The Good Person - Homo Qur'anicus (The Qur'anic Human Being)

Reflections from The Risale-Nur  a Qur'an commentary by Bediüzzaman Said Nursi

The Words - The Twelfth Word - Second Principle

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For an excellent introduction read Exploring Islam: Theology and Spiritual Practice in America by Salih Sayilgan

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Music credits:  © "Uyan Ey Gözlerim" Duet Guitar And Ney, Vol.1 by Eyüp Hamiş

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
A'udhu Billahi Minash Shaitanir Rajeem

(00:26):
Bismillahir Rahmanir RaheemToday, I wanted to continue our
reflection on the good person.

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And this is so important becauseit comes down to good character.
Maya already said in theintroduction that we all want to
improve ourselves.

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We constantly strive to bebetter, aspire to be better,
better people, betterindividuals, improve in our
roles, advance and progress andcontinuously be ambitious to be

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our best selves to reach ourbest selves and our true
potential and to be the bestversion of ourselves in the
islamic tradition we believethat we can do it by following
quranic guidance and followingthe prophetic wisdom and the
prophetic practice in theprophet peace and blessings be

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upon him we find the bestexample, the best character, the
best embodiment of Quraniccharacter.
When his wife, Sayyidina Aisha,may Allah be pleased with her,

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was asked, what was theProphet's character like?
Peace and blessings be upon him.
She would ask, haven't you readthe Quran?
Didn't you read the Quran?
His character was the Quran.

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She would respond.
For me, that is such a profoundstatement that captures it all.
He was someone who embodied theQuranic message fully in its
entirety.
He lived the talk.
He preached the message fully.

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the divine wisdom first to hisown nafs, to his own soul.
And by embodying the message, byembodying the Quranic content,
he made it alive, he made itreal.
He showed how to implementQuranic teaching into the

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different human aspects of ourlives, how to be a good human
being, how to be a a good son, agood husband, a good father, a
good community member, a goodbrother, a good leader, a good
businessman, a good communityperson, how to be in

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relationship with the creation.
In all of these roles, he's aninspiration.
He's a mercy to us.
Like the Quran says, he is amercy to the worlds, not just to
the human world, but to allcreation.
He was sent to all creation.

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He has elevated, dignified,honored all creation.
In his relationship to nature,to the animal world, to the
plant world, we look up to him,how he engaged with the beings
around him.
how he was in dialogue with thecreation, how he looked at the

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moon, how he pondered over theclouds, how he meditated in
nature, how he contemplated inthe creation.
So his character was the Quran.
And in this segment, I wouldlike to reflect upon what does
it mean to be a homo Quranicus,a homo Quranicus, a Quranic

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human being.
There are many ways to be inthis world.
But as Muslims, we particularlystrive to be Quranic beings, to
make an intentional decision, tomake a choice, to embrace the
Quranic guidance.

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The Quran is about guidance,al-Huda.
The Quran calls itself al-Huda,guidance.
It is an invitation.
It's not forcing us.
It's an invitation, a guidance,a holy GPS, a holy and sacred
map to navigate the seas ofchange, to navigate life, to

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navigate life and death.
By being a Quranic human, weunderstand how to live with
grace and dignity, but we alsolook up to the prophet, peace
and blessings be upon him, howto die with grace and dignity.

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He shows us both, both ways.
He shows us how to be fullyhuman, how to embrace our
emotions and our difficultfeelings, especially in this
time where our hearts are soheavy.
Every day we are beingbombarded.
We have to witness atrocitiesaround the world.

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By being connected to the entirecreation, we are affected, we
are overwhelmed.
We sometimes find ourselves in adark moment, in a low moment.
We grieve with those who suffer.
We weep with those who losetheir loved ones.

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We sit in agony and pain withthose who are facing atrocities,
are being murdered, massacred,slaughtered for no reason.
Our hearts are heavy.
I acknowledge that I personally,I find myself having a hard

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time.
It's very difficult to beexposed to so much suffering and
find meaning and purpose andwisdom in your world, in your
life.
especially witnessing death thatare entirely preventable.

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I think that's the most painfulthing for all of us, that moral
evil that is in the world, thatwe know that things don't have
to be this way, that we don'tneed to murder each other,
massacre each other, annihilateeach other, extinct each other,

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extinguish each other ordifference and diversity or ways
of living.
There are ways to disagree andlive and come to the table and
uplift difference, upliftdiversity.
And we can all have our truthand our firm convictions and

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beliefs, but they do not need tolead to annihilation or
extinction or extermination of acertain group.
That's not who we are.
That's not how Allah wants us tobe in the world.
To be Quranic means that you arerooted in your tradition, in

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your beliefs, in yourconvictions.
in your truth and out of thatrootedness, you are able to
embrace the other.
To be Quranic means that toexpand in your compassion and in
your humanity to such a degreethat you are walking gently on

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the earth, humbly on the earth,that you respect the dignity of
every living being on thisplanet.
that you are so alert, so awareto not step or always step the
rights and the dignity of otherliving beings, other living

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creatures.
The homo-Qur'anicus, theQur'anic human being, follows
the Prophet's peace andblessings be upon him.
The Prophet, peace and blessingsbe upon him, said, a believer is
like a honeybee.
A believer, a mu'min, is like ahoneybee.

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They are gentle and kind andthey do not harm anyone.
A mu'min, a believer, is the onefrom who other people are saved,
are protected from his tongueand his hand.
A believer, a true believer,somebody who truly internalized

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the Quranic message will notharm, hurt anyone with their
tongue, speech, or action.
They move gently and humbly onthe earth.
They leave a light footprint.
They leave a spiritual legacy, amoral legacy.
They uplift the lives of others.

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And then they return to theirLord.
and peace and contentment.
For me, it really comes down tocharacter, character, how we
show up in the world for oneanother.
And that also means how we atthis moment of collective grief

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and sadness, where so many of usfeel at times overwhelmed and
helpless and even hopeless attimes, to not surrender to
darkness and hopelessness anddivision and hatred and enmity
and hostility.
That's not the Quranic way.

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That's not the Prophet.
Peace and blessings upon him.
That's not his way.
His way is of reconciliation andbringing people together,
bringing communities together,uplifting the lives of others.
to be life-giving, to providehope, to provide light and

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healing to those who arehurting.
So I remind myself at thismoment, yes, there's no denying
that pain and evil and sufferingexists in the world, but they do
not have the last word.
I am called at this moment, as abeliever, to be in a constant

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state of service.
And that service to others canhave many forms.
That activism and thatlife-giving attitude can have
many different forms.
That means for me to be aQuranic being.
And I see that exemplified inthe prophetic sunnah and the

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prophetic practice.
I'd like to share with you aportion that has always spoken
to me so profoundly when I thinkabout the Homo Quranicus.
To be a human being that isguided and informed by the
Quranic wisdom, by the propheticteachings, that is my direction.

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That is the way that informs mywhole behavior, and I strive and
aspire to that.
So here Ustad Bedi Zaman in the12th word shares with us in a
nutshell, in this smallparagraph, I encourage you to go
back and read it, what it meansto be a Quranic being in the

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world, a homo Quranicus.
I like this Latin word actually,homo Quranicus.
We are all homo sapiens, butthere is a higher level of
being.
The Quran challenges us to riseup and aspire to be our best
selves.
And it shows us what successtruly looks like, what moral

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progress truly looks like, whatit means to be a true human
being, especially when facedwith adversity, calamity, evil,
hardships.
Suffering and injustice.
How do I respond to that?

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How do I contact myself in aQuranic way?
That is the ultimate question.
And that is a choice we make.
Willingly, freely, intentionallyto say, Oh my Lord, Oh Allah,
guide me.
Hold me.

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Show me, teach me.
Inspire me.
In a holy narration, Allah says,when a believer wants to come
close to Allah, and I'mparaphrasing, it's not the
entire narration, I become theeyes with which he sees, the

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ears with which he will hear,and the tongue with which he
will speak.
So if we make that sincereintention to be Quranic, to
immerse ourselves into theQuranic worldview, we will
always find our way in the midstof darkness.
We will always see the light andfollow it.

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And Allah will infuse us, guideus with wisdom to respond in a
way that honors His name, thathonors the Prophet ﷺ.
I've always said it, theProphet, peace and blessings be
upon him, lived a miserable lifeaccording to worldly standards.

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He has suffered all hardshipsfrom early childhood on.
He has not seen any worldlysuccess or comfort.
We all know that.
Yet it is to him that Allah sayshe's the most beloved in the

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creation, Habibullah, the mostbeloved, who did not have an
ounce of worldly goods, nomaterial legacy, no material
possession, yet he's the mostbeloved.
What is it about him, about hischaracter, that after 1,000,

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almost 1,500 years, has inspiredand guided generations of
scholars, pious people, ofsaints.
And he speaks to us today.
And this summary, I feel,captures it very well.

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And I'm going to share it withyou and hopefully it gives us an
idea of the Quranic akhlaq, theQuranic character that Allah
invites us to be.
to transform ourselves.
And we can do it.
We can reach that.
Especially now, to never losethe dual vision on life.

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Yes, there is the dunya, theworld, which can look ugly and
chaotic and overwhelming andunjust and dark.
Yet, when we turn our gaze tothe world of the unseen, to the
akhira, to the afterlife, weunderstand that there's another

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reality, that this world is notall what there is.
And we always have to look withthat dual vision on life.
And then it is there where wecan, or through that approach
where we can find meaning andpurpose and wisdom, in sickness,

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in illness, in separation, inloneliness, in hardship, in
alienation, in isolation, inrejection, we can find sacred
meanings.
Those are the prophetic, theseare the prophetic paths.

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These are the propheticexperiences.
The road to paradise isplastered with hardships, as the
Prophet ﷺ.
God's peace and blessings beupon him.
However, the sincere student,the sincere student of Quranic

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wisdom is a servant.
But he does not stoop to worshipeven the greatest of creatures.
I mean, look at this.
There are already certainqualities mentioned here.
First of all, the Quranic humanbeing, one who has the vision of

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being Quranic, being guided byAllah's word and speech, is
sincere.
Sincerity.
I have talked about sinceritybefore.
That's the number one, that'sthe spirit of every action and
every thought to be infused bythat complete God awareness by

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taqwa.
Once we are aware of Allah'spresence, He's our focus in all
what we do.
And the most fundamental formulafor this is,
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.
I begin every action with thenames of God.
I begin everything in the nameof Allah.

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I begin in the name of Allah.
He's my focus.
He's my purpose.
He's my beginning.
He's my end.
He's my in-between.
He's my direction.

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That is what sincerity is.
Allah tells us in the Quran, thebelievers are those who perform
sincere actions.
Sincere actions.
So every action needs to beguided by that intention.

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And every action is according toits intention.
Says the Prophet, peace andblessings be upon him.
So sincerity, is the number onefeature of a Quranic human
being.
Oh my Lord, Ya Allah, only foryou I live and breathe, I think
and feel, I love and do.

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I am at this moment here rightnow just for you.
I do this just for you.
For your sake, oh my Lord, foryour sake, Ya Allah, for your
love, for your contentment, foryour rida, for your
satisfaction.

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If you are pleased with me,nothing else matters.
That is radical monotheism.
That is radical tawheed.
Only for you I'm here.
You sent me here.
You called me to be here.
You created me.
And then, of course, the onlynatural and moral response, the

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ethical response is, of course,You are the sole reason for my
existence.
How can I not be informed byyour love and by your guidance
and by your teaching and by yourcall?
How do you want me to be rightnow?

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How do you want me to think, tofeel, to act, to behave?
That then informs all ouractions.
Sincerity, number one.
feature of a Quranic humanbeing, of Quranic character, is
ikhlas, sincerity.

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Absolute sincerity.
Absolute commitment to Allah.
Especially in times when thingsget tough.
Just like now.
Ya Allah, I am so committed toyou.
I know you are my light.
I know you are my future.

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I know you act with wisdom inthe world.
I know, I affirm that you are inutter control.
That is absolute commitment toAllah, to be in a relationship
with him and say, I don't knowyour ways.
I don't know your wisdom in theworld.

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I am a deficient human being.
I have a very narrow capacity tounderstand.
I cannot question Allah.
I can only be infused by trust,absolute trust.
I've seen so much in my lifethat allows me to trust Allah.

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I've seen 80% of in my life thatmakes me realize, have a firm
conviction that an absolutecompassionate, merciful,
all-wise creator is operating inthe world.

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Everything else, even if itlooks to me confusing and
chaotic, is still embedded,infused by that wisdom.
And so ikhlas is also to havethat sincerity, that commitment

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to be guided by Allah's pleasureonly, to say, I want to please
Allah in all of my affairs, inmy work, in my family, in my
neighborhood, in myrelationships, in all of the
aspects of my human being.

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I want to...
keep Allah as my sole focus.
One of the ways to cultivatesincerity, ikhlas, is to
remember death often.
That's one way to cultivateikhlas, sincerity, is to
remember one's end.
That mortality hovers over usand that we are ultimately

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destined to return to our Lord,to Allah.
To Him we belong and to Him isour return.
All of us collectively.
This is the ultimate equalizer.
There's no escape.
There's no denying.
We will all follow the ones whodeparted before us.

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So we better make sure that weare prepared for that meeting
and put our intentions right.
Even if in the past we have donethings that were not sincerely
for the sake and for the love ofAllah, we can transform that.
We can still change that.

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Right in this moment, just byacknowledging, Ya Allah,
anything that I haven't done foryou in the past, please
transform it as if I have doneit for you solely.
Please accept it sincerely.
Sincerely in a way as if I havemade it for you, done for you.
And forgive me my shortcomings.

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Forgive me my flaws.
Forgive me my mistakes.
Let me turn to you.
Let me always return to you.
If I'm misguided, let me turnback to you.
Allah is Al-Hadi.
He's the guide.
He can always turn us back toHim.

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And Allah's doors of mercy andforgiveness are wide open till
the last day.
So sincerity is one aspect ofgood Quranic character.
That Allah is our soul.

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purpose.
He is our main focus, our maingoal.
If he's pleased with us, nothingelse matters.
And I have enough recognition.
His honor is sufficient for me.
Allah is sufficient for us.
Allah's recognition, hisvalidation, his love, his

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praise, his attention.
His awards, his accolades, hispraise is enough for me.
I don't beg.
I don't tremble.
I'm not afraid.
I'm not a victim.
I don't beg for love.
I don't tremble in front of theworld's events.

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I know I'm taken care of.
I know this creation is underthe absolute control of the one
Lord.
رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ The Lord ofthe worlds, who's the most
trustworthy disposal of affairs.
أَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَإِلَّاهُ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ

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وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشَالْعَظِيمِ That is something
that the Prophet, that Allahcalls the Prophet, peace and
blessings be upon him, to say,which we know from the Qur'an.
And if they turn away from you,say, There will be moments where

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people will turn away from us.
There will be moments whererelationships will be lost.
There will be moments where wewill not get recognition for the
words and actions.
We will be dismissed, neglected,marginalized, rejected.
Bring it on.
It doesn't matter as long asAllah is pleased with us.

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As long as Allah is rememberingus, honoring us, validating us,
the world has no meaning.
Because all of that is fleetingand transitory and passing.
And they do not have any sayover my final destiny.

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My destination is to Allah.
My return is to Allah.
So all my ambitions are directedtowards Him.
Be ambitious in the world.
Yes, I'm ambitious in the world.
I'm striving for a good career,for a good reputation, for a
good recognition.
But these are not goals initself.

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or in themselves, they are ameans to a higher goal.
If you want money, wealth,youth, beauty, reputation, their
cognition, honors, awards, yes,by all means.
Those are not outside the realmof permissibility, but they are

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not a goal in itself.
They can't be.
They are a means, to reach thathigher goal, which is God's love
and pleasure and hissatisfaction.
That's what sincerity means,that in all our efforts and all
our ambitions and all ourstriving and all our aspirations
and all our struggles, he is ourgoal.

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His love is our highest goal.
And that's it.
That is the number one.
feature of a Quranic student.
However, the sincere student ofQuranic wisdom is a servant.
So another feature of a Quranicstudent, we are all always in a

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mode of learning.
None of us has truly grown up.
We are sometimes asked children,what do you want to be when you
grow up?
The truth is we are constantlygrowing.
We are always growing.
We are always changing.
We are always evolving.
We are always in need ofacquiring new knowledge, new

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wisdom.
There is no end to growth orprogress or development.
That is intrinsic to our nature.
So we are all students.
We all should be in a mode oflearning and aspiring to learn
useful knowledge.
The Prophet's prayer comes tomind Oh my Lord, grant me

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beneficial knowledge.
Today we are in an age ofoverwhelming information and
there's always this sense ofthat there's no end of
information or end of knowledge.
But the truth is there needs tobe also time to say I need to

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stop here and start doingbecause there's no end to
acquiring knowledge.
So it's trying to to walk thisfine line of, yes, learning is
important, but also not makingit an obstacle to say, oh, I
don't know enough to do such andsuch or carry out this and that
service.
You know enough to do somethingmeaningful, which is service.

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So being in service to others,losing ourselves in service to
others, losing ourselves in theservice of God, That is what a
Quranic being is, a homoQuranicus.
A Quranic student is a servant,always in a mode of service.
What can I do?
How can I serve Allah'screation?

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If you love Allah, serve Hiscreation.
Service is part of the spiritualDNA of a Quranic person.
We look at the Prophet,salallahu alayhi wa sallam, he
was always in a mode of service.
That is intrinsic to the beingof prophetic character.

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We cannot be in a state ofapathy or disinterest or
indifference.
And service can mean manythings.
Such an expansive concept.
Service can be in many ways.

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Sharing your knowledge, sharingyour God-given knowledge,
talents, your gifts, reachingout to neighbors, uplifting a
heart, providing comfort.
A smile as charity is an act ofservice.
Uplifting, giving a shout out tosome good act, something that

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aligns with your God-giventalents and passions.
But to make it a priority toalways be in a mode of service
to our families, ourcommunities, to the creation, to
be always in a state ofcompassion and seeking out

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opportunities.
Life is an opportunity to serve,sacred service.
What a beautiful moment toshine.
Now it's my moment to shine.
Now it's my moment to display mybeautiful potential.
Yalla, give me opportunities toshow them, to express them.
to express my God-givenknowledge, to express my

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God-given talents, to share thewisdom and the spiritual gifts
that I have, these treasures.
What an honorable goal that is.
And not to be just caught up inour own bubble.
So service is intrinsic to theway of a Quranic student.

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constantly seek outopportunities and make it a
priority to serve.
And service doesn't mean todeliver a grand lecture.
It's about fundamentally caringand being aware and conscious

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about the things that are goingon.
And it can be many ways.
And this is something that is socore at our humanity.
And so to avoid to beindifferent and to be in a mode

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of service.
And the human being is such anextraordinary creation of Allah.
We can heal in so many ways.
We can serve in so many ways.
just talking to a stranger for acouple of minutes, smiling,
waving at each other,complimenting somebody, having

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eye contact with someone, in atime where there's so much
social disconnect and socialalienation, to expand our reach
and our communities, to get outof our comfort zone, and also to
engage with views andviewpoints, perspectives that
are not necessarily in your ownarea of interest, meaning to

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listen to others and how theyread the world and the events
and how they make sense, what'sgoing on in their universe.
Just the act of listening tosomebody, having a cup of tea
and telling them, share yourstory.
I want to listen to you and getto know you is a huge act of

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service.
So I've talked about thisbefore, about the reality of our
social, that we are socialbeings, which also means that we
are interdependent.
We need one another.

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We crave one another.
We feel better when we are inhealthy company, in healthy
human relationships.
And so that's also...
very important act of service.
The sincere student of Quranicwisdom is a servant, but he does
not stoop to worship even thegreatest of creatures.

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So yes, the Quranic human beingis a servant, is always in a
mode of being an abd, a servantof Allah.
And since Allah has createdeverything and everyone, he
wants to please Allah, He orshe, the person wants to please
Allah by serving his creation,by serving God's creation, but

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they do not worship thecreatures, right?
A Quranic human being is notmaking creatures their goals of
worship.
That means I'm freed, I'mliberated.

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from pleasing others orflattering others or begging for
attention or praise orrecognition from others.
No, I don't worship.
I don't worship the creation.
I worship my creator, the oneand only God, but I serve him

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through the creation.
So that's a very important thingdistinction here and by doing so
I am liberated I'm not makingmyself dependent on other
people's whims and moods andexpectations or expressions of

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gratitude or recognition orvalidation I'm not dependent on
500,000 Facebook likes or fakehearts This is not my goal.
I'm not addicted to those socialmedia dopamine pushes.
I'm freed from that.
I'm liberated.
I'm a dignified human being.

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I don't tremble in front of thecreation.
I'm not afraid of the events inthe world.
Whatever happens to me is notwithout the permission of Allah
because He has written my path.
My only response is, My onlyduty is to respond properly, how

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I look at the events, how I readthe events, and make the choice
whether I want to find meaningand purpose and wisdom, or if I
want to be a victim and beafraid and tremble in front of
the creation.
That is my choice.
I choose whether something, anevent or experience is either

(40:38):
scary or sacred.
And by sacred, I mean that Iderive life-giving lessons for
me, wisdom that helps me tothrive and improve and be better
and aspire to reach higher andgrow in my character, in my

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morality, in my outlook on life,in my relationship with Allah
and come closer to Him.
Anything that brings me closerto Allah is a blessing.
Even if there is a very scaryexperience, a very trying

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experience, trauma, tragedy,there is still an opportunity
for me to grow in that.
There's something that we callpost-traumatic growth.
but also growing in myrelationship with Allah,
unearthing certain aspects ofhim that I haven't been aware of

(41:43):
before.
And I've witnessed it in my ownlife.
As tragic as the death of mydaughter is, as sad as I am, as
much as tears are every day apart of my life now, constant
sadness and grief are constant.
There are no closure.

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that heartache that will nevergo away, that painful longing
that will never go away.
You just come to accept, this isnow part of my life.
It's scary to be walking aroundwith this painful longing and

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yearning.
But as scary and as painful asit is, It's also the most
important opening for me to comecloser to the divine.
So many things that wereabstract before or theoretical

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now like really sit in my bloodand bones.
Such a profound, deepexperience.
Such a painful transformationand evolution in my life, but
yet there's also so much beautyin it.
Do I want to go?
Do I want this to go away?
No, I don't want, because thatpain is also a beautiful opening

(43:13):
to a divine window, tounderstand Allah's nature
better, to understand thereality more of this world, to
see the naked reality of thisworld.
That comes something that is apainful experience.

(43:33):
but in a way also an experiencethat had made me thrive and grow
in ways that I have neverimagined before.
So ultimately we decide ifsomething remains scary or if we

(43:54):
derive sacred meanings out ofit.
And as horrible as grief andsuffering is, it's also an
invitation to make us better.
Yesterday in a gathering, wetalked about how the most
celebrated virtue of humanbeings is forgiveness.

(44:15):
Forgiveness, such a beautifulhuman virtue.
Amazing that somebody in theface of so much atrocity and
suffering and evil, can rise upso high and say, I am willing to
forgive that person who hasharmed me, persecuted me,

(44:41):
tortured me.
And those are the people that welook up to.
Those are the people who areinspirations to us.
In the midst of so much darknessand suffering, Those are the
beautiful people that we look upto.

(45:01):
Beautiful people don't justhappen.
Those are the ones whoexperience loss and suffering
and hardship, yet refuse tosurrender to darkness and evil
or let hatred enter theirhearts.
They guard their hearts.
They don't want any negativity,destructive feeling, enmity
towards others.

(45:23):
What they are feeling is pity,compassion, And we see that with
the Prophet

UNKNOWN (00:00):
.

SPEAKER_00 (45:31):
He was persecuted by his own people, his own
community.
He suffered so much.
So many of his friends andcompanions were tortured in
front of his eyes.
Grief was a constant in hislife.
He faced starvation, heexperienced hunger, poverty,

(45:51):
ridicule.
Yet when he conquered Mecca onthe day of conquest, he
declared, today I forgive youlike Yusuf, peace be upon him,
had forgiven his brothers.
Nobody was harmed.

(46:13):
Nobody was executed.
Nobody was tortured.
Nobody was hurt.
or injured.
This is in our collectivememory.
This is why Allah praises him asthe most beloved.

(46:37):
He, he rise up so high that heunderstood in order to root out
evil, you have to first start inyour heart.
In your heart, if you can'teliminate that ounce of dark
thought or negative thought,then you will always be in

(46:59):
prison.
You will always be a slave toyour lower ego.
But to be in true service toothers and help them to come
closer to Allah, that was hisonly goal and concern.
His only goal and concern andvision is to make others

(47:22):
remember Allah, and help them tocome closer to Allah and not be
an obstacle on that road.
Quite the contrary, to fosterthat, to help them and push them
to come closer and gain greaterproximity and nearness to Allah.
That was his sole concern, hisholy concern, his holy vision.

(47:45):
And when someone approached himand asked for forgiveness, he
was able to grant that.
because he didn't want to be inthe way of this person to come
closer to Allah.
That's what true success lookslike, to be able to lift up that

(48:07):
heart and be a gateway to thedivine.
Isn't that amazing?
For me, this is one of the mostprofound lessons of his life.
This is his enduring spirituallegacy, somebody who went
through so much suffering, somuch hardship, so much

(48:30):
adversity, who had not seen anounce of comfort in this life,
yet his sole concern was forothers to be comfortable in the
afterlife.
Such expansive compassion andtruly liberated human being,
free, free from any anguish,free from any any hatred, free

(48:54):
from any harsh feelings towardsothers, no.
We are aspiring to be like that.
We want to emulate the emotionalsunnah.
We want to adopt that attitude.
We want to follow His path inthe midst of darkness.

(49:19):
How can we lift up another humanbeing and help them to come
closer to the divine?
How can we cultivate forgivenesstowards others?
That's such a great obstacle,such a huge barrier.
We carry resentment andbitterness towards others.

(49:41):
We replay the harm and hurt theyafflicted on us.
And we can't...
It seems...
almost impossible to liberate usfrom these negative feelings of
the past, which we constantlybring back into the moment.
And that's a strategy of Shaitanwho creates these block ways and

(50:06):
wants to tempt us into stayingwhere we are and not developing
into better human beings.
To continue, he, the Quranicstudent, is an esteemed slave
who does not take a supremebenefit like paradise as the aim

(50:27):
of his worship.
Now, the term and concept ofslave, of course, has negative
connotations.
And so here we have tounderstand it as a person.
The Quranic person is someonewho is entirely, completely
devoted to Allah alone.

(50:49):
complete devotion, givingthemselves fully and freely into
the compassionate hands ofAllah, into his compassionate
care.
And that is such a high aim thatthey do not take even a benefit
like paradise as aim of theirworship.

(51:11):
So imagine the Quranic studentor Quranic human being reaches a
level so high a spiritual leveldegree so high that they are not
even interested in the reward ofparadise.
They say, oh my Lord, ya Allah,I'm not interested in paradise.

(51:34):
All I want, you.
All I want is you, your grace,your presence, your bliss, your
love.
There's a famous story of themystic saint woman.
Rabia al-Adawiyah, who was avery pious woman, a saintly
person who lived in Basra, inIraq.

(51:58):
And one day, people saw herrunning in the streets of Basra
with a bucket of water and apiece of fire in her hands, like
wood on fire.
And people asked her, Rabia,what are you doing?
What is that in your hand?
What are you holding?

(52:18):
And she responded, with thisbucket of water, I want to erase
the fire of hell.
And with this fire, I want toburn down the gardens of
paradise so people only worshipAllah for His own sake, for His

(52:41):
own love, for His sole love,just to attain His love and
pleasure.
and rada and satisfaction andHis contentment.
For me, this is justmind-blowing, this highest
ideal.
So just to clarify, there'snothing wrong for wanting to

(53:02):
have Jannah, for wanting to haveeternal happiness and reward,
divine favor.
And Allah in His grace and Hismercy and boundless compassion
and generosity, he will grantthat because this is just his
nature to all those who areseeking that eternal joy and

(53:26):
happiness.
But there's a level higher forthe devout servant of the Quran
who says even Jannah, evenparadise is just a glimpse of
Allah's beauty and perfection.
That's not the origin.
I want the real source of beautyand perfection.

(53:47):
Paradise is only a dimreflection of Allah's beauty and
love.
It's another expression, butit's not Him.
So the devout servants of Allah,they really aspire higher.
They want to be in the Jamal, inthe holy presence of Allah.

(54:14):
Just to be in his presence isthe greatest favor.
It's sufficient, more thanenough.
It's the greatest honor bestowedon a human being.
So here we see how the Quranicstudent or Quranic person is
striving for the highest ideal,has this highest goal in mind.

(54:40):
It's not even interested inparadise or they don't do things
because they are afraid of thehellfire.
They are not guided by fear ofhell or pleasures in paradise.
And to stress, there's nothingwrong with these kind of
incentives.
The Quran, Allah talks aboutthem.

(55:00):
Yes, punishment accountabilityis real.
It's an element of Islamicfaith.
It's an element of the Islamiccreed to believe in moral
accountability.
Our choices matter.
What we do in this worldmatters.
Our actions have an impact onothers.

(55:22):
Our outlooks, our words, ourethical and moral conduct has
positive or negative impacts andinfluences on other beings.
And God, in his sovereignty, inhis authority, in his majesty,
in his capacity as a lawgiver,which we witness all around us,

(55:46):
we witness there are laws inplace that all beings respect
these bounds and boundaries andlimitations and God-given laws.
They don't act outside theselaws.
They behave and conductthemselves perfectly.
They don't step on each other'sfoot.

(56:07):
They don't disturb anyone'srights.
They don't harm us, burden us.
They don't disturb us.
It's only the human being, bymisusing the beautiful trust of
human free will, that imbalanceand chaos and disasters and

(56:33):
suffering and evil comes intoexistence.
The human being is seeking thatout, the inclination towards
evil that then results in thesuffering and in the cruelty of
others.

(56:53):
And that is something that thecreation is witnessing.
The creation is witness over thecrimes of humanity.
It will not stay silent.
The Quran says on judgment day,creation will speak, will bear
witness for us or against us.

(57:16):
The whole world is alive.
The creation is alive.
We know that trees are speaking.
This is a new field in ecology.
It's called biosemiotics.
The science of how the beings orthe other beings in the universe
are speaking, communicating,collaborating, cooperating.

(57:42):
That is something that the Quranalways said.
Now we know that trees arecommunicating through their
fungi, through their veryintricate system, but the whole
creation is alive and watchescarefully.
over human character and actionand conduct and is recording and

(58:10):
observing and witnessing andvery much alive.
We know that the creation actsin solidarity based upon the
oneness of God.
Everything acts in sync andharmony There's a divine
symphony in place.

(58:31):
There is a beautifularrangement, attunement,
responding to one another'sneeds, embracing of one
another's being.
Those are the things that theQuran constantly tells us.
The birds are a community, arean ummah like you, says the

(58:53):
Quran.
They are an ummah, a communitylike you.
And it's only when the humanbeing decides to seek out evil
that we have imbalance in thecreation, we have atrocities in
the creation.
Yes, the greatest trust is humanfreedom.

(59:19):
We are the only ones who candecide to be either constructive
or destructive.
to be oppressive or uplifting,to be life-giving or
life-denying.
And we have elements of this inour lives.
We have these inner strugglesconstantly within us.

(59:43):
We make conscious decisionswhich route to take.
That is always in front of us.
And that's why it says here, theQuranic student is humble, is
humble.
He is righteous and mild.
Allah says in the Quran to thehuman being, walk humbly on the

(01:00:05):
earth.
Humility means, that's not afalse humility.
It means to internalize, toacknowledge that all what I have
been given, existence, life,faith, belief, all these
God-given talents, all of this,All my potential, all my

(01:00:28):
capacities, all my abilities,all my faculties, all my
emotions, my brain, myintellect, my volition, my power
to choose and decide, all ofthis has been given to me,
entrusted to me.
And that leads me to utterhumility.

(01:00:48):
Ya Allah, you have blessed me.
You have honored me.
You have endowed me with thisamazing potential.
I don't claim ownership of anyof this.
I can't.
I am only in charge of how touse it, my intention, which

(01:01:08):
brings us back to sincerity.
How do I use these God-givenabilities and functions?
How do I use the God-givenresources, water, energy, light,
soil?
How do I take care of thecreation, as a caretaker, as a

(01:01:29):
khalifa, as somebody who hasbeen chosen and honored and
dignified as a caretaker.
That leads to humility.
Humility means also tounderstand that I'm by nature
deficient.
I am weak.
I am ignorant.

(01:01:50):
I'm in constant need of God'sguidance, of God's wisdom of
God's provision.
I cannot create a drop of water.
I cannot create an ounce ofclean air.
I cannot create endless mineralsand vitamins and the beings and

(01:02:15):
the animals that I am in needof.
I am not capable to control theplanets and the galaxies and
everything around me thatsustains my life and existence
on this planet, that is truehumility.
And that then humbles one to actin a way that honors Allah's

(01:02:40):
greatness.
And humility encourages us toconstantly seek forgiveness.
Istighfar is something that theProphet ﷺ has always done.
Every day, daily.
Astaghfirullah.
God, forgive me.
I'm not deserving of all ofthis, yet you honored me.

(01:03:04):
I fail to honor you properly.
I fail to glorify you properly.
I fail to worship you in a waythat is worthy of you.
I fall short in reaching out toothers and helping others.

(01:03:24):
I am limited in my capacity tounderstand.
Those are not ways to bashoneself or beat up oneself.
These are ways of beautifulgrowth.
It's a humility that isauthentic and that puts somebody
into the right place to growconstantly and to come closer.

(01:03:49):
This is an aspect that Allahloves.
He loves the humble servant, theone who acknowledges his
shortcoming and his flawsconstantly.
And we are in our nature, we arein constant need of Allah, in
constant spiritual poverty.

(01:04:11):
We are weak and we are needy.
We have so many endless needs,so many endless wants, and our
weakness is existential.
We are not to create theconditions for us to live and
thrive, sustain also.
We are not able to create anapple.

(01:04:32):
We are not able to bring theseasons into existence or put
the sun into a place, exactplace where it has to sit for us
to, for it to grow our food andcook our food and all the
blessings.
We are not able to create thesoil in a manner or put it into

(01:04:57):
the right consistent where it'snot too dry or not too soily or
not too muddy.
We can't do any of this.
So we have to go back and readourselves carefully.
Who are we in this world?
And who is the one who providesand sustains us?
Who cares for us?
Who protects us?

(01:05:21):
Allah and when we humblyacknowledge that we should be in
a constant state of prostrationlike the Prophet SAW one day his
wife said why are you constantlyin sujood she woke up at night
and she saw him in prostrationhours hours what did he respond

(01:05:45):
shall I not be a gratefulservant of Allah He was promised
his paradise, but yet he was themost serious in his worship, the
most intense, the one who out ofpreference would not eat or
sometimes, you know, would nottake on unnecessary worldly

(01:06:06):
things.
And he is also righteous andmild.
That is also a propheticdescription that Allah wants us
to copy and emulate, that we actjustly in the world, righteous
in the world, which means torespond in appropriate ways, to

(01:06:28):
be in harmony with others, tolive in sync with others, to
uplift others, to live insolidarity with others, to be
not indifferent to theirconcerns and pains and
suffering, to be mindful of howwe use our water, our light, our
energy, how we dress ourselves,how we walk in the neighborhood,

(01:06:49):
in the community, how we act.
Righteously means to act in away that does not become a
disturbance, a disruption, or aburden to others.
And that we are mild in ourconduct.

(01:07:09):
Mild and gentle, like theProphet, sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam.
He was so gentle with everyone.
He was compassionate and caring.
He was not rough with anyone.
Such a beautiful example for usto follow, to emulate.
And how to be righteous in theworld?

(01:07:32):
We'll just look at the book ofthe creation.
How are they so in harmony witheach other, uplifting one
another, embracing one another?
Respecting each other'suniqueness.
Respecting each other'sparticular way of being without
harming each other, hurting eachother.

(01:07:53):
When I go out, when I step outinto nature, I'm overwhelmed by
the amazing, extraordinary peacethat I witness.
Peace.
So much peace that comes as aresult when all beings sincerely

(01:08:13):
function in a way where theyonly want to please Allah, the
oneness of God.
Everybody in such beautifuldivine sync and harmony.
This is orchestrated.
This is choreographed.
This is not just a coincidence.
This is not happening randomly.

(01:08:36):
Not one of those beings stepsoutside of its bounds.
Not one of them Rarely afterdark becomes a disturbance or
makes disturbing noises or isdisturbing or a burden to other
beings.
No, you can't see that.

(01:08:58):
All what we are witnessing isjustice, balance, harmony,
order, a complex web of lifethat is acting in peace.
But it is because of Allah'scommand.
They respect Allah as thelawgiver.

(01:09:21):
When we follow Quranic guidanceand laws, prophetic teachings,
we are not oppressing ourselvesor oppressing others.
Quite the contrary.
We are making it so much easier.
We make life bearable.
We make it...
This is the life-giving responsebecause...
Allah's divine wisdom, rules,and regulations are there to

(01:09:44):
advance life, to make sureeverybody can thrive and
flourish.
And there's no harshness in hislaws.
It's perfectly in place,attuned, and pay particular
attention to everyone's lifecircumstances and conditions.

(01:10:07):
So that's what it means to berighteous and mild.
Yet outside the limits of hismaker's leaf, the Quranic
student would not voluntarilylower and abase himself before
anything other than his maker.
And the Quranic student is weakand in want.
Like I said earlier, we are inour nature, we are existentially

(01:10:31):
poor.
We are existentially needybeings.
We are always, we are poor, wecannot, create a drop of pure
water.
We cannot create an apple.
We always read the example ofthe apple in the Risale or the

(01:10:52):
apple can only come intoexistence, all the blessings
actually, if you can create acertain amount of rain and
water.
If you have the perfect soilwith the important minerals, If
you have the galaxies andplanets in the perfect
constellation for the seasons tocome into existence, then you

(01:11:17):
need the perfect fine measuredheat of the sun, which has to be
in a very exact position,delicate, intricate system, all
of this.
They all have to act in harmony.
Too much or too less of itresults in zero outcome.

(01:11:37):
So for an apple to exist, I needthe perfect sun and the perfect
heat in the exact perfect place.
Too close or too far will notwork.
Same true for rain, same truefor air, same true for soil.
The galaxy sends theconstellations.

(01:12:00):
If you ask the tree, the treehas no consciousness, has no
knowledge.
The tree has no wisdom.
The tree didn't study the humanbody.
How does the tree know my needs?
How does the tree know how toflatter my senses?

(01:12:21):
The apple smells good, tastesgood, is packaged well.
There is no waste.
You can use the peel andeverything else for compost and
it becomes part of thecreational cycle and nourishes
other beings and the soil andthe earth.

(01:12:43):
Nothing is wasted.
Everything is protected.
In order for an apple to exist,you have to create the entire
universe.
That is what Ustad Bejusamalways gives us, this most
beautiful, profound example.
For an apple to exist, you haveto create the whole creation.

(01:13:05):
the whole universe, which isfine-tuned, finely measured,
exact in alignment with eachother, such an intricate system
for us to enjoy these endlessblessings that only just satisfy

(01:13:29):
the needs of our stomach, justthat.
How many different flavors ofapples do exist?
Outs of all seasons, many of usgo to the farms to pick apples.
We should reflect on that.
Read the book of the Quraysh.
The apple is an embodiment ofAllah's Quranic science,

(01:13:50):
speaking a sign language to us.
Who do you think created me?
Who do you think knows your noseand your sense of taste?
and your body needs to equip mewith these vitamins and
important nutritional elementsthat you need to thrive.
Who can do that?

(01:14:14):
And then we look at mothernature, which is blind, deaf,
has no consciousness, has noknowledge, has no insight, has
no understanding about the humanbody, yet we claim It is mother
nature, which we imply there iscompassionate work, because

(01:14:35):
without compassion, my wantscannot be addressed.
So this is similar to seeing abook, but ignoring, denying the
author.
Seeing a book, an encyclopedia,and ignoring and denying the

(01:14:59):
writer, the scientist find it.
You're seeing a pair of glassesand you deny the optician.
You see an amazing piece ofpoetry, amazingly written
eloquence and the speech, andyou deny the poet.

(01:15:23):
You ignore the poet.
You see an amazing piece of artpainting and you ignore and deny
the artist, the painter.
You see and taste and experiencean amazing cake and you deny the

(01:15:45):
baker.
You see an amazing,extraordinary, historic
building, marvelous piece ofarchitecture, and you deny and
ignore the architect, theamazing engineer.
But yet this is what we aredoing when we are arguing

(01:16:06):
otherwise, saying thisextraordinary human being
endowed with extraordinary,amazing, unique faculties,
abilities, feelings, emotions,intellect, capacity to imagine
and dream and innovate andwrite.
We say, if you don't acceptAllah, that he is just a cosmic

(01:16:35):
accident of some biochemicalreactions or however you wanna
call it.
But this is basically how theargument would go.
And by saying these things, wedegrade and dishonor the

(01:16:56):
creation.
We devalue the creation.
We diminish the importance andsignificance of the creation as
an important book of theuniverse.
that each and every living beingis an important servant of
Allah, is an honorable creationof Allah, and we basically claim

(01:17:17):
they are nothing, they aremeaningless.
We degrade and dishonor, devaluethem.
We annihilate them.
We don't see their true valueand meaning and purpose, their
holy, sacred position.
And so that then, in the contextof the Risale-i-Noor, as we

(01:17:38):
talked about awareness of God,is an endless crime towards the
whole equation.
It's a diminishment, adishonoring, devaluing,
degradation of the creation.
Endless.
Unlimited crime.
Not only against God, but alsoagainst the creation.

(01:18:00):
If some state official wouldstand in front of my door, and I
would not recognize their highdegree and position, it would be
a major accusation and crime,and probably put me in jail if I
don't receive the importantmessage, because I'm someone,
I'm acting in the name of thehighest authority, yet you

(01:18:25):
ignore me, you deny me, you lieabout me, you devalue me, And
this is unacceptable.
That's why in the Quranicperspective of things, kufr,
unbelief, which means basicallyto cover up the truth, to cover
up, to conceal the truth, is thegreatest crime of a human being.

(01:18:49):
Denying God, the Creator, andthe creation as meaningless, as
nothingness, is a huge crime.
We need to reflect on this.
Oh, what a kind of unethicalbehavior response status.
And so, we are weak and in want,but the Quranic servant knows

(01:19:13):
his weakness and poverty,expresses it to Allah.
Like, Ya Allah, I am poor.
Oh my Lord, I'm poor.
I am in need of you.
I am weak.
I'm overwhelmed.
I am insufficient.
I am deficient.
I'm ignorant.
That's a declaration of of God'sgreatness.
There's nothing wrong about thistype of self-awareness.

(01:19:37):
This is a beautiful type ofself-awareness, that knowing
intrinsically, I have it in myhuman nature, that I am in
fundamental need.
I'm dependent on God.
I need Him.
I'm poor.
I can't live without my Lord's,my Creator's help and guidance

(01:19:59):
and sustenance and provision.
And to finish up, and theQuranic servant is
self-sufficient because he knowsthe wealth which his
all-generous Lord has stored upfor him in the hereafter, and he
is strong since he relies on hismaster's infinite power.
So in my nothingness, in myignorance, I connect to God's

(01:20:24):
infinite power and wisdom andknowledge, and my weakness
becomes a gate, an intercessorto connect with the divine, with
the creator.
And he is so generous.
All generous, Allah isAl-Kareem, the most generous.
He will open doors ofopportunities, wisdom, guidance,
strength.

(01:20:47):
The person will think, how am Iable to accomplish this?
And then that kind ofself-awareness of knowing, My
existential poverty, myintrinsic weakness connects me
to God's power and strength andwisdom and knowledge.

(01:21:10):
I'm protected.
I'm taken care of.
I'm seen.
I'm not lonely.
He is my companion.
He is my intimate.
He is my caretaker.
He is my rabbi.
He is the one who guides me tomaturity.
He is the one who guides me towisdom and knowledge.
I'm not left alone.
I'm not abandoned.
I'm not marginalized.

(01:21:30):
I'm seen.
I'm honored.
I'm valued.
I'm validated.
I'm recognized.
And he acts and strives only forGod's sake, for God's pleasure
and for virtue.
Plus the training the two givemay be understood from the
comparison of the two students.

(01:21:52):
This is the response of theangels who respond to Allah when
Allah creates the first humanbeing, Prophet Adam, peace be

(01:22:12):
upon him, and then calls theangels and asks them, tell me
the names of of these things ifyou are truthful.
And what do they say?
Glorified are you, O our Lord.
We have no knowledge.

(01:22:35):
We have no knowledge except whatyou have taught us.
Indeed, you are the all-knowing,all-wise.
Such a beautiful prayer to endthis reflection because all
knowledge, all beauty, allwisdom is from Allah alone and

(01:22:58):
all flaws and faults are mine.