As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh everyone. Welcome back to the Faith Revival. So we've already talked about Umar ibn Khattab radiyaAllahu anhu quite a bit. Not because
I'm named after him and I love talking about him, but because of the immense blessing we get from studying his life. A man who sets the example in repentance and the implementation of the religion and spiritual discipline. I mean there's so much that could attach us
to Umar radiyaAllahu anhu. Now there's something about him, many things about him that are very prominent. One of them is that Umar radiyaAllahu anhu was someone that was easily driven to
tears, could easily be reminded of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Whether it was a child or it was just some random woman in the street or one of his companions or one of his family members.
If someone said to Umar, ittaqid la, be mindful of Allah, fear God, he would immediately be reminded of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So he was always ready to be reminded of Allah.
Now Imam al-Dhahabi has a very interesting reflection on that. He says that with Umar radiyaAllahu anhu, you always notice that his iman is ready to be engaged, he's always
ready to cry, he's always ready to go into these moments. And it's not about the power of the situation, but it's about the mindset of Umar. It's about his zone. So what we see
externally is that someone said something and that made Umar cry. But it's not that someone said something and it made Umar cry, it's that Umar internally was already in a process that no one else was seeing. So when that incident happened or that word was spoken,
it immediately drove him to those tears. What do I mean by that? Umar radiyaAllahu anhu is a man that's described by the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam as having this long garment
of faith that protects him from harm. The Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam also said that shaytan doesn't even take the same road as Umar. Umar always keeps the shaytan out.
Meaning he always is in a state of remembrance of Allah. He's never heedless because heedlessness is what invites the shaytan and Umar would never let his guard down. His remembrance
would always be there. And Umar, because he was always engaged in that remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, anything pushed him over the top. So he would go looking for
moments of crying. When he saw the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam and Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu crying after the revelation of the Quran after the battle of Badr, he said, tell me what it is that's making you cry so that I can cry too. And even if it doesn't make me
cry, I'll join you guys in crying basically to get the blessing of your crying. But I want to cry. I want to be connected to this. What lesson does this have for us? What's
the practicality here in our lives? Umar was always in the zone and preparing himself. He was preparing himself for that iman boost. Meaning what? If Umar heard many of the khutbahs
today that we would deem as mediocre, and we would say it was the worst khutbah that we've heard, not because of something that the imam said that was wrong, but it was a mediocre khutbah, it was a boring khutbah. Umar radiyaAllahu anhu would probably be crying
in the front of the masjid just at khutbah al-hajjah, just at the beginning, ittaqollah haqqa tuqatihi, fear Allah as He deserves to be feared. And all of us would be looking at Umar and wondering why is he crying, what happened here, did he just see a text message
or something like that, who texted Umar and made him cry. We wouldn't be able to comprehend it. Because it's not about what the imam said. It's about the state of the heart of Umar
when the imam said it. Practically speaking, what this means is, putting yourself in the zone before the moment that engages your iman is crucial, is essential. Meaning what? When
I'm on my way to Jum'ah, I'm going to Jum'ah for the purpose of being reminded. I want to be affected by the khutbah, I want to be touched by the imam. I don't just want to
listen to him so that I can critique his khutbah afterwards and speak to people. I want to go there to be reminded. I'm seeking to be reminded, I've put myself internally in the zone, my iman is ready for that spark, all he has to do is give me a little spark. And
as soon as he gives me that spark, it will bring about that desired result. When I go to salah, I want the salah to change me, I want it to affect me. I don't just want to check it off on my checklist and say that I went to prayer. I'm going there with my
iman ready to be engaged by the salah. When I open the Quran, I'm going to the Quran to be changed by it. Not just to read my section for the day. I want this Quran to speak to
me. I'm going to it with a certain state of mind. And so that's where the necessity of intention comes in and the necessity of putting your heart in the zone. The Prophet's khutbahs
were very simple. They were not long and elaborate, but the companions were moved by them. It wasn't just because of the one who was speaking, it was because of the hearts that were receiving.
So prepare yourself for moments. Go to the khutbah with the intention of being reminded. Listen to the lecture, ready to engage. Go to the salah and spend a few minutes on your
way to the prayer, thinking about your prayer. It's often about what you do before the act that will determine the quality of that act itself and what impact it's going to have on your iman. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow our hearts to be soft and may Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala allow our iman to always be in a state of engagement so that when it comes into contact with those blessings, it will be increased by the blessing of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allahuma ameen. JazakumAllahu khayran. See you next time inshaAllah. As-salamu
alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.
