 In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Then, Salat and Salam to the most honored prophets and messengers. Beloved of Allah, the Merciful. In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. Allah, the Merciful, the Merciful. Dear viewers, Salam alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. It's an honor to be amongst you, discussing the holy verses of Quran and the narrations of Ahl al-Bait, alaykum as-salam. And asking Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, the blessings of the holy Quran and the shrines of Imam Al-Husayn, alaykum as-salam. To bless us more to be able to bring the verses of the holy Quran within our lives and insha'Allah, to enhance our lives. Alhamdulillah, we have started Surat al-Baqarah. We finished with Surat al-Hamd and insha'Allah, starting Surat al-Baqarah. We discussed it in the previous episode. Insha'Allah, we will continue. As we said, 29 chapters of the holy Quran has been started with Quruf al-Muqattaa, broken words basically, which there are different discussion has been made around the meaning of these words. One of them, that's unanimously, they agree that it wants to show the importance of the Quran after using these words, which it seems to us that it doesn't have a meaning. Alif by itself doesn't have any meaning. Lam doesn't have any meaning by itself. And meme, it doesn't have any meaning by itself. Even putting it together, alif, lam, meme by itself, it doesn't have a meaning that we can extract. Rather, what we see after every time within those 29 times that Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, has brought al-Ruf al-Muqattaa, the broken words, he talks about the Quran and the value of the Quran and the greatness of the Quran. For example here, alif, lam, meme, This is the book after alif, lam, meme. So right away Allah talks about the holy Quran that there is no doubt in it and it's a guidance to the pious. So it shows unanimously, commentators agree that after it, it's trying to make a huge announcement basically, an important announcement about the holy verses of Quran and it's bringing our attention to the verse after it. One commentator has given a nice analogy about why Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, brings this and what is the meaning. There are many different meanings has been given that why Allah brought these words, a couple of words together next to one another which to us it doesn't seem to mean anything. The analogy is that, for example, you have a computer, that everybody has access to this computer and they can take benefits from its softwares and from what it can do basically, surf the internet and they have some basic access to the softwares and the programs within the laptop. But there is a hard drive in it that has thousands and thousands of files and millions and millions and millions of pages of information in it. However, due to the importance of these information, only few people have password to opening this, in order to open this file and to be able to take advantage of this computer more. For example, if you have only one or two softwares and you don't have internet, for example, your laptop and the usage of laptop will be limited to only those two or three softwares. But if you have internet connected to your laptop, you have more access, your limitation is removed and if you have a hard drive, hundreds and hundreds of thousands of gigabytes of information, how much more you will be able to gain and benefit and rather to be limited to this one or two softwares. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, they understand the commentators, understanding of these words that these words are the passwords, the true knowledge of Quran, which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has communicated this with Rasulullah Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi and Ahlul Bayt al alaihum sallam. They are the ones who truly understand these passwords that they are and they are able to enter the password and extract the true meanings of the Holy Quran, which we don't know. The more we try, the more we assign advances, we get to know more of what Quran trying to communicate with us. Also, another example that can bring it closer to our mind, like for example, in government clearances. Every rank has different clearance. Every rank has... This clearance are for the amount of information that they can access. The higher your rank goes, the higher the more information you are able to comprehend and get. For example, if somebody is a starter, the password that he uses gives him an X amount of certain amount of allowance and certain amount of knowledge that he can access. And we see, for example, within the movies and series that, for example, they say, this is beyond my clearance. I don't have access to this much information. So he doesn't have that password. So these words, one of the commentators are discussing that it is about secret that Allah, Subhanahu wa ta'ala, in the password that he has given to Ahlul Bayt, Rasulullah Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam and Ahlul Bayt al alaihum sallam in order for them to understand the Holy Quran and to be able to teach us and educate us. Another meaning that has been given to these words that are beginning of 29 chapters of the Holy Quran, it's, within the Tafsir al-Burhan, we see a narration by the commander of the faithful, Amir al-Mu'mineen, Ali ibn Abi Talab, alaihi salam, where he stays, An Ali ibn Abi Talab, alaihi salam, that he said, Imam says, Allah has said, Alif Lam Meem, that book, ayyya Muhammad, that book means, oh, you, oh, Muhammad. This is the book that I have revealed upon you. It's Al-Huroof al-Muqattaah, that this book, the Holy Quran, is nothing, rather, but words that I have put together, alif, lam, meem, what I have, the Quran is made of words, alif, lam, meem, and different words, different alphabets, within the Quran, it's all made of alphabets. So, it's from your own words and your own language. And it's the words that you pronounce. I use the same words that you pronounce, and I made this Quran. Faatubimithlihi in Quntum Sadiqeen. Bring me an example, like this Quran, if you are truthful. You see that you can, and people during the time of the Holy Prophet, and even now that people argue against the book of Allah, that there is not that much, there is not that much significant within the Holy Quran. Allah says, well, I use your own words that you use on a daily basis. I use it to make, to come up with a miracle, that every day, as we said, as much as science advances, they get to understand the knowledge of the Holy Quran. Wa sta'inu ala dalika besa'iri shuhada'ikum. And get as much witness and as much help and aid as you want in order to use the same words and same alphabets and come up with this miracle that I have revealed. We see this in Tafsir al-Burhan. One lesson that we can extract, an action plan that we can extract from just alif-laan meem and the hadith and the narration that we just read from the commander of the faithful, Amir al-Mummini Ali ibn Abi Talib, alaihi salam, where he says it's this miracle of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's from words and alphabets. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, one lesson that we can learn is that in order to accomplish our big dreams, in order to accomplish our higher goals, bigger goals in our lives, we don't need immense gigantic elements and materials to accomplish them. With small little things, we can start some, we can start if it's a business, if it's about a personal growth and development, we don't need, again, gigantic tools and elements and materials in order for us to accomplish. With small things, with things that we have access to, we can accomplish. For example, I decide that I want to introduce people and educate people and disseminate the knowledge of Ahlul Bayt, alaihi salam, but I don't have sheikh, I don't have money, I don't have organization, I need office, I need, you can start with your phone. Something that nowadays everybody has it. Something that we can use and we can. I sent a picture to a broadcast that I have, that this day and age, a phone of every followers of Ahlul Bayt, alaihi salam, should be the tool and disseminating the knowledge of Ahlul Bayt, alaihi salam and introducing people about the Imam of our time, Imam Mehdi, alaihi salam. With one Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, all these small little things, it doesn't cost us anything, but if we have the mindset, if we have the intention, if we have this fire within us that we are really want, we really want people to be informed and educated about the teachings of Ahlul Bayt, alaihi salam and Quran, we will use whatever at our exposure and our hands to teach it. Allah says I use words to come up with a miracle for my own personal development. For example, I want to, I'm going to be very, very tangible and very, very low. I want to start, for example, losing weight. Okay, I need to go to the gym. No, I don't have money. And again, excuses. New Year's resolution comes. I want to lose X amount of weight. I need to go to the gym. The best gym. I need to register myself in this gym, in this program and do this, do this. Thanks. Amir al-Mu'minin, for example, Commander of the Faithful, when he advises the Imam, he says if you don't want to get sick and you basically want to be fit and don't get sick, don't eat food until you're really hungry and stop while you're still hungry. Something basic, something very simple. Again, for achieving what we try to achieve, we want to start a business. O sheikh, I don't have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars to start a business. You can start a business without even having any money. If you are really dedicated, if you are really, you want to accomplish, you want to become a billionaire that, insha'Allah, you use your money to serve the cause of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, you don't need to start with big. No, you can start small and slowly, slowly, slowly grow. I think this is a very, very good action plan that we can learn. That with whatever that we have at our disposal, we can accomplish great amount of achievements within a gain business, personal development, personal growth, religiosity. Oh, I want to gain religion, for example. I want to be more religious. I need to have hundreds of books. I need to do this. No, no, start with one lecture a day. Fifteen to twenty minutes of reading a day. One hadith a day I read about from the lives of Ahlul Bayt, a.s. And I think about it and I ponder about it and I apply it into my life and then I go next hadith and next hadith and next hadith. You see again, as we have said, this was our action plan within the previous episode. After one year, you have memorized and learned and practiced and act upon 365 narrations of Ahlul Bayt a.s. which you can see how it revolutionizes your life to a better inshallah. So action plan B, when we want to accomplish something, no excuses. Oh, I don't have this. I don't have this. No, with small elements, with small materials, with little, small materials, we can accomplish big things. Let us move on. Alif bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem. Alif laam meem. Dhalika al-ketabu laa raiba fih. The most of the translation, unfortunately, says, dhalika, they say this book. This is the book. Within the Arabic language, dhalika as-moashara, it's when you appoint something far, not something near that is tangible. Something that is near and tangible, you call it hatha. This. Dhalika is something that is far. So while Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is using dhalika, it's the Quran that we have in our hand, why he uses dhalika and not hatha. Many answers being given. We have picked some of them, inshallah, we will discuss it. Number one, within the holy verses of Quran and within the Arabic culture, and also I see this within the Farsi culture, the language, Farsi culture. For example, within the Farsi, and we'll come to this, when you want to address someone, toe, for those who speak Farsi, they understand me, toe means you. But when you want to honor him, you want to glorify him, you want to show respect, you don't tell him toe. You tell him shama. In English, both of them would be you. There is no, but in Farsi it has more. In Arabic it even has more language when you want to respect someone. When you want to respect someone, you call them as, you don't call them singular, you call them plural. Within the Quran, it's about honoring the book. It's about the glorifying, exalting this book, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says dhalika. So, that's one interpretation, one meaning of why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala used dhalika rather than hadha and dhala, basically this is the book. No, the translation again doesn't do justice when it says this is the book. No, it's not this is the book. That is the book. Dhalika. And again, because it is very high. It has very high status that it should be called and should be glorified as that. Another meaning that has been given that people are not able to reach and comprehend the true meaning of the Holy Quran which is far from them. We read the Quran which we have been recommended and we have been recommended to ponder and think and try to understand as much as possible. So basically but unfortunately it's about the meaning that's the actual, the meaning that we don't have access to the true meaning of the Holy Quran is very, very far from our understanding. No matter how much we try, which we should and we should put our time into it we won't be able to get the true meaning of it. So the true meaning dhalika is referring to the true meaning of the Holy Quran which is far from us. Which Quran has many meanings. Depth and layers and layers and layers of information and meanings are within the Holy Quran as Ahlul Bayt A.S. have said. That it's referring to the meaning rather than the actual book which is within our hand. There's more into this discussion inshallah. We'll leave it for the next episode. We will conclude by asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with the most important dua and that is to hasten the opinions of our beloved Imam Adjur Allahu Tawala Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem Allahumma kulli wali'ika al-Hujjah Ibn Al-Hasan salawatu ka alaihi wa ala wa ala wa'ih fi hadih sa'atahu fi kulli sa'a'ah Waliyaan wa Hafidah wa Qaidah wa Nasra wa Daliyaan wa Aina Hatta와تا تسكنه وارضك طوعا وتمتع فيها طوילا فرحمتك يا أرحم Al-Rahameen