Nights of Reflection and Light – The Sunna of Reciting the Closing Ten Verses of Surat Aal-Imran- Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani explains the closing ten verses of Surat Aal-Imran (3.190-200):Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of he day and night  there are signs for people of reason,˹They are those who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth ˹and pray˺, “Our Lord! You have not created ˹all of˺ this without purpose. Glory be to You! Protect us from the torment of the Fire. Our Lord! Indeed, those You commit to the Fire will be ˹completely˺ disgraced! And the wrongdoers will have no helpers. Our Lord! We have heard the caller to ˹true˺ belief, ˹proclaiming,˺ ‘Believe in your Lord ˹alone˺,’ so we believed. Our Lord! Forgive our sins, absolve us of our misdeeds, and allow us ˹each˺ to die as one of the virtuous Our Lord! Grant us what You have promised us through Your messengers and do not put us to shame on Judgment Day—for certainly You never fail in Your promise.”So their Lord responded to them: “I will never deny any of you—male or female—the reward of your deeds. Both are equal in reward. Those who migrated or were expelled from their homes, and were persecuted for My sake and fought and ˹some˺ were martyred—I will certainly forgive their sins and admit them into Gardens under which rivers flow, as a reward from Allah. And with Allah is the finest reward!”Do not be deceived by the prosperity of the disbelievers throughout the land. It is only a brief enjoyment. Then Hell will be their home—what an evil place to rest! But those who are mindful of their Lord will be in Gardens under which rivers flow, to stay there forever—as an accommodation from Allah. And what is with Allah is best for the virtuous.Indeed, there are some among the People of the Book who truly believe in Allah and what has been revealed to you ˹believers˺ and what was revealed to them. They humble themselves before Allah—never trading Allah’s revelations for a fleeting gain. Their reward is with their Lord. Surely Allah is swift in reckoning. O believers! Patiently endure, persevere stand on guard, and be mindful of Allah, so you may be successful. (translation from Clear Qur’an by Dr. Mustafa Khattab, taken from Quran.com)  In which the Messenger of Allah (peace & blessings be upon him) regularly recited when he got up for night worship. These verses affirm the importance of Reflection and Remembrance (fikr and dhikr) as the means for certitude (yaqin) and true, living, transformative faith (Iman). And they close with a memorable verse calling believers to patience, steadfastness, fortitude, and mindfulness as keys to eternal success. Khutba from Jamiat-ul-Ansar (www.jamiatulansar.ca/) in Brampton. Checkout all of the SeekersHub podcasts by visiting https://seekersguidance.org/podcasts/.