What Makes You Valuable to Allah? | Ust. Roohi Tahir | Juz 19 Qur’an 30 for 30 S7 | Ramadan Series

Wait a minute, you know, like this is too easy. This is too good. And for Sulaiman this is provoked out of that realization.

It's not just that Allah gave me the guidance to be able to recognize that I'll overcome my tyrant. Allah gave me the guidance to be able to recognize that I should not become a tyrant because of my blessing. Allah gives us these names.

He gives us these scenarios. He gives us enemies to see are we going to hope in him? Are we going to hope in his guidance and know that he will guide us to the right way? You stand for the truth, there's going to be resistance, be prepared. And we see the Prophet ﷺ is undeterred by this.

And he's going to continue to seek Allah's help, his guidance and his help. And Allah is with the believers through those most difficult challenges. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, everyone.

Welcome back to Quran 30 for 30. Alhamdulillah. I mean, we are in Juz 19.

And so with that, we want to remind you, as we go into the last 10 nights, especially, please do inshallah to sign up to automate your donations for the last 10 nights. This is the biggest source of donations that we have throughout the entire year with Alhamdulillah. And it really funds so much of the work.

And by participating in this challenge inshallah and sharing it with many others, it's a way for you to be involved and to participate and partake in all of these blessed nights. So please, whatever amount it's going to be, inshallah, we ask you to participate and to partake in it, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala. And everything that's coming up with the last 10 nights in terms of the programming, the late night reflections and so on and so forth, inshallah, just follow along and try to keep up.

And of course, keep us in your du'a. We are blessed to have with us today, Alhamdulillah, Ustadh Ruhi Tahir. May Allah bless you.

How are you, Ustadh Ruhi? Alhamdulillah. It's a pleasure to be here, Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah.

It's a pleasure to have you. And before we get started, we kind of put our guests on the spot and we ask them, don't worry, we ask them, what's your favorite name of Allah right now that you're connecting to or that you're thinking about these days? I find myself calling out to Al-Jabbar. I think it's the climate we're in.

I think it's seeking that definitive forcefulness from Allah, along with the healing that we all need. Al-Jabbar, the Compeller, subhanAllah, so much. He mends and he also subdues the tyrants.

Alhamdulillah. May Allah Azawajal allow us to witness the effect of that, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala, in this blessed month. And as we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to overcome them, we ask Allah to put us back together.

Allahumma ameen. Jazakumullahu khayran for sharing that. So Alhamdulillah, Rabbul Ameen.

The Value of Dua and Faith

We are now in Juz 19, and Juz 18 is a Juz in which you have this powerful name of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allahu Noor, As-Samawati Al-Ard. The very powerful verse of Allah Azawajal, as the light of the heavens and the earth, and all that we take from that. And in Juz 19, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in Surah Furqan:

Those who do not expect to meet us, they say, if only the angels were sent down to us or we could see our Lord. So they make that the excuse. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has just explained to us how he's put so much of, you know, his signs around us so that we can connect to him. But those who expect not to meet us, they say, if only we could see Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Allah Azawajal says: That they have certainly been carried away by their arrogance and they have exceeded all of their limits.

Now, here's something really interesting and, you know, since we're talking about how Allah talks about himself in the Qur'an, in these Ajzaa. When you come to Surah Al-Furqan, you have obviously the beautiful, you know, elaboration on Ibadur-Rahman, the servants of the most merciful.

The way that they walk, the way that they talk, the way that they worship, the way that they interact. I mean, it's such a beautiful description of these believing servants of Allah. And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la loves them, and they love Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la.

But then Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la says: That say, O Prophet, that you matter nothing to your Lord if it is not for your dua. What do you matter to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la if it's not for your dua? And verily you have denied the truth and so the torment is bound to come.

Now, مَا يَعْبَأُ بِكُمْ رَبِّي That your Lord, you know, what care does your Lord have for you if it is not for your dua? Very interesting verse, and it actually helps us to lean right into the discussion for today inshaAllah, of what gives us value in the sight of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la.

Ibn Abbas radiAllahu ta'ala, he explains, قُلْ مَا يَعْبَأُ بِكُمْ رَبِّي لَوْلَا دُعَاؤُكُمْ He says, لَوْلَا إِيمَانُكُمْ That what this means is, if it's not for your iman, and Allah Azawajal named iman, dua, here. Named faith, dua. It's very interesting, right, that الدُّعَاءُ هُوَ الْعِبَادَةُ, as the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam says, supplication is worship, and dua is the manifestation of your iman.

You wouldn't call out to him if you didn't believe in him, and in Ramadan, people make dua in ways that they don't throughout the entire year, especially when we get into these last 10 nights, and we talk about how Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la celebrates those who are calling upon him in these last 10 nights, and Laylatul Qadr, and all that it comes with in terms of the celebration of the servants of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la by the angels, and Allah Azawajal praising them in the heavens, may Allah make us amongst them, Allahumma Ameen.

The Love of Allah for the Believers

So, just as we're talking about Allah elevating this group of people, because of how important they are due to their dua, due to their iman, there's also a concept here that, you know, does Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la love everyone? And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said in an authentic hadith, that Allah Azawajal gives dunya, or wealth, Allah gives from this world, those that he loves and those that he doesn't love, But he only gives faith, iman, to those that he loves.

This is profound, because it's one thing to say Allah loves good for everyone, it's another thing to say Allah loves everyone, or that Allah Azawajal puts the oppressor and the oppressed, the wicked and the righteous, the obedient and the disobedient, all on the same plane, and that just is not the way that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la operates with us.

And that is an Islamic reality that we come to, that the love of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la, there's a general love and then there's a specific love, and you have to earn your degrees with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la, and by his mercy and his grace, he will bring you to higher degrees. We all want to be from Ibadur Rahman that are being granted Al-Firdaws, right? But the reality is that, that's a specific cut of the believers, that are all beloved to Allah in the general sense, but then you graduate to a higher degree.

Now here's the question, and subhanAllah, this is where the discussion gets very interesting. Just a few verses later in this Juz, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la says to the Prophet, that perhaps you, O Prophet, will grieve yourself, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, to death over their disbelief.

Is the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, more merciful than Allah? Absolutely not. Allah Azawajal celebrates the repentance of a person, the way that that man, who loses his camel with everything on it, thinks he's going to die, and then he finds that camel, and the happiness that he has when he finds his livelihood. Allah Azawajal is more pleased with your repentance than that man.

So Allah is the one who makes the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, Rahmatan lil Alamin, who sent him as a mercy to the world. And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la is the one who manifests his love, partly through the sending of the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.

But it does sort of frame us, or frame this discussion and this idea, that you are to pursue Allah Azawajal, and when you pursue Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la, then he'll come faster towards you in every single way. And so the pursuit is upon you, and this grows quite a bit, or builds quite a bit on what we've been talking about in the previous Ajza, of doing your part.

And so what's your part in building a relationship with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la, Ar-Rahman, and how he can bring you closer as a result of that. So Sheikh Abdullah, I'll start with you InshaAllah Ta-A'la. Any comments just on sort of how we frame this Juz?

The Challenge of Faith and Resistance

Yeah, I mean, SubhanAllah, JazakAllah Khair for that hefty introduction. I think it's beautiful when seeing how the mercy and love of the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, for people that even rejected him at that time, and rejected the message, which is more important than even our own selves.

SubhanAllah, having that mercy, going through that struggle, and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la choosing you for that, it gives us a deep, profound message for us individually as human beings that are trying our best to be Muslims in societies to where you will be challenged on an individual, familial, collective level. But recognizing that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la is enough for us in this challenge, in what we are doing. But showing it in times of hardship is where it's really, really important.

You know, when you said, the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, some would say, breaking his back, it was so stressful for him. When we see that stress that we have for people that are suffering, there's also the suffering of kufr, of disbelief, that people don't even realize that they're drowning deep in this disbelief, whether it's in ego, whether it's in money, in stature, in tribe, whatever the case may be.

Having that type of love for humanity, but also the integrity of your belief simultaneously, that can be a challenge in and of itself. And I think establishing a relationship with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la, recognizing those boundaries, and on a daily basis, living your life through the system that He has given us.

I mean, when you look at the prayer in and of itself, the prayer is a time to detach, to put everything back into its proper position and its proper place. So when you get involved in Islam, for lack of better words, and the sharia that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la has given, when you're faced with these situations, you have that strong foundation to hold on to.

And that's why that verse is so profound to me. You know, when Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la mentioning the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, and mentioning that Allah is Arham, obviously, than the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. But at the same token, that stress that one has for humanity and for people, is something that extends beyond you.

Because when your children see that, when people see that, when someone that may be an enemy towards you or towards Islam, sees that which you have towards them, they still have a heart, and they still have the propensity to want guidance, and to want some type of answers in life. So that's really the input I have from what I was really hearing. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la make us of those that are merciful towards His creation.

Allah as Guide and Helper

I mean, I was looking at this, just in light of some of the verses that we're going to be focusing on today, and I was looking at the examples that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la gives us of all of the previous nations. And what we are to learn and take from that, and how knowledge in and of itself is not enough. Obviously, we need to know what's happened in the past.

We need to know that the Prophets, yes, they all came with the truth. But what is it that took those people away, that went away from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la? And what is it that connects us, and the theme of this entire month of Ramadan for us in this series, is to really know Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la, to know what those God rails are in the first place. And to know how to stay on track, how to call upon Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la, and secure that help only by asking.

Because these levels that you were mentioning earlier, Sheikh Omar, those come from seeking Allah. They don't come from just being born into the faith, or being born into, and then learning and having the knowledge. There's knowing what to do, but then there's actually doing it.

And I think we see examples of that in this Juz, where there's previous nations, and then how Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la aided His Prophets, and they all wanted the best for their people. But that help came in ways that we wouldn't necessarily have that knowledge of how that's going to happen. But Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta-A'la has His plan, and He has His ways, and we're seeing people who are falling on either side of that equation, where just in Juz 19, in Surah Al-Furqan, we have an ayah of regret.

Those who steered and went with the wrong people. Those who did not, and that deep regret of the Prophet, peace be upon him, over the grief over the people whom he cannot have that power over to guide them, because that's only for Allah to guide. We see that regret also.

And that's something that I think can only come from knowing Allah, so that we understand what those guardrails are, and then seeking that continuously. So it's an action all the time. So on that note, I'm going to leave it with you, inshaAllah, to take us into the section that we're going to be speaking about.

So Allah Azawajal mentions that every prophet is going to have an enemy from the mujrimin, from the criminals, and from these oppressors. And we've spoken about this in previous Ajzaat, like this idea that prophets were not tested by natural disasters, they were tested by dirty tyrants, right? And that's kind of the way that history unfolds, and that's what makes something like Gaza and beyond, and Palestine and everything so frustrating, right?

It's like the tyrant in front of you, and those who reject faith and how nasty they become, yet somehow they seem to be winning sometimes, whereas those who are beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and who embrace faith, sometimes it seems to be that they're losing, right? And Shaykh Yusuf Wahab elaborated on this beautifully before, but in this verse, verse 31, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, but sufficient is your Lord as a guide and a helper.

These two names together, and in this context, what can we take from it?

The Foundation of Truth and Resistance

So I was looking at this and reflecting on this ayah, and when we look at the context in which this ayah was revealed, this is a hostile time in Mecca. During this time, the Prophet ﷺ and the believers, there's few of them. Many of them are from the most vulnerable part of society, and they're being persecuted heavily by the powerful Quraish. So exactly we're seeing that, these enemies.

And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this ayah, He's laying a foundation, a principle for us that's universal, and He's teaching the Prophet ﷺ, and He's teaching all of the believers that every single time there's going to be a stand for the truth. Every time I have sent a prophet, you can expect that that truth will be met with some kind of resistance, some kind of opposition.

But it is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's help and His guidance together, this combination together, that is sufficient to overpower and overcome any of that resistance. No matter what that resistance is, success is not about removing that resistance as much as it is about turning to Allah for guidance and for help. And in that the believers will always prevail.

So what can we glean of wisdom in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentioning then His hidayah and His nusrah together in this ayah? And I was reflecting on that, and subhanallah we need guidance obviously to know the truth and be able to discern the truth. This entire surah Furqan is that criteria. This is the Qur'an, this is our deen, that we need to know truth from falsehood. We need to know that to know who Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is and how to worship Him.

But this is what also gives us clarity. This is what also gives us principles. This is what also gives us the confidence then to take action in a very principled way. But to do that we'll never be void of, and we always need the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We need His support.

And so what's amazing about this as I was thinking about it is that the combination of these two together actually are what empower the believers. And this is what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is teaching us that when you have this together you're going to be empowered and protected because you have the inner strength of your faith that's strengthening your heart and giving you that light of guidance, that noor.

But you also now have the support of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala because you're seeking it from Allah and He's going to give it to those who ask. And that together is empowering and protecting so that the believer does not succumb to the weakness and the desire that comes from the resistance that's sometimes just within the individual but also the external as well that they don't just cave to the agenda or just the self-interest of others.

And so this is really quite powerful when you combine the two together. And then when you look at the Prophet ﷺ exemplifying that, go back to Makkah for a moment and what we can take and how we can actually meaningfully connect to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala through these very names.

We see the first revelation of Iqra in the cave and Waraqa ibn Naufal is telling the Prophet ﷺ you're going to be ridiculed, you're going to be turned out of your home. And that's that framework right there. You stand for the truth, there's going to be resistance, be prepared. And we see the Prophet ﷺ is undeterred by this and he's going to continue to seek Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's help and his guidance and his help.

And Allah is with the believers through those most difficult challenges that we're seeing happen around us today. Actually for the first time kind of bringing to life these in our lifetimes, I mean seeing it come to life of the persecution, the famine, the boycott. All of these things are so painful, they're real, but Allah is with the believers and that's the distinction.

The Prophet ﷺ goes to the Quraish, the chiefs and he's hopeful that this will bring their power, their notoriety, their influence is going to bring more people to Islam. He's well intended of course. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gently guides him. This is where his guidance comes into play. Not these people, these people. These are the sincere people who are calling on Allah and that's actually the strength is there.

That's how Allah sometimes aids the believers is that through these people who might seem marginalized but they're actually showing this kind of strength of faith. They're persevering, they're steadfast because they're calling on Allah for guidance and for help together. And so Allah aids them through that.

Or the enemy that once was the enemy that becomes a strong pillar of Islam, Omar and Hamzah radiAllahu anhumaa who both come to the deen from the opposite side. This is Allah aiding the Muslims through that. So we see that. The angels during the few will overcome the many and then eventually victory. So it's these two things that play that you bring it to our lifetime and subhanallah it just gave me a sense of hope that our brothers and sisters who are suffering right now are the allies with them.

They seem like they're abandoned but actually their steadfastness, their resilience is what we're seeing as a result of this asking Allah for guidance and help and may we be amongst them too obviously and we see and pray for that day inshallah. We hope for that day soon that they will see that success and victory as well.

Trust and Hope in Allah's Plan

What's interesting here is how you're mentioning how you know it's empowering and then the protection from Hadi that it's empowering that Allah guides us, has given us the foundation, the faith and even how to deal with what he puts in front of us that may not be what we anticipate at that time but what we would ultimately want or initially want even.

You know Allah says: We made enemies for you. You know Allah is the one that made the enemies for you and it's a test. You take all the enemies, yeah they're enemies of Islam, enemies but who allowed them to come with his Qadr and his predestination? It was Allah to test you to see if you recognize that he is Hadi and that he is Nasir and that's why when you mentioned when you you know it's beautiful that you mentioned you know when you're seeing my brother and sister it gives me a sense of hope and I rely on that hope and that reliance with the hope is exactly Tawakkul. That's the Tawakkul and the trust in Allah.

Allah gives us these names, he gives us these scenarios, he gives us enemies to see are we going to hope in him, are we going to hope in his guidance and know that he will guide us to the right way, he will show us the way number one and then enable us to go the way number two and then on top of that when we hope and we're going through this struggle that Jihad an-Nafs all throughout these days he's reading these texts, he's reading these and you know you're reading that and it can be a struggle at times you have to put the phone away, sometimes you displace your anger on someone else, you have to know how to stay focused that Allah is when you say you know you put your phone down you get up to pray Maghrib you say you think of it like you're not just saying it you think guide me to the straight path the straight path is saying patience like the ones that you have guided not the ones that are the الضَّالِّينَ right it's a process that you're going through and then when you're done praying then you think Allah is going to help this deen he's going to help the people of this deen and it is not it is not with the death of people that is the that is the worst tragedy rather they are brought there they're alive with the Lord being provided for and as we say oh Allah the one that you have allowed to die and caused to leave this earth and allow them to leave this earth with that firm Iman and we ask Allah to bless us with that and that's why subhanAllah when I was when you were speaking you were talking about the hope I was thinking about Allah even says it there he says we have to think of that predestination and being patient with Allah's Qadr by using these names and attributes and activating them in our lives to where that Tawakkul is manifest and people can see it and eventually be affected as well as you know subhanAllah one thing that's really interesting to take this to another another side of this.

Sulaiman and the Test of Blessing

Allah azawajal says every single prophet had a tyrant had an enemy to deal with just like every prophet was a shepherd every prophet had an enemy not a single one of them is exempt from this but then Allah azawajal takes us in Surah An-Naml to Sulaiman alayhi as-salaam who definitely had what not many prophets had you know like and this kind of goes back to Allah gives from this dunya those who he loves and those who he doesn't love Sulaiman alayhi as-salaam is definitely included amongst those who Allah loves and who's given the dunya from a place of love not from a place of anger or istidraj or reeling him in.

And so in Surah An-Naml like you have this scenario where Sulaiman alayhi as-salaam is seeing the rapidness to which everything is happening for him like everything is at his disposal and you know when he wants something within a blink of an eye it can come to him right away through one of the soldiers that Allah azawajal has placed at his disposal and he realizes this is Allah testing me and Allah wants to see if I'm gonna be grateful or not right like I get it like this is not normal what I'm living through is not normal and then he says:

So this is verse 40 that whoever is grateful is grateful only for their own good and whoever is ungrateful then surely my Lord is غَنِيٌّ كَرِيمٌ my Lord is self-sufficient and most generous so it's almost like the opposite real recognition of this is that look we by virtue of the privilege that we are in when we're talking about what the people of Gaza are going through what the people of Palestine are going through the people of Sudan are going through we're not them we're not struggling the way they're struggling we're being tested in our own ways for sure we have our own tyrants to deal with for sure but the intensity of it is definitely not the same it's not equally distributed and there's also a realization that should dawn upon you like wait a minute you know like this is too easy this is too good and for Sulayman alayhi as-salaam this is provoked out of that realization.

It's not just that Allah Azawajal gave me the guidance to be able to recognize that I'll overcome my tyrant Allah Azawajal gave me the guidance to be able to recognize that I should not become a tyrant because of my blessings and become ungrateful and start to use that right in ways that will not be pleasing to him subhanahu wa ta'ala so my lord is ghaniyun kareem like he doesn't need us he doesn't need any of this but this is a test as well so I'm just curious like how would you and either one of you inshallah can take this how would you reflect on this verse in context of what we've been speaking about.

The Test of Privilege and Gratitude

It actually hit home with something I was reflecting on a few days ago I'll share it, it's personal but I'll share it if it benefits inshallah that feeling of we're so privileged in terms of the worldly sense and how is it that we're seeing these people being tested so so much more than us and yes of course alhamdulillah and we're grateful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as practicing believing Muslims but we do realize that disparity in what we have and what they have and what can I we hear this often right and so one day I just went through and said I'm just going to go through the Quran and look for everywhere where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says it's not going to be wasted whatever little bit whatever little bit you can do.

And I literally I was just looking it up it's like I found a number of verses where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says I was like when did he say that and what did he say about that because I want to make sure that I know that sometimes even in the privilege there's a test and we want to make sure we're not overlooking that test you know in this manner that they can be somebody who's loved by Allah they have that privilege I want to find where do I fit in all of that and so it is it's an awakening I think for everyone to say that in many ways those who are tested manifestly and very obviously they know what they're going through and maybe this is that image of the fuqara who are ahead of us on the day of judgment but at the same time we can self-account I guess for ourselves to say you know what am I doing with what I have and be grateful to Allah that much more because Allah's mercy and his generosity is so great that as Al-Kareem he's saying whatever little you do I'm not going to let it won't go wasted it'll be noticed so if you do something even small but you're doing with the right intention sincerely I'll make sure that that effort is noted even though you might not think it's much.

It's like Allah gives you the blessings not to guilt you but to make you grateful there's a big difference between those two things you know use them and they'll become transcendent in the night time I like how you mentioned that at the end the Khitam I mean just that whatever you're given it reminds me one time I was in Medina I mention this all the time you know I was in Medina and I was waiting to pick my wife up and then a little girl comes up to the car she has no shoes on her hair is disheveled she knocks on the door and then I let my wife down she puts her hand out she says أَعْطِنِي عَلَى اللَّهِ she said that I was like she said give me for what Allah has given you like that was a khutbah in and of itself I was less than a minute but it was like okay let me put whatever I have in my wallet and give it to her right I had a one riyal and a hundred riyals by the way I accidentally gave her the hundred riyals I found that later at the gas station but Alhamdulillah I mean you know at that moment you just have to be thankful for what Allah has given you and you know He gives it to you to test and if you know you're ungrateful with the verses that Allah is self-sufficient He doesn't need your thanks the thanks is actually for you that's why that when you thank Allah and that gratitude is by following the system that He has given you to the best of your ability knowing you're going to make mistakes and know that Allah is not unaware of it but in the same token you know realizing that whatever we've been given there's always an opportunity to thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with what you've been given by giving back.

Jazakum Allah khairan Sheikh Abdullah Ustadh Ruhi for the wonderful reflections May Allah azawajal allow us to first and foremost honor what He's given us of faith and to thank Him properly for that greatest gift right which gives us value in His sight and gives us purpose in our lives and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to use every blessing that we have to support our brothers and sisters that are living under the most intense forms of oppression May Allah azawajal grant our Ummah victory guidance gratitude Allahumma ameen.

Jazakum Allah khair for joining us Insha'Allah we'll see you all tomorrow we want to remind you all Insha'Allah ta'ala to of course donate for us and keep up with our content the last 10 nights it becomes very special Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh