Connecting to the Quran & Ramadan

Connecting to the Quran & Ramadan

Opening Praise and Testimony

Alhamdulillahi ta'ala nahmaduhu wa nasta'inuhu wa nastaghfiruhu wa na'udhu billahi min shururi anfusina wa min sayyati amalina man yahdihi allahu fala mudillala wa man yudlil falan tajida lahu waliyan murshida wa ashhadu an la ilaha illallah wahdahu la sharika lah wa ashhadu anna muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh sallallahu alayhi wa ala alihi wa ashabihi wa sallim tasliman kathira.

"O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims."

"O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer."

"O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment."

Amma ba'd fa inna astaqa al hadithi kitabullah wa khairul hady hady Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa salam wa sharral umoori muhdathatuha wa kulla muhdathatin bid'ah wa kulla bid'atin dalalah wa kulla dalalahin finnnar.

We praise Allah. We send peace and blessings upon our beloved messenger Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم), the best of creation, the imam of all the anbiya, the light of our hearts and the light of our minds, salawatullahi wa salamu alayh, upon his family al-Itrah and upon his companions and those who follow them until the end of time.

The Quickest Way to Develop a Relationship with Allah

Many people ask what's the quickest way to develop a relationship with God. Often times I receive this question. I know our chaplains and our imams in this community, Imam Khalid, Sheikh Fayaz and others receive this question. People ask what's the quickest way to kind of start back to having a relationship with faith, with Allah.

And someone actually asked Sayyidina Uthman ibn Affan (radiyallahu anhu) this question. They asked him what is the easiest way to ignite a relationship with the Creator. And he said I know of no quicker way than with the Quran, bi karimatihi.

The People of the Quran Are the People of Allah

In fact, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in a very beautiful narration said:

إِنَّ لِلَّهِ أَهْلِينَ

"Indeed Allah has people who are His chosen friends."

(Sahih Ibn Majah 215)

And of course the sahaba were excited and they immediately responded: "Who are those people, Ya Rasulallah?" He said:

أَهْلُ الْقُرْآنِ هُمْ أَهْلُ اللَّهِ وَخَاصَّتُهُ

"The people of the Quran are the people of Allah and His special ones."

(Sahih Ibn Majah 215)

The Quran: A Source of Guidance Like the Stars

In the Quran, Allah illustrates the important relationship we should have with His book. That it is a source of guidance through difficulties, hardships, confusion, but that demands a reciprocal relationship. Do I have a constant relationship with the Quran? Is my relationship with the Quran as intimate as it is with John Snow and White Walkers? That will tell us a lot about ourselves. If you're me, with Kyrie Irving. But that's really serious though, because we can't DVR our life. The only way we can edit our life is with tawbah.

And Allah says:

"So I swear by the positions of the stars - and indeed, it is an oath, if you could know, [most] great. Indeed, it is a noble Quran."

(Quran 56:75-77)

Allah swears by the Quran and He swears by stars. One of the scholars said that the relationship between the Quran and the stars is that the Arabs used to use stars as a GPS through difficult times. In the darkness of night when they were lost or they had to face incredible elements, it was the stars that they used.

"They ask you about the new moons. Say, 'They are measurements of time for the people and for Hajj.'"

(Quran 2:189)

They used the stars as their Google Maps. So he said this is the relationship between the Quran and people as they move through the challenges of this world: the challenges of success, the challenges of failure, the challenges of loneliness, the challenges of being blinded by our own sense of accomplishment. Through those storms, through those difficulties, the Quran is like a star that we can always turn to, to guide us insha'Allah bi-idhnillah.

The second is that stars are used as we know in the Quran to repel Satan. Allah says:

"And We have certainly beautified the nearest heaven with stars and have made [from] them what is thrown at the devils."

(Quran 67:5)

That we made the stars, the heavenly bodies, meteorites to repel Satan. Just like the verses of the Quran they will repel Satan from our lives, alhamdulillah.

Ramadan: The Month of the Quran

And we know that Ramadan is only a few weeks away. And Ramadan masha'Allah is the month of the Quran.

"The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for the people."

(Quran 2:185)

That the Quran was revealed masha'Allah in this month. So I thought we should talk a bit about some of the virtues of the Quran, and then perhaps some of the things we can do in the month of Ramadan that may allow us insha'Allah to be from ahlullah, from the people of Allah.

The Best of People Learn and Teach the Quran

As the Prophet said:

خَيْرُكُمْ مَنْ تَعَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ وَعَلَّمَهُ

"The best among you are those who learn the Quran and teach it."

(Sahih Bukhari 5027)

And my teacher from Senegal, masha'Allah from St. Louis, Shaykh Hamdiyya used to always read this poem to me:

يَا مَنْ يُرِيدُ قُرْبًا مِنْ مَوْلَاهُ فَلْيَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَا يَنْسَاهُ

قَالُوا جَمِيعًا أَهْلُ قُرْآنٍ

"O you who desire closeness to your Lord, let him read the Quran and not forget it. They said all together: the people of the Quran."

The Shaykh from Senegal used to say the best thing you can give, the best thing you can earn, the best thing you can say, the best charity that you can give is the Quran. And that the Quran will make intercession for 70 of your family members for the Huffadh, as is mentioned in authentic Hadith. And also that the Quran will allow someone to escape being audited by Allah in the hereafter if they acted on it. And that anyone who desires to have a relationship with Allah, then let them go to the book of Allah.

In any language, alhamdulillah, somebody doesn't read Arabic, of course, doesn't matter. Allah made the languages ayat min ayatih, from the signs of God.

Imam Ash-Shatibi's Poetry on the Virtues of the Quran

Imam Ash-Shatibi, he was a great scholar, he actually wrote a thousand lines of poetry just on the different seven major narrations of the Quran and the 30 usul of tajweed that should be mastered, that we learned alhamdulillah in Egypt when reciting the Quran. And he says some beautiful things about the Quran, I hope that will inspire us inshaAllah before the second part of the khutbah.

He says:

فَحَبْلُ اللَّهِ فِينَا كِتَابُهُ فَجَاهِدْ بِهِ حَبْلَ الْعِدَى مُتَحَبِّلَ

"The rope of Allah among us is His book, so strive with it against the rope of the enemy who is entangled."

The first thing he says is that the Quran is God's rope to you and to me. And we have the Hadith of Sayyidina Muhammad (alayhi salatu wa salam) that this hadith is sahih. He says that the Quran is a rope, one side of it rests in the hands of God, and the other side of it rests in your hands, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

So Ash-Shatibi is saying work to hold on to this rope. Cling to this rope and use it in your life when you find challenges in front of you. That's why Allah said:

وَجَاهِدْهُم بِهِ جِهَادًا كَبِيرًا

"And strive against them with it [the Quran] a great striving."

(Quran 25:52)

You have to struggle against yourself, I have to struggle against myself, to have an intimate relationship with the Quran.

Historical Examples: People of the Quran

Abdullah bin Mubarak, once he was traveling, he met this woman, and this was the historical tradition of our ancestors - they were people of the Quran.

My teacher Shaykh Ali Saleh, masha'Allah in Egypt, he used to live next to Bab Zuwayla. He was blind, and he would make khatam of Quran every three days. His wife was blind, she was also our teacher. She passed away, Allah yarhamha. She used to make khatam of Quran every three days, and she was over 70 years old. Our ummah is an ummah of the Quran. Our khair, our barakah, everything comes when we cling to the book of Allah. When we distance ourselves from the sacred teachings of the Quran, then we fall into doubt.

"This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah."

(Quran 2:2)

So Abdullah bin Mubarak met this woman, and he saw her in the desert, she was lost. So he said to her: "What happened?" And she said:

"Then indeed you, O those astray [who are] deniers."

(Quran 56:51)

She read a verse that means people are lost. So he understood she was astray. Then he said to her: "Where are you headed?" She said:

"The Lord of the East."

(Quran 55:17)

So she kept answering him with Quran. Then he said: "Would you like to ride my horse?" She said:

"Exalted is He who has subjected this to us, and we could not have [otherwise] subdued it."

(Quran 43:13)

So then as she got on his horse, she looked at him and she said the verse to lower their gaze. Then he said: "What's wrong with you? Why you keep doing this?" Then she said:

"And my word is not in jest."

The Quran is not a joke, it's driving me crazy. She said:

"Indeed, this Quran guides to that which is most suitable."

So they went east and they found a caravan. And then he said: "What can I do for you?" She said:

"This is a boy as good news."

Meaning, I have a son. Then he said: "What's the name of your son?" She said:

"And We gave to him Isaac and Jacob."

So then he went and found her sons. And as they were walking back, she said:

"Has there come to you the story of the honored guests of Abraham?"

The story of Abraham and his guests, you should feed them, take care of them. So then he asked her sons, as mentioned by Imam Ibn Jawzi, he said: "What's wrong with your mom?" They're like: "Wallahi, she's been talking with the Quran for 40 years."

Although this is Makruh in Fiqh, it shows you the depth, the ability for a woman to contextualize the Quran in a way that's very powerful.

The Rope That Extends Between Us and Allah

So Sayyidina Shatibi says that there's a rope that extends between us and Allah. And that rope is mentioned in

the Quran:

"And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together."

It's something that we should all cling to. We ask Allah to guide us and to make us from those who have an intimate relationship with the Quran.

صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَى حَبِيبِنَا وَرَسُولِ اللهِ رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ

The Quran: The Greatest Anchor

Ash-Shatibi, later on in his poem, because the beginning, his introduction, deals a lot with the virtues of the Quran, because of course memorizing a thousand lines probably needs to be slightly motivated. So he says:

"Indeed the book of Allah is the most reliable of intercessors, and the most enriching, generous and gracious giver."

Imam al-Busti, the great Afghan Sufi, in the Unwan al-Hikam, he says:

"And bind your hands to the rope of Allah, holding firmly, for indeed it is the pillar when [all other] pillars betray you."

Subhanallah. He said, you know, cling to the Quran, because it's going to be a pillar for you when all other pillars wash away.

The Attack on Muslim Relationship with the Quran

One of the goals of Orientalism, and now its new iteration Islamophobia, there are a number of themes packed into these philosophies. One of them is that Muslims are barbarians, so the only way that you can rule them is with dictatorships. You see that now as a policy in the Muslim world. But the other one is to try to enter the hearts of the masses of the Muslims so that they begin to frame their relationship with the Quran as though the Quran is an antique. That the Quran is something that's going to push them back. That the Quran is going to pull them away from social and economic and political agency.

So what they have tried to do, and even some of the Muslim community, may Allah protect us, is to distance ourselves from the Quran. Another challenge, and this was mentioned in other interesting journals, is that we

should restrict the Muslim's relationship with the Quran to just barakah. Like the Quran is so sacred, the Quran is so perfect, that you cannot have a relationship with it. Both of these are problematic.

Always Find Swagger with the Quran

Sayyidina Ash-Shatibi, he addresses this very beautifully. He says:

وَأَخْلِقْ بِهِ إِذْ لَيْسَ جِدَّةٌ جَدِيدٌ مُوَالِيهِ عَلَى الْجِدِ مُقْبِلًا

"Always find swagger with the Quran. It's the first time it's ever been translated that way."

But that's the meaning - always be like subhanAllah. But not to the point where it's counterproductive, to the point that it motivates you to, well, yo I gotta get this.

The Best Gathering Is for the Quran

And then he begins to talk about some of its blessings. He said:

هُوَ خَيْرُ جَلِيسٍ لَا يُمَلُّ حَدِيثُهُ

"It is the best companion whose conversation is never tiresome."

He said, you know, the best gathering is a gathering for the Quran. And here he alludes to the opinion of the majority of the fuqaha that people who can gather in a group and read the Quran, it's not bid'ah.

And then he says something very beautiful:

وَتَرْتِيلُهُ فِيهِ يَزْدَادُ تَجَمُّلًا

"And reciting it, in it one increases in beauty."

Unlike anything else in the world, he says the Quran is something that you can always repeat, always read. It's so beautiful when you see Muslims like:

"Say, He is Allah, [who is] One."

Like that's all they know, but they still find that juice from that surah. You know, because that's the Quran.

My teacher, subhanAllah, again, Ahmad Diyya from Senegal, he memorized the 14 qiraat when he was 12 from his sister. His sister was his shaykhah in Quran. And he told me: "Every time, even at the age of 50, I ponder Fatiha, I learn something new. Like I've never become, لم يمل لي حديثه - I've never ran out of something new, something I've uncovered in the book of Allah."

And then he says:

وَحَيْثُ الْفَتَى يَرْتَاعُ فِي ظُلُمَاتِهِ وَيَرْتَاعُ يَلْقَاهُ مِنَ الْقَبْرِ سَنِيًّا مُتَهَلَّلًا

"And where the youth finds himself terrified in his darkness and terrified, the Quran will come to him from the grave, shining brightly."

And he says, when youth find themselves terrified by life, the challenges of life, the Quran will come to you in those moments like a flashlight, like a lantern, that will show you the way. And here it has two meanings. Number one, in the grave - so in the darkness of the grave, the Quran will be noor. And number two, the challenges of life and the confusion of life, the Quran will shine for you.

The Quran Will Be a Crown for Your Parents

And then as he - we don't have time, but he mentions some of the other virtues, we'll talk about it perhaps in our Ramadan dry run before Ramadan, inshaAllah. But then he mentions it will be for your parents, if you have a relationship:

مَلَابِسُ أَنْوَارٍ مِنَ التَّاجِ وَالْحُلَى

As the Prophet ﷺ said:

مَنْ قَرَأَ الْقُرْآنَ وَعَمِلَ بِهِ

"Whoever recites the Quran and acts upon it."

Will be adorned with clothing of noor. Another narration, their parents will be given the clothing of noor, like light. And also the offspring:

أُولَئِكَ أَهْلُ اللَّهِ الصَّفْوَةُ الْمَلَى عِنْدَ جَزَائِهِ بِالنَّجْلِ

"Those are the people of Allah, the elite and chosen, in His reward with offspring."

He said, also even for your children.

A Practical Goal: Memorize Surah Al-Mulk

So masha'Allah, there's too many virtues of the Quran for us to discuss. But this is the month of Ramadan, masha'Allah. The month of Ramadan is the month of the Quran.

And instead of maybe trying to do a lot and maybe not accomplishing a lot and getting frustrated - because one of the goals of shaitan is to encourage someone to be irrational in their expectations, to be too pious, to be too

good, to burden themselves with too much so that they become frustrated and they lose hope - but I think one thing we can all think about is at least memorizing Surah Al-Mulk.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

إِنَّ سُورَةً مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ ثَلَاثُونَ آيَةً حَافِظُهَا مَنْ

"There is a chapter of the Quran of thirty verses."

Whoever memorizes it and recites it, it will protect them from the punishment of the grave. They asked him: "What is it, Ya Rasulallah?" He said:

"Blessed is He in whose hand is dominion, and He is over all things competent."

(Sunan At-Tirmidhi 2891)

Something that simple, to learn just Tabarak. I'm around, Shaykh is around, Imam Khalid is around, if you need to read it to somebody, alhamdulillah, we can help you through it. But at least Surah Al-Mulk. If someone in the audience has already memorized Surah Al-Mulk, then go to Surah Yaseen. But make that the goal.

I think it's better, my humble opinion, you memorize one chapter of the Quran - it's better than a khatam of Quran, because that chapter is gonna stay with you, masha'Allah, for the rest of your life. And it will be with you. And the Prophet ﷺ said:

لِكُلِّ حَرْفٍ عَشْرُ حَسَنَاتٍ

"For every letter of the Quran [you read] is ten blessings."

(Sunan At-Tirmidhi 2910)

The Five Ethics of the Quran

The last is as we go into Ramadan, we should think about the five ethics of the Quran. Because the Quran is not just a book of barakah, the barakah is the outcome of harakah البركة تأتي بعد الحركة - We say, you know, the blessing comes after the action.

First: Faith in Allah

Number one, the Quran calls us to have faith in Allah. To work on our faith. How do I know my faith is strong? I make the right choices.

Second: Focus on Family

And that's why some of the scholars said when the Prophet said (آله - the Al of Muhammad) - it usually means family, of course, but sometimes also it means his ummah, because his ummah was like his family.

"The Prophet is more worthy of the believers than themselves, and his wives are [in the position of] their mothers."

(Quran 33:6)

As the Quran mentions, the relationship with the Prophet and us is like family.

Third: Education

So we see in the community as well as in our own community, the broader community, education is under siege. How can we contribute? Volunteering, for example, engaging in prison education, for example, teaching people who don't have access to the education that we had access to, injecting ourselves in religious spaces, acquiring the knowledge to become someone who can teach the young Muslim community or the old Muslim community.

Fourth: Economic Independence

The fourth thing is economic independence. Sayyiduna Imam Shafi used to say:

"If I'm busy thinking about onions, I can't think about fiqh."

Ish, in Egypt it's called ish because you live on it. If I'm busy with ish, I can't think about ma'ayish. I can't think about my life.

Fifth: Honor

And the last is honor. How can I contribute to making sure I myself am not the object - as we see 2020 coming, the continued toxic rhetoric which will be directed towards our community. We ask Allah to protect our sisters and brothers. The toxic language that's going to be used towards our community, the attempts to attack our community are probably going to only be amplified. So how can I make sure that I'm healed, I'm not allowing myself to feel broken, but then also I can be a source of inspiration and happiness for other people.

As the Prophet said:

"Causing another person to be happy necessitates Jannah for you."

Closing Supplication

So we ask Allah to make us from the people of the Quran. We ask Allah to make us sincere in word and deed and heart. We ask Allah to limit the contradictions between our hearts and our actions. We ask Allah to bless this beautiful community. We ask Allah to bless our brothers and sisters who may be going through illnesses or sicknesses. We have a sister who came to me from Kazakhstan asking for dua. We ask Allah to bless you inshaAllah and raise you.

We ask Allah to bless our brothers and sisters in Myanmar, brothers and sisters in Palestine, our brothers and sisters in Congo, in Rwanda, in Africa. We pray for our brothers and sisters in Bosnia, in Serbia, in Albania. We pray for our brothers and sisters, of course, all over the Muslim world. We pray for the American Muslim community that Allah will allow our marja to be the book of Allah.

We ask Allah to make us lovers of the sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa salam. We ask Allah to heal marriages that may be struggling. We ask Allah to bring parents and children back to one another. We ask Allah to bless us to have success in a way which is halal. We ask Allah to help those who are struggling with employment. May Allah facilitate finding inshaAllah a great job for you inshaAllah.

We ask Allah to bless those who are lonely. May Allah allow us to be people who help sincerely fulfill that space for you and bring you a real sense of value. We pray for our single brothers and sisters who struggle with being lonely and struggle with finding spouses.

Rabbana yassir lakum insha'Allah al-amrah.

"Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire."

(Quran 2:201)

"Exalted is your Lord, the Lord of might, above what they describe. And peace upon the messengers. And praise to Allah, Lord of the worlds."

(Quran 37:180-182)