Juz 22: Appreciating Muhammad ﷺ | Sh. Omar Hajjaj | Season 7

When Allah gives you more, do more. 

Sh. Omar Hajjaj joins Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Abdullah Oduro to reflect on what true gratitude to Allah really looks like, following the example of the Prophet ﷺ. Instead of taking Allah’s countless blessings for granted, we’re reminded to express our gratitude through action: serve your community, increase in good deeds, and use every blessing you’ve been given in ways that please Allah.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:05

No matter who you are, where you've been in your life, how many mistakes you committed, how far you believe you are from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala doesn't see you as far away from him.

SPEAKER_00 0:17

I just came away from this juz like with an immense sense of gratitude to the Prophet because it just dawned upon me like how much he had to go through. Oh believers, salu alayhi. Right? Send your prayers upon him, send your salam upon him, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. As Allah and the angels do.

SPEAKER_04 0:32

So that's what's so beautiful about Al-Fatah because we say the opener, you know, what's so deep is that those doors are probably already open. You just haven't seen it yet.

SPEAKER_00 0:46

Assalaamu alaikum rahmatullah rikat, everyone. Welcome back to Quran 30 for 30. Alhamdulillah, as we are in the last ten nights, we want to remind you all the Idnullah to please keep us in your dua and to please support Yaqeen. This is the time in which we rely most on your support. You're still on just the second of these last ten. If you'd like to plug in, inshaAllah donate for the remaining 10, the remaining odd nights, whatever it may be, please do at the link below, inshaAllah. This is the time we count most on your generosity, and we pray that you've benefited and you've seen the growth of Yaqeen alhamdulillah, and that's only possible first and foremost by the grace of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and then your support. Alhamdulillah Rahmeen, we're blessed to have my brother from Liftas. MashaAllah, where's your father's from? Yafa. Yafa, masha'Allah. Shaykh Ammar Hajjaj, Alhamdulillah. The British Palestinian. There's something about British Palestinians, man. Something doesn't match about those. You know, it's like American Palestinians are confused. Palestinian Americans are confused with like Palestinian Brits like uh Kaifyani, the colonizer and the colonized. How does that work? True, true, true. You integrated into the the Khalas like he just um it's a hard question. I mean let me think about it. Think security first. So how's it like being a British Palestinian? Palestinian Brit.

SPEAKER_02 2:07

Why should I say Shaykh Abdullah?

unknown 2:09

I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 2:11

Balfour.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

You know what? Serious, serious question though. What is unique about there aren't many like it's not a huge community. There's actually a much bigger Palestinian-American community, Palestinian British community. What's it like?

SPEAKER_02 2:24

I have I have more family in America than in the UK.

SPEAKER_00 2:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

That's where yeah, you came and you got welcomed. They had a whole like uh mashallah.

SPEAKER_02 2:35

Yeah, you're right. There's there's probably not more than 50,000 of us in the UK. Wow. Very small number.

SPEAKER_01 2:40

Very small number.

SPEAKER_02 2:41

I think Britain got away with it. Like not many people speak about Britain's role in uh in terms of the the new entity um or the occupation. It's quite interesting how much they got away with it. They looked like the good guys. Yeah. They facilitated everything and then they withdrew. And they said it's not our problem anymore.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

Sounds very British, that's the same thing. So Shaykhana, more like a spiritual question. Yeah. The first one is where in the last ten nights, if you are giving someone like the most unique advice, something you don't hear much in the last ten night reminders, what do you tell someone about how to take advantage of these last ten nights?

SPEAKER_02 3:24

The last ten nights, of course, these are the nights where subhanAllah the most amount of uh blessings uh descend, sakeenah, tranquility, millions or uncountable angels descend, the rahmeh of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala descends, and as you know, the month of Ramadan is the month of Quran, but in particular the last ten nights, the Prophet will exhaust so much effort in terms of ibadah, but in particular the Quran, connecting with the Quran. And we know the special virtue of just reciting the Quran in the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, where the Prophet Muhammad said, not a group of people that gather in one of the houses of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, for the sake of reciting the Quran, except that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will descend, will allow the sakeina, the tranquility, the peace in someone's heart to descend, and would allow the angels to spread their wings over them and the rahmeh of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So never like lose hope, no matter who you are, where you've been in your life, how many mistakes you committed, how far you believe you are from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala doesn't see you as far away from him. Allah subhanAllah. So especially in the last 10 nights, connect with Allah, speak to Allah, you know, through making dua. This is how we can speak to Allah by making dua, speaking to him in any language from your heart, and Allah speaks to us through the Quran. Beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

And uh your life can change in these last nights, subhanAllah. Ta'i Shaykh Ambra, the other question: what's your favorite name of Allah right now? Al-Fattah. Right now. Oh, perfect. Uh in this instance.

SPEAKER_00 5:14

The name we'll talk about, inshaAllah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

The names of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

I mean, as we come to Jas 22, you know, last juz we talked about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as the author of history. All right, Suram. Then you get into Al-Ahzab, the author of history, the ultimate author of history. And subhanAllah, as you come into Juz 22, Allah is the opener of impossible situations in history too. And as reflecting on how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala talks about Himself in this juz, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala talks about how people felt when they thought they were in an impossible situation. So Allah mentions like you think of that scene, the hearts reaching the throats. Like you are at the point where you think destruction is imminent, where you have absolutely no end in sight to your tragedy and you have no way of overcoming your enemy. And I think that subhanAllah, that's truly indicative of how so many of us feel at various points in these days where you know the oppressors seem to have like you know this control of everything, right? Like they shut that path off. They shut, okay, they just broke another international law. Okay, they just took over something else. Okay, it just got that much more impossible. And when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions like that really exemplifies how we feel sometimes, right? The hearts reaching the throats. Imagine being in that place where you really see no opening, no fateh. And you can only look to Al-Fatah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, to open up a way for you. And so that's one thing that I noticed of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, how he speaks about himself, you know, building upon what we already have from Surah and going into Al-ahzab. But also the Allah Azza being the guardian of those that he loves, particularly the Prophet. And here's the thing Allah Azza will make incredible openings for someone that he loves. Like, you know, we talk about, and you were just talking about this right now, how much Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will extend of his rope to a sinner, to someone who's going far away from him, and Allah calls him back. What about the one who exerts himself for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? How much more will Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala open for him? And there's no one more beloved to him, subhanahu wa ta'ala, than the Prophet. And so in this ju'z, innallahua ikatahu, yusaluna alan nabi. Allah and his angels send their praise on the Messenger of Allah, their prayers on the Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Not just on Laylatul Qadr, not just in the last ten nights. It's a constant praise and prayer being showered on the Messenger of Allah without pause. Right? So, how much did Allah open for his Prophet? He literally opened his heart, cleansed his heart, alayhi salatu was a facilitated for him in ways that no historian, that no political scientist could ever predict or go back and say this looked like it was going to happen. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala opened and opened and opened. But before that, Anam Nashah Sadrak, Allah opened the heart of the Prophet, removed the burden, and the heart of the Prophet was full of the love of Allah Azza. So there's something here about like who Allah will open for. For anyone who seeks Him, Allah Azza will make sure that there is something to be sought that is greater, right? There's you won't put in effort and be rejected. But the more that you exert yourself in your love of him, the more that things are going to happen that are quote unquote supernatural beyond anyone else's prediction or control. And that is definitely the case as we see here in this juz. So this is not just like Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala telling us to send our peace and blessings then on the Prophet to send our salawat on the Prophet. When Allah Azwajal says that He does so, then that's like divine endorsement of the Prophet. Like I love him, I send salawat on him. So you should as well, O believers, salu alayhi, right? Send your prayers upon him, send your salaam upon him, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, as Allah and the angels do. Then I'll say one other thing I noticed about this juz is Allah mentions that he and the angels send their prayers upon the Prophet and Allah ends uh you aladina amaru, la takunu kalladina aadu musa for barraumina qalu. Right? Allah says, Don't be like those who harmed Musa alayhi salam. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala frees Musa alayhi salam from those who harmed him. And Allah is telling us not to harm the Prophet the way that Musa Islam was harmed. And then you go to the end of the juz, Surah Yaseen, Ya hasrat, Ma'ayati Him al-Rasulin, right? Illa kanubi yastahaziun. You know, woe to the servants, right? No messenger comes to them except that they used to mock him, right? That that they used to make fun of him and in some cases kill the messenger, right? Which is the case in Surah Yaseen. So the adab that we should have with the Messenger of Allah, the way we should behave with the Messenger of Allah is definitely put there. And I just came away from this juz like with an immense sense of gratitude to the Prophet because it just dawned upon me like how much he had to go through, right? And that's also part of it, like Allah Azar dal talking about the hardship that he went through. He was in the trench, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and you know, the hearts were in the throats, and the Prophet also had to deal with hardship from the community as well. He had to deal with adh, constant adha, constant harm. And yes, Allah opened up great things for this ummah, but the one who was chosen as the vehicle was the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. So all those openings came through the Prophet, right? So there's an immense sense of gratitude, a debt of gratitude that we owe him, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, uh, as well. So those were my thoughts, you know, first and foremost, the opener of history. And we'll talk about Al-Fatah in a bit, inshaAllah, but the one who opened the heart of the Prophet and opened impossible situations and made uh made these things happen for us.

SPEAKER_04 11:34

I mean, subhanAllah, when you think about uh, you know, in this Jews, I think it was they're talking about uh sabba, you know, and and and giving da'wah. And uh what's so beautiful about giving dawah in the deen of Islam and knowing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is having tiqah and being sure of who he is and his capabilities.

SPEAKER_02 11:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 11:53

When you have surety and confidence in Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, by his names and attributes and his capabilities, it is always an opportunity for you to become stronger in who you are as a human being and in who you are as a Muslim. Because the more confidence you have in Allah, the more confidence you have in yourself and your capabilities. So always using any trial or tribulation and any any fortune, good things that you have, like the people, you know, sub themselves, the the fortune that you have is to, you know, when you're giving time things of good, things that you want or even more than you expect, it could be a test from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So having confidence in Allah that you will be thankful to Him and thankful to the ones that have given you what Allah has chosen. In the same token, when things are taken away from you, the goal is to have the same attitude. It's to be Alhamdulillah, alaqlihal. As I used to say about the Prophet, is you're praising Allah in every situation. And that is the affair of the mu'min. Ajab bin Liam al-Mu'min. In the awhu kulahulhu khyy qair. As the Prophet said, Yeah, the affair of the mu'min belie amazes me. For verily every situation for him is good. Al-Hadith. And this is important because when looking at, you know, with Allah, I love the hadith that the Prophet where he talks to the companions and he tells them that you are like a ghut'ah is-seer in Yasabikum al-Wahl.

unknown 13:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:07

He said you will be like the foam on the ocean. And what's beautiful about this hadith is that some of the scholars mentioned the foam on the ocean, like the little bubbles on the ocean, that they sometimes they stick together and then they separate.

SPEAKER_03 13:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:19

So two characteristics of them is one of them is that there's no substance. It's so light, it has nothing. And also that they will end up separating because they're just going with the wave.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:29

And you have no effect in this dunya. You have no effect with people. You have no effect when you're calling people to your way of life, whether the way that you act or how you talk, how you carry yourself as a Muslim. So that hadith is so beautiful because it is the faith, it is the belief in God, and that's your purpose of life. When understanding that purpose and trying your best to live through that purpose with Allah being al-Ghafur and at the same time al-fatah, the one that forgives you for the mistakes that you have, and then also opening doors that hopefully you'll recognize that when whatever is given to you, it's given to me by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and I'm okay with that, and I'm thankful. And whatever is taken away from me, it's taken away from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala ultimately, and I'm thankful as well because I have good thoughts about him. I'm confident about what he has done, therefore I'm confident in myself and my capabilities from what he has done. And that is what how the Muslim has substance. The substance because they have that initial belief in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and that is what brings them the ultimate tranquility, not anything outside of themselves. Rather, it is that initial tranquility, ease, which emanates from knowledge of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So when you're seeing you know with the people of Saba and what they've been given and how they're being called to Islam, and how subhanAllah it's more of the internal, the introspection that you need to start with in order to be successful.

SPEAKER_02 14:50

That's what's so beautiful about this, is just summarize the life of the Prophet, the hadith that you mentioned, that uh strange the affairs of the believer. So when anything difficult or hardship happens, he is patient and that is good for him. And when good things happen to him, he is shakir, he is grateful, he shows gratitude to Allah, that's also good for him. And the Prophet Muhammad was the most selfless individuals. He was actually thinking about us when he was going through the hardship to deliver the message. And he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he was a visionary person where he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said there'll be messengers and prophets on the day of judgment, some with a few followers, some with many followers. I wish to be the messenger where I can boast to Allah with the amount of followers I have. And this is what made the Prophet strive and not give up and his strength. So can you imagine, for example, Aamil Huzan, the year of sadness, where his most beloved uh Khadijahu and Hashim died, and his beloved uncle, who was like the governor or the chief of Mecca, who was protecting him in Mecca, he also died. And the companions were being tortured, some were exiled. Yet he still decided to go to Ta'if to spread the message. Any of the du'a today, if they have like a media campaign against them, some might might give up and say, Do you know what maybe that was not for me? But the Prophet, regardless of all these situations and circumstances, he went to Ta'if. And even Ta'if, the tribes there, they rejected his message, they mocked him. They abused him, they physically abused him as well. And the Prophet here is nearly 50, he's not young. And he's in this mountain in Ta'if, and he's walking back to Mecca with no results, and he's resting under the tree. And the angels said, Ya Rasulullah, just command us. If you want us to uh these two mountains around these tribes, we can crush them right now. But he was a merciful Prophet and hopeful. He sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, Allahum Rahfilya, alumun. Oh Allah, forgive, guide my people. He still called them Qawmi, my people, for they do not know, they are ignorant. And subhanAllah, some of the greatest tribes became Muslim from Ta'if. From them is the Taqhafi tribe who governed Iraq and had a good contribution towards the Islamic uh civilization, Islamic State in the future from the Prophet. So two occasions where the Prophet went through hardship, yeah, he was thabit, steadfast, and he was sabir. And when good things happened, he was shakir. So when Aisha radiallahu anha she narrated that the Prophet was praying qiyam, and he was praying so much that you know it was affecting his body. And Aisha said, Ya Rasulullah, you are Rasulullah, Allah forgive your past and future sins. But his responses were strange. Yes, said, Afala akunna abdin shakurah, if Allah granted me this position, should I not therefore be a grateful servant? And what we can learn from this is when Allah gives you more, do more. If Allah gives you more money, give more sadaqah to Yaqeen as well. There you go. If Allah gives you like a position uh in in or in in society, help more people, do more shafa'a hasana, do good um words or of recommendations where you can help people get jobs, where you can help people get married, where you can help people in society, Allah gave you this position. So a shuqr uh who aladdhi y istah, uh shakir who alledi yastahtim and ni'am fiatillah, a true believer who's grateful, he uses the blessings Allah gave him to please him, subhanahu wa ta'ala, and he doesn't use these blessings to disobey him, subhanahu wa ta'ala.

SPEAKER_00 18:53

Zakallah, beautiful reflection, subhanAllah. If you notice there's a trend right away, the heart. The heart reached the throat from fear. Alam nashrahlaq. Did we not open your heart when the Prophet talks about us becoming like wutha's say, like the foam? Because you have Al-Wahan, fiqhulubikum, fiqhulubikum, al-wahan. You have in your hearts, dunya, you love the world too much and you hate death too much. So it's a condition of the heart. Bigger hearts can take on bigger missions. And the one who can open the heart is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And when Allah opens your heart, you have more capacity, bigger things happen for you as well. Right? So the the biggest opening that can happen is the opening of the heart. Before the opening of history and the opening of this and the opening of that. And when we talk about Saba, right? They had everything, but their hearts were constricted. So they did not see the blessing of revelation, the blessing of their messenger, or the material blessings around them, because there was constriction in the heart. So when we talk about Al-Fatah, oh Allah, open our hearts towards your rightful guidance. And so I want to come to this verse, uh 26, actually in Saba, where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, say that our Lord will gather us together, then he will judge between us with the truth. And he is Al-Fatah Al-Alim. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the opener and the all-knowing. Now, I think this is the this is actually the only time in the Quran Al-Fatah has used, the name Al-Fatah has used. What do you take from this verse in context of what we've been speaking about here?

SPEAKER_04 20:36

Al-Fatah, I was reading in the zafasir. One of the names and even some translations you'll see Al-Fah being translated as uh the legislator or the hakim. Uh Yaqkum bainana. And this is important because you know it shows that level of confidence that when you're calling that person, it's like you're saying, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah is the one that's going to legislate between us. And what's beautiful about it being understood as a hakim is because, or the legislator, is because his legislation may open doors for you in a way that you never anticipated. Or because of its legislation, things will be brought to light. The haqq. And that's why he said bil haqq in the verse. So that's what's so beautiful about Al-Fatah, because we say the opener, but in this context of giving da'wah, in this context of being confident of your message and the fath that he's placed in your heart, as Shaykh Urma mentioned, you have that confidence. Therefore, he is well aware, Alim, of the reason why he legislated this way.

SPEAKER_03 21:35

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 21:35

And that's why I love subhanAllah from you know from the richness of the Quranic messages, mentioning the names at the end, to always look back at the context and then look at yourself in regards to that context. Like if I'm talking to you know a non Muslim relative or someone that even may be Muslim and you know they're trying to come around their own. It's like, look, it's the last 20, which 22, there's eight days left. Come to the masjid. You know, it's you the the the there's eight days left. Left, what am I doing? Am I giving 110%? The fact that I'm here, Allah has opened doors for me, right? You're thinking about the legislation of when Allah legislate on that day, and then it causes a level of fear that is built off of love, right? So in seeing that Allah is al-fatah, I like I like how it's mentioned, how the scholars mentioned in this context, it could be al-haqam because he is the one that's going to ultimately legislate from what is happening, and he is well knowledgeable of my situation, well knowledgeable of your situation, because he is the one that has created these situations. But in the same token, what is our level of responsibility towards him? Which starts with knowledge of him. So when I think of a fatah, I particularly think of yes, he opened the door for me, he opened the door for this person, something that I didn't anticipate, but it also tur ties into the qadr of Allah.

SPEAKER_03 22:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 22:49

How Allah legislated for this to happen, and with his knowledge, with his ability, right? And his in his creating this particular event. And it always comes back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And that's what I really, really see when I see this name in this context, particularly. Allahu Alam.

SPEAKER_02 23:07

I think like the lay Muslims, they use Al-Fatta in a way where like it's attributed to rizakh, you know, provision and money and wealth. So they will make a regular dua Allah alaina, you know. Um especially when things are difficult because doors can be closed, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala could have other doors open for you. So always have that yaqeen and certainty. Allah knows and you do not know. But in this ayah in particular, uh Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, okay, Rabbuna, our Lord, He's gonna bring us all together. Muslim, non-Muslim, rich, powerful, poor, weak, Advalim, Al-Madloom, Al-Hakim, Al-Maqum, the king, the lay person. Now is the truth. Now is the time for real judgment. And now is a time where everyone's haqq will be given. Allah Al-Fattah, Al-Alim, who knows everything, and the ultimate judge. This is when things matter, truly matter.

SPEAKER_00 24:14

So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will open the records. Some of the ulma mentioned that this is one of the you know, the the takeaways from this verse, too. Imagine the earth when it's been shattered, crumbled, and then it opens back up and the secrets come out of it. So the records are opened, and it's files are opened, and the reward is also opened. The gates to Jannah are opened, right? The pathways to paradise, as well as the opening of the gates of hellfire for those who uh deserve it. May Allah protect us. Allah Amin. But I guess in these last ten nights subhan, I'll I'll end with this. I'm just thinking about like how many hearts will be open towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that have been shut for so long. How many pathways between the heavens and the earth are being opened for the angels to come through these lanes, right? There's no time in which there are more angels that are coming down, right? The lanes are open. It's like traffic now, you know. Traffic is there, right? It's like London, right? You talk about the roads, the roads in London are always traffic, man. You can't get two miles without taking an hour, right? But think about the traffic of the angels. The lanes are all open, but that's the amount of opening that's happening. Allah opening the hearts, the opening of mercy, the opening of reward. Like it's open for you now. Forgiveness, mercy, reward, jannah. But you have to open up your heart to the possibility of guidance and let it guide, let Allah Azzawjal al-Hadi, Al-Fatah, guide you and open your heart to the next step, Biddina, and your journey towards Him. So I think just this last thing, Shaykh Abdullah, I'll come back to you. Someone that feels like my path to Allah has been shut. I've just put too many barriers between me and Allah to think about a door opening for me. What do you tell them, Shaykh, just as a takeaway for them?

SPEAKER_04 26:02

SubhanAllah, you're still living, you're still breathing, but that means something. You have to remember the fact that you're still breathing, and on top of that, you're still healthy, you have conscious conscience. Take advantage of that with the one that you know created it. If you're thinking about that right now, the fact that you have that thought is a blessing. So it's always about what are you doing with that blessing? And then realizing that the one that is giving you that blessing can open many other doors open. And the thing is, you know, it's so deep is that those doors are probably already open. You just haven't seen it yet. So the fact that you're seeing it in your conscious, that's a blessing, which opens another door to another blessing that's already been there and it's waiting for you. So Ramadan, this beautiful month, it's waiting for you, and making that effort is is a blessing, and there's much more behind that.

SPEAKER_00 26:51

He who opened your heart to wanting to be guided will open you, inshaAllah, to his forgiveness as well. He who opened your mind will guide it, Bidna Nai Ta. Zakma Allah Khayran, zaklakla khair shahumar, zaklalla khair shaqal.

SPEAKER_01 27:06

Blessing.

SPEAKER_00 27:07

Reminder to everyone else again, inshaAllah ta'h. Last ten nights, please do bidnana. Keep us in your dua. And inshaAllah ta'a, donate if you can uh to Yahee and Bidnana. We'll see you all tomorrow night inshaAllahikum raham raqata.