 Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh bismillahirrahmanirrahim, Alhamdulillah wassalatu wassalamu ala Rasulillah Wa ala alihi wa ashabihi ajma'in, we praise Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, we send blessings and salutations upon the best of creation the most noble of all prophets of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, his companions, his household may Allah bless them, bless every one of us grant us goodness and may Allah elevate our status. Brothers and sisters in the previous episode we were speaking about parents and I said it is absolutely important for parents to abstain from cursing their children, I want to add something to that we should not even call our children using derogatory terms, some people use animals to refer to their own children whether it's a dog or a pig or a donkey etc. we should not do that because that is disobedience of Allah and it is actually insulting Allah when Allah created humankind he created asraf al-makhluqat, the most noble of all creation of Allah and Allah bestowed upon mankind the status higher than that of animals, higher than that of the other creatures of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for you and I to refer to others in that way would be derogatory especially if it were our own children so therefore brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers out there let's not call each other and our children or anyone else the names of animals etc. may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us from contaminating our tongues and may he forgive our shortcomings whatever we may have said in the past may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive us, amin now we move on to the prayer that I was speaking about in Surat al-Ahqaf where Allah says Allah says Beautiful verses Allah says we have instructed man to be kind to both his parents because his mother has carried him with hardship and given birth to him with hardship or in great difficulty and the gestation period together with the suckling was 30 months 30 months is amazing you know 30 months is something amazing I can tell you what we learn from this that the minimum gestation is actually 6 months so gestation is between 6 and 9 months there are a lot of rules and regulations that are based on this verse but I'm not going to go into them right now because our topic is supplications from revelation but to mention something interesting suckling and breastfeeding is a maximum of 2 years in Islam according to the Quran that's 2 years 24 months and Allah says the suckling as well as the gestation is 30 months which means 6 months so 24 and 6 and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala describes it as you know this period of 9 months in another place in the hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam so we learn that the gestation is between 6 and 9 but the suckling is actually 2 years it's very interesting may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us an understanding the point I want to get to is the du'a the supplication Allah says until that man from the age where he was just born and then when he got to his peak of 40 years when he got to 40 years old then he is instructed also by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make a du'a for his parents to make a du'a for his own guidance now by now he should have understood his purpose on earth we should be understanding it much earlier but I should you know when you get to that age and this is why in another verse the Quran says Allah says in the Quran has we not given you age enough for those who want to take heed or who wanted to take heed to have taken heed and hasn't the warner come to you so Allah says as you grow older you are supposed to be understanding Allah more you are supposed to be understanding your purpose on earth because you are thinking about where you are going you would also be thinking about where you came from so it should be making you closer to Allah and then didn't the warner come to you the warner the Quran the messengers the gray hair everything that would give you a signal to say that you know you need to turn to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so that is the age I should 40 years of age Allah says at that age this person or the humankind male or female should say Allah says Surah al-Ahqaf we should be learning this verse number 15 off by heart and every one of us should use it to call out to Allah so what is the meaning of this beautiful dua the supplication it is as follows Oh my Lord grant me the ability to be thankful to you for the favors you have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and grant me the ability to do good deeds that will please you and make me good this literally translates as make me good in my family which means make my family good so that I am good I'm known as a person who's close to you I'm known as a person who's achieved what you wanted us to achieve by having left offspring who will be good who will be pious who will be righteous so Oh Allah make me from among those whom through my children also I am good so not just good myself but my children as well make my children good that's a dua I have indeed returned to you in with repentance I have repented to you and I am from among those who have surrendered and submitted notice the term Muslim means someone who has surrendered and submitted to the will of Allah when you surrender and submit you're truly a Muslim Subhan Allah if you haven't surrendered and submitted you might be Muslim by religion but you haven't actually followed what you're supposed to may Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala make it easy for us Amin so this supplication that is so powerful that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has made mention of here in Surat al-Ahqaf you may have realized that Sulaiman alayhi salam called out to Allah much earlier using the same dua very similar O Allah grant me the ability to be thankful to you for the favors you have bestowed upon me all that you have bestowed upon my parents and grant me the ability to do good deeds that will please you and in the case of Sulaiman alayhi salam he said and grant me and enter me through your mercy among those worshippers of yours who are righteous Subhan Allah but here Allah is telling us to make a dua for our offspring make my children pious I want to pause for a moment and say what I've said before and that is brothers and sisters even if you're not married you can make a dua for pious offspring it is an all inclusive dua because if Allah grants you that then you have to get a good husband or a good wife first and then you have to have children thereafter and so you just made a dua you know Subhan Allah it's like someone something they just come to my mind you know it's very strange but if someone says okay it's very petty but let's make this dua let me just give you this example if someone says I wish I could have a burger from the spur in Cape Town Subhan Allah and you're sitting in America so if that was accepted you would need to fly to Cape Town first you would then need to be able to afford it everything comes so you asked for that and whatever if that was accepted everything that gets to it is also done Masha Allah may Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala bless all of us and may Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala grant us goodness so my brothers and sisters obviously that was just off the cuff I thought of it right now we always ask Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala to grant us pious offspring and we pray for our parents in this particular dua notice how we are saying O Allah grant me the ability to be thankful to you for the favors you bestowed upon me and my parents Subhan Allah so two things are made mention of here one is the favors Allah gave you and the other is the favors Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala bestowed upon your parents we are making dua for our parents in this way and another thing is one of the favors that Allah bestowed upon you is also your parents remember this so if you want to ask Allah you are asking Allah grant me the ability to be thankful for all the favors you bestowed upon me including my own parents my own parents that's a favor you bestowed upon me ask those who don't have parents Subhan Allah and they will tell you may Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala make it easy for them and for every one of us and this is why it's amazing how this dua is very very powerful but in Surah Al-Isra Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala talks about something different he speaks about how where we shouldn't be unkind to our parents he has decreed that we will be kind to our parents let's listen to the verse وَقَضَ رَبُكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّا هُوَ بِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانَا Allah has declared that none shall be worshipped besides Him and that you shall be kind to your parents He has written and declared kindness to parents إِمَّا يَبْلُ غَنَّا إِنْدَكَ الْكِبَرَ أَحْدُهُمَا فَلَا تَقُلَّهُمَا أُفْفْ وَلَا تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُلَّهُمَا قَولًا كَرِيمًا if one of them or both of them were to reach old age in your life you need to know something if one or both of your parents were to reach old age in your presence you need to know something three things four things the first is لا تَقُلَّهُمَا أُفْفْ don't utter to them hurtful words you know like أُفْ that is an Arabic term referring to the sounds that we make from our mouths that express dissatisfaction in a way that is insulting you know you say some people would do that perhaps in the Arabic language the term أُفْ is used you don't say أُفْ to your parents you don't use hurtful words that goes back to kindness we're not talking here of obedience we're talking of kindness there is a big difference like I've said but part of kindness is to obey in what is reasonable so لا تَقُلَّهُمَا أُفْ number one وَلَا تَنْهَرْهُمَا you know don't rebuke them don't reply to them in an insulting way don't rebuke them the third thing when you say anything use the best words to address them may Allah forgive us for the shortcomings you know I'm sitting here thinking how many times I might have unknowingly or knowingly said things to my own parents without thinking that you know this might not be the best way I could have worded what I want to say Allah says you need to say if you want the mercy of Allah those parents of yours even when you disagree with them disagree with the most beautiful words and when you are saying anything to them say it with beautiful words kareem words that are filled with honour with dignity and the fourth thing وَقْفِضْ لَهُمَا جَنَاحَذُلِّ مِنَ الْرَحْمَهَ lower the wing of mercy the shade of mercy جَنَاحَذُلِّ مِنَ الْرَحْمَهَ you know humility humbleness and mercy they should feel from you وَقُرْ رَبِّرْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبْبَيَانِ صَذِيرًا Allahu Akbar say O my Lord O my Lord have mercy on them because they brought me up when I was young O Allah have mercy on them because they brought me up when I was little amazing ربِّرْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبْبَيَانِ صَذِيرًا O Allah both of them they brought me up when I was little have mercy on them it is important to make dua for our parents ربِّرْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبْبَيَانِ صَذِيرًا this supplication is definitely from revelation it is divine Allah is instructing man to say you know say call out to Allah say ربِّرْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبْبَيَانِ صَذِيرًا may Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'ala make us from those who understand these beautiful supplications towards our parents for the benefit of our parents and something unique that I can teach you today you may know it already but we can repeat it for the benefit of ourselves even if your parents have passed away keep making dua for their mercy for their goodness and so on for as long as they are part of the ummah that dua will benefit them and it is a requirement that you keep making dua for them you ask Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'ala to have mercy upon your parents you know to have mercy upon them to forgive them their shortcomings to give them jannah that dua is probably the most powerful way that you can help your deceased parents amazing that dua is one of the most powerful ways if not the most powerful way that you can actually benefit your deceased parents it's very easy it's not difficult you know people think of very difficult things how can I help my father he's passed away make dua for him repeat the dua keep repeating it every day oh Allah forgive my father grant him jannah forgive my mother grant her jannah make it easy for her in her grave and so on and resurrect her with the pious any dua to do with her forgiveness and her akhirah or his in terms of your parents or both of them that would help them the most those supplications are definitely amazing I want to move on to something else which is the next you know circle we started off we spoke about the family we spoke about parents now we want to speak about the rest of the Ummah the rest of the Muslims so the supplication there we will notice it in the lives of the muhajirin and Ansar you know those who fled Makkahul Mukarrama or those who had left Makkahul Mukarrama upon the instruction of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala at the time of the Hijrah they went to Madinah Munawwara when they went to Madinah Munawwara they were met with the Ansar and those muhajirin and Ansar they loved each other they sacrificed for each other in many many ways there were others who followed even with even like us we are from among those who followed later on we are not muhajirin nor are we Ansar but we are those who followed who came later on so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about those who came immediately afterwards and even those who followed later and this verse is in Surat al-Hash verse number 10 those who came after them they say or they said so either you continue saying if it is now or those before you have just said it so those who came after them they say what do they say? may Allah make this du'a on our tongues very often O our Rab forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Iman those who came before us from the Ummah O Allah forgive us and forgive our brothers and sisters ikhwanina here would include brothers and sisters members of the Ummah O Allah forgive us and forgive our brethren those who have come before us in Iman so we are making du'a for those who came before us it shows that there is a concern it shows that there is a feeling I don't just want to be forgiven but I want those before me to also be forgiven amazing amazing it's very deep I think a lot of us are quite selfish we don't even think of it some of us might be making this du'a but we don't even know what it means now sometimes you might have read a little book of history where there might have been a dispute between those who preceded us whether they were from the Sahaba or those who came later on the companions or those who followed there might have been a small dispute even later on there might have been wars between the Muslims there might have been people who were right and wrong we might have read things the books of history could have been changed they could be inaccurate in some cases depending on what exactly the story was and how it came to us all of that set aside we say forgive us and forgive those who preceded us with Iman and now because I might have a slight feeling oh you know there was a dispute between this person and this person in 500 after Hijra or 656 Hijri when Baghdad actually dropped and so on and so we have a slight feeling in our heart sometimes so Allah says the continuation of that dua O Allah do not place in our hearts the slightest negative feeling for those who have believed with us Subhanallah do not place in our hearts the slightest hatred, ill-feeling malice, whatever else it may be for the rest of the believers that's something interesting so whatever happened between them is between them and Allah you know I'm living now so many years later even if we've had a dispute with someone of the ummah we are asking Allah O Allah do not let that malice come into my heart for another Muslim if you look at the problems we're facing on the globe today the Muslims among themselves there is so much of hatred that they don't want to look eye to eye for any reason they are looking for any reason to be divided unfortunately surely we should be looking for any reason to be united Don't make in our hearts those who believe O Allah do not place in our hearts the slightest negative feeling for those who have believed so shaitan comes to you and makes you say they haven't believed they are not believers and this is a sickness in the ummah people think they are qualified to remove the rest of those who are saying la ilaha illa Allah Muhammadur Rasul Allah from the fold of the ummah subhan Allah we might want to discuss we might want to warn we might say there are certain deeds that may negate your faith in Allah but to start taking people in and out of the ummah as though it's a property of ours and we have the right to say and to bring in and take out that is very dangerous that is what is resulting in the fighting, the killing, the wars the hatred, the destruction within the ummah whereas we are supposed to be coming together there will be differences there were differences from the time of the companions of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam may Allah be pleased with them and us too we need to know how to deal with difference of opinion respectfully and we may want to differ we may want to strongly disagree on certain matters but that should not result in hatred within and among those who utter that shahada it is a very sacred shahada I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship besides Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad peace be upon him is his messenger his prophet, his slave his worshipper that is a shahada the declaration of Tawheed as goodness so this is why that dua ends O Allah do not place in our hearts any ill feeling towards those who have believed you are the most kind the most merciful you are filled with kindness and mercy you are the greatest O Allah fill our hearts with kindness and mercy too so this is a dua I call on all of us to read this dua on a daily basis there is no fixed number no fixed place no specific time but it's just a supplication from the Quran that would be very very powerful if we were to use these words bearing in mind their meaning to call out to Allah O Allah forgive us and those of our brethren who have preceded us with iman and do not let our hearts hold within these hearts even the slightest ill feeling even the slightest ill feeling against those who have believed for indeed O our Lord you are the most kind the most forgiving may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us benefit from these beautiful divine supplications mentioned in Revelation and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless every one of us until we meet again I say this word peace be upon you and mercy of Allah