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00:14You know, the very first way that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la actually describes us in the
00:18Qur'an is alif la meem, thalika alkitabu la rayba fee, hudan lil mutaqeen alathina
00:23yu'minoona bil ghayb. Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la describes the believers as people that
00:27believe in the unseen. So right away Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la does away with this notion
00:31that if you don't see it then you can't believe it. Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is basically
00:36telling us as human beings that we come to a place in our faith where we recognize that
00:41we are simply incapable, we're utterly incapable of understanding everything around us and
00:46so once we've come to this conclusion that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, the creator and
00:51the one who sees all things and the one who's created all things is the one who's informing
00:55us about the reality of things, then we come to a satisfaction. And you know this is really
01:00the essence of kibir, the essence of pride. As the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
01:03you know in the very famous hadith when he says that no one of you would enter paradise even
01:08with an atoms worth of pride in his heart. The companions were concerned with that statement
01:13because they thought to themselves well pride could mean many things. So they said
01:16O Messenger of Allah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, does that mean you know if a person likes to
01:21dress nicely or a person likes to have nice shoes, does that mean that they have kibir,
01:24that they have pride? And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said no. He said al-kibir,
01:28pride is ghamtu an-naas wa batru al-haq. It's to degrade people, to judge people, or to deny
01:35legislation. And in essence what kabara comes from, what kibir comes from is this idea of
01:41making ourselves bigger. So when we say Allahu Akbar, we say Allah is greater than absolutely anything
01:46else. When we have kibir, we think that we're greater than we actually are. And so we overestimate
01:52ourselves and when we overestimate ourselves, we naturally underestimate Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la.
01:56And that's the crime on the day of judgment. Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says
01:59ู
ูุง ููุฏูุฑู ุงูููููู ุญูููู ููุฏูุฑููู
02:02That they did not give Allah his due estimation. And Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim
02:06Rahimahullah, he comments on that hadith from the Messenger Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and he says that
02:09the reason why those two things would guarantee a person hellfire is because those are two rights
02:15rights that solely belong to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la being legislation and judgment.
02:20So when you place yourself in a position of denying legislation, you are making yourself
02:24a god. And when you place yourself in a position of judging someone else based on the dhahir,
02:30based on what's apparent of them, you're also placing yourself in a position of god.
02:34And so at that point, you have developed a sense of pride where you have made yourself
02:39greater than you actually are. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu, when he wrote his letter
02:45to Kisra, the emperor of Persia. He said to him something that's pretty interesting.
02:50He said, ูููููููู ุฃูุชูุชูููุจููุฑู ุนูููู ุงูููููู He said, you know, woe to you.
02:54Are you expressing pride with Allah? ููููุฏู ุฎูุฑูุฌูุชู ู
ูู ู
ูุฎูุฑูุฌู ุงููุจููููู ู
ูุฑููุชููููู
03:00When you came out of ู
ูุฎูุฑูุฌู ุงููุจููููู When you came out of the place of urine
03:03twice. In essence, who do you think you are? What were you created from? Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A
03:08'la
03:08tells us this in the Quran. Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, ููุชููู ุงููุฅููุณูุงูู ู
ูุง ุฃูููููุฑู
03:13May man be destroyed. What was he created from in the first place? How ungrateful is he?
03:18ู
ููู ุฃูููู ุดูููุกู ุฎููููู What was he created from? ู
ููู ููุทููู He was created from a dirty
03:22drop of fluid. ุฎููููููู ููููุฏูุฑูุง Allah created him when he willed and Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
03:28proportioned him the way that he willed. So you had no say in your creation, you had no say in
03:33the
03:33way that you were created. And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, ุซูู
ูู ุงูุณููุจูููู ููุณููุฑูุง He made the
03:38path easy for you. And Ibn Abbas radiAllahu Anhu says that this can be understood in both the
03:44physical and the spiritual sense. Physically, He made it easy for you. He facilitated your entrance
03:50into this world. So He facilitated your way into this world through the labor. And spiritually, He guided
03:56you to the straight path. Once He brought you into this world, ุซูู
ูู ุฃูู
ูุงุชููู ููุฃูููุจูุฑูุง When Allah
04:01wills, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la takes him away and Allah puts him back into darkness
04:05again. So He goes from the darkness of His mother's womb to the darkness of this earth.
04:09In essence, you have no power over yourself. Who do you think you are? Allah even takes
04:14us earlier than that. Allah says,
04:15ูููู ุฃูุชูู ุนูููู ุงููุฅููุณูุงูู ุดูููุกู ู
ููู ุงูุฏููููุฑู
04:18Or, ูููู ุฃูุชูู ุนูููู ุงููุฅููุณูุงูู ุญูููู ู
ููู ุงูุฏููููุฑู
04:20Has man not come across a time?
04:23ููู
ู ูููููู ุดููุกู ู
ูุฐููููุฑูุง
04:24When He was nothing to even be recognized, before you were even that drop of fluid,
04:28where were you? Who were you?
04:30And so this idea that we can understand everything around us, and if we can't see it, and we
04:35can't grasp it, with our own human capabilities, then it clearly doesn't exist and it doesn't
04:40make sense.
04:41And I remember once being at the San Diego Zoo with my family, and I'm that type of person
04:47that will actually stop and listen to what the zookeepers are saying about the animals,
04:51because I find it quite fascinating. And subhanAllah, I remember the last time that I was at the
04:55zoo, I was listening to the zookeeper saying that the eagle, the bald eagle, actually has
05:01four times the vision of a human being. Right? A human being, not any human being, a human
05:06being with perfect eyesight. And she said that if you were to hang a newspaper on a field goal
05:12post, three football fields away, the eagle could actually read the fine print on that
05:16paper. A great white shark can detect a drop of blood in 25 gallons of water. Right? They
05:23can smell it from three miles away. An elephant can smell water from three miles away. A hummingbird
05:30could beat their wings up to 80 times per second. That to us is humanly impossible. How could
05:34a hummingbird do such a thing? A flea could jump 200 times its height, which is equivalent to
05:40a man jumping over the Empire State Building. A cheetah could go from zero to 60 miles per hour
05:45and three seconds. A giraffe can stand within half an hour of its birth. So all of these
05:50things essentially show us that we are not as superior of a creation as we think we are.
05:56And Imam Sufyan al-Thawri, he had a beautiful reflection on that. Sufyan al-Thawri, he said
06:00the only thing that we actually surpass everything around us in is our ability to properly prostrate,
06:06our ability to do sujood to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. To put every part of our body in sajdah
06:12to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, in prostration. Because that's why Allah created us. That's
06:16the purpose he gave to us. And that's what we are superior to the creation around us in
06:20doing. So we are limited in our own creation. And obviously, you know, the things around
06:26us are far more vast than we can possibly grasp. You know, you'll hear scientists constantly
06:31saying, you know, that there are now this many billion stars that we are sure exist and
06:36this many billion stars. And so at this point now, scientists have come to the conclusion
06:40that there are over 300 billion stars in our galaxy. And perhaps over a trillion planets
06:46in our galaxy alone. Right? And then you talk about the galaxies that exist outside of our
06:53galaxies. And the planets and the things that are flying around outside of outer space where
06:59we can't even see. And scientists say that the chance of two galaxies colliding, that's outside
07:06of what we can see. The chance of two galaxies colliding, where there are over a hundred billion
07:10of them, is the same possibility as a fly from Paris and a fly from DC colliding. So what
07:17you should ask next is, what, how vast is that space that contains those hundred billion galaxies,
07:23that we think exist and we can't even see. And subhanAllah, when you look at the Big Bang
07:28theory and how this all came together, scientists will happily admit that if things were even
07:34one trillionth of a second off, none of this happens. None of this around us happens. In
07:38fact, not a single star forms. And so when you look at the creation around us, how vast
07:44it is. You know, who could be doing all of this except for a creator, except for Allah subhanahu
07:48wa ta'ala. And how could we exist when scientifically there are over 200 known parameters that are necessary
07:55necessary for a planet to support life? And every single one of them has to be perfectly
07:59met. So how could we possibly exist had it not been for a creator that put us here? And
08:05so I saw this article, you know, floating around recently that science is increasingly actually
08:09making the case for a designer, for God. And Dr. John Lennox from Oxford, he said that
08:16the more we get to know about our universe, the more the hypothesis that there is a creator
08:20gains credibility as the best explanation of why we are here. And so it has to be something,
08:26the creator has to be something that is outside of our concept of time, because obviously time
08:32is created and time, you know, there has to be a cause and effect and creation has to be created
08:37and so on and so forth. It has to go back to something that is completely free of our notions
08:42of time,
08:43that is completely free of our notions of cause and effect, that is completely self-existent,
08:47and that has a will in order to will the creation to begin in the first place. And that's Allah
08:52SWT.
09:10So every time I go to a city, I have someone come up to me and usually multiple people come
09:14up to me and say, you know, I need to talk to you about something privately. I have these thoughts
09:18sometimes and I don't know if I really believe in Allah SWT and that I have these issues with faith
09:22and is Allah going to punish me because I'm having these thoughts and because I'm having these
09:27whispers and because I'm having these doubts. And the Prophet SAW, he puts us at ease by saying
09:33to us two things. He says, one, that you could be having a conversation, people could be sitting
09:38around talking and they'd be pondering upon the greatness of Allah SWT and saying, you know,
09:43Allah created this, Allah created that. And then one of them would say, ููู
ููู ุฎููููู ุงูููููู
09:48So then who created Allah SWT? And that's a hadith in Sahih Muslim. And the Prophet SAW,
09:53he also said in another hadith in Sahih Muslim, that a person might be actually contemplating,
09:58doing ุชูุฏูุจููุฑู and ุชููููููุฑู, actually reflecting and contemplating on the creation of
10:01Allah SWT. And feeling this high point and saying, who created this? And you would say,
10:07Allah SWT. And you're admiring the creation of Allah SWT. But then Shaitan comes to you,
10:13the devil comes to you and says, ููู
ููู ุฎููููู ุงูููููู
10:15So then who created Allah SWT? The Prophet SAW, he says in both of these ahadith that when
10:20you start to have that thought, when you start to have those whispers of ู
ููู ุฎููููู
10:26ุงูููููู
10:26Who created Allah SWT? He said, quickly say, ุขู
ูููุชู ุจูุงูููููู
10:29I believe in Allah SWT. By doing that, you do away with the thoughts of Shaitan, by the whispers
10:35of Shaitan and you reaffirm your faith in Allah SWT. Now will Allah SWT punish you for the thoughts
10:42that you had and those words that were going through your head and things of that sort?
10:45Absolutely not. In fact, there's a very beautiful conversation that took place between Abdullah
10:50ibn Abbas and Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Aas . And Abdullah ibn Amr, he asked Ibn Abbas,
10:57he said, what is the ayah in the Qur'an? Essentially, what's your favorite ayah in the Qur'an? The
11:02ayah that is arja ayah, the ayah that gives the most hope to this ummah. And Ibn Abbas said,
11:08well, what's yours? And Ibn Amr, he said, ูููู ููุง ุนูุจูุงุฏูููุง ุงูููุฐูููู ุฃูุตูุฑููููุง ุนูููููฐ ุฃููููุณูููู
ู ููุง ุชูููููุทููุง ู
ููู ุฑูุญูู
ูุฉู ุงูููููู
11:15Say, O my servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair from the mercy of Allah SWT.
11:21Allah forgives all sins. So, Ibn Amr is someone, you know, when you look through his life, is someone
11:27that was prone to despair and things of that sort. And so this is something that gives him hope and
11:31it gives many people hope,
11:33knowing that Allah SWT will forgive all sins. Ibn Abbas SWT, he responds and he says,
11:39as for me, what I see as the ayah which gives the most hope, is when Ibrahim SAW said to
11:45Allah SWT,
11:46ุฑูุจูููู ุงูููุฐูู ููุญูููู ููููู
ููุชู
11:48O my Lord who gives life and who gives death. ุฃูุฑูููู ูููููู ุชูุญูููู ุงููู
ูููุชู
11:53Show me how you give life to the dead. Now realize Ibrahim AS, you know, the ayah before tells that
12:00Ibrahim AS
12:00was just arguing with Nimrud, saying ุฑูุจูููู ุงูููุฐูู ููุญูููู ููููู
ููุชู
12:05That it's my Lord who gives life and who gives death. And Nimrud responds and says, ุฃููู ุฃูุญูููู ููุฃูู
ููุชู
12:10I'm the one who gives life and who gives death. And Ibrahim AS says, ููุฅูููู ุงูููููู ููุฃูุชูู ุจูุงูุดููู
ูุณู ู
ููู ุงููู
ูุดูุฑููู
12:16ููุฃูุชูู ุจูููุง ู
ููู ุงููู
ูุบูุฑูุจู
12:17Well then Allah SWT brings the sun from the mashriq, he brings the sun from the east, so bring it
12:25from the west. ููุจูููู ุชููููุฐูู ููููุฑู
12:27And so Nimrud was left in absolute, he was absolutely stunned. Why? Because Nimrud's idea of giving life and giving
12:33death, he brought someone that he had sentenced to death already.
12:37And he said, you're free to go. And then he brought a completely innocent man and he killed him. So
12:41he said, I give life and I give death as well.
12:43Now Ibrahim AS just put forth a logical argument that clearly Allah SWT gives life and gives death in a
12:51way that we cannot give life and give death.
12:53And he gives this example of how Allah brings the sun from the east, so bring it from the west.
12:57In essence, control the sunrise and control the sunset if you really feel like you're in control.
13:03But Ibrahim AS still asked Allah SWT, ุฃูุฑูููู ูููููู ุชูุญูููู ุงููู
ูููุชูู
13:08Show me how you give life to the dead.
13:10Now Allah SWT said, ุฃูููููู
ู ุชูุคูู
ููู
13:14Will you not believe? ููุงูู ุจูููู ูููููููู ููููุทูู
ู ุฅูููู ููููุจูู
13:17He said, I fully believe but this would put my heart to rest.
13:22And Allah SWT actually honored the request of Ibrahim AS by telling him to take birds and to put them
13:28into pieces and put them on different mountains.
13:30And Allah SWT would bring them back together.
13:34Now Ibn Abbas ุตูู ุงููู ุนููู ูุณูู
13:35Why does he say that that ayah is the ayah that gives the most hope?
13:39That that ayah is really his favorite ayah?
13:41Because Rasool Allah SWT, he commented on that ayah by saying
13:46ููุญููู ุฃูุญููู ุจูุดูููู ู
ููู ุฅูุจูุฑูุงูููู
ู
13:48We have more right to doubt than Ibrahim AS.
13:52Now is this hadith of the Messenger SWT suggesting that Ibrahim AS had a doubt in Allah SWT
13:58that he doubted Allah in any way? No, because Ibrahim said that I believe.
14:03But ููููุทูู
ู ุฅูููู ููููุจูู
14:04This would increase my iman, this would increase my faith if you showed me how you do it O Allah.
14:10And so the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam is telling us as Ibrahim AS asked Allah SWT for that
14:15and Ibrahim AS wanted his heart to be put at ease, we also as human beings at times want to
14:22be put at ease.
14:22And you know we have these whispers and we have these doubts and Allah SWT will not punish us for
14:28those whispers.
14:29Allah SWT will not punish us for internal conversations or internal dialogues.
14:34The Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, he said that Allah has forgiven my ummah
14:38ู
ุง ุญุฏุซุช ุจู ุฃููุณูุง ู
ุง ูู
ุชููู ุฃู ุชุนู
ู ุจู
14:41as long as that person has only spoken to himself, meaning you're having these internal whispers,
14:46but you haven't spoken of them or acted upon them, don't worry Allah SWT is not going to punish you.
14:52These are whispers clearly from the Shaytan to take you away from Allah SWT.
14:57Now going back to the request of Ibrahim AS, does that mean that there is logic provided for every ruling
15:04in the Sharia,
15:05for every story, for every incident, can we find a logical explanation?
15:10No, absolutely not. You use your aql in Islam, you use your intellect to arrive at the integrity of the
15:18naql,
15:18to arrive at the integrity of the text.
15:20So I know anything that comes from Allah and His Messenger SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam is absolute truth,
15:26even if my logic doesn't agree with it.
15:28However, if I find the proof of it, and that's the beauty of studying and the beauty of seeking knowledge,
15:33ุฅููููู
ูุง ููุฎูุดู ุงูููููู ู
ููู ุนูุจูุงุฏููู ุงููุนูููู
ูุงุกู
15:36Those who have a greater awe of Allah SWT are those who are learned.
15:40Why? Because by studying the proofs, and by studying the evidences, and by studying context,
15:45your faith increases because almost everything does have a logical explanation to it.
15:51But even when it doesn't, I know, I've used my intellect, I've used my aql,
15:56to arrive at the conclusion that there is no way that the Qur'an and the Sunnah are not divine.
16:00And so by doing so, that puts me at ease with everything that comes after that.
16:05And so you find Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiAllahu ta'ala anhu,
16:08when the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, he took his night journey,
16:11the journey of Al-Isra'ul-Mi'raj, and obviously the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam,
16:15when he wakes up and he tells the people that he was taken from Mecca to Jerusalem through the heavens,
16:20Abu Jahl mocked the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and he called the people and he said,
16:24can you repeat what you just said in front of the people?
16:27And even some of the Muslims were shaken by that.
16:30How can the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam,
16:32how can a man be taken from Mecca to Jerusalem to the heavens and back all in one night?
16:38So a man comes to Abu Bakr radiAllahu ta'ala anhu and he says,
16:41do you hear what Muhammad SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said?
16:43And Abu Bakr radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, he responds by saying,
16:47if he said it, faqad sadaq, then he's telling the truth.
16:51If he said it, then he's telling the truth.
16:54And Abu Bakr says, look, I believe him when he says that something happens to him that's far greater than
16:59that.
17:00You know, what's greater than him going from Mecca to Jerusalem and to the heavens in one night,
17:05is that revelation comes to him from the Lord of the heavens.
17:08Revelation descends upon him from above the heavens all the way to his heart, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam.
17:14So I believe him with something far greater than that.
17:17Why wouldn't I believe him when he tells me that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala took him from Mecca to
17:21Jerusalem,
17:22to the heavens and back in one night?
17:25And Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu, what he's showing us here,
17:27Abu Bakr did not say, well, I'm going to need to see proof of what the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
17:31saw on the way.
17:33You know, if the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam can describe some things between Mecca and Jerusalem,
17:36then maybe I'll be convinced.
17:38No, Abu Bakr radiAllahu Anhu said, look, I know that this man is a prophet of Allah.
17:41I know that this man receives revelation SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam.
17:45So I believe him with whatever he says.
17:48Now, does that mean when the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam accurately describes the things that he's seen between Mecca and
17:54Jerusalem,
17:55to the extent that he will tell you SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam about a people and where their water was,
18:01that were on the way from Mecca to Jerusalem, that no one would have known unless they were there,
18:05because they didn't have text messages back then.
18:07Does that not increase the faith of a person?
18:10When the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam does that,
18:12when the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam accurately explains these things,
18:15of course it does, of course it does.
18:17But I don't need that to believe in it in the first place.
18:20But it will increase my Iman and that's what Ibrahim Alaihi Wasallam was asking.
18:24So it takes us to the next step.
18:26Allah Azzawajal says in the Quran,
18:29ุณูููุฑููููู
ู ุขููุงุชูููุง ููู ุงููุขููุงูู ููููู ุฃููููุณูููู
ู ุญูุชููู ููุชูุจูููููู ููููู
ู ุฃูููููู ุงููุญูููู
18:34That we will show them our signs in the universe and even within themselves,
18:39right, in the farthest horizons all the way to themselves.
18:43ุญูุชููู ููุชูุจูููููู ููููู
ู ุฃูููููู ุงููุญูููู
18:46Until it shows to them, until it's made clear to them that it is the truth,
18:50that this is the truth from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
18:53So Allah is telling us, look, I'm giving you all of these signs,
18:56all of these proofs in the deep horizons and even within the creation of yourself,
19:01that there's no way that a being like you could exist without Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
19:05Until it is made clear to you that this is the truth.
19:09Once you have found that truth, there's the pursuit of truth
19:13and then there's the pursuit of meaning.
19:15And most people spend their lives trying to find the truth
19:18and so they never even get to the meaning and the purpose of life
19:21and what are we supposed to be doing here and so on and so forth.
19:24As believers, as Muslims, we've already arrived at the truth.
19:28We already know that this is the truth.
19:30So now the entire journey of life becomes finding the meaning.
19:33And even atheists, you know, I always say this,
19:35that when you're debating with an atheist or you're speaking to an atheist,
19:38by the end of the conversation, they'll be an agnostic, right?
19:41They'll start off by saying there is no God.
19:43But then when you put forth all the proofs, they'll say,
19:45well, there might be a God.
19:47Or I can see how there would be some divine energy or some God.
19:50But, you know, I don't think that there is any religion or any guidance
19:54or, you know, we're just left to be and we're not sure and so on and so forth.
19:58So could all of this, you know, the answer to that would simply be,
20:03could all of this simply be without meaning?
20:06Do you really think Allah that if there is a God,
20:10if you're convinced that there is some kind of divine energy
20:12and something that brought us here, because it clearly is,
20:15would you really say that all of this is for nothing,
20:18that there is no meaning to it, that there is no purpose to it whatsoever?
20:21And Allah says in the Quran that we did not create anything without purpose.
20:25Allah didn't create anything in Abath. Everything was created for meaning and purpose.
20:29And so for the believer, the journey now becomes a journey of purpose and meaning.
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