This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Ramadan Reflections. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level.

Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12, Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15, Episode 16, Episode 17, Episode 18, Episode 19, Episode 20, Episode 21, Episode 24

Transcript

All thanks and praise are due to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, and may His peace and blessings be upon His last and final Messenger ﷺ, his family, his companions, and those who follow Him until the end of times.   

 In this episode, I wanted to reflect on two verses from Surah Az-Zumar, verses 36 and 37 where Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala reminds us that He alone is sufficient for the believers and that the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is sufficient for us to overcome any difficulty, to prevent anything from happening to us and from being destroyed. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala reminds us, in verse number 36,  

أَلَيْسَ ٱللَّهُ بِكَافٍ عَبْدَهُۥ ۖ وَيُخَوِّفُونَكَ بِٱلَّذِينَ مِن دُونِهِۦ ۚ وَمَن يُضْلِلِ ٱللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُۥ مِنْ هَادٍۢ ٣٦ 

Is Allah not sufficient for His servant? Yet they threaten you with other ˹powerless˺ gods besides Him! Whoever Allah leaves to stray will be left with no guide. (Quran 39:36) 

Meaning, is Allah not sufficient for His servant? And the disbelievers make you fear, or they threaten you with the power of that which they worship other than Allah. And in our context, it might not necessarily be idols, but the people who have power and influence make us fear with their power and influence. That they have the capacity to destroy us, to harm us at will and there’s nothing we can do about it. 

But Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala reminds us, is Allah not sufficient for his servant? Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala reminds us that Allah is sufficient for us even though they make us fear. True power is Allah’s and true protection lies only with Allah. And whomever Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has let go to be a stray (وَمَن يُضْلِلِ ٱللَّهُ فَمَا), then there is no one that can bring them back (فَمَا لَهُۥ مِنْ هَادٍۢ). There is no one that can guide them. 

Elsewhere in the Quran, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says that if a person is going astray, it is with the knowledge of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala because nothing escapes the knowledge of Allah. But this is implied as Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala allows a person to make their own choices because of their arrogance, stubbornness and disbelief in Him. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala ultimately lets them go to face the consequences. And whoever is on that path, then there is no one that can bring them back to the right path (فَمَا لَهُۥ مِنْ هَادٍۢ) because the only One that can guide is Allah. 

In verse 37, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says that Whomever He guides, there is no one that can lead them astray. 

وَمَن يَهْدِ ٱللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُۥ مِن مُّضِلٍّ ۗ أَلَيْسَ ٱللَّهُ بِعَزِيزٍۢ ذِى ٱنتِقَامٍۢ ٣٧ 

And whoever Allah guides, none can lead astray. Is Allah not Almighty, capable of punishment? (Quran 39:37) 

 Because Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is the focal point that we have to focus on, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has put us on this path and He is the one that keeps us on this path. Then His guides one. If Allah does not will it, then that can take us off this path. And Allah reminds us, as a way of comforting us, is Allah not the one who is mighty (أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِعَزِيزٍ ذِنْدِقًا)? Is Allah not the one who is capable of taking revenge? Is He not the One capable of exacting punishment from the disbelievers and oppressors on the Day of Judgment? 

 Within the last year, we have seen so many atrocities. Hundreds of pictures and videos are coming out of Gaza. We have seen poverty and displacement in Sudan. We have seen constant bombing in Yemen. And we have seen atrocities happening throughout the Muslim world in the last two decades.  

At times, it feels like we are very helpless. It feels like we don’t have any capacity to defend ourselves, influence or control, and that we are simply at the mercy of Allah Almighty. We are at the mercy of people who are willing to harm us for any reason whatsoever. We are at the mercy of those who have no faith. We are at the mercy of those who have no compassion. We are at the mercy of those who are helped by others, who also have no compassion. Our lives, as believers, and as people who think differently, are devalued. And our personhood is dehumanized to the point where, when we have thousands and hundreds of thousands of losses and there is no one that blinks an eye. Or if the people do blink an eye, those that are in capacity, power, and control, do nothing to change the course. It is disheartening at times. And it is very natural to feel disheartened because as human beings, Allah has given us that capacity to feel a multitude of emotions. Yet, our over-the-top, overpowering emotion should always be hope. 

 Is Allah not sufficient for His servant? (أَلَيْسَ ٱللَّهُ بِكَافٍ عَبْدَهُۥ ۖ)? Just like how the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and the Sahaba رضي الله تعالى عنهم had firm faith on Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and how in the battle of Badr, which happened during the month of Ramadan, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala allowed a small group of believers who were not well-equipped nor fully armed, to face an army who was willing to do them harm, who were fully equipped and intent on wiping out the believers. 

Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala granted the believers victory (أَلَيْسَ ٱللَّهُ بِكَافٍ عَبْدَهُۥ ۖ). It is a reminder for you and I that Allah is sufficient for us. There is no one that we need if we have the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. In order to receive the help of Allah, we have to constantly turn back to Allah.  

 May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala guide us and protect us, give us knowledge that benefits us, give us the ability to always turn back to Him, to always ask for His help, and to always be convinced of the fact that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is sufficient for us and we have no need for anyone else. May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala bless us all.