Yasir Qadhi

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi now delves into verses 9 to 13 which deals with the story of the people in the cave. This story reaffirms the basic fact that belief in Allah results in increase in guidance. The more blessed one is with the gift of Iman, the more ease he gains when trying to achieve more Iman or Faith. Verses 9 10 and 11 summaries the story of the people of the cave.The story highlights numerous signs, and teachings for us to imbibe and inculcate that testify to the great Power of Allah and His Wisdom in managing His creations. Listen intently to fully embrace and be mesmerized by the lessons of this story.

This lecture sees Shaykh Yasir Qadhi discussing verses 4 to 8 which majorly mentions the purpose of the Qur'an and the Prophet ﷺ concern for mankind. It is binding upon us to negate false accusations about Allah and affirm what we must believe about Allah. Whatever is to be known about Allah can only be achieved by reading the Qur'an. Allah criticizes anyone who says that Allah has children. Verses 6 and 7 deal in its sheer eloquence, the concern the Prophet ﷺ had for his Ummah an how he was forever worried about them. But Allah consoles him time and time again as is seen in the Qur'an which in turn even tells us to do the same when we cross paths with a person in distress.

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi now moves on to discuss the general theme or undertone of Surah Al Kahf and the cause for its revelation. The general message that Surah Al Kahf conveys is Allah’s guaranteed protection when we turn to him in times of difficulty, calamity and fitnah. Verses 1 to 3 are elaborated upon in this lecture. Among them, the verses deal with Tawheed, Risalah and Akhirah which are the three fundamentals of Islam. We are also acquainted with the three pillars of Iman - love, fear and hope. Hence, we witness sheer beauty in a mere 3 verses of this beautiful Surah.

Surah al-Kahf is from the earliest surahs revealed and it summarises the gist of Islam. The main theme of Surah Al Kahf is that Allah will protect u from all trials. There are four stories that form the crux of this Surah : The Story of the young men who seek shelter in the cave highlights the Fitnah of religion. The story of man with two gardens illustrates the Fitnah of money. The story of Musa and Khidr illustrates the Fitnah of knowledge if it doesn't bring about humility. The story of Dhul Qarnayn illustrates the Fitnah of power. Blessings of Surah Kahf as depicted in various Hadiths: Abu Darda’ reported Allah’s Messenger ﷺ as saying, "If anyone learns by heart the first ten verses of the Surat Al-Kahf, he will be protected from the Dajjal." Narrated by Imam Al Bukhari, Muslim and others, "Al Baraa’ said a man was reading Surah Al-Kahf in his home and there was an animal in it that started to become uneasy or nervous. He looked up and saw a mist or a cloud and it deceived him. He mentioned it to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he said, “Read (he said the person’s name) for verily sakinah (peace) descends for (the recitation of) the Quran”. Abu Saeed al Khudri, who said,“Whoever reads Surah al Kahf on the night of Jummah, will have a light that will stretch between him and the Ancient House (Kabah).” What is the connection between Surah Al Kahf and Dajjal? Listen intently to unravel important details.

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi now moves on to discuss the fate of the Banu Quraydha who had betrayed the Muslims and sided with the Quraysh. When the Prophet ﷺ is on the verge of return to his house after  a month of fatigue,he is greeted by Jibreel AS who commanded the Prophet ﷺ to go to the Banu Quraydha and that he cannot pray Asr until he has reached his destination. The first to reach was Ali ibn Abi Talib RA. The Prophet ﷺ told him to hold up the flag of Islam. He hears the people there speaking very ill of the Prophet ﷺ and tries hard to prevent the Prophet ﷺ from being in the vicinity of the dirty talk and tells him to camp far away. The story of Abu Lubaba RA and his story of seeking repentance from Allah is a very interesting one and should not be missed. He is a great sahabi who has witnessed Badr but didn't fight. He also fought in Uhud and other battles and he has an excellent record to show his love for the Prophet ﷺ. The Banu Quraydha surrendered on the 25th day of the seige after their supplies began to dwindle and there seemed no opportunity to escape of flee. Next up for discussion is the judgement of Sa’d Ibn Muadh RA in the matter of the tribe of the Aws. What follows and his decision taken and how it is taken is a sheer work of art and it pleases the Messenger of Allah ﷺ no end.

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi now culminates the battle of Ahzab in this final lecture on the same. Here, the main point of discussion is the skirmishes that were happening amidst the Quraysh and the Ghatafan and how it turned out to be their own undoing. The weather also seems to have played a role that is paramount to the defeat of the Ahzab army. Hudhayfah ibn Yaman RA describes it as a night that was studded with thunderstorm, strong winds, tornadoes and nail biting cold. He is sent by the Prophet ﷺ as a spy into the opposition army to find out about their innermost intentions. He goes as instructed and is delighted to return with the good news of their withdrawal of the army due to the inclement weather and the supposed treachery of the Banu Quraydha. What did Allah use to realise the victory in the battle of Ahzab? The imaan of the sahabah and the dua of the Prophet ﷺ. Nuaym ibn Masud  The ignorance of the Quraysh with regards to the rules of the Ghatafan. The duration of the war. The armies of winds and angels sent by Allah.

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi now continues from where he left off , that is, the backstabbing act of the flipping of the alliance of Banu Quraydha. When the Prophet ﷺ had confirmed information that the shift was indeed true, he split his contingency of the army and sent one part to guard the fortress having the women and the children and the other part guarding the entry and exit of the trench. When the Quraysh reached their destination, they were completely baffled by the trench realising their inability to charge and so they just sat it out and waited since there was no dearth of supplies whatsoever. As an aftermath of this battle,the death of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh RA was the most grievous and upsetting. He is the chieftain of the Aws and was the earliest converts to Islam under Musab ibn Umair. Sa'ad was the one for whom the angels prayed his janazah and took his body up and for whom it is narrated in Bukhari that the throne of Allah shook at the death of Sa'ad. A major development that turned the tide for the Muslim army was the advent Nuaym ibn Masud Al-Ghatafani from the tribe of Gatafaan. He was the one whom Allah chose to undo the opposition army completely. On the instructions of Prophet ﷺ, he commences his plan by going to the Banu Quraydha and then the Quraysh and plants the seeds of doubt among them. How does he do that? What does he say that make the tribes believe him easily? What is the outcome of this ? Listen intently and be mesmerised at how this incident sets the base for the destruction of the Ahzab army.

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi continues on the topic of Battle of Khandaq and discusses the severe food shortage at the time of this battle when the sahabah would consume dried barley with oil and such bare minimums. Many miracles of the Prophet ﷺ are depicted during the preparation for the battle - The quantity of food prepared by Jabir RA wife and how it increased and was sufficient for more than a 1000 people because of dua made by Prophet ﷺ over it. The stone that broke whilst digging when the Prophet ﷺ made Dua though it was not breaking even after various attempts by the sahabas. During the crumbling of the stones, the Prophet ﷺ had said about conquering Syria, Persia and Yemen just as if he could see it in the form of various anecdotes - the key, the pillars and the doors respectively. From the leaders of the opposition - the Quraysh, there were three leaders of importance: Abu Sufyan - his actual name was Sakar ibn Harb ibn Umayyah.The Banu Hashim and the Banu Umayyah were rival clans.His son Muawiyah became the first 'king' of Islam and founded the Umayyad dynasty. Uyaynah ibn Hisn - a crude, uncivilised, barbaric bedouin with immoral manners. Tulayha - he was from the Banu Assad who had declared himself falsely to be a prophet. Around this time, a severe setback to the ongoing preparations came in the form of a complete drift of the Banu Quraydha’s alliance towards the opposition. Banu Nadheer meets the chieftain of of the Banu Quraydha, Ka'b ibn Asad al Quradi. It instigated a profound fear in the hearts of the sahabas as they now were contemplating the effects this would have on the women and children in the fortress of al Fari and also the fate of the 2500 who were inside the trench.

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi moves on to lay emphasis on the next major battle that was fought which is the battle of Khandaq or Battle of Ahzab that took place in the year 5H in Shawwal. What propelled the battle? It basically started off with an instigation of the tribe of Banu Nadheer. They wanted to avenge the humiliation they had received of being expelled from their lands because of their attempt to assassinate the Prophet ﷺ. So this resulted in the,m joining hands with the Gatafaan and Quraysh after solid tactics of convincing and offering returns in exchange for this support. Abu Sufyan was the one who led the battle of Khandaq under who were 10,000 men whereas the Madinah Muslims were only 2500 in number. The Prophet ﷺ began contemplating on the ways in which to approach this battle and sought help from the sahabas as was the norm before every major Ghazwa.one of them - Salman al Farsi suggested that they should begin building  a trench. Henceforth, the Prophet ﷺ commanded for the trench to be built.10 people were assigned to build each portion of the trench which was approximately 2 km long, 13 ft wide and 7-9 km in depth. Next, was the issue of the women, the elderly and the children and the Prophet ﷺ commanded for them to be sent to Al Fari, which was the fortress of the Banu Harithah. Only one young man made it to this fortress - Hassan ibn Thabit. Why was he not made a part of the army despite being able enough to fight? Listen intently to fully fathom the reason. A brief biography of Hassan Ibn Thabit RA is also shared so as to understand his unwillingness to fight or hold a sword. Building a trench isolated the Prophet ﷺ and his fleet of sahabas from the outside world and this also resulted in a shortage of food supplies. They had built this trench as a mere stalling tactic to avert the opposition and fully relied on Allah’s help which they firmly believed would be theirs soon. And that is exactly what happened as we shall see in the next lecture. Do not miss it.

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi delves deeper into the reason behind the slander of Aisha RA which was the need for revenge by the hypocrites after Allah had exposed them in Surah Munafiqun.Abdullah ibn Ubayy capitalised on the opportunity the minute he saw it and sought to get even through Aisha RA. Here we see a mention of her aunt - Umme Mistah who was in fact Abu Bakr RA sister. And how a conversation with her makes her aware of the fact that a filthy and evil act of slandering against her has begun in her vicinity. She then rushes to her parents house after seeking permission from the Prophet ﷺ who sees that something is amiss about her. When she reaches her parents home, she expresses her shock about whether people are actually indulging in this horrible act and this shoes us the innocence and sensitivity of Aisha RA and how this made her cry endlessly. Three others of the sahabah made it even more difficult as they were prime factors in the spreading of this disgusting rumour and they were -Mistah (Aisha's RA second cousin), Hamala bint Jahsh, Hasani bint Thabit. Testimony is sought from Ali RA and Usama bin Zaid RA by the Prophet SAW and each of them suggest the Messenger of Allah what they think. Then the help of Bareerah, the maid servant of Aisha RA is called for in citing details on the matter that transpired that night. The end to these false rumours and the horrendous slander of Aisha RA came in the form of Allah’s intervention through verses and revelation to the Prophet ﷺ. The first section of Surah Nur is a firm declaration on the punishment that shall be meted out for slandering . This story reasserts the honorable and high stature of Aisha RA. She is the mother of the believers and is pure, the daughter of the pure, and she is the wife of the Prophet ﷺ. Her purity and dignity has been verified by Allah SWT and one who does not uphold this  is not from among the Muslims.