Parables of the Quran (Mosquito) | Dr. Nasser Karimian

Summary

The speaker introduces the concept of parables (amthal) in the Quran, discussing why Allah uses parables to convey deep, multi-layered meanings in a relatable and concise manner. He emphasizes that everything in life can teach us about Allah and that even small examples, like a mosquito, hold significant lessons. The speaker also contrasts the perceived insignificance of certain creatures with their actual impact, urging believers to take every detail in the Quran seriously and to seek understanding from its teachings.

Takeaways

• 📖 Parables in the Quran: The video introduces the concept of parables (amthal) in the Quran, highlighting their significance in conveying deep, relatable, and multi-layered meanings.
• 🌍 Universal Teaching Method: Allah uses parables not only in the Quran but also in other scriptures like the Torah and the Injil, demonstrating a consistent teaching method across different religious texts.
• 🗣️ Parables' Purpose: Parables are used because they communicate complex ideas clearly and concisely, making them relatable, eloquent, and inspiring for the audience.
• 🕸️ Misconceptions Addressed: The video discusses the historical context where Jews in Medina questioned the use of seemingly insignificant examples, like a mosquito, in the Quran, which Allah addresses directly.
• 🦟 Mosquito Example: The example of a mosquito is used in the Quran to illustrate that even the smallest creatures can teach important lessons about the world and Allah's creation.
• 💡 Importance of Sincerity: The video emphasizes that a sincere student will appreciate the lesson regardless of its form, while an insincere person might dismiss it due to superficial details.
• 🌌 Allah's Creation: Everything in this world, no matter how small or large, can be used to learn about Allah, underscoring the significance of all creation.
• 🧛 Mosquito vs. Materialism: The video draws a parallel between the mosquito and the materialistic person, both of which are depicted as being insatiable and potentially draining one's life force.
• 🐘 Mosquito and Elephant: A fascinating point is raised about the contrast between the first and last animals mentioned in the Quran—the mosquito and the elephant—highlighting their significance despite their size differences.
• 📊 Significance of the Mosquito: Despite its small size, the mosquito is responsible for more deaths annually than larger, seemingly more dangerous animals like the elephant, illustrating the power of seemingly insignificant things.

Q & A

Why does Allah use parables in the Quran?

Allah uses parables in the Quran because they convey clear messages using few words. Parables are relatable, carry multiple layers of meaning, and are eloquent, artistic, and inspiring. They allow people to grasp deep concepts in a simple, yet impactful manner.

What is the significance of the example involving a mosquito in the Quran?

The example of a mosquito in the Quran serves to show that even the smallest, seemingly insignificant creature can be used to convey profound lessons. Allah responds to those who dismiss the example as trivial by explaining that everything in the world can be used to teach a lesson about life and faith.

How does the Quran address the objections raised by the Jews of Medina regarding small examples?

When the Jews of Medina questioned why Allah would use examples like a mosquito or a fly, considering them too insignificant, Allah responded by affirming that He is not shy to present any example, whether it be of a mosquito or something smaller. The point is to convey truth and wisdom, regardless of the example's size or nature.

What does the Quranic parable involving the mosquito teach about the material world?

The parable of the mosquito highlights the insignificance of the material world (Dunya). It shows that while people may be distracted by worldly pursuits, these distractions can drain their spiritual energy and focus, just as a mosquito delicately drains blood.

Why does the speaker mention the comparison between the mosquito and the elephant in the Quran?

The comparison between the mosquito (the first animal mentioned in the Quran) and the elephant (the last animal mentioned) emphasizes that both large and small creatures hold significance in conveying divine lessons. This parallel is drawn to mock the disbelievers who dismiss small examples while overlooking the importance and impact of both large and small creations.

What is the connection between the materialistic person and a mosquito, as discussed in the script?

The connection lies in the behavior of both the mosquito and a materialistic person. Just as a mosquito is gluttonous, taking in large amounts relative to its size, a materialistic person constantly consumes and desires more, becoming increasingly greedy and consumed by worldly pursuits.

What deeper lessons does the speaker derive from the Quran's mention of a mosquito?

The speaker draws multiple lessons: the insignificance of the Dunya (worldly life), the subtle and harmful way it can drain one's time and potential, and the warning against being consumed by materialism. The mention of a mosquito encourages believers to reflect on even small examples and recognize their relevance to spiritual growth.

How does the Quran illustrate the difference between sincere and insincere people when it comes to learning from examples?

The Quran illustrates that sincere people focus on the lesson being taught, regardless of the form it takes, while insincere people focus on trivial details, such as the medium or appearance of the example, and dismiss the core message.

What is the significance of Allah's statement that He misleads some people and guides others through these examples?

The statement highlights that the effectiveness of parables depends on the sincerity and openness of the audience. Believers find guidance in these examples because they are seeking truth, while disbelievers reject them because they focus on superficial aspects and dismiss deeper meanings.

What does the speaker suggest about the significance of reflecting on Quranic examples in daily life?

The speaker suggests that reflecting on Quranic examples helps believers stay mindful of their purpose in life and avoid being distracted by worldly desires. Regular contemplation of these examples encourages spiritual growth and strengthens one's connection with the teachings of the Quran.

Outlines

00:00

📖 The Power of Parables in the Quran

This paragraph introduces the concept of parables (amphal) in the Quran, highlighting that there are around 41 such examples. It explains why Allah uses parables, emphasizing their ability to convey deep meanings in a relatable, eloquent, and inspiring manner. The use of parables is not limited to the Quran but is also found in other religious texts like the Bible and Hadith, suggesting that it is a divine method of teaching.

05:00

🕊️ Understanding Allah's Use of Parables

The paragraph discusses why Allah uses seemingly insignificant examples, such as a mosquito, in the Quran. It references a specific verse where the Jews questioned the use of such examples, to which Allah responds that He is not shy to present any example, no matter how small. The lesson here is that sincere believers focus on the meaning of the parable rather than its individual elements, while insincere ones get caught up in trivial details.

🌍 The Dunya and Its Insignificance

This paragraph draws a parallel between the insignificance of the mosquito and the insignificance of the dunya (worldly life). It explains how the dunya, much like a mosquito, can delicately drain a person of their time and potential if they become too attached to it. The Prophet Muhammad's saying that the dunya is worth less than a mosquito's wing to Allah is cited to illustrate the triviality of worldly pursuits.

🐜 The Materialistic Mindset and Its Dangers

This section highlights the comparison between a materialistic person and a mosquito, emphasizing how both are driven by an insatiable appetite. Just as a mosquito consumes far more than its size would suggest, a materialistic person becomes obsessed with consuming more of the dunya, ultimately leading to spiritual and moral decay. The warning here is to be cautious of becoming overly attached to materialism.

🐘 Parallels Between the Mosquito and the Elephant

The paragraph points out an interesting parallel in the Quran between the first animal mentioned (the mosquito) and the last animal (the elephant). It contrasts the small, seemingly insignificant mosquito with the large, powerful elephant, both of which are used to convey important lessons. The connection between the two animals is further explored, with a focus on their long noses, which might symbolize deeper, divine wisdom.

⚖️ The Deeper Significance of Parables

This concluding paragraph underscores the importance of paying close attention to every detail in the Quran. It mentions the high mortality rate caused by mosquitoes compared to elephants, illustrating that what may seem insignificant can have a profound impact. The discussion reinforces the idea that every example in the Quran, no matter how small, carries significant meaning and should not be taken lightly. The speaker encourages the audience to deeply reflect on the Quran's parables throughout the upcoming sessions.

Keywords

💡Parables

Parables are stories or examples used to convey moral or spiritual lessons. In the Quran, parables are used frequently to illustrate deeper truths and teachings in a way that is relatable and easy to understand. The speaker mentions that Allah uses parables to communicate complex ideas through simple, vivid imagery that can resonate on multiple levels.

💡Allah

Allah is the Arabic word for God, the creator and sustainer of the universe in Islamic belief. The video discusses how Allah, as the creator, uses parables in the Quran to teach lessons. Allah's transcendence is emphasized, noting that He is beyond the physical attributes and limitations of the created world, yet everything in the world can be a lesson about Him.

💡Mosquito

The mosquito is used as an example in the Quran to illustrate the insignificance of worldly matters compared to the spiritual lessons they can convey. The video highlights how even something as small and seemingly insignificant as a mosquito is chosen by Allah to teach profound lessons about the temporary nature of worldly life and the dangers of becoming overly attached to materialism.

💡Insignificance

Insignificance refers to the concept that material things in this world, no matter how small or large, hold little value in comparison to spiritual truths and the afterlife. The video discusses how Allah uses examples of insignificant creatures, like the mosquito, to convey important lessons, emphasizing that even the smallest things can carry great meaning when used to reflect on the divine.

💡Dunya

Dunya refers to the material world or the earthly life in Islamic teachings. The video explains how the Dunya is often deceptive, drawing people away from spiritual truths and towards materialism. The speaker warns that becoming too attached to the Dunya can drain one's spiritual energy, much like how a mosquito drains blood, leaving a person with nothing of real value.

💡Belief vs. Disbelief

This concept contrasts the attitudes of believers and disbelievers towards the teachings of the Quran. Believers accept the lessons from parables and seek deeper understanding, while disbelievers often dismiss them as trivial or meaningless. The video emphasizes that one's response to Allah's examples is a reflection of their spiritual state and understanding.

💡Analogy

An analogy is a comparison between two things for the purpose of explanation or clarification. In the video, analogies are a key method through which Allah teaches in the Quran, using familiar examples from everyday life to explain complex spiritual concepts. The speaker highlights how these analogies are designed to be easily understood and to resonate with different audiences.

💡Inspiration

Inspiration refers to the process of being mentally stimulated to feel or do something, especially something creative or spiritual. The video mentions that the parables and analogies in the Quran are not just instructive but also inspiring, as they are eloquently crafted to evoke deep reflection and spiritual awakening in the reader or listener.

💡Guidance

Guidance in the Islamic context refers to being led on the right path towards spiritual truth and righteousness. The video discusses how the parables in the Quran serve as guidance for those who are sincere in their faith, helping them to understand and apply divine teachings in their lives. Those who accept the guidance of these parables are contrasted with those who reject or misunderstand them.

💡Worldly Life vs. Spiritual Life

This concept explores the tension between living a life focused on material wealth and physical pleasures (worldly life) versus one dedicated to spiritual growth and preparation for the afterlife (spiritual life). The video emphasizes that while the Dunya (worldly life) is temporary and often misleading, the lessons and guidance found in the Quran direct believers towards a more meaningful and lasting spiritual life.

Highlights

Allah uses parables in the Quran because they convey clear, relatable, and multi-layered messages with eloquence and beauty.

Parables in the Quran serve as a method of teaching that is also found in other religious texts like the Injil and Torah.

Allah's parables can strike powerful analogies and provide analytical reasoning that proves Islamic teachings as valid.

Everything in life can be used as a lesson to learn about Allah, highlighting the importance of viewing the world as a test.

The parable of the mosquito in the Quran emphasizes that no lesson is too small or insignificant to teach us about Allah.

Sincere believers focus on the lesson conveyed by a parable rather than the specific details, emphasizing the importance of understanding the holistic message.

Allah can use any aspect of creation, even something as small as a mosquito, to teach lessons about the world.

The parable of the mosquito teaches about the insignificance of worldly life and how it can subtly drain a person's spiritual energy.

The materialistic person shares characteristics with a mosquito, highlighting the dangers of being overly attached to worldly pursuits.

The first animal mentioned in the Quran is the mosquito, and the last is the elephant, drawing a fascinating parallel between the smallest and largest creatures.

The mosquito and the elephant both have long noses (proboscis), a detail that the speaker finds significant in the Quran's structure.

The Quran uses the example of the mosquito to mock those who belittle it, showing that small creatures can have significant impacts, such as the high number of deaths caused by mosquitoes annually.

Allah's examples in the Quran are precise and meaningful, requiring believers to give them due consideration and reflection.

The Quran's parables are designed to guide those who seek the truth while misguiding those who are insincere or dismissive.

The speaker plans to cover different parables from the Quran over 30 nights, aiming to deepen the understanding and guidance derived from these teachings.

Transcripts

a method is a parable an example that

Allah gives in the Quran

is the plural there are about 41 amphal

in the Quran and today we're only going

to be introducing the topic inshallah

so the question is we won't be able to

cover all of them but the question is

why why does Allah speak in Parables why

speak with examples

and subhanallah this is not just in the

Quran but you find in al-injil what

Torah even though we don't fully agree

that all of it is authentic but still

you find many parables so this seems to

be the way that Allah teaches even in

Hadith many parables

if we can keep the speaking to a minimum

Brothers in the back there if we could

just keep the speaking there's a there's

a Lobby you can speak out there

inshallah

well the reason why Allah uses parables

in the Quran is number one because they

can use very few words they can paint a

very clear picture they can be extremely

relatable and they can have multiple

layers of meaning and they can be

eloquent beautiful artistic and

inspiring so when you put all this

together Allah speaks to us in a way

that really as you can say hits the nail

on the head really subhanallah strikes a

powerful analogy and one other small

point is that every Parable in the Quran

is an example of PS so for those of you

that are more oriented this is the

analytical reasoning which proves that

class is valid that's a side point

we need to step back and appreciate

something about an empath first and

foremost we have to understand that

Allah is our creator

and since Allah is our creator he is

nothing like this creation

what does that mean that all the

parameters of this universe don't apply

to Allah the dimensions of height width

depth having color texture weight

temperature speed things like this we

don't attribute to Allah he is beyond

this realm subhanallah

however it's very important to recognize

that everything in this life

can be used to learn about Allah

what do I mean by this what I'm saying

is that our life our purpose of our life

is a test

and therefore everything in this life

can be a lesson and so therefore the

conclusion is what nothing in this world

can be Allah could nothing in this world

could be God however everything in this

world can be used to learn about Allah

nothing is too big or too small to learn

a lesson about Allah and with that we

introduce the first Ayah which talks

about the concept of where Allah says as

the Sheikh just recited uh Allah says

what well actually before I mention the

Ayah let's hear the context

to Medina

the Yahoo the the Jews and they heard

the Quran they said why is God sending

Parables of small things embarrassing

things Allah and Allah setting an

example of ankabut a spider or a dubab a

fly and so they said what in Allah

Allah is too great for this to be giving

these uh these

these uh belittling or or insignificant

type of examples so Allah responds to

this and says what in Allah

indeed Allah is not shy or timid to

present an example that of a mosquito or

what is smaller than it

so it's interesting is how you usually

say a mosquito but is like a smaller one

means part of so Baro is like a baby

mosquito like even the smallest one to

the Arabs they thought this was the

smallest creature visible to the eye so

Allah is using an example not of

something like an atom or an electron

something that wouldn't make any sense

to them Allah is using an example of

something that you know that they

consider to be the smallest creature

that they can see with the naked eye can

mean that which is bigger than it or

that which is more far-fetched as in

even smaller than that so subhanallah

very interesting wording what is the

lesson here there's a number of lessons

so number one

the sincere student says to himself look

if a lesson is taught well I don't care

if it's written on a big piece of paper

or a small one one that has lined paper

or one that has blank paper I don't care

if it's a white paper or if it's

slightly yellow tint paper if as long as

the lesson is good I take the lesson

whereas the insincere one complains

about the details oh I didn't like the

way it was written this and that

similarly the individual elements of a

parable shouldn't matter what matters is

the parable holistically does it convey

a true and beneficial message or not

this is the first point that Allah is

saying it doesn't matter what the

parable is everything in this universe

can be used to teach you a lesson that's

Point number one

Point number two Allah is saying listen

I can use whatever I want to teach about

this world even a mosquito why a

mosquito why mention it we could oh it's

not going to mention anything don't we

do we think about these things say look

I can teach about this world anything I

want even a mosquito

mosquito do we remember that the prophet

said what intimidated

same word

if this world had the value of even a

mosquito's Wing less than even a

mosquito

nobody smacks a mosquito and then says

oh let me grab its wing and put it in my

pocket I gotta save it it's so precious

no we don't care Allah saying if I even

had the the the amount of significance

of the mosquito's wing of this Dunya I

wouldn't even let the disbeliever the

one who rejects me I wouldn't give him a

sip to drink

so that means this whole Dunya you can

have it Federal and you can have it uh

or whoever this even evil people you can

have it I don't care this Dunya means

nothing subhanallah so the prophetam is

giving so this shows a really deep

connection that this Dunya and the

Baroda what they have in common this

world in this mosquito number one

connection the insignificance of it

and number two connection is what when

we think about a mosquito we think

almost like what bloodsucker vampire

right something that wants to take from

you something that's annoying

subhanallah and it will what delicately

very delicately drain your blood from

you your life force subhanallah this

Dunya if you get impressed with the

glitz and the glamor of this Dunya if

you get impressed with chasing money and

chasing Dunya what it's going to do it's

going to delicately very delicately

drain your time and all of your

potential and leave you with nothing

with no good deeds and no understanding

of this Quran which is maybe why this is

the first time you're thinking hey I

never asked myself why does Allah

mention mosquito that's a problem we

should think about these things don't

let the Dunya keep sucking away all of

your time and you don't seriously take

the Quran as something important Point

number three the materialistic person

has a lot in common with the mosquito

the one who loves this Dunya has a lot

in common with the mosquito did you know

that based on like ratios if the

mosquito was our size and it was to

consume blood it would consume the same

amount as roughly a bathtub of blood

think about that think about how much we

eat

what a plate right imagine if a human

being consumed was so gluttonous was

just so obsessed with taking more and

more and more and more you would fill up

a whole tub wouldn't you just be like

that's horrendous this is this is

teaching us a really important lesson

that this Dunya be careful be cautious

of the Dunya and those who are addicted

to it because it's so addictive that you

are going to become gluttonous of this

Dunya and keep consuming and it will

completely override and take over your

life

last few points in Charlotte the first

animal or creature that is mentioned in

the Quran is this is the first animal

mentioned what's the last animal

mentioned in the Quran

somebody

elephant masha'allah and notice that the

is being talked about as how tiny it is

and the Elephant was which is by the way

the largest land animal is being talked

about what how big it is and how

dangerous it is and how it's going to

come with this Army and Destroy people

so that's really fascinating that Allah

gave this parallel between something

that is so small insignificant and at

the same time something at the end of

the Quran the biggest and both of them

by the way have I don't know why and I

can't tell you why but this is something

that we need to think about why do they

both have a very long noses or you could

say a trunk or the technical term is the

uh probos proboscis proboscis is the

technical term for the mosquitoes I

don't know why I just think it's really

fascinating and I don't think that there

are any coincidences in the Quran so

this Quran is putting the parallel

between the two and as you could say

mocking the disbelievers why because

they're saying the mosquito is so

insignificant why is Allah giving an

example like this well actually if we

compare it to the elephant some a

fascinating point if you go on Google

and look up how many people do elephants

kill a year it's unfortunate the number

is about 500.

but exactly how many people get killed

by mosquitoes these disbelievers why is

Allah giving an insignificant

really insignificant okay how many

people do mosquitoes kill every year

somewhere in the vicinity of 725 000

people die from mosquitoes every year

subhanallah

don't take the Quran lightly Allah talks

and one Allah tells us something every

detail we need to pay attention to and

so Allah says what that indeed Allah is

not timid to present the example of a

mosquito or that which is smaller than

it and those who have believed know that

this is the truth from their Lord but as

for those who disbelieve they say what

did Allah mean by this example this is

the attitude of disbelief to say I don't

even understand what this means oh that

doesn't mean anything subhanallah give

it it's do right and Allah saying he

misleads thereby some people and he

guides others by it so may Allah those

who are Guided by these inshallah we

have about 30 nights together where

we're going through going to go through

all these different where we go over

them in the Quran and we say what is

Allah saying by this what does look at

the example of the disbeliever like this

or the believer like that what are these

examples Allah is saying what that you

have to give it its due consideration so

inshallah hopefully every night we're

going to cover one of these and we're

going to try to complete this melatonic

give us the success to understand these

ayats and be guided by them