Those of Understanding: Who Listen Well and Follow the Best of It

Occasion: Transcription of a Fajr khatira delivered on 22 July 2026 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

Dr. Ahmed opened his khatira with a comprehensive supplication: O Allah, we ask You for the good of this day, the good of what is in it and the good of what comes after it, and we seek refuge in You from the evil of this day, the evil of what is in it and the evil of what comes after it. Set right for us our religion, our worldly life and our Hereafter, and prepare for us right guidance in our affair; bless us in what You have provided us, protect us from the punishment of the Fire, and turn away from us the causes of punishment in this world and the Hereafter, through a mercy, good pleasure and generosity from You. Then he greeted the people of Fajr and the regular visitors of the houses of Allah, and asked Allah to record their footsteps, protect their steps, fulfil their needs and clothe them in the garments of well-being until they meet Him on the Day of Resurrection, seated on couches facing one another in Paradise.

An Attentive Ear That Catches the Thread

He said: When the soul is happy with the remembrance of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and feels intimacy with Him, Mighty and Majestic, Allah says: ﴿فَبَشِّرْ عِبَادِ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَهُ أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ هَدَاهُمُ اللَّهُ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمْ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ﴾ (“So give good tidings to My servants, those who listen to the word and follow the best of it. Those are the ones Allah has guided, and those are people of understanding”).^[1]

These people, merely by catching the thread, begin to set out toward stages and levels; each of them grasps the first end of the thread and moves on to what lies beyond it, and his setting out is not a mere continuation of hearing. In our world there are those who listen and enjoy what they hear, lovers of the voice, the performance, the melody and the music, and these are “listeners for pleasure” (“samī‘a”). We, on the other hand, are at the other end: we listen with an attentive, reflective ear, at home with Allah to the point that it moves its owner to begin following.

The Doer Is Allah, and the Entitlement Belongs to the People of Understanding

Then reflect on the verse: these are people of guidance, ﴿هَدَاهُمُ اللَّهُ﴾ (“Allah has guided them”). They are not the doers; the One who acts in them is our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, who took them by the forelocks and guided them. But how did they earn that? They were people of understanding. And these minds reflect on their Lord, feel intimacy with Him, work for Him, sacrifice for His sake and give in His cause; they do not let their bodies sit idle or give their souls rest. They are minds that are always reflecting.

And if we trace the mention of the people of understanding, we find that Allah mentioned them in another place: ﴿الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَٰذَا بَاطِلًا سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ﴾ (“Those who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: ‘Our Lord, You did not create this in vain; glory be to You, so protect us from the punishment of the Fire’”).^[2] With such a description Allah described the people of understanding: those whose minds never grow still. And this is not tied to a certificate, nor to a doctorate, nor to a position, nor to a style of dress, nor to anything.

The Farmer Whom Allah Provided with a Mind

I remember a day when my father, may Allah have mercy on him, had a friend whom we visited on his farm. A farmer from beginning to end, who, judging by appearances, grasped nothing of the dimensions of life; he had not graduated from any school nor earned any certificate, a very simple farmer. We went to see to a need, and while they were talking, the man was asked about something happening in a European country, I do not remember exactly which, and there he was speaking about that matter. I said to myself: What is the story of this man? Then, after we had gone on our long journey, my father said to me: My son, whoever Allah provides with a mind, his condition never fails him. Did you see all that this man has in him? I said: Mashallah, a great deal of good. He said: This man cannot even read the written line, but Allah, Blessed and Exalted, gave him a mind that reflects, and it opened for him from the doors of the world, of culture and of comprehending the course of life what was not opened for the holders of very high positions, who run people's affairs while they understand nothing, poor things.

So the Lord of the worlds, glory be to Him, tells us about the people of understanding. And imagine the meaning of “lubb”: the core of a thing, its marrow from within. So these people who are good at focusing and at going into the details, who are good at reflection, comprehension and thought, and who are good at grasping the depths of matters: ﴿الَّذِينَ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَهُ﴾ (“those who listen to the word and follow the best of it”).

How Many Words We Hear Without Taking Heed

How many words we listen to without taking heed of them! And if one of us were to say that “the word” means only the word of Allah in the Qur'an, that would be narrowing something broad. Our Lord brings us lessons every day, even on the tongues of ordinary people, from which we should learn all that can be learned. For many a one who says a sentence, or a passing word, or something that comes to your mind, or a phrase that passes before your eyes, there is in it of awakening for you what you would not grasp if you kept thinking for years.

And this reminds me of the reflection of Imam Ibn al-Jawzī, may Allah have mercy on him, and his esteemed book “Ṣayd al-Khāṭir.” What does “ṣayd” mean? Something that passed through his mind and he wrote it down quickly. In his introduction he mentions how many thoughts that would enrich the world are lost, because their owners did not record them, so he resolved that whenever an idea came to him he would formulate it and write it down. And I have tried this with the recently available artificial intelligence tools, glory be to the Creator, the All-Knowing: an idea comes to you, you open the application and dictate to it, you say to it: What do you think of this idea? I have such-and-such in my mind and I want to record it, and it records it for you in the best wording. That is a topic of its own, but our Lord brings us of good what only He, Mighty and Majestic, knows the extent of.

A Thought Is a Medical Prescription

You know skilled doctors; when the doctor knows the patient's ailment, he writes a prescription suited to his body, his environment, his condition, his side effects and the history of that body. So if Allah makes a thought pass over your heart, He has given you a medical prescription, He has given you a remedy for something He knew you needed. So do not waste this. These are the people of understanding who listen to the word and follow the best of it, and they have passed through two stages: the first stage ﴿هَدَاهُمُ اللَّهُ﴾ (“Allah has guided them”), and the second stage ﴿وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمْ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ﴾ (“and those are people of understanding”).

A Comparison Missing Its Other Half

Then our Lord, glory be to Him, draws a very simple comparison, and I will end with it because time is short. The verse after it: ﴿أَفَمَنْ حَقَّ عَلَيْهِ كَلِمَةُ الْعَذَابِ أَفَأَنْتَ تُنقِذُ مَنْ فِي النَّارِ﴾ (“Then is one upon whom the word of punishment has come due... then can you save one who is in the Fire?”).^[3] Is this a question or an answer? It is a question, and it is in the nature of “am man” that we place the counterpart after it: is the one upon whom the word of punishment has come due like the one for whom the word of salvation has come due? So we have two sides, but the verse did not put the other side and did not give us another choice; rather it said: ﴿أَفَأَنْتَ تُنقِذُ مَنْ فِي النَّارِ﴾ (“then can you save one who is in the Fire?”).

And we have another place in the same manner: ﴿أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ سَاجِدًا وَقَائِمًا يَحْذَرُ الْآخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُو رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ﴾ (“Is one who is devoutly obedient during periods of the night, prostrating and standing, fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord...”).^[4] After it He did not say, “like one who is heedless in his day and night,” or put in whatever you like; the other side is not there, only one “amman.” The natural thing in a sentence is that there be a comparison between two parties: the obedient and the disobedient, one party upon whom the word of punishment has come due and one for whom the word of Paradise has come due. But the second side is not there, so how is that? Because the rule for the people of faith is that they are people of devout obedience, they do not differ over it, and their condition does not change for a single night.

Then there comes after it: ﴿قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ﴾ (“Say: Are those who know equal to those who do not know?”), and we are still in the same context. So the difference between the one devoutly obedient in the night who answers Allah's call and the negligent one was knowledge and ignorance. Those who do not rise in the night lack this quality, so they are not people of knowledge, even if they speak from the pulpits, stand before the people, are counted among the creation, write books, draw up constitutions, and reach the horizons of the sky in positions; no, we do not have knowledge. Had knowledge been present, devout obedience to Allah would have been present with it, and the matter would be over.

The Supplication

So I ask Allah to make us among the people of understanding, who become aware of their station to which Allah chose them and for whose task He delegated them, who see what is before them, and who listen well to the word and follow the best of it. O Allah, amen, O Lord of the worlds.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: From Sūrat al-Zumar, verses 17–18. The speaker recited the verse in parts («فبشّر عباد … بشّر عبادي …») and then delivered it in full. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: From Sūrat Āl ʿImrān, verse 191; the speaker delivered the verse to the extent recorded. ^[3]: Editor's documentation: From Sūrat al-Zumar, verse 19. ^[4]: Editor's documentation: From Sūrat al-Zumar, verse 9; also from it is ﴿قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ﴾ which he mentioned after it.