Lower Your Wings

13. A Thematic Overview

Summary (3d)

Surah Al Isra (17:23-40)

“And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy and say, "My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up [when I was] small.” (Sahih International) (17:24)

 من الرحمة : “love and care”

•  If you’ve been gifted the human quality of love and care, then you have to show

  it to your parents

•  Your parents up to this point have shown you love and care, so you owe it to the to reciprocate

•  If you want Allah’s love and care, you have to humble yourself and show love and prayer to your parents

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“Your Lord is most knowing of what is within yourselves. If you should be righteous [in intention] - then indeed He is ever, to the often returning [to Him], Forgiving.” (Sahih International) (17:25)

•  This ayah is about self-rationalization...when we introspect, we may tell ourselves “I’m doing good enough,” but Allah says he is more knowledgeable of our levels of competency than we are.

•  آب : coming back to Allah with guilt

•  و لم يصر على ما فعلوا : Surah Nisaa’ , you can’t intentionally keep doing the same sin

•  We will make mistakes over and over, but we cannot let ourselves to mentally surrender to the sin. When we repent, we have to plan our lives like we will never commit that sin again. We can’t give up on ourselves.

  “And give the relative his right, and [also] the poor and the traveler, and do not spend wastefully.” (17:26)

 ذا القربى: usually translated close family, but can also include close friends and neighbors. When we give charity, we are supposed to think of family first. Especially the Khala (mom’s sister).

 The Prophet said: "The maternal aunt holds the same status as the mother." (Jami’ At-Tirmidhi)

ال َخالَ ُة ِب َم ْن ِزلَ ِة الأُم  وابن السبيل : “sons of the road.” Travelers. Especially if we know them.

•  مسكين : being stuck in a situation and being unable to get out

•  تبذيرا vs. اسراف : اسراف is spending too much on something you need (ex. needing a shirt

but you buy 100), while تبذيرا is spending too much on something you don’t need. It’s Day 17 │Qur’an for Young Adults │2

nice Allah added تبذيرا because he knows that we will spend on some things we don’t need (ex. Jordans), and he gives us permission to...we just aren’t to be shopaholics.

“Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the devils, and ever has Satan been to his Lord ungrateful.” (Sahih International) (17:27)

 You can only be wasteful if you are rich, and these people don’t feel bad blowing tons of money because they don’t have to worry about securing their basic needs. These rich people then find useless ways to blow their money, which develops an industry of useless evils.

 Ex. people who have money to blow enjoy gambling, because they can take a loss. Multiple shameless careers evolve out of the useless spending of the rich. And middle class people want to emulate the lifestyle of rich people, so they do the same things...but they can’t afford to do it! So the middle class guy says maybe gambling is the way to riches. Then he loses his money. Then he goes into crime to make up his loss. This is the vicious cycle of wasteful spending.

 كفورا : ungrateful. Being responsible with your wealth is how you show gratitude for what you have.

“And if you [must] turn away from the needy awaiting mercy from your Lord which you expect, then speak to them a gentle word.” (17:28)

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 ميسور : if you have to let someone down, be really gentle about it

“And do not make your hand [as] chained to your neck or extend it completely and [thereby] become blamed and insolvent.” (Sahih International) (17:29)

•  مغلولة الى عنقك : imagery of choking yourself whenever you have to reach into your pockets (being so cheap it feel like you’re choking yourself when you reach into your pocket)

•  تبسطها كل البسط لا : don’t walk with your arms completely outstretched (meaning don’t buy everything within arm’s reach...be responsible with your money)

“Indeed, your Lord extends provision for whom He wills and restricts [it]. Indeed He is ever, concerning His servants, Acquainted and Seeing.” (Sahih International) (17:30)

 Don’t think that the money you make is because of some special skill you have...Allah is the provider of rizq

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“And do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide for them and for you. Indeed, their killing is ever a great sin.” (Sahih International) (17:31)

“And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse. Indeed, it is ever an immorality and is evil as a way.” (17:32)

•  Zina is the killing of the spiritual self, while murder is the killing of the physical self. Zina and Murder are considered crimes of equal crime.

•  و لا تقربوا الزنى : don’t even come close to being physically intimate with someone you aren’t married to

  •  It starts being really innocent and fuzzy and warm. But stuff happens a little by little. What you feel isn’t emotion, its hormones.

  •  Men should marry women with the intention of احصان , bringing a women into his fortification/protection...taking care of every single one of their needs.

  •  Dating is “try and buy.” But with each relationship that fails, you lose your ability to share real emotions...and your relationships are reduced to your carnal desires, nothing more. Dating will never let you feel content when you eventually do get married.

  •  Parents should have good relationships with their kids so that kids can tell their parents who they find attractive and admire in terms of character, so that they can help facilitate their marriage...like the example of Musa (A). Musa (A) got married because a girl told her father that she liked him.

  •  You know what filthy things are online. If you get addicted to it you will lose your humanity... fight it. Repent. You can wipe the slime off of you and rebuild respect for humans.

•  انه كان فاحشة : what’s wrong has always been wrong

•  و ساء سبيلا : Allah describes this sin as a path...because you don’t realize you’re doing something wrong until you get to the end of the path.

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 "الإناء بما فيه ينضح": the container lets off whatever is inside it

“And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right. And whoever is killed unjustly - We have given his heir authority, but let him not exceed limits in [the matter of] taking life. Indeed, he has been supported [by the law].” (Sahih International) (17:33)

 If a person has been killed, the family can either demand to sue, demand the death penalty, or forgive the crime.

“And do not approach the property of an orphan, except in the way that is best, until he reaches maturity. And fulfill [every] commitment. Indeed, the commitment is ever [that about which one will be] questioned.” (17:34)

•  Don’t touch the wealth of an adopted orphan!

•  Every promise you make in life will be asked about on the Day of Judgment, so keep

  your word

•  As Muslims we can’t cheat on our taxes, because we will be asked about it on the Day of Judgment

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“And give full measure when you measure, and weigh with an even balance. That is the best [way] and best in result.” (17:35)

•  Give people what they deserve. If the shirt you sell says “100% cotton” than it better be “100% cotton.”

•  When you make an agreement, you’re supposed to think of all costs that could be incurred and agree on a price before the work begins. Both parties need to be clear with what their expectations are.

•  تأويل : better long term...good business practices build customer satisfaction, and build a bigger customer base

•  "من يشفع شفاعة حسنة" : whoever recommends someone who would be good for a job/marriage and they recommend them knowing their qualifications, they get rewarded for it...but if you recommend someone just because their related to you or they are a friend and they don’t deserve the recommendation, than you are committing a sin.

“And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those [one] will be questioned.” (17:36)

 و لا تكف ما ليس به علم : don’t speak on matters you don’t have knowledge on...”I don’t know him, but I heard...” We are too easily swayed by rumors. “I heard if you say this 5 times, then you’ll never get into a car accident.” Really? Where’d you get that from?

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•   There are normal people, activists, and scholars. As laypeople, we have to know there is a difference between activists and scholars. And as laypeople, we have to get the bare minimum education of Islam, so we can’t be abused (May Allah protect and preserve our scholars...we aren’t making them out to be bad guys, but we need to be there to check one another. They aren’t prophets, they are humans, they can make mistakes, and they can be questioned...if you don’t know anything and you question scholars you’re dumb, but if you educate yourself and then ask scholars questions to refine your understanding, than that is what scholars are there for).

•   On the flip side, we have to respect our scholars who dedicate 10, 15, 20 years to studying Islam. We have to ask respectfully if we want further explanation on a topic. We need to have transparency with our scholars. The attitude of “don’t listen to those guys, listen to these guys...” is the mark of someone who is uneducated. If you get educated, you won’t agree with your teachers on everything, but that doesn’t affect our love for them at all.

•   Don’t be someone who picks their Islam based on what’s comfortable, pick based upon knowledge