Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. I seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him. Whomsoever He misguides, none can guide him. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. He is alone and has no partner. To Him belongs the kingdom and all praise. He lives and dies and He is alive and never dies. In His hand is all that is good and He is able to do all things. I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger and His chosen one and His companion. He fulfilled the trust and conveyed the message and advised the Ummah and cleared the darkness. He left us on the white pilgrimage. Its night is like its day. Nothing escapes it except destruction. So upon Him is the best prayer. I submit to His family and companions and those who wait for His sunnah until the Day of Judgment. O Allah, make us of them and of those who believe and do good deeds and associate with the truth and associate with patience. I seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. I advise you to fear Allah. He has commanded us to do the right thing. He said, O you who believe, fear Allah as He has commanded you to do the right thing and do not die except as Muslims. O you people, fear your Lord who created you from one soul. And He created from her her husband and gave many men and women. And fear Allah with whom you ask for mercy. Verily, Allah is watching over you. O you who believe, fear Allah and say the right word. He will correct your deeds and forgive your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has won a great triumph. Then afterwards, 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, this concept of muhasabah, this concept of holding oneself accountable, is something that the sahaba not only spoke about frequently, but they manifested in a very short period of time. And the ones that we speak about so frequently in the khutbas,
in the Tuesday night classes, in the first, and in all of these different circumstances, are people who were never satisfied with the current state that they were in. If there is one thing amongst many that you can say about the companions of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, is that they were always looking for that next step with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And it's no secret subhanAllah that when you talk about the concept of al-muhasabah, this concept of holding yourself accountable, I would actually challenge people, but not actually go through all of the quotes, because of the time that we have, to look at how many from khulafa ar-rashideen, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala be pleased with them, our four khulafa ar-rashideen, how many of them, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, how many quotes exist from those four in particular about holding yourself accountable? Those four men, who were guided by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in their leadership, and excelled in their personal lives as well as their leadership, have the most quotes amongst the four of them about how to hold yourself accountable. In fact, you find from Umar ibn al-Khattab radhiAllahu anhu, the most famous statement in this regard, حاسبوا أنفسكم قبل أن تحاسبوا. Hold yourselves accountable before you are held accountable. Ali ibn Abi Talib radhiAllahu anhu, where he mentions that the dunya is fleeing away from us, and the akhira is fast approaching. This world is fleeing from us, and the hereafter is fast approaching, and each one of them has their children. فَكُونُوا مِنْ أَبْنَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ وَلَا تَكُونُوا مِنْ أَبْنَاءِ الدُّنْيَا. Be from the children of the hereafter, not from the children of this world. فَإِنَّ الْيَوْمَ عَمَلٌ وَلَا حِسَابٌ وَغَدًا حِسَابٌ وَلَا عَمَلٌ. Today is a day in which you act, but you are not held accountable. Tomorrow is a day in which you are held accountable, but you have no room to act whatsoever.
So I wanted to talk about this concept of المحاسبة, this concept of holding yourself accountable, but in a very specific context. Number one, what are the two main components of محاسبة? Number two, what's a practical way that we can actually carry out our daily scroll? You know, just like everything else in our deen, you cannot leave this to ambiguity or to a guessing game. You actually have to sit with yourself on a regular basis and classify what you have done of good and what you hope not to meet Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى with of evil. And you have to hold yourself to a higher standard. And one of the things that I want us to, inshaAllah, to focus on with the few moments that we have today, is the intricate connection between النعم, between accounting for the blessings that Allah has provided to you, and the sins that you respond with. There is a connection between the نعم, the blessings that Allah gives to you, and your ability to sit down with yourself to actually properly estimate the amount of blessings that Allah has provided to you, and then the shame that that should bear inside of you from responding with ingratitude. And every sin is a form of ingratitude. For today, of course, sins include many different definitions and involve many different components. But today, I want you to think of every single معصية, every single sin, as a form of ingratitude. At the very least, it is not being grateful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for what He has given to you. And so when you sit with yourself, you weigh your blessings, you weigh your sins. And these are the two core components of محاسبة. What is the proof of that that we find? First and foremost, in سيد الاستغفار, in the chief du'a to seek forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with,
أبوء لك بنعمتك عليّ وأبوء بذنبي or وأبوء لك بذنبي. Both of them are authentic. I admit to you the blessings you have provided to me, and I admit my sins. Because I cannot properly estimate my sins unless I properly estimate my blessings. And outside of the discussion of incentive, I cannot properly estimate the greatness of my seemingly small act of disobedience unless I properly estimate the greatness of the one that I am disobeying and sinning against. And that's why on the Day of Judgment, what is the crime? وَمَا قَدَرُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِي They did not give Allah His due estimation. They did not know how great Allah was, therefore their infractions that seemed very small seemed smaller because they didn't know who they were sinning against. And of the greatest ways to know Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in a way that practically yields something inside of you is through the blessings that He provides to you. And Allah azawajal says in Surah Ali Imran, وَعَصَيْتُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا أَرَاكُم مَّا تُحِبُّونَ Subhanallah, this is a rich tafsir. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said, and you disobeyed after He gave you what you loved. After He gave you what you wanted. Allah provided for you exactly what you asked Him for. You made dua earnestly, you asked Allah for this, you asked Allah for that. Allah opened the doors of khair upon you. And you responded with disobedience. And of course this is speaking about Bani Israel and in a specific context but it has a great meaning to it. And the ulama of tafsir, they reflect on this ayah, they say, المعصية بعد النعمة أشد من المعصية قبل النعمة To disobey Allah after He has given you something,
after He has given you a blessing that you've been asking Him for or something that you love, is worse in His sight than when you disobey Him before He provides that thing for you. Not that sin is ever justified with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Not that disobedience is ever not a problem because every disobedience is an act of ingratitude and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala deserves all gratitude from us. Not that. But especially when Allah finds you in a state where He's giving you everything you're asking Him for and you're responding with things that He commanded you not to do. That makes it worse. And again, don't just think about Bani Israel. Think about yourself. So how do we bring this all together in a daily habit of muhasabah, in a daily habit of self-accountability? Shaykh Tahir Wair Hafidh Allah ta'ala, he shared with us the statement from Imam al-Mawardi rahimahullah ta'ala where he described al-muhasabah as the following. He said, أَن يَتَصَفَّحَ الْإِنسَانُ فِي اللَّيْلِ مَا صَدَرَ مِنْ أَفْعَالِ نَهَارِهِ That a person sits with himself at night and goes back and thinks about what they did during the day. A person sits with themselves at night and then goes back and thinks about what they did during the day. Now, I want you to not answer this question, because we're in Jumu'ah, but at least in your head ask yourself this question. How many nights, as you're thinking about your computing, you know, what you earned for that day, you're thinking about what happened that day, you're thinking about what you've got to do tomorrow, how many nights do you actually sit with yourself, for even a minute, and go back and review the tape, review the script. What did I do that was displeasing to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la today? What did I do that was good? What did I do that was bad? And then Al-Mawardi Rahimullah says, so if it is good, then he commits himself to doing more of it. And if it is bad, then he seeks forgiveness from it,
and he doesn't repeat it. Just ask yourself that question. How many nights do I lay in bed at night and I think, what did I do today that was ungrateful to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, that was an act of disobedience? Because let me tell you something, a person who is not introspective can find a way to make everything, even kabair, even major sins, not that big of a deal. Because if the shaytan is your mufti, you're led astray. You'll make everything, texts fly out the window, the most severe warnings of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam mean nothing to you, if you are not that introspective person. And yes, we find this constant emphasis in the Qur'an and the Sunnah, to have people around you to stoke that proper conscience when you're not thinking right. We have that concept of the jama'ah, we have that concept of the group, we have that concept of ahl al-dhikr, of people of knowledge and people of remembrance that are meant to remind as well. We have all of that of surrounding yourself sins that will rub off on you, and that will help your conscience be more alive. But at the end of the day, if you're not an introspective person, the most major sins will be justified away in your head. You'll take it all away. So what is a self-accountable person look like? And subhanAllah, I wanted this khutbah to be as practical as possible. I actually want you to leave with a simple assignment, and insha'Allah ta'ala, I'll oblige myself with it, and we can oblige ourselves as a community together, and remind each other of it. One of the things, subhanAllah, that struck me when I was thinking about these words, if you take the adhkar of the Prophet ﷺ in the morning, and you look at the adhkar of the Prophet ﷺ at night, the remembrance of the Messenger ﷺ when he woke up in the morning,
surrounded in attitude of gratitude, blessings. SubhanAllah, we live in a day and age where the Prophet ﷺ mentioned, people will walk by a grave, and they would wish to be in that grave, even though we have more as a generation than anyone before us. أَلْهَاكُمْ وَتَكَاثُرُ You walk next to the grave, and a person would wish to be in that grave. Not because they don't have anything, but because they don't have perspective. They don't have perspective. And look at what the Prophet ﷺ teaches us. What's the first thing you thank Allah for in the morning? You thank Allah for being alive. Think about that. Forget about all the books that are out there right now. Think about your Prophet ﷺ who's the most perfect of examples. If I've got nothing else to thank Allah for, and we have plenty to thank Allah for, but just hypothetically speaking, when I wake up in the morning, what's the first thing that comes out? الحمد لله الحمد لله الذي أحيانا بعدما أماتنا وإليه النشر You wake up and you say, الحمد لله All praise and thanks and gratitude and glory is due to Allah who gave me life after death. Wow, I'm awake. الحمد لله The first words out of your mouth every morning are, الحمد لله for the bare minimum blessing of being alive. I'm alive. الحمد لله Do not disobey Allah ﷻ. لِتَزْدَرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ by belittling the blessing of life upon you. You're alive. الحمد لله You're here. الحمد لله Don't for a moment show Allah ﷻ in gratitude for the blessing of just being alive. And then the Prophet ﷺ says what? Whoever wakes up and they've got a roof over their heads and they've got their food for the day and they've got their health, it is as if,
كَأَنَّمَا مَلَكَ الدُّنْيَا It's as if that person owns the world. You're a king. You wake up with that mindset and you look around and you say, سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ الحمد لله I have a roof over my head. I've got food for the day. I'm healthy. الحمد لله You wake up with those blessings. And I want you to think about this du'a from the Prophet ﷺ. قَالَ عَلِيهِ السَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ اللَّهُمَ مَا أَصْبَحَ بِي مِن نِعْمَةٍ أَوِي أَحَدٍ مِن خَلْقٍ فَمِنكَ وَحْدَكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ فَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ وَلَكَ الشُّكْرُ Ya Allah, I have not awoken to any blessing. No blessing that I have. And no blessing that anyone else has. سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ That in and of itself by the way is a cure for envy because when you look at what other people have and you think to yourself, why them, why not me? Why them, why not me? You're not recognizing the source of all blessings. You're not recognizing the source of all blessings. And so you wake up and you say, مَا أَصْبَحَ بِي مِن نِعْمَةٍ أَوْ بِي أَحَدٍ مِن خَلْقٍ Every single blessing that I have and every single blessing that anybody else has is from you Allah alone. There is no partner to you. And to you belongs all praise and to you belongs all gratitude. In one narration the Prophet ﷺ said that whoever wakes up and says this in the morning, فَقَدْ أَدَّى شُكْرَ يَوْمِهِ SubhanAllah, look how merciful Allah is. You have thanked Allah for that day. Really? The blessings haven't even started in your day yet. The blessing of walking outside, the blessing of your car starting, the blessing of your ability to move and to get from place to place, the blessing of that nice person that you came across, the blessing of you actually crossing that green light, or the blessing of the red light that saved you from a tragedy, the blessing of your first sip of water, the blessing of your breakfast, the blessing of your lunch. It hasn't even started. But the Prophet ﷺ said if you wake up in the morning and you say that du'a, you have fulfilled your gratitude for the day.
Because Allah is a shakoor. Allah doesn't need much from you. Allah doesn't need anything from you. And Allah does not demand too much from you. Alhamdulillah. Now, if you look at the end of the day, because I said I want this to be practical, most of the adhkar, most of the adhyah of the Prophet ﷺ are a review of the day. They're a review of the day. They're seeking forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Adhyatul maghfira, sayyidul istighfar, all of these different things, you're seeking forgiveness from Allah for what you have done throughout the day. Now here's what I want you to think about. Pick up any book about living a faithful and a happy life. Pick up any book about gratitude. And they'll all tell you, you wake up in the morning, and if you wake up with that lens of gratitude, everything is gonna be okay. Everything is great. When you wake up in the morning, you still have not accumulated the sins of the day. You still have not accumulated the sins of the day. So what I want you to do, is when you wake up in the morning, just take two minutes, three minutes. If you wanna be good, five minutes. And sit there and count every ni'mah that you can think of for that morning. وَإِن تَعُدُّ نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ نَا تُحْسُوهَا And if you start trying to count one blessing of Allah, you will not succeed. Just spend three to five minutes in the morning, and think about every ni'mah that you have woken up to. And say, Alhamdulillah, sincerely, gratefully from your heart, with full gratitude from your heart. Ya Allah, thank you for this. And then at night, dear brothers and sisters, when you lay down, spend three to five minutes, and review every one of your conversations for the day. Review the backbiting. Review the slips of the tongue. Review the slips of the eye. Review the major and the minor, the public and the private. Review it all. Just spend a few moments. And then put it in a bag of istighfar and send it to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Ya Rabbi, khfirli. Ya Allah, I fell short today in this regard, in that regard. Get specific with yourself, because you're not gonna become a self-aware person unless you get specific with yourself. Ya Rabb, at that lunch conversation, I feel like I slipped, I went a little bit too far when talking about that person. And what is the connection of this all? I said every single disobedience is an ingratitude. And Imam al-Qayyim rahimahu Allah says, and every single sin is a misuse of one of Allah's blessings upon you. Every single sin is a misuse of a ni'mah from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah did not give you that tongue so you can backbite His creation. Allah did not give you that intelligence so you could scheme and deceive people. Allah did not give you those eyes so that you could look at the things He told you not to look at. Allah didn't give you that body so that you could use it in lust and sin. Allah gave you those blessings to use them for khair, to use them for good. How dare you use those blessings for sharr, for evil. And so the assignment is very simple. Ten minutes a day. Wallahi it will change your life. Ten minutes a day. Five minutes in the morning. Take account of your blessings that you woke up to that day and say Alhamdulillah for it. And recognize that none of those blessings are because of what you have earned but because of what Allah has provided you out of His grace. Five minutes at night. Do it as a family. Look back at your day and assess every conversation, every slip, every sin and seek forgiveness from Al-Ghafoor. Seek forgiveness from Al-Raheem. From the one who is most merciful and most forgiving. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to use the blessings He has provided us with. All of our faculties, everything that He's given us in a way that's pleasing to Him until the very last moment that we breathe on this earth. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala raise us on the Day of Judgment amongst those that are completely forgiven for every single time they fell short. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala enter us into Jannatul Firdaus with our beloved Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam
without any form of punishment and without any form of accountability. Allahumma ameen. Aqoolu qawli hadha wa astaghfirullaha liwakum wa risa'il muslimeen faastaghfiru anna wal-ghafooril raheem Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen wa la'udwana illa ala al-dhalimeen wa al-aqibatu lilmutaqeen Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barak ala abdika wa rasulika muhammadin sallallahu alayhi wa sallam wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam tasliman kathira Allahumma khfirlil mu'mineena wa al-mu'minat wa al-muslimeena wa al-muslimat al-ahya'i minhum wa al-amwat innaka samee'un qareebun mujeebu da'wat Allahumma khfirlana wa rahamna wa la tuAAadhibna Rabbana zalamna anfusana wa inlem takfir lana wa tar'hamna lanakunnamaAA minal khasireenin Rabbana zalamna anfusana wa inlem takfir lana wa tar'hamna lanakunnamaAA minal khasireenen Rabbana zalamna anfusana wa inlem takfir lana wa tar'hamna lanakunnamaAA minal khasireeen Laa ilaaha illa anta subhana ka innaa kunnaa min al-zaalimeen Laa ilaaha illa anta subhana ka innaa kunnaa min al-zaalimeen Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mursaleen Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mursaleen Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mursaleen Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mursaleen Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mursaleen Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mursaleen Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mursaleen Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mursaleen Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mursaleen Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mursaleen Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mursaleen Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mursaleen Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mursaleen Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mursaleen Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mursaleen
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