DARS 4
Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah ta’ala. Allah ta’ala subhana wa ta'ala has explained the path of guidance to us clearly in His blessed verses, clearly. He tells us what the Straight Path is, what {Ihdinas Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} is, totally easily, simply, nicely, in clear words, Allah ta’ala has explained in this Surah. And we recite this in all the Salahs - {Ihdinas Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - show us the Straight Path. Our objective is this and success lies within this, that we follow the Straight Path, the right path - and Allah ta'ala has given us the sign via His Qur'an, of what is the right path, the Straight Path; there is no complication in the definition of the Straight Path. To understand it there is no complication. In reality, the definition of the Qur’an, the praise of the Qur’an, the glory of the Qur’an, to understand the Qur’an you don’t need Tafsir, commentary, you don’t need to have in-depth Uloom, knowledge. Qur’an is simple, straightforward, Yusr; it is easy to read the Qur’an, it is easy to understand the Qur’an, and it is easy to implement the Qur'an. If the Qur’an was difficult, brothers, then how could we practice the Qur’an? If the Qur’an was presented to us with technicalities, then? Everyone's different - not everybody is an intellectual or brainy, or has big knowledge, and not everybody can read Tafsir. The majority of the people, poor souls, are not literate, so then they would be lost - how would they attain the Deen, learn the Deen? But it is so simple to understand the real objective of the Deen from the Qur’an - it is extremely simple to understand it.
Now, what is in the Qur’an? For example, you hear people say 'If you read the commentary, you will understand the Qur’an, the famous Tafaseer and commentaries' - and everyone today, the common man, is in this, you could say, lengthy debate: 'Oh we need to read this in-depth commentary, this Tafseer, we need to read this translation of the Qur’an.' Why are you reading to understand the Qur’an? The Qur’an is so easy and simple - it’s naturally like that. The Qur’an gives an invitation to us of Amal, practice - Amal on what? Very simple. What is it we need to practice?
{An Abi Hurayra qala qala Rasoolullahi sallallahu alayhi wasallam 'Nazala-I-Qur'ana 'ala khamsa'} - the Qur’an was revealed with five main components. If you tell children, they will understand, if you tell an old person or an ignorant person, a nomad from the desert - the Qur’an is simple for everybody, subhanAllah. You don’t need commentary of the Qur’an. If you want to obtain the objective of the Qur’an, if you really want to obtain the objective of the Qur’an - but we look for technicalities and intellectual points. We try to become brainy, and we try to show off with big titles, and we want to grasp big points so that we can share them with others, Subhanallah. How can we reach to the level of the Qur’an? We can only understand the amount of the Qur’an that Allah ta’ala has given to us, and we should understand and practice!
There are five things {Nazala-l-Qur'ana 'ala khamsa} - what are they? Halal wa haram - this is the first thing you learn from the Qur’an. The first thing the Qur'an will teach us is what is lawful and unlawful, Halal and Haram. Today nobody knows what is Halal, what is Haram. Nobody knows music is Haram, nobody knows interest is Haram, and nobody knows not observing Purdah is Haram. Nobody knows that all of these games and trickery are Haram, all of these wasteful actions are Haram - nobody knows. So what are you looking for in Tafsir if you do not know Halal and Haram? And then we put our hands up and say 'No, no!' because we are looking for points to disprove what is Halal and Haram. Straightforward - we are looking for points and ways out and bailouts. Oh servants of Allah, before putting your hands on the Qur’an, consider: do you have respect for Halal and Haram? Are your earnings Halal? Is your eating and drinking Halal? Are you fulfilling the rights of people? Yes? Are you fulfilling the rights of people whether you are in front of them or not in front of them? Eating - Haram; drinking - Haram; wearing clothes - Haram! Everything around us, everything we do - Haram. But we just want to read Qur'an and commentary, Tafseer, and translation - and I have seen such people! 'Oh, I'll keep the beard if I get the Tawfeeq' - maybe he'll keep the beard - or today, you see people playing games with the Deen on the Internet.
The Qur’an is so simple to understand! Five things Allah ta'ala has given to us in the Qur’an. Halal and Haram - Allah has said what is lawful and unlawful, what is forbidden and what is allowed. Which child does not know about Halal and Haram? And Allah has given so much flexibility, that the knowledge you have about Halal and Haram, then you should consider and then continue to practice upon what is lawful; and if you know about Haram - and if something Haram is not in your knowledge and you’re doing it, then Allah ta’ala will forgive that, and that is why we go to our respective scholars and to the pious predecessors, so that we learn Halal and Haram. But there, we play games! Long speeches and lectures and Hikma and this and that, ways out, bailouts - people are sitting three hours, four hours, for a speech, and when they come back, they don’t know about Haram and Halal - the five things are not even mentioned in those speeches, the five things in the Qur’an. Lengthy lengthy stories, events and historical stories, and they put a lot of glitter and colour on this story, Mousa alayhi salam, and this nation, and people say 'Wow, oh yes, what a great technicality!'
Brothers, is this the reason why Qur'an has come? I swear by Allah, listen carefully! The grave will come, we will realise everything in the grave. Don’t take what I’m saying badly, I am not criticising. Myself, alhamdulillah, I am also in the journey of Islah, rectification. I put my hands together - please, please, make your lives better! The conditions we see around us - punishment beyond punishment! Punishment is around us - why? There is a reason, because we have left the Qur’an, we are playing games with the Qur'an, tricks with the Qur’an. We have played games with the Qur’an. We don’t know about Halal, no one tells us about Halal and Haram. If you go today, this and that, there is a lecture there, there is a speech of the Qur’an here, this title, this person, scholar, and three hours you will sit down, and when you come back, you will realise nothing! Either you will have heard Masaa'il, this person is a disbeliever, that is an innovation, he has done this, and he has done that, and this is Deen; or there will be stories, events, and history of the Qur'an, but no explanation of the objective of the Qur'an, of the five things that the Prophet sallallhu alayhi wasallam told us.
{An Abi Hurayra qala qala Rasoolullahi sallallahu alayhi wasallam 'Nazala-I-Qur'ana 'ala khamsa'}. Five points: first thing what is Halal, then what is Haram - these are the first two things. This is what we need to learn from the Qur'an. There is nothing else that we get from the Qur’an - no in-depth Arabic grammar and Hikma, and wisdom, and technical techniques of language. 'How can I do Tafseer of the Qur’an so that people start to go - yes, excellent, brilliant!' And we have also become like this - 'Oh, you know that person, I listen to his Bayan, oh, listen to his brilliant speeches, his tongue, his eloquence and the points he explains, such things and such points he has extracted from the Qur’an!' And this has become our style and habit - why? Because shaytan has put us into the path of deception. When we go into the grave, you will be asked ' How much much Haram you did you do in your life? Why did you do wrong things? Why did you do Haram actions? Why did you sit in front of people who were not permissible to you? Why were there music and instruments in your home? Why were there pictures hanging up? Tell me! Why did you trim the beard, cut the beard?' No, we’re not worried about that. We have company with Ghair Mehram people, strangers, but we say 'Oh no, this is not in the Qur’an', and we read Tafseer to disprove this!
Halal, Haram - point number one, point number two. Next point - Ahkam the instructions, commands of Allah, His orders. Then, the Mutashabihaat, the allegorical verses. Yes? So: learn what is Halal, and learn what is Haram, and practice according to the instructions. Allah says, 'Whatever Hukm, orders I give - {Aqeemus-Salah} establish prayer - accept!' That’s the Qur’an. {Aqeemus-Salah} - establish prayer! Oh we won't do this, but we run after everything else - what is Hikma, what is wisdom, and what is principle, and we need to do this, don’t do this - but we don’t want to pray Salah, yes? We bypass Salah. If the order comes for leaving interest, Riba, we have suppressed that. 'Oh we want to go go further' - lengthy, lengthy proofs and points, 10 hours. Nowadays, there are cameras in front of the speaker, and games and trickery and eloquence - I’m just speaking straightforwardly, I have no need to please or to attract, but I don’t want to say anything wrong. If people are upset, let them be upset. That's their loss. If they get Islah, then that's very good. If Allah ta'ala has given you an opportunity for Islah, rectification, and you can tell people good things, then take these five points from the Qur’an, Subhanallah! Subhanallah, select these five things for the people who have sat in front of you - but we won't say any of these five things.
So the Hukm, the orders of the Qur’an, that is one of the five. And then what? The Mutashabihaat, the amazing, the allegorical verses of the Qur’an, the knowledge that Allah ta'ala kept to Himself - the Mutashabihaat, allegorical versus. It is not our job to analyse them, try to translate them - this means this, and this means that, and this can be proved. The Mutashabihaat, allegorical verses, means that you should believe in it and that’s it! Allah ta’ala knows best and His Rasool sallallhu alayhi wasallam knows best, and we have no link, and we cannot understand these verses, the Mutsashabihaat. Allah ta'ala has kept this a secret between Himself and His Rasool sallallhu alayhi wasallam. We have no need to run after them and understand them. And who is saying this? The person who shared the Qur’an with us, taught the Qur'an to us, the Rasool sallallahu alayhi wasallam, the Prophet of Allah.
So the Sahabi who heard this did not - nor did any Sahabi, SubhanAllah - have any desire to take the points out of the Qur’an and the Hikmas, wisdoms and the meanings of the allegorical verses, and Tafseer, commentary, and this and that, no! They knew what the Qur’an was as it was revealed to them and explained to them. What did they need to understand? What do you need to understand? Do Amal on the Qur'an, practice the Qur'an. One thing to do if we can’t leave wrongdoing - the real meaning of the Qur’an is that, after reading the Qur’an, sit down, understand the Qur’an, put your hand on the Qur’an, and InshaAllah, according to this, I will practise! If you are reciting, reading the Qur’an, and you read that interest is Haram and this is the punishment, then put your hand there, straight away! When you’re reading, and the order comes to lower your gaze, to not look at non-family womenfolk, and for women, to not leave the home unless it is necessary - is this not the order of the Qur’an? Totally, it is the order, yes. And that, women, how dare you leave the home without Purdah, without the barrier - and this is the way of reading the Qur’an, that when you read this verse, straight away, sit there, put your hand on the Qur’an, and say 'I will practice this, I will do this! I admit I do this sin. Allah, the Qur’an has explained to me today! I will obey Your instruction, I won’t do this!' This is called reading the Qur’an. Does anyone read the Qur’an like this? 15 Juz, 20 Juz, the sins are there, the same - we don’t even know what sins the Qur’an has told us! {Yatadabbaru-l-Qur'an} - this is challenging the Qur’an! The Qur’an will complain that these people read me, but they didn’t pay attention to me, they didn’t analyse me, they didn’t understand me. We run after the allegorical things.
Amthaal - yes! So Halal, Haram, Muhkamaat, Mutashabihaat, wa Amthaal! And then the the fifth thing. The Holy Prophet sallallhu alayhi wasallam said the fifth thing that Allah ta’ala has taught us in the Qur’an are the examples, the Amthaal., and the stories and histories of the previous nations. These are the examples of the previous nations and tribes, the previous incidents and events, the Yahud and Nasaara, thie Ummahs, their downfalls or the negative things, and the reasons that caused the previous nations to get punished - for us, there is one thing to do when we read these verses. What is that? But these examples, what do we consider? 'Oh these examples, these are just stories for the older days, the older times, this is not for us to understand.' Imagine, imagine! So what do we call this? That we have to take warnings from these Amthaal, these examples. These events have been told us for this reason. And for this reason, the Qur’an will continue till Qiyamah! For example, Allah ta’ala says 'I have established examples, and when these events and incidents come in your lives, in any age or era, then you should compare to these verses to take the learning, the warnings.'
So today, for example, Allah ta’ala reveals a verse, an example, and we have to think - 'Is this comparable to our situation today?' And if this is related to a previous nation or tribe historically, then that is proof to us, that is guidance to us, and we need to learn from it. We don’t say, like people say today, modernist people, so-called intellectuals, 'Oh these verses were for the olden days, oh no, they’re not for us today. No, these verses are for the Yahud, these verses were for people who have no Iman; this was the order for them when the Qur’an was revealed.' So what’s the order for you then? What has been revealed for you? Are you supposed to listen to films and music and enjoy yourself? Is this what has been revealed for us? Then this will be the situation for us in the Hereafter. The media, the situation in our countries, our youth, our women - look at our countries, look at the condition of our society! Allahu Akbar, 'This is an Islamic State, and we are a Republic', and this and that. Yes, Allah ta’ala has given us an invitation, but we are inviting Adhab, Allah's punishment, with our actions.
I'm not giving a speech, I’ve just started reading from the Qur’an; I’m speaking the Qur’an, and the Qur’an is Truth! I’m just speaking the Qur'an with the truth, straightforwardly. I’m not here to give a speech. If you put your hand on the Qur’an, the Qur’an says 'Speak the Truth!' - that’s it! Don’t look left and right. I have to look straightforwardly at what the Qur’an is saying. So the Qur’an has said this, about these examples. 'Oh no, no, these examples were for the previous nations, the Yahud and the Nasaara.' So half the Qur’an is for the Yahud, half is for the people who don’t believe, and half is for the Nasaara - what is left for us then? Yes? So, it's just Halal meat and Halal chickens and do banditry and criminality, and this is our Islam, this is our society. The Qur’an has said this. And as for these Amthaal, examples, there is a reason for this revelation of the examples of the previous nations. These are not events that were revealed for the previous nations who did this, no. Until the Day of Judgement, the Qur’an is saying that whenever an event takes place in the future, then we have to compare to that example. Just like today - that will become an example for us, and we need to learn from that - it is a warning and an admonishment; the verse that we see and we read, is for us today.
So this is the Straight Path - {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - guide us on the Straight Path! Allah ta’ala has explained what is this. What does this relate to? The Qur’an relates to us today, it explains the Straight Path to us, Allah Akbar. It explains to us that the most important thing for us is the right path, and the right path is straightforward, clear. {Walladhina yu'minoona bi ma unzila ilayka} The Straight Path is {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - what is that Straight Path? Allah says ' That Path that I revealed to My beloved, just like I revealed to the previous Prophets, and he is the final Prophet, Prophet Muhammad sallallhu alayhi wasallam.' {Walladhina yu'minoona bi ma unzila ilayka} - he is the final Prophet, everything before him, cancelled; now follow the final Prophet, and the laws and the principles will be of the beloved Prophet sallallu alayhi wasallam until the Day of Judgement. And his Sunnah Sharifah will continue until the Day of Qiyamah.
Just as I explained yesterday, {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - this is the path of guidance. What is the definition of that? Whatever I revealed to the Prophet, the orders of the Qur’an, Halal and Haram - the five points I am explaining now - the Amthaal, the Muhkamaat, orders - the five things in the Qur’an. These are the things that Allah ta’ala revealed in the Qur’an - practice upon these Allah ta’ala says. Adopt them, embrace them. How? Through the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, who is the person of the Qur’an - his Shari'ah, his Sunnah Sharifah, practice according to that. So this Qur’an was revealed to to him, and Allah's Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said 'I am leaving you two things and if you hold onto them, you will never go astray. One is the Qur’an, so whatever the Qur’an says to you, this is the order; then the second point is my Sunnah, my habits. So practice the Qur'an according to my Sunnah, and you will be on the right path, you will never deviate.' Subhanallah - {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - that is the simple way.
But we don’t want to practice the Sunnah, we don’t want to obey the Qur'an's orders. We say we are believers, intellectuals, modernists, that we are forgiven, that Allah is Raheem, Kareem, Gracious, Merciful - we’ve heard this so many times. Everyone’s got his own way, methodology and opinion, and if I go to this march or conference, or do this action, I’ll be forgiven. To be forgiven, there is only one action - the Qur’an has told us: {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} and {Walladhina yu'minoona bi ma unzila ilayka} whatever I revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad sallallhu alayhi wasallam, the Qur’an and his Sunnah, the orders that I gave to the Prophet Muhammad sallallhu alayhi wasallam, you need to obey them, implement them, those five things which you will see in the Qur'an that we have just discussed, according to the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam's lifestyle, his methodolgy, then it is stated that what will you become then? Successful people - you will be from amongst the Muflihoon, the successful people. You will be on the right path, the rightly guided path.
But {Innalladhina kafaru sawaa'un 'alayhim a-andhartahum am lam tundhirhum la yu'minoon. Khatama'llahu 'ala quloobihim wa 'ala sam'ihim; wa 'ala absaarihim ghishawa; wa lahum adhaabun adheem}. Despite knowing the Straight Path of the Qur'an, after hearing this, after learning this, after learning about the Sunnah of Allah's Habeeb sallallahu alayhi wasallam, after knowing and accepting what the Qur'an has announced, that 'I was revealed to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam', after hearing the Qur'an, learning the Qur'an, despite this, if any person rejects, in regards to the verses that Allah ta'ala has revealed, in regards to the orders that Allah ta'ala has revealed, the things that Allah ta'ala has ordered us to practise, if he rejects, does not accept, rejects all of those principles - imagine! There are people like this. Allah subhana wa ta'ala has defined to us the path clearly, transparently, told us the orders, and if, despite hearing and knowing this, a person rejects this, Allah ta'ala says {Innalladhina kafaru, sawaa'un alayhim} - if he rejects and doesn't accept these things - forget about accepting, he rejects them with an open, blatant rejection that 'Oh, I don't believe in Allah, so I don't accept the orders of Alllah.'
That's one way of rejecting. And there's another way: where there is Iman, and after Iman, he doesn't accept Allah ta'ala's instructions, he doesn't accept.So not to believe is rejection, not to accept and implement is rejection, to joke and mock against Allah ta'ala's instruction is rejection, to criticise Allah's orders is also rejection - all of these are ways of rejection; all are included in this. So if we stand up and say we are modernists, intellectuals, brainy - 'Oh these verses are for the disbelievers' - no, these aren't for the disbelievers, they are for every human being. Whoever rejects Allah ta'ala's orders, this verse is for them, remember this. For all those people who reject, until Qiyamah, all those people who reject, don't accept, a person who has no Iman, disbelieves, or he believes and has another way of rejecting by saying 'I don't accept this, I don't want to practise this.' Some people are like this. Some people accept the verses but they don't practise on the verses, they leave the verses; they leave the practise, they are lazy , negligent, 'I can't do this, I have to live in the world' - all of these are ways of rejection.
Allah says {Innalladhina kafaru sawaa'un alayhim} - they don't believe, they don't accept. So when they have rejected these things, then Allah ta'ala says - and there are people like this - then for those people, Allah ta'ala says {A-andhartahum am lam tundhirhum la yu'minoon}. This is a very unique and strange point, a unique point. Allah says, 'I have given them Iman', but they don't accept Allah's orders - 'Oh, how can I do Purdah?' says she, 'How can I take these things out of the house? This is for my son, my daughter's this, we have to live in the world', and they get upset! Someone says, 'Oh he is too strict, he is a fundamentalist, he is backward, he is a waster - what is he telling you? Why is he telling me this? Who listens to that person? He is a backward person, a fundamentalist. {Innalladhina kafaru sawaa'un alayhim} Whether a disbeliever rejects, or a person of Iman rejects, everyone is in this; it's not just for a person who doesn't have faith, Iman. Allah ta'ala says {A-andhartahum am lam tundhirhum la yu'minoon}. Who is Allah ta'ala addressing? Allah ta'ala has given the Revelation to the Prphet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and Allah ta'ala says 'You know these people, Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab' - this was for those people at that time, the people who rejected. This was relevant to that time; but this verse wasn't revealed for just that time! For those people, until Qiyamah, in their own generation, who reject Islam, not just Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab and Utbah. Those people who didn't have Iman were like shaytan, they were satanic.
So the same way, to the people who continue to reject, in all the eras and generations, this verse will continue to apply. Allah has addressed Allah's Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam, but this announcement is general, common, for all of mankind: {A-andhartahum am lam tundhirhum la yu'minoon} - 'Oh my beloved Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam, Allah is severely displeased when Allah's Ahkams are rejected, oh My Habeeb! Now remember this, whether you warn them, or you warn them not - it doesn't matter how much warning you bring them, they won't get Iman in Me!' Allahu Akbar! It is all one for them, they believe not! Listen carefully, those who reject Allah's Ahkam's, Allah's orders, those who reject the beard, those who reject praying Salah, those who reject observing Purdah, those who reject leaving music and musical insruments, and people who reject the major sins - 'Oh, we can't do this, don't tell us! It is hard for us, don't tell us. My children cannot implement this.' Listen, for those people, Allah says {A-andhartahum} - in this day and age, for those people, yes! For example, if there is a person who is a Muballigh, and he is a Wali of Allah, and Allah ta'ala has given him contentment, peace, until the Day of Judgement; just like the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasallam spread the Deen, those Saadiqeen who are working hard to explain to people and spread the Deen, even they have been given the reassurance from Allah, that 'Don't worry, leave them.'
Look how Qur'an is so truthful. Today, if you have a gathering, and such a person speaks the truth, will anybody listen to him? No. Nobody would listen to him - they wouldn't even go close to him! So Allah ta'ala has stated, 'Leave these people! Whether you warn them, or don't warn them, it is all the same for them; they do not believe!' What a big Adhab Allah ta'ala is explaining with regards to these people, that 'Let them do what they want to do - leave them be. Whether you make them scared or not, Allah ta'ala says that they will be the same.' Allah ta'ala has given this punsiment - and there are people like this today, aren't there? You try your best to explain to them that this is wrong, and then they criticise you, mock you, joke about you - they won't go close to you. Yes, you see the work of Tabligh every day - from thousands and thousands, maybe one person will listen to you. Maybe one person. They will give you Salam and say 'Do Dua for me' and if you give that person advice, direction, what's the outcome? Just try and tell somebody, even just one person - what's the reason? Allah ta'ala says 'This is Adhab and I'll tell you the reason!' - Allah ta'ala has revealed the principles: Allah ta'ala says {Khatama'llahu 'ala quloobihim wa 'ala sam'ihim wa 'ala absaarihum}. Allah says 'Leave these people, and also tell those rightly guided Muballighs who will try to revive the Deen until the Qiyamah.' And the generation right now, it looks like that, if you compare them with those who rejected initially.
I swear by Allah, when we see the condition, the environment - let us speak about our own countries - it seems as if there is nobody to listen. Even those who speak, they've all become thieves. Their Tabligh, their style has changed - I don't know what's happened. One person is sinful, he is a criminal, and the whole group say, 'No, no, embrace him, he'll be upset, - don't upset him, embrace him', and they embrace him openly. A sinful one - and they embrace him and welcome him, because obviously in speeches, people play tricks and games, trances. This is the method of Tariqa - speak the Haq, the Truth, and accept the false to be false, and accept the Haq to be Haq. That's it.
So Allah ta'la says, about the rightly guided scholars, that when a person gets to this level and position, when this happens and society still won't understand, Allah ta'ala says 'I have decided to give them Adhab, punishment - {''ala quloobihim wa 'ala sam'ihim wa 'ala absaarihum}'. Allah ta'ala has mentioned these three things: the heart, ears and eyes - these are the three organs that absorb Haq and recognise Haq. Allah ta'ala has mentioned the heart first. The main thing is the heart; that is where the Haq comes in. If you see Haq with the eyes, then it penetrates the heart. If you hear the Haq in your ear, it penetrates the heart. The heart is the Marqaz, the foundation, the locus of absoption of the Haq - but Allah ta'ala says 'I have sealed the hearts, and I have sealed them in such a way that their eyes will not absorb the Truth nor allow it through, nor will the Truth go through their ears!' Why? Because Allah ta'ala says {Wa lahum adhaabun adheem} - 'For these people', Allah says, 'I have sealed their hearing and their hearts and on their eyes is a covering - theirs will be an awful doom!' Allahu Akbar, when you see people like this, that, despite having the understanding and knowledge, they still don't change their circumstances, and their household, family and domestic situation is the same, you get tired and exhausted of giving Tabligh, you get downtrodden, but they don't change, everything is the same and they reject and they get worse. They hear, but they go in the opposite direction - it goes in one ear and out the other ear. Then it is stated, Allah says to the Muballigheen, those who are spreading the Deen, those sincere people who are trying to explain and direct, Allah says 'Leave them be - the Adhab has come to these people. You can explain and try, but their hearts are sealed.' Allah ta'ala says 'The hearts are in My control, the ears are in My control, the eyes are in My control!'
May Allah forgive, may Allah forgive! What an Adhab, what a bad scenario around us today. We see with our eyes, the severe negative situation that is around us. Why is this? For this reason, because the hearts are sealed - Allah ta'ala has sealed the hearts, padlocked them; Allah ta'ala has sealed the eyes, and the ears are sealed - everything is sealed. And that is Adhab that has come onto those people. And when Allah's Adhab is being revealed, there is no protection for a person, no refuge, no way out. So what has happened? After reading these verses, what we realise and learn is that we need to analyse ourselves, look into our own lives. Let's self-assess - 'Do I know about {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}? Do I know what the Straight Path is?' We have realised and learned what {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} is. We have realised and learned that we should practise upon the Ahkams in the Qur'an. And if we don't practise on these, despite knowing and learning and becoming aware, and we reject this and we don't want to practise, and we reject in whatever way - and there are many ways of rejecting or not accepting or not practising. If a person doesn't practise, then he's rejecting. So then, we should fear Allah, and then await the Adhab of Allah. We are awaiting the Adhab of Allah - our hearts have been sealed, and so how will they be opened? How will the padlocks be removed? So when this situation surrounds us, and we don't practise Allah ta'ala's Ahkams, and we say 'Allah is Ghafur-ur-Raheem, Allah is Gracious, Merciful, and He will forgive us and we will be forgiven' - then don't look at our shops and houses and businesses. Allah ta'ala gives this to everyone, this is in front of us, Allah gives to everyone, whether they accept or don't accept, believe or don't believe.
Allah ta'la has opened the path for us, He has given us a chance. We should please Allah! Don't think you have got money and wealth and that you are forgiven, no. This is not the solution. Today, if we do sincere, honest Tawbah to Allah, that 'Oh Allah, we have understood everything - this is all Adhab, this is all delusion, a mirage, a dream.' But our situaton is that we believe in one thing, we reject another thing; whatever is easy, we do, whatever is difficult for our heart, we leave - this is not Deen! Deen is total Deen, complete, comprehensive, all the Ahkam, orders, that have been revealed, we have to practise them, accept them, embrace them totally - just like the Qur'an has explained. So Allah ta'ala has stated that the situation is bad - {Wa lahum adhabum adheem} - not a small punishment, but an awful doom, in this world and the Hereafter. There will be no contentment, no peace, Haram actions, deceiving people in the name of Deen. This is wrong. Not using 'Ilm correctly, to earn Dunya and fame through 'Ilm - 'My name should be elevated through 'Ilm, I should have speeches and fame, people should be coming after me and accepting me' - this is all Haram, unlawful. This is all Adhab, different forms of Adhab and punishment.
So the objective of the Qur'an is one, my brothers. Look into your homes and families - if in your homes and families, there is no Amal, no practise, then cry, sit down, shriek, 'Oh Allah, give me Your blessings! Oh Allah, give me Your Mercy! How can we become corrected, improved? Our hearts have become sealed!' {Wa lahum adhabun adheem}
May Allah ta'ala have mercy on us! May Allah ta'ala have mercy on us! May Allah ta'ala have mercy on us!
Wa ahkiru da'wana an-ilhamdulillahi rabbil aalameen.
Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah ta’ala. Allah ta’ala subhana wa ta'ala has explained the path of guidance to us clearly in His blessed verses, clearly. He tells us what the Straight Path is, what {Ihdinas Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} is, totally easily, simply, nicely, in clear words, Allah ta’ala has explained in this Surah. And we recite this in all the Salahs - {Ihdinas Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - show us the Straight Path. Our objective is this and success lies within this, that we follow the Straight Path, the right path - and Allah ta'ala has given us the sign via His Qur'an, of what is the right path, the Straight Path; there is no complication in the definition of the Straight Path. To understand it there is no complication. In reality, the definition of the Qur’an, the praise of the Qur’an, the glory of the Qur’an, to understand the Qur’an you don’t need Tafsir, commentary, you don’t need to have in-depth Uloom, knowledge. Qur’an is simple, straightforward, Yusr; it is easy to read the Qur’an, it is easy to understand the Qur’an, and it is easy to implement the Qur'an. If the Qur’an was difficult, brothers, then how could we practice the Qur’an? If the Qur’an was presented to us with technicalities, then? Everyone's different - not everybody is an intellectual or brainy, or has big knowledge, and not everybody can read Tafsir. The majority of the people, poor souls, are not literate, so then they would be lost - how would they attain the Deen, learn the Deen? But it is so simple to understand the real objective of the Deen from the Qur’an - it is extremely simple to understand it.
Now, what is in the Qur’an? For example, you hear people say 'If you read the commentary, you will understand the Qur’an, the famous Tafaseer and commentaries' - and everyone today, the common man, is in this, you could say, lengthy debate: 'Oh we need to read this in-depth commentary, this Tafseer, we need to read this translation of the Qur’an.' Why are you reading to understand the Qur’an? The Qur’an is so easy and simple - it’s naturally like that. The Qur’an gives an invitation to us of Amal, practice - Amal on what? Very simple. What is it we need to practice?
{An Abi Hurayra qala qala Rasoolullahi sallallahu alayhi wasallam 'Nazala-I-Qur'ana 'ala khamsa'} - the Qur’an was revealed with five main components. If you tell children, they will understand, if you tell an old person or an ignorant person, a nomad from the desert - the Qur’an is simple for everybody, subhanAllah. You don’t need commentary of the Qur’an. If you want to obtain the objective of the Qur’an, if you really want to obtain the objective of the Qur’an - but we look for technicalities and intellectual points. We try to become brainy, and we try to show off with big titles, and we want to grasp big points so that we can share them with others, Subhanallah. How can we reach to the level of the Qur’an? We can only understand the amount of the Qur’an that Allah ta’ala has given to us, and we should understand and practice!
There are five things {Nazala-l-Qur'ana 'ala khamsa} - what are they? Halal wa haram - this is the first thing you learn from the Qur’an. The first thing the Qur'an will teach us is what is lawful and unlawful, Halal and Haram. Today nobody knows what is Halal, what is Haram. Nobody knows music is Haram, nobody knows interest is Haram, and nobody knows not observing Purdah is Haram. Nobody knows that all of these games and trickery are Haram, all of these wasteful actions are Haram - nobody knows. So what are you looking for in Tafsir if you do not know Halal and Haram? And then we put our hands up and say 'No, no!' because we are looking for points to disprove what is Halal and Haram. Straightforward - we are looking for points and ways out and bailouts. Oh servants of Allah, before putting your hands on the Qur’an, consider: do you have respect for Halal and Haram? Are your earnings Halal? Is your eating and drinking Halal? Are you fulfilling the rights of people? Yes? Are you fulfilling the rights of people whether you are in front of them or not in front of them? Eating - Haram; drinking - Haram; wearing clothes - Haram! Everything around us, everything we do - Haram. But we just want to read Qur'an and commentary, Tafseer, and translation - and I have seen such people! 'Oh, I'll keep the beard if I get the Tawfeeq' - maybe he'll keep the beard - or today, you see people playing games with the Deen on the Internet.
The Qur’an is so simple to understand! Five things Allah ta'ala has given to us in the Qur’an. Halal and Haram - Allah has said what is lawful and unlawful, what is forbidden and what is allowed. Which child does not know about Halal and Haram? And Allah has given so much flexibility, that the knowledge you have about Halal and Haram, then you should consider and then continue to practice upon what is lawful; and if you know about Haram - and if something Haram is not in your knowledge and you’re doing it, then Allah ta’ala will forgive that, and that is why we go to our respective scholars and to the pious predecessors, so that we learn Halal and Haram. But there, we play games! Long speeches and lectures and Hikma and this and that, ways out, bailouts - people are sitting three hours, four hours, for a speech, and when they come back, they don’t know about Haram and Halal - the five things are not even mentioned in those speeches, the five things in the Qur’an. Lengthy lengthy stories, events and historical stories, and they put a lot of glitter and colour on this story, Mousa alayhi salam, and this nation, and people say 'Wow, oh yes, what a great technicality!'
Brothers, is this the reason why Qur'an has come? I swear by Allah, listen carefully! The grave will come, we will realise everything in the grave. Don’t take what I’m saying badly, I am not criticising. Myself, alhamdulillah, I am also in the journey of Islah, rectification. I put my hands together - please, please, make your lives better! The conditions we see around us - punishment beyond punishment! Punishment is around us - why? There is a reason, because we have left the Qur’an, we are playing games with the Qur'an, tricks with the Qur’an. We have played games with the Qur’an. We don’t know about Halal, no one tells us about Halal and Haram. If you go today, this and that, there is a lecture there, there is a speech of the Qur’an here, this title, this person, scholar, and three hours you will sit down, and when you come back, you will realise nothing! Either you will have heard Masaa'il, this person is a disbeliever, that is an innovation, he has done this, and he has done that, and this is Deen; or there will be stories, events, and history of the Qur'an, but no explanation of the objective of the Qur'an, of the five things that the Prophet sallallhu alayhi wasallam told us.
{An Abi Hurayra qala qala Rasoolullahi sallallahu alayhi wasallam 'Nazala-I-Qur'ana 'ala khamsa'}. Five points: first thing what is Halal, then what is Haram - these are the first two things. This is what we need to learn from the Qur'an. There is nothing else that we get from the Qur’an - no in-depth Arabic grammar and Hikma, and wisdom, and technical techniques of language. 'How can I do Tafseer of the Qur’an so that people start to go - yes, excellent, brilliant!' And we have also become like this - 'Oh, you know that person, I listen to his Bayan, oh, listen to his brilliant speeches, his tongue, his eloquence and the points he explains, such things and such points he has extracted from the Qur’an!' And this has become our style and habit - why? Because shaytan has put us into the path of deception. When we go into the grave, you will be asked ' How much much Haram you did you do in your life? Why did you do wrong things? Why did you do Haram actions? Why did you sit in front of people who were not permissible to you? Why were there music and instruments in your home? Why were there pictures hanging up? Tell me! Why did you trim the beard, cut the beard?' No, we’re not worried about that. We have company with Ghair Mehram people, strangers, but we say 'Oh no, this is not in the Qur’an', and we read Tafseer to disprove this!
Halal, Haram - point number one, point number two. Next point - Ahkam the instructions, commands of Allah, His orders. Then, the Mutashabihaat, the allegorical verses. Yes? So: learn what is Halal, and learn what is Haram, and practice according to the instructions. Allah says, 'Whatever Hukm, orders I give - {Aqeemus-Salah} establish prayer - accept!' That’s the Qur’an. {Aqeemus-Salah} - establish prayer! Oh we won't do this, but we run after everything else - what is Hikma, what is wisdom, and what is principle, and we need to do this, don’t do this - but we don’t want to pray Salah, yes? We bypass Salah. If the order comes for leaving interest, Riba, we have suppressed that. 'Oh we want to go go further' - lengthy, lengthy proofs and points, 10 hours. Nowadays, there are cameras in front of the speaker, and games and trickery and eloquence - I’m just speaking straightforwardly, I have no need to please or to attract, but I don’t want to say anything wrong. If people are upset, let them be upset. That's their loss. If they get Islah, then that's very good. If Allah ta'ala has given you an opportunity for Islah, rectification, and you can tell people good things, then take these five points from the Qur’an, Subhanallah! Subhanallah, select these five things for the people who have sat in front of you - but we won't say any of these five things.
So the Hukm, the orders of the Qur’an, that is one of the five. And then what? The Mutashabihaat, the amazing, the allegorical verses of the Qur’an, the knowledge that Allah ta'ala kept to Himself - the Mutashabihaat, allegorical versus. It is not our job to analyse them, try to translate them - this means this, and this means that, and this can be proved. The Mutashabihaat, allegorical verses, means that you should believe in it and that’s it! Allah ta’ala knows best and His Rasool sallallhu alayhi wasallam knows best, and we have no link, and we cannot understand these verses, the Mutsashabihaat. Allah ta'ala has kept this a secret between Himself and His Rasool sallallhu alayhi wasallam. We have no need to run after them and understand them. And who is saying this? The person who shared the Qur’an with us, taught the Qur'an to us, the Rasool sallallahu alayhi wasallam, the Prophet of Allah.
So the Sahabi who heard this did not - nor did any Sahabi, SubhanAllah - have any desire to take the points out of the Qur’an and the Hikmas, wisdoms and the meanings of the allegorical verses, and Tafseer, commentary, and this and that, no! They knew what the Qur’an was as it was revealed to them and explained to them. What did they need to understand? What do you need to understand? Do Amal on the Qur'an, practice the Qur'an. One thing to do if we can’t leave wrongdoing - the real meaning of the Qur’an is that, after reading the Qur’an, sit down, understand the Qur’an, put your hand on the Qur’an, and InshaAllah, according to this, I will practise! If you are reciting, reading the Qur’an, and you read that interest is Haram and this is the punishment, then put your hand there, straight away! When you’re reading, and the order comes to lower your gaze, to not look at non-family womenfolk, and for women, to not leave the home unless it is necessary - is this not the order of the Qur’an? Totally, it is the order, yes. And that, women, how dare you leave the home without Purdah, without the barrier - and this is the way of reading the Qur’an, that when you read this verse, straight away, sit there, put your hand on the Qur’an, and say 'I will practice this, I will do this! I admit I do this sin. Allah, the Qur’an has explained to me today! I will obey Your instruction, I won’t do this!' This is called reading the Qur’an. Does anyone read the Qur’an like this? 15 Juz, 20 Juz, the sins are there, the same - we don’t even know what sins the Qur’an has told us! {Yatadabbaru-l-Qur'an} - this is challenging the Qur’an! The Qur’an will complain that these people read me, but they didn’t pay attention to me, they didn’t analyse me, they didn’t understand me. We run after the allegorical things.
Amthaal - yes! So Halal, Haram, Muhkamaat, Mutashabihaat, wa Amthaal! And then the the fifth thing. The Holy Prophet sallallhu alayhi wasallam said the fifth thing that Allah ta’ala has taught us in the Qur’an are the examples, the Amthaal., and the stories and histories of the previous nations. These are the examples of the previous nations and tribes, the previous incidents and events, the Yahud and Nasaara, thie Ummahs, their downfalls or the negative things, and the reasons that caused the previous nations to get punished - for us, there is one thing to do when we read these verses. What is that? But these examples, what do we consider? 'Oh these examples, these are just stories for the older days, the older times, this is not for us to understand.' Imagine, imagine! So what do we call this? That we have to take warnings from these Amthaal, these examples. These events have been told us for this reason. And for this reason, the Qur’an will continue till Qiyamah! For example, Allah ta’ala says 'I have established examples, and when these events and incidents come in your lives, in any age or era, then you should compare to these verses to take the learning, the warnings.'
So today, for example, Allah ta’ala reveals a verse, an example, and we have to think - 'Is this comparable to our situation today?' And if this is related to a previous nation or tribe historically, then that is proof to us, that is guidance to us, and we need to learn from it. We don’t say, like people say today, modernist people, so-called intellectuals, 'Oh these verses were for the olden days, oh no, they’re not for us today. No, these verses are for the Yahud, these verses were for people who have no Iman; this was the order for them when the Qur’an was revealed.' So what’s the order for you then? What has been revealed for you? Are you supposed to listen to films and music and enjoy yourself? Is this what has been revealed for us? Then this will be the situation for us in the Hereafter. The media, the situation in our countries, our youth, our women - look at our countries, look at the condition of our society! Allahu Akbar, 'This is an Islamic State, and we are a Republic', and this and that. Yes, Allah ta’ala has given us an invitation, but we are inviting Adhab, Allah's punishment, with our actions.
I'm not giving a speech, I’ve just started reading from the Qur’an; I’m speaking the Qur’an, and the Qur’an is Truth! I’m just speaking the Qur'an with the truth, straightforwardly. I’m not here to give a speech. If you put your hand on the Qur’an, the Qur’an says 'Speak the Truth!' - that’s it! Don’t look left and right. I have to look straightforwardly at what the Qur’an is saying. So the Qur’an has said this, about these examples. 'Oh no, no, these examples were for the previous nations, the Yahud and the Nasaara.' So half the Qur’an is for the Yahud, half is for the people who don’t believe, and half is for the Nasaara - what is left for us then? Yes? So, it's just Halal meat and Halal chickens and do banditry and criminality, and this is our Islam, this is our society. The Qur’an has said this. And as for these Amthaal, examples, there is a reason for this revelation of the examples of the previous nations. These are not events that were revealed for the previous nations who did this, no. Until the Day of Judgement, the Qur’an is saying that whenever an event takes place in the future, then we have to compare to that example. Just like today - that will become an example for us, and we need to learn from that - it is a warning and an admonishment; the verse that we see and we read, is for us today.
So this is the Straight Path - {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - guide us on the Straight Path! Allah ta’ala has explained what is this. What does this relate to? The Qur’an relates to us today, it explains the Straight Path to us, Allah Akbar. It explains to us that the most important thing for us is the right path, and the right path is straightforward, clear. {Walladhina yu'minoona bi ma unzila ilayka} The Straight Path is {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - what is that Straight Path? Allah says ' That Path that I revealed to My beloved, just like I revealed to the previous Prophets, and he is the final Prophet, Prophet Muhammad sallallhu alayhi wasallam.' {Walladhina yu'minoona bi ma unzila ilayka} - he is the final Prophet, everything before him, cancelled; now follow the final Prophet, and the laws and the principles will be of the beloved Prophet sallallu alayhi wasallam until the Day of Judgement. And his Sunnah Sharifah will continue until the Day of Qiyamah.
Just as I explained yesterday, {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - this is the path of guidance. What is the definition of that? Whatever I revealed to the Prophet, the orders of the Qur’an, Halal and Haram - the five points I am explaining now - the Amthaal, the Muhkamaat, orders - the five things in the Qur’an. These are the things that Allah ta’ala revealed in the Qur’an - practice upon these Allah ta’ala says. Adopt them, embrace them. How? Through the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, who is the person of the Qur’an - his Shari'ah, his Sunnah Sharifah, practice according to that. So this Qur’an was revealed to to him, and Allah's Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said 'I am leaving you two things and if you hold onto them, you will never go astray. One is the Qur’an, so whatever the Qur’an says to you, this is the order; then the second point is my Sunnah, my habits. So practice the Qur'an according to my Sunnah, and you will be on the right path, you will never deviate.' Subhanallah - {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} - that is the simple way.
But we don’t want to practice the Sunnah, we don’t want to obey the Qur'an's orders. We say we are believers, intellectuals, modernists, that we are forgiven, that Allah is Raheem, Kareem, Gracious, Merciful - we’ve heard this so many times. Everyone’s got his own way, methodology and opinion, and if I go to this march or conference, or do this action, I’ll be forgiven. To be forgiven, there is only one action - the Qur’an has told us: {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} and {Walladhina yu'minoona bi ma unzila ilayka} whatever I revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad sallallhu alayhi wasallam, the Qur’an and his Sunnah, the orders that I gave to the Prophet Muhammad sallallhu alayhi wasallam, you need to obey them, implement them, those five things which you will see in the Qur'an that we have just discussed, according to the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam's lifestyle, his methodolgy, then it is stated that what will you become then? Successful people - you will be from amongst the Muflihoon, the successful people. You will be on the right path, the rightly guided path.
But {Innalladhina kafaru sawaa'un 'alayhim a-andhartahum am lam tundhirhum la yu'minoon. Khatama'llahu 'ala quloobihim wa 'ala sam'ihim; wa 'ala absaarihim ghishawa; wa lahum adhaabun adheem}. Despite knowing the Straight Path of the Qur'an, after hearing this, after learning this, after learning about the Sunnah of Allah's Habeeb sallallahu alayhi wasallam, after knowing and accepting what the Qur'an has announced, that 'I was revealed to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam', after hearing the Qur'an, learning the Qur'an, despite this, if any person rejects, in regards to the verses that Allah ta'ala has revealed, in regards to the orders that Allah ta'ala has revealed, the things that Allah ta'ala has ordered us to practise, if he rejects, does not accept, rejects all of those principles - imagine! There are people like this. Allah subhana wa ta'ala has defined to us the path clearly, transparently, told us the orders, and if, despite hearing and knowing this, a person rejects this, Allah ta'ala says {Innalladhina kafaru, sawaa'un alayhim} - if he rejects and doesn't accept these things - forget about accepting, he rejects them with an open, blatant rejection that 'Oh, I don't believe in Allah, so I don't accept the orders of Alllah.'
That's one way of rejecting. And there's another way: where there is Iman, and after Iman, he doesn't accept Allah ta'ala's instructions, he doesn't accept.So not to believe is rejection, not to accept and implement is rejection, to joke and mock against Allah ta'ala's instruction is rejection, to criticise Allah's orders is also rejection - all of these are ways of rejection; all are included in this. So if we stand up and say we are modernists, intellectuals, brainy - 'Oh these verses are for the disbelievers' - no, these aren't for the disbelievers, they are for every human being. Whoever rejects Allah ta'ala's orders, this verse is for them, remember this. For all those people who reject, until Qiyamah, all those people who reject, don't accept, a person who has no Iman, disbelieves, or he believes and has another way of rejecting by saying 'I don't accept this, I don't want to practise this.' Some people are like this. Some people accept the verses but they don't practise on the verses, they leave the verses; they leave the practise, they are lazy , negligent, 'I can't do this, I have to live in the world' - all of these are ways of rejection.
Allah says {Innalladhina kafaru sawaa'un alayhim} - they don't believe, they don't accept. So when they have rejected these things, then Allah ta'ala says - and there are people like this - then for those people, Allah ta'ala says {A-andhartahum am lam tundhirhum la yu'minoon}. This is a very unique and strange point, a unique point. Allah says, 'I have given them Iman', but they don't accept Allah's orders - 'Oh, how can I do Purdah?' says she, 'How can I take these things out of the house? This is for my son, my daughter's this, we have to live in the world', and they get upset! Someone says, 'Oh he is too strict, he is a fundamentalist, he is backward, he is a waster - what is he telling you? Why is he telling me this? Who listens to that person? He is a backward person, a fundamentalist. {Innalladhina kafaru sawaa'un alayhim} Whether a disbeliever rejects, or a person of Iman rejects, everyone is in this; it's not just for a person who doesn't have faith, Iman. Allah ta'ala says {A-andhartahum am lam tundhirhum la yu'minoon}. Who is Allah ta'ala addressing? Allah ta'ala has given the Revelation to the Prphet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and Allah ta'ala says 'You know these people, Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab' - this was for those people at that time, the people who rejected. This was relevant to that time; but this verse wasn't revealed for just that time! For those people, until Qiyamah, in their own generation, who reject Islam, not just Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab and Utbah. Those people who didn't have Iman were like shaytan, they were satanic.
So the same way, to the people who continue to reject, in all the eras and generations, this verse will continue to apply. Allah has addressed Allah's Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam, but this announcement is general, common, for all of mankind: {A-andhartahum am lam tundhirhum la yu'minoon} - 'Oh my beloved Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam, Allah is severely displeased when Allah's Ahkams are rejected, oh My Habeeb! Now remember this, whether you warn them, or you warn them not - it doesn't matter how much warning you bring them, they won't get Iman in Me!' Allahu Akbar! It is all one for them, they believe not! Listen carefully, those who reject Allah's Ahkam's, Allah's orders, those who reject the beard, those who reject praying Salah, those who reject observing Purdah, those who reject leaving music and musical insruments, and people who reject the major sins - 'Oh, we can't do this, don't tell us! It is hard for us, don't tell us. My children cannot implement this.' Listen, for those people, Allah says {A-andhartahum} - in this day and age, for those people, yes! For example, if there is a person who is a Muballigh, and he is a Wali of Allah, and Allah ta'ala has given him contentment, peace, until the Day of Judgement; just like the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasallam spread the Deen, those Saadiqeen who are working hard to explain to people and spread the Deen, even they have been given the reassurance from Allah, that 'Don't worry, leave them.'
Look how Qur'an is so truthful. Today, if you have a gathering, and such a person speaks the truth, will anybody listen to him? No. Nobody would listen to him - they wouldn't even go close to him! So Allah ta'ala has stated, 'Leave these people! Whether you warn them, or don't warn them, it is all the same for them; they do not believe!' What a big Adhab Allah ta'ala is explaining with regards to these people, that 'Let them do what they want to do - leave them be. Whether you make them scared or not, Allah ta'ala says that they will be the same.' Allah ta'ala has given this punsiment - and there are people like this today, aren't there? You try your best to explain to them that this is wrong, and then they criticise you, mock you, joke about you - they won't go close to you. Yes, you see the work of Tabligh every day - from thousands and thousands, maybe one person will listen to you. Maybe one person. They will give you Salam and say 'Do Dua for me' and if you give that person advice, direction, what's the outcome? Just try and tell somebody, even just one person - what's the reason? Allah ta'ala says 'This is Adhab and I'll tell you the reason!' - Allah ta'ala has revealed the principles: Allah ta'ala says {Khatama'llahu 'ala quloobihim wa 'ala sam'ihim wa 'ala absaarihum}. Allah says 'Leave these people, and also tell those rightly guided Muballighs who will try to revive the Deen until the Qiyamah.' And the generation right now, it looks like that, if you compare them with those who rejected initially.
I swear by Allah, when we see the condition, the environment - let us speak about our own countries - it seems as if there is nobody to listen. Even those who speak, they've all become thieves. Their Tabligh, their style has changed - I don't know what's happened. One person is sinful, he is a criminal, and the whole group say, 'No, no, embrace him, he'll be upset, - don't upset him, embrace him', and they embrace him openly. A sinful one - and they embrace him and welcome him, because obviously in speeches, people play tricks and games, trances. This is the method of Tariqa - speak the Haq, the Truth, and accept the false to be false, and accept the Haq to be Haq. That's it.
So Allah ta'la says, about the rightly guided scholars, that when a person gets to this level and position, when this happens and society still won't understand, Allah ta'ala says 'I have decided to give them Adhab, punishment - {''ala quloobihim wa 'ala sam'ihim wa 'ala absaarihum}'. Allah ta'ala has mentioned these three things: the heart, ears and eyes - these are the three organs that absorb Haq and recognise Haq. Allah ta'ala has mentioned the heart first. The main thing is the heart; that is where the Haq comes in. If you see Haq with the eyes, then it penetrates the heart. If you hear the Haq in your ear, it penetrates the heart. The heart is the Marqaz, the foundation, the locus of absoption of the Haq - but Allah ta'ala says 'I have sealed the hearts, and I have sealed them in such a way that their eyes will not absorb the Truth nor allow it through, nor will the Truth go through their ears!' Why? Because Allah ta'ala says {Wa lahum adhaabun adheem} - 'For these people', Allah says, 'I have sealed their hearing and their hearts and on their eyes is a covering - theirs will be an awful doom!' Allahu Akbar, when you see people like this, that, despite having the understanding and knowledge, they still don't change their circumstances, and their household, family and domestic situation is the same, you get tired and exhausted of giving Tabligh, you get downtrodden, but they don't change, everything is the same and they reject and they get worse. They hear, but they go in the opposite direction - it goes in one ear and out the other ear. Then it is stated, Allah says to the Muballigheen, those who are spreading the Deen, those sincere people who are trying to explain and direct, Allah says 'Leave them be - the Adhab has come to these people. You can explain and try, but their hearts are sealed.' Allah ta'ala says 'The hearts are in My control, the ears are in My control, the eyes are in My control!'
May Allah forgive, may Allah forgive! What an Adhab, what a bad scenario around us today. We see with our eyes, the severe negative situation that is around us. Why is this? For this reason, because the hearts are sealed - Allah ta'ala has sealed the hearts, padlocked them; Allah ta'ala has sealed the eyes, and the ears are sealed - everything is sealed. And that is Adhab that has come onto those people. And when Allah's Adhab is being revealed, there is no protection for a person, no refuge, no way out. So what has happened? After reading these verses, what we realise and learn is that we need to analyse ourselves, look into our own lives. Let's self-assess - 'Do I know about {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem}? Do I know what the Straight Path is?' We have realised and learned what {Ihdinas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem} is. We have realised and learned that we should practise upon the Ahkams in the Qur'an. And if we don't practise on these, despite knowing and learning and becoming aware, and we reject this and we don't want to practise, and we reject in whatever way - and there are many ways of rejecting or not accepting or not practising. If a person doesn't practise, then he's rejecting. So then, we should fear Allah, and then await the Adhab of Allah. We are awaiting the Adhab of Allah - our hearts have been sealed, and so how will they be opened? How will the padlocks be removed? So when this situation surrounds us, and we don't practise Allah ta'ala's Ahkams, and we say 'Allah is Ghafur-ur-Raheem, Allah is Gracious, Merciful, and He will forgive us and we will be forgiven' - then don't look at our shops and houses and businesses. Allah ta'ala gives this to everyone, this is in front of us, Allah gives to everyone, whether they accept or don't accept, believe or don't believe.
Allah ta'la has opened the path for us, He has given us a chance. We should please Allah! Don't think you have got money and wealth and that you are forgiven, no. This is not the solution. Today, if we do sincere, honest Tawbah to Allah, that 'Oh Allah, we have understood everything - this is all Adhab, this is all delusion, a mirage, a dream.' But our situaton is that we believe in one thing, we reject another thing; whatever is easy, we do, whatever is difficult for our heart, we leave - this is not Deen! Deen is total Deen, complete, comprehensive, all the Ahkam, orders, that have been revealed, we have to practise them, accept them, embrace them totally - just like the Qur'an has explained. So Allah ta'ala has stated that the situation is bad - {Wa lahum adhabum adheem} - not a small punishment, but an awful doom, in this world and the Hereafter. There will be no contentment, no peace, Haram actions, deceiving people in the name of Deen. This is wrong. Not using 'Ilm correctly, to earn Dunya and fame through 'Ilm - 'My name should be elevated through 'Ilm, I should have speeches and fame, people should be coming after me and accepting me' - this is all Haram, unlawful. This is all Adhab, different forms of Adhab and punishment.
So the objective of the Qur'an is one, my brothers. Look into your homes and families - if in your homes and families, there is no Amal, no practise, then cry, sit down, shriek, 'Oh Allah, give me Your blessings! Oh Allah, give me Your Mercy! How can we become corrected, improved? Our hearts have become sealed!' {Wa lahum adhabun adheem}
May Allah ta'ala have mercy on us! May Allah ta'ala have mercy on us! May Allah ta'ala have mercy on us!
Wa ahkiru da'wana an-ilhamdulillahi rabbil aalameen.