UST. NOUMAN ALI KHAN - A BETTER TOMORROW (A TRANSCRIPT)
A BETTER TOMORROW
Transcription of Nouman Ali Khan’s lecture by Raga Bintang (Faculty Of Law 2016)
Date : 12 Rabiuts-Tsani 1438 H/ 11th January 2017
Available in Bahasa : https://goo.gl/a3zXvb
***
وَلَا تَقُولَنَّ لِشَيْءٍ إِنِّي فَاعِلٌ ذَٰلِكَ غَدًا
إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ ۚ وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ وَقُلْ عَسَىٰ أَن يَهْدِيَنِ رَبِّي لِأَقْرَبَ مِنْ هَٰذَا رَشَدًا
(Al-Kahf ayah 23-24)
Allah said وَلَا تَقُولَنَّ لِشَيْءٍ إِنِّي فَاعِلٌ ذَٰلِكَ غَدًا. This is one ayah. Allah says, [Don’t you dare say that I am definitely going to do *that* tomorrow]. Don’t say that. Actually He doesn’t just say “Don’t say that …”, He said لَا تَقُولَنَّ… Don’t you *dare* say it. Ever. About anything that I am definitely doing that tomorrow. Now if you do that, if you stop at this ayah, there seems to be a problem. Because your boss says “You better hand in the assignment tomorrow”, you say “Yeah, definitely”, “Yeah I’ll do it tomorrow”, “Yeah sure sure, *insya Allah*”. And sometimes you say Insya Allah and sometimes you don’t say Insya Allah. But people make definite promises all the time.
“Are you going to the invitation?”, “Yeah yeah Im definitely going”
“Hey you’re going to jum’ah?”. “Yeah definitely definitely”
We say these definite things all the time. It is only in the next ayah that Allah completes the subject and He says إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ ۚ [With the exception that you say that Allah wills]. The only exception is I intend to do this fully, except if Allah wills. Meaning, this is why in the culture of the Muslims when we talk about the future we use the words Insya Allah [If Allah were to will]. “I’ll see you tomorrow at 3 o’clock, Insya Allah”. Meaning *if* Allah decides that I’m not able to see you that’s out of my control. My intention is there. But Allah’s plans can be different from my plans. So as far as my plans are concerned, I’m making a commitment. But if there’s a rainstorm or earthquake or my car shuts down, I don’t know. Allah can decide anything between today and tomorrow. The future is not in my hands. So I have to make that insurance claim. And say it’s in the hands of Allah because it’s in the future.
Muslims understand that the future is not in their hands. But here we have to understand a very powerful aspect of balance. The muslims, unfortunately, when we get further from the Book of Allah, even the beautiful teachings of our religion became ugly. They look beautiful on the surface, but when you don’t stay connected with the Book of Allah. You don’t stay connected with the Sunnah of the Messenger SAW. then those same thing that are suppose to be beautiful turn into something ugly. And this is what many of us are guilty of. So we say Insya Allah which means “probably not”. That’s what we do now. “Hey are you coming?”, “Eh, Insya Allah…” which means “Eh, I’m not sure…”. So “Insya Allah” is actually our way of getting out of making a commitment.
These ayat are not about escaping a commitment. As a matter of fact إِنِّي فَاعِلٌ ذَٰلِكَ غَدًا , are very strong words.
[*For sure*, I am absolutely going to do that tomorrow], making a statement of guarantee. And making a promise. And making a commitment that you’re definitely commited to doing, this is not the problem. As a matter of fact, that’s what you should do. You should, in fact, make strong commitments. You shouldn’t just casually say “Okay”. If you can’t do something say “I can’t do it”, if you can’t be there just say “I can’t be there”. But if you make a promise then commit to it. And then add “The only way this would not happen for me is if Allah decides something that’s beyond my control”. That’s لَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ .
لَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ does not mean “If I wake up late, I’m not coming” or “If I’m not in the mood”
You don’t use “Insya Allah” for that. That’s a misuse of this powerful phrase. You’re recognizing that not everything is in your control. Allah has given you the ability to make commitments and the capability of fulfilling your commitments. But even if you have some capability, Allah can stop you in your tracks with all of your intentions. This is the essence of the phrase لَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ but then Allah adds, He adds وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ [Mention your Rabb] … [Mention your Rabb when you forget] It’s interesting that Allah didn’t say *if* you forget, He said *when* you forget. And it’s a big difference between if and when. Because “if something happened” then it might not happen. But when you say “when you forget”, Allah is guaranteeing. Because Allah can give guarantees, I can’t. Allah is guaranteeing that you and I will forget. There will be times when we make promises about the future and we’re not going to remember to say “Insya Allah”.
We’re going to make plans in our head. Sometimes you don’t even say something. By the way Qaala yaquulu in arabic is not just speaking with your mouth, but even saying something to yourself. You know in English “I said to myself that idea”. Just the thought. Sometimes you have thoughts “I’m definitely doing this and that tomorrow”, *even* that thought should be accompanied with Insya Allah. Even that thought. Sometimes it’s not. Sometimes i just have it in my head. “Yeah this week this”, “Tomorrow this flight then this meeting”, “Okay, I got it, I got it”. But the thought of Insya Allah didn’t come in your head. And it should. Y’know sometimes you’re talking to someone on the phone and you make a promise about the future, “I’ll see you at dinner”, “Okay, I’ll see you”, “Assalamualaikum”, and you hanged up, and you “Ooh, I didn’t say Insya Allah”. And now that doesn’t mean you call them back and say “hey btw Insya Allah. Just want to leave you a voicemail. Insya Allah”. No, don’t do that. They don’t need to hear Insya Allah. Allah wants to hear you say it. You just say to your Rabb. وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ … Mention your Rabb when you forget. And this is a really beautiful language. [Remember Him when you forget], Allah didn’t say that. Allah say, [Remember your *Rabb*]. You see when Allah is already mentioned in the ayah, لَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ ۚ when Allah has already been mentioned. When someone’s mentioned by name, then the next time you mention him, you mention him with a pronoun. For instance to make this easy to understand, “Say if Allah wills and remember *Him* next time”. “Remember *Him* when you forget”. Now the word “Him” would refer to … Allah. But actually Allah doesn’t use the word “Him”, he doesn’t use the pronoun. He says “Rabb”. This is actually reinforcing the idea that you’re almost reintroducing yourself to the concept of Rabb with Allah. That Allah is in control of your future. He is your Rabb. He is your absolute Master. And you cannot lose sight of that. This is part of the authority of Allah on you that your future is in His hands. So Allah specifically when out on His way to say Rabbak Ilannasit رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ when it comes to us making commitments about the future. That it is, in fact, in Allah’s hands.
Now this is an incredible ayah of balance so far, because on one hand you are making the strongest guarantees إِنِّي فَاعِلٌ ذَٰلِكَ غَدًا .Those of you that are familiar with Arabic …. it’s not even a verb. It’s this commitment with a noun. With an ism fa’il. “I’m *absolutely* doing that tomorrow”. But then on the other hand, you have this absolute reliance on Allah too. And so we have to talk about this balance a few minutes before I move on.
There are some people in this world, they think they can do everything because of themselves. “I’m really intelligent”, “I have a really reliable car”, “I’m a really good driver”, “I know the best way to get there before I get late”, “I”, “I” , “I”, all the reliances on myself. “The reason I have a successful business is because I have a really good business plan”. “The reason I have a good job is because I went to a good school and I have a good GPA and I have a good resume”. So it’ all about reliance on yourself. And they have these, it’s actually a multi-hundreds of million dollars of industry, of the self-help and self-motivational industry which the beginning and the end of it is “You can do anything”, “You’re amazing”, “You don’t even realize your own power and your own potential”, and people pay thousands of dollars to go for a weekend to hear them say “Brush your own teeth and you can take your own flights or whatever”. And they get fired up because there’s this idea of the self, the power of the self. Which has some validity. But on the other hand, on the other extreme, there are people who say “I can’t do anything, I’m just a miskiin (a poor)”, “I’m just an ‘Abd of Allah”, “What am I, I’m not worth the dust of somebody’s feet”, “I’m nothing, I’m made of nutfa like Allah describe like this humble pathetic creature … then I can’t really do anything at all” They have no self-confidence at all. They say “Allah do everything, I do nothing”. And these people, you know what end up happening? They do nothing in life and when nothing happens they say “Well, Allah decided nothing should happen”. So they blame everything on Allah. On the one hand you have people that rely none on Allah, entirely on themselves. And on the other extreme you have people who rely only on Allah and put no effort themselves. This ayah, among many in the Quran, is an ayah of balance. *You* have to make commitment, *You* have to take action. But you’re the same one who has to understand that your commitment and your actions and your capability is in the hands of your Rabb. And He will only grant it to you when you tried to fulfill it. When you make the best of your efforts.
Sometimes your plans and Allah’s plans are the same. Sometimes. Sometimes you decide to go somewhere, and Allah decide to let you go also. Sometimes you decide to go to a college and Allah gives you admission to that college also. You decide to graduate early, Allah decide to graduate you early also. So things go according to your plan. All that means is your plan and Allah’s plan are the same. For that one thing. But sometimes your plan and Allah’s plan are not the same. Sometimes you wanna stay in that job for 10 years but you get fired after 6 months. Sometimes you applied to this school and you have the best application but you still didn’t get in and people with a worse application than you got in. It happens. Sometimes your plans and Allah’s plans are not the same. These ayat are recognizing that not everything will go according to “my plan”. “I will still have to make a plan, I still have to put in the effort, but at the end of the day, it’s Allah who will decide whether this plan will come through or not.” This is وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ
But then the most powerful part of this ayah, that I want to spend extra time on because this is really one of the most beautiful lessons in the entire Quran, in my opinion. If the Muslims understand this, their life become easy.
وَقُلْ عَسَىٰ أَن يَهْدِيَنِ رَبِّي لِأَقْرَبَ مِنْ هَٰذَا رَشَدًا
These words are a du’a. And more than a du’a, they are a statement of optimism. Let’s introduce it that way. You’re thinking about the future just because of the use of the word عَسَىٰ which is harfut taroji in the arabic language, a verbe used to express “hope”. Allah is teaching is in this ayah that the Muslim has to have hope in the future. “My iman in the Quran makes me optimistic about the future. I don’t care what the news says. I don’t care what happen yesterday, and the day before, and the day before, and the day before. I will not be among those Muslims who sit on the table and say ‘the situation of the ummah is getting worse and worse, and worse, oh my god, things are only gonna get much more terrible. And there’s another tragedy coming i guarantee you … watch what happens, you think 9/11 was bad? cuz it’s the anniversary now you think 9/11 was bad? Oh my god, that was nothing. Watch what happens to the ummah now and then watch happens now”, this attitude is directly against the ayah of this Book. Just in the word عَسَىٰ . You’re suppose to be full of optimisim and hope that Allah will make things better. For you, for the people around you, for humanity. You’re suppose to have that attitude. And then He says, that what you should say about your own future :
عَسَىٰ أَن يَهْدِيَنِ رَبِّي
[Perhaps my Master will guide me] … [He’ll give me guidance], what is the most optimistic thing you can have in your future. Everybody wants a better job. A better financial situation. Or a better family situation. A better health situation. We want all of these things. But you know what? The most fundamental thing you and I need, more essential than the oxygen that we’re breathing, is Allah’s guidance. So once you have that everything else will work out. When you don’t have that, you can have everything else and you have nothing. So in this ayah there’s an optimism that Allah will guide me. عَسَىٰ أَن يَهْدِيَنِ رَبِّي [That Allah, my Rabb, will guide me] … [My Master will not forget me] … “I remember Him when it comes to the future. He will remember me when it comes to the future. See, when I say ‘Insya Allah’, I remembered Him. And because I remembered Him when it came to the future, He will remember me. Now Allah is giving you the guarantee of guidance.
And again, here, an important thing for Muslims to understand, today so many people I meet around the world have the same question. Wallahil’ adziim. It doesn’t matter which part of the planet you go, people have the same confusions today. Same questions over and over again. And one of the most common question I hear is people say “You know there are so many different versions of Islam”, “So many different videos about what the Quran means or what Hadith means”, “…and some people believe in this and other people believe in that”, “this Sheikh give this fatwa, that one give that fatwa”, “Should I follow this or should I follow that? and somebody says this is halal and somebody says this is haram … I don’t know anything anymore. It’s all confusing! There’s so many variations. How am i supposed to get guidance? How do I know I even following the right thing? How am I suppose to know? It’s too much information for me to process!” And I agree. We are living in information overload. We are bombarded with so many different perspectives, even within Islam. Look at the audience that is sitting in this hall. Eventhough most of us we’re locals from this area, the way that you learned about Islam from the person next to you is very different. The teachers you’ve had, the people you’ve been exposed to, the lessons you’ve learned, they’re very different from each other. So there’s a lot of variation in how we’re exposed to Islam and a person gets overwhelmed and says “How am I suppose if I’m even following the right thing?” and you know what this ayah is the answer. I don’t guarantee guidance, YouTube doesn’t guarantee guidance. And Google doesn’t guarantee guidance. And people don’t guarantee guidance. It is our hope that Allah Himself will give me personally guidance. Guidance will not come from anywhere else. Whether you have no information or over-information that doesn’t matter. That Allah will guide you to the right course, depends on how much you ask Allah. Not anyone else. And once you’ve asked Allah, you don’t have to be nervous anymore. Because you have absolute certainty that Allah will give me guidance. He does not turn anyone away. Getting guidance from Allah is not difficult. It is not difficult. Allah has opened the door of guidance wide open for those who seek it. We just have to be people who seek it. That’s it.
I mean, this ayah belongs to Surah Al-Kahf. And I can’t talk enough about Surah Al-Kahf, as is evidenced in this khutbah. But these Ashabul Kahf, these People of the Cave, that we read about every Friday, these people have no Prophet around them, no ‘alim around them, no Sheikh around them, no Sahabi around them. They’re by themselves. And they live in a village where everybody worships idols, and they come to the conclusion that there can only be one God. They only say “We can’t worship these things”.
لَن نَّدْعُوَ مِن دُونِهِ إِلَٰهًا
(Al Kahf ayah 14), [We can’t worship other gods], and that was enough for Allah to guide them. With no knowledge. With no revelation. Nothing. That was enough for Allah to guide them, and guide them so much that today people who studied the deen for years and years study tafaseer of these young man who knew nothing compared to the ulama that learned from them. Because they got Allah’s guidance. Because Allah would give them guidance. It doesn’t matter how dark your situation is. How hopeless it is. When you have hope in Allah, it’s enough. That’s just enough.
لِأَقْرَبَ مِنْ هَٰذَا رَشَدًا
Now the last, and what I consider the most beautiful part of this expression, [Perhaps Allah will guide me …] Guide me to what? He says لِأَقْرَبَ مِنْ هَٰذَا رَشَدًا , you know the language in this is so profound, and in a khutbah I can’t give you grammar lessons because you’ll have a headache. So I’m gonna make this as simple as I can. In the arabic language, sometimes you say “over there” and sometimes you say “all the way over there”. When you say “all the way over there”, you’re saying that I’m guiding you to your destination. If you just say “over there”, maybe you get over there and you have to go somewhere else and somewhere else. But if I say “all the way over there” then I’ve told you that that’s where you have to go, you don’t have to go any further than that. When the لا (Lam) is used لِأَقْرَبَ , this لا what it suggest, this is al muntaha, there’s no higher thing to ask for in this dunya. “If you get this, there’s nothing better to ask for”, If the word إل was used then you get there then you go for something else and go for something else. You see? So what I’m asking Allah in this ayah and what you’re asking Allah in this ayah is for something that if you have it, there’s nothing better. It is the ultimate end. Now what is that ultimate end? He says لِأَقْرَبَ مِنْ هَٰذَا [Closer than this …], “I hope Allah will guide me closer … *All the way* closer than this”, what is the word “this” mean? “This” means where I am right now.
Let’s understand what this means, in simple language. All of us, alhamdulillah, have some degree of guidance. The fact that we’re sitting in the house of Allah in Jumu’ah means Allah has given us some guidance. Some people Allah has given more guidance, some Allah has given less guidance. Some have more knowledge, some have less knowledge. Some have better attention when they pray, some have less attention when they pray. We’re not all on the same level. That’s a fact. But you know what this du’a is telling you? “My ultimate goal is to get closer to Allah than I am today”, “I am not here to compare myself to someone else, I’m just here to compare myself from where I am right now”, “If I can just work on getting better than what I am right now, that is the ultimate success before Allah”. There is no higher success. You will never become perfect, I will never become perfect. All we can work on is becoming a little bit better, and then a little bit better, and then a little bit better. Just getting a little closer to Allah and a little closer. And if a person dies becoming closer to Allah, they’re successful. A lot of people you know what they do? They compare themselves to others. “This one’s already memorized the entire Quran”, “Look at how they recite”, “They’re at the masjid every single day”, “They’re there before the adhan is even called”, “They’re worshipping Allah so much more, “They’re so much more knowledgeable”, “They know arabic. They know tafsir. They know this. They know that”, “Or they dress better as Muslim than I do”. Don’t compare yourself with anybody else. That’s not what Allah wants. Allah is not gonna put you next to someone else and compare. He doesn’t even want you to compare yourself to others in dunya, forget akhirah. Not even in dunya.
وَلَا تَتَمَنَّوْا مَا فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ
[Don’t wish for what other people have what Allah has given some preferences over other, …]
An-Nisa ayah 32.
Don’t do that to yourself. So what are we learning, then? We’re learning that, for example, you’re starting to recite Quran today, you’re 35 years old, you haven’t even opened the Book for 30 years and you decide to start reading Quran today, you can’t even get through Bismillah. You don’t even know what a Ba looks like anymore. Now you have to learn like children. There are people who are your age who can read like adults, but you have to read like a child. But that’s okay. That’s okay. When you learn even that Alif or that Ba and you make a little bit closer to Allah and you die that way, maybe you’re better than even an ‘alim. Maybe you’re better than a hafidz of Quran, who memorize the whole Book but have no appreciation. Don’t want to make themselves a better person. Because who wants to make themselves a better person? It’s in the heart. And Allah knows that. So don’t underestimate where you are with Allah. People can underestimate you, Allah does not underestimate you. People make it sound like guidance from Allah is hard. It’s expensive. Doesn’t come easy. And Allah’s opening the doors of it wide open. He’s just asking for you and me to embrace it and say “Ya Allah, guide me! Bring me a little closer to yourself … لِأَقْرَبَ مِنْ هَٰذَا رَشَدًا in terms of uprightness, in terms of guidance”
Transcription of Nouman Ali Khan’s lecture by Raga Bintang (Faculty Of Law 2016)
Date : 12 Rabiuts-Tsani 1438 H/ 11th January 2017
Available in Bahasa : https://goo.gl/a3zXvb
***
وَلَا تَقُولَنَّ لِشَيْءٍ إِنِّي فَاعِلٌ ذَٰلِكَ غَدًا
إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ ۚ وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ وَقُلْ عَسَىٰ أَن يَهْدِيَنِ رَبِّي لِأَقْرَبَ مِنْ هَٰذَا رَشَدًا
(Al-Kahf ayah 23-24)
Allah said وَلَا تَقُولَنَّ لِشَيْءٍ إِنِّي فَاعِلٌ ذَٰلِكَ غَدًا. This is one ayah. Allah says, [Don’t you dare say that I am definitely going to do *that* tomorrow]. Don’t say that. Actually He doesn’t just say “Don’t say that …”, He said لَا تَقُولَنَّ… Don’t you *dare* say it. Ever. About anything that I am definitely doing that tomorrow. Now if you do that, if you stop at this ayah, there seems to be a problem. Because your boss says “You better hand in the assignment tomorrow”, you say “Yeah, definitely”, “Yeah I’ll do it tomorrow”, “Yeah sure sure, *insya Allah*”. And sometimes you say Insya Allah and sometimes you don’t say Insya Allah. But people make definite promises all the time.
“Are you going to the invitation?”, “Yeah yeah Im definitely going”
“Hey you’re going to jum’ah?”. “Yeah definitely definitely”
We say these definite things all the time. It is only in the next ayah that Allah completes the subject and He says إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ ۚ [With the exception that you say that Allah wills]. The only exception is I intend to do this fully, except if Allah wills. Meaning, this is why in the culture of the Muslims when we talk about the future we use the words Insya Allah [If Allah were to will]. “I’ll see you tomorrow at 3 o’clock, Insya Allah”. Meaning *if* Allah decides that I’m not able to see you that’s out of my control. My intention is there. But Allah’s plans can be different from my plans. So as far as my plans are concerned, I’m making a commitment. But if there’s a rainstorm or earthquake or my car shuts down, I don’t know. Allah can decide anything between today and tomorrow. The future is not in my hands. So I have to make that insurance claim. And say it’s in the hands of Allah because it’s in the future.
Muslims understand that the future is not in their hands. But here we have to understand a very powerful aspect of balance. The muslims, unfortunately, when we get further from the Book of Allah, even the beautiful teachings of our religion became ugly. They look beautiful on the surface, but when you don’t stay connected with the Book of Allah. You don’t stay connected with the Sunnah of the Messenger SAW. then those same thing that are suppose to be beautiful turn into something ugly. And this is what many of us are guilty of. So we say Insya Allah which means “probably not”. That’s what we do now. “Hey are you coming?”, “Eh, Insya Allah…” which means “Eh, I’m not sure…”. So “Insya Allah” is actually our way of getting out of making a commitment.
These ayat are not about escaping a commitment. As a matter of fact إِنِّي فَاعِلٌ ذَٰلِكَ غَدًا , are very strong words.
[*For sure*, I am absolutely going to do that tomorrow], making a statement of guarantee. And making a promise. And making a commitment that you’re definitely commited to doing, this is not the problem. As a matter of fact, that’s what you should do. You should, in fact, make strong commitments. You shouldn’t just casually say “Okay”. If you can’t do something say “I can’t do it”, if you can’t be there just say “I can’t be there”. But if you make a promise then commit to it. And then add “The only way this would not happen for me is if Allah decides something that’s beyond my control”. That’s لَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ .
لَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ does not mean “If I wake up late, I’m not coming” or “If I’m not in the mood”
You don’t use “Insya Allah” for that. That’s a misuse of this powerful phrase. You’re recognizing that not everything is in your control. Allah has given you the ability to make commitments and the capability of fulfilling your commitments. But even if you have some capability, Allah can stop you in your tracks with all of your intentions. This is the essence of the phrase لَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ but then Allah adds, He adds وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ [Mention your Rabb] … [Mention your Rabb when you forget] It’s interesting that Allah didn’t say *if* you forget, He said *when* you forget. And it’s a big difference between if and when. Because “if something happened” then it might not happen. But when you say “when you forget”, Allah is guaranteeing. Because Allah can give guarantees, I can’t. Allah is guaranteeing that you and I will forget. There will be times when we make promises about the future and we’re not going to remember to say “Insya Allah”.
We’re going to make plans in our head. Sometimes you don’t even say something. By the way Qaala yaquulu in arabic is not just speaking with your mouth, but even saying something to yourself. You know in English “I said to myself that idea”. Just the thought. Sometimes you have thoughts “I’m definitely doing this and that tomorrow”, *even* that thought should be accompanied with Insya Allah. Even that thought. Sometimes it’s not. Sometimes i just have it in my head. “Yeah this week this”, “Tomorrow this flight then this meeting”, “Okay, I got it, I got it”. But the thought of Insya Allah didn’t come in your head. And it should. Y’know sometimes you’re talking to someone on the phone and you make a promise about the future, “I’ll see you at dinner”, “Okay, I’ll see you”, “Assalamualaikum”, and you hanged up, and you “Ooh, I didn’t say Insya Allah”. And now that doesn’t mean you call them back and say “hey btw Insya Allah. Just want to leave you a voicemail. Insya Allah”. No, don’t do that. They don’t need to hear Insya Allah. Allah wants to hear you say it. You just say to your Rabb. وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ … Mention your Rabb when you forget. And this is a really beautiful language. [Remember Him when you forget], Allah didn’t say that. Allah say, [Remember your *Rabb*]. You see when Allah is already mentioned in the ayah, لَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ ۚ when Allah has already been mentioned. When someone’s mentioned by name, then the next time you mention him, you mention him with a pronoun. For instance to make this easy to understand, “Say if Allah wills and remember *Him* next time”. “Remember *Him* when you forget”. Now the word “Him” would refer to … Allah. But actually Allah doesn’t use the word “Him”, he doesn’t use the pronoun. He says “Rabb”. This is actually reinforcing the idea that you’re almost reintroducing yourself to the concept of Rabb with Allah. That Allah is in control of your future. He is your Rabb. He is your absolute Master. And you cannot lose sight of that. This is part of the authority of Allah on you that your future is in His hands. So Allah specifically when out on His way to say Rabbak Ilannasit رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ when it comes to us making commitments about the future. That it is, in fact, in Allah’s hands.
Now this is an incredible ayah of balance so far, because on one hand you are making the strongest guarantees إِنِّي فَاعِلٌ ذَٰلِكَ غَدًا .Those of you that are familiar with Arabic …. it’s not even a verb. It’s this commitment with a noun. With an ism fa’il. “I’m *absolutely* doing that tomorrow”. But then on the other hand, you have this absolute reliance on Allah too. And so we have to talk about this balance a few minutes before I move on.
There are some people in this world, they think they can do everything because of themselves. “I’m really intelligent”, “I have a really reliable car”, “I’m a really good driver”, “I know the best way to get there before I get late”, “I”, “I” , “I”, all the reliances on myself. “The reason I have a successful business is because I have a really good business plan”. “The reason I have a good job is because I went to a good school and I have a good GPA and I have a good resume”. So it’ all about reliance on yourself. And they have these, it’s actually a multi-hundreds of million dollars of industry, of the self-help and self-motivational industry which the beginning and the end of it is “You can do anything”, “You’re amazing”, “You don’t even realize your own power and your own potential”, and people pay thousands of dollars to go for a weekend to hear them say “Brush your own teeth and you can take your own flights or whatever”. And they get fired up because there’s this idea of the self, the power of the self. Which has some validity. But on the other hand, on the other extreme, there are people who say “I can’t do anything, I’m just a miskiin (a poor)”, “I’m just an ‘Abd of Allah”, “What am I, I’m not worth the dust of somebody’s feet”, “I’m nothing, I’m made of nutfa like Allah describe like this humble pathetic creature … then I can’t really do anything at all” They have no self-confidence at all. They say “Allah do everything, I do nothing”. And these people, you know what end up happening? They do nothing in life and when nothing happens they say “Well, Allah decided nothing should happen”. So they blame everything on Allah. On the one hand you have people that rely none on Allah, entirely on themselves. And on the other extreme you have people who rely only on Allah and put no effort themselves. This ayah, among many in the Quran, is an ayah of balance. *You* have to make commitment, *You* have to take action. But you’re the same one who has to understand that your commitment and your actions and your capability is in the hands of your Rabb. And He will only grant it to you when you tried to fulfill it. When you make the best of your efforts.
Sometimes your plans and Allah’s plans are the same. Sometimes. Sometimes you decide to go somewhere, and Allah decide to let you go also. Sometimes you decide to go to a college and Allah gives you admission to that college also. You decide to graduate early, Allah decide to graduate you early also. So things go according to your plan. All that means is your plan and Allah’s plan are the same. For that one thing. But sometimes your plan and Allah’s plan are not the same. Sometimes you wanna stay in that job for 10 years but you get fired after 6 months. Sometimes you applied to this school and you have the best application but you still didn’t get in and people with a worse application than you got in. It happens. Sometimes your plans and Allah’s plans are not the same. These ayat are recognizing that not everything will go according to “my plan”. “I will still have to make a plan, I still have to put in the effort, but at the end of the day, it’s Allah who will decide whether this plan will come through or not.” This is وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ
But then the most powerful part of this ayah, that I want to spend extra time on because this is really one of the most beautiful lessons in the entire Quran, in my opinion. If the Muslims understand this, their life become easy.
وَقُلْ عَسَىٰ أَن يَهْدِيَنِ رَبِّي لِأَقْرَبَ مِنْ هَٰذَا رَشَدًا
These words are a du’a. And more than a du’a, they are a statement of optimism. Let’s introduce it that way. You’re thinking about the future just because of the use of the word عَسَىٰ which is harfut taroji in the arabic language, a verbe used to express “hope”. Allah is teaching is in this ayah that the Muslim has to have hope in the future. “My iman in the Quran makes me optimistic about the future. I don’t care what the news says. I don’t care what happen yesterday, and the day before, and the day before, and the day before. I will not be among those Muslims who sit on the table and say ‘the situation of the ummah is getting worse and worse, and worse, oh my god, things are only gonna get much more terrible. And there’s another tragedy coming i guarantee you … watch what happens, you think 9/11 was bad? cuz it’s the anniversary now you think 9/11 was bad? Oh my god, that was nothing. Watch what happens to the ummah now and then watch happens now”, this attitude is directly against the ayah of this Book. Just in the word عَسَىٰ . You’re suppose to be full of optimisim and hope that Allah will make things better. For you, for the people around you, for humanity. You’re suppose to have that attitude. And then He says, that what you should say about your own future :
عَسَىٰ أَن يَهْدِيَنِ رَبِّي
[Perhaps my Master will guide me] … [He’ll give me guidance], what is the most optimistic thing you can have in your future. Everybody wants a better job. A better financial situation. Or a better family situation. A better health situation. We want all of these things. But you know what? The most fundamental thing you and I need, more essential than the oxygen that we’re breathing, is Allah’s guidance. So once you have that everything else will work out. When you don’t have that, you can have everything else and you have nothing. So in this ayah there’s an optimism that Allah will guide me. عَسَىٰ أَن يَهْدِيَنِ رَبِّي [That Allah, my Rabb, will guide me] … [My Master will not forget me] … “I remember Him when it comes to the future. He will remember me when it comes to the future. See, when I say ‘Insya Allah’, I remembered Him. And because I remembered Him when it came to the future, He will remember me. Now Allah is giving you the guarantee of guidance.
And again, here, an important thing for Muslims to understand, today so many people I meet around the world have the same question. Wallahil’ adziim. It doesn’t matter which part of the planet you go, people have the same confusions today. Same questions over and over again. And one of the most common question I hear is people say “You know there are so many different versions of Islam”, “So many different videos about what the Quran means or what Hadith means”, “…and some people believe in this and other people believe in that”, “this Sheikh give this fatwa, that one give that fatwa”, “Should I follow this or should I follow that? and somebody says this is halal and somebody says this is haram … I don’t know anything anymore. It’s all confusing! There’s so many variations. How am i supposed to get guidance? How do I know I even following the right thing? How am I suppose to know? It’s too much information for me to process!” And I agree. We are living in information overload. We are bombarded with so many different perspectives, even within Islam. Look at the audience that is sitting in this hall. Eventhough most of us we’re locals from this area, the way that you learned about Islam from the person next to you is very different. The teachers you’ve had, the people you’ve been exposed to, the lessons you’ve learned, they’re very different from each other. So there’s a lot of variation in how we’re exposed to Islam and a person gets overwhelmed and says “How am I suppose if I’m even following the right thing?” and you know what this ayah is the answer. I don’t guarantee guidance, YouTube doesn’t guarantee guidance. And Google doesn’t guarantee guidance. And people don’t guarantee guidance. It is our hope that Allah Himself will give me personally guidance. Guidance will not come from anywhere else. Whether you have no information or over-information that doesn’t matter. That Allah will guide you to the right course, depends on how much you ask Allah. Not anyone else. And once you’ve asked Allah, you don’t have to be nervous anymore. Because you have absolute certainty that Allah will give me guidance. He does not turn anyone away. Getting guidance from Allah is not difficult. It is not difficult. Allah has opened the door of guidance wide open for those who seek it. We just have to be people who seek it. That’s it.
I mean, this ayah belongs to Surah Al-Kahf. And I can’t talk enough about Surah Al-Kahf, as is evidenced in this khutbah. But these Ashabul Kahf, these People of the Cave, that we read about every Friday, these people have no Prophet around them, no ‘alim around them, no Sheikh around them, no Sahabi around them. They’re by themselves. And they live in a village where everybody worships idols, and they come to the conclusion that there can only be one God. They only say “We can’t worship these things”.
لَن نَّدْعُوَ مِن دُونِهِ إِلَٰهًا
(Al Kahf ayah 14), [We can’t worship other gods], and that was enough for Allah to guide them. With no knowledge. With no revelation. Nothing. That was enough for Allah to guide them, and guide them so much that today people who studied the deen for years and years study tafaseer of these young man who knew nothing compared to the ulama that learned from them. Because they got Allah’s guidance. Because Allah would give them guidance. It doesn’t matter how dark your situation is. How hopeless it is. When you have hope in Allah, it’s enough. That’s just enough.
لِأَقْرَبَ مِنْ هَٰذَا رَشَدًا
Now the last, and what I consider the most beautiful part of this expression, [Perhaps Allah will guide me …] Guide me to what? He says لِأَقْرَبَ مِنْ هَٰذَا رَشَدًا , you know the language in this is so profound, and in a khutbah I can’t give you grammar lessons because you’ll have a headache. So I’m gonna make this as simple as I can. In the arabic language, sometimes you say “over there” and sometimes you say “all the way over there”. When you say “all the way over there”, you’re saying that I’m guiding you to your destination. If you just say “over there”, maybe you get over there and you have to go somewhere else and somewhere else. But if I say “all the way over there” then I’ve told you that that’s where you have to go, you don’t have to go any further than that. When the لا (Lam) is used لِأَقْرَبَ , this لا what it suggest, this is al muntaha, there’s no higher thing to ask for in this dunya. “If you get this, there’s nothing better to ask for”, If the word إل was used then you get there then you go for something else and go for something else. You see? So what I’m asking Allah in this ayah and what you’re asking Allah in this ayah is for something that if you have it, there’s nothing better. It is the ultimate end. Now what is that ultimate end? He says لِأَقْرَبَ مِنْ هَٰذَا [Closer than this …], “I hope Allah will guide me closer … *All the way* closer than this”, what is the word “this” mean? “This” means where I am right now.
Let’s understand what this means, in simple language. All of us, alhamdulillah, have some degree of guidance. The fact that we’re sitting in the house of Allah in Jumu’ah means Allah has given us some guidance. Some people Allah has given more guidance, some Allah has given less guidance. Some have more knowledge, some have less knowledge. Some have better attention when they pray, some have less attention when they pray. We’re not all on the same level. That’s a fact. But you know what this du’a is telling you? “My ultimate goal is to get closer to Allah than I am today”, “I am not here to compare myself to someone else, I’m just here to compare myself from where I am right now”, “If I can just work on getting better than what I am right now, that is the ultimate success before Allah”. There is no higher success. You will never become perfect, I will never become perfect. All we can work on is becoming a little bit better, and then a little bit better, and then a little bit better. Just getting a little closer to Allah and a little closer. And if a person dies becoming closer to Allah, they’re successful. A lot of people you know what they do? They compare themselves to others. “This one’s already memorized the entire Quran”, “Look at how they recite”, “They’re at the masjid every single day”, “They’re there before the adhan is even called”, “They’re worshipping Allah so much more, “They’re so much more knowledgeable”, “They know arabic. They know tafsir. They know this. They know that”, “Or they dress better as Muslim than I do”. Don’t compare yourself with anybody else. That’s not what Allah wants. Allah is not gonna put you next to someone else and compare. He doesn’t even want you to compare yourself to others in dunya, forget akhirah. Not even in dunya.
وَلَا تَتَمَنَّوْا مَا فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ
[Don’t wish for what other people have what Allah has given some preferences over other, …]
An-Nisa ayah 32.
Don’t do that to yourself. So what are we learning, then? We’re learning that, for example, you’re starting to recite Quran today, you’re 35 years old, you haven’t even opened the Book for 30 years and you decide to start reading Quran today, you can’t even get through Bismillah. You don’t even know what a Ba looks like anymore. Now you have to learn like children. There are people who are your age who can read like adults, but you have to read like a child. But that’s okay. That’s okay. When you learn even that Alif or that Ba and you make a little bit closer to Allah and you die that way, maybe you’re better than even an ‘alim. Maybe you’re better than a hafidz of Quran, who memorize the whole Book but have no appreciation. Don’t want to make themselves a better person. Because who wants to make themselves a better person? It’s in the heart. And Allah knows that. So don’t underestimate where you are with Allah. People can underestimate you, Allah does not underestimate you. People make it sound like guidance from Allah is hard. It’s expensive. Doesn’t come easy. And Allah’s opening the doors of it wide open. He’s just asking for you and me to embrace it and say “Ya Allah, guide me! Bring me a little closer to yourself … لِأَقْرَبَ مِنْ هَٰذَا رَشَدًا in terms of uprightness, in terms of guidance”
The last word in this ayah رَشَدًا actually acknowledges that the fact that you’re making this du’a means that you’re already in some kind of guidance. That you shouldn’t say that I’m misguided. It already acknowledge that the fact that Allah gave you the *ability* to make this du’a, itself is a gift of guidance from Him. And Allah will give you more. And He will give you more. And He will give you more. This is the optimism of the Muslim. When guidance comes in this world, then tuma’nina comes, ‘itminan comes, of a heart becomes tranquil. And this is what I want to conclude with. When a heart becomes tranquil, when a heart becomes at peace, then the people around that person, the peace is infectious. The iman is infectious. Peace spreads in the family. Peace spreads among friends. Peace spreads in a community … when guidance comes. If the problem of the world is conflict, hatred. If the problem of the world is war. Then the solution to that is not other policies or more weapons. That’s not the solution. It’s not economic sanctions. What humanity needs is guidance. Because without guidance, you can’t have peace. You just can’t. This is what we’re asking Allah. When you and I make du’a for peace in the world. For peace in the muslim lands. For peace of those who are oppressed. When we make those du’as, then we’re actually directly asking Allah to increase us and the world around us in guidance. May Allah azza Wajal increase all of us in guidance, and make us of those who are positive about their future, their own future, the future of their children, the future of this ummah and the future of the world over. This entire world, we have to be concerned for. Not just our own ummah, the entire world. We are the minna of Ibrahim as., Ibrahim alayhisalam used to be concerned for all of humanity. That is the legacy that we’ve inherited. So we have to be optimistic about the entire world. May Allah azza wajal make us that way and make our future generation a beaming example of what it means to live the beautiful teachings of this Book and the Sunnah.
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