Qur'an Connection by Good Tree Academy

The kings who were father and son, Dawood and Suleiman (as), were aware of where their blessings came from, so Allah gave them more because they had the right attitude. In Surat An Naml (27 The Ant), Allah gives examples of these prophets acknowledging their blessings from Allah. In Surat Sad (38 The Letter ‘Saad’), Allah acknowledges the blessing Dawood was provided in his son: “And We blessed David with Solomon—what an excellent servant ˹he was˺! Indeed, he ˹constantly˺ turned ˹to Allah˺. (38:30) Allah then describes Suleiman’s love of horses and an incident where he was busy inspecting his horses at Asr time, as Ustadh Michael explains. Recognizing the distraction his love of horses provided, Suleiman ordered to get rid of the horses, preferring not to have anything to distract him from Allah and that praying on time is most important. Allah continues in the 38th surah then describing how Allah gave him more and more, including control of the wind.

This story shares the lesson of controlling your time and giving importance to prayer. Ustadh Michael then references from ayat 15 – 16 of Surat Al Fajr where Allah says: “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!”

Most people are not alert and don't realize blessings from Allah, boasting when they get things they don’t deserve and then complaining when something bad happens to them.

Instead, Ustadh Michael advises following the lesson of recognizing the importance of time and praying on time to earn a place among those Allah acknowledges at the end of Surat Al Fajr in ayat 27 – 30 describing the resulting reward on the Day of Judgment: ˹Allah will say to the righteous,˺ “O tranquil soul! Return to your Lord, well pleased ˹with Him˺ and well pleasing ˹to Him˺. So join My servants, and enter My Paradise.”

Ustadh Michael concludes with Suleiman’s dua which was prompted by the namesake of the 27th surah (An Naml ‘The Ant’): “My Lord! Inspire me to ˹always˺ be thankful for Your favors which You have blessed me and my parents with, and to do good deeds that please you. Admit me, by Your mercy, into ˹the company of˺ Your righteous servants.” (27:19)

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Qur'an will give us cure and is a mercy for believers. Ustadh Michael Wolfender provides the example of one of the early believers in Islam, a slave, and how the Qur’an made him strong despite torture he endured for his faith. Ustadh Michael uses this example to illustrate how many are slaves to video games, which inherently, due to addictive behavior, teach you how not to take care of yourself. As stimulating activities, the psychology of video games makes the participants eager for further engagement, primarily due to dopamine release. This chemical release trains the brain to thus determine nothing is more fun than video games. Ustadh Michael explains how the 'triumph circuit' propagates a distortion of reality causing the participant reduced ability to overcome real life challenges, partly because of perceived false senses of victory derived from video games. Anxiety presents itself as the participant misperceives values of social status, sincere friendship and family relationships due to silo’ed activity. The body loses the ability to correctly identify and control emotions, as brain cells are killed. Video games move gray matter from one part of the brain to another. Actual socializing time is reduced, hindering building nurturing relationships. Video games commonly train poor social behavior, instilling blaming, shaming, cyberbullying and foul language. Studies show video games are linked to memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease. Allah’s Book, The Qur’an, will not make you strong in video games. It will make you strong in life. Ustadh Michael encourages students to leave video gaming and to start by seeking assistance and talking with parents. Replace video games with quality time with family, outdoors and Qur'an. Qur'an will free you so you are in control of your life. Ustadh Michael concludes with two measures of guidance to keep believers on the straight path.

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In lieu of Friday jummuah khutba, Good Tree Academy convenes online to share weekly reminders. Among the ayah Ustadh Michael Wolfender refers to include:

Surah 27 An-Naml part of the last ayah (with adjustment of pronouns)

Surah 25 Al-Furqaan ayah 1 - 2

End of the last ayah of Surah 17 Al-Israa

Ustadh Michael advises on how everyone impacted by the COVID-19 affects can use this time to become a better person with an attitude of gratitude, to become more righteous, improve character and use good speech. It is a time beckoning humans to turn to Allah, the Qur'an, honor His Prophet peace be upon him and do your best to become better despite pressure and difficulties. Do not give in to stress and worries. Allah is near. He is our Guardian and Caretaker.

Rely on Allah. He is Our Provider. Appreciate His Favors and know that Allah is in charge.

Brother Michael recites from the sixth surah Al-An'am, translated: “All praise is for Allah Who created the heavens and the earth and made darkness and light.” And from Surah Ali ‘Imran (3:185-186): “Every soul will taste death. And you will only receive your full reward on the Day of Judgment. Whoever is spared from the Fire and is admitted into Paradise will ˹indeed˺ triumph, whereas the life of this world is no more than the delusion of enjoyment. You ˹believers˺ will surely be tested in your wealth and yourselves, and you will certainly hear many hurtful words from those who were given the Scripture before you and ˹from˺ the polytheists. But if you are patient and mindful ˹of Allah˺—surely this is a resolve to aspire to.”

The reminder is that this life is a test and truce success is in the hereafter. What are the tests in this life? Of wealth and self. Be patient and be mindful of Allah by perservering in doing good, restraining yourself and being patient in the face of sorrow, defeat and hardship; bear hardship gracefully and be kind to others.

Brother Michael concludes with a story of companion of our Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him who was disobedient and his punishment was isolation. In that quarantine, the companion turned to Allah to become more righteous. We too should use this time to improve relationships, connect to the Qur'an and honor the sunnah of our prophet peace be upon him.

Ustadh Ilir Aliji assists in answering questions including: is this virus a blessing or curse? Brother Ilir advises Allah sends punishment to those deserving and the virus is a mercy for those who believe; for instance, believers earn the reward of a martyr. In answering another question, Brother Ilir replies Allah guarantees paradise for all believers

Other questions to watch and learn from include:

What age does one need to be to lead prayer?

How many people are needed to offer Taraweeh prayer?

How many people are needed to offer jummuah prayer?

Will we get the same reward for offering Taraweeh at home as if they were offered at the masjid?

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Ustadh Michael Wolfender’s khutbah discusses the premise and challenges of purifying before prayer, the importance of oral hygiene and nutritious diet. Moving your thumbs on a digital device is easy today, when early Muslims built sound minds and bodies with archery, horse riding and swimming. Allah is our Light and has provided our souls connections to Him. Science shows how animals emit particles of light from the heart and the brain.

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Born in France, Ustadh Michael Wolfender accepted Islam in 2009 after earning his master's degree in engineering the previous year. In 2013, Brother Michael graduated at the top of his class from Bayyinah Dream, a full-year Arabic intensive program. Since then, he has been teaching at Good Tree Academy in north Texas, leading Arabic curriculum development as Hifz Department lead.
In this episode, Brother Michael recounts his first reading the Qur'an when he misunderstood a major point and was disappointed. He shares how he learned the Qur'an is a book of guidance on how to find answers. "Allah doesn't spoonfeed us," he says, sharing how Allah tells us "This is the book that has guidance" for those who have the right intentions.
In forthcoming episodes, Brother Michael provides highlights from each part or juz of the Qur'an.
In Ayah 30 of the second surah or chapter, we begin to understand the story of Allah guiding our first father and how Allah guides us to understand the creation of mankind through His teaching Adam with the guidance He provides. Adam, like all of his descendants, has the ability to learn. We are to balance acquired knowledge and revealed knowledge from Allah. Those who follow Allah's guidance will not grieve and will achieve worldly and eternal success.
Ayah 252 of Al-Baqarah (The Cow) underscores Allah is the source of all knowledge. And in Ayah 282, we learn connecting to Allah, being mindful of Him and He will teach us. We can learn from many sources, including teachers and books, but some knowledge we will only attain from Allah in the guidance He provides.
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