Nouman Ali Khan

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan delves into an explicit lecture dealing with the most well-known story in history which is that of Adam AS - the story of the apple. This is to educate us amply well before delving into the further Ayats of Surah Al Baqarah. Islam provides us with the astonishing details of the creation of Adam AS. Both Christian and Jewish traditions are remarkably similar yet importantly different from the Quran. Why is this ancient tale important, and what does the Quranic story of Adam and Eve say about humankind? Satan did not say to Adam and Eve “go eat from that tree” nor did he tell them to disobey God. He whispered into their hearts and planted thoughts and desires. Their minds became filled with thoughts of the tree, and one day they decided to eat from it.  Adam and Eve behaved as all human beings do; they became preoccupied with their own thoughts and the whisperings of Satan and they forgot the warning from Allah SWT. It is at this point that the Jewish and Christian traditions differ greatly from Islam.  At no point do the words of Allah SWT in the Quran, or the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ indicate that Satan came to Adam and Eve in the form of a snake or serpent. According to the Quran, despite their momentary weakness, both Adam and Eve sincerely repent, and Allah SWT lovingly forgives them providing them words of comfort. Eating the fruit of the tree was a mistake committed by both Adam and Eve. The descendants of Adam AS are not being punished for the sins of their original parents.

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan delves into a detailed analysis of Ayats 28 and 29 of the remarkable Surah Al Baqarah. Ayah 28 commences by expressing surprise at those who insist on being ungrateful to Allah SWT and denying Him. The disbelievers had never denied Allah SWT rather only the Prophet ﷺ. But the Qur’an places such a denial in the same category as the denial of Allah SWT Himself. The Ayah reminds man that once he was “dead” or that he had no life. Allah SWT made us into a man and gave us life. Allah warns us that our life will be taken and given back to us a second time which refers to the Day of Judgment.  According to this Ayah, the chief blessing of Allah SWT for man is life. But the Ayah counts death too as a blessing because physical death is the door to the life of the other world or the HereAfter after which there is no death. Allah SWT reasserts this very aspect by having described our entire life journey, and if we truly reflect on it, it scares us because we realize that in the end we will return to Him and be held responsible for what we did. After Allah SWT mentioned the proofs of His creating humans, He mentions another proof, that is, the creation of the heavens and earth. This Ayah indicates that Allah SWT started creation by creating the earth and then He made Heaven into seven Heavens. Allah SWT created this land for us and provided for all our needs and then He created the sky and created seven perfect skies. And this land and sky work to fulfill our needs to provide us with livelihood, fruits, vegetation and much more. And indeed Allah SWT knows everything.

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan delivers an amazing lecture that sheds light on Ayats number 26,27 and 28 of the esteemed Surah Al Baqarah. In ayah number 26, Allah SWT stated that He does not shy away or hesitate from, giving an example of anything, whether the example involves a significant or an insignificant matter. The mosquito lives as long as it needs food, but when it gets fat, it dies. This is also the example of people whom Allah mentioned in the Qur’an: when they acquire (and collect the delights of) the life of this world, Allah takes it away from them. Who are the Fasiqeen? The word Fasiqeen means those who aim at transgressing the commandments of Allah. A man who commits a major sin and does not repent, or who insists on committing minor sins and makes it a habit is called a fasiq. In Ayat number 27, we are acquainted with the characteristics of the disbelievers and they contradict the qualities of the believers. What was the covenant? Listen intently.  This Ayat is about the disbelievers and the hypocrites among the People of the Book. The Quran will guide or misguide people based on their Intentions before reading it. If they are seeking guidance from it, Allah will guide them. If they are seeking criticism for it, Allah will misguide them through it. The Qur’an says that real losers are those who go against Divine commandments. That would be the real loss when compared to the trivial loss of this world which is too small to be given any serious consideration.

Orlando Shooting, Response by Nouman Ali Khan June 15, 2016

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan delves into an explicit understanding of Ayat number 23 onwards of the magnificent Surah Al Baqarah. “And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah, if you should be truthful.” We are well aware that the Qur’an is the Greatest Miracle given to the Prophet ﷺ. The Message of the Messenger of Allah SAW is true. Allah SWT begins to prove the truth of Prophethood after He stated that there is no deity worthy of worship except Him. If anyone claims that he was sent with did not come from Allah SWT, then Allah SWT openly challenges those people to produce something similar to what the Prophet ﷺ has brought to you, using the aid of anyone other than Allah SWT.  However, Allah SWT clearly stated without doubt that the Qur’an will never be opposed or challenged by anything similar to it for the rest of eternity. How will anyone be able to produce something like the Qur’an, when the Qur’an is the Word of Allah Who created everything. How are the ignorant ever going to compete with Allah SWT, NaoozuBillah?

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan delves into an elaborate explanation into some of the Ayats of Surah Al Baqarah. In Ayat number 21, “O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous.” In the above Ayah, Allah SWT mentions His Oneness in Divinity and stated that He has favored His servants by bringing them to life after they did not exist. Taqwa in this Ayah means ‘protect’ yourself. To summarise, this Ayah is a call to all of mankind to emphasize on the Oneness of Allah and the significance of the basic declaration of the Islamic creed. Having said that, it is not enough to affirm the Oneness of Allah SWT orally. Rather one must have a complete certitude, and must also have the truth always present close to one’s heart, for Tawheed is to see Allah as One, and not merely to say that He is One. The reality of the present times is that even though the number of those who respect this basic formula of the Islamic creed runs to millions, but sadly, their lives do not exhibit Tawheed. This needs to be analyzed and the concept of Tawheed needs to be reinstated tie and time again in order for us to have some form of respect when we stand resurrected on the Day of Judgement.

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan delves into an understanding of Ayats 17 onwards of Surah Al Baqarah. In these Ayaah, we understand hypocrisy( Nifaq) with more examples. Allah SWT has described everything with examples in the Quran. The lessons that can be imbibed from these Ayahs are: No one can guide or help a person, who does not seek help from Allah. A hypocrite cannot imitate others in guidance due to being blind to the truth. The Munafiqeen are a lost cause and are blocked off from guidance in every way An example is given in relation to the hypocrites by saying that they are like a person who started a fire when the fire was lit, and illuminated the surrounding area, the person benefited from it and felt safe. Then the fire was suddenly extinguished. Such is the case with the hypocrites who preferred misguidance over guidance, deviation over righteousness. Allah SWT is pointing here towards the darkness of the heart. When does a person lose Noor (light) of the heart? This happens when his heart is filled with worldly wishes, shirk, and hypocrisy. Those who don’t want help Allah SWT also doesn’t help them. So a hypocrite that pretends Islam and conceals Kufr, will not benefit since he does not truly believe in Islam.  Some additional characteristics of the hypocrites are described in the next Ayat that they are deaf, dumb and blind to Allah SWT because they do not have Iman and they do not give attention towards the right path. They do not want to listen and even if they listen they do not accept it. The only thing visible to them is the difficulties in the way of Islam, but they cannot observe the permanent benefits out of these difficulties.

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan delves into Ayats 12 and forward from Surah Al Baqarah. In Ayat number 12, the main address is to the hypocrites. When they are told not to cause mischief on the earth they say, “We are peacemakers”.  Allah SWT confirms in this Ayah, that hypocrites (Munafiqeen) think that they are reformers but they have lost the ability to perceive. By their blind arrogance, they suppress the good and encourage evil. Since they are so obviously ignorant, the hypocrites are unaware of their degree of deviation and ignorance, and such a situation is more dangerous and far from the truth than one who is aware. Hypocrites misdirect, mislead and deceive the believers. The hypocrites also want to have a share of the benefits and gains that the believers might possibly acquire. They degrade the believers by rejecting Iman and for his desires and wishes, he accepts the religion (Deen) and only performs those tasks which are easy to perform. Allah SWT says that they are Daaleen (went astray) who have no Hidayah in the matters of Ilm and Amal and they are putting their useless efforts which just amplifies their ignorance.

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan delves into a detailed Tafseer of some of the Ayats of Surah Al Baqarah. In Ayat 9, the hypocrites are being discussed at great length in the fact that in the company of the believers, the hypocrites would pretend to be pious Muslims, but the moment they were asked to do something for the sake of Allah SWT such as performing an act of worship, giving charity, or going on Jihad, they would back out. This is an indication of their total ignorance. But they didn't realize that even if they attempted to conceal their true emotions, Allah SWT knows what the hearts conceal. Through this Ayah, Allah SWT warned Muhammad ﷺ to be careful of the hypocrites or the Munafiqoon. Allah SWT punishes them in a way by taking away their ability to think and see the truth.  A hypocrite is defined as someone who ditches the long-term gains for the short term gains. He is devious and defies with his heart and deeds. He changes his mind frivolously only in that which has a benefit for him. We can easily spot a Munafiq by his self-contradictory statements and behavior and we are advised to tread carefully when dealing with him consciously. We should pray to Allah SWT to cleanse our hearts from all kinds of hypocrisy, Ameen.

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan delves into the topic of Nifaq ( hypocrisy) and the Munafiqoon in Ayats 8 and 9 of Surah Al Baqarah. The hypocrites have been described exhaustively in  Surah at-Tawbah (chapter 9), Surah an-Nur (chapter 24), Surah al-Munafiqoon (chapter 63) and other Surahs as well so that their description would be known and their ways and errors could be avoided. Allah SWT talks about the hypocrites as those who claim Iman by their tongues, but in their hearts they conceal disbelief. Allah SWT revealed the characteristics of the hypocrites so that the believers would not be deceived by their outer appearance, thus saving the believers. The believers might think that the hypocrites were believers when in reality they are disbelievers. Allah SWT knows everything that is inside our hearts and how we act.  In Ayat number 9, Allah SWT warned Muhammad ﷺ to be careful of hypocrites who have accepted Islam only for worldly benefits. When it comes to making a sacrifice or changing themselves in the way of Islam they take a step backward. They assume that by doing this, they will mislead Allah SWT, or that they will get help from Allah. This is indicative of their total ignorance. Alas! How unfortunate are they!