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Bismillāh ar-Raḥmān ar-Raḥīm. Alhamdulillāhi Rabbil-‘Alameen. Wa salātu wa salāmum ‘alā ash-sharafi al-anbiyā’ wal-mursalīn, Muḥammadin Rasūlallāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa ‘alā ālihi wa sahbihi wa sallam. Tasliman kathīran kathīrān.
Muhammadu, my brothers and sisters,
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullāh ta’ālā,
he is reported to have said that there is nothing which is a more powerful cure for a troubled heart and mind than the recitation of the Qur’an.
There is nothing which is a more powerful cure for the troubled heart and mind than the recitation of the Qur’an. Obviously, if the recitation is done with understanding the meaning, this is what is required, Alhamdulillah. But even without understanding the meaning, just the recitation of the Qur’an al-Karīm is shifā’, is cure for all kinds of issues and problems of the heart and mind.
There is a power in the kalam of Allāh. Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā Himself said, Allāh said, “Itminānu l-qalb fid-dhikri min Allāh.”
The peace of mind is in the dhikr of Allāh. Now dhikr of Allāh is anything, any form of remembrance of Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā. So if you say SubḥānAllāh, Alhamdulillāh, Allāhu Akbar, and other tasbihāt, if you, when you pray, when you read something, talk about something, listen to something which is about Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā, it is all dhikr. But the real, the actual dhikr which Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā has written, called the dhikr, is the Qur’an because Allāh SWT said: إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ (inna nahnu nazzalna adh-dhikra wa innahu la-hafizun). Allāh said verily We have sent down Our Dhikr; that Dhikr is the Qur’an, and Allāh said and We will guard it, We will protect it. So the dhikr of Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā is the Qur’an al-Karīm, and the recitation of the Qur’an is the cure for all forms of ailments of the heart and mind: cure for anxiety, cure for depression, cure for despair, cure for fear, cure for anything, you name it, any problem. Recitation of the Qur’an—the more you recite the Qur’an, the more your heart and mind will be at peace, right?
Now somebody sent me one very nice thing; my elder sister sent me this very nice thing which someone has written. I thought I will share with you. It says if the Qur’an could address your heart directly, perhaps it would speak like this. He is saying if the Qur’an is talking to you, this is what the Qur’an will probably say.
Surah Al-Baqarah says: “I am long, yes, but so are your worries, your scrolling, your distractions, and your endless excuses. Make space for Me anyway. Bring Me into your home and watch what cannot coexist with Me begin to fade. Bring Me into your home and watch what cannot coexist with Me disappear. Remember, Shaitan does not remain where I am received.”
Ayat-ul-Kursi says: “I am One Ayah yet within Me are oceans of protection. Do not underestimate what Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā has placed in Me. Recite Me after your prayers, after Salah, and before you sleep. And remember, Your Guardian does not need sleep and does not grow tired.”
Surah Al-Mulk will say: “Return to Me often in the stillness of the night. Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam—we know the Ḥadīth of Sayyidatina Ayesha Siddiqah—she said Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam did not sleep until he recited Surah Al-Sajdah and Surah Al-Mulk every night.”
And he said Surah Al-Mulk is a light in the grave, in the grave, and he said and Surah Al-Mulk is an intercessor before Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā on the Day of Judgment. So it says Surah Al-Mulk will say: “Return to Me often in the stillness of the night. I will stand for you by Allāh’s permission when you have nothing else standing for You. I will remind you that true success was never in rank and wealth or recognition but in sincerity, obedience, and righteousness.”
Surah Al-Kahf will say: “Come to Me every Friday without delay. I will anchor you when the world becomes confusing and loud. Within Me are stories that correct your perception of power, wealth, knowledge, and trials. Whoever holds to My lessons will not be easily misled.”
Surah Yāsīn will say: “I call you back to clarity. Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā is able to do and He is in control over all things. Do you forget how life began and how it will end? Read Me and remember the certainty. Every soul is moving towards its meeting with its Lord.”
Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā will say in Surah Yāsīn: “Al-Yawma nakhtimu ‘alā afwāhihim wa tukallimūna ‘aydīhim wa tashhadu arjuluhum bimā yakhsibūn” (Allāh said this mouth will be sealed).
And your hands and feet will talk about what you used to do and where you used to go. So all the games we play, all the lies we tell, all the people we think we are so smart—we can manipulate people; we think we are so smart, we can fool people—all this smartness will not work. It doesn’t even work here; it does not even work in this life because people see through you. You can manipulate somebody one time, after that he is also not a fool. You are smart but the other fellow is also smart.
So how will it work with Allāh subḥānahu wa ta’ālā?
Surah Ar-Raḥmān will say: “I repeat the same question.”
I repeat the same question not because your Rabb is in need but because your heart is in neglect.
So which of the favours of your Rabb will you deny? Paul said look around, breathe—you are surrounded by mercy that you rarely acknowledge.
Surah Al-Falaq and Surah An-Nās will say: “Call upon Us in the morning and in the evening, and We will teach your heart how to seek refuge properly from envy, from harm, from whispers, from what you see and what you cannot see. Place it all in the protection of Allāh.”
Surah Al-Baqarah, Nabi sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “The one who recites this Surah in the night before going to sleep, poverty will not touch him.”
Surah Al-Baqarah says: “Do not let the fear of provision consume You. I remind You that sustenance (Rizq) is written, and the Hereafter is not a possibility; it is a certainty.” And the Hereafter is not a possibility—stop letting tomorrow weaken Your trust in the One who is already providing for today. Hmm, that’s why the Ḥadīth sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam which I mentioned so many times—he said that if you wake up in the morning healthy, your body is functioning.
And you have enough food for that day.
And you are in an environment where there is a roof over your head, you are in peace, and you are in peace then it is as if the whole world has been gathered for you, hmm, one day.
Surah Ad-Duḥā says: “When you feel abandoned by life, misunderstood or weighed down by silence, come to Me. I carry a reminder for every broken heart. Your Rabb has not forsaken You nor is He displeased.”
And never despair. Allāh has said to the Prophet: “The coming that looks better than what you think you have lost.”
I remind myself whoever wrote this may Allāh bless them very nicely, very beautifully written.
The thing is to get closer to the Qur’an, and you get close to the Qur’an by reading it. So make the recitation of the Qur’an something that you do every single day.
Like you eat food every single day. You don’t say today is okay, I won’t eat; I’m too tired to eat; I’m too sleepy to eat. No. Nobody is too sleepy to eat. So why are we too sleepy to eat?
This is food for the soul.
See, if you think about it,
today we live in a world where anxiety is the number one problem. All over the world, anxiety is number one. Faster selling, bigger selling drug is Prozac—Antidepressant. People are living in countries which are supposed to be the dream countries of the world. The American Dream, God knows what dream.
And people are committing suicide. They have got massive depression, massive problem with despair.
Mental illness is like an epidemic. I have a friend of mine who is a psychiatrist and he is a psychiatrist for children. So I said, “What is a psychiatrist for children?”
children? He says, I have had seven-year-old children, eight-year-old children who come to my clinic wanting to commit suicide. Seven-year-old child, suicidal.
Seven, eight-year-old child wants to kill somebody.
This is America.
And don’t think that this is America; America is so bad. Believe me, you’ve got a bigger problem here in this country. There it’s visible, here it’s not. That’s the only difference. We hide it. They talk about it openly. There’s no other difference.
Why? Today, the world globally has more money, has more wealth than human beings have ever had in history. I’m talking about spread money. Money is spread in society. Today it is bigger and more massive in terms of wealth. Than ever in the history of humanity. Yet, mental illness is an epidemic. Depression is an epidemic. There are literally thousands of people who come and commit suicide. Why?
If I tell you that there are people in sub-Saharan Africa, in Somalia, and this way and that way, where people are starving, they have no food and they’re dying of starvation, you understand this. There is no food, they’re dying of what else? If they have food, they will eat. If there is no food, they die.
But supposing you are very hungry. Supposing they’re starving people. I bring them, I put them into a room, I have this massive 3D screen. And on this 3D screen, I also have an aroma-creating machine. And on this 3D screen, I project images of fantastic foods.
And the aroma machine, can you imagine?
Fresh hot parathas. And dum ka khima.
What will happen to your hunger?
Will your belly feel satisfied or will it become more hungry? I’m talking to you.
Now I’m telling you, I’m showing you such beautiful pictures.
Why do you get more hungry?
Because pictures are not food for your belly.
Looking at photos doesn’t fill your stomach.
So by buying cars, looking at pictures, buying money, buying cars, buying a house, getting married,
how does your stomach fill up?
Shopping. What do they call it?
Retail therapy. We’ve got words for everything. Retail therapy. If you’re not feeling good, go shopping. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un (إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ). Can you think of anything more stupid? But this is the word. Just like your belly does not fill with pictures of food, the belly of your soul does not fill with material things.
If you are worried, if you are depressed, if you are anxious, if you buy a gold-plated car also, that anxiety will not go away. It will actually increase. What if my car gets scratched?
The food for the soul is the kalam of Allah. That is why ala bi zikrillahi.
laisa fi ta’am laisa fi niza
laisa fi sulta wa bulk na khaane mein hai na gharo mein hai na saltanat mein hai na kuwat taqat mein hai ala bi zikrillahi tatma illa qulub
in the zikr of Allah’s name. So make the recitation of the Quran something that you do every single day just like you eat food every single day.
Because that is food for the soul. Otherwise your soul will starve like your belly is starving. And the starvation of the soul is much worse.
We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala to fill our lives with the nur of the Quran al-Kareem and to take away all our worries and our problems and so on and to make us people who read the Quran, who understand the Quran and who live by the Quran al-Kareem and to make us people as was taught by Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam wa sallallahu ala nabiyyil kareem wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma’in bi rahmatika ar-Rahman