعْلَمُوا, by the way. And he said اعْلَمُوا, you better know. But how can you not know that there is no better one that you seek protection, seek love, seek taking fear from other than Allah.

Why you are suffering? This is how I say to myself. Why you are looking for others? You look for others as a mean, as just you said it beautifully, but it is not the goal. And I don't have the belief they will do it. I have the belief he will send someone to do it, but he is the one.

When نِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ, by the way, one of the meanings of الْوَلِيُّ النَّصِيرُ is the one who gives you victory. Also one of the names of it, but he doubled it, he emphasized it, which is the very common themes in the Quran that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sometimes use the same meaning, but in a different way.

Even sometimes the same verses. Those who have memorized the Quran, you know one of the biggest challenges we have is the mutashabihat, very close. Sometimes it's very close, but there's just one letter or one word.

And you wonder, ya rabbi, and then when you dig deep into it, you know there is, وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ. You're looking for a victory, victory on a personal level, victory in job, victory in marriage, victory in dunya, let alone victory in akhira. Where do I go? The source, وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ, al-wali, meaning he owns it, he's the only one who can give it, he's the only one who can take it.

Why do you go somewhere else? Subhanallah, it's beautiful, beautiful. And then the end of this juz is this, and then he answers the first question, right? وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا غَنِمْتُم مِّن شَيْءٍ. So the surah al-anfal starts by a question, there's no answer, because the answer is not the issue.

It's who's gonna give you the bounties, right? And who's gonna tell you what to do with it. And unless you know who is he, you're not gonna know the answer or you're not gonna follow the answer.

Subhanallah, I wish everybody in this day and age, where, may Allah forgive me for saying this, but I feel it personally, when I feel my wali is my job, when I feel my wali is bank account, when I feel my nasir is the people around me, and then he shows me, sometimes in the hard way, that they are not the نِعْمَ الْمَوْلَىٰ and they are not the نِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ.

They are not what a great protector or the person who gives me victory. And I think if everybody learned this, especially in the day of I and me, our life would be much easier.

Turning Back to Allah

One thing about this verse is beautiful. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala uses the same letters in tawallu, right, tawallu, if they turn their backs. It's important for you to know that Allah is the one that, for lack of better words, has your back initially, ultimately. So there may be people that turn their backs on you.

I mean, if we generalize it, but know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the one that enabled them to do that for hikmah and value, for a divine wisdom. And are you going to rely on the one that said he's always there for you? Are you going to voluntarily turn to him, initially, the inabba in your heart, turning to him with your heart, if you've made a mistake, not even physically, but in your way of thinking that was consistent about a particular thing, about a job, about a person.

You continuously rely on it. But when it's taken away from you, that is when you have a choice. That is when the fitness starts. That is when it gets very hot, figuratively speaking.

How are you going to allow that to mold you when things cool down? How are you going to cool down in this particular situation? Knowing that Allah is your mawla, he's always been there. And he's just waiting for you to turn back to him in this beautiful month of Ramadan.

Within the system of Islam, he gives you one month to focus, to think, to ponder, and realize who was the one that really wants best for you, has the ability to do whatever he wills for you.

And how are you going to turn back? Are you going to turn back to him initially? And when you turn back, how intense is it? Because when you realize that person that I relied on, and sometimes it can be family members, especially for those that convert to Islam, or those that try to come back to the religion and they realize that people that raised them do not want them to try to be their best, be a good Muslim.

You realize there's a level of disappointment that you may had in that person because you had a certain expectation. But that can serve as a means for you to turn more to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And that is where khalwah really comes in. Being alone with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, being alone with your thoughts and going through that process of realizing subhanAllah, my faculties, everything that I have, everything that I've had and will have, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is there, was there and will always be there.

And he will always support me because I'm the one that initially has that belief in him. And when he decides, when he, not me, not all of us, when he decides to assist, that is when he will assist in the best way possible. And the best way possible, we may not know today, but we will know years down the line.

We're reading about his nasser in history. We're reading about it. And in these times now, subhanAllah, there are people that have done al-tawallu, whether it's individually or collectively, but we know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the Mawla.

And that's where it brings a level of sakinah for those that are facing it and for those that are watching it and seeing it to rely on the ones that subhanahu wa ta'ala in these particular times and in times that we've read about before and times that will happen in the future.

Having, understanding this name and its manifestation is that which can bring a level of sakinah and tranquility in the heart.

If I want to add, which you said it beautifully, sometimes Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala makes people turn away from us. Sometimes Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allows people to disappoint us.

You know why? So we know he's نِعْمَ الْمَوْلَىٰ وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ. It's sometimes we get busy with everything around us and we think they will help me or this material or human being, but then he decides he's taking them away or he makes me go through a test or a trial.

And the lucky one, I say this to myself, the lucky one, the fortunate one is the one who figures out that everything that I felt I can rely on can disappear in a minute, except him, subhanahu, al-baqi, al-hayy, all the names, the everlasting, the everliving.

And sometimes when he loves me and he really wants me back, sometimes it's in the hard way, unfortunately, but this is how it is, subhanahu.

Conclusion: Manifesting Victory Through Faith

SubhanAllah, last thing that I would share here. So I'm listening to both of you reflect on this portion. You know, one of the ways that Allah azza wa jal prophesized that they will one day turn away, they will be defeated and they will turn away. And Allah azza wa jal gave the visual before the battle. And that was years before the battle, right? Years before the battle where Allah azza wa jal actually revealed.

And that's when the Sahaba understood, oh, this is what Allah was talking about when they saw the visual of them turning away, right? And so here's the thing, it's really interesting because people talk about like you manifest it and bring it into reality, like manifest it, like you don't manifest anything.

Like you affirm your belief in Allah azza wa jal and Allah azza wa jal manifests that eventual victory. May Allah azza wa jal grant that victory, full victory to our brothers and sisters in Palestine, Sudan, and all over the world.

Allahumma ameen. Jazakum Allah khayran, Dr. Haifa. Part of this, as always, all the wise insights.

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.