Miracles of the Quran (Friday Khutbah Text)

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلاَ تَمُوتُنَّ إِلاَّ وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ 3:102

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُواْ رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالاً كَثِيراً وَنِسَاء وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءلُونَ بِهِ وَالأَرْحَامَ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيباً 4:1

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلاً سَدِيداً 33:70

يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَن يُطِعْ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزاً عَظِيماً 33:71

Brothers and sisters!

Today I will talk about an interesting topic which is the 'Miracles of the Quran'. We will do some mental exercise to see the awesomeness of Allah s.w.t. speeches. I think this is a really important topic to deliver to the people because we are losing our iman day by day. We have forgotten what the meaning of becoming a Muslim is, and how important the quran is to us which led the Muslims to humiliation and we have really serious problem on identity crisis. This is exactly what happen if we do not take the Quran to become our basis in governing our daily life. We Muslims have forgotten
who we are! Seriously….. We have people named Muhammad changed his name to mo, sharifah to sherry. Now we can see the young generation is trying to disassociate themselves as much as they could from Islam, from their family. Remember what Allah s.w.t. said:

وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَأَنسَاهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ أُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ

And do not be like those who forgot Allah. And He (Allah) made them forget their own souls! Such are the rebellious transgressors! [59:19]

Moreover, we are losing our community and the elder is fighting on minor fiqh issue like moon sighting, or should we put our hand on the chest or the belly or in between so on and so forth. This is happening a lot between the adults which can lead the younger generation to doubt on the book of Allah. As Allah s.w.t. said:

وَمَا تَفَرَّقُوا إِلَّا مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءهُمُ الْعِلْمُ بَغْياً بَيْنَهُمْ وَلَوْلَا كَلِمَةٌ سَبَقَتْ مِن رَّبِّكَ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى لَّقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُورِثُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن بَعْدِهِمْ لَفِي شَكٍّ مِّنْهُ مُرِيبٍ

And they did not become divided until after knowledge had come to them - out of jealous animosity between themselves. And if not for a word that preceded from your Lord [postponing the penalty] until a specified time, it would have been concluded between them. And indeed, those who were granted inheritance of the Scripture after them are, concerning it, in disquieting / unsettling doubt. [42:14]

So let's go to the main topic here which the miracle of the Quran and I will show you and you will get it insyaAllah if you pay attention.

Allah s.w.t. said in the Quran al-Kareem in Surah al-Waqiah :

فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِمَوَاقِعِ النُّجُومِ - وَإِنَّهُ لَقَسَمٌ لَّوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عَظِيمٌ - إِنَّهُ لَقُرْآنٌ كَرِيمٌ - فِي كِتَابٍ مَّكْنُونٍ - لَّا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ - تَنزِيلٌ مِّن رَّبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

So I swear by the setting of the stars. (75) And verily, that is indeed a great oath, if you but know. (76) That (this) is indeed an honourable recitation (the Noble Quran). (77) In a Book well-guarded (with Allah in the heaven i.e. Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz). (78) Which (that Book with Allah) none can touch but the purified (i.e. the angels). (79) A Revelation (this Quran) from the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists). (80),

For your information, each ayah in the quran is also considered as a star. There are two interpretation on the بِمَوَٲقِعِ ٱلنُّجُومِ .Firstly, places/constellation of stars. Secondly, places of revelations, or by the order of ayah and chapters. Allah s.w.t. said: وَإِنَّهُ ۥ لَقَسَمٌ۬ لَّوۡ تَعۡلَمُونَ عَظِيمٌ , And indeed it, the swearing by these [setting-places of stars], is a tremendous oath, if you only knew — if you were people of [deep] knowledge, you would realize the magnitude of this oath. Great scholar like Islahi and numerous wrote more on this topic of coherence in the quran how one chapter is related to another.

If you have at least finish reading the Quran one round, you will probably notice that the Quran is not a linear book compare to the Old Testament and New Testament where the scripture if you ever read it is like a history book. The first chapter is the genesis which means the beginning. It starts with the lineage of the prophets and then it tell about the Jewish history, the former Muslim ummah.

The Quran is actually a circular book and it starts with al-Fatihah which if it was translated in English means (the opening). It's the door or gate to many surahs of the Quran. The mufassireen said even more than that, they said the quran is contain in al-fatihah, and al-fatihah is contain in the basmalah, and the basmalah is contain in the dot under the baa'. What I want to say is the order of the Quran is… so amazing! The quran does not have a beginning but it has an opening, if it has a beginning it will be called al-Bidaayah.

If we look at the sunnah of the prophet s.a.w, when we read the Quran, from surah al-faatihah all the way to surah an-naas we do not stop at surah an-naas but we go back to surah al-faatihah. When we finish reading the Quran in Arabic it is called khatam al-quran. This infers to the word Khaatim. Do you know what khaatim means in English? It means a ring. A ring is like this (while trying to make circle with my hand) and it has an opening and opening in Arabic is called what? (al-Fatihah). This is the nature of the structure of Quran and no human being can write such a book with this structure. This is why in solah after reading al-fatihah, you can read any surah or ayat from the Quran. You don't have to follow the order of the chapter.

In surah yaasin Allah s.w.t. said:

لَا ٱلشَّمۡسُ يَنۢبَغِى لَهَآ أَن تُدۡرِكَ ٱلۡقَمَرَ وَلَا ٱلَّيۡلُ سَابِقُ ٱلنَّہَارِ‌ۚ وَكُلٌّ۬ فِى فَلَكٍ۬ يَسۡبَحُونَ 

It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day. They all float, each in an orbit.[36:40]

Look at the phrase كُلٌّ۬ فِى فَلَكٍ . Which mean everything or each one of them is in orbit. If you try to spell it out, we will get letter kaaf, lam, faa, ya, fa, laam, kaaf. I repeat again kaaf, lam, faa, yaa', faa, laam, kaaf ….. Subhaanallah! Did you guys saw that? If you look carefully it start with kaaf and ends with kaaf, the second letter laam matches the 2^nd last letter and the third faa matches the third last letter and in the middle is the letter yaa'. So, don't you see that, Allah s.w.t. said كُلٌّ۬ فِى فَلَكٍ ; each one of them is in orbit …even the letter is orbiting that phrase.

Also, another example to proof my point in surah al-faatihah it start with (ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (٢) ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ (٣
then look at the last surah, surah an-naas قُلۡ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلنَّاسِ
both has the same tawheed rububiyyah theme. Then, next in surah al-faatihah مَـٰلِكِ يَوۡمِ ٱلدِّينِ and in surah an-naas مَلِكِ ٱلنَّاسِ . Both have tawheed mulkiyyah theme. The next ayah in surah al-faatihah إِيَّاكَ نَعۡبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسۡتَعِينُ, and in surah an-naas إِلَـٰهِ ٱلنَّاسِ. Both ayah is about tawheed uluhiyyah.

Subhaanallah! Allahuakbar! Everthing is in orbit like Allah said!

Now, don't just look at the Quran but now let us see the creation of Allah s.w.t. from the biggest thing we known of for example the moon is orbiting the earth, the earth is orbiting the sun, and the sun is orbiting the galaxy we are living in and when the Muslims go to hajj and make tawaf the pilgrims are circling the Ka'abah and look at the smallest thing the atoms, the electrons is orbiting the nucleus. The point is both the quran and this world we living in must come from the same source which is from Allah s.w.t. and everything will return to Him one day. And that one day is very soon.

Brothers and sisters!

When you read to the rest of the surah al-fatihah, 3 categories of people are mentioned,

صِرَٲطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ غَيۡرِ ٱلۡمَغۡضُوبِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ 1:7

The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger (such as the Jews), nor of those who went astray (such as the Christians)(7).

In one level the interpretation from the mufassireen is true but if you read the next chapter Allah s.w.t again talk abaout three categories of people. أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ ,whom You have bestowed Your Grace, refer to in the next surah الٓمٓ (١) ذَٲلِكَ ٱلۡڪِتَـٰبُ لَا رَيۡبَ‌ۛ فِيهِ‌ۛ هُدً۬ى لِّلۡمُتَّقِينَ . Allah talk about the muttaqeen (the one that conscious of Allah) then the next category of people, ٱلۡمَغۡضُوبِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ, of those who earned Your Anger refer to in surah al-Baqarah in the sixth verse,
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ سَوَآءٌ عَلَيۡهِمۡ ءَأَنذَرۡتَهُمۡ أَمۡ لَمۡ تُنذِرۡهُمۡ لَا يُؤۡمِنُونَ , Allah refer to the kafireen, the one that rejects faith and وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ one who went astray is explain in the surah al-Baqarah, وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ ءَامَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَبِٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡأَخِرِ وَمَا هُم بِمُؤۡمِنِينَ, where Allah s.w.t. refer to the munaafiqoon (the hypocrites) . The arrangement of the Quran is really important field to be understood and explored in order for us to understand what Allah s.w.t. intended for us in this life and the hereafter.

Brothers and sisters in Islam!

Next I will talk about neuroscience and this is a little hard to explain. A syeikh bring this matter to my attention and I think it is worth sharing with you. A famous psychologist and neuroscientist named Daniel Goleman during his talk on Google Inc. talk about the important of EQ. Daniel Goleman I would say he the father of EQ and also SQ. So in his talk he explain how the brain works and how does it relates to our daily life. I urge you to watch his talk, the video is on youtube.

So, In the middle of the brain there is a part called amygdale which is the faculty that register human emotion and try to match if this a threat or not. So when, you experience some threat like; "ooo the home work is due in 4 more hours, or if for example; is that person treat me fairly or not, is she giving me "the look" if the amygdale match it as something that is a threat it will trigger hormone that excite humans. It excites us that sometimes we take action without thinking of the consequences.

For example, a person send a nasty email to you and when you read it you get angry and the amygdale register that angry emotion and recognize it as a threat then it trigger the release of the HPA hormone that excite us which make us sending back a nasty email to that person. But when you've done that only afterwards you realize it was your boss and you regret it and you were fired because of that.

Interestingly, we know that some people get angry really quickly and some are not which show it has different level. Daniel Goleman he said that there is a part of the brain that you can upgrade to make you calmer and more reserve by meditation for a period of time.

More interestingly, Allah s.w.t. has already mentioned about this in the Quran:

إِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ خُلِقَ هَلُوعًا (١٩) إِذَا مَسَّهُ ٱلشَّرُّ جَزُوعً۬ا (٢٠) وَإِذَا مَسَّهُ ٱلۡخَيۡرُ مَنُوعًا (٢١) إِلَّا ٱلۡمُصَلِّينَ (٢٢) ٱلَّذِينَ هُمۡ عَلَىٰ صَلَاتِہِمۡ دَآٮِٕمُونَ ٢٣

Verily, man (disbeliever) was created very impatient; (19) Irritable (discontented) when evil touches him; (20) And stingy when good touches him (21) Except those who are devoted to Salat (prayers). (22) Those who remain constant in their Salat (prayers); (23)

So, Allah s.w.t. have already gave us the solution for our impulsivity and impatient. The discovery made by scientist matches the solution we found in the Quran. Subhanallah!

Brother and sisters,

We should not question what Allah s.w.t. has ordained us in the quran. It is contradictory or paradox when a doctor give us a medicine prescription, we never question back the doctor what is this medicine is all about and submit to what to doctor said because we know he know what he is doing (I hope so). But when Allah s.w.t. tell us certain things like wear hijab, don't drink alcohol, don't backbite this and that we question the Quran even though the Alim of Quran has explain it to us. We do not submit to it and that is a contradiction. He is all-knowing and has infinite wisdom so he know what is the best for us and we should follow His orders.

Second Khutbah

My beloved brother and sister in Islam,

It is very odd to me that the Muslim ummah is distant from the Quran. I want to bring your attention to the quranic program that Allah s.w.t. has organize for us the first one is solah. If you look at solah, what is the longest part? It is al-qiam, (the standing) and during the standing we recite the Quran. And weekly, we have Quran conference which is the Friday khutbah. It is a Quran conference because in the khutbah the khatib explains and recite Quran. We even have an annual program for the Quran which is Ramadhan, the month of al-Quran. This is the month where we should intensely learn, recite and read the Quran.

The first knowledge that we should master by now to get to the Quran is tajweed. We should learn how to recite the Quran properly. Then learn basic Arabic and move to intermediate and advance level. Alhamdulillah in Vanderbilt we have Arabic class.

In my humble opinion,

We have forgotten the function of the Quran. The Quran actually has several names. Its not just al-Quran which mean (the thing that is being recited). The Quran also have other name like al-Hudaa which mean (the book of guidance to humankind), al-Furqaan (the criterion or discernment of good and evil, truth and lies), al-Zikr (the reminder) it reminds us why are we here on earth in the first place is to worship Allah s.w.t. and another name is al-Hikmah (the wisdom) it contains true wisdom and we should follow the best that Allah s.w.t. has revealed in the Quran. We should memorize these names so that we become conscious what is the function of the Quran to us.

Your brother,

Nasir Abd Razak

(23 April 2010)