Love Al-Razzaq More Than Rizq | Sh. Navaid Aziz | Juz 30 Qur’an 30 for 30 S7 | Ramadan Series

Love Al-Razzaq More Than Rizq

Do I love the rizq that He gives me more than al-Razzaq? And I need to love al-Razzaq more than al-rizq so that I'm always content with whatever Allah has given me. He is both the Rabb of accountability and the Rabb of refuge. So you have to ask yourself as you come to the conclusion of this book, like what have you filled your book with? Allah has given me the virtue and His blessings to finish this Qur'an, to read the last chapters of the Qur'an. But now, how is that affecting me in my life? And what choices am I making? That is a reflection of what I know about God.

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته everyone. Welcome back to the final Qur'an 30 for 30. We ask Allah to accept your Ramadan, to accept all that has been done. We ask Allah to elevate your rank and our rank. We ask Allah to bless us with the best of this life and the next. اللهم آمين.

A final reminder, in the last moments of Ramadan, if you haven't donated yet, sometimes forgiveness comes in the last hour of Ramadan. Please put forth what you can. We deeply appreciate your support. And we have so much that's coming out after Ramadan. I know that there's always this drop like you watch the Ramadan series 30 for 30 and all that comes out and then there's kind of that post Ramadan dip. We want to make sure this time that doesn't happen.

So please stay tuned. There's a lot of high quality content that's coming out to keep you engaged. We're just here to help you along the way. So by keeping engaged, you're going to find ways to keep your faith going. So make sure if you haven't finished 30 for 30, the Ramadan series, get through it all and then use the content that we have to help you pace going forward.

Reflections with Sheikh Navaid Aziz

JazakAllah khair. Allah bless you. All these years of doing Qur'an 30 for 30. Alhamdulillah. We're blessed to have Sheikh Navaid Aziz with us. Alhamdulillah. May Allah bless you and elevate you, reward you. We go way back, man. Alhamdulillah.

Sheikh, before we start, two things. Number one, what's your favorite name of Allah? And then number two, just the take-home advice for people, in 30 seconds.

Your post-Ramadan? Because I think there's this constant struggle. Do I love the rizq that He gives me more than al-Razzaq? And constantly reframing that in our lives. What is the rizq that Allah has given me and I need to love al-Razzaq more than al-rizq? So that I'm always content with whatever Allah has given me.

With regards to remaining steadfast after Ramadan, it's always about what was the goal that you came in with in Ramadan and then how do you make it sustainable after Ramadan? So whether it's recitation of the Qur'an, whether it's قيام الليل, whether it's fasting, whatever it may be, find a way to hold yourself accountable. Find a way to keep yourself motivated. Find someone to keep you supported during that time and then be as consistent as you can.

Building Consistency After Ramadan

I think the first thing is, look at yourself and hold yourself accountable. Looking in the mirror, having a review over Ramadan and then just what can you be consistent in? That one thing that you can be consistent in, remembering that Allah has blessed you to even do it, but then that effort that's needed six months later.

I think it goes back to purpose. When you realize that Allah is the one that has given you all of this, how can you show gratitude? And each way is a means of showing gratitude, which can actually be worship of Allah with that intention. The intention is what connects that purpose of life with these purposes in life. That intention that you have is what fortifies whatever action you're doing. So when you realize that this is for Allah, you want to be consistent in it, but being realistic with who you are currently to who you want to be in the future.

Juz 30: The Complete Essence of the Qur'an

Alhamdulillah, we're in Juz Amma. And the last Juz obviously is the most familiar Juz. SubhanAllah, as the ulama mentioned, the last Juz has a portion of every part of the Qur'an. It's like if you read Juz Amma from the front to the back, you're getting all the themes of the Qur'an embodied in this Juz. And that's the intention as well behind it when people memorize it that they're able to have this front to back without feeling like anything was left out, but at the same time it's to give you the taste of the other 29 as well that you have to get into it.

I was thinking about this, subhanAllah, how many people don't really know beyond just 30 or just 29, they haven't experienced like تدبر, just reading it with reflection. So that is also an encouragement is plan your next ختم. If you didn't finish a ختم in Ramadan, finishing the Qur'an cover to cover, then finish it and plan your next ختم right away if you have, so that you can continue to read from cover to cover and reflect.

Go back and watch the other 30 for 30s too. We got six seasons to go back and reflect upon. Each one has its unique reflections per Juz. Maybe assign a season per ختم. Get six ختمs out the way with six seasons of 30 for 30.

From "Who Created" to "How He Created"

But 29, Juz 29 focuses a lot on من خلق. ألا يعلم من خلق. Juz Tabaruk. وهو اللطيف الخبير. Do they not know who created? And Juz 30, one of the things that the ulama mentioned is كيف خلق, how Allah created and how Allah is خبير, how He knows everything that is happening within His creation.

So it is very interesting. Like if you took the ayah from Surah al-Mulk, ألا يعلم من خلق وهو اللطيف الخبير. He is deeply acquainted and aware. This Juz has a lot of how Allah protects you from the evil of His creation too. How He knows the internal dynamics of the scheme of evil, of the creation of evil.

So whether it is the tyrants of Surah al-Buruj, or it is the whispers of shaytan, قل أعوذ برب الفلق. قل أعوذ برب الناس. Or it is what is happening in the grave, or what is happening on the Day of Judgment, and Allah is sorting things out on the Day of Judgment. يقول الكافر يا ليتني كنت ترابا. Like the one that is oppressed, and either themselves or others will say, I wish I was dirt. Allah knows everything that is happening within the creation, and Allah will bring it out on that day.

The Concept of Rabb: Growth Through Guidance and Protection

سبح اسم ربك الأعلى. قل أعوذ برب الفلق. قل أعوذ برب الناس. Also this idea of glorify your Lord the Most High. Seek refuge in your Lord. Seek refuge in your Lord who knows. Seek refuge in your Lord who protects.

So there is a lot of that Rabb, that concept of the Rabb that is growing mankind at the collective level, and then us at an individual level to the place that He has determined for us to go, which is framed by Surah An-Naba. So from An-Naba to An-Nas, there is like this closure of the Qur'an, this conclusion of the Qur'an, this finale where Allah speaks about His majesty and speaks about His intimacy with the creation, and He is both the Rabb of accountability and the Rabb of refuge.

So it is really interesting, subhanAllah. Nothing is missing, but are you comforted by nothing being missing on the Day of Judgment, or are you actually afraid? So you have to ask yourself, as you come to the conclusion of this book, what have you filled your book with? And that is where it is really going to come down to whether or not this is a source of comfort or a source of fear for you on the Day of Judgment.

The Book of Deeds and Our Response to Divine Knowledge

Like how you mentioned the book, that this is the book, this is the Qur'an, الكتاب المبين, المنزل من عند الله, that has been descended by Allah. There is also, not in this Juz, but he mentions اقرأ كتابك, meaning to read. And what are the deeds that have been put forth, that you have put forth in this life?

استدار العمل, it is the place of working in toil, and that toil is something that has to take place. لقد خلقنا الإنسان في كبد, that mankind has been created in toil. It is going to be difficult, and that is just part of the process. And Allah is molding you. How have you allowed that to mold you? What is your perception of God? What do you understand about God? What needs to be improved in regards to your knowledge of God to fortify that relationship, to fortify the actions?

And that is what is important, and that is why the ختم that you mentioned, conclusion of reading the Qur'an, and reading this last chapter, and reading the beautiful, the things that happen on the Day of Judgment, and how Allah will hold us accountable in different ways, the names that He gives Himself, subhanAllah, in reading this last juz, you start to ask yourself, okay, really, what have I done?

And I still have the opportunity in this life. Allah has given me the virtue and His blessings to finish this Qur'an, to read the last juz of the Qur'an, to read the last chapters of the Qur'an, to understand the reality of shaytan, but now, how is that affecting me in my life, and what choices am I making that is a reflection of what I know about God, what I know about life, what I know about His creation from shaytan, from mankind, the shaytan of mankind put together?

The Circular Nature of the Qur'an

How am I reacting in that regards, and how am I holding myself accountable in relation to that? So I think that's important, I mean, subhanAllah, concluding this beautiful month of Ramadan, concluding the listening of the Qur'an, the community, you want it to last, but what are you doing on those months, like I said, six months later, to maintain that, your responsibilities. May Allah make it easy upon us.

I'm really trying to develop this point on the khatm of the Qur'an, because if you look at it, it's the end of the book, but it's the beginning of revelation. So it's Allah telling us that it's meant to be circular, where as you get closer to the end, start thinking about the beginning, because it is the beginning of revelation. And then building upon that, the end juz, or the ending in general, is all about preparing for the Day of Judgment, like standing in front of Allah, which, it's a conclusion to this life, but the beginning of the next. So I think there's like an underlying theme that could definitely be explored.

Even with the life of the Prophet ﷺ, at the end of Surah Al-A'la, Allah tells us about the Suhuf of Ibrahim and Musa. And I remember reading that the reason why Allah mentioned those specifically, is eventually he will come across those people, and he needs to be able to build relationships, so he mentions Ibrahim and Musa to help build those relationships with people.

Preparing for the Day of Judgment

But now you take that statement, what is Allah telling us about preparing for the Day of Judgment? And I love the points of seeking refuge in Allah, and seeking protection from Allah, but also on the emphasis of knowing who Allah is. You have to know who Allah is, in terms of Al-A'la, and Ilah Al-Nas, right? How do those tie in together? And a person that lived their life seeking protection from Allah, while worshipping Allah, they're the ones that will be saved and successful on the Day of Judgment. So I think it's a beautiful juz, and it's not by accident or by mistake that it has the shortest surahs that almost everyone is familiar with, because these are the surahs that we need the most to get us through our lives.

The Names Al-Kareem and Al-Akram

Absolutely. So Shaykh Naveed, with the names of Allah, very interestingly enough, you have Al-Kareem Al-Akram. And they really do tie together here Allah says:

What has deceived you concerning your Lord, Al-Kareem? So Allah reminds us about the Day of Judgment and then asks what deceived you? Almost like a past tense, what deceived you, not what will deceive you, what deceived you in regards to your generous Lord? And you also have of course in the first revelation:

Allah giving the Prophet ﷺ the revelation, read and your Lord is the most generous. So what do you think is the wisdom here of like the beginning of revelation being here? Read and your Lord is most generous. And then Allah citing the future where what deceived you in regards to your Lord, Al-Kareem, the most generous?

Knowledge: Academic or Spiritual Experience?

So I think, let's start off with this premise. Is knowledge an academic experience or a spiritual experience? So when Allah says:

it's a reframing of that paradigm that in this day and age we are taught that knowledge is an academic experience. You study a book and you gain the knowledge and then that's where it ends. But for our deen, Allah teaches you, it transforms you and that is what knowledge is. So thus Allah reminds us that He is Al-Akram.

How do we tie this into the beginning of Surah Ar-Rahman? And in Surah Ar-Rahman, Allah begins with, الرَّحْمَٰنُ، عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ. And I remember some of the Mufassirun mentioning that Allah begins with Ar-Rahman to remind us that the greatest blessing that we have is that Ar-Rahman is our Lord. And then the next blessing He reminds us, عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ, that is the second greatest blessing before خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ.

The Source of All Knowledge

So now if you take this concept of understanding that the greatest gift we have is that our Lord is Ar-Rahman and Al-Akram, what have Ar-Rahman and Al-Akram given us? They've given us knowledge. And what is the best type of knowledge? That which gets you closer to Allah. And also understanding that the source of all knowledge is Allah.

So oftentimes you speak about mercy, how Allah is the source of all mercy, and a mother shows mercy to her child through the Rahmah of Allah. But how about:

That on top of every knowledgeable person is the most knowledgeable, Allah. So whatever Allah has given us from knowledge in this dunya, is just, I don't know what the correct term is, but a fraction, an iota, a minuscule percentage of the knowledge of Allah. And that within of itself is a huge blessing. But that characteristic of that which will differentiate between beneficial knowledge and non-beneficial knowledge is how close is it bringing you to Allah.

The Conscious Choice of Gratitude

Which ties in perfectly to the second ayah in Surah Al-Infitar, when Allah says:

And I love the fact that this is for all of mankind, it's not for the believers. Every person needs to have this conscious awakening. Why do we become deluded? The prosperity that Allah gives us is there so that worship of Allah becomes easy. Not to worship ourselves, not to hoard wealth, not to become oppressive, but rather to get closer to Allah. So Allah gives that gentle nudge that, O mankind, your Lord the most generous has given you whatever you wanted, why did you allow it to delude you? You had a conscious decision to make, I can be grateful to Allah, or I can forget Allah. And it's a conscious decision that is made.

And this is where I think the du'a of Sulaiman alayhi salam, where he teaches us this valuable lesson that if you're not asking Allah to make you from the grateful, it's very easy to become deluded and ungrateful. I can't remember the beginning of the verse, Allahumma asta'ala:

He asks Allah that, oh Allah, bestow upon me the ability to be grateful. And if this is Sulaiman alayhi salam asking that, then we have a greater responsibility, right, to ask Allah to make us from the grateful. And I believe as a part of that, once we recognize that this knowledge is a gift from Allah, and at the utmost blessings of Allah, how do we use that knowledge to get closer to Allah? And as long as you're doing that, you will be from the grateful and you will not be deluded. But if you don't use your knowledge to get closer to Allah then it's very easy to become ungrateful and to become deluded.

The Deception of Blessings

That's deep. I mean the whole concept of I love the rhetorical question, why are you deluded? And in the Qur'an, Allah will either give a form of advice, a command, a prohibition, a rhetorical question, and then he'll mention his name. He'll mention, it's to remind you how have you been deceived in regards to your Lord, Al-Kareem, the one that has given you everything, the noble one. He's given you everything. Everything that he has created خَلَقَهُ لَكُم, everything that he has created on this earth is to serve you, O mankind. It's to serve you, وَسَخَّرَ لَكُم. He has subjugated it for you.

But when you're distracted by the things that he has created, that is one of the ways to be someone that has been deceived. And that deception can go by saying, you only live once, your Lord being hedonistic, it's only this life, you create your own destiny, all these types of slogans that are mentioned that can deceive us and distract us. أَلْهَاكُمُ التَّكَاثُرُ, you have been distracted. That distraction takes you away from the traction or that connection with Allah.

All Creation as Means

And that's why it's important that all these forms of creation are just a means. Even what Allah has legislated within the shari'ah is a means to get close to Him. Like the salat in and of itself, it's a means to come closer to Him. It's when you sacrifice an animal, it's a means to come close to Him. That's why Allah even says in the chapter of Hajj:

He said the meat nor the blood will not reach Allah, even though this is something that is needed to manifest that order that Allah has mentioned for you to show your devotion and your worship to Him.

So when Allah is talking about رَبُّكَ الْكَرِيمُ, you think of man, just stop. What has Allah given me? That which I'm aware of, but much more which I'm unaware of, Allah has even given me that. As a matter of fact, everything that I can think of, everything in existence is here for a purpose. How do I utilize it in a way to show gratitude to Him? And that's what ibadah is. It's shukr. It's gratitude to Allah. When you get up and pray, it's a form of gratitude. Because Allah loves it.

The Purpose of Ramadan

And that's why, subhanAllah, that rhetorical question in that way is asking that question. Man, I really need to ask that question. What have I been deceived by? And Allah azza wa kareem, He's given me everything. Why am I allowing these things to deceive me? My desires. I need to take a step back. And that's what the month of Ramadan is legislated for. For you to remember a whole month, Allah is taking away distractions from you. For you to focus and realize that He is al-kareem. So it's really, really deep.

How interesting, subhanAllah. You get deceived by His blessings from the one who bestowed those blessings upon you. I mean, subhanAllah, He is al-kareem. He gave you the blessings. Then you got deluded by the blessings and distracted by the blessings.

Juz Amma and the Day of Judgment

How does Juz Amma start off? Also the question. What are they asking about? Yes, subhanAllah. Right? That incredible news. The news is of what? The news is of the Day of Judgment. So مَا غَرَّكَ بِرَبِّكَ الْكَرِيمِ. What has deluded you in regards to your generous Lord is also deluding you from your eventual destination. If you were asking more questions about your eventual destination, then you would be more focused on the intention of the one who brought you here and takes you there. You would be focused on that overwhelming news of the Day of Judgment over these blessings that can distract us.

Allah's Generous Portions

There is another thing, subhanAllah, the word of kareemah. I was thinking about it. The statement, He is generous with His portions. Or they are generous with their portions. Like you go to a restaurant, they are generous with their portions. They put more on the plate than expected. That is Allah subhanAllah with everything. He is generous with the portions. Think about it. If we were, like if this dunya is a training camp, let's just say, seriously speaking, if Allah commanded the Muslims to fast every day of their lives, is it really asking us too much? He brought you here. By the way, every day, don't eat from this time to that time. That is just your discipline as a Muslim. Is it really too much? We would accustom ourselves. We would adjust. And we would learn to live with it. Just like in Ramadan, by the 10th day, you are 10 years in, 20 years in. Yeah, I am Muslim. It is just like I don't eat pork. Yeah, I don't eat between this time and that time. Because I am Muslim.

But Allah is kareem. He gives you the whole year. Then just one month, take a break. Not even for the whole day. And that will help you appreciate those blessings. And it will actually increase the value and the sweetness of those blessings throughout the rest of the year.

The Generosity of Allah in Our Worship

And that is the whole point. Like Allah عز وجل, if He commanded us, which He did command us initially, to pray 50 times a day. Like you think Abu Bakr رضي الله تعالى عنه was going to be like, Ya Rasulullah, صلى الله عليه وسلم, that is too much. No, Abu Bakr would have been fine. Abu Bakr is like, you know, سمعاً وطاعة, let's do it. Umar رضي الله عنه would have said, let's go. You know, we know how to do this. We hear and we obey. They wouldn't have asked those questions. But Allah عز وجل is كريم. Right? Five times a day. With the generous reward of 50.

Allah's Generosity in Revelation

Likewise, He is generous with His portion of revelation. Like what if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala only gave us a 50 page Quran? A hundred pages of Quran? And said, أنت ملزم بهذا, like you have to do this. This is your عهد, this is your covenant. Because not all the revelations were of the same size. Right? Like the psalms of Dawud, Isa and Zubur was very small. صحف, Ibrahim and Musa. Small pages, small portions. The Torah obviously was very large. What if the portion of revelation was a small portion, but hey, this is it. There are no explanations of the law. What if we didn't have the sunnah? What if we didn't have all these other bodies of knowledge that give us perspective and context and allow us to taste the sweetness of what we have. So Allah is أكرم. Right? So generous with His portion of revelation and portion of knowledge that He gave us as well.

The Wisdom of "Iqra" - Read

Have you ever read about the wisdom of either of you obviously would love to hear your comments on this why Allah mentions in اقرأ He mentions twice اقرأ، اقرأ, read and read. Have you ever kind of looked into that? Some of the benefits of that.

So subhanAllah, the مفسرين, they have some rich explanations of this. Some of them say the first اقرأ is in regards to the knowledge of revelation. And then the second اقرأ read is all other knowledge. And that's from Allah's generosity that He grants us the ability to understand. So even like science and medicine everything else that comes. It's all divinely inspired in that He gave us the tools to process. It's also part of His generosity.

Overlooked Blessings in Ramadan

So have you ever thought about like subhanAllah, like what's a blessing? And I think this is something to maybe end off on inshallah, especially as we're ending the month of Ramadan. What do you think is a blessing people take for granted that they're not paying attention to Ramadan? Beyond just food, drink and intimacy. Like what's a blessing that they're not paying attention to?

The Blessing of Health and Sustenance

I think sustenance man. I think health. Health. Because when you mentioned you know subhanAllah you know and I always mention this in my community is that yeah the first 10 days maybe first week may be rough but then your body is going to adjust. By the time Shawwal comes around you know the 6 days following Shawwal is not going to be as difficult as the first day of Ramadan. Right? Or the last week before somewhat of Sha'ban if you were doing Sha'ban. It's because your body will adjust and that in and of itself is كرم. Allah is being كريم with you at that time. To where even your body will adjust.

For those of us that do fasting outside of Ramadan whether you're doing it for health intermittent fasting whatever the case may be. Wet or dry fasting. Your body adjusts to it to where you start to see the benefits much after it and you say man it's not so bad. When you think about anything in life it's hard in the beginning. Hard never continues on that particular action that you're doing. It eventually gets easy with reps. It gets easy with doing it over and over and over again.

So when it comes to the salah for example it may be hard for a person but Ramadan they were really really spiritually into it. They had the خلوة with Allah. They looked at themselves Shawwal comes around they realize man I'm starting to pray in the masjid صلاة الفجر. I never thought I would do this. But now I can't see myself not making صلاة الفجر in the masjid or I cannot see myself not making صلاة الفجر. Before you were like it's too hard. But then after you put the reps in, you trusted in Allah you knew that it's not only up to me it's just for me to have the intention and to put some work in after Allah swt he's gonna give me ثبات الأقدام. He's gonna give me 700 and many more times than that and blessings and from the blessings is making it easy and that is all his كرامة. That's him being noble and gracious to us.

So really when you think of something hard brothers and sisters just realize just put the work in that small amount of time. Trust in Allah and Allah swt is going to make it easy upon you. That's one thing that I think is particularly when it comes to our health. May Allah cure us and may Allah cure us of any sicknesses that we may be facing our physical bodies inshallah. It's a blessing from Allah that we're even able to hear, to see, to consume and to be sustained by his blessings and his grace.

The Contrast Between Ramadan and Shawwal

I'll quickly add to him and then I'll add my own. I think this concept of الكريم with regards to health over here, particularly fasting. Fasting in Ramadan becomes so easy because everyone is doing it and Allah swt blesses it and you're motivated to do it. Whereas fasting in Shawwal becomes so difficult because Allah swt hasn't mandated it in terms of an obligation. So the mindset is completely different and even that بركة concept is completely taken away from us. So if you've done Ramadan properly then Shawwal should be easy but if Ramadan hasn't been done properly then Shawwal does become difficult and that's purely a gift from الكريم.

The Blessing of Family Unity

With that being said, I think the blessing that we take for granted in Ramadan, a lot of it ties with family as well. It's the time to wake up for suhoor together, the time to have iftar together, the time to go to masjid together. And the fact that the Prophet ﷺ used to wake up his family in the last 10 nights and encourage them to pray reminds us that it's also the month in which we encourage each other to do more good and that's what family is meant to be. We encourage each other to do good, to support each other in this life but to ultimately be together in Jannah together as well.

Allah's Alternatives for Those Unable to Fast

Jazakum Allah khair. Jazakum Allah khair. I was thinking about Shaykh, like the reality is like that person that has, that elderly person that has tears in their eyes or a health condition because they can't fast in Ramadan. Oh man. It's so hard to like tell someone like who's in their 70s or 80s or even sometimes younger, right? Like I'm sorry like you're just not going to be able to fast like and that's what Allah wants from you and you've got to find ways to compensate.

Allah is كريم and that if he did not give you the standard way to please him, he gave you an alternative and he gave you the reward. That's also part of his generosity like you know, hey you wanted to fast. Allah gives you the reward of your intention and you can do these things because you're not fasting. Lean into that, right? Not everyone has health, not everyone has family, not everyone has these blessings that a lot of us do take for granted. Some of us don't have those blessings, right? There's an alternative way to please Allah with your set of circumstances and that's also his كريم, his generosity.

Jazakumullahu khairan. Sheikh Abdullah, your take home was before you can lift 800 calories 800 dead lifts like Sheikh Abdullah, you've got to do 8. Start with 8, do a bunch of reps and then eventually, you know, mashallah.

7, 7 is a better number. Are you saying there's hope for me, Sheikh? One day I can reach your level? Inshallah. Inshallah. In basketball as well. In basketball as well? How about ping pong though? Why you do that now?

He won, everyone. Everyone's been asking me. He beat me. He beat you? That is the Eid gift that everyone is waiting for. Everyone wants it. Now we can wrap up 30 for 30. We're done. This whole time I've been waiting for you to reveal.

Jazakumullahu khairan. May Allah bless you all. And inshallah, we hope everyone has a lovely Eid. And we'll see you next time either for Quran 30 for 30 or maybe something else. We'll see you inshallah. Jazakumullahu khairan. Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.