 Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen. Wa-Salli Allahumma Naseedra Muhammad, An-Nabi-Lumi, Wa-Ala-Alihi Wa-Sahbihi Wa-Sallim, T-Sliman Katera. Rabbana, atina mella nunkar Rahmawahi, Lanamin Amrina Rashada. Wa-Salli Allahumma Naseedra Muhammad, An-Nabi-Lumi Wa-Ala-Alihi Wa-Sahbihi Wa-Sallim, Al-hamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen. As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. We were asked to give a short Quranic reflection in this blessed month of Ramadan. This is our second of what will now be three, insha'Allah, sessions that today we wanted to just reflect on a few selected verses from Surat Al-Anbiya, the chapter on the Prophets, Anim Al-Salam. The first verse, Audhu Billahi min al-Shaytan al-Rajim, Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Allah SWT begins by stating after the Basmala that the reckoning of people has drawn near to them while they are but turning away in heedlessness. And so the inauguration, the beginning of this sublime chapter of the Quran, essentially is on the principle of dhikr, because what is being blamed and censured is rafla, the lack of remembrance, the lack of attentiveness, the lack of focus, the lack of presence, with respect to the Divine, with respect to Allah SWT, His message, His messenger, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And so at the heart of our religion is the remembrance of Allah, the remembrance of God Almighty. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, is reported to have said in Sahih al-Bukhari, مثل الذي يذكر ربه والذي لا يذكر ربه كمثل الحي والميت, that the example of the one who makes remembrance of his Lord, and the one that does not make remembrance of his Lord, is like the example of the living and the dead. In other words, there is a spiritual life, just like there is a physical life, and the life of the heart is the remembrance of Allah SWT. So Allah SWT begins the chapter on prophets, peace be upon them all, with a censure and rebuke for the lack of spiritual life, the lack of remembrance of Allah, that the hesab of people has drawn near, utterly near, ever near, while the state of people, most people, is وهم في غفلة معردون and the fi has to do with immersion. So immersed in غفلة, immersed in heedlessness, inattentiveness to the Divine, معردون while they're but turning away. The remembrance of Allah is the basis of drawing near to Allah. Abu Ali Daqaq, the teacher of Imam al-Qashiri, he said, اذذكروا من شور الولاية The remembrance of Allah is the very proclamation and edict of sainthood, of friendship with Allah, of proximity with Allah SWT. اذكروا من شور الولاية فمن وفق للذكر فقد أعطي المنشور So whoever is granted the tawfiq to make Dhikr, whoever is granted the inspiration and the Divine support in remembering Allah, then they have truly been granted this منشور. They have been granted this edict, this proclamation, this stamp of approval of wilayah, of friendship, being a protégé of Allah, a wali of Allah. ومن صليب الذكر فقد عزل And he says, رحمه الله But whoever is such that the remembrance of Allah is removed from them, then they have been demoted. They are no longer in a rank of wilayah. And so Allah Ta'ala begins this surah with an invitation to remember him and an invitation to draw near to him and an invitation to be like those who are the masters of his remembrance which is the topic of the chapter, the Anbiya, the prophets, Ali Musalaam they are the ones most immersed in Allah's remembrance. The second verse we wanted to highlight in this sublime surah is verse 23 in which Allah Ta'ala says لا يسألوا عما يفعلوا وهم يسألون He, capital H, is not and cannot be questioned about what he does yet they shall be questioned لا يسألوا عما يفعلوا وهم يسألون Allah Ta'ala is not questioned about his actions but we as human beings as moral agents created finite temporal moral agents that are dependent on Allah Ta'ala are questioned what was the beginning of the surah اقترب للناس حسابهم what has drawn near for people is their very accounting and so we are going to be questioned this is moral responsibility but Allah is not asked about what he does لا يسألوا عما يفعلوا وهم يسألون in the classical Sunni heritage a theological heritage both the Ashadi and the Matsudidi traditions this is arguably the most off-sided verse when dealing with theological issues issues such as the problem of evil and suffering what is called today in western philosophy the problem of evil and suffering the issues of free will issues of moral agency arguably the most off-sided Qur'anic verse in the context of theological treatments in the classical Sunni tradition of this philosophical problem is this verse and there is a lot of theology in this surah particularly of course the entire Qur'an is an expression of the oneness of Allah but there are certain verses in this surah in particular that deal with perplexing philosophical problems and this is one of them لا يسألوا عما يفعلوا وهم يسألون Allah is not asked about what He does they shall be asked this is it returns to Tauheed this returns to our affirmation of oneness of Allah and this is unique to the Islamic tradition because in our tradition we affirm an omnipotence for Allah that has no compromise other religious traditions including in the Christian tradition various denominations of Christianity and other religions there is some limitation very often that there is some limitation in the theological discourse that's placed that's ascribed to the divine power and this is done in trying to grapple philosophically grapple with dealing with tribulation and evil in the world in Islamic tradition based on the Qur'an and sunnah the teaching of the Prophet s.a.w. revelation from Allah s.w.t based on what the ulema have codified and explored using reason using logic as well as of course revelation and ajmat and the teachings of the salaf all of these usuli principles that are used in our epistemology that we ascribe no limit to Allah's power everything that exists in the world exists only because Allah s.w.t existentiates it He is the creator of all things Allah s.w.t says say Allah is the creator of every single thing and He is the one that all dominating but out of etiquette we ascribe only the good to Allah and we ascribe the evil in the world to our own shortcomings the shortcomings of the ego the ego of human beings or the devil himself the shaitan in the perfect script in our Prophet s.a.w.t he would say as reported in sahih muslim in a lengthy dua the Prophet s.a.w.t Allakhayyakulluhu byadhiyak hashehashadru layaudoo ilayk He said s.a.w.t All dividing all of it is in your possession of Allah and evil does not return to you evil does not return to you that after affirming the consensus of Islamic jurists, and theologians, and hadith masters, and all of the scholars of Islam in Sunni orthodoxy, that we affirm that in terms of creating, that Allah creates both the good and evil, everything that exists, whether good and evil in the world, Allah is the creator of it. Yet Imam Nauwi says the tafsir of this dua is, there's different interpretations, one of them has to do with the etiquette, the adab of ascription. So the good that exists in the world, we ascribe it back to Allah, al-khayr kulluhu biyadayk, wa-sharru la yurudu ilayk, but evil does not return to you, o Allah. And so we do not, out of etiquette, we don't ascribe the evil to Allah, we ascribe it to the evil tendencies in the world, whether the shortcomings of the ego, or the shaitan himself. But everything in the cosmos is the creation of Allah, and as for understanding why Allah does what he does in the world, when it comes to tribulation, and the evil that exists in the world, Allah gives the most profound response in this verse, He is not asked about what he does, but they shall be asked, the moral agents of humankind and jinn kind, we will be asked, but Allah Ta'ala is not asked, Allah Ta'ala is the omnipotent, and Dhunun al-Misri, one of the great early scholars of spirituality in our tradition, he was a Nubian, Egyptian master of spirituality, Dhunun al-Misri, Rahimullah, he was once asked about Tohid, he was asked what is Tohid, and he said, So he says, when he was asked about Tohid, Imam Dhunun, Rahimullah, he said, He says, Tohid is free to realize that Allah's power, His omnipotent power in the things of this world without any misage, there's no, we don't affirm causative natures in the world, that Allah directly creates everything that exists in the world, and what we perceive in science as the nature of a thing, that's simply the pattern that Allah Ta'ala creates it with, it's the consistent sunnat Allah, it's the consistent way Allah creates things, but Allah can interrupt his pattern anytime he wants, and that's called Kharkul-Adha, it's a type of miracle, for example, in the Surat al-Anbiya, in the same Surah, Allah Ta'ala describes the story of Prophet Ibrahim as a young man, and he broke the idols, and at the end of that, when they wanted to punish him, they threw him in a fire, and Allah Ta'ala said, command the fire, Ya'narukuni, bardan wa salaman, ala Ibrahim, O fire, be cool and peaceful upon Abraham. So there's no, so what the scientists intuits or abstracts of the world in terms of quote-unquote natures, the natural phenomenon of the world, these are but divine patterns of activity, sunnat Allah fi khalkihi, it's Allah's sunnah, it's Allah's consistent way that he does things, which he can interrupt anytime he wants, and so the first principle of Tawheed, see the Zunnun al-Misri, he says, anna qudrata Allah ta'ala fi l-ashi'a, bila mizaj, so everything that exists in the world is a direct creation of Allah, and then he says, wa anna sun'ahu fi l-ashi'a, bila ilaj, and that when Allah does things in the world, it's not using means and instruments, like when we do things as created beings, if we want to do anything, we have to use means and instruments, whether they are physical limbs or the tools that we make use of in the world, but Allah ta'ala, he has no need of anything, and so he does not use any instruments in carrying out his decrees, he simply creates it directly, and what appears to be, again, what appears in the world, in the natural order of processes, of any process of growth or maturation, it's not a means that Allah uses as an instrument, rather, it's the way he manifests his direct creation. And then the third thing he says, rahimullah, wa illa tu kulli shayt sun'ahu, wa la illa ti li sun'ahi, and the real at bottom, the fundamental absolute reason for things in the world is that Allah does it. And there's no fundamental reason behind his action because the ultimate fundamental reason of everything is mashia to Allah, it's the will of Allah, masha'Allah hu kan wa ma lam yasha lam yakun, whatever Allah wills shall definitely exist, and what he does not will cannot exist by definition. And so there's no illa of Allah's actions, rather, it's his mashia, it's pure divine selection, and that finally whatever you might imagine regarding Allah, Allah is far exalted above that. This is Tauheed, according to our tradition, in the expression of Imam Dunud and Misdi. And then related to this philosophical, what's called in Western philosophy, the problem of evil, we can go to the example of the prophets themselves, peace be upon them all, to see the proper etiquette in dealing with tribulation. And of course the entire surah, this entire chapter is filled with profound examples. I just wanted to highlight one salient example, the example of Nabi Ayyub, in verses 83 and 84. Look how Allah Ta'ala describes Nabi Ayyub, Prophet Job, peace be upon him. And Job and Ayyub, when he called upon his Lord, verily, distress has afflicted me. Literally, it's touched me, ma'sani, dur, distress, difficulty has afflicted me. And thou art the most merciful of those who show mercy. This is the etiquette, this great prophet, peace be upon him. He lost health, he lost wealth, he lost family, tribulation, after tribulation, after tribulation, what's his response? He simply expresses his circumstance and he affirms Allah's attributes. In, anni, ma'sani, dur, this is my example. And I'm going to show you anni, ma'sani, dur, this is my condition. Difficulty has afflicted me. Wa anta, arham ar-rahimin, but you're still the most merciful of those who show mercy. He doesn't, he doesn't challenge Allah. He doesn't, he doesn't demand an answer from Allah. La yusallu amma yifalu, wa hum yusalloon. Allah's not asked about what he does. They are, they are asked. Human beings and jinn are asked. Moral agents on earth are asked. Compare this, the Quranic presentation of Nabi Ayyub to the biblical narrative of Prophet Job. And what, what a vast difference. But Allah Ta'ala clarifies the good name of all of his prophets. And here with Nabi Ayyub, Prophet Job, peace be upon him. He simply expressed his condition and affirmed Allah's attributes. Whatever difficulty we're going through does not change the fact that Allah is all merciful. Does not change the fact that Allah is all forgiving. Does not change the fact that Allah is all kind. He remains with those attributes in our most difficult of circumstances. And Subhan Allah, he did not even ask dua for alleviation. Although that's valid. There's nothing wrong with that. But look at the sublime etiquette. He simply expressed his pain, expressed his circumstance, peace be upon him. And then return to the attribute of Allah. Wa anta arhamur rahimin. So what does Allah Ta'ala say in the very next verse? Fa stajabna lah. And the fa is often used for immediacy. So without undue delay, we responded to him. Fa kashafna amaabihi min dhur. And we removed the distress that was upon him. Wa aateinahu ahlahu wa mitlahum ma'ahum. And we bestowed upon him his family and the like of them with them. Rahmatam min aindina. As a tremendous mercy from us. Nabi Ayyub said, anta arhamur rahimin. And Allah Ta'ala responded with a profound gift. And he said, this is rahmatam min aindina. If we want the mercy of Allah, we affirm the mercy of Allah. Oh Allah, you're the most merciful of those who show mercy. That good opinion of Allah will only unfold with a merciful outcome. And so he affirmed the mercy of Allah. And then Allah responded with so much mercy. And Allah Ta'ala states it as such. Rahmatam min aindina. As a great mercy from our presence. Wa dhikr alil aabideen. And a reminder to the worshippers. As we worship in this month of Ramadan, Allah is reminding us through the stories of the prophets, Anim al-Sanaam, that Allah's relief is always there. And we have to but affirm Allah's mercy. And we have to but remain in a state of patience and contentment with his decree. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Imam Hussain ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, the great Imam of our tradition, the grandson of the prophet, he once said, Man e'atamada a'la hussni, iqtiyari illahi lahoo, lam yatamanna ghayra maqtara lahoo lahoo. Whoever relies on the beautiful selection of Allah's beautiful choice for him, he will not want other than what Allah chose for him. Whoever relies on the beautiful selection of Allah for him, that person will not desire other than what Allah chose for him. That's the example of the prophet, Anim al-Sanaam. That's the example of Nabi Ayyu, Prophet Job, alaihi s-sa. That's the example of our blessed prophet, the best of creation, Sayyidina Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. They were always content with what Allah chose for them. Peace be upon them all. And then Allah unfolded his mercy in the most profound of ways. And how does Allah in another chapter of the Qur'an describe Nabi Ayyu, peace be upon him, ni'mal abd. What a great servant. What a great servant. What is this? Dikra lila abideen. It's a reminder to those who are true servants of Allah. And who is the example? Ni'mal abd. What a great servant. And we'll just conclude with the very last verse of this sublime chapter in which Allah ta'ala says, and this surah in many ways is a consolation to our prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. All the challenges and the difficulties and the distresses that he faced in the seerah, vis-a-vis the Quraysh, and those people that were harming him and his companions, the reminder of the prophets, alimus salam. Because it's like, that's the, those are the brethren of our prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And he's the imam of them. And so Allah ta'ala consoles the blessed heart of our prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam with the example of the other prophets, alimus salam. What does Allah ta'ala say in the end, at the end of the chapter, qala rabbih kum bilhaq wa rabbun ar-rahman un musta'an wa ala ma tasifun. That he said, he said, my lord, rabbih kum bilhaq, judge with truth, wa rabbun ar-rahman. And our lord is ar-rahman, the most merciful, the beneficent, al-musta'an, whose help is sought, ala ma tasifun, against all what you ascribe to him. All the incorrect things that people say about Allah, about truth, about justice, etc. wa rabbun ar-rahman, al-musta'an. Again, the mercy of Allah and al-musta'an, Allah is the one whose help we seek. Allah ta'ala is the one whose help we seek. And so, man e'atamada a'la husni ehtiyar il-lahi l-lahu, lam yatamanna ghaira maqtara l-lahu l-lahu. Again, this beautiful statement of Imam Hussein, that whoever relies on Allah's beautiful selection for him, that person will not choose other than what Allah chose for him. And one of the great inheritors of our Prophet, sallallahu alayhi sallam, Imam Abu al-Hassan al-Shadali, Rahimullah, he once said, man in qata'a an tadbirihi ila tadbiri l-lahu, wa an ehtiyarihi ila ehtiyar il-lahu, wa an nathrihi ila nathri il-lahu, wa an masalihihi ila ilm il-lahu. Ata'ahu l-lahu husni l-lub, wa yatarattabu alayhi al-dhikru al-fikru, wa la'ara dalika min al-khasais. This beautiful aphorism of the great Imam, Abu al-Hassan al-Shadali, Rahimullah, he said whoever distances himself from his own tadbir, his own sense of control of his life, his own sense of governing his own affairs, to the tadbir of Allah, to the divine governance of our lives, to the divine governance of one's affairs. And whoever distances himself from his own personal autonomous choice, thinking that it has power and rather resigns to this choice and selection of Allah. And whoever distances himself from his own vantage to the vantage of Allah, how Allah ta'ala sees things. In other words, from his omniscience and his sight of the world. And whoever distances himself from his own the concern for his own welfare being inundated with one's own, you know, what do I get out of every circumstance and rather resigns to the knowledge of Allah. Whoever does all of this, Ataahu Allahu husni l-lub. Allah grants such a person beautiful intellect. Allah grants such a person beautiful intellect. And based on that beautiful intellect, there will be real remembrance of Allah and real contemplation of the divine attributes. And the great Imam ends, he says, Wala aradalika minal khusais. He says, and I still don't consider that to be what makes someone of the elite of Allah's friends. That's still general friendship with Allah. That's the foundation upon which more is built for elite friendship. For us elementary, simple Muslims just trying to struggle with our basics. It's a great khusais for the likes of us. Just a taste of that level that he described. And so what, so this is beautiful intelligence. Beautiful intelligence is the way of the prophets. Peace be upon them all. Beautiful intelligence is the way of these great Imams is to consign our affairs to Allah, to trust that what he is doing with our lives is far better than our own scheming and planning and how we can manipulate things, this tadbir, this sense of manipulation of things. Manin qata'a tadbirihi ila tadbirillah. Whoever distances himself from his own manipulation of events and consigns his life to Allah's manipulation of events. This is the way that a person has a spiritual intellect, khusna lub and a beautiful one at that. And this is beauty in our tradition. And interestingly enough, the great Imam, what's his name? Abu al-Hasan. Hassan has to do with beauty. And he is also a descendant of the Prophet, through the grandchildren. And what were their names? Hassan and Hussain. And we quoted Imam Hussain. These are beautiful people, because not just outwardly beautiful, but inwardly their amazing hearts realized Imams of these meanings. So, khusna lub. And what comes from khusna lub? A beautiful intellect. A beautiful spiritual intellect. A dhikr wa l-fikr. Wa yataratab wa alehi adhikru wa l-fikru. True remembrance of Allah and true contemplation. And how did the surah begin? That iqtaraba linnaasi hesabuhum wa hum fi ghaflatim ma'ridun. So, a censure and rebuke of lack of dhikr and fikr. And so, it all comes back full circle. Dhikr and fikr is when we're not in ghaflah. So, we ask Allah Ta'ala to make us people realized in these sublime meanings to make us true followers, true emulators of the beautiful examples of all the prophets, peace be upon them all. And in particular of our great prophet, Sayyidina Muhammad sallallahu alayhi sallam, the Imam al-Mursaleen, the best of all the prophets, the best of all creation. Peace be upon them all, sallallahu alayhi sallam. We ask Allah Ta'ala to make this Ramadan the best of our Ramadan's to open our hearts to the light of the Quran, to the light of the prophetic example, and that we emerge every day is better than the prior and that we emerge more and more awake and aware of what's truly beneficial and cognizant and cautious about what's truly harmful for both our worldly and our other worldly affairs. Peace be upon you all. Peace be upon you all.