 Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu. Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Alhamdulillahi was salatu was salamu ala abdillahi wa rasulihi Muhammad wa ala alihi wa ashabihi ajma'in. We begin by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. His household, his companions may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless them and bless every one of us and grant us goodness and mercy. I mean my brothers and sisters Ibrahim alaihi was salatu was salam was cast into the fire by his own father and by his people when he was young. He called out to Allah using specific words. Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam used the same words when he was told that Abu Sufyan had now come, he was coming back to actually attack. The people were coming back to attack. So the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam used similar words. These words were very very powerful. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about these words in more than one place in the Quran. It's important for us to know what these powerful words are that made the fire cold. These powerful words of supplication that instilled within the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam the peace, the calmness and the tranquility on a day when if it were anybody else they would have been so discontent, so worried and concerned. Allah is sufficient for us and he is the best disposer of our affairs. That is the dua. Allah is sufficient for us. We don't need anyone else. We trust Allah. We know that Allah is enough for us. Nima al wakil means he is the best disposer of all our affairs. Now if we take a look at the Quran in Surah Al-Tawbah verse number 129 Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us if they are going to turn away. O Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam we want you to say Allah is sufficient for me. There is none worthy of worship besides Him. I lay my trust upon Him fully and He is the Lord of the great throne subhanallah. My brothers and sisters this is a very very strong dua. When you're feeling helpless, when you need to be calmed, when you need contentment, when you want the help of Allah at a time where you think that there is no way out that nothing you could do that would help the situation. This is declaring that Allah is enough for us. He is the only one worthy of worship and indeed all our trust we lay upon Him and He is the Lord of the great throne. So that was a dua that I felt was extremely important to make mention of while we are speaking of supplications from revelation because it has been revealed several times and it has been used by Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam after it was used by Ibrahim alaihi salam and various others and I'm sure we would read it in the Quran. We would also appreciate its meaning. We would be able to feel within our lives the effect and impact of such beautiful prayers that were made by Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. As we go further, we will notice that in the Quran Allah s.w.t speaks about du'as of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. He instructs him to make a dua. For example, وَقُرْ رَبِّغْفِرْ وَرْحَمْ وَأَنْ تَخَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ O Muhammad sallallahu alaihi salam say, my Lord forgive and have mercy for indeed you are the best of those who have mercy. So this is an instruction to Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. He is being told to seek the mercy of Allah, yet Allah is the most merciful upon him. He was the best of creation and he is being asked to seek forgiveness. Yet he did not need that forgiveness. The lesson is definitely for every one of us. If we would like to use that supplication, we say it in the following way. رَبِّغْفِرْ وَرْحَمْ وَأَنْ تَخَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ رَبِّغْفِرْ وَرْحَمْ وَأَنْ تَخَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ O my Lord forgive and have mercy for indeed you are the best of those who have mercy. We are talking here about having mercy upon us, forgiving us. So although it just says اِغْفِرْ وَرْحَمْ have mercy and forgive and have mercy, it is referring to us and this is what we would actually be benefiting from. It's also a beautiful dua that the Prophet sallallahu sallam used and he made the dua. He was instructed to make it as well because the lesson was more for us. We are the ones who need it. The surprising thing is we who need it don't really make the dua and those who did not need it, such as Muhammad sallallahu sallallahu wasallam, they made that dua so often. We move to another beautiful supplication from the revelation. The Prophet sallallahu sallallahu wasallam is being instructed by Allah سبحانه وتعالى in Surah al-Nasr. I'm sure many of us know the Surah of Baha'at. If it comes to Surah al-Nasr, Allah will open it. When the help of Allah comes and victory and you see the people entering into the fold of Islam in droves, then Allah says فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَسْتَغْفِلْهُ So declare the praise of Allah sبحانه وتعالى or glorify in the praise of Allah sبحانه وتعالى of your Rabb. وَسْتَغْفِرْهُ means and seek his forgiveness for indeed he is most forgiving. So the Prophet sallallahu sallallahu wasallam used to actually say سبحان الله وبِحَمْدِهِ أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ Glory be to Allah and all praises due to Allah. I seek the forgiveness of Allah and I repent to him and as I said he did not need repentance, no seeking of forgiveness but the lesson is for every one of us. We find in the supplications of the Prophet sallallahu wasallam that he used to seek the forgiveness of Allah between 70 and 100 times a day according to some of the narrations. So we need to ask ourselves how many times do we seek the forgiveness of Allah sبحانه وتعالى. Many of us, the days pass, the nights pass and we haven't even sought the forgiveness of Allah. Let's be coming to the habit of seeking the forgiveness of Allah but don't just pay lip service to the seeking of forgiveness. I said it 100 times, I said it 200 times and I've done my duty. That's not how it works. How it works is you say it with concentration as many times as you want. You can repeat it as many times as you want but with concentration. The Prophet sallallahu wasallam did not used to count how many times he did the tauba or he sought forgiveness but the Sahaba say more than 70 another narration says up to 100 times so it was somewhere between there and there but it's not like you say it 75 times, you say it 100 times etc. It goes to show that quality is more important than quantity in Islam. If we look at the religious acts of worship that we are instructed to engage in by Allah sبحانه وتعالى we will find that every time quality is given more importance than the quantity. So if you're praying, if you're reading Quran, if you're seeking the forgiveness of Allah make sure that you understand the quality is of prime importance and this is why Rasulullah sallallahu wasallam has actually taught us how to seek the forgiveness of Allah sبحانه وتعالى and I've said this over and over again we regret we show remorse and regret, we admit we seek the forgiveness of Allah we promise not to do it again but we start off by asking Allah's forgiveness praising Allah sبحانه وتعالى declaring the greatness of Allah our dependence upon Allah the fact that we are totally dependent on Allah sبحانه وتعالى we need Him, He does not need us. We also send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad sallallahu wasallam at the beginning and at the end of the supplication that we make. Then we move on to more of the du'a that are mentioned in Revelation a very interesting du'a mentioned in Surah al-Imran in fact Surah al-Baqarah where the story of David and Goliath is made mention of Dawood alayhi salam and Jalut Goliath who was attacking Dawood and how David or Dawood alayhi salam managed to overcome him. There is a du'a that was made mention of ربنا أفرغ علينا صبر وثبت قدامنا وصرنا على القوم الكافرين. Surah al-Baqarah verse number 250 Oh our Rabb, pour upon us patience, pour patience upon us and strengthen or make firm our feet. You know they were facing the enemy, facing the enemy, pour patience upon us. We need lots and lots of patience, sabr, you know perseverance, forbearance, patience and so on. Oh Allah pour it upon us and strengthen or make firm our feet on the ground, make it such that we don't falter, we don't give up, we don't run away and grant us victory over this nation that is disbelievers. And obviously this was a du'a at the time of war, a du'a at the time of distress, a du'a at the time of facing the enemy and it is really a very good du'a that we seek the help from Allah SWT. Very interestingly the issue of patience is not something small, it is very big. Most of us are tested by Allah SWT when it comes to patience and this patience is extremely difficult because everyone is tested according to their level. You know when you test a baby, you test a baby with a baby test. When you test an adult, you test an adult with the test according to their level. If we look at education depending on what grade you are, you will be tested according to that grade. So in the same way when you are stronger in faith and iman and as you grow older and get closer to Allah SWT, you will be tested in that way. So we ask Allah SWT for sabr and not just a little bit of it but a lot of it. Together with seeking from Allah the patience, we need to try our best to utilize the energies and the understanding that Allah has bestowed upon us to achieve that particular patience as well. So that was a very very powerful du'a and then I want to move on to the end of Surah Al-Baqarah. The end of Surah Al-Baqarah has in it three du'as, three supplications. That's the first one. O our Rabb, now these are powerful verses. O our Rabb, do not hold against us, do not punish us if we have forgotten or made a mistake. Now this is very interesting. The reason why it is very interesting is because we are telling Allah SWT while seeking from Him, saying that you know if we've made a mistake as a human being or if we have forgotten something, please don't punish us. You know I always picture a little baby, a little child coming up to a father or a mother saying I made a mistake please I'm sorry don't punish me or I forgot. You know I won't do this again. Imagine with us, Allah is much more merciful to us than our parents, our mothers, our family members. So what happens? We then ask Allah to say ربنا لا تأخذنا إن نسينا أو أخطأنا. O our Rabb, do not punish us, do not hold against us where we have forgotten or we have made a mistake. That's the first du'a. The second one which is right at the end of Surah Al-Baqarah ربنا ولا تحمل علينا إصراكما حملته علي الذين من قبلنا. O Allah, do not burden us with a similar burden that you burdened those before us with. You know whatever Allah has asked others to do even if we are able to do it we're asking Allah to make it easy for us to make things easier for us. So we are saying O Allah don't burden us with that which you burdened the previous people with. That's a very interesting du'a because it goes to show that yes we have read we have seen a little bit of what the others went through and we know their difficulty we've been through their stories we've been through a lot of what Allah has revealed to us but we want it to be easier for us O Allah make it easier for us ربنا ولا تحمل علينا إصراكما حملته علي الذين من قبلنا. Those whom you put on their shoulders a burden before us don't put such a big burden on our shoulders O Allah. What a powerful du'a and the last part of it ربنا ولا تحملنا ما لا طاقة لنا به O our Rab do not burden us with that which we will not be able to do that which is beyond our strength and Allah has done this this is why Allah says He does not burden a soul with more than what that soul can handle and manage because of this du'a Allah says that you know the believers make this prayer and this prayer is recommended for all of us to make O our Rab do not burden us with more than what we can handle and then we are told وعفو عنا we're told to supplicate to Allah سبحانه وتعالى call out to Him by saying وعفو عنا forgive us وغفر لنا you know forgive us again using a different word sometimes in the English language they say pardon us and forgive us you know وعفو عنا is to pardon for the little list of things and to wipe it out completely وغفر لنا and we we seek your forgiveness as well انت مولانا you are our protector you are our protector فنصرنا على القوم الكافرين so help us grant us victory over the disbelievers so these are some beautiful prayers that are made mention of at the end of Surah al-Baqarah and the Surah is so powerful that if we were to read the last few verses the last two verses of Surah al-Baqarah every morning and evening we will be protected by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala this is over and above the ayatul kursi that we spoke about in the previous episode as well as the last two Surahs of the Qur'an some of the scholars add one more Surah and that is Surah al-Ikhlas so they say the three Qul's and the reason why they say that is because قل هو الله أحد قل أعوذ برب الفلق قل أعوذ برب الناس they all start with the term or the word قل so although the two are more important because of the power of the meaning of Surah al-Ikhlas it is added as one of those Surahs together with the Muawwidat it is usually recited and read declaring the greatness of Allah because it is indeed the Surah of faith and conviction in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala now this is amazing because just by reading these verses of the Qur'an we achieve protection from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala we achieve protection you know by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to grant every one of us ease we move on to Surah al-Imran where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about those who have sound knowledge those who have sound knowledge they don't get into nitty gritties of the debates between the people they leave things sometimes saying Allah knows best you know people debate about certain things that may not be so clear Allah says the people who have deep knowledge they say look we believe in the verses of the Qur'an we believe in what Allah has said as for the others who have dirt in the heart or a diseased heart they start arguing they start fighting they start creating a fitna and a problem between members of the ummah because they want to go into nitty gritties and argue and fight in a way that is destructive and not in a constructive way so if we'd like to address a matter of difference we need to do so in a constructive way not in a destructive way many people argue they debate and they want to you know express their feelings their ideas what they believe is absolutely true from the evidence presented in the Qur'an and the sunnah etc but they do so in the most destructive way this is why Allah speaks about wisdom and hikmah and Allah says the one who has been given wisdom has actually been given much much goodness he's been given a lot of goodness because to know something is one thing but to be able to communicate it to someone else requires wisdom the wisdom of application the wisdom of passing the message on in a convincing way so if we would like to discuss matters and learn we need to do both of those in a way that is constructive and not destructive so as for those who have sound knowledge they say and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala makes mention of this in the Qur'an they say oh our rub do not deviate our hearts after you have guided us and bless us or grant us from you mercy we want the gift of mercy from you to us for indeed you are the giver of gifts amazing du'a the the people who have sound knowledge they know that while they have the guidance the guidance can be taken away from them there are so many people who saw the light and thereafter they turned away from Allah just like there are people who did not see the light and after a while they saw the light and they turned towards Allah so we don't have a guarantee that how this is going to end so we actually would be required if we had sound knowledge to continue asking Allah to keep us rightly guided and not to let our hearts become astray after Allah has guided us hence this du'a is absolutely important ربنا لا تزيغ قلوبنا بعد إذ هديتنا و هبلنا من لدنك رحمة إنك أنت الوهاب verse number eight of Surah al-Imran where Allah is making mention of it and the du'a is oh our rub do not deviate our hearts after you have guided us and grant us mercy from you as a gift for indeed you are الوهاب you are the one who gives you are the giver of gifts and so on so that is also a beautiful du'a that is made mention of that those with sound knowledge would actually be calling out to Allah with so my brothers and sisters this is a another example of how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has taught us through the Quran all these supplications imagine every day we're talking of supplications and the Quran is filled with these supplications we have not yet even moved to a different type of revelation which is known as the sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam i've only touched on a few of these du'as i'm really excited to be moving into those du'as inshallah at some point in the series we will be going through the du'as the supplications within the sunnah of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam but here is another du'a that is made mention of in surah ala imran regarding seeking the forgiveness of Allah and being saved from the punishment of the grave or the punishment of the fire Allah is praising the believers and he says they are the ones who say the following الذين يقولون they are the ones who say the following ربنا إننا آمننا فغفر لنا ذنوبنا وقنا عذابنار oh our Rabb indeed we have believed so we are asking you to forgive our sins and save us from hellfire two things are made mention of here you're telling Allah that because you have believed therefore you are asking for forgiveness so you deserve the the justification of it is that I have believed in you oh Allah you promised the believers forgiveness so I'm asking you for forgiveness you promised the believers saviour from hellfire so I'm asking you to save me from hellfire that is so beautiful so when we say ربنا آمننا oh our Rabb we have indeed believed and there is another example of this also in the Quran where Allah says in surah ala imran ربنا آمننا بما أنزلت واتبعنا الرسول فكتبنا مع الشاهدين oh our Rabb we have believed in what you have revealed and we have followed the Prophet so I've done some good deeds what are the good deeds oh Allah I have believed in what you have revealed and I followed the Prophet so write me from among those who have born witness you know شاهدين which would mean those who bore witness so this shows us that when you do good deeds it is correct it is permissible to seek Allah's help and to call out to him by making mention of the good deeds so you're going through the fact that you've done some good deeds oh Allah I followed the Prophet oh Allah I'm trying my best so I want you to forgive me oh Allah I'm trying I followed the Prophet I'm a Muslim I've said the shahada I obey you I read to rakaat of salah I've been doing good deeds oh Allah I want you to help me to cure me to grant me etc etc it's called getting to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and asking him by making mention of good deeds that you have done so we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us from among those who definitely do good deeds so that we are able to please Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when we call out to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala even without mentioning those good deeds Allah already knows them may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us all goodness I'm excited about the next session of this beautiful series and the next episode inshallah where we will go further in this beautiful beautiful garden of great supplications I'll say this and peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and his blessings