Why We Fear the Quran Despite Having It Everywhere

Allah.

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They mean the same thing, right? But they are used in different places for different reasons that we won't get into to date inshallah. Now, when we speak about the reasons, the causes for a person's heart to become open Some of them are from Allah. Some of them are from your actions. But ultimately, the one who opens your heart is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said, Islam. Whoever Allah decides, chooses to guide, he will open his heart to Islam. So, this is something that is a gift from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And the prophet said in the narration of Abdullah and Ahmed. In Allah and your doesn't love. But he does not give a man except to those whom he loves. So if you are a person who believes in Allah in the last day, you have faith in Allah. You believe. Even if that belief at this point in time is weak. We go through times of weakness, all of us. It's not just that you Amen. Rises and it never comes down. No. That's not how it works. It is fluctuates. It goes up with obedience and it goes down with disobedience. And since we are inherently by nature, disobedient creatures of Allah, our imam is going to fluctuate. It will happen. When Iman.

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Weak faith, there's good in that person and the prophet mentioned that the believer is most what type of tree Who knows? What type of tree is the believer? The palm tree. and the palm tree, it has an interesting thing about it. And that is that if you do not benefit from it, you can't be harmed by it. That's what the interesting thing about the is. The least of its existence is that it's not harmful. Doesn't have spikes on it, doesn't have thorns, doesn't have poison, doesn't have poisonous fruit, even a dead palm tree is beneficial in some way. This is why the prophet mentioned that the believer is most the date poem. Every aspect of the believer is something that you can be benefited from But the least case scenario. The most decrepit of palm trees. If it doesn't benefit you it will not harm you. This is not harmful. Even a dead palm tree has some benefit to it. And so Some of these things are from Allah. Some of these things are from your actions but ultimately, guidance comes from Allah Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala handpicks and chooses specifically who he wishes to guide to Islam. Now, is this based on the person's actions and the person's past and the person's behavior? Yes, it's based on that as well. Right? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will misguide a person or let a person become misguided because of their actions. And likewise, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will guide a person to Islam because of his actions. Right? And so, this is something that is from Allah. The third thing that will cause a person's heart to become more and more open to the Quran and Sunnah. If not says the third thing is beneficial knowledge. What is beneficial knowledge? It is knowledge that has been inherited from the prophet Muhammad Knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah. Knowledge of the wisdom of the Quran and Sunna. Knowledge of the secrets of the Quran and Sunnah that only come with great great concentration and contemplation and meditation. This is something that will increase a person's faith. That will increase a person's faith. I could give an example right now. I could pull any verse from the Quran. Anyone right now. And contemplate it with you all. And we could all meditate on this verse and speak about all of the different aspects of this verse. And you will leave here as if you are a new man. Yes, that is what the Quran does to the person. And if next week we came, he, if next week we came and sat down and contemplated the same verse, we're going to leave his new men again. Do you know why? Because that verse is not the same again, the second time. And we are not the same again, the second time we hear it. And that is why one of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's names is Alhai. The living, right? The one of eternal absolute life. And the Quran are are is a collection of his words. And so the Quran has this description. That it is alive. You understand? Subhan Allah. That when a person reads the Quran, it interact with him right? There's an interaction that takes place between the Quran and the heart and you know, how many verses of the Quran subhanallah have we read many times or we have memorized. I'm sure there's verses of the Quran right now that we've memorized, that we don't know even what they mean. but if we were to learn what they mean, we are to contemplate them deeply and meditate on their meanings, This would increase our faith in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. and really when we look at something the Quran, we look at something the sun of the prophet we have some people who look for miracles of the Quran. We see this, right? People that look for miracles of the Quran scientific miracles Allah said this and this is not possible that he could have said this and and so on and so forth, right? Some of these things are acceptable, right? And clear and some of these things are really reaching and they're not really on point with what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is actually saying. They're reaching too far, right? And they're making the verse, they're bending it and twisting its meaning. To me, it's something that Allah never intended. However, This is not really the greatest aspect of the Quran. And this is not the greatest aspect that will cause you to be strong in faith. Usually, people who follow this methodology where I'm looking for verses that click with my mind. Usually, their faith is not very strong and you will see that they are people that do not follow the prophet very closely and they don't know him very well. right? However, what is the greater miracle of the Quran? What will really instill faith into your heart that cannot be shaken is when you read the Quran. Learn it, memorize it if possible. But understand it, and compare it to itself. right? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said Quran He said Allah do they not contemplate the Qu.

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At first glance. What does this verse have to do with this verse? Why is this chapter before this chapter, right? It seems to be scattered but when you look really deeply and you have a relationship with the Quran and I'm not talking about two or three days, I'm not talking about six months. I'm talking about 10 and 20 and 30 years. When you start to see how the Quran fits together perfectly. So perfectly that if one letter were to be removed, it would change the meanings. Of other chapters of the Quran. That is what will really instill faith in a person's heart. Because that can't be explained. You can't explain that away. No matter what anyone tells you after that, that is your miracle. This is the Quran. This is the sunnah. There is no discrepancy between the two. There is no discrepancy between the Quran and an authentic narration of the prophet. It's impossible to find. None. zero As a matter of fact, used to say, I challenge anyone to bring me two narrations that seemingly contradict and I will harmonize them. Right? There is no contradiction in the Quran. There is no contradiction in the sunnah of the prophet and when you look at the Quran and you compare it to itself, is no book on this earth that can intrude into your heart and can bring out the best in you and push away the worst of you like the book of Allah, the Quran. It is absolute truth. There's no sugarcoating. There's no, it's very clear. It's very straightforward. And honestly, one of the biggest things that we have that is caused us to stray from Islam is our disconnection from the Quran. And I'm gonna explain how that disconnection is. Okay? Before I do, I'm very very thirsty. Please bring me a a bottle of water. Just have a seat. They hear me. Please bring me a bottle of water. I'm gonna if I had dentures, they'd be coming out right now. Okay. I feel like Alright. So, I'm going to tell you something very interesting about the Quran. And something very interesting about the way that we have been separated from the Quran. It's interesting how we've been separated from the Quran. As Muslims. Okay? and this is absolutely my fault. I should have brought it with me when I came up here. There we go. When it rains, it pours. Okay. Now, I got so much water. I'm gonna I Elmedek. So, how have we we've been separated from from the Quran? I wanna ask you a question. I want you to answer it honestly. You don't have to be a historian to answer this question. Has there ever been a time in the history of Islam? From the time of the prophet Muhammad until today. When the Quran has been more accessible. What I mean by accessible is it's everywhere. Anyone can have it at any moment. Has there ever been a time when the Quran is more available than it is right now. No. And that's from two aspects It's physical availability and the ability of people to read. and the prophet mentioned two things that are the sign of the hour. Imagine this with me. Literacy will become common place and ignorance rise up and descend upon the people. Isn't that seem to contradict? Shouldn't literacy make you more intelligent, more knowledgeable, but that's not what's gonna happen. The prophet and I attainment killer had.

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Literacy will become common place Everyone will know how to read and write. It will be rare to find someone who is illiterate near the end of time. time of the prophet in the time of the prophet writing and spelling was was a gift. That's something you had to go abroad. You had to leave Mecca. Leave Medina to go learn it. And come back and bring it to your people. and people that could read and write were an asset. It was three or four in the whole city right? And this is why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala prohibited people who were gifted with the ability to write, that they not withhold that gift and hold people ransom to try to extort them with that gift. but at the same time, they had wisdom that is very hard to find today. At least they had common sense, right? They had common sense. To the point that the prophet said in a narration, indeed, in the poetry of the Arabs, there is wisdom. We're speaking about prehistoric, pre-Islamic, poetry. He said, there is wisdom in it. Doesn't mean that all of it is wisdom but there is a lot of wisdom in it. Today, we have an opposite phenomenon going on Today, everyone knows how to read and write. Everyone You've probably never met someone who doesn't know how to read and write. Unless you're very very old and you know your grandmother from right? However, another sign of the hour is that as people learn to read and write, an increase of ignorance will come about and knowledge will be lifted from the earth. This is what the prophet said, knowledge will be taken away and ignorance will descend upon. Mankind. but this seems to be contradictory. because if you have the key to read all of the books and all of the works of the ancients, the ancient scholars of Islam, if you are able to open a book and read it and learn on your own. It should be that we are the most knowledgeable of generations but instead, we are the opposite This is one of the most ignorant and dark generations. In Islamic history why? Because We have changed our direction Most of what is available to read and write is not positive or beneficial. and so we turn on the phone and we watch what? Ducks playing the piano and we watch people jumping over camels and we watch people holding snakes and people wearing glasses and getting bit by snakes in the face and we watch people ride their bike off of mountains and we watch people ride skateboards on on on skyscrapers and we watch and this is entertaining to us. We love this, right? and we say, I have Facebook because I learn things on Facebook. I learn things from the Quran and the Sunnah. Subhan Allah. The Quran is right there. You can read the whole thing. You don't have to go through Facebook to do it. And you know what? Is right back there, right there. You could go by it right now. And you can read it for free. And everything in it is correct. And by the end of your reading, you're gonna know the prophet better than you know your own children. But when we put the prophet words and you know, this it's kind of ironic because this right here is being streamed on Facebook, right? This class right here. huh. So, it's ironic, isn't it? But it's this is the only way we can get to people now because if it's not in their phone, it doesn't exist. That's how it is now. right? And so, The thing is, is that, putting the words of Allah, the words of the prophet. Imagine if you were to go to a bar or go to a strip club and at the back of the bar or the strip club, you set up a a booth to give Daw about Islam. Could you imagine that with me? It's the same thing. When you have a Daw Corner and Instagram for me to find you and get through all of that. I gotta go through all the strip club to get there to you. and so, it's very hard to reach the Quran in now. The reason is, is being competed with. We've been separated from the Quran and that's why our hearts become dark. If you don't have the Quran in your heart, you have darkness in your heart. That's how it works. There's a narration. It's it's got weakness in its chain of narrations and his chain of narration but his meaning is correct on the authority of heaven, Abbez, and Quran. It said the heart which contains nothing of the Quran is a, is an abandoned house. It has nothing in it. It could facilitate people but it's not okay. It's not been upkept. So, it's it's it's just a place where vagabonds and you know, crackheads and people go to do illicit things. That's where that's what the heart becomes. Because it was built for a reason but the the purpose it was built for is not is not being used for that. So it will be used and abused by everyone else. When we think about this is an interesting statement A a heart that does not contain the Quran is an abandoned house. Right? What takes place in abandoning abandoned buildings? Tell me. Huh? Drug use? Zena. People hiding from the law. Right? Yeah. vagabonds, people that are just drifters, the riff raft, drug use, you know, dead bodies are hidden there. Weapons are hidden there. That's what it becomes. So, this this parable is very interesting. A heart that does not contain the Quran is an abandoned building. Subhan Allah. And so, How have we been separated from the Quran? Is there anyone here or anyone listening that doesn't have access to the Quran on his phone? I don't know about these Apple watches. Can you even read the Quran on your Apple Watch? I don't know, maybe, right? The only thing left is for me to give you glasses to put on with the Quran in your eyes. What is left? It's there, it's available, it's there for everyone but why don't we read it? There's a few reasons why we don't read it. but the biggest reason why we don't read it is because we are afraid of it. We're afraid of the Quran. Why are we afraid of it? What do you mean? I'm Muslim. How can I be afraid of the Quran? Because the Quran demands change. When you read the Quran, it demands that you change your ways. And we don't change. I'm comfortable. I'm happy how I am. I don't wanna change anything. I don't wanna change my habits. I'm happy now. But the Quran demands that you change. You have to change the way you think. You have to change the way you speak. You have to change the way you talk. You have to change the way you walk. You have to change the way you dress. You have to change the way you treat people. And we don't like that. That makes us uncomfortable So, we learn ways to make ourselves feel we're giving the Quran. It's do right but actually we are ignoring it. How do we do that? we read the Quran in Arabic and we don't understand Arabic. That's it. That's one way. Well, I read the Quran every month one time. Do you know Arabic? Do you understand it? I don't understand a thing but I read it every month. Jamir. What what was the point of that? Of that exercise? Yes, you get We we understand that. You get rewarded. It's good. I I understand it's good. I'm not saying that's bad but I'm saying what is the purpose of the Quran? Is it to read or is it to understand what's the purpose of the Quran? Allah said he we have sent down the book in order that the people meditate and contemplate its meanings and verses. That's the point of the Quran. So if you're just reading it without knowing what it says, without understanding it, you're just doing some exercise. Yes, you're be given and yes, you will see the result of this in your life but your heart is not changing. It's the mean that change the heart one verse of the Quran is so potent that if you contemplate it seriously and you learn its secrets, it's a potent dye that is plate dropped into a glass of water. It will change it. It'll never go back to being the same. This is why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala referred to his religion as we know this verse. Law. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said this, I want you to listen to this verse. Listen to this verse. Let's let's spend the rest of these 8 minutes contemplating this verse in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said about his religion and about the Quran. It is the die of Allah. the what is die? What do I mean by die? Die. Die that dyes your clothes. You dye your clothes with. Color. Color. Right? Die. We understand what die means. It is the die of Allah. What does that mean to die of Allah? When die comes in contact with fabric okay? Can you ever get it out? You can never get it out and leave that that fabric the same way it was. You can never get it out. It will be there permanently. And this is the meaning of Allah. If we look in the same chapter, think about this. In the same chapter, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says about the worship of the calf. They said, that the people of they saturated their hearts with the worship of the of the calf. Then, he says, the Quran and Islam is the die of Allah. Notice the two things here. The Quran is natural. the worship of other than Allah is unnatural. okay? What am I getting at here? That if a verse of the Quran, if you hear it and you understand it completely with your heart, whether you accept it or not, it changes you and you'll never be the same again. You will never be the same again. No matter how short that verse is. Even it's Even if the verses even if the verse is even if the verse is one verse The condition is that you understand it. If you hear it and understand it properly and you contemplate it, even a non Muslim, even Abu Jahid could not get it out of his heart after that. Do you know that Abu Jahid? We know who Abu Jahil is, right? Do you know the prophet used to go every night to pray at the Kaaba every night. You pray and he would recite the Quran. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says recite the Quran in a medium voice. Not too high and not too low. Medium. Abujail used to sneak out of his house at night. every night and hide behind thee, behind the curtain that covers the Kaaba and listen to the Quran all night long. and when he would see that is about to come out, he would scurry away a cockroach back to his home. He was absolutely captivated by the Quran. He could not get it out of his mind. His problem was was he was too arrogant. That's what prevented him from following Abuja Hill was narrated to have said we know that Mohammed is the messenger of Allah. but he did not come from our tribe. And our tribe and Benny Hashim, the tribe of the prophet have always been in competition. They gave charity, we gave charity. They freed slaves. we freed, we freed slaves. They observed bravery, we were braver, braver than them. And we continued two race horses. Neck to neck. And then all of the sudden Benny Hashem comes and says, we have a prophet who receives revelation from Allah. How are we gonna compete with that? He said, well, he we will never follow him. Those are the words of Abu Jahal. and so, not even Abu Jahih could get the Quran out of his heart. Once he heard a verse, it changed him. changed them permanently just die when it touches fabric. It changes it permanently. You can't get it out of your heart. You'll never be the same person again. That scares us. And so we as Muslims, yes, I'm saying we as Muslims. we find ways to avoid the Quran. Because we're afraid of the intrusiveness of the Quran. We're afraid of the change that it demands. We're afraid of what it's going to do to us. and that's why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says Oh you who have believed, enter into Islam completely, not half heartedly. Not one foot in Islam and one foot in the dunya. Come in all the way. That's what he said. because of this issue Has the Quran ever been more available in the history of Islam than it is today? What's the answer? Answer, answer. What's the answer? Has it ever been more available than it is today? Has it ever been more have has the Muslim ummah ever been more unacquainted and ignorant of the Quran That's a historical fact You know, in the time of the Ottoman Empire, it was mentioned that the average diction, meaning the average vocabulary of a twelve-year-old in the time of the Ottoman Empire was fifty thousand words. That's just 100 years ago. You know why? Because it was standard that every child was memorized the Quran and memorized bin Malik. Therefore vocabulary was fifty thousand words. While in Britain it was around 15, 000 words. That was their vocabulary. I don't even have that vocabulary. I don't think. That was the average vocabulary of a 12 year old. Just 150 years ago. We will continue this topic inshallah next week. before we finish, I want to make sure that every everyone understands that when I speak forcefully and I speak about these issues, kinda touchy issues. I'm not attacking anyone and I'm not saying that I do this and you guys don't. No, I'm speaking about us together. Collectively. This is a problem all of us. So, I hope that noone takes this in the wrong way. Inshallah,.