Waraqa Ibn Nawfal (ra): The First to Confirm Prophethood | The Firsts | Dr. Omar Suleiman

0:06 Bismillah (dua).

0:12 So inshallah tonight we're gonna move on to Waraka and we ended off last week

0:24 with a very beautiful poem that Waraka offered

0:29 to his companion Zaid Ibn Amr Ibn Nufair (r).

0:33 Waraka eulogizing his friend,

0:35 the second of the two who went to As-Sham together to study Judaism,

0:41 to study Christianity, to try to find monotheism and to prepare

0:46 themselves for what Allah had promised for that region.

0:50 Inshallah ta'ala tonight we're gonna go ahead and move on to Waraka and I want

0:55 to have everyone just repeat who were

0:58 the four of those who identified as haneefi,

1:01 those who identified as monotheists.

1:04 Can anyone name them, you should be able to name two very easily.

1:10 Ubaidullah Ibn Jash, Zaid Ibn Amr, Waraka Ibn Naufar, one more person.

1:22 We said there was Zaid Ibn Amr who we talked about last week,

1:26 there's Waraka Ibn Narfar who we'll talk about tonight.

1:29 There's Ubaidullah Ibn Jash who migrated to Abyssinia and there's

1:34 one more who became haneefi and moved to Ash-Sham,

1:38 became a Christian, moved to Ash-Sham, took up a position in the Roman Empire.

1:44 What was his name?

1:46 Uthman Ibn Huwairith.

1:48 So these are the four people who were considered,

1:51 not the Hanafis, the hanifeen, just to be clear again, the monotheists.

1:56 The four that were on the religion of Abraham,

1:58 the way of Ibrahim (a) that went out in search on that oneness of Allah.

2:04 Now out of the four the only one that didn't become Christian was Zaid Ibn Amr.

2:09 Right, so three of them became Christian

2:12 including Waraka who we'll talk about tonight.

2:15 Now Waraka is such a mysterious figure that we find in the seerah

2:19 of the Prophet (s) because he shows

2:22 up in the very beginning of Saheeh al-Bukhari.

2:25 If you all remember we did a long series,

2:27 we did the Saheeh al-Bukhari, we did the book of revelation,

2:30 a couple of years ago,

2:32 and Waraka shows up in the very beginning of Saheeh al-Bukhari,

2:35 he's in the beginning of the seerah.

2:37 But the seerah starts off with his death, essentially, right.

2:41 You don't hear anything about his history.

2:44 You just know that Khadijah (r) took the Prophet (s) to him to confirm or deny

2:50 what happened to the Prophet (s) or explain

2:53 what had happened to the Prophet (s) in Hira.

2:56 And then it ends.

2:57 Who was he before?

2:59 What's his story?

3:00 What's his status?

3:02 It's really a fascinating story and inshallah ta'ala I want

3:04 to contextualize this as much as possible and his story

3:07 is so beautiful and touching that I couldn't decide

3:11 whether to start with him or to start with Zaid,

3:14 but it just makes sense in setting

3:16 the stage for the prophethood of the Prophet (s).

3:19 Here you have Waraka and Zaid,

3:22 the only two that go to Ash-Sham, that study Christianity,

3:26 and that deepen their knowledge of the Abrahamic way and then

3:30 Zaid Ibn Amr dies five years before the Prophet (s) receives revelation.

3:36 So it's really just Waraka right now in Makkah,

3:40 he's the only one there that is waiting for this prophet of Allah to arise,

3:46 that has studied, that has prepared himself

3:48 and so then obviously transfers to him, and then transfers to Khadijah (r).

3:55 How is Waraka related to Khadijah?

3:57 Is he her nephew, is he her cousin,

4:00 is he her uncle, how is he related to Khadijah?

4:04 He's her cousin but more like an uncle.

4:07 He's her cousin but more like an uncle because of the age gap.

4:11 His name is Waraka Ibn Nawfal Ibn Asad.

4:14 Khadijah has an uncle named Nawfal Ibn Asad

4:17 and she has a brother names Nawfal Ibn Khawaylid.

4:21 Okay Khadijah has an uncle named Nawfal who is the father

4:25 of Waraka and she has a brother name Nawfal as well.

4:28 Waraka Ibn Nawfal Ibn Asad is the first cousin of Khadijah (r).

4:34 Now Nawfal, Khadijah is Khadijah Bint Khawaylid Ibn Asad.

4:40 Nawfal and Khawaylid are brothers but Nawfal is the oldest

4:46 son of Asad and Khawaylid is the youngest son of Asad.

4:51 And so the age gap between Khawaylid and Warakah is at least 25-30 years.

4:58 At least between the two.

4:59 So it's a pretty big gap so he really plays more of a role of an elder,

5:04 of an uncle in her life.

5:06 Also the father of Khadijah (r),

5:08 Khawaylid passed away early on, and in the early wars known as the---, the early

5:14 wars that took battle in Makkah and claimed many of the senior tribesman.

5:19 That's why Khadijah (r) inherited so much money and became the woman

5:23 that she became at such an early age when it comes to her wealth.

5:26 She inherited that from her father who was killed early.

5:30 So Waraka is of the oldest of this clan

5:34 that exists and it is considered of the most noble

5:38 families of Makkah at the time and Waraka is

5:41 considered on the most noble of the most noble families.

5:45 So I want you to kind of just imagine the scene.

5:49 And it'll put into context the little bit of why

5:51 Waraka never really faces much opposition from his people.

5:54 Waraka is the noble of the noble.

5:57 His family are direct descendants of----.

6:01 They are from this banu adi.

6:05 They're very very up there.

6:07 And Waraka's elder, noble, respected.

6:11 And his akhlak are very high, his manners are very noble,

6:16 and because of that and obviously this description

6:18 is true of Khadijah (r) as well,

6:20 that she was the most noble woman of her family.

6:24 Because of that, Waraka was actually expected to marry Khadijah.

6:30 Context is important here.

6:31 Waraka was expected to be the natural suitor

6:34 of Khadijah in terms of just his akhlaq,

6:38 his family, his character, his nobility.

6:41 Khadijah and Waraka both are considered the best of their people.

6:46 But Waraka rejected this world, he became a priest, or he considered,

6:50 when you say raahib, it can be a priest or a monk.

6:54 The point is Wakara decided he would not get married.

6:57 He would stay in pursuit of the religion for his entire life.

7:03 He would not get married.

7:04 Waraka was a Zahid, he was known to be an esthetic,

7:07 spent his days in worship, his journeys in travel.

7:10 Waraka would never be in the sook,

7:12 he was not someone to go into the marketplace,

7:14 he only ate once a day to suffice himself.

7:17 So he was known to eat very little.

7:19 He rejected the wealth of his family.

7:20 His pride was naturally a very rich tribe.

7:23 Waraka did not care for it.

7:24 He used to dress very simple.

7:26 So Waraka maintains celibacy.

7:30 Takes up the life of a priest or a monk and stays away from all of this.

7:37 He also doesn't challenge his people.

7:39 Zaid Ibn Amr Ibn Nufair-what makes him so incredible was not just that he

7:43 was on this way of Ibrahim (a), insisting on the way of Abraham,

7:47 and never becomes a Christian, never becomes a Jew,

7:49 just I'm on the way of Ibrahim (a), rejects paganism,

7:53 he also confronts his people all the time.

7:57 Constantly confronting his people.

7:58 Waraka does not have that combative behavior towards his people.

8:02 Khadijah never worshipped idols either.

8:04 She had an aversion to it, she never really cared to idol worship.

8:07 Abu Bakr didn't care for idol worship.

8:09 Waraka was known to be a Christian but Waraka was not combative,

8:13 he was not out there in the way that Zaid was

8:16 going after the people for the way they were worshipping those idols.

8:20 Instead Waraka had this idea that Allah would clarify this in due

8:24 time and so he avoids being combative with the people.

8:29 He keeps to himself from society as a whole,

8:32 maintains a position of high authority, in an elder,

8:35 is a senior, is someone who is learned in religion,

8:39 and he's also, interestingly enough, the dream interpreter of the Arabs.

8:44 More context.

8:45 So even though they were pagans, they were people who worshipped idols,

8:48 they recognized Waraka as a man who studied language,

8:51 who studied religion, who studied philosophy,

8:53 who was noble, and so the araba at the time would go

8:57 to Waraka to have their dreams interpreted

9:00 even though he didn't worship the idols.

9:02 Remember the idol worshippers did not care much for their idols.

9:05 They cared about the commerce, the business of idol worship.

9:09 They really didn't care much for (arabic),

9:11 they could replace names, replace idols all they wanted.

9:14 He's a nobleman and he's someone that studied Hebrew,

9:18 he's been to Ash-Sham, he's really a good man,

9:22 he's someone that we can go to with our dream interpretations and so

9:26 there's a very interesting dream that Khadijah (r) had as a young woman.

9:33 Khadijah (r) had a dream that the sun descended in her home,

9:38 that the sun descended in her home.

9:41 And Subhanallah just the connection that I was actually sharing with my wife,

9:44 it's a really interesting connection.

9:46 When Ayesha (r) had a dream,

9:48 she had a dream that three moons descended in her home

9:52 and she asked Abu Bakr (r) what that meant

9:54 and he said that there will be righteous people that will

9:57 be buried in your home and when the Prophet (s) died,

10:00 Abu Bakr (r) said that's your first moon.

10:03 And then when Abu Bakr died he was the second moon.

10:06 And when Umar died, he was the third moon.

10:10 Khadijah has a dream of a sun, the sun, descending into her home.

10:14 She goes to Waraka, she tells Waraka this dream that she has and Wakara

10:18 says in may be that you will marry a noble man or a prophet.

10:24 So Waraka actually tells Khadijah that there's

10:27 a special marriage in your naseeb, in your destiny.

10:31 You'll either marry an extremely noble man,

10:33 that's the sun coming into your house, as in a spouse, or a prophet.

10:39 He mentions to her that it could even be a nabi, a prophet.

10:44 Now Khadijah (r) married multiple times before the Prophet (s),

10:47 two or three times even according to some

10:50 narrations and of course became widowed in the process.

10:54 But this is very early on in her life.

10:56 She does not know what's coming her way.

10:59 Now this is really important to put to context because we have

11:03 to understand that the Prophet (s) was

11:06 already looked at as someone very special.

11:09 He already had these deesharat,

11:11 these glad tidings surrounding him throughout his entire life,

11:16 miracles that would happen with the Prophet (s).

11:18 When the Prophet (s) was born, it was a miracle.

11:20 Abu Lahab goes and sacrifices all of these sheep

11:25 in celebration of the Prophet (s) because of the light that came from the womb

11:30 of the mother of the Prophet (s) when he was born.

11:34 They knew he was special.

11:36 And also Waraka clearly sees something special in this young man.

11:42 The Prophet (s) would also have other priests that saw something in him.

11:50 When?

11:51 To contextualize, the Prophet (s) only went to Ash-Sham

11:54 which is generally the land where Christianity is surviving,

11:59 at least in the nistorian Christianity,

12:02 the Christianity the Salman (r) was seeking around,

12:07 Zaid is going around and seeking around,

12:10 and now the Prophet (s) goes there twice.

12:14 Twice, once as a very young man, and once as the broker of Khadijah (r).

12:21 As a very young man,

12:24 as was narrated by---— and it's in multiple books of seerah,

12:30 Abu Talib took the Prophet (s) with him on a trade route to Ash-Sham very early

12:35 on and this was a habit of the Arabs

12:38 (arabic) so in the winter they'd go to Yamen,

12:41 the summer they'd go to Ash-Sham and they would

12:44 trade with the people of Ash-Sham and come back.

12:46 So Abu Talib took the Prophet (s) when he was a young man,

12:49 11, 12, 13 years old as a very young man,

12:53 still unable to care for himself and while

12:56 Abu Talib was there with the Prophet (s) there

13:00 was a raahib amongst the monk that followed Abu

13:03 Talib when he saw things from the Prophet (s).

13:08 So he noticed the back of the Prophet (s), the seal of prophethood.

13:17 That there was a seal of prophethood on the back of the Prophet (s).

13:21 So he asked the people, he said who is in charge of this young man?

13:25 So they pointed to Abu Talib.

13:28 Abu Talib said to him, or he said to Abu Talib who are you?

13:33 He said Anna abbi, I'm his father.

13:35 Now in the language of the arabs, an-am ab,

13:38 the uncle, the paternal uncle in particular was the father.

13:42 And Abu Talib was acting like the father of the Prophet (s) in true effect.

13:48 And the monk says to him you're not really his father.

13:51 And he says to him what do you mean?

13:52 He said, this person, his father would not be alive.

13:57 So Abu Talib is very interested in what is this man saying,

14:02 what is this monk, this priest saying.

14:06 So the man says this young man of yours did not pass by a single

14:12 area until he reached bursa which is the area they're in at this moment,

14:16 until he reached bursa except that the trees and the stones sajadoolahum,

14:22 they prostrated towards him.

14:25 They don't do that except for a prophet.

14:27 So Abu Talib is listening to this strange priest in Ash Sham tell him,

14:34 and some of the narrations mention his name is Bahaira or Buhaira,

14:38 even though there's nothing authentic with his name in particular,

14:41 but some of the narrations mention his name as Bahira or Buhaira.

14:45 Abu Talib is like I have no idea what you're talking about.

14:50 So the man says to him, he says listen,

14:53 this young man is going to be the sayid leader of the worlds, sayidul alameen.

14:59 He's going to be the leader.

15:01 of the worlds.

15:03 And he then says to Abu Talib where are you taking him right now?

15:06 He said I'm taking him to the marketplace.

15:09 He says to Abu Talib don't do that because if

15:11 people know who he is they might try to hurt him,

15:14 take him back to where you came and protect him

15:16 and make sure that he never goes to cities again.

15:19 So Abu Talib took his advice,

15:21 took the Prophet (s) as a young man back to Makkah and the Prophet (s) never

15:26 went back with Abu Talib to Ash-Sham until

15:28 later on when he got the big contract, right.

15:32 Khadijah (r) was looking for a mudarib, was looking for a broker,

15:36 an honest person to take her caravans to Ash-Sham,

15:39 she appointed the Prophet (s).

15:41 Otherwise the Prophet (s) for his entire life was raising sheep in Ajiyaad.

15:47 If you actually go to the area of ajyaad that's where the Prophet

15:51 (s) said I used to raise sheep for the people of Makkah.

15:56 So the Prophet (s) didn't accompany Abu Talib to Ash-Sham after that.

16:00 He stayed in Ajiyaad.

16:01 Later on he goes to Ash-Sham.

16:03 Again, the second time he goes to Ash-Sham, who does Khadijah (r) send with him?

16:09 Anyone remember the name?

16:10 Maysara, right?

16:12 Khadijah send Maysara with the Prophet (s).

16:14 Maysara falls in love with the Prophet (s).

16:17 This man's character is different.

16:19 He comes back to Khadijah and he says there

16:22 was a cloud that never left the Prophet (s), a cloud followed him.

16:27 He said that I swear that I would see the Prophet (s) sleeping under a tree

16:33 and when the sun would move over and the shade would no longer cover him,

16:38 the tree would extend itself to cover him.

16:43 And Maysara was watching these ajaaib, watching these strange things happen

16:47 with the Prophet (s) and you gotta understand,

16:50 from the Prophet (s)'s perspective,

16:52 when he was a kid, Jibreel (a) removed from his heart,

16:57 the Prophet (s) witnessed many ajaaib from his life,

17:00 many of these things from his life.

17:01 He didn't know what to make of it.

17:03 Maysara doesn't know what to make of it.

17:06 And Maysara, he says that I thought to myself maybe it's just a wind,

17:12 or maybe it's coincidence that the trees shade him

17:15 and he's just perfectly shaded throughout this entire time in Ash-Sham.

17:18 He said that except we were out there and while he was taking a nap

17:23 and I was marveling at him this monk came to me and said to me,

17:28 another raahib, priest in Ash-Sham, he said to me man-haza?

17:32 Who is that?

17:33 So I said to him Muhammed Ibn Abdullah, from the land of the sanctuary.

17:39 The monk responded to him and said only prophets rest under that tree.

17:42 And just walked away from him.

17:45 So Maysara said I had no idea what to make of this man.

17:49 He said people would deal with the Prophet (s)

17:51 in Ash-Sham and they would tell him swear by Allatu al-uzzah.

17:55 And the Prophet (s) would say, I've never sworn by them before in my life.

18:00 The Prophet (s) would not take an oath with idols because that was their way

18:04 of transacting was to say take an oath on that which is holy to you,

18:08 and they know people from Makkah hold Allatul azzah.

18:12 The Prophet (s) I won't swear to these two and I never have sworn for these two.

18:17 So the point is both of the times the Prophet (s)

18:21 went to Ash-Sham there were people that recognized something about him,

18:24 there were things that were happening in Ash-Sham,

18:27 it was the land where people were studying or they still had the monks,

18:31 the priests, the people of the baqaya of ahlil qitaab,

18:34 that leftover from the people of the book that the Prophet

18:38 (s) said Allah was pleased with in the midst of it all.

18:41 Waraqa and said Zaid went there, looking for guidance.

18:44 So the Prophet (s) has had these things happening his entire life.

18:50 Khadijah (r) had that dream that was interpreted by Waraka that you're going

18:54 to marry a nobleman or a nabi or possibly even a prophet of Allah.

19:00 After the Prophet (s) comes back from Sham the second time we know what happens.

19:04 We'll get more in the details of it next week,

19:06 but the point of it is that Abu Talib, Al-Abbas, and Humza,

19:10 the uncles of the Prophet (s) come with him to formally propose.

19:15 Khadijah's uncle, Amr Ibn Assad,

19:17 was the oldest uncle that was still alive performed the marriage, I'm sorry,

19:24 acted as the wali of Khadija and Waraka actually performed the marriage

19:28 of the Prophet (s) and Khadijah on the meher of 500 dirhams,

19:33 so a very small meher.

19:35 So Waraka is actually the one that conducted

19:37 their (marriage) because again he's the nobleman.

19:39 He's considered and looked at as the most knowledgeable man,

19:41 he's the man who understands scripture,

19:42 he's the nobleman of the family and the tribe.

19:47 He stays with Khadijah (r), or his interaction with Khadijah and the Prophet (s)

19:53 really predates the incidence that we all know of.

19:56 At that point Ayesha (s) she said in the Hadith in which she mentions,

20:01 or she gives some context about who Waraka was.

20:05 She says (arabic).

20:08 He was a man who became a Christian in the days of ignorance.

20:11 So Waraka unlike Zaid actually identified as a Christian.

20:21 (arabic) So he used to write from the gospels in Hebrew and he

20:29 would write as long as Allah (swt) would allow him to write.

20:34 So he had actually had full command

20:36 of Hebrew and he would write from the gospels,

20:39 write of his lessons and what he was learning and compiling in Ash-Sham.

20:44 So he's one of the few literate people, as well.

20:47 Literate not just in Arabi and reading and writing,

20:49 but literate even in Hebrew in reading and writing.

20:52 So she says (arabic) and then he became an old man and he lost his sight,

20:58 so Waraka became blind towards the end of his life.

21:04 When the Prophet (s) had come to him at that point, he was already blind.

21:13 He was in his nineties, and he was already blind.

21:18 And this is where we have the famous incidence that takes place.

21:23 Where Khadijah (r) would take the Prophet (s)

21:27 to Waraka to contextualize what had happened in Hira.

21:31 It was common for people to go

21:34 to Waraka and Khadijah (r) has a particular relationship,

21:37 the Prophet (s) has a particular relationship and he understands,

21:43 especially understands what it is that would denote

21:48 prophethood or would denote something that is special.

21:52 So Khadijah (r) takes the Prophet (s) to Waraka

21:56 and this is what Allah says in the Quran.

21:59 (Ayah) Ask the people of knowledge if you don't know any better.

22:02 This is one of the ways that Khadijah (r) was

22:05 already acting in accordance with revelation before it even came.

22:09 Khadijah (r) was guided toward the good ways,

22:12 it was her suggestion to take the Prophet (s) to Waraka,

22:16 and that was her fitra, that was her goodness and that was there.

22:20 And so we get to the narration.

22:23 So after the Prophet (s) has calmed down a bit Khadijah

22:27 (r) and the Prophet (s) walk to the house of Waraka, the man who predicted,

22:33 who prophesied that Khadijah would one day marry a nobleman or a nabi.

22:39 He's in his nineties.

22:40 He's blind.

22:41 He's sitting there.

22:42 So Khadijah (r) says to him (arabic),

22:49 Oh son of my uncle, listen to the son of your brother.

22:59 Why ddi she say akheek.

23:01 Some of the scholars mentioned that it's just

23:03 a way of showing the closeness he had to Waraka.

23:06 That he was like the nephew of Waraka.

23:10 That the Prophet (s) was like the nephew of Waraka.

23:13 Others actually pointed to the lineage of the Prophet (s) and Waraka,

23:17 that they were actually,

23:19 they had the same amount of ancestors from sayid ul-kilab, so they are related,

23:24 their lineage is related and Waraka is

23:27 in fact the third cousin of the Prophet (s).

23:31 So the point is that this is a means of presenting the Prophet (s).

23:38 Listen to what he has to say to you.

23:42 So Waraka says to the Prophet (s) (arabic) oh son of my brother what do you see?

23:52 Why do you think he asked him what do you see?

23:55 Cuz we said Waraka was a dream interpreter,

23:58 Waraka assumed that's probably what it is that he's coming to ask him about.

24:06 Tell me what you have seen.

24:09 So at that point the Prophet (s) (arabic) The Prophet (s)

24:16 tells him everything that he saw in the cave of Hira (arabic).

24:25 He said this is the namos that Allah has sent

24:32 to Musa (a), the word namus is the one who bears

24:39 secrets and he's referring to Jibreel (a) that this is

24:44 Jibreel (a) the same angel that Allah sent to Musa (a).

24:47 Why did he say (a)?

24:49 He's a Christian.

24:50 Why didn't he say Isa (a)?

24:53 Because the way that Jibeel came to the Prophet

24:55 (s) is liek the way that Jibeael came to Musa (a) and the Prophet (s) and Musa

25:02 (a) have more similarities in their being that Isa (a).

25:07 So he said this is the same namus,

25:12 the same bearer of secrets that Allah sent down Must (a).

25:19 At that point Waraka is not even thinking about the Prophet (s).

25:30 He says to him, at that point he's says (arabic) he actually

25:33 confirms to the Prophet (s) you are the prophet of these people.

25:37 Like I knew it was coming.

25:39 You are the nabi, you are the prophet of this people.

25:45 Waraka immediately says (arabic) he said I wish I was young.

25:59 I wish I was young.

26:00 Subhanallah he was in his 90s now, he was blind,

26:03 he lived his life, didn't get married, learned Hebrew, learned the scriptures,

26:08 like Zaid (r) was a lifelong peruser of truth,

26:13 trying to find Allah, following the ways of the Prophets that came before,

26:17 and the man who he married to his cousin,

26:20 the man who he knew his entire life since childhood is in front of him,

26:25 and now immediately Waraka says it's him and before he even goes

26:30 into detail he says to him (arabic) I wish I had Jada'a.

26:34 Jada'a is like youth, I wish I still had that young strength,

26:39 I wish I still had that young strength.

26:43 The strength of youth.

26:44 I wish that I woudl be alive the day that your people would run you out.

26:49 Now the Prophet (s) has no idea of the implications of what just happened.

26:56 First of all you just told me I'm a prophet.

26:59 And then right after you told me I'm a prophet

27:02 your people are gonna run you out, which is,

27:04 can you imagine, it's already enough that you just

27:06 delivered the news that you are a prophet of Allah.

27:10 On top of that your people are gonna run you out.

27:14 I wish that I could be with you when your people run you out.

27:18 (arabic) Wait, are my people going to run me out?

27:23 How is that possible?

27:25 My people will run me out?

27:28 And Waraka says (arabic) yes no man has ever come with what

27:35 you have come with except that the people took him as an enemy.

27:43 There's so much to unpack here.

27:44 Number one, the Prophet (s) obviously from his perspective

27:49 all of this coming down on him.

27:53 He cannot imagine his people taking him as an enemy.

27:56 The Prophet (s) has never had a single person bring a complaint against him.

28:02 The Prophet (s) is everyone's peacemaker.

28:06 The Prophet (s) is the one who brings

28:08 together waring tribes who otherwise cannot be brought together.

28:12 He's the man that stands for justice.

28:14 Khadijah (r) just told the Prophet (s) (arabic) Allah

28:18 will never disgrace you and mentioned all the khayr,

28:22 all the good he does for the people and on top of that Waraka's first reaction,

28:26 Khadijah's first reaction is Allah will ever disgrace you.

28:29 Waraka's first reaction the people are gonna disgrace you.

28:32 The people will fight you.

28:34 So the Prophet (s) is receiving this very quickly

28:39 and he's shocked and Waraka immediately says look it's not personal,

28:43 it's not about you, it's about what you have.

28:46 It's about have, it's about the message that you have.

28:49 You could be the best person in the world the nicest person in the world,

28:53 all of that, but it's about the substance,

28:55 it's about the message that Allah has given you.

28:58 The Prophet (s) has not received any commands yet

29:01 to give dawn or anything but Waraka can see,

29:04 he knows the way that this has gone down for all

29:08 of the prophets that came before including the one that he follows,

29:11 Isa (a), Jesus peace be upon him.

29:14 He knows how this goes.

29:15 It's not about you ya Muhammad.

29:18 They don't hate you as a person.

29:21 But it's the message that you bring that will threaten them.

29:24 And Waraka's immediate reaction was what?

29:27 I wish I was young.

29:29 I wish I could be with you when people run you out.

29:33 And you know what Waraka tells him?

29:36 This 90 something blind man says to him (arabic) if I live

29:45 to see that day I will support you with everything I have,

29:52 with all of my strength.

29:54 Whatever Allah has given me to support you with, I will support you with.

30:00 Subhanallah, I mean it's really beautiful.

30:04 There's so much to talk about this.

30:06 Ayesha (r) says he died just a few days after that.

30:11 So he didn't live, he died just a few days after he

30:15 tells the Prophet (s) that if I'm alive to see that day,

30:18 I'm going to support you with everything that I have, I wish I was young,

30:21 but I hope that Allah keeps me alive so I can be by your side.

30:26 So much to go with this.

30:27 And Ayesha (r) said he died just a few days after and the revelation was paused.

30:33 That's when the fatrah happened to the Prophet (s).

30:37 Number one-that good intention.

30:40 (arabic) There are people that are truthful when they make promises to Allah.

30:47 They don't offer lip service.

30:49 Waraka was sincere in saying this 90 year old blind man

30:53 will be by your side and will fight on your behalf.

30:59 Because Waraka does not just know the signs of prophethood.

31:03 Waraka knows the virtues of the people

31:04 who follow prophets in their most vulnerable times,

31:06 and Waraka wants to be the hawaree-this righteous ones.

31:10 I want to be the righteous sahabi, I want to be your disciple,

31:12 I want to be by your side when your people come after you because

31:16 this is going to go down like Isa (a) like Jesus peace be upon him.

31:20 And I want to be there by your side.

31:22 I want to be that person to share that burden with you.

31:26 Also Waraka did not ask Allah for taqfeef, he asked Allah for quwa,

31:31 he didn't ask Allah to lighten the load,

31:33 he asked Allah for the strength to bear it.

31:36 And that's a sign on sincerity.

31:38 He could have said I hope Allah makes it easy and I'm an old man,

31:42 and we're not gonna be able to bear this.

31:44 No Waraka asked Allah for strength because Waraka wanted

31:48 the full reward of being beside the Prophet (s).

31:53 That's his natural reaction.

31:54 I've been living nine decades, almost an entire century for this moment,

31:58 to support a prophet, to support the prophet when he comes.

32:02 Waraka is the only Christian left there in Makkah,

32:05 the only Christian one, Zaid is dead.

32:07 It's just Waraka.

32:08 I've been waiting my whole life.

32:09 I'm ready.

32:11 I've rehearsed for this moment intentionally.

32:14 I've purified myself.

32:16 And he asked Allah (swt) for that.

32:19 And by the way him dying a few days after that, don't think Waraka's

32:22 burden would have been easy because Quraish

32:25 knew that there were certain influential voices.

32:29 If they spoke in support of the Prophet (s) things would be very messy for them.

32:35 So you know what Nawful did?

32:37 Nawful was the one who tied Abu Bakr

32:40 and Zubair together and tortured them together privately.

32:43 See the powerful ones were not tortured out in the public.

32:46 They were tortured amongst their tribe.

32:48 The tribes wanted to maintain the dignity of the tribe in as twisted way,

32:51 maintain the dignity of the tribe but at the same

32:55 time deter their own from accepting Islam.

32:57 So alqarinain, the two qareens, the two tied ones were Abu Bakr and Zubair.

33:02 It was Nawful that was tying them together and torturing them.

33:06 Nawful, the one who used to put Zubair in a mat,

33:10 tie him up in a straw mat and set the mat

33:13 on fire from the bottom so it would burn his feet,

33:16 and roll him and punish him and as Zubair's screams

33:19 are being heard our from the qariya, out of their area.

33:23 So imagine if Waraka would have with his authority,

33:27 with the effect he had amongst the Arabs,

33:30 imagine if Waraka lived to see those days,

33:33 Waraka would have been amongst the first people tortured.

33:37 They might have killed him privately and said

33:38 he died a natural death because they would not have been able to afford

33:42 the voice of Waraka from a spiritual authority perspective,

33:45 being lent to the call of the Prophet (s).

33:50 But Subhanallah Allah chose that this man,

33:54 unlike Zaid, lives to see the Prophet (s),

33:58 lives to see him as a nabi and it's as if Allah

34:02 kept him alive just to see that moment and then to die.

34:06 Dies a natural death.

34:08 Just a few days after telling the Prophet (s) what he saw before

34:14 the Prophet (s) would ever have any

34:17 followup from Jibreel (a) Waraka passes away.

34:19 There is some weakness in the narration because it doesn't match up.

34:26 talks about it where Waraka would live and he would

34:29 see Bilal (r) being tortured and he would say (arab), one god one god oh Bilal.

34:35 Sabar ya Bilal.

34:37 Warning the people about killing Bilal.

34:39 It doesn't match up to the authentic hadiths in al-Bukhari

34:42 that he died just a few days after that moment.

34:46 Also also don't have any followup.

34:48 Bilal (r) accepted Islam after the public call.

34:52 So we would've had more on Waraka had he lived to see that.

34:55 So Waraka dies just a few days after.

34:58 Now what does that mean about his status?

35:01 This is where it gets very interesting.

35:04 He's the first man to believe in the Prophet (s) so is he a sahabi,

35:09 is he a companion or not?

35:12 Was Abu Bakr (r) the first man as you commonly here?

35:17 Or is Waraka the first man?

35:19 What do you all think?

35:21 Let's take a vote.

35:25 How many of you think Waraka was a sahabi

35:28 and was the first man to become a Muslim?

35:31 How many of you think he's not a sahibi?

35:35 I guess a lot of you just don't know.

35:39 You don't want to answer, good answer.

35:42 There is ikhtilaaf, there is a difference of opinion amongst

35:46 the scholars because they're trying to reconsile how Abu Bakr

35:50 (r) plays into this because commony Khadijah (r) was

35:54 the first woman and Abu Bakr (r) was the first man.

35:57 But here is Waraka telling him you're a Prophet.

36:00 Not just saying it but telling him look,

36:03 I'm going to support you, I will fight by your side.

36:08 I will make sure that no one hurts you.

36:10 So some of the scholars came up with very interesting ways to resolve this.

36:14 Some of them said (arabic), he caught the prophethood of the Prophet (s)

36:20 but he didn't live long to see the message

36:23 of the Prophet (s) because the Prophet (s)

36:25 still hadn't been told to call the people yet.

36:30 He was just resolving himself what was happening to him.

36:33 So he called the appointment of the Prophet (s) as a nabi,

36:37 as a prophet, but not the dawah of the Prophet (s), not the message.

36:43 Therefore he died musadiq as someone who confirmed the prophethood

36:48 of the Prophet (s) as a believer but not a sahabi because

36:53 he didn't technically join the ummah of the Prophet (s) because

36:56 he didn't live to be a Muslim in the formal sense.

37:00 Some of the scholars said he died in the fatrah,

37:02 he died in the pause, so they had a similar conclusion.

37:05 They said he's a believer,

37:06 they said he's a mu'min but we can't say he's a sahabi.

37:10 Another group of scholars actually wrote entire rasail like bakhdadi,

37:15 khateeb al bakhdadi and others who wrote these treatisisms saying

37:20 that no he was indeed a sahabi and Waraka is indeed

37:26 the first male companion of the Prophet (s) and we say

37:30 (r) and we consider him that first sahabi of the Prophet (s).

37:36 So there is an interesting difference of opinion and like Zaid,

37:41 Waraka's situation confuses even the close companions.

37:44 So remember with Zaid it was Saeed,

37:48 his son and Umar his cousin coming to the Prophet

37:52 (s) saying Ya Rasulullah what happened to Zaid?

37:56 Does he go to Jannah?

37:57 Paradise?Does he go to hellfire?

37:58 Was he a believer?

37:59 What did we say about Zaid?

38:02 Think about this one now.

38:04 Khadijah (r) in an authentic Hadith asking

38:08 the Prophet (s) Ya Rasullulah oh messenger of Allah,

38:13 (arabic) he confirmed, he believed in you, he confirmed you were who you were.

38:24 (arabic) And he died before you were made public,

38:28 your dawn was public, what sin did this man commit?

38:34 What would happen to him?

38:37 So the Prophet (s) responds to Khadijah this concerned woman over her cousin,

38:43 over this man who was so precious

38:45 to the Prophet (s) and Khadijah's life and who,

38:49 you talk about niya at how he didn't just say I believe in you,

38:52 he said I'm gonna fight on your side, I will support you against all else.

38:57 The Prophet (s) says ya Khadijah, oh Khadijah, (arabic) I saw Waraka in my sleep

39:07 and he was wearing these white clothes, these garments,

39:12 and he said to her (arabic) if was to be of the people

39:18 of hellfire then I would not have seen him in that state.

39:22 He looked absolutely fine, he looked beautiful, he looked assured.

39:28 In another narration there was a person,

39:33 this is narrated from Ibn Asaqir--— that the Prophet

39:39 (s) was asked (arabic) I saw him,

39:45 he was asked about Waraka and the Prophet (s) said I saw

39:55 Waraka in the middle of Jannah literally in the stomach of it,

39:59 in the belly of jannah (arabic) and he

40:03 was wearing silk so he looked absolutely fine.

40:08 He looked like he was in jannah and he looked like he was

40:12 in absolute beauty in the blessing of Allah (swt) and one more Hadith.

40:17 Al Haqim, also an interesting Hadith narrated by Ayesha (r) he

40:24 says that the Prophet (s) (arabic) he heard a man who was

40:30 cursing Waraqa or mentioning Waraka in a bad way and the Prophet

40:35 (s) said do not say anything negative or bad about Waraka,

40:44 don't you know that I saw Waraka in Jannah, not just with one level,

40:53 but actually even with two Jannahs, two gardens, two levels in paradise.

40:59 So these are the ahadith about Waraka.

41:01 And Subhanllah I was thinking about this its interesting

41:04 that the Prophet (s) mentions Zaid and Waraka, two Jannahs.

41:09 If you remember last week we talked about Zaid Ibn Amr

41:13 and the Prophet (s) said I saw that he had two gardens, two levels of paradise.

41:19 And he says the same thing about Waraka.

41:22 And it's very interesting because if you look at the Quran,

41:26 when Allah (swt) says (arabic) for the one who fears the station of the lord,

41:32 the greatness of their lord,

41:34 and I'm sorry standing in front of being in front of being beholden

41:38 by Allah (swt) in that moment being resurrected in front of Allah the almighty,

41:43 fears that moment, Jannah are two gardens.

41:46 And the mufassirun generally say this is why Allah mentions

41:49 this, because this is talking about a person that committed a sin,

41:53 made tauba to Allah, and then immersed themselves in good.

41:56 So basically the two Jannahs refer to them leaving off sin and then

42:02 immersing themselves in good because when a person repents from a sin,

42:06 the sin turns into a good deed.

42:08 So Allah gives them a Jannah for leaving off a major sin or for that sin,

42:13 that place of disobedience, and replaces it with another Jannah because

42:17 of the good that they then exert themselves in.

42:20 So they don't just make tauba, they live the rest of their lives in good

42:23 as a result of the lessons learned from that tauba.

42:25 So lahum jannataan.

42:27 They have two Jannahs.

42:29 Subhanallah for Zaid and Warakah,

42:31 the Prophet (s) to be very specific about both of them

42:35 that they have two jannahs and there could be many reasons for this.

42:40 One that they believed twice in a way.

42:42 They believed before the Prophet (s) even came and when

42:45 they knew of a prophet they expressed another level of belief.

42:48 So clearly they've got a distinction amongst even the sahaba

42:52 of the Prophet (s) in that they believed when no one else believed.

42:56 And then again when they were told that the Prophet

42:59 had come out they believed once again.Why is that significant?

43:02 There were some people that were in Madinah waiting for the Prophet (s).

43:07 As soon as they knew who he was they said no no no not him.

43:11 So they knew a prophet was coming,

43:13 they dedicated themselves to tawhid, to monotheism,

43:15 but once they saw that it was him, Muhammed (s), banu hashim, we can't so that.

43:21 So the fact the Zaid was on his way back to embrace this prophet,

43:27 Waraka confirmed this prophet and both

43:30 of them upheld monotheism even in jaahiliya.

43:33 Allahuta'ala alum, but that could be the wisdom for why

43:37 the Prophet (s) mentioned that they have two Jannahs.

43:41 This next thing which is extremely powerful and it's

43:44 just a beautiful transition if you think about it.

43:48 The last way the Allah mentions Jesus, Isa (a) in the Quran is, who can tell me,

43:55 in the Quran, those of you that memorized the Quran, you can go through it.

44:01 When's the last mention of Isa (a) in the Quran?

44:10 If you read the Quran front to back what's

44:13 the last time you heard about Jesus, Isa (a) five time?

44:18 Sarah Al-Suf.

44:20 And what happens in Surah Al-Suf.

44:28 (arabic) literally the last mention of Isa (a) in the Quran is very beautiful,

44:43 Isa (a) in telling his people about the coming of the Prophet

44:48 (s) that I've confirmed to you what came before me from the Torah,

44:51 and I''m here to give you glad tidings

44:54 of the prophet that will come after me, Ismuhu Ahmed.

44:58 Alright, who's name will be Ahmed.

45:00 How beautiful is it that the first person to confirm prophethood

45:05 of the Prophet (s) is the last follower of Isa (a) in makkah.

45:10 Subhanallah the first one to accept the prophet,

45:14 the long Christian in Makkah who was exerting himself

45:18 to follow the true way ofIsa (a) to follow Ibrahim,

45:25 He's the first one to confirm, it's you.

45:30 You're the prophet of this ummah, and then he died.

45:32 Then it was not one of the pagan arabs,

45:35 it was not someone to tell him that you are a prophet.

45:40 You're the one that is following the Bushra of Isa (a), glad tiding

45:46 of Jesus peace be upon him and handing that off to the Prophet

45:51 (s) and then he dies and the story of the Prophet (s)

45:55 picks up right from where Isa (a) where Jesus peace be upon him,

46:01 left off, continuing that legacy fo Ibrahim (a), Zayd Ibn

46:05 Amr said that he was on the way of Ibrahim (a).

46:09 So Subhanallah it's a very, if you just think about the wisdom upon

46:12 wisdom upon wisdom about how this is happening

46:14 and the beautiful mercies that Allah has embedded

46:17 and just the succession here of the Prophets of Allah,

46:21 it's incredibly beautiful.

46:22 And so we ask Allah (swt) to be please with Waraka (r),

46:27 to join us with him and with the Prophet (s) and Khadijah (r) and with Zaid

46:34 and those righteous ones in the highest level

46:37 of Jannatul Firdous with the prophets of Allah,

46:39 with the siddiqeen, with the shuhada,

46:41 with all of those righteous ones that preceded.

46:43 And we ask Allah to make us amongst them.

46:56 Allahuma Ameen.