Ramadan 16, 1435/2014 Tafseer , by Imam Muhammed Shoayb Mehtar, Khadeeja Islamic Center, SLC, Utah
Nightly Notes (16)*:
Tonight we discussed about how sustenance is only from Allah so why are we turning our back to Allah and trying to see it from creation instead of the Creator? Allah’s promise is a reality, it is truthful, it is guaranteed. The same cannot be said people’s promises. Don’t let this world distract you, it is filled with makeup. It is deceptive and it will come to an end. That new car you bought? Guess what, it’s going to get old and rusty. That new house? The floorboards are going to start creaking. Do you remember the first time you had something like a delicious fruit? Wasn’t it so tasty because your taste buds had never tried something like that before? If you keep on eating that delicious fruit over and over and over again, it is going to get ‘overrated’ and you won’t enjoy it, not near enough as to when you had your very first bite of it.
Shaytan (Satan) is our genuine enemy so treat him like that. There is an English saying, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer”. This is just a saying but sadly many of us make it a reality and it is causing havoc in our lives. Just like 2 masses of water, one salty, one is freshwater are not the same, enemies and friends cannot be the same so stop treating them as such. Can being with Shaytan and his cronies be the same as being with pious people who strive only for Allah’s pleasure? Absolutely not. Is light the same as darkness? Are the living the same as the dead? If we have an ounce of logic and sense within us we will realize Shaytan will misguide us however he can and he is an open enemy for humanity. On one side is Shaytan and on the other side is Allah. Whose side are we on, the side of good or the side of evil? Do we want to go Jahannam (Hell) or Jannah (Heaven) in the Hereafter? Allah has sent us a true messenger (SAW) to warn us regarding Shaytan as our open enemy.
We concluded with Surah Ya-Seen, this is a Surah that Rasulullah (SAW) wished every member of his Ummah would memorize it. If we read it in the mornings it will make it such that our days go smoother and our work becomes easier insha’Allah. This Surah discusses the destruction of various nations. Why were they destroyed? Because they did not listen to their prophets (AS). This earth is barren, it is the Hereafter that is full of life so that should be our goal, to live in the Paradise of Hereafter. Everyone will taste death on this earth, there is no one that can escape it, so why squander the little time we have on this earth before we meet Allah. Reflect on the signs of Allah, one of which is the cycle of the sun, then the moon, then the sun again, then the moon again, etc. The sun gives us the day for which we can work. The moon gives us the night for when we can rest in.
When is the day of reckoning? It is Yawmul Qiyamah, it is the Day of Judgment. Our mouths will be sealed on that day, there is no more talking your way out of a speeding ticket. There is no more deceiving those around us as to who we really are and what we really do. Do you know what will talk for us? What will say that we did good or we did bad? It is our limbs, it is our entire body. That leg of yours will testify to Allah if you went towards the nightclub or if you went to the masjid. That hand of yours will testify if you stole money or if you gave to the poor. Our eyes will testify if we looked at Haraam or if he kept our gazes down and focused on worshipping Allah. Our ears will testify if we listened to Haraam or did we occupy them with listening to the Qur’an, with listening to good speech. We can deceive ourselves and get away with a lot in this world, but not on that Day of Reckoning will we get away with a bad deed, even if it had the weight of an atom.
Allah ends Surah Ya-Seen with we created humans from two dirty substances, a cold mingling of two clots of blood. We were created from the dirtiest of dirty. This is the simple beginning to our lives. We were stinky in diapers, we had to be washed by someone else, we couldn’t even get the filth of our bodies off of us by ourselves. We were the lowest of low. So how can we have the audacity to argue with Allah now? This ayah is to make us humble – our ending will be like our beginning. We were dependent on others when we were young and again we will depend on others when we will be old and on the verge of death so remember our humble beginnings, keep in mind our future ending, and don’t argue with Allah (disobey Him) and insha’Allah we will be successful in not just the Hereafter but this world as well.
May Allah (SWT) help us and guide us at all times.
*Nightly Notes provided by note-takers in the masjid, as heard during tafseer.