The Solution to Escape Hardship | Khutbah Highlight | Nouman Ali Khan
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00:00The Prophet ﷺ is being told,
00:02even if you're going through the most darkest of times,
00:05the humanity was in much darker times,
00:08and this Qur'an came.
00:09So don't worry,
00:10when you commit to the Qur'an at Fajr time,
00:12no matter what dark times you're going through,
00:14light is on the horizon.
00:16In today's khutbah, I'd like to share with you
00:18that the purpose of these few minutes
00:20that I have with you,
00:22is to try and share some lessons
00:23about one single prayer
00:25that Allah teaches us in the Qur'an.
00:26And of the ayat that I recited from the 17th surah,
00:30surah al-Isra, that was the last of them.
00:32وَقُلْ رَبِّي أَدْخِلْنِي مُطْصَلَ صِدْقٍ
00:34وَأَخْرِجْ لِمُصْلَجَ صِدْقٍ
00:36وَاجْعَلْنِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ سُلْطَانًا نَسِيرًا
00:38It's a very powerful and beautiful prayer
00:40that can benefit believers throughout their lives.
00:43But the purpose of this khutbah
00:44is to get to that prayer by the end.
00:46I wanna give you some background and some history,
00:48that you can appreciate where this prayer came from,
00:51and how it benefited first and foremost
00:53our Messenger ﷺ.
00:55And by extension, it benefits all of us.
00:58Because the first thing that Muslims understand,
01:00believers understand,
01:02is the purpose of prayer,
01:03is that they connect with their Master,
01:05and their Master helps them through their prayer.
01:07All of our prayers in one way or the other,
01:09every single supplication that we have,
01:12in one way or the other,
01:13benefits us in our life in some way.
01:15It helps us in some way.
01:16So I wanna begin with this surah,
01:18the beginning of this surah.
01:20This surah starts with a very unique incident
01:22in the life of our Prophet ﷺ,
01:25where he was taken by the angel,
01:28from the city of Makkah,
01:29through a divine journey,
01:31all the way to Jerusalem.
01:33And then he prayed there,
01:34and then he was taken up a journey in the seventh heavens,
01:37and was brought back to Makkah,
01:39all in the course of,
01:40what we consider in the worldly sense,
01:43not even a matter of a second,
01:45but what took an elaborate amount of time for him.
01:47Because time, the way it works in this world,
01:50is not the way it works in the unseen.
01:52So when this journey was told about,
01:54when the Prophet ﷺ described to the companions
01:56that he had gone on this night journey,
01:58the Arabic word for a night journey being,
01:59isra, and that's the first ayah,
02:01سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا
02:04How perfect is the one who took his slave
02:06in the middle of the night,
02:07for that journey.
02:08That's how the surah begins.
02:10So when he describes this journey,
02:11of course believers like Abu Bakr as-Siddiq
02:13are immediately confirming
02:14that that is what happened.
02:15As unbelievable as it sounds,
02:17that in the middle of the night,
02:18this man traveled from here, from Makkah to Jerusalem,
02:21up the seventh heavens, and then back,
02:24and met all of these previous prophets,
02:26and prayed with them,
02:26and saw all these scenes of the afterlife,
02:28and then came back.
02:29All of it sounded so unbelievable,
02:31it became a joke to those who disbelieved.
02:33It actually became something to mock,
02:35and to make fun of,
02:36across Makkah for everybody else.
02:39They would even come to the Muslims and say,
02:40you really believe he did that?
02:41You seriously believe he traveled on some flying horse,
02:45and went all the way to Jerusalem,
02:46and then he went up the skies,
02:48and did intergalactic travel?
02:50You really honestly believe that this man,
02:52what he even says that?
02:53And believers would say, yes we do.
02:56They wouldn't have any doubt about it.
02:58Their faith was unshaken.
03:00Why? Because the foundation of this faith,
03:02this is not the foundation of their faith.
03:04The foundation of their faith was already laid.
03:07They had already been convinced
03:08that this Qur'an is the word of God,
03:10it's the word of Allah,
03:11and this is the messenger of Allah.
03:13And once they believed that,
03:14they understood what Allah is capable of.
03:15And when Allah can do something for us,
03:18what He will do for us in our afterlife,
03:19our life is much more remarkable,
03:21when He will resurrect all human beings from their graves.
03:23So how hard is it for them to believe
03:25that Allah will take His messenger on a journey like that one?
03:28In any case, this is also a surah
03:31around the time when things were getting
03:33very difficult for the Prophet and for the companions.
03:36Not only were they being ridiculed,
03:37by this time now, things were getting physical.
03:40So Muslims were now starting to get tortured,
03:42beat, threatened.
03:44There were even plans to either kill the Prophet,
03:48or at the very least, expel him from Makkah.
03:51وَإِن كَادُوا لَيَسْتَفِزُونَكَ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ
03:53لِيُفْرِجُوكَ مِنْهَا
03:56So they can kick you out of the land,
03:58they wanna terrorize you, instill fear in you.
04:01This is what Allah is commenting on in this surah as well.
04:03So in light of these things,
04:05what I wanted to share with you,
04:07is that when Allah took His messenger to Jerusalem,
04:10and He said Himself,
04:11لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا
04:12So we could show Him our miraculous signs.
04:15Allah wants Him to ponder over the history of Jerusalem.
04:19But our Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
04:21is not a historian of Jewish history.
04:23He doesn't know a lot about their tradition.
04:25He doesn't know a lot about that region,
04:26except what Allah will reveal to him.
04:28So what does Allah reveal to him in this surah?
04:30He tells him that they used to be,
04:32this used to be the house of Allah, the masjid,
04:34and this was actually violated a couple of times.
04:37And the people were expelled,
04:39and they were taken as slaves.
04:40And this is talked about in the very beginning.
04:42This is important for the Prophet to learn at this time,
04:44sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
04:45because he's also on the verge of being expelled from Makkah.
04:50So now he's going to learn about a history of people
04:52that were expelled from the house of worship,
04:54and the masjid was even destroyed.
04:56Alhamdulillah, the Ka'bah was not destroyed,
04:58but it was certainly violated.
05:00It was surrounded by idols.
05:03And its legacy was certainly tarnished.
05:05And then the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
05:06is being told on this journey,
05:08that this journey first of all should tell you
05:10that what you're going through is not something new.
05:12This has happened before.
05:13This is a legacy of Allah with Prophets.
05:16And you're supposed to be a part of that legacy.
05:18So don't be saddened by what is about to come.
05:20This is the first thing
05:22that connects these two legacies together.
05:24The second is,
05:25when you travel from this earth
05:27to all the way to the seventh heaven,
05:29then leaving the city of Makkah
05:31to travel to the city of Medina
05:32is not going to be a big deal anymore.
05:35It's going to be easy for you to handle,
05:36that this is not a long journey.
05:38We can do this.
05:39If Allah can guard me and safeguard me
05:42through that incredible journey,
05:44then this other journey that's on the horizon
05:46is not going to be a big deal.
05:48So now Allah Azza wa Jal says,
05:49and even if they did kick you out,
05:51even if the people of Makkah did expel you,
05:53وَإِذَا لَا يَلْبَثُونَ خِلَافَكَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًۭا
05:56Even if they did get you out,
05:57they're not gonna stay behind you
05:59and stay in power for much longer.
06:02In other words, even if I let you go,
06:04and even if you leave the city of Makkah,
06:07it's pretty soon that you're gonna be coming back.
06:09It's pretty soon that you're gonna get victory again.
06:11Which was completely unimaginable for Muslims
06:14who had no authority, no control,
06:17absolutely no respect in that society.
06:19They were the object of ridicule everywhere they turned.
06:22They themselves are taking the beatings,
06:23and now they're being told,
06:24oh, don't worry,
06:25if you get kicked out of Makkah,
06:26you'll be coming back
06:27because they're not gonna last.
06:29These Makkans that are in control,
06:30they're not gonna last.
06:31Subhanallah.
06:32This is the picture that's painted for our Prophet
06:34sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
06:35But then in the middle of all of this,
06:37the subject changes.
06:38And this is where things get really interesting.
06:40The subject almost becomes a completely different one.
06:43How do you prepare for a journey?
06:45How do you prepare for a different transition?
06:47This is the most difficult,
06:48one of the most difficult moments
06:50in the Prophet's life sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
06:52Despite the counsel that Allah has given him,
06:54our Messenger had a lot of love for the Ka'bah.
06:58He had a lot of love for the Ka'bah
06:59because it was built by his father Abraham.
07:02And he knew, he recognized that.
07:04So his affinity to that house
07:06was much stronger than, you know,
07:08for anybody to leave their home
07:09and leave their homeland.
07:10And the place of their birth is difficult.
07:12But for our Prophet there were
07:14the reasons of lineage,
07:17but also spiritual reasons for him not to wanna leave.
07:20And so even before,
07:21a lot of people don't know this,
07:23but even before we were commanded
07:25to pray in the direction of the Ka'bah,
07:28the Muslims were actually instructed
07:30to pray in the direction of Jerusalem.
07:32We were supposed to pray towards Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa.
07:35So what the Prophet used to do
07:36while he resided in Mecca,
07:38is he used to,
07:39because you could go any way,
07:40any direction you want around the Ka'bah,
07:42so he used to align himself in a way,
07:44so he's praying with the Ka'bah in front of him,
07:46and Jerusalem is lined up.
07:48So he would be able to do that.
07:49So he'd be able to show respect
07:51to the house that his father Abraham built,
07:53and also, alayhis salaam,
07:54and also be able to abide by the regulations of prayer
07:57that still hadn't changed,
07:58we still prayed in the direction of Jerusalem, right?
08:01Which by the way also teaches you
08:02and mean the importance of the Prophet
08:03going to that masjid,
08:05because that was the original qiblah.
08:07So he's actually going,
08:08you could say in a sense it's an umrah,
08:10that was assigned by Allah for him to do,
08:12because that's the original qiblah.
08:14You know, before this one,
08:15at least in the seerah of the Prophet alayhis salaam.
08:17Now the Prophet is gonna migrate to Medina.
08:20But when he migrates to Medina,
08:21and if he want,
08:22because he has to face Jerusalem again to pray,
08:24but this time if he's gonna face Jerusalem,
08:26his back is gonna be to Mecca.
08:29He can't line both of them up together anymore,
08:32because Medina is on the way to Jerusalem.
08:34So if you're gonna face it,
08:36your back is gonna have to be towards Mecca,
08:38and that hurts his feelings.
08:39Even the fact that there are narrations
08:41about the Prophet alayhis salaam
08:42turning to the Kaaba and crying,
08:44and talking to it as he's leaving.
08:47Like a mother,
08:47like a mother that he's parting from.
08:49Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
08:51This is a very, very painful journey for the Prophet.
08:54But you know,
08:55and not only is it a painful journey,
08:56you should all know
08:57that this is also a dangerous journey.
08:59There are scouts from Mecca
09:00that are ready to,
09:01whose only assignment is to trace his steps,
09:04find him, and kill him.
09:06That's their job.
09:07They know that he's planning an escape,
09:09or this is the night that's come,
09:11or they're thinking he might have escaped,
09:13and they're gonna scout him out,
09:14and find him, and kill him.
09:15And it got to the point
09:16where they were almost killed.
09:17That's gonna be described much later on in the Qur'an,
09:20in Surah Tawbah that was revealed much later,
09:22when the scouts were virtually at their feet.
09:25And they're literally in a ditch in the ground,
09:27it's night time,
09:28so it's just a matter of these guys looking down.
09:32If they look down,
09:32they'll find the Prophet and Abu Bakr hiding.
09:35They could see them.
09:36And that's the point where the Prophet was,
09:38you know, given revelation.
09:39Abu Bakr as-Siddiq was worried,
09:41and he said,
09:41the Prophet turned to him and said,
09:42لَا تَحْزَنَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا
09:44Don't be sad, Allah is with us.
09:46It's amazing that even at that point,
09:48he didn't say,
09:48don't be afraid, Allah is with us.
09:50He said, don't be sad, Allah is with us.
09:52Abu Bakr wasn't afraid.
09:54He was just sad that if this happens,
09:56the truth will die here.
09:58The truth will no longer spread.
09:59That was a sadness that was killing him,
10:01not the fear of death.
10:03So no reason to say,
10:05لَا تَخْفَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا
10:06But rather, لَا تَحْزَنَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا
10:09You know, don't be sad, Allah is with us.
10:10But in any case,
10:11this journey is gonna be an extremely difficult one,
10:13it's an extremely sad one,
10:15it's an extremely painful one.
10:17And in considering all of that,
10:19now Allah is going to give the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam
10:23the proper provisions.
10:24How are you supposed to prepare for this journey?
10:27You know, this is something Allah does all the time.
10:29When you prepare for a difficult journey,
10:30He gives instruction.
10:31For example, when we go to hajj,
10:33Allah says,
10:33وَتَزَوَّذُ فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ زَادَ التَّقْوَانَ
10:37When you're gonna go to hajj, which is a tough journey,
10:39Allah says, make sure you take precautions,
10:41make sure you pack properly,
10:42make sure you have your passport in order,
10:44make sure you have enough savings,
10:46make sure you take a safe road,
10:47make sure you don't talk to strangers.
10:48All of that's captured inside, تَزَوَّذُ
10:51فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ زَادَ التَّقْوَانَ
10:52The best of all provisions you can have
10:54is your consciousness of Allah,
10:55and caution when you travel,
10:57be careful when you travel.
10:58This is what Allah says when you travel.
10:59So how is Allah going to prepare the Prophet ﷺ
11:02for this journey?
11:03What does he say?
11:04You'd be surprised.
11:05He says,
11:05أَقِنِ الصَّلَاةَ لِلْغُنُوكِ الشَّمْسِ
11:07إِلَىٰ غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ وَقُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ
11:10He says, establish the prayer
11:11from the time the sun comes up
11:13to the time the night becomes really deep and dark,
11:15and especially the Qur'an of Fajr.
11:18The Qur'an of the Fajr prayer.
11:20You wanna prepare for this journey?
11:22Pray.
11:23You wanna prepare for this journey?
11:25And the Prophet ﷺ already committed to prayer.
11:27It's not like this ayah came
11:28and now he started praying.
11:30It's now he's being told,
11:32in order to meet...
11:33Now you're gonna be disconnected from your people.
11:36You're gonna be disconnected from your motherland.
11:38وَأَن تَحِلُّوا بِهَذَا الْبَلَدِ
11:40This land that you're gonna be leaving.
11:42But you know what?
11:43One connection will remain.
11:44And that connection has to be strengthened
11:46like never before.
11:47That's the connection with Allah.
11:48And that ultimate connection,
11:50by the way, the Arabic word for connection is salah.
11:53From salah.
11:54Salah, which is prayer itself.
11:56And so Allah is telling him,
11:57no matter how much you get severed from this place,
11:59you will never get severed from Allah.
12:01And of all those prayers,
12:03those five prayers,
12:04the one that will truly connect you to Allah
12:06is gonna be the Qur'an of Fajr.
12:08He didn't even call it the prayer of Fajr.
12:11Notice he called it the Qur'an of Fajr.
12:13Qur'an al-Fajr.
12:15Actually Qur'an is not made idafah
12:17for Arabic students.
12:18It's not made idafah other than to al-Fajr.
12:22It's incredible.
12:23The word Qur'an in the Qur'an
12:26is never connected to anything in it
12:28the way it is to the word al-Fajr.
12:31It's a remarkable thing.
12:33So Allah is telling our Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
12:37especially that break of dawn,
12:39when darkness ends and light begins.
12:42At that time,
12:43that is the time to recite the Qur'an.
12:45Why is that significant?
12:46For many reasons,
12:47in this khutbah I'll share a couple of them with you.
12:49You know the era between the departure of Jesus,
12:53of Isa alayhi salam,
12:54and the coming of our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
12:57is this long period of darkness.
13:00It's like a night.
13:02And then finally the light of revelation came,
13:04which is like the morning.
13:06That's like the morning.
13:08The Qur'an recited at Fajr is actually,
13:11it symbolizes the end of the age of darkness,
13:14and the beginning of revelation.
13:17The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is being told,
13:19even if you're going through the most darkest of times,
13:22though humanity was in much darker times,
13:25and this Qur'an came.
13:26So don't worry.
13:27When you commit to the Qur'an at Fajr time,
13:29no matter what dark times you're going through,
13:31light is on the horizon.
13:33Just like the light of the sun comes out,
13:35it is the light of revelation
13:36that will brighten the rest of your life,
13:38the rest of your day.
13:39The Qur'an al-Fajr.
13:40What an incredible statement
13:43for the Prophet alayhi salatu wa salam.
13:45Don't be depressed,
13:46brighter days are ahead.
13:48Brightness is ahead.
13:49And the best way to prepare is Qur'an al-Fajr.
13:51He says,
13:52إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ كَانَ مَشْهُدًۭا
13:54The Qur'an of Fajr has always been witnessed.
13:59Now the question is, who is witnessing it?
14:01Kana mashhooda, has always been witnessed.
14:03And then this is an issue of maf'ool,
14:05which suggests that there are those
14:07that are witnessing it,
14:08but the witnesses aren't mentioned.
14:10You know what that means?
14:11Allah is especially witness
14:12to the Qur'an recited at Fajr.
14:15He's also mentioning that there are angels
14:17whose only task is to witness
14:18the Qur'an recited at Fajr.
14:20So Imam Razi would go on to say,
14:22but in this ayah there's also an indication
14:24that believers should encourage each other
14:25to pray Fajr together
14:27so they can witness each other.
14:29So they can be,
14:30you know, each of you becomes mashhood for the rest.
14:33You become shubashahidin wa mashhood.
14:36That's what happens.
14:37So this idea of the Qur'an
14:40preparing you at Fajr
14:41and preparing you for the migration that's coming.
14:44And then he says,
14:45for the Prophet himself particularly,
14:48صلى الله عليه وسلم,
14:49وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِمْ
14:52نَافِلَةً لَكَ
14:53And from in the middle of the night,
14:54some part of the night,
14:56make sure that you particularly
14:59make tahajjud, additional night prayers.
15:01Additional for you,
15:02نَافِلَةً لَكَ, telling the Prophet.
15:04Why? Because when his followers would hear that,
15:06they might think that this is mandatory on them.
15:10So Allah made it clear immediately,
15:11no, no, نَافِلَةً لَكَ, it's additional for you,
15:14an extra thing for you, not for them.
15:16I've given you an extra half,
15:17so some would even extrapolate from this
15:19that the night prayer,
15:20the additional prayer after Isha and before Fajr,
15:24is actually mandatory for the Prophet.
15:26An additional responsibility on him, not on us.
15:29We're encouraged to do so,
15:30but he's obligated to do so.
15:32Why? And Allah tells us why.
15:34He says,
15:34عَسَىٰ أَن يَبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامًا مَحْمُودًا
15:38Perhaps your master is going to raise you
15:41and elevate you to a place, a station,
15:44that is praised.
15:45مَقَامًا مَحْمُودًا
15:47I have a few minutes left,
15:48but I gotta get this out to you somehow.
15:51The Prophet ﷺ is being told
15:53that if you pray in the middle of the night,
15:55there's an optimistic chance
15:58that you are going to be placed
15:59on a praiseworthy station.
16:01مَقَامًا مَحْمُودًا
16:03This is not an accidental term.
16:05What does it mean a praiseworthy station?
16:07The Prophet himself would describe
16:08المقام المحمود,
16:10the place that is praised.
16:12It is a reference to something
16:13that will happen on the Day of Judgment.
16:15On the Day of Judgment,
16:15all humanity will be gathered.
16:17يَوْمَ نَدْعُ كُلَّ أُنَاسٍ بِإِمَامِهِمْ
16:19No accident, that ayah is also in this surah.
16:21When we call all people by their leaders.
16:24And this ummah,
16:25these Muslims are gonna be called by their leader,
16:27the Prophet ﷺ.
16:29Nobody will be speaking on that day.
16:31لَا يَتَكَنَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَٰنِ
16:34Nobody will say a word
16:36except the one who Allah gives...
16:37the Ar-Rahman gives permission to.
16:39Allah gives permission to.
16:40And the only one He gives permission to
16:42on Judgment Day
16:44is the Prophet ﷺ.
16:45Humanity, all of it,
16:46the sea of humanity is in one field
16:49and one man starts elevating above the rest.
16:52And everybody can see this one man rising.
16:55And then he's given permission to speak.
16:58And then he says,
16:58I will praise Allah with words of praise
17:01that I don't even know yet.
17:03That Allah will give me then
17:04that no one's ever heard before.
17:06And that's how the Prophet will start
17:08speaking to Allah on Judgment Day.
17:09That is the station worthy of praise.
17:12And so you appreciate what Allah says
17:13in the next ayah as I conclude.
17:15وَقُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقِّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلِ
17:18إِنَّ الْبَاطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقًا
17:20And just declare after that
17:21that the truth has arrived
17:23and falsehood has dissipated.
17:24It's withered away.
17:26When you can do that,
17:27then don't worry about any falsehood
17:28that comes in your life.
17:30Anybody who gives you trouble.
17:31All of that will disappear
17:32if you can commit yourself to Allah.
17:34May Allah عز و جل make us of those
17:36who can truly hold on to Him.
17:38Because of those, all of us falter,
17:40all of us have weaknesses,
17:42some of us have very bad sleep habits.
17:44We don't get up for Fajr,
17:45or we barely get up for Fajr,
17:47or even when we're praying Fajr,
17:48we're still sleeping.
17:50That happens too, you know.
17:52May Allah make us of those
17:53who can better our sleeping habits
17:55and take advantage of the Qur'an of Fajr
17:57that can be witness,
17:58that can become our aid.
18:00And then one day we can additionally
18:01even stand in the middle of the night before Allah
18:03so He can take us out of whatever situation we're in
18:06and put us in a مُدْخَن صِدْق.
18:07He can put us in a place
18:09that is good for us,
18:10it's true for us,
18:11and it strengthens our own truthfulness.
18:13بارك الله لي ولكم في القرآن الحكيم
18:15ونفعني وإياكم بالآيات والذكر الحكيم.
18:42And don't be intimidated,
18:43it's step by step by step,
18:45so you can make learning the Qur'an
18:46a part of your lifestyle.
18:48There's lots of stuff available on YouTube,
18:50but it's all over the place.
18:51If you want an organized approach
18:52to studying the Qur'an beginning to end for yourself,
18:55your kids, your family,
18:56and even among peers,
18:57that would be the way to go.
18:59Sign up for bayyinatv.com