Living the Quran

Living the Quran with Imam Zaid Shakir - Session 1

Opening

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Zaytuna Institute Distance Learning presents Living the Quran with Imam Zaid Shakir Session 1.

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And peace and blessings be upon the Master of the Messengers, and upon his family and companions. And peace be upon you. Peace be upon you.

Introduction to the Class

So this class is called Living the Quran. So, the objective is to enhance the message of the Quran in our hearts, and therefore to magnify the articulation of the Quran in our lives. How we articulate that message in our lives.

So it's not a class on Ulumul Quran. We've done previously a class where we touched on critical aspects of Ulumul Quran, so the sciences of the Quran. How, when the Quran was first revealed. How it was revealed. How it was recorded. How it was preserved. How it was collected. How the Mus'haf was compiled. How it was standardized. How it's to be recited. What are the canonical variations permissible in terms of its recitation. What are the Meccan verses. How do they differ from the Medinan verses. What are the abrogated verses. And how do they differ from the abrogating verses. So all of these technical things are related to, and others, to Ulumul Quran, the sciences of the Quran.

So this class doesn't deal with that. What this class will want to do is emphasize, as we said, what does the message of the Quran mean, and what should it mean for us in our individual lives. So Allah revealed this scripture, the final revelation to humanity. What is its import, and how should it impact on our lives. So that is what we want to look at. And those are the fundamental questions that we're going to deal with. And to begin answering those questions, we let the Quran speak for itself.

The Purpose of the Quran

Meaning it has no internal contradictions. It has no internal contradictions in order that they, humanity, would have a means that will facilitate their mindfulness and consciousness of their Lord, specifically His orders. So we're conscious to such a degree that we implement His orders. And we're conscious of Him and of His relationship with us and of His place in His creation, that we avoid the things that He has prohibited. That's the essence of Taqwa.

Understanding Taqwa

So when someone translates Taqwa as God consciousness, that's incomplete. That's an aspect of it. But it's God

consciousness that translates itself into a willingness to implement God's commandments and to avoid the things that He has prohibited. So that is the full meaning of Taqwa: God consciousness that translates itself, that lends itself to implementing the orders of God and avoiding those things that He has prohibited.

So this is one critical aspect of the Quran and what it should mean to us: that it should be a scripture that enhances our consciousness of God to such a degree that it enhances our propensity to implement His orders and to avoid His prohibitions.

Assessing Our Relationship with the Quran

So if we find ourselves reading the Quran, reading the Quran, reading the Quran, and we're neglecting to implement the orders of God that it contains, and we're neglecting to avoid those things it prohibits, something's not quite right. And we need to seek to address that. And that's part of what we want to do. We want to provide prescriptions also. So there are things we should do. There are things all of us, including myself, fall short in terms of what we actually do. But there are prescriptions to address those shortcomings, and there are prescriptions to enhance our willingness to do what we should do and to avoid those things we should avoid.

The Divine Source of the Quran

So the Quran, one of the things that it enhances our consciousness of in a more general sense—so specifically we could say God consciousness that lends itself to implementing the orders and avoiding the prohibitions—another thing though that's involved in that, in order that they will be conscious of God in a more general sense, is by reading the Quran. Our consciousness that this is not the work of a human being should be enhanced. That this is not the work of a human being. So as we read the Quran and recite the Quran and reflect on its message, it should strengthen our conviction that this scripture is from the Lord of all the worlds.

The Arabs' Recognition of Divine Speech

This scripture is not from a human being. And the Arabs, it was easy for them. Even those of them who rejected Islam, they rejected Islam out of their stubbornness and their recalcitrance and their refusal to follow our Prophet Muhammad. Because he was poor, he wasn't one of the rich notables of Mecca. He was a notable but he wasn't wealthy. So the rich people: why should we follow a peasant? A peon? So they refused to accept Islam for many reasons. But very few of them refused because they failed to acknowledge that the Quran was not from a human being. And so that reason they were baffled, some of them. Like, this can't be the speech of a human, but I don't want to deal with it. So I can't reconcile. So many of them were torn and conflicted because of the power of the Quran as they recited it in their tongue.

Studying Arabic to Appreciate the Quran

So we learn it. We learn Arabic. And by studying Arabic and studying rhetoric and other things, the miraculous -how can we say? Not just the miraculous nature, it's a debilitating nature. It inhibits the ability of others because of its magnitude to imitate it. So this is a miracle of the Quran. So as we study these things, the power of the Quran grows in us in relation to the depth of our study.

But the Arabs who were the speakers of the language of the Quran, intuitively it struck them. And intuitively they knew: this is from a source beyond this world because of the nature of the language and the nature of the

power that was conveyed by the language of the Quran.

Reflecting on the Quran Opens More Understanding

It should also enhance our reflection. So as we deepen our understanding of Quran, it should only encourage us to reflect more. It's like a delicious dish. The more you eat the more you want. So you're like wow, I can't stop. I'm addicted. And that's the Quran. The more we reflect on it, the more we ponder it, the more it encourages us to ponder. Say wow, this I never realized. So now that I realize this, it opens up my heart and my intellect to the fact that there's another level of meaning that I was never even aware of. So I want to engage that. And then when we engage that, more opens up.

Acting on Knowledge Opens More Knowledge

And one of the keys to that whole process is acting on everything we learn. As we learn more, it should encourage us to act more. And as we act more, more is opened up for us.

So as the Prophet, he said, or sometimes the saying is attributed to Isa (Jesus) (مَنْ عَمِلَ بِمَا عَلِمَ وَرَّثَهُ اللَّهُ عِلْمَ مَا لَا يَعْلَمُ - man 'amila bima 'alima warathahu Allahu 'ilma ma la ya'lam) "Whoever acts on the basis of what they know, Allah will bequeath unto them knowledge that they don't know."

So this is called ilm al-laduni, so knowledge that is inspired directly by Allah جل جلاله. In other words, knowledge beyond our human capacity to attain to. So it's not knowledge that constitutes prophethood or prophecy, but it's meanings and understanding that, based on our own limited human devices, we couldn't attain to. So Allah جل جلاله opens that up for all of us.

Examples from New Converts

And you see it. I see it many many times. One of the greatest areas that I see this is when I listen to new converts explain Islam to people, especially people who are in this kind of attack mode. It's very common nowadays. People want to attack Muslims. And so many times a person new in Islam, who hasn't read that much but is very sincere in acting on what they do know, Allah جل جلاله opens up things. And you'll hear beautiful powerful arguments. And you're like, wow, where did they get that from? You know, I've been Muslim 30 years and I never read that. And then you'll ask them after, where did you get that from? I don't know, it just came out.

So I'm sure those who are converts can relate to that. And those who might not be converts but weren't practicing Islam and got serious about practicing it. And as you practice it, things just Allah جل جلاله opens up things. And that's one of the blessings that Allah جل جلاله gives us.

The Quran's Mission: Warning and Guidance

Another aspect of the Quran is mentioned in the following verse. Allah جل جلاله says: وَكَذَّلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا "Thus have we revealed unto you an Arabic Quran in order that you will warn the mother of the towns, Mecca, and those outlying surrounding villages and towns, so those that are orbiting in the orbit of Mecca and the Arabian Peninsula. That you will warn them of the day of the gathering. All people will be resurrected and gathered together for the judgment.

through Isa, through Jesus Christ. They saw themselves having a mission. And in undertaking that mission, they were willing to suffer. They were willing to sacrifice. They were willing to work.

And if we don't see ourselves, and you look at any of the early Muslims, how were they able to take this revelation from China, which they did? China, Islam reached China during the time of the Sahaba. It wasn't established there, but it reached China to the Pyrenees, the mountains of southern France and northern Spain in less than 100 years.

You think that happened without people who were filled with a sense of mission to endure the suffering, the sacrifice, the hardship that it took to take Islam? Islam was in Switzerland less than 100 years after the Prophet . For over 40 years, the Muslims had a state in Switzerland. They had reached into the Alps. They had gone as far as they knew the known world. When Uqba bin Nafi came to the shores of the Atlantic off the coast of Morocco, he said, if I knew there were lands beyond this ocean, they didn't know at the time, then I would ride across this ocean and take Islam to those people.

The Quran Instills a Sense of Mission

So they were inspired with the sense of mission. And we have to be similarly inspired. And one of the things that the Quran does when we properly engage it is it instills in us a sense of mission. So if we're reading the Quran and reading Quran and that sense isn't happening, then something is not clicking. Something is not quite right in terms of how we engage the Quran. So it's something that's very, very important.

Our Responsibility to Others

And it's important because we have a responsibility to others. We have a responsibility to others. If I'm a Muslim, and Alhamdulillah, I'm like the average Muslim. So the average Muslim is not drinking and not using drugs and has no need for those things. Now saying that, sure there's some Muslims, they drink, they use drugs, but the average Muslim doesn't. So you don't have to even get to the good Muslim. The good Muslim doesn't, the average Muslim doesn't drink, doesn't use drugs, doesn't fornicate.

So if people all around us, their lives are being destroyed, their families are being destroyed by drinking and drugs and fornication, don't we have a responsibility to them? Just like, look, you don't have to live like this. There's a source of peace. You can have inner peace that can relieve you of the need to live this kind of life, to have to be dependent on those substances, to see yourself having to compensate for these personality disorders by all of this womanizing or whatever else is happening in your life. You don't have to live like this. That's a duty we have.

"No one of you truly believes until he or she loves for his or her brother or sister what he or she loves for himself or herself." (Sahih al-Bukhari 13, Sahih Muslim 45)

So I love this state that I'm in. I should love for my brother in humanity or my sister in humanity to enjoy this state. So again, this is something that the Quranic message should instill in us.

Ramadan: The Month of the Quran

Another aspect of the Quranic message that's conveyed to us during this blessed month of Ramadan. Allah says:

"So we can't separate the Quran from Ramadan." (Quran 2:185) So it's very appropriate that we're talking about this subject in Ramadan because this is the month of the Quran.

So Allah goes on to mention very critical aspects of the Quranic message. شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ "Guidance for humanity." (Quran 2:185) هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ That this Quran is a source of guidance. Generally, وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَى specifically, and expounding and elucidating that guidance. So it's general guidance and it's specific guidance. What are the specifics related to this Quranic message? So the Quran gives general guidance, it gives specific guidance.

The Quran as a Criterion

"And it establishes for us a criterion to determine between right and wrong." (Quran 2:185) So in other words, the Quran introduces for us an objective standard of morality. It introduces for us an objective standard of behavior. We don't have to experiment in many aspects, fundamental aspects of how we interact with others. The Quran introduces an objective standard of how we should interact with others. The Quran introduces for us an objective standard of worship.

Standardized Liturgy

So we don't have to experiment with our liturgy. So the liturgy of any religion, what is a liturgy? What does that involve? Some of you were Catholics before, I know. Public rituals of worship, they publicly manifest their rites of worship. And where are those for many religions today compared to what their prophets brought them? Far, far away. Even the Catholic Church abandoned the Latin liturgy, has abandoned that.

As Muslims, the Quran, and this is one of the blessings of the Quran, gave us an objective standardized liturgy. And one of the blessings of the Quran, it's inspired us as Muslims to preserve that. So we pray today publicly, when before this class there was the Salah. That prayer is just like the Prophet and the Sahaba did it. رضي الله عنهم أجمعين صلى الله عليه وسلم

They would come back, if one of them were to come back, they would feel perfectly comfortable. Lining up, getting in the line. They would enter and they would get four rakats for Dhuhr, three for Maghrib. They would get what they expected. They would expect the Imam to recite loudly for Fajr and not loudly for Dhuhr. They wouldn't expect after Salatul Dhuhr, which everyone prayed, if Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه Umar Uthman, Ali were sent back by Allah, they wouldn't go up to Shaykh Salih, why didn't you say the Fatiha out loud in the first two rakats? This is Dhuhr. They would expect a silent recitation and they would get it.

The Power of the Quran Preserves Our Practice

So, this standardization of our liturgy is an example of how other aspects of our religious life have been standardized. And part of the reason that's been preserved is because of the power of the Quran, that Allah has placed and it's impacted itself, placed in the power Allah has placed in His scripture and it's impacted itself on our hearts. And it's motivated us to preserve and to adhere to the standardization that Allah instituted through His Messenger .

Now saying that, there are definitely large areas of our religious teachings that we neglect. So, all of us are guilty in that regard, but there is much that we have held on to. And one of the reasons for that is due to the blessing of the Quran.

When Hearts Become Hard

Now in terms of what we neglect, and in terms of the Quran's power and its message losing its impact, Allah mentions that and we mentioned we want to be prescriptive. So, in these introductory remarks we're engaging in today, we want to move into the realm of prescription.

So, part of the problem arises, Allah mentions in the Quran: أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَن تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ "So, Allah says, has not the time come for those who believe that their hearts should become soft and receptive through the remembrance of Allah?" (Quran 57:16)

وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ And what has been revealed of the truth, the Quran. وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ And the truth that has been Allah is وَلَا يَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَمَدُ فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ .revealed with the Quran addressing us.

أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا Has not the time come for those who believe in the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ that their hearts are softened and become receptive to the guidance and to the remembrance of Allah and to the message of the Quran. And that they not be like those who were given the scripture beforehand. أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَمَدُ The time that they lived in and the time that their messenger initially brought the revelation becomes long and expansive.

فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ And their hearts become hard. Meaning, their hearts start to incline towards the world. And, their hearts start to incline towards the immediacy of the worldly life. And, therefore become unreceptive to the messages that orient them towards the hereafter. So, this is the hardening of the hearts.

وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ And, many of those people who were given the scripture beforehand and Muslims are not immune, this is why Allah is reminding us and warning us in this verse وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ become, live lives that are not influenced by the revelation.

When Religion Doesn't Impact Hearts

So, people ask, you know, if this is a Christian country, then why are these people such prolific warmongers? Generally speaking, when Christ was the Prince of Peace, because the message of Christ is not impacting itself on the hearts. So, one can talk about it until the cows come home. Just as Muslims, we can talk about Islam.

Islam elevated the status of the woman. Stay home, no education, make my food, why is it cold? So, we could talk all until the cows come home. Islam elevated the woman. Islam did this and Islam did that. And, if it doesn't impact on our hearts, we're not going to do it. Islam does it as if Islam is some reified entity that has a life of its own. So, Islam elevates the woman. So, you see, I-S-L-A-M, picking up a sister, a sister. Islam elevated the woman.

And, Islam gave us a sound family life. That's why more and more Muslims get divorced after six months. Like, what happened, brother? She sneezed and I felt moisture on my face. So, I divorced her. I'm going to find a wife

that doesn't sneeze. So, okay, good luck. You should maybe live in a more realistic world. And, it'll be easier to deal with sneezing wives and snoring husbands.

What happened, sister? You look like such a happy couple. I know, but as soon as we got married and I found out the brother snored, stuck for a while. So, we have to, we have to just live in the world of reality. Sisters sneeze and brothers snore. So, let's get over it and get close to the Quran.

When Time Becomes Long

So, the hearts become hard. And, this is communities. So, when Allah says وَلَا يَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَمَدُ So, the time that those communities live in and the time the revelation first came to those communities becomes an expansive amount of time. So, their hearts become hard.

Also, those who convert to Islam or, those who were maybe born in Muslim families and they get serious about Islam and, then the time becomes long. So, the months turn into years and the years turn into decades. And, the hearts can become hard also.

So, and you'll hear people saying سبحان الله it's just not the same. You know, what's not the same? You know, when I first became Muslim. I mean, I could walk through a brick wall for Islam. When I first converted, I was ready to take on the world. You know, I was like Godzilla. Or, that's King Kong. I was like King Kong. I could just, but now I just don't feel it. You know, it's not the same.

The Quran Retains Its Vitality

So, that can happen. But, if we're close to the message of the Quran, that will not happen. The Quran will retain its vitality. It will retain its freshness. It will retain its originality. It will contain its creative energy. It will contain all of those things. It will continue to contain. And, Allah reminds us of that.

In the very next verse Allah says: اعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُحْيِي الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا" "You should know that Allah revives the earth after its death." (Quran 57:17) So, the earth, the rain comes in the springtime here in California in wintertime. And, the earth, what happens? It becomes, if you go out into your garden right now, and you hit the ground, you might hurt your hand, right? It's rock hard. It's like hitting cement.

The rains come, and what happens? The earth gets soft, and it brings forth vegetation. Now, nothing will grow if you don't water it. Nothing will grow. It burns up, if you don't water it, nothing will grow. When the rain comes, the earth becomes soft, and it brings forth lush vegetation.

So, you look at an area right now, it's barren, just stubble, burned up weeds or grass. In January, you look at it, it's green, it's lush. So, Allah says اعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُحْيِي الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا Know that Allah revives the earth after its death.

The Parable of the Hard Heart

So, this is a parable. If that hard heart is exposed to the rain, what is the rain? The remembrance of Allah. The recitation of Quran. Contemplating the Quran. Reflecting on its meaning. Then, it will become soft, like the earth, after it becomes hard and barren. And it will bring forth lush vegetation. It will bring forth productive

faith. Faith that leads to action. Faith that leads to beautiful character. Productive faith. Not empty faith. It will bring forth productive faith.

Allah explains things in the Quran. And Allah gives us prescriptions. And here, the prescription that Allah is giving us is: Turn to the Quran. Remember Allah. Expose your heart to the rain that the remembrance of Allah constitutes. Expose your heart to the rain that the Quran constitutes. And this Quran will come to life. Its message will come to life. Its meaning will come to life. And it will guide us. Allah says it is guidance for people. It will guide us through the times that we live in.

Challenges Muslims Face Today

So, what I want to do right now. And this is all by way of introduction. And some of this we've expounded on before. And next week, Inshallah, we're going to look at a specific aspect of the Quranic guidance. So, we want to expound on the Quranic guidance in terms of the insight that it gives us into our current condition.

So, our current condition here is that we confront many challenges. There are people, dastardly, despicable people, that are saying Muslims in this country should be deported. There are people saying Muslims should be murdered. Muslims should be in prison. And they're fringe lunatics, but they're moving closer and closer to the mainstream. And may Allah help us. It becomes more difficult for Muslims.

So, there's more discrimination in the workplace for Muslims. There's more discrimination in housing for Muslims. These are things that are happening. It's documented. You can look on the CAIR website. Hate crimes against Muslims up 30% at an all-time high. So, you find these things manifesting themselves, which indicates that we're going to have to struggle.

No Escape from Struggle

So, if anyone thought that coming to this country, they escaped struggle. I was struggling in Palestine. I was struggling in the apartheid conditions. I was struggling in worse than apartheid conditions. Conditions in Palestine are worse than apartheid South Africa. That's a fact. Why? Because many of the discriminatory policies that the African people were dealing with in apartheid South Africa, they're there.

But the South Africans, they weren't bombing Bantustans. They weren't sending Apache helicopters and F-16s to bomb townships in Bantustans. They didn't have 15 checkpoints between a person's village and a hospital, so that before you get through these 15 checkpoints, the sister had the baby in the back of the taxi cab. So, South Africans didn't have to deal with that. That's a fact. And you shouldn't hesitate to say that.

Speaking Against Oppression

You get labeled anti-Semitic. As a Muslim, you'll never be anti-Semitic because part of our faith is to love the Arabs and the prophets, and they're Semitic people. And part of our faith is to respect the Jews and the people of other religions. So, we respect the Jews. But the brutal policies of Zionists, if we're people who speak out

Embracing the Life of Struggle

If anyone thought I'm going to convert to Islam and I'm not going to struggle anymore. So, I'm going to become a Muslim and everything's going to be alright. Oh, you're going to become a Muslim, then you're really going to have to struggle. One man said to the Prophet, he said, I want to follow you. And the Prophet told him, think about what you're saying. He said, no, I want to follow you. He said, then prepare yourself for poverty. Prepare yourself for poverty. If you're serious.

Because those were days of struggle and sacrifice. Those were days of struggle and sacrifice. My people who follow me, they're boycotted by their community. Weren't they boycotted? People that follow me, they're exiled from their lands. And they leave their property behind. People that follow me, people wage war against them. And they might lose their property and their lives. So, he said, if you want to follow me, prepare yourself for poverty. And that might not be the case, but be ready. Because, if you're following me, you're going to live a life of struggle. And that's the life of this world.

"O you human being, you're toiling and struggling to reach your Lord, and you will reach Him." (Quran 84:6) So, the journey to Allah is a difficult journey. The journey to Allah is a journey filled with struggle, trial, and tribulation, strife. It's not an easy journey.

The Prophet ﷺ said: حُفَّتِ الْجَنَّةُ بِالْمَكَارِهِ "Paradise is surrounded by difficulties." (Sahih Muslim 2822) And hell is surrounded-if one wants to go to hell, good, you don't have to struggle. Easy. Anything you want to do, do it. Anything you want to say, say it. You don't have to struggle in suppressing your *nafs*. You don't have to struggle in monitoring your actions. If it feels good, do it. That's the path to hell. That's what the sign to hell says. Hell, this way. If it feels good, do it.

And so, the paradise, it says, Paradise, this road, is surrounded by difficulties. That's the sign for Jannah. The sign for hell: if it feels good, do it. So, it's easy. You want to follow your *nafs*, follow it. You want to do something, do it. Just go for it.

Struggle Brings Relief and Appreciation

So, the nature of this life is struggle. But, that struggle provides the backdrop and the contrast to make relief from that struggle that much more enjoyable and that much more appreciated. So Allah says:

"Difficulty, surely difficulty brings ease. Difficulty brings ease." (Quran 94:5-6)

So, the difficulty of the struggle brings the ease that accompanies relief. It brings so that

"Through patiently persevere and know that relief comes after hardship, that

relief comes after hardship and grief." وَأَنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا And that difficulty brings and facilitates ease.

So, this month of the Quran and one of the great lessons of the Quran is exactly that. Life is a struggle. يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنسَانُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَى رَبِّكَ كَدْحًا فَمُلَاقِيهِ Life is a struggle, but that struggle brings ease. That hardship brings great enjoyment through the relief that we find at the end of our struggles.

So, it's a backdrop that allows us to appreciate the relief that much more. And really Ramadan, as we're in the first day of Ramadan, Ramadan accentuates the lesson of life.

Ramadan: A Metaphor for Life

Ramadan is patience. الصَّوْمُ نِصْفُ الصَّبْرِ "Patience, fasting is half of all patience." الصَّوْمُ نِصْفُ الصَّبْرِ Ramadan is patience. Ramadan is self-denial. Denying oneself. And we know, to succeed in this life, we can't pursue every appetite we have. We're not going to succeed.

So, Ramadan is self-denial. Ramadan is struggle. So, we have to struggle with our appetites. We have to struggle sometimes with physical pain, especially as the fast each year is going to get longer and longer. Now, the days, as we move towards the middle of the summer, so in six or seven years from now, oh, long fast. And sometimes that brings physical pain. Headaches, stomach aches, physical pain. And we have to struggle through that pain and work through that pain. And that's, life is working through pain. Physical pain and emotional pain. That's part of life, just working through it.

There's no life without pain. There's no life without pain. That's a reality of our condition. So, Ramadan is telling us, look, you have to work through it. You have to work through it. You are disappointed by that situation, work through it. Patiently persevere through it. And know you'll have relief at the end of that struggle.

Two Delights for the Fasting Person

So, Ramadan teaches us, therefore, what does Allah says لِلصَّائِمِ فَرْحَتَانِ "The fasting person will have two great delights." (Sahih al-Bukhari 1904, Sahih Muslim 1151) So, there'll be relief from that struggle of fasting.

فَرْحَةٌ عِنْدَ فِطْرِهِ The delight that he or she has when he or she breaks the fast. So, at the end of the day, today, around 7:10 or so. Ah, those dates are so good. Sometimes you almost pass out. Sometimes your mouth gets so watered up. You eat that date and just think about your mouth getting watery. And then that nice cool water just goes down. Ah, boy. That's delight.

فَرْحَةٌ عِنْدَ فِطْرِهِ And that delight comes at the end of each day. And it comes at the end of the month. فَرْحَةٌ عِنْدَ فِطْرِهِ وَفَرْحَةً عِنْدَ لِقَاءِ رَبِّهِ عيد الفطر So, the delight that he or she has when they fast, at the end of each day and at the end of each month.

And the greater the struggle, the greater that delight. You have a real hard day. So, it wasn't a normal fast. It was like you barely, you ate one date and drank half a cup of water for suhoor. Because the alarm clock didn't go off. And you rolled over and it was like 5:20. So, you got a few minutes to eat something. And you just wolfed down a date that was left over from last night and drank a glass of water. So, you're starting out, the tank's almost empty.

A Difficult Fasting Day

And then, when you went to start the car up, the car wouldn't start. So, you had to run around all morning trying to get the car fixed. So, you're an hour late for work. And because you were an hour late for work, the head start on that stack of papers that you were going to just take your time was lost. Now, you're an hour in the hole. So, you're just going through that.

Then, you got the call from home. Oh, no. And your husband or wife, whoever made the call, or child, I can't pick up Ahmed today. Can you go get him during your lunch break? And you're like, oh, no. So, you jump in the car and you run and you pick up Ahmed. And you drop him home and you hustle back to work. And then, you start working on those papers that now you're three hours behind dealing with.

Then, you realize, subhanallah, dhuhr is going out. Subhanallah. So, you go into the conference room and you pray dhuhr right before Asr comes in. And then, the day continues to unravel. Then, it's 6 o'clock. And it's all over. And you get home. And the rush hour was especially hard. And you eat that date. Ahh. Farhatun inda fitrihi.

The Ultimate Meeting with Allah

Wa farhatun inda liqai rabbi. And then, after a life of struggle, Sheikh Hamza, mashallah, the Ummah Free Clinic dinner a couple weeks ago. Or last weekend, in fact. Some of you might have been there. They were honoring one of the people from the community who worked hard with the clinic and in the community. And, Sheikh Hamza, this is related second-hand. The narration might be a little different. If you were actually there, then your riwayah is stronger. Your narration is stronger. So, I'm relating from majhool, from someone. I even forgot who they are. An unknown narrator.

But they say, Sheikh Hamza said that, when they were mentioning the person, that you can tell what sort of life a person has lived by their face. So, he was just saying that this person had lived a good life in service to others. A good life as a person of faith. I don't think the person was a Muslim. But a person who had faith in whatever their religion was. And struggled to serve others.

And, if we live a good life in this world, a life of struggle, not just in dealing with our problems, but struggling to help others deal with their problems better, and a life of faith, a life that's characterized by deep faith, imagine the joy when we meet Allah. That, you know, to the best of my ability, I lived a good life. I fought the good fight. I gave it all I had. Ya Allah. That's all I could do. And then we meet Allah.

Imagine the joy. And Allah rewards us and recompenses us for our fast and for a life well lived. Not a perfect life. None of us will live a perfect life. But a life where we strived and struggled to the best of our ability to live like the one who is closest to embodying human perfection, our Prophet Muhammad.

And imagine the gloom of a person who's in the opposite state when they meet Allah. Just sinned and rebelled. And they went for a great surprise when they met Allah.

Ramadan as Life's Metaphor

So this is what it's all about. Ramadan is really symbolic of our lives. It's a parable. It's a metaphor for life.

Ramadan is a metaphor for life. Get up early. Struggle to maintain and keep one's actions and speech within the limits established by Allah. This is what Ramadan is. Don't eat. Don't drink. Give up even those things that are lawful if so doing is pleasing to God.

Because what do we give up in Ramadan? We don't give up the haram. During the month of Ramadan, don't eat pork and don't drink alcohol during the day. No. Don't drink water. Don't drink juice. Don't drink Kool-Aid. Kool-Aid is halal. Most of us, we grew up on Kool-Aid. We turned out alright. Healthy, you know. Like, don't drink Kool-Aid.

You have to drink organic beet juice. I mean, hey. I grew up on Kool-Aid. I had six brothers and sisters. My mother was raising us alone and she couldn't afford to shop at Whole Foods. Matter of fact, they didn't even have Whole Foods. So she bought Kool-Aid. So just relax. If you can't always make it to Whole Foods, you know, go get the generic brand. Inshallah, one or two times you'll be alright. But the point is, Subhanallah.

Giving Up the Lawful for Allah

So that's what we're asked to give up. The lawful for the sake of Allah. So, and that's, if we can do that for one month, then avoiding the unlawful for 11 months is easy. If we can give up the lawful for Allah for one month, giving up the unlawful for the sake of Allah for 11 months is easy. It's conditioning.

So Ramadan is a metaphor for life. We struggle and we try to keep our actions and speech within the lawful limits set by Allah. We do our best and we take time to enjoy the good things and the delights that Allah gives us. No matter how hard our life is, there are those great moments. We have the picnic once in a while. We get together and take the family out. We have the light moments with friends. And we enjoy and we cherish those moments. And those are the things that adorn this life.

And then we get back to the struggle. Because the picnic doesn't last forever. The hike doesn't last forever. The meeting with the friends doesn't last forever. Those are moments of enjoyment. We get back to the struggle and then we have the next iftar. The next moment of relief and delight. And get back to the struggle. That's a metaphor for life.

And then we die. Then Eid al-Fitr comes and it's all over. And then our death comes and it's all over. And we have joy. If we live good, we have joy when we meet our love. When we meet our love and our Lord. And our Lord should be our greatest love. So, this is the message of Ramadan. And this message brings alive a critical message of the Quran.

Life is Struggle With Relief

The Quran is struggle. But it's not a critical lesson of life. That the Quran reinforces to us that life is struggle. But it's not unmitigated struggle. It's not struggle with no relief. It's not struggle with no moments and no times of relief and ease. So, we should understand our life is a struggle. And there are going to be challenges. And there are going to be hardship. And Allah prepares us for that in the Quran.

So, for example, Allah in the Quran, He says. And we mentioned this before. But just listen as an example of Quranic guidance. And how it arms us and equips us to deal with what we're confronted with in this life.

"That you're going to be tested in your wealth through losing your wealth, through sacrificing your wealth for others. These are all tests. And your life with disease, illness, hardship, and possibly even loss of life. That's part of the test that this life involves." (Quran 3:186)

"And you're going to hear, surely you're going to hear from those, some of those given the scriptures before you, the Jews and Christians, and the idolaters, much abuse." (Quran 3:186)

So, just this alone, if we understand this, we can put everything happening around us in perspective. So we hear all of this vilification of Islam. We hear all of this attacking the Muslims. Is it something that we should be surprised by? Some people are surprised because they're away from the Quran. How could this happen? This is supposed to be America.

And you're going to hear from those given the scripture before you, some of the Jews and some of the Christians, not all of them, and some of the idolaters, much abuse, not a little abuse, much abuse. So, Allah describes the situation in real terms. You can't get more real than that. You're going to be tried and tested in your wealth, in your lives. And you're going to hear from those given the scripture before you and from the idolaters, much abuse.

The Prescription: Patient Perseverance

Allah describes the reality and then Allah prescribes a course of action. So the prescription.

"If you patiently persevere through those hardships and through that difficulty, and deal with those abuses with dignity, and don't let it crush you, don't let it dishearten you, and don't allow it to turn you away from the commandments of Allah. Keep implementing the commandments and keep avoiding the prohibitions. Keep doing the things that are required of you as a Muslim. Surely, this course of action is one that you should have *azimah* in. You should be convicted to follow. It's an embodiment of conviction and by doing it, it strengthens your conviction." (Quran 3:186)

And it's the way of the Prophet. So one thing that we get when we're close to the Prophet is the way of the Prophet. One fruit that we get when we're close to the Quran is that parts of it begin to reinforce other parts. So this verse illustrates that. This is from conviction in your affair. To patiently persevere through those abuses. To remain faithful in implementing the commandments and prohibitions of God. This is a manifestation of conviction and this is something, a course of action that will strengthen your conviction. And it's the way of the Prophet.

So Allah says to the Prophet Muhammad : فَاصْبِرْ كَمَا صَبَرَ أُولُو الْعَزْمِ مِنَ الرُّسُلِ "Patiently persevere with conviction as those Prophets given to conviction and firm resolve before you, patiently persevere." (Quran 46:35)

وَلَا تَسْتَعْجِل لَّهُمْ And then he says وَلَا تَسْتَعْجِل لَّهُمْ "And don't be hasty in dismissing your people." And because why? That's not a manifestation of patience. These people will never respect Muslims. These people will never be وَلَا تَسْتَعْجِل لَّهُمْ .guided

Why? Do you control the affairs of the universe? And based on your meager power, you're making that conclusion? Or does Allah control the affair of the universe? And is or is not everything easy for Allah? Allah is

The Outcome is With Allah

Allah says to the Prophet, when he was confronted with the abuse of his people, this is right in the aftermath of Uhud, when his people are defiling the religion, when his people are rejecting the religion, when his people are physically fighting against him, and they've inflicted this terrible setback that afflicted them at Uhud, they've afflicted them with this setback, what does Allah say?

The Prophet says, how can I call these people to the religion? So he's not complaining to Allah, but he's rationalizing his situation when they are abusing his Prophet. Allah reveals:

"You have absolutely nothing to do with the outcome of this affair." (Quran 3:128)

In other words, don't you worry about it. You're not responsible for guiding them. You're responsible for delivering the message. If you did that, you've done your job. That's the end of your job. The outcome, how that message affects people, that's with us.

Allah and the Prophet, this message was reinforced, because subsequently he says in hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 71, Sahih Muslim 1037)

"The one Allah wants good for, he gives him or her a sound understanding of the religion. I am one who merely dispenses the seeds. I proportion out the revelation. I articulate the revelation. I dispense the seeds, and it is Allah who gives understanding."

Seeds on Different Soils

So Allah causes some of those seeds to fall on rock. The heart of Abi Jahl, Abi Lahab, Al-Walid bin Al-Mughirah. It doesn't take root. Allah causes some of those seeds that the Prophet dispenses to fall on fertile ground. And it takes root in the hearts of the Ali, Uthman, Abu Bakr, Umar. And brothers and sisters right here. Believers, it takes root in the believer's heart. And it brings forth a goodly tree.

But at that time he's saying how can this happen? When they're abusing and vilifying and warring against the Messenger of Allah and against the believers (صلى الله عليه وسلم)

Allah reveals :

"You have nothing to do with the outcome of this affair. I might turn to them, I might torment, punish them, or He might torment them, or he might turn to them in repentance, because in any case they're wrongdoers. They've fought you. They've warred against the religion. They're wrongdoers." (Quran 3:128)

But Allah is saying you have nothing to do with the outcome. So again, this is something we get from the Quran. Peace of mind. And understanding this is Allah's affair. That's something that the Quran impresses on us. This is Allah's affair. And He controls the outcome of His affair. And in the greater scheme, it's a cosmic play. And we're just actors in that play. But the script has been written by the script writer. And we just play our parts. And we don't write the script. We should understand that. So the Quran emphasizes this.

Understanding Oppression Through the Quran

The Quran, as we said, prescribes the problem. And the Quran gives insight into the problem. So the oppression of the believers that we see in these days and times. When one understands the Quran, as we said, one's not surprised by that.

So Allah, before that verse we mentioned: You're going to be tried in your wealth and your persons. Allah says, all of this is in Ali Imran. This is an incredible surah. Ali Imran. So he says:

"Those people said, the people, the hosts are gathering against you, so fear them. It only increased their faith. And they said, Allah suffices us for an excellent protector."

So they're gathering against you. The neocons, the Zionists, the conservatives, the evangelicals, they're gathering against you. So fear them. It only increased their faith. And they said, Allah suffices us for an excellent protector. So Allah is our protector (حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ) Allah suffices us for an excellent protector.

Because the people that people are encouraging us to fear, those people themselves need to fear God. Because our God is their God. There's only one God. There's only one God. And His wrath we should all seek to avoid. And His pleasure we should all seek to incur. Whether we're Muslims or other folk. It's that simple.

And so we should understand though that God is in control. Allah is in control of the affairs of His universe. So we should not fall victim to the politics of fear. And this set of verses leads right into analyzing the politics of fear. So this is the Quran, this is guidance from Allah in the Quran that's relevant to our lives and time.

Trusting in Allah Brings Blessings

So then he says:

"So for putting their trust in Allah, and not fearing (فَاخْشَوْهُمْ) not fearing the people, and trusting in Allah and seeking the protection of Allah. (فَانقَلَبُوا بِنِعْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَفَضْلٍ) So they went away with the blessing of Allah and His bounties. (لَّمْ يَمْسَسْهُمْ سُوءٌ) No harm or wickedness from the direction of their enemies afflicted them."

And the whole story is the whole story. After Uhud, the companions and the Prophet, they went into Medina. And they stayed a day. And then after a day, the Prophet, he told them—only because they were being ridiculed by the hypocrites and their allies, the allies of the hypocrites. See, look at the mess you're in now. We told you not to follow this man. Now you've been killed and wounded because you've been killed and you've been wounded. And look what's happened. Look at the mess you're in now.

At Uhud, most of those who were killed, the small number of Muslims that were killed at Uhud, they were from the ranks of Muhajireen. I find that better. The small number of those killed and wounded were from overwhelmingly from the ranks of Muhajireen. At Uhud, most of the large number of Muslims that were killed or wounded, they were from the ranks of the Ansar.

So when they went back to Medina, the people, the hypocrites in Medina and the allies of the hypocrites. See, we told you. Look what happened. Look at this death that this man has brought you. Look at the destruction. We

The Battle's Triple Depression

So the Prophet, so the Muslims, they're already dejected from the battle which was doubly depressing. Why? If it were defeat from the beginning, they went out to Uhud, the Quraysh descended on them and routed them. That would have been bad enough. Why was it doubly depressing? Because they were winning. It was defeat that was snatched from the jaws of victory, to invert the popular phrase.

They were winning and the archers left their position. It's all over. Let's get our share of the booty. Some of the archers, not all of them, and not their emir. They stayed. But most of them went. It's all over. Look the Quraysh. They're routed. They're fleeing. They're in disarray. They're dropping. Let's go get our share of the booty. And here comes Khalid around the flank with his troop. And then the Muslims are put to rout. So it's doubly depressing because of that.

Then they go on to Medina. Now it's triply depressing because they have to listen to all this abuse.

Pursuing the Enemy After Defeat

So the Prophet, he said, Everyone who participated in the battle, tomorrow we're mobilizing. And we're going after the Quraysh. Now some of them couldn't even walk. They had to crawl to their mounts to get on their mounts to mobilize to go out. Some of them were almost crawling. They didn't have mounts. And they went out after the Quraysh.

And when the Quraysh heard that the Muslims were pursuing them, they didn't turn to go back. They, no, look, hey, we caught a break. The archers left their post. I'm not going back and going after those Muslims. So they went back to Mecca.

The Muslims went to a place called Hamra al-Asad, about 12 miles outside of Medina. They pitched camp there. They stayed there four or five days. And they were with the Prophet. They knew the Quraysh had run away from them and didn't want to engage them again. So the actual defeat, the psychological weight of that defeat was lifted from them. They sat around the campfire. They recited poetry. They hung out with the Prophet for five days. They didn't have to hear all that noise in Medina.

So when they broke camp and went back to Medina, they went back with the blessings of Allah and His bounty. (لَّمْ يَمْسَسْهُمْ سُوءٌ) Allah warded off any harm from their enemy, any further physical harm and any psychological harm. (وَاللَّهُ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَظِيمٍ) "And Allah is the possessor of great expansive bounty." (Quran 3:174)

So Allah's bounty isn't limited to what we can get from this world. Allah's bounty isn't confined to what's possessed in this world. Allah's bounty isn't controlled by those who oppose His Messenger and who oppose the people of Islam. Allah's bounty is confined to Himself. And Allah's bounty is expansive. And it has no human ways to comprehend its expansiveness. And when Allah gives from that bounty, that is the bounty that enriches.

So this is what the Quran is impressing upon us.

The Politics of Fear Exposed

And then Allah lets us know the basis of the politics of fear. The next verse. So you have these people, they're trying to instill fear into you.

"Fear them."

(فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَقَالُوا حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ) Then, so they trusted in Allah. (حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ) And they sought the protection of (فَانقَلَبُوا بِنِعْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَفَضْلٍ لَّمْ يَمْسَسْهُمْ سُوءٌ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ) .Allah

Then Allah said, (وَاللَّهُ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَظِيمٍ) "And Allah has most expansive bounties." (Quran 3:174 (إِنَّمَا) So where does all this come from? Where does all this fear mongering come from?

"Rather, that is Satan. He seeks to instill the fear of his dupes into you, the fear of his forces, his lackeys into you." (Quran 3:175)

"Don't fear them, fear me if indeed you are believers." It's from Shaytan. It's from Satan. It's Satanic politics. It's Satanic.

So Allah says in the Quran:

"Satan threatens you with poverty, tries to instill the fear of poverty into you." (Quran 2:268)

"He seeks to instill the fear of his dupes into you."

So it is Satan that is at the source. It is Satan that's at the source. So some people they think when someone goes before the UN and says Satan was here in the face of all the politics of fear they think he's a lunatic. There's a deeper understanding there that has a basis in truth. So it's not lunacy.

Rather that is Satan. (يُخَوِّفُ أَوْلِيَاءَهُ) He seeks to instill the fear of his dupes into you. (فَلَا تَخَافُوهُمْ) Don't fear them. (وَخَافُونِ) Fear me. (إن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ) If indeed you are believers.

So we're not saying that physically Satan was in the UN. But if you look at what's going on you see Satan's basic nature is that he's invisible. (كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ) "To be hidden." (Quran 18:50) (فَجَنَّ اللَّيْلُ) So the night hides things. So there are deeper meanings to everything. So maybe when Hugo Chavez was hanging out with those Muslims he picked up a little tafsir, you know. (وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ عَالِمٌ طَيِّبٌ)

Conclusion

So we're gonna stop here. This is all by way of introduction. So we want to look at themes in the Quran and how we can bring those alive in our lives. The theme we're gonna deal with next week is patience. The theme of patience.