Nouman Ali Khan

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan delivers an amazing lecture that deals with the Devil’s obsession with comparison. Lessons from this lecture: Iblees said that he is better than Adam (AS) since he is made from fire and Adam (AS) from clay, which led to Shirk. As it is Allah who decides who is better than anyone among us and we don't have any basis of comparison. Don't compare yourself with anyone in this dunya as this is not your job to do, your sustenance is in Allah's hands and you won't get anything more or less as what is decided.  Comparing in materialistic items as those of clothes, income, cars, home, etc will lead to arrogance which will lead to jealousy and thus this is what Iblees wants from all of us to fight and holds grudges among ourselves. You are not superior when compared with anyone else. If Allah gave you knowledge, fame, money, power, etc, don't consider it as a sign that Allah loves you more than anyone else.  If you have thoughts like "Why someone else is happy", "Why he earns more than me", "How can he be successful and I am not", then seek refuge from shaytan and read and recite Surah Al-Falaq and ask Allah for help. May Allah protect us from jealousy and hasad and ask for the success for all people in this dunya and akhirah as well.

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan delves in elaborate detail on Surah Araf verse 11. Iblees's status was elevated more than the angels because of how much effort and work Iblis put in. Iblis and all the angels were commanded to bow down to the creation of Adam. However, Iblis objected and said - "What's so awesome about him? I'm created from fire and Allah created him from clay "You didn't have everyone bow for me?" Allah exposed Iblis's motive of worshiping Allah all along which was only for recognition and not to please Allah.  A point of interest is that though both Adam and Iblis disobeyed Allah, Iblis tried to justify it, while Adam didn't try to justify it. The first human being that could've asked that question is Adam, but yet he didn't, in humility. Whereas Iblis tried to offer a logical excuse. Adam's response was humility, he was embarrassed that no matter how logical I think I am, I can't be more logical than Allah and when I make a mistake I will take ownership instead of blaming Allah.  Prophet ﷺ said that all children of Adam make mistakes.but the believers own up to the mistakes and repent. The Prophet ﷺ also said, "By the One in whose hand is my soul, if you did not commit sin, Allah would replace you with people who would commit sin then pray for forgiveness." Prophet ﷺ says " Every son of Adam sins and the best of those who sin are those who repent."

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan delivers a thought-provoking Khutbah on Prophet Ibrahim AS. He talks about his ability to stand on his commitment to stand for the truth even if an entire society was going against him and the fact that he was a young impressionable man. This lecture aims to reinforce the fact that even though some of us may be going through struggles in our lives, we must realize that we're not alone and many are also having far bigger predicaments in their lives. If Allah wishes, He could have erased the troubles of Ibrahim AS, but he had to deal with the adversities.   So we just have to learn to deal with these situations and develop the guidance and the strength to be able to cope with them in a healthy way. We should cultivate the ability to extract guidance correctly from the Noble Book and to live by that guidance. Thus, we hope to get the reward for the patience that we showed towards one another and forgive the mistakes that we make, especially those towards Allah and those towards each other.

Khutbah

This khutbah is period appropriate wherein globally the wielding of power is shifting. Malaysia, Pakistan, indonesIn and soon in the US and UK too. But our beloved Sheikh brings this element of power back to us in this khutbah. The power to move from point A to point B, the power to hold a pen between our fingers and the power to choose the right person to rule a natuon. Surah Al Imran verse 26 addresses this element and our beloved Sheikh breaks it down for us to understand and comprehend. It is necessary to know the levels that exist within power - power over a dominion coupled with  'izza i.e. respect and authority like our beloved prophet s.a.w. and Sulayman a.s., power only without 'izza like the pharoah and nimrud, respect and authority without power like Yusuf a.s. and Ibrahim a.s. Therefore it is necessary for us to educate ourselves with the extent of power and its relevance to us and thereafter to bear in mind that all Power, the Giver of power, the Owner of Power is Allah the Creator of Power.

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan talks about Prophet Musa AS and his stature and who is the most talked-about Prophet in the entire Qur'an. Surah Al Kahf mentions 4 stories and the third one is about the story of Musa AS. This story is different from the rest of the happenings of his life where he usually was at the forefront. This story has him in the role of a student and on the orders of Allah, he is asked to learn from someone else. But given his learnedness, he seemed to be a daunting task. How was this going to happen? The Tafsir of the story is given in immense detail and warrants an intent listen.

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan provides an elaborate explanation of what happens when a person truly establishes prayer in his life. The prayer should be seen as a seed and without it, we will not attain the end which is much more profound. In Surah Al Luqman where the father is advising his son and is so important that it became The advice to be given till the Day of Judgement. What does he advise? He says to his son to establish prayer and once it is accomplished, one should advise others to do the right thing. Praise and gratitude have to be the focus of our mindset and pour actions when we think of Allah and prayer is the best way to go about doing that. This should be the first step that one needs to take when he seeks to establish a firm, steady and rock-solid relationship with Allah that has been laid on the foundation of unwavering Iman and Taqwa.

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan gives the final lecture in this series on Ramadan 2018 and highlights some of the benefits of these last two verses, according to the narrations from the Prophet ﷺ himself, and inspires us to take these verses as a companion in our daily life. ءَ“The Messenger bbelieves in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. (They say,) “We make no distinction between one another of His Messengers ـ and they say, “We hear, and we obey. (We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the return (of all).” Allah never burdens a person beyond his scope. He gets the reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned. “Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error, our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us; our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have the strength to bear. Pardon us and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. You are our Mawla (Patron, Supporter, and Protector) and give us victory over the disbelieving people.”