Stop Playing Games | Dr. Ovamir Anjum | Juz 11 Qur’an 30 for 30 S7 | Ramadan Series

The Path of Sincere Repentance

And Allah loves that tawbah where the person comes with a heart broken. Even if the heart is broken because of a sin, Allah is prompting you and calling you to seek forgiveness from Allah and turn back to Him. Individually from what you have done in this life, and that requires introspection. If you want to come to Allah, there's a clear path back to Him. Stop playing games.

Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh everyone. Welcome back to Quran 30 for 30 and alhamdulillah. Just to remind you all as we get into Juz 11, the middle 10 days with the night, please do support the work of Yaqeen, follow along and also be consistent. This is where we usually see the drop-off in everything.

This series gives you an opportunity bi idhnillah to really keep up with your own khatm to make sure that you're reciting the whole Quran and by watching these episodes every day you get an overview of the juz and a very particular vantage point which is how to connect to Allah through this particular juz of the Quran. So keep up with it. Don't fall behind in these middle 10. May Allah accept it from us all, Allahumma ameen.

We're blessed to have with us, alhamdulillah, Dr. Owaimer Anjum. How are you doctor? Alhamdulillah. We're also blessed to have Shaykh Abdullah Al-Maghribi.

The Names of Allah: Al-Qareeb and Al-Mujeeb

Dr. Owaimer, before we get started, if someone were to ask you, what's your favorite name of Allah right now? What is it?

I was reflecting on these names of Allah, Qareeb and Mujeeb. And then I thought that, SubhanAllah, it is very hard right now for a lot of people to hold on to their Iman, seeing what they see in Gaza. And so I suggested to myself, the words Inna Rabbi qareebun mujeeb, that Allah is near and Allah sees and He answers and He hasn't forgotten.

Juz 11: Stop Playing Games

We are in Juz 11 now. And it is the continuation of Surah At-Tawbah. It goes from verse 93 of At-Tawbah through Yunus into Surah Hud. And SubhanAllah, as I'm looking at the big picture of what this Juz does, first of all, it's always remarkable to me that Surah At-Tawbah, which is this hard hitting Surah for the hypocrites is still Surah At-Tawbah. Like it is an opportunity, even in the midst of disavowal of the hypocrites, Allah calling people back to repentance.

And it's similar to, I remember reading Imam Hassan Al-Basri, as he comments on Inna alladheena fatanul mu'mineena wal-mu'minaati thumma lam yatoobu, those who test the believers, who torture the believers, who oppress the believers, and then they don't make tawbah. That even in the midst of something so horrific, Allah still offers tawbah. That there is redemption and repentance. Of course, that is proportional to what has been committed, but that Allah offers it, even in the midst of these types of episodes.

So Surah At-Tawbah is the most severe on the hypocrites. It's the most comprehensive on the hypocrites. It's sort of the last Surah, a final warning to the hypocrites. Surah At-Tawbah is actually mid-Medina. Allah is showing their hypocrisy as it's becoming more obvious at that point. But still, thumma lam yatoobu, do they come back? Do they return to Allah?

Two Contrasting Examples: The People of Yunus and Fir'awn

And in this Juz, very interestingly enough, as you go through Yunus and Hud, the last two examples that are given: the people of Yunus, who turned back to Allah when it seemed too late. When they didn't seem to have any hope, they actually did turn back to Allah. Allah accepted them and He forgave them, and He turned towards them.

And then after that, the very final example that we find in this Juz, is Fir'awn making his supposed tawbah. Verse 90 in Surah Yunus, where he says:

"I believe that there is no God except that in whom Banu Isra'eel believe. And I am now amongst those who submit."

So you have Fir'awn supposedly making tawbah, but his tawbah doesn't get accepted. So SubhanAllah, you've got the people of Yunus who repent when it seems too late. And then Fir'awn who verbalizes, but it is actually too late and it is a form of deception.

Allah Knows Your Intentions

Now, this actually highlights the way that Allah talks about how He is well acquainted with people's intentions throughout this Juz. And it's really just very obvious. It's like repentance, tawbah is not some backdoor, sneaky deal. You gotta come to Allah through the front door. It's very obvious.

You're not going to be able to weasel your way out of what you're doing. If you want to come to Allah, there's a clear path back to Him. Stop playing games. This is a Juz which is stop playing games. Allah knows what you're doing. Stop playing games.

And so you even have, for example, in this Juz, Masjid Quba, where Allah praises the intentions, people that love to purify themselves, people that are building from hearts of piety, a structure that is built upon piety. Usisa ala taqwa. Allah is comparing Masjid Quba to Masjid al-Darar, which on the outside, the externals, it could look the same. In fact, Masjid al-Darar, which is being built by the hypocrites, could have more glamor to it. But at the end of the day, it's not about what the structure looks like. It's about the hearts, the agendas, the intentions, and Allah is very well acquainted, and Allah is bringing that out in Surah At-Tawbah.

Then look at this, Allah says in verse 119:

"O you who believe, be mindful of Allah and be amongst the truthful."

And as-sadiqeen here is of course referring to sidq in the most overwhelming and comprehensive sense, that your intentions are pure and truthful, your words are truthful, your actions are truthful, that all of it is a testimony to this true covenant that you've taken with Allah.

So Allah is calling us to repentance no matter where we are, but don't be sneaky. Like Allah knows and Allah is well acquainted. And the last verse in this juz ends with what?

"Allah knows what they conceal and what they reveal. Surely He knows best what is hidden in the hearts."

At the end of the day, what they try to hide in their hearts, Allah will bring it out. Allah is already exposing it in this juz, what you were thinking, what you were intending. And in the last juz which leads into this, we're talking about innahu as-samee' al-aleem, that Allah is all hearing and all knowing. So He sees it, He hears it.

And at the end of the day, come through the front door of tawbah. Don't try to sneak around the way that these people were sneaking around and they had their exit plan that fails them. Like Fir'awn, he probably knew all along that look, if push comes to shove, I'll wait and I'll see how this all plays out and I'll figure it out then.

The Deadline for Repentance

And of course, by the way, just because it's important to actually mention here that someone might say, well, why wasn't Fir'awn's repentance accepted? The Prophet mentioned that Allah will accept the tawbah of a person until they start foaming at the mouth. That there's a point where your tawbah at an individual level no longer is acceptable, which is the initiation of death has already come. You're already dying at that point and you're already at that point where it doesn't matter. That is for the individual. At the collective level, it's when the sun rises, as the Prophet mentioned from the West.

So there's the individual time in which the door of tawbah is closed. And that is a person that was sneaky, that waited until the very end, that tried to fool Allah and deceive Allah and they only deceived themselves.

So may Allah make us sincere in our repentance and verily Allah knows when we are sincere in seeking Him. And Allah certainly can accept us, despite what He knows about us and our shortcomings.

The Broken Heart in Repentance

As you were talking, it made me think of course, even for people who build up Masjid Darar in order to destroy Islam and hurt Rasulullah, Allah gives in Surah At-Tawbah a condition of their tawbah. And this is the, you could say the highest condition of the people that are least deserving of it, which is, just to emphasize your point.

Allah describes the hearts that you need after having committed such a great crime that you live with the Prophet, you see his Noor, you see his truth, your hearts are so dark that after all of that, you are not only not open, but you're conspiring to kill him. Nothing, we cannot imagine something worse than that. And then after that, Allah says, Allah will not accept their tawbah, but even then there is a door to emphasize your point.

"Unless their hearts are broken to pieces."

And so this is the highest kind of tawbah that we should aspire to. You have to go to Allah with a broken heart and Allah loves that tawbah, where the person comes with a heart broken, even if the heart is broken because of a sin, or the heart is broken because somebody broke their heart through betrayal, or their heart is broken because they're sick.

Ibn al-Qayyim makes this point that sometimes people are most hopeless when they feel sick, when they have long illness. And Allah loves when someone turns to Him with broken heart such that He will forgive even this sin.

It's interesting, like imagine the visual of Yunus coming back to his people and finding them as believers. He turned his back, walked away from them because he thought they were hopeless. Then he went through his own tawbah and his own being brought back to Allah and then he returns to Allah continuing the mission as Allah commanded him. And then he comes back to his people and the same people that turned him away are now embracing him and saying, come back and they're believers.

And I guess that is that broken heartedness. Imagine how regretful they were that they even drove Yunus to that point of walking away from them. And now they get their prophet back in their sincere tawbah.

Al-'Aleem: The All-Knowing

So Dr. Owaimer, I'll start with you. Sort of continuing along the lines of Al-'Aleem. Innahu al-'aleemu bidhaat as-sudoor. Verse 115 in Surah At-Tawbah. Allah uses this name in a very specific context which is the opportunity of guidance. Allah is offering guidance and in the perfection and comprehensiveness of His knowledge. He teaches people what they don't know. He makes it very clear that He knows what benefits and what harms. Sometimes beyond what we know and that's part of the believer's trust in Allah. So how do you reflect on Al-'Aleem in this context?

Allah says:

Allah, first of all, the way that verse begins, Allah is Al-Qadeer. Allah is perfect in His complete control. He creates. But He is putting a restriction on Himself. Wa ma kaana Allahu li yudhilla qawman - Allah promises that Allah will not misguide a people after He has chosen them for guidance.

So this is the greatest gift that we have as guidance. So in a sense, this verse is speaking to the believers, that you already have guidance. And in that sense, you have the gift. Not only do you have the gift of guidance, but you have an additional gift, which is in this ayah, which is, Wa ma kaana Allahu li yudhilla qawman ba'da idh hadaahum hatta yubayyina lahum ma yattaqoon. An additional gift is that Allah will not hold you accountable for errors that you may make. After He has given you the guidance of Islam, you will make errors. But Allah will not hold you accountable for them.

Imagine this is the mercy, this is a special added gift that Allah will not say, I have given you guidance. I have shown the Noor. I have, you know the Tawheed. You know the truth. You should be able to figure out life, how to obey and submit to Allah and everything, but you will not do that. You will make errors. Errors of judgment, sometimes other kinds of errors of heart of intention. But Allah, when that happens, Allah will show you and explain to you ma yattaqoon, what you should fear, what you should avoid, specifically, because Allah knows everything. He knows your hearts. He knows human beings. He knows your weaknesses.

The Example of Ibrahim and His Father

And the context here is that Ibrahim makes Du'a for his father, which is of course, Allah shows His love and honor for Ibrahim. He is the Muwahhid. He is the epitome of Tawheed, submission to Allah, the knowledge of Allah. And his knowledge is such that even when he is a child, he is able to think about the world and then explain to his people, even though he's born in the house of an idol maker. Despite that, Ibrahim loved his idolatrous father, his Mushrik father, and makes Du'a for him.

So in the verse before, Allah gives an explanation that, oh, Ibrahim only did that until he was told, look, you cannot make Du'a for someone who is an adoo of Allah, enemy of Allah. You have to do tabarra. You have to disavow. You have to separate yourself.

So this is an error that Ibrahim made. And look at the error. SubhanAllah, his error is better than our righteous deeds put together, that he is asking for Du'a and forgiveness, but he was not supposed to do that. But Allah doesn't say to Ibrahim, you should have known this. But rather Allah says, we will not, you have been given guidance. And then Allah generalizes. This is not only Ibrahim, it's general. Wa ma kaana Allahu li yudhilla qawmin. Allah will not misguide you. Allah will not cause you to lose guidance, lose Iman, and lose your way to Jannah, until He will specifically show you what you should actually avoid, even though you should have known the rights of Allah. Because He knows everything.

And this reminds me of another story, when Ibn Abbas asks his companions, tell me the most hope giving Ayah in the Quran. Arja ayah fil Quran. And so they guess verses of mercy, and he says, no, Arja ayah fil Quran, is, wa idh qaala Ibrahim, when Ibrahim said to Allah, arini kayfa tuhyi al-mawta. O Allah, show me how you give life to the dead. Allah says, do you not believe? He says, yes, but it will give itmi'nan to my heart.

So Ibn Abbas says, this is the most hopeful Ayah, because it is Ibrahim, who asks for more signs, after Allah spoke to him. If Allah were to look at the mercy and hope that you get from this, that even Ibrahim, if he could ask Allah for more signs, for itmi'nan, Allah show me one more sign, then Allah will forgive us when we need more signs. And that is an Ayah that gives hope.

So this Ayah is kind of connected to that, Allah looks at Ibrahim, looks at the error that he makes, quote unquote, and then He says, a general rule, you believers, you will make mistakes, but Allah knows what is in your hearts.

Sincere vs. Deceptive Questioning

You know what's amazing? Is that the questioning of the hypocrite and the questioning of the believer can look identical to the eye that's not discerning. The hypocrites keep asking questions, but as deflection, they have no intention to follow guidance. And so they keep asking questions to complicate, to evade, whereas the believer asks questions from the desire to learn more and to come closer to Allah.

You find like these Ahadith where the Prophet condemns persistent questioning, but there are also, Shifa' al-'iyy as-su'al, the Prophet teaches us that the cure of ignorance is asking. So it's again, where's the question coming from? Is it coming from a place of wanting to know so that you can follow or is it like Bani Israel when they started asking all these questions about the cow, because they have no intention to follow in the first place.

The Importance of Seeking Knowledge

And touching on the knowledge of Allah and the way that it's shown here, because, Allah would not choose to misguide people until He gives them the clarity, ma yattaqoon, how those signs can come to you. It's another qa'idah, of af'al Allah, like what He does and how it manifests with the importance and responsibility for the Muslim to seek knowledge. To really seek knowledge of Allah.

And there's the experiential knowledge but then there's a knowledge that's acquired by learning from the people of knowledge. And that's what's very, very important because the more that you learn about Allah, the more you'll have a relationship with Him and the more it will manifest in your actions because of the knowledge of that particular name, for example, like Al-Ghafoor, understanding how He's Al-Ghafoor. And that could be ma yattaqoon, bayaan ma yattaqoon because of that effort you made.

And within all of that effort you made and how you acted upon that knowledge, Allah knew that as well. And this is where it goes to Qadr, the predestination of Allah. But it's so beautiful because, within all of this is the effort where we still have a level of responsibility.

Al-Qadeer: The All-Powerful

So Shaykh, on that note, Al-Qadeer. But particularly we go to the end of verse four of Surah Hud, where Allah mentions that He is Qadeer, all powerful, but in a very particular context, we're all going to return to Allah. So tawbah is the voluntary return, repenting, turning back to Allah. And death is the involuntary return. You all get pulled back. And at that point, when death comes, it's too late.

How does this sort of compliment the notion of Allah's knowledge of where you were, where you wanted to be, and how Allah's Qadr, His power is just so obvious compared to our weakness and our vulnerabilities. And that should bring us back to that knowledge of His strength and that knowledge of His power versus our own weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

It's a great segue. I mean, it's beautiful how you gave the nisbi and then the 'aam, that which could be contingent on a particular person, of them coming back to Allah before we all go back to Him. As you mentioned earlier, about when the sun rises, that's going to be a fa'ir one. When there's a malam yughar here, before that the person, the signs of death or the implementation of death is happening. At that time, it's too late to try to turn back to Him.

So when Allah is talking about in the chapter of Hud in the very beginning, where He says:

"That you may seek forgiveness from your Lord and turn to Him in repentance."

And the verse continues, but Allah is prompting you and calling you to seek forgiveness from Allah and turn back to Him individually from what you have done in this life. And that requires introspection to ponder over that with the knowledge that Allah has the ability to bring forth that communal or you say the general when everything will end and we will all return to Him.

But we don't know when that is, but what's most important that we know that He knows and that He has the quwwa, that He has the strength, that He has the qudra, the ability. And that's why the next verse He says:

"Unto Allah is your return and He has the power to do everything."

What's beautiful about this verse and the insight on this verse is that He says firstly, ila Allahi marji'ukum. And the scholars call this al-hasr. So He mentions the object of the verb or what will take place through here. It is to Allah you will return. And so you will return to Allah, which in the Arabic language shows the importance and it's designated only to Allah, the return of all of creation, that they will go back to Allah.

And when the Muslim remembers that, at the time of the sin, in general, which is hoped, but at the time of making that mistake, at the time of istighfar, like while you're seeking forgiveness from Allah, you're thinking about death, you're thinking about, I don't know when Allah will take me. But at this moment, I hope that He'll accept from me. You consistently do that.

Outside of the last 10 nights of Ramadan and the 27th night, it's that six months after Ramadan where you're thinking, Allah, I'm going to return to Him. When I wake up, I say, alhamdulillahi ahyana. I praise Allah that He's given me life. ba'dama amatana After He has caused us to leave, some would say the cousin of death of our souls leaving our body, wa ilayhi nushur that I'm going to go back to Him.

And this is, SubhanAllah, as some of the scholars mentioned, as some of the mushrikun, they believe that Allah al-mubdi, that He's the one that He brings things into existence. Then in that case, it's important for you to believe in the ba'd, because some of them, the resurrection, they didn't believe in the resurrection. But if you look at the fact and understand that if He can bring things into existence, He can easily resurrect them, which is even of a lesser form. As some scholars mentioned here.

So He said, wa huwa ala kulli shay'in qadeer He has the qudra, He has the ability, He has the power, He has the strength, and He has the knowledge to resurrect you, hold you accountable, which is the ba'd, and the accountability is the jizaa. And also even before that is the hashr, to gather you all together. When we look at, in your series of barzakh, we're talking about all of these events that we have not seen, that will take place.

That's from the 'ilm of Allah that He is telling us. And we shouldn't think about that. Allah is telling us about things that have happened in the past that we haven't seen, and things that will happen in the future, that we may see. But He's showing you that He has the qudra and the ability to make all of this happen, bana'an ala 'ilmihi, that is founded or couched or seated in His knowledge, the knowledge of Allah that is endless.

So when one remembers this, the qudra of Allah, when they face anything in life and they realize, okay, what I see in front of me, Allah has power over it. That which may grieve me, Allah has power over it. Allah has control over it. But what is my responsibility? As Shaykh Suleiman mentioned, we may ask the why, but it's most important to ask, what's the what? What is my responsibility? Particularly in aspects of my faith, in my creed, in my connection to Allah.

So knowing His ability and His strength, when we hear the adhan and we say, la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah, that there is no power, nor might except with Allah. And I'll end here when, when we say la hawla, la hawla is like transitioning from one point to another. And that transition requires quwwa, it requires strength, it requires ability. So knowing that Allah's ability is endless, and it is nothing that is yaghlib alayh, that can overpower it, that brings a sense of tranquility and ease to the Muslim, and security to go back to Him at all times, knowing that He has the ability to forgive you for your sins.

So may Allah make us of those that remember this pillar of Islam, this pillar of our iman, that there will be a day of resurrection. And may Allah make us of those that consistently remember this to push us to do actions of seeking His forgiveness.

Final Reflections: Being with the Truthful

SubhanAllah, from His qudra, is that He could have made everyone a believer. He could have forced repentance on everyone from His power, but He chose out of His knowledge and His wisdom to let things play out differently, with these different examples.

Dr. Owaimer, do you have a final reflection for us?

When I was listening to you both, that ayah that you recited, Akoonu ma'as sadiqeen, stuck with me, I'm still thinking about it. That ayah in Surah At-Tawbah appears in the context of the three Sahaba who were believers, but they acted like munafiqeen. And SubhanAllah, I feel that that is the condition, that's my condition.

We are believers. I am believer. But we look at our actions. But Allah, the cure that Allah has for them is Akoonu ma'as sadiqeen. Be with them. It's not Akoonu minas sadiqeen or Akoonu sadiqeen. It would be harder to be the truthful, to be among them. Allah says Akoonu ma'as sadiqeen, choose their side, be.

So Allah is telling these Sahaba who have iman that was weak to be with the Sahaba who chose to go Ghazwat Tabuk and who had that iman. So part of the condition of their tawbah is to choose the right side. And that is what's going to bring them to fill up the part of the iman that was missing.

So I feel that's such a mercy to me and to the Ummah right now. And when we are watching and we are falling short. Allah al-musta'an.

May Allah make us with them and amongst them. Ameen. JazakAllah khair and for joining us, Dr. Owaimer. Shaykh Abdullah as always. We'll see you all tomorrow. Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.