Qur'an Connection by Good Tree Academy – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Ustadh Michael talks about Surat Muzzamil and the stories of Musa(AS) and Muhammad(SAW) and how they stayed patient and trusted Allah(Swat). The three things he mentions are trusting Allah, keeping your head up, and never giving up.

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Hear the beautiful recitation of high school student Rayyan. To support students studying the Quran alongside core academics, please donate your Zakat or Sadaqa at https://goodtreeacademy.org/ramadan or Zelle to donations@goodtreeacademy.org

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10th Grader Ammaar gives a beautiful khutba offering his fellow students a list of important things to act on to help them benefit from the blessed month of Ramadan.

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After beginning his khutbah or the weekly reminder in Arabic for 45 seconds, Senior Student Zakariya Alkhawaldeh recites Surah Al-’Asr where Allah swears by time, indicating that humanity is in loss before ending the surah with the solutions towards ensuring success.

When an angel blows the soul into the growing embryo ensuring life, factors including that individual’s rizq or money and wealth, time on earth including date of birth and death as well as whether that person will live a happy or miserable life due to their actions are all determined and recorded. 

Upon death, each individual faces questioning in the grave, including: 

Who is your Lord?

Who is your messenger? Who did you follow?

What is your religion?

Seek knowledge and Allah will make your path easy. Seek knowledge about Allah by His Names and Attributes. Learn about His prophet by his character, manners and actions. Learn Islam, its purpose and reasonings to be able to share the message of salvation. Apply these learnings in life. Whoever Allah wishes, He will provide that person with understanding of His Religion. Calling people to Islam may not be easy and requires patience beyond exemplary character. The reward of paradise is certainly fitting. 

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The weekly Friday reminder or khutbah begins in Arabic for one minute before Ustadh Michael Wolfender translates to English means of character perfection. Brother Michael starts with four passages from the Qur’an describing man’s behavior and our fate based on actions. 

Brother Michael begins with referencing from Surah Al-Fajr that blessings include tests from Allah. Al-Fajr (The Dawn 89: 15 - 20): “Now, whenever a human being is tested by their Lord through ˹His˺ generosity and blessings, they boast, “My Lord has ˹deservedly˺ honored me!” But when He tests them by limiting their provision, they protest, “My Lord has ˹undeservedly˺ humiliated me!” Absolutely not! In fact, you are not ˹even˺ gracious to the orphan, nor do you urge one another to feed the poor. And you devour ˹others’˺ inheritance greedily”

That is, man is quick to complain when evidently blessings are limited. Rather, among the elements of success are worshiping Allah, thanking Him and demonstrating this with good deeds. 

In the first five ayah of Surah Al-’Adiyat, Allah describes how humans use horses to harm others. This, along with any measure of disloyalty to our Master, coupled with intense love of materialism is a path towards self-destruction. In particular, Brother Michael refers to: Al-'Adiyat (The Courser 100:6): “Surely humankind is ungrateful to their Lord” with disloyalty, arrogance and disobedience.” 

Surah Al-’Asr references the easy formula humans dig themselves into - complaining when in loss, feeling special when blessed, harming others or not helping others when enjoying blessings from Allah. And Allah also provides the solution in Surah Al-’Asr: believe, do good deeds, encourage each other to truth and patience. 

Al-’Asr (103 The Declining Day): “By the ˹passage of˺ time! Surely humanity is in ˹grave˺ loss, except those who have faith, do good, and urge each other to the truth, and urge each other to perseverance.”

Take ownership of your destiny. Allah has created a palace for everyone in Paradise. Importance in the eyes of Allah is your heart being connected to Him. We have been provided the answers to pass the test that is each of our lives. Brother Michael recites the beginning of Surah Al-Insan (The Man 76: 1 - 3): “Is there not a period of time when each human is nothing yet worth mentioning? ˹For˺ indeed, We ˹alone˺ created humans from a drop of mixed fluids, ˹in order˺ to test them, so We made them hear and see. We already showed them the Way, whether they ˹choose to˺ be grateful or ungrateful.”

The disbeliever is ungrateful, as Allah indicates He has provided the answers to passing the test of this life. Half of Surah Al-Insan describes paradise as the reward for winning. Paradise is where Allah serves the winners and He has promised this bounty for everyone. For example, in paradise, branches lower to provide fruit. Allah wishes to serve in Paradise all of the humans He has created.

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After beginning in Arabic for one minute and fifteen seconds, Ustadh Michael Wolfender declares how Allah has always sent the same message, including with and before prophets Abraham and Moses. Nonetheless, most prefer this life though the hereafter is what will be everlasting. 

Allah guarantees success to those who make a conscious effort to become a better person, remember Him and pray consistently. In Surah Al-A'la (87 The Most High ayat 14-15), Allah says: “Successful indeed are those who purify themselves, (those who) remember the Name of their Lord, and pray.” Do these things and you will get the best forever.

Steps for success include believing in Allah, doing good deeds and accepting Allah’s invitation to speak with Him five times a day.

In Surah Al-Mu'minun (23 The Believers 1-11), Allah promises: “Successful indeed are the believers: those who humble themselves in prayer; those who avoid idle talk; those who pay alms-tax; those who guard their chastity except with their wives ... for then they are free from blame, but whoever seeks beyond that are the transgressors; ˹the believers are also˺ those who are true to their trusts and covenants; and those who are ˹properly˺ observant of their prayers. These are the ones who will be awarded Paradise as their own. They will be there forever.”

From these steps, we learn to act before it’s too late, so we are not among those on Judgment Day making excuses trying to talk with Allah when He will refuse. Take care not to waste time now, when on Judgment Day, it will be apparent our lives here will seem as if we stayed on earth but part of a day.

Brother Michael concludes with ayat 99 – 15 from Surah Al-Mu'minun (23 The Believers), which includes a key step for success: “As for those whose scale is heavy ˹with good deeds˺, it is they who will be successful.” We should each check our daily actions to include firm belief, worshipping our One Creator and performing good deeds. 

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After starting the first minute of his weekly khutbah or sermon before students at Good Tree Academy in Arabic, Ustadh Michael Wolfender declares Allah as Most Forgiving, referencing the beginning of Surah Mulk (The Sovereignty 67:1-2): “Blessed is the One in Whose Hands rests all authority. And He is Most Capable of everything. ˹He is the One˺ Who created life and death in order to test which of you is best in deeds. And He is the Almighty, All-Forgiving.”

Life is a test to test us so we can do the best deeds. We don’t know the outcome of the test but we each determine the outcome based on our choices, decisions and actions. Allah will show us the result of these tests in this life and on the Day of Judgment. 

In Surah Adh-Dhariyat (The Winnowing Winds 51:56-57) Allah tells us the purpose of life: “I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me. I seek no provision from them, nor do I need them to feed Me.” 

Our purpose here is to worship Allah; how many of us understand our purpose? Particularly by checking in with Him five times a day in prayer?

In Surah Al-Ahqaf (The Wind-Curved Sandhills 46:33), Allah provides a description of how it is not hard for Him to create: “Do they not realize that Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth and did not tire in creating them, is able to give life to the dead? Yes ˹indeed˺! He is certainly Most Capable of everything.”

Contrast this to the challenges humans face in creating: rockets which fail to reach beyond the atmosphere, airplanes which fall from the sky, bridges which tumble with travelers trying to cross. Allah doesn’t need our worship. We make things to serve us. Notwithstanding, Allah is our Provider; He is serving us. We actually benefit ourselves in worshiping Allah, as He states in Surah Fatir (Originator 35: 15-16): “O humanity! It is you who stand in need of Allah, but Allah ˹alone˺ is the Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy. If He willed, He could eliminate you and produce a new creation.”

We are slaves to Allah and Allah is our Master who gives us everything. This life is a test and we can use natural disasters as an example of how Allah keeps everything in control; He is the Force of Stability so oceans are not constantly in tsunami forces, volcanoes are not continually erupting wreaking havoc and the earth isn’t shaking constantly in violent earthquakes. These forces are tamed by Allah and not left to run wild, showing the value of struggle contained and the value of struggle endured with a foundation of the power of forgiveness. Brother Michael references the beginning of Surah Mulk (The Sovereignty 67:1-2) again: Blessed is the One in Whose Hands rests all authority. And He is Most Capable of everything. ˹He is the One˺ Who created life and death in order to test which of you is best in deeds. And He is the Almighty, All-Forgiving.” 

Do the best deeds and be forgiving. Brother Michael offers a personal example of why Allah provides tests and how realizing this helped him quell frustration and anger. Understanding our relationship with Allah recognizes that we are slaves to Him for our own benefit. This realization makes life easygoing and encourages being forgiving to others. Material things don’t provide happiness. One’s relationship with Allah and understanding our true purpose here equals the true meaning of happiness. This feeling guides us to our Creator. 

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The Qur’an as a book of guidance requires training and study to understand. Ustadh Michael Wolfender provides lessons from Surah Al-Waqi’ah (56 The Inevitable) with context to help understand and be guided by Allah’s Words. 

Allah provides humanity the power of reason. Arrogance is failing to recognize this or rejecting it in favor of relying on anything other than Allah. Scientists, in their zeal and excitement of discovery, have at times rejected God. Time and reason, however, have shown the truth of recognizing and bringing God clearly into the equation of discovery, science and creation. 

Surah Al-Waqi’ah begins referencing the Day of Judgment. Science correlates this with the trajectory of the sun inevitably crashing into another solar system. As such, science verifies the temporary nature of this world. Science also has discovered the fact that Yellowstone, the famous national park, is sitting on an eventual eruption, which is overdue. Muslims are not overly concerned about such calamities, given the confidence Allah provides believers. Among the series of events prior to the Day of Judgment, Brother Michael explains, is that believers will have their souls removed before the melee of endtimes. 

Verses 1 - 14 of Surah Al-Waqi’ah describe three categories of people on the Day of Judgment: those who will have ease, those who are believers and righteous and those who have earned Allah’s Displeasure. This last category sadly partakes in excess, extravagance, insists and persists with sins, questioning the Day of Judgment. 

In verses 57 - 74, Allah reminds of His Design, illustrating how His Creation clearly provides proper order, with examples of seeds growing and wood provided for fire. Science corroborates this with processes such as photosynthesis and heat energy created from fires in combustion. 

In verses 77 - 82, Allah attests to the Guidance in His Book and asks what are you doing with your life? We can choose which of the three categories we’ll fall into on the Day of Judgment. Brother Michael explains the surah concludes that winners are those who are righteous, care for others, and strive to assist others. Allah says these will be few; and it is up to each of us, given the only creatures endowed with reason, to seek His Guidance and how we chart the course of our eternal destination. 

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After the first thirty seconds in Arabic, Ustadh Michael Wolfender provides a translation in English praising our Master, the Creator of the Universe. In tough times, we look for answers, for peace. Often without such solutions in sight. These worldly tests can help us achieve our place in paradise, based on our response. It is exactly these circumstances, Brother Michael explains, that brought Prophet Muhammad ﷺ the best news ever - that his ﷺ enemies would be cut off and he ﷺ would receive a gift to help quench believers’ thirst on the Day of Judgment. 

In Surah Al-Kawthar, Allah declares Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as the final messenger for all mankind. And we learn the benefits believers receive when accepting this. On Fridays especially, send salaam and peace on our prophet ﷺ. Those who do, earn ten times the benefit. Angels deliver these messages directly to his ﷺ grave.

To help explain this, Brother Michael uses modern inventions of computers, DNA testing and lie detectors - and how they illustrate actions described more than 1400 years ago during the Qur’an’s revelation, such as being able to see your eternal destination as you await the Day of Judgment. 

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