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How Allah sends Salah upon you | Khutbah
It's one thing to receive salaam back from our beloved Prophet ﷺ, or the dua of a noble angel. But what does it mean when Allah Himself sends prayers upon you?
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful. Allahumma ja'alna minhum wa minallatheena aaminu wa aamilu as-salihaati wa tawasuhu bilhaqi wa tawasuhu bilsabr. Ameen. We begin by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and bearing witness that none has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for him. And we bear witness that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam is his final messenger. We ask Allah to send his peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him, and those that follow in his blessed path until the day of judgment. And we ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen.
Dear brothers and sisters, in today's khutbah, I want to address actually something that personally gave me some pause. And that is that sometimes we take for granted when Allah responds to us with how he is going to reward us, what exactly that means. Now, if I was to tell you an ayah or a hadith from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, where the reward of such an act is, غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِن ذَنْبِهِ Everything that you have done before is forgiven. It is understood what that means. If I was to tell you that whoever sends salam on the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ Allah and his angels send their prayers upon the Messenger sallallahu alayhi wasallam. يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا Where Allah commands you, O you who believe, send your prayers upon him and send your salam to him. If I was to tell you that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam responds with salam, as we know from the hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, what that precisely means. That every single time you send salah and salam upon him sallallahu alayhi wasallam, an angel informs him and he responds to you by name. It is very clear, it is very explicit. If I was to tell you, as we get into the last ten nights of Ramadan, when we remind ourselves of a dua that should be made throughout the year, اللهم إنك عفوًا تحب العفو فاعف عني O Allah, you are the one who forgives, who pardons. You love to pardon, so pardon me, forgive me. It is very clear what that means. But if I was to ask you, what does it mean when Allah sends salah upon you?
What does that even mean? Would anyone be able to answer except with something that is abstract or ambiguous? Because it just sounds so different. How does Allah send salah upon me? In fact, how does Allah send salah upon Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam? What does it mean to say Allah sends salah, sends his prayers upon someone? And that's what I want to stick with for today's khutbah inshaAllah ta'ala, so that the next time you hear the reward of Allah sending salah upon you, you know exactly what that means and how to connect it, and inshaAllah ta'ala long for it and aspire towards it. Now why now? Because last week we spoke about إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ The beautiful words, to Allah we belong and to Allah we return. The reward of which is أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِّن رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُحْتَدُونَ That verily those people who say to Allah we belong and to Allah we return as soon as a tragedy strikes them, upon them is the prayer of their Lord. And it should not be lost upon us the way that Allah has personalized this, as this is a form of tashrif, this is a form of making the recipient of this reward more noble, of honoring that person. That upon them is the prayer of their Lord and His mercy. وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُحْتَدُونَ And they are the ones who are rightly guided. عُمَرْ بِنِ الْخَطَابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ Since we've been in his seerah, it's only befitting that we mention his tafsir or his explanation of this verse. When he would read this verse رضي الله تعالى عنه, he would say نِعْمَ الْعَدْلَانِ وَنِعْمَةِ الْعِلَاوَةِ That how blessed is the compensation for the first two, and how blessed is the prize,
the extra form of elevation that comes at the end of this verse. He says as for العَدْلَانِ, the two forms of compensation, that Allah mentions here for a person that says إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ He said that it is الصَّلَاةِ وَالرَّحْمَةِ Allah's prayer upon the person, and Allah's mercy upon the person. He says as for العِلَاوَةِ, he said but the gold here, the prize, the extra form of elevation, he says that is الهِدَايَةِ, that is the guidance that Allah SWT promises. Why? Because if Allah guides you, then that means Allah will enter you into paradise. Right? So in many places in the Quran, where Allah mentions إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلِ He has guided them to the two paths. As Ibn Abbas SWT will mention that that means the path of guidance and the destination of guidance, which is paradise. It carries a double meaning when Allah speaks about guidance as a form of reward, it carries a double meaning. That you are blessed to have guidance in this life because you live a life of meaning and purpose. And the greater blessing is that the destination of guidance is paradise. May Allah SWT make us from the inhabitants of Jannatul Firdos. Allahuma Ameen. Now, in this specific context, Salah means something very specific and that is Al-Maghfirah, that is His forgiveness. And we actually take this from a hadith where the Prophet ﷺ was receiving the Sadaqah, receiving the charity of various people. And Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa رضي الله تعالى عنهما he says that when people would come to the Prophet ﷺ, he would say to them as they brought their Sadaqah to him, he would say, اللهم صلي عليك How amazing would it be to hear that from the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ would say, May Allah send Salah upon you. That was the way that he would receive people
when they would bring their Sadaqah to him ﷺ. We can't hear him say it to us, but that is a reward as well that Allah sends his Salah upon us. And the Prophet ﷺ said, صليتُ عليهِ عَشْرًا That I send Salah upon that person as well. So here, Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa, he says that when my father came to the Prophet ﷺ, I remember him saying, اللهم صلي على آلِ أَبِي أَوْفَ O Allah, send your prayers upon the family of Abu Awfa. And so the particular meaning here is forgiveness. The forgiveness from Allah ﷻ. Likewise, when we recite in the end of the night, the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah, وَاعْفُ عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا وَاعْفُ عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا Okay? If you think about it, the order of it is actually what? رحمة is mercy. Forgiveness is that everything as a result of Allah casting his mercy upon you. Forgiveness means that the sins no longer exist. العفو is that you are fully pardoned. That you now enjoy the reward post-forgiveness. So there is a degree here between forgiveness and mercy. And so here in this verse, أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِّنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ That verily Allah gives you His forgiveness and His mercy is the response to إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ Now that's the specific meaning in this verse. However, when it comes to a Salah in general, when Allah sends Salah upon you, it carries multiple meanings that also encapsulate this. One of the things that we learn is that as we send Salah on the Prophet ﷺ, Allah prays upon us, the angels pray upon us, the Prophet ﷺ prays upon us. So we already established what that means for the Prophet ﷺ. As for the angels, Allah عز و جل says
تَكَادُ السَّمَوَاتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَا مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ يَسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِمَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَلَا إِنَّ اللَّهُ وَالْغَفُورُ رَحِيمٌ That the heavens almost creak above them, and the angels exalt Allah with praise, and they ask forgiveness for those on earth. And of course Allah says that the angels, what did they do as they roam around the throne of God? يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا Subhanallah. What an amazing creation. They roam around the throne of God seeking forgiveness for those who believe. They're saying, اللَّهُ مَغْفِرُ لَهُمْ اللَّهُ مَغْفِرُ لَهُمْ اللَّهُ مَغْفِرُ لَهُمْ Oh Allah, forgive that person. Oh Allah, forgive that person. Oh Allah, forgive that person. And so the salah of the angels is specifically one of forgiveness, one of the angels seeking forgiveness for us. So that's understood when it comes to Allah. Allah praying upon you is unlike any other creation praying upon you, sending salah upon you. It's completely different because ultimately when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم prays, who does he pray to? Allah. When the angels seek forgiveness, who are they seeking forgiveness from? Allah. They're seeking forgiveness for us from Allah but they're praying to Allah. But when Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى Himself has this attribute of salah, there's something very special about that. And it actually combines all the meanings in the most beautiful of ways. Number one, how amazing is it to have Allah even mention your name to the inhabitants of the heavens? So the most general meaning of the salah of Allah upon His creation is الذكر والثناء في الملأ الأعلى that Allah mentions you in the highest heavens. Your name in a conversation between Allah and Jibreel عليه السلام. How incredible is that?
Allah telling Jibreel عليه السلام, by the way, I want you to know Jibreel, I love that person. إني أحب فلان I just want you to know I love that person. How much do you want to be the name that Allah is mentioning to Jibreel عليه السلام and then Jibreel shouting out to all of the angels in the heavens إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ فُلَان Allah loves this person. Just the thought of it, right? The thought that my name is being mentioned up there. You know, people want to see their names on plaques, people want to see their names engraved in certain places. To have your name being mentioned by Allah to Jibreel عليه السلام and then Jibreel عليه السلام mentioning it to Mikail and Israfil and all of the angels and all of the prophets because the inhabitants of the heavens includes all of those who have ascended thus far. Isa عليه السلام, Musa عليه السلام, they're all hearing your name being praised through the heavens. How amazing is that, right? And Ubay ibn Ka'b رضي الله تعالى عنه in the famous incident where the Prophet ﷺ told Ubay رضي الله تعالى عنه Allah has commanded me to recite Surah Al-Bayyinah to you. And Ubay started to cry and he said يا رسول الله سمعني You mean Allah said Ubay Did Allah just tell you recite to the next person that walks in? Did Allah tell you recite to one of your companions? Or did Allah say اقرأ على Ubay Read to Ubay because Allah mentioning my name is special. He mentioned me? Yes, he mentioned you. And Ubay رضي الله تعالى عنه was as if he forgot everything. So that's the special thing, right? Allah mentioning you in a praise worthy way amongst the inhabitants of the heavens. Now let's connect it all together inshallah ta'ala as we go into the last or the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah and the prize of the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah being Arafah. The greatest way that Allah can mention you in the presence of the inhabitants of the heavens is in the capacity of forgiveness.
When Allah announces to the heavens I have forgiven this person. There is nothing greater than that. Because you know if Allah praises you it could be that the praise is limited to a praise worthy deed that you did. Right? It's beautiful. But there is still something limited about it in terms of what it covers. But when Allah announces to the heavens that He has forgiven you that means that you are forgiven. And Imam An-Nawawi رحمه الله تعالى explains there is nothing after that. Like when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that Allah looked at the veterans of Badr and Allah says it may be that I have forgiven them for everything that they've done before and everything after. That when Allah announces your amnesty your forgiveness to the heavens that's it. And if you think about the Day of Judgment what is the moment that you long for? You know there is the moment of meeting Allah and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala putting you at ease. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us amongst them. For example Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saying to us as some of those secret sins that we struggled with we didn't boast about we weren't proud of them but we struggled and we were trying but ultimately we fell short and Allah puts a hijab a veil between you and everyone else and says come here come close and starts to mention some of those sins to you. And then Allah says I want you to know that I concealed them for you in the dunya and I'm forgiving you for them now. They're done. Don't worry about them. No one is ever going to hear about these sins nor will you be confronted with them. Amazing. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reminding you of your good deeds on the Day of Judgment Can you imagine Allah telling you about your good deeds on the Day of Judgment? That's amazing. That's very comforting. That's very beautiful. An-Najwa The secret conversation between you and Allah. That's why Abdullah ibn Umar radiyallahu ta'ala whom I mentioned
when as everyone is standing there and they're being called from the creation to stand in front of Allah and you're speaking to Allah to the exclusion of everyone else. That's special. That's beautiful. But when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives you your book in your right hand that's the real celebration, right? Because that means I made it. That means I'm not going to be held accountable for my sins at this point. That's when the person takes the book and goes around running to everyone and saying Everyone go ahead and read my book. Here's my book of good deeds. Here's my prayer. Here's my charity. Here's that time that I showed honesty and it was not returned. Here's that time I showed ihsan to Allah's creation. Here's that time that I did this secret good deed and this secret good deed. Here it is. Here it is everyone. You're celebrating at that point. That's the moment of celebration because up until that point I don't know. There's still an anxiety of sorts. But that is the point where you celebrate. Now, as we get into Arafah what does the salah of Allah mean upon you? Read this hadith differently now. When Jabir radiallahu ta'ala says that on the day of Arafah إِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ عَرَفَةً إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَنزِلُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا فَيُبَاهِي بِهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ On the day of Arafah Allah descends to the lowest heaven in a way that befits Him. And Allah boasts to the angels about His creation. Look at these people. Look at these people. Look at them making dua. Look at their struggles. أُنظُرُوا إِلَى عِبَادِي Subhanallah, like Allah is attributing the servants to Himself which is again the greatest form of tashrif, the greatest form of honoring them. Look at them. Are not the angels the ibad of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Of course they are. But look at these ibad. Dusty, disheveled, tired, exhausted, but they are making dua consistently.
And what is the ultimate prize? يا ملائكة O my angels أُشهِدُكُمْ أَنِّي قَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَهُمْ أَنِّي قَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَهُمْ I want you all to bear witness that I've forgiven them. That's Allah's salah upon you. I want all of you angels to bear witness that these people, they're forgiven. I've given them amnesty. Now what do the angels do in general? يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا Right? They seek forgiveness for those who believe. But even then the angels say, يا رب يا الله فُلَان كَانَ يُرَهَق وَفُلَان وَفُلَانَ But this person, this person did this and this person did that. Just like when you come to the majalis of dhikr, the places of remembrance, but yeah, oh Allah that person was insincere. They just came because their friend was coming to the halaqa. They just did this and you're going to forgive them? And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says قَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَهُمْ Case closed, I forgave them. Because they're in a righteous gathering. There's something about them that's enough for me to forgive them. And so the next time you hear أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتُ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ صَلَوَاتُ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ The next time you say صلى الله عليه وسلم and you imagine the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم returning salam to you and you imagine the angels seeking forgiveness for you as a result of that. The great prize is when Allah mentions your name to the angels in the highest heavens and particularly mentions your name in the capacity of forgiveness. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive us for all of our sins. For those which we have done in the past and those in the present and those which we will undoubtedly commit in the future. May Allah forgive us for what we conceal and what we make public. May Allah forgive us for that which is minor and that which is major. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not allow us to stain ourselves with insistence upon that which is displeasing to Him. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala remove all of that which makes us not praiseworthy in His sight and elevate us. اللهم آمين أقول قولي هذا
واستغفر الله لي ولكم ورسالة المسلمين والغفور الرحيم الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله وعلى آله وصحبه ومن ولاه. اللهم اغفر المؤمنين والمؤمنات والمسلمين والمسلمات الأحياء منهم والأموات إنك سميع قدر غريب مجيب دعوات. اللهم اغفر لنا وارحمنا واعفو عنا ولا تعذبنا. ربنا ظلمنا أنفسنا وإن لم تغفر لنا وترحمنا لنكوننا من الخاسرين. اللهم إنك عفو كريم تحب العفو فاعفو عنا. اللهم اغفر لوالدين رب ارحمهما كما ربونا صغارا. ربنا هبلنا من أزواجنا وذرياتنا قرة أعين وجعلنا للمتقين إماما. اللهم انصر إخواننا المستضعفين اللهم أهلك الظالمين بالظالمين وأخرجنا وإخواننا من بينهم سارمين. عباد الله أن الله يأمر بالعدل والإحسان وإيتاء ذي القربى وينهى عن الفحشاء والمنكر والبغي. يعظكم لعلكم تذكرون فاذكروا الله يذكركم واشكروه على نعماء يزد لكم ولذكر الله أكبر والله يعنى ما تصنعون. واقم الصلاة. Al Fatiha.
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