 The Masalaatu As-Salaamu Alaa Ashraf Al-Anbiyaa Muhammadin Wa Aalihi Al-Tayyibin Al-Tahireen Allahumma Salli Alaa Muhammadin Wa Aalihi Muhammad, Dear Viewers As-Salaamu Alaaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh Once again, it's an honor to be amongst you discussing the holy verses of the Qur'an and the narrations of Ahl al-Bayt Aalihi Mus-Salaam Asking Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala by the blessing of the Qur'an and by the blessings of the narrations of Ahl al-Bayt Aalihi Mus-Salaam and us being the extra shrines of Aba Abdullah Al-Husayn and Aba Al-Fadr Al-Abbas Aalihi Mus-Salaam to bless us more in order to be able to apply the teachings of the holy Qur'an into our lives and inshallah get closer and closer to him. We are discussing Surat Al-Hamd. We have reached to the verse, You alone do we worship and you alone do we turn for help. We discussed in the previous episode, We talked about the Ibadah worshipping Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and it means also to obey him and why Rasulullah was sent. In continuation, when we get to, we see a beautiful narration by Rasulullah Muhammad Salli Alaa Wa Aalihi where he states, Allah Az-Zawajal, Allah has stated, say, You alone do we turn for help for what we turn to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala alone for help in what? In of showing obedience to him and obeying his orders and also in worshipping him. So we need Allah's aid first and foremost for us to obey him and for us to worship him. It's a very important that we keep this in mind that this is the very important concept that we seeking aid in worshipping Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. We're seeking aid in obeying his teachings. And also, so we turn to you Allah alone for help to be able to obey and obey you and to worship you Allah and to eliminate the evil of your enemy and to return their deceit. So every day we see the importance of reading and reciting Surat Al-Hamd on a daily basis minimum 10 times if we just do our wajabat prayers. How important it is for us to think of these meanings and what we are truly asking Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala why it is mandatory, why it is obligatory for us to recite Surat Al-Hamd if it's not because of Surat Al-Hamd our Salah is not accepted. So Surat Al-Hamd is mandatory. The second Surah we can recite whatever Surah we decide either we can go with the smallest chapter, Surat Al-Kawthar or we can go with the biggest and the longest chapter, Surat Al-Baqara that would be the second chapter. But the first Surah, Surat Al-Hamd is mandatory. So when we're reading some people might have asked me that what can we do so we can focus more during our Salah. One of the suggestions is to think of the meanings of what you are asking Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Think of the meanings of the things that you are saying to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala Oh Allah help me, aid me. I am coming to you alone for help, for aid. I need your assistance Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in what? In obeying you and also in worshipping you and also to eliminate the evil of your enemy against me and to return their deceit. Because the enemy of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and us they are attacking us on a daily basis, on hourly basis, on minute basis we've been attacked. We've been attacked from as shaitan swore to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala that I will come from the right and left and the back and the front. I will try my best to not let them stay firm on your path, on the path to you, the path of guidance. We need Iyyaka Nasta'een in our life more. So when we say Iyyaka Nasta'een as we have mentioned within the previous episode that is not only verbally saying Iyyaka Nasta'een, no truly we believe that if it's not because of Allah's aid and assistance we cannot be on the right path, we cannot be a good believer. Even as we said within the previous episode that the Messenger of Allah has taught us to say O Allah do not leave me to myself even for an glance of an eye. O Allah don't leave me alone to myself. So Iyyaka Nasta'een, O Allah I'm seeking aid from you. I'm coming back to you again in the morning two times. Dhohran Asr four times. Maghraban Asha again four times. So we keep repeating and repeating. Why? Because we need this aid. This has to become part of belief that we say it. A lot of people pray but do we truly believe that we are in need of Allah's help? All the time we are in need of His help. From every second of our life we think and consider we are in need of His aid and assistance. Turning to Allah for aid in financial, spirituality, worldly affairs, religious affairs, social issues, everywhere. First we have to say O Allah how can I need help with Allah? And we have to truly believe that He can help us and He can open a venue, open a gate for us when we see all the doors are closed. This is called Yaqeen, certainty, Iman. When I believe that Allah as soon as He intervenes and when He intervenes all the closed door will be opened to me. But it is the time that He is going to do it. And it is to my maslaha, to my benefit when He does it. But unfortunately some people their patience are very, very low. The level of their patience is very, very low. So as soon as they face some difficulties or some challenges they start complaining O Allah why is this? Doa and supplication and asking Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta'ala It's very important that Allah I need your help again in obeying you and worshipping you and also to return, to eliminate the evil of your enemy and to return their deceit. So first, Iyaka na'abudu. First we have to show that we are truly worshipping Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta'ala. After this showing of worship, comes that O Allah I'm in need of your help. I'm worshipping you and I need your help in this worship and also to be able to fight against my inner Satan and outer Satan and to be able to defeat them and to get closer to you. Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta'ala. Even though worshipping it's us we're saying we're doing it. We have the free will. Iyaka na'abudu. We do but still even within these acts of worship we are in need of your help O Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta'ala. And it's between free will and predestination. Free will that we are worshipping. We are acting upon the worships that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta'ala has prescribed for us. And at the same time we should remember that if it wasn't because of Allah's aid and assistance we wouldn't be able to worship Him. So it's a both way, not completely free will and not completely predestined. No, we do some part and we need Allah's help. We are in need of His help in order to be worshipping Him. If I see a problem within my Salah and I just keep saying Salah. I pray my prayers suddenly. I see myself. I don't know what I have read. Well, let me ask Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta'ala. O Allah, I need your help that during my worship during the acts of worship that I'm going through I'm in need of your help so I can be patient. I can pay attention to what I'm reciting and I can get closer to you. Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta'ala. So one criticism that we, the followers of Ahlul Bayt, A.S. get. We have people who criticize us that say, Okay, see within the Holy Quran, the first chapter Allah has taught us to say You alone do we worship and you alone do we turn for help. Then how comes that you guys go to your belief, to Ahlul Bayt, A.S. to Muhammad and A.S. and ask for help. Don't you have to ask help directly from Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta'ala? Has the Quran taught you to only ask from Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta'ala? You alone do we worship and you alone we come back for help, we get this criticism. And our youth and us adults, all of us we are in need of being able to answer these questions, these misconceptions, these doubts that comes and our youth are getting these misconceptions and doubts they should be able to answer it. So very good question. But before answering, I'm going to give you a concept and it's very important that it becomes a very good action plan. It is very important anyone who brings us a verse of the Holy Quran and wants to argue against us based on this Holy verse that you believe in so and so and look the Quran states so and so or you are going against the teachings of Quran because this verse says so and so. Well, we have to be very, very careful. The first answer we have to give them have you read other verses of the Holy Quran? Have you read the previous chapters? Have you read the chapters before that? Have you read all the verses within the same chapters? Have you read Quran completely and you can see all the verses and you are familiar with all the verses or you just bring one verse out of context and you haven't read what is before, what is after other chapters. Has it been other verses that discuss and explains these verses or not? That's very important for us to keep in mind. But unfortunately, as soon as we are confronted with a misconception and a doubt due to the lack of knowledge, due to not understanding and we have not read the Quran from the beginning to the end and not being familiar with the verses of the Holy Quran, they bring a verse of Quran and they bring some quote and quote rational reasoning and we start doubting our faith, doubting our religion. Oh, how can we go to Ahl al Bayt, when we come, insha'Allah, I pray to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala by the blessing of Quran and Imam Hussain A.S. to grant you visitation of the Sharan of Imam Hussain A.S. as soon as possible. Well, we come to Imam Hussain A.S. We go to Ab al-Fadah Abbas, A.S. Bab al-Hawaaj, the gate of granting people's needs. We go to him, we go to Najaf al-Ashraf to Amir al-Mu'mineer, Ali Ibn Abi Talim, A.S. Qadamayn, Samarra, Mashhad, and we go to Ahl al Bayt, A.S. seeking aid, asking our needs from that, that Ahl al Bayt give us, grant us our needs. We have ill people, we have financial problem, we have family problem, we have social issues and so on and so forth and these shrines and they go back and their needs have been granted. So, legit question. We say, the beginning, You alone, O Allah, we turn for help. So the question is again, when we say You alone, we come means no one else. That is in Chapter 1. We tell the person who is asking us a question. Have you read Chapter 2 verse 153, basically the next chapter verse ayah 153. Same Allah who has taught us in the first chapter, to say the same God in the second chapter has taught us O you who have believe seek assistance seek aid seek help through what? Through patients and prayer. Surely, Allah is with the patient. So, O Allah, I come to You alone and I seek aid from You. He taught us to say this. But the same Allah, same God he tells us seek aid. O you who have believe, seek aid and assistance from what? From patient and prayer. Sabr. How many hours and hours and hours of discussions we have to give and we have to read about sabr and patient. Which unfortunately we see some members of the community, some members of the society, as soon as they face some difficulties, some challenges, they are not patient. And they want their problems within the next minute or two or an hour or they maximum they can prolong their patience. O you who have believe O you who have seek aid seek aid, Allah is ordering us when you face the difficulties when you face the challenge be patient, that's number the first element, so Allah is telling us to seek aid from something other than Him. Allah, patient He says seek aid from patient seek aid from prayers. Salah. Wajabat, that becomes a good second action plan. Anytime that we are facing difficulties and challenges within our life, be it whatever challenge that we are facing. Let us start doing wudhu and sitting on our sajdah, reading couple of pages of Quran and praying two rak'a salat al-haj in our qanout, we can mention whatever language that we want to speak. We can talk to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in our qanout O Allah I have this problem, I have this difficulty I have this challenge. O Allah I am trying to pray my prayers on time I need your help to grant me so these are the mustahabbat these are extras, these are things that by us doing it we are following the teachings of Quran following the teachings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala where He said when you face difficulties seek and assistance from patient and prayer so on a daily basis so number one Allah has told us to seek aid from other things number one. Number two on a daily basis we seek help, aid and assistance from one another wife from husband, husband from wife an individual from the doctor, when we go to the doctor we are in need of doctors aid and assistance and help, parents from kids kids from parents and so on and so forth on a daily basis we are in need of each other's help but by us going to the doctor are we saying that this is the doctor who he is by himself he is curing me and Allah doesn't have any intervention in this Allah has nothing to do with this cure when we ask someone's aid and assistance are we only asking from them or not? and what is the relationship between us asking from the people and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala insha'Allah we will answer it in the next episode insha'Allah we will conclude our episode and our lecture insha'Allah by asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the most important dua and that is to for Allah to hasten the opinions of our beloved mama Mahdi Aajal Allah Faraj Al-Sharif us reading dua Al-Faraj Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Raheem Al-Hajjah Salawat al-Ka'alayhi wa ala aba'ih in this hour and in every hour Wa Liyaan wa Haafidah Wa Qa'idan wa Nasara wa Dalila wa Aina until you rest your soul and enjoy it for a long time may your mercy and mercy of Allah be upon you