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Memorize Surah al-Mulk Ramadan 2021 | Verse 20

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Verse 20

أَمَّنْ هَـٰذَا ٱلَّذِى هُوَ جُندٌ لَّكُمْ يَنصُرُكُم مِّن دُونِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ۚ إِنِ ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ إِلَّا فِى غُرُورٍ

Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) says:
Now, who is there to act as a force for you, helping you, other than The Most Merciful? The disbelievers are in nothing but delusion.

Continuing from the previous verse, Allāh -swt] is telling us what we need to learn and take away from our observations of the birds
In the previous verse, Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) encouraged us to look at the birds above us, how they expand and contract their wings, but in reality it is Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) who is holding them up in the air. If Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) is so intimately involved in the management of the universe, even in the daily life of all birds, then what does that say about Allāh’s subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) role in our lives as rational human beings? Birds are simple creatures and even they need Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) for every single movement; what does that say about us, complex creatures with minds and goals and ambitions?
Do we really think that anyone can help us other than Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He)? Do we really think that there is some force out there that can give us aid other than The Most Merciful?
Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) is again asking us a question, not to get an answer, but to prove a point. Of course there is nothing in the world that can give us help and aid other than Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He)! Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) is the only One that can provide us with whatever it is that we need.
If He is going to involve Himself and be an intimate part of every second of a bird’s life, you don’t think He is going to do the same for you?
This is not to belittle or put down birds in any way, obviously they are a crucial component of our ecosystem, but if Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) is intricately involved with them, and giving them whatever
they need, why would He not do the same and even more for a more significant and higher creation — human beings.

This verse shows just how absurd that Clock-Maker Theory we discussed yesterday is. How ridiculous it is to think that there is some other out there, some other force that can leads us through our lives. A person would have to be deluded to think that they can go to someone else for their needs, other than Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He).

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This verse is not only teaching us how deluded one could be, but also it is reminding us of how we are interact with Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He). The previous verse taught us a very important lesson about Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He)and how He interacts with us. He is actively involved in the constant management and sustainment of the universe. Now, we learn a very important lesson about ourselves and how we should interact with Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He). We should seek help from none other than Him, recognize that He is the only One that can fulfill our needs, and depend upon Him for all of our affairs.

Firstly, we should seek help from none other than Him and recognize that He is the one One that can fulfill our needs.
These two points are very similar. We repeat this affirmation every single day, multiple times a day in
Sūrah al-Fātiḥah when we say  وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ. From you alone, O Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He), do we seek help, aid, and assistance. In our verse for today Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) is telling us how absurd it is to think that there are other forces in existence that can provide us with help. Whether those forces are wealth, education, neighborhood,
connections — whatever it might be that people attach such high importance to, because they think that this is what is going to help me.
Again, our job is to put in the effort, and maybe that does involve wealth and education and all that stuff, but we can never for a second think that that in and of itself is what is helping us. We can never attribute our safety to the neighborhood we live in, we can never attribute our living standards to the
education we have.
These “forces” that society gives such high importance to, it is nothing but a delusion. It is nothing but an illusion and deception. It seems like certain worldly factors are the direct cause of certain
worldly outcomes, but it’s not.
Because look all around you at how many times someone may have all the factors down, but the outcomes are missing. There are people who have the highest degrees of education and hardly make any money, there are people who have all the connections in the world but they cannot get a job. At the end of the day, in reality, it is Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) and only Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) that can help us. Not education, not wealth, not status.

Secondly, we must depend upon Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) for all of our affairs. We must recognize that we cannot even breathe or blink except with His aid. And if that is the case, that behooves us to act needy in front of
Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He). We should show Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) just how much we are in need of Him.
Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He)tells us: People, you are all in desperate need of Allāh, and Allāh is Self-Sufficient and Praiseworthy

One of the best ways to manifest our utter and desperate need of Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) is in duʿāʾ.
And it is appropriate that we discuss this here in this video because it is Ramaḍān, and one of the best acts of worship that we can do in general and especially during this month is the act of duʿāʾ; calling onto Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) for all of our needs.
Part of showing our neediness to Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) is asking Him for all things in our life, big and small. Whatever is going on in our lives – we raise our hands to Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) and we ask Him for anything and everything.
This is a sign of servitude, it is a sign of worshipping our Creator and Master as the servants that we are.
Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) loves this because it shows how utterly in need we are of Him. It establishes and demonstrates how needy and incapable we are.

Anyone who relies on other than Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He), anyone who thinks that anyone or anything can truly help them other than Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He), these people are deluded. And Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) tells us — surely the disbelievers are in nothing but clear delusion.
As if to tell us that anyone who relies on other than Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He), anyone who thinks that anyone or anything can truly help them other than Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He), has qualities and characteristics of disbelief in their heart.

At its core, relying on other than Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He), seeking help from other than Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He), this is shirk — associating partners with Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He). Thinking that the role Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) plays in our lives can be replaced
by something else.
This is not to say that we should not get help from others when we need it, again, we have to put in our effort in this life to get what we want and need — but the idea is that we cannot attribute the
ultimate source of that help to other than Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He). We cannot say — I live in a nice house because I have a graduate degree that helped me make a lot of money. No, I live in a nice house because Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) blessed me with it. I had to put in the effort of going to school, getting a job; but the true, ultimate reason I am where I am is because Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) blessed me.
And we know this for certain because there are tons of people that put in the same amount of effort, maybe even more, and did not get the same outcome. So it’s not the education, it’s not the money. It is Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) and His decisions

 

We ask Allāh subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) to guide to seek help from Him alone, to protect us from every associating any partners with Him, and to help us in all of our affairs.

Keep supporting MuslimMatters for the sake of Allah

Alhamdulillah, we're at over 850 supporters. Help us get to 900 supporters this month. All it takes is a small gift from a reader like you to keep us going, for just $2 / month.

The Prophet (SAW) has taught us the best of deeds are those that done consistently, even if they are small. Click here to support MuslimMatters with a monthly donation of $2 per month. Set it and collect blessings from Allah (swt) for the khayr you're supporting without thinking about it.

Shaykha Ayesha Syed Hussain started her journey as a student of knowledge when she started attending the University of California Irvine (UCI). She went to ḥalaqāt at UCI’s MSU, took a number of courses at CIU, and starting memorizing The Qurʾān, excelling in all three. She then enrolled into the 5 Years Masters & ʿĀlimiyyah Degree offered at IOK Seminary, again, being at the top of her class. She completed her bachelor’s degree at UCI in three years, and began teaching Qurʾān at IOK and ICOI (Islamic Center of Irvine). In her 4th year as an IOK Seminary Student, she completed the memorization of the entire Qurʾān, earned her bachelor’s degree from IOK, along with her Ijāzah to teach Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī. In her last year of IOK Seminary, she began attending Loyola Law School. She was granted her Master’s degree in Arabic, Islamic Law, and Tradition, receiving Ijāzah to teach Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, and also receiving Ijāzah ʿĀmmah, spanning all books of Ḥadīth. She excelled in her studies of Fiqh, and Tafsīr as well, with her Master’s thesis focusing on al-Taḥrīr wa al-Tanwīr of Ibn ʿĀshūr (rḥA). At her completion and Ijāzah Ceremony of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, she was given the honor of reading the last ḥadīth. That summer, she completed her legal clerkship and is continuing her JD at Loyola Law School. She is still at IOK, but now teaching Arabic in IOK’s Part-Time Seminary. Learn more about IOK Seminary at iokseminary.com.

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