Qur'an Connection by Good Tree Academy

1,443 years ago Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, made the first Hijra or journey from Mecca to Madina. The prophet ﷺ and his companions made that hijra to practice Islam and for the sake of Allah SWT. In His Book, Allah explains His Command for this journey to escape difficulty, even though making it was risky, hazardous and uncomfortable (Surah Al Baqarah 2 : 218 and Surah Anfal 8:74).

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا وَجَاهَدُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ

 أُولَٰئِكَ يَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

As for those who believed and those who migrated and struggled in the path of Allah,

they do hope for Allah’s mercy and Allah is Forgiving, Very Compassionate

(Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 218)

People who make Hijra for the sake of Allah leave what’s comfortable, so they can be a better person and a better muslim in a new place. For this, Allah grants forgiveness to His true believers. 

How do we understand the spirit of Hijra today and how it pertains to us? Our hijra is a spiritual journey and a hijra of the heart. Our spiritual journey is when we go from our lower self to our higher self. Our lower selves follow distractions and actions which take us away from Allah’s Pleasure. When we evolve to our higher selves, we have the Influence of Allah, the prophet ﷺ and the angels. Examples of when we have the Influence of Allah include reading the Qur’an, praying, making thikr, visiting mosques, and when we show kindness to others. We have the influence of the prophet ﷺ when we follow his character and study hadiths which are his teachings and lifestyle. We have the influence of the angels when we do good deeds and behave with good character, showing mercy. 

Principal Wadud Hassan discusses three ways we can complete our hijra so to earn Allah’s Forgiveness and Mercy:

1. Intention: Your heart must make the intention to go from your lower self to your higher self. Change your bad habits to good habits that bring you closer to Allah SWT. Make an intention by writing it down.
2. Association: Who are your acquaintances? Always associate yourself with people who help you get closer to Allah whether this is a teacher, friend or family member.
3. Attention: Focus on one thing that you can do that’ll help change you and pursue that change.

Principal Wadud shares how he used this process in a time of hardship and, inshAllah, through our hijra, we will reach Allah’s Mercy and Forgiveness on our hearts as He describes in Surah Al-Anfal (8 The Spoils of War):

وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَهَاجَرُواْ وَجَاهَدُواْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ وَالَّذِينَ آوَواْ وَّنَصَرُواْ أُولَـئِكَ 

هُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ حَقًّا لَّهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَرِزْقٌ كَرِيمٌ

Those who believed and emigrated, and struggled for God’s Cause, and those who gave refuge and help - they are the true believers and they will have forgiveness and generous provision
(Surah Al-Anfal 8:74)

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All of Allah's messengers had the same message of Islam - Adam, Noah, Ibrahim, Moses, David, Jesus, Muhammad, peace be upon them all, are among those mentioned in the Qur'an.

In Surah Al-Ma’idah (5 The Table Spread), Allah declares,  “This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islâm as your religion.” (5:3)

To make this guidance applicable, Allah's final messenger Muhammad ﷺ advised to be careful who you follow, be careful who you spend time with, be careful who you listen to and be careful what you listen to. Because you will end up following the ways of the people you hang out with, including in speech, dress, actions and even thoughts. 

Everyone is born Muslim and indeed it is those we surround ourselves with who influence our actions. As Muslims, it's important to share Islam with those you share time with. Be strong in your faith and be careful not to follow ways which go against Islam's guidance of peace. 

In Surah Al-Furqan (25 The Criterion) ayat 27 - 29, Allah shares the plight of those who had the opportunity to embrace Islam and then, when it’s too late, they will ask themselves why they didn’t follow Allah’s final messenger ﷺ. They will regret instead having spent time in poor company which has bankrupted an eternity promising peace. 

Ustadh Michael Wolfender shares the story behind these ayat, of a man who accepted Islam and then recanted this based on who he hung out with. 

From this, we learn our purpose in this life is to earn the Pleasure of Allah, do good deeds, make good decisions. A way towards this is to seek to be among those who are connected to Allah.

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Each of the prophets sent by Allah delivered the same message: believe in one God. Ustadh Michael Wolfender shares from Allah’s Book how He reveals Himself to us. In particular, Ustadh Michael references the short surahs from the end of the Qur’an, such as Surat Al-Ikhlas (112 The Sincerity), to help believers connect with Our Creator in worship. Ustadh Michael concludes with the message of love and hope in the first surah, Al-Fatihah (1 The Opener) where Allah answers the believer when each verse is recited. 

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As a new school year begins, Ustadh Michael Wolfender remarks on the blessing of a full audience of students after a year of separation and distance learning. He reminds us how Allah dictates Islam is the only right way: 

“Truly, the religion with Allâh is Islâm. Those who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) did not differ except, out of mutual jealousy, after knowledge had come to them. And whoever disbelieves in the Ayât (proofs, evidence, verses, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allâh, then surely, Allâh is Swift in calling to account.” 3:19 Surah Ali ‘Imran (Family of Imran)

“And they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allâh, and worship none but Him Alone (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him), and perform As-Salât and give Zakât, and that is the right religion.” 98:5 Surah Al-Bayyinah (The Clear Proof)

Brother Michael shares the story of a visit from Angel Gabriel in human form to prophet Muhammad, may Allah’s Peace and Blessing be upon him and how Allah’s archangel questioned Allah’s messenger on the message of Islam, including the six articles of faith. 

Sincerity in seeking to be the best servant to Allah is to worship Him as if you can see Him and to be content with His Guidance, what He provides and the message of truth as delivered by His messenger Muhammad ﷺ.   

[Quran translations from Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali & Muhammad Muhsin Khan]

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What do IKEA furniture, LEGOs and nature have in common? Ustadh Michael Wolfender explains how they can help us appreciate and understand Allah’s Design, including how Allah references in Surah At-Tariq the falling of rain and evaporation (86:11). 

As the school year concludes, Ustadh Michael encourages students and each of us to value our time together and not individually in front of screens. Connect with Allah’s Book and His Guidance. Interested in learning to understand and pronounce the final surahs of the Holy Qur’an correctly? Good Tree Academy students help with just that at quranconnection.org/learn 

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Ustadh Michael Wolfender has words of encouragement for Good Tree Academy students to spend their summer building on what they’ve learned this school year from Allah’s Book. The Qur’an is Allah’s Book with benefits from reciting its verses. It is the final revelation from Allah complete with His Words. The Qur’an brings humans from darkness to light. The Qur’an is a cure and protection and it makes you a better person. 

Listen as Ustadh Michael shares the story of an early accepter of Islam, how the Qur’an brought him to light and why Islam’s own enemies could not help but to seek listening to the Qur’an. 

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Ustadh  Michael Wolfender reminds us how angels will visit us when it is our time to return to Allah. It can be a time to be happy to see and meet them, especially if you’ve taken advantage of seven times when angels pray for you:

1. When you are eating suhoor, the pre-dawn meal prior to fasting, angels mention you to Allah based on your intention, as Allah says fasting is between Him and His believer. 
2. Arrive early to be in the first row at the masjid
3. Sit after salah and remember Allah as angels will ask Allah to forgive you and have mercy on you
4. When you teach others good things, angels and all the animals on earth make dua for you
5. When you make dua for someone who is not with you, Allah appoints an angel to say ‘ameen’ so your request on behalf of another applies to you, too
6. When you spend for the sake of Allah, Allah returns what you spend
7. When you make wudu before going to sleep, an angel is as close as hugging you all night; if you wake up, the angel asks Allah for your protection and forgiveness

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Ustadh Michael Wolfender recites from five surahs in the Holy Qur’an where Allah explains, among other aspects of angels, the protection He provided the delivery of His Book by Angel Gabriel.  Al-Qadr (97 The Power) discusses the one night every year in the last third of Ramadan when Allah floods the earth with angels and why this night carries the power of 1000 months. Even Angel Gabriel descends on earth that night, though his mission of delivering the Qur’an to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is complete. 

One of the attributes of Allah of which He is known by is Al Lateef, The Subtle. Brother Michael explains that developing a relationship with Allah helps you understand this attribute, for instance, in how Allah helps you see what is subtle. And Brother Michael provides some examples of how this applies to angels in our presence. He shares a story of a hospitalized man who spoke to angels and their conversation with him to understand that those afflicted with ailments who get angry about that are suffering punishment from Allah. Those who are patient with their ailments receive the reward of it being an expiation. When you are content with Allah, it raises your degrees of favor with Him. 

Ustadh Michael shares the story of the Battle of Badr where Allah sent angels to aid His believers fighting in His Cause, though they were triply outnumbered. 

And finally, Ustadh Michael shares how you can talk with angels in each daily prayer. These lessons help us understand the value of seeing the Night of Power in the last ten nights of Ramadan.

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Ustadh Michael Wolfender uses surahs Ar-Ra’d (13 The Thunder) and Ibrahim (14 Abraham) and their explanations to help teach the unending value of learning to seek and understand Allah, as this brings true relaxation and peace. 

All of the messengers Allah sent delivered the same message that Allah is our Provider, place your trust in Him and that He controls all. Our job is to worship and please Allah. 

Verses 32 - 34 of Surah Ibrahim describe Allah and His Might with some examples including rain, fruits, ships, rivers, the sun and moon, day and night; including there are countless blessings we cannot complete enumerating. 

Ustadh Michael emphasizes the power of dua, asking of and remembering Allah as when you please Allah, He gives you more. Surah Ibrahim memorializes how prophet Ibrahim (as) made a dua asking Allah to ensure his descendants were consistent in worship: “My Lord! Make me and those ˹believers˺ of my descendants keep up prayer. Our Lord! Accept my prayers.” (14:40)

Ayah 7 of Surah Ibrahim includes the guarantee of how remembering Allah ensures He provides more: “And ˹remember˺ when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will certainly give you more. But if you are ungrateful, surely My punishment is severe.’”

Allah guarantees the best for His believers, including paradise where angels will visit you. 

And finally, Surah Ibrahim contains the verse for which Good Tree Academy is named: “Do you not see how Allah co

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The Muslim lunar calendar means Ramadan moves back about 10 days every year. Ramadan is a month where Muslims fast, staying away from food and drink during the daytime as primary items per Allah’s Command. When you are strong enough to stay away from food and drink during the daytime, you realize you have the power to stay away from what you're not supposed to do and to withhold yourself from something you really want. 

The most successful Ramadans begin with a plan, which correlates to taking action in life. Science has underscored the benefits of fasting though there is no determination on the best way to achieve this - other than the Guidance Allah provides in Surah Al-Baqarah (2 The Cow) where Allah details that fasting is for a prescribed period of the month of Ramadan. 

More importantly than physical benefits of fasting is the spiritual connection and mental  resilience fasting develops. Allah says fasting is between Him and His worshipper. No one needs to know you are fasting. Allah is pleased with efforts His believers take in His Way, including rewarding happiness for the advent of the month of fasting. 

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