Khutbahs
135 / 221
When Allah Gifts You With Tranquility | Khutbah
The feeling of inner peace and tranquility known as Sakeena is a heavenly gift that is most experienced in Ramadan. How do we hold on to it beyond this blessed month? Dr. Omar Suleiman discusses in this khutbah.
Enter through the Gate of Charity. Automate your donation for the last 10 nights.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. 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 wa sallam 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, if I was to ask you to describe the feeling of sitting in a place where the book of Allah is being recited, the Qur'an is being recited, even if you don't understand every word that is being recited, and people are gathered and they are all focused on listening to an explanation of the book of Allah, an explanation of a hadith of the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and it's 1 or 2 a.m. in the masjid in Ramadan, and there is a stillness that overcomes everyone. There is a complete stillness. I want you for a moment to first appreciate how incredible and how beautiful that is, and how that cannot be found anywhere but in these masjids in these last 10 nights of Ramadan. When people are gathered together, and it's one of those things that you have to experience it to be able to understand it. And it's also unlike any other religious experience that you will find conveyed through any other philosophy. You know, many times when you talk about the feeling of heightened religiosity, it's supposed to reflect in an out-of-body experience of sorts. Something's supposed to happen to you to where you start shaking, and you feel something happening to you that's different, that actually drives you to a heightened, almost unnatural emotion. But when you're sitting in a masjid, remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in Ramadan, or hearing Allah being remembered, there is a stillness.
It's all around us. And I want to capture that, subhanallah, because it's such a unique and profound and powerful concept, and it comes from a hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, that we feel so much in Ramadan. Qala sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, la yaq'udu qawmun yathquroon Allah. That no group of people sit together to remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. In one narration, yatloona kitaab Allah, or reciting the book of Allah, or studying the book of Allah together. illa haffathumul malaika, waghashiyathumul rahma, wanazalat alihimul sakinah, wadhakarahumullahu feeman indah. No group of people sit together to remember Allah, to read his book, or to listen to his book being recited, or to study his book, except that the angels surround them. And when the angels surround them, what happens? The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, rahma, mercy, descends upon them. So I want you to actually try to visualize this for a moment. We're sitting in a masjid and we pray that this is one of those gatherings right now, where that stillness is to be achieved. You're sitting and the angels start to surround you. You can't see them, but you know that their wings are surrounding you from here all the way up to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And this is present especially on the day of Jum'ah. And rahma, mercy, descends upon them. What is that speaking about? That is speaking about the forgiveness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. There is nothing but forgiveness. How many people are forgiven on Laylatul Qadr? How many people are forgiven in the month of Ramadan? How much mercy is descending upon us in the month of Ramadan? And one of the things that allows for mercy to descend upon us is the lack of the barrier of sin. So people are naturally in their best state, and so rahma is descending upon them, and the angels are capturing that, and they're bringing down those declarations of forgiveness,
those declarations of mercy as they are descending upon us. But there is one part of this where it speaks to an internal reality. وَنَزَلَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّكِينَ So you have the angels surrounding with their wings, and then the mercy and the forgiveness descending upon you, and then tranquility, peace, descends into their hearts. So the internal reality is that something soaks inside of you that is referred to as al-sakinah, stillness, tranquility, peace. وَذَكَرَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي مَنْ عِنْدَ And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions you to those that are with him. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us amongst those people. God boasts about you to his highest angels and says, look at this person sitting in a masjid at 1 a.m., at 2 a.m., at 3 a.m., standing up and praying and remembering me, and as you are soaking in something, something's happening inside of you, you're feeling something inside of you, Allah is talking about you in a gathering that you one day hope to physically be present in as well. Now subhanAllah, this reality has many layers to it and it's not random. First and foremost, let's break this hadith down and that's all I want to do in this khutbah insha'Allah ta'ala as we go beyond Ramadan. First and foremost, أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, is it not in the remembrance of Allah that the hearts find tranquility? And so first it's the what. What gives you that sense of stillness and tranquility and calm in the heart? It is the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wherever you are. There is nothing else that you could be reciting, nothing else that you could be listening to, nothing else that you could be saying, no self affirmations that you find off of Google, nothing that's going to replace the stillness and the calm that comes through the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. How nasty do you feel when you speak ill about other people?
How nasty do you feel when you gossip about others? How nasty do you feel when you recite lyrics and things that have absolutely no meaning to them, nothing profound about them? Dhikr has the effect of penetrating the heart in a way that nothing else does. Imam bin Taymiyyah rahimahullah ta'ala said, it is to the heart like water is to the fish. It is your oxygen, like air is to the human being. You literally have to breathe it in, dhikr. So there's the what that you're doing. Secondly, subhanAllah, there's something that you'll notice in the Quran, when Allah talks about the descent of sakinah, when he talks about the descent of tranquility, he brings in the idea of the descent of the angels. So for example, when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ سَكِينَةً فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ لِيَزْدَادُوا إِيمَانًا مَعَ إِيمَانِهِمْ وَلِلَّهِ جُنُودُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that he is the one who descends tranquility into the hearts of the believers so that they can have another increase in faith, so that faith could be added to their existing faith. And he has soldiers in the heavens and the earth that you cannot see. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is all-knowing and all-wise. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala also says, فَأَنزَلَ اللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَيَّدَهُ بِجُنُودٍ لَمْ تَرَوْهَا In another place, the same thing. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, he descended tranquility upon him and he supported him with soldiers that you cannot see. And so there's the component of remembering Allah and there's the component of being surrounded by those creatures that do nothing but document the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And so that brings about something in your heart as well. Now what's the practical benefit of all of this? If you actually start to look through this hadith,
the components of what brings about stillness and peace in the heart. Number one, it's what you're doing. It's what you're doing. You cannot do things that are displeasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and think that it's going to bring about any type of stillness into the heart. Also, if you fill your heart with meaninglessness, then you're going to have a meaningless reaction. And so the things that you do to entertain and to distract are very temporary, but they're not going to add anything meaningful to the heart. At the most, they're going to distract the heart from what is troubling it. And so someone says, you know, I want to go watch a movie. I need to go decompress. There's room for that in the halal. But the most that that's going to do is it's going to take you away from the temporary trouble. It's not going to replace the trouble with anything. So the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala actually pours something into there. It actually puts something into that heart. So it's what you're doing. The second thing is who you're surrounding yourself with. Who's around you? If you have people around you that have a certain state, that have a spiritual disposition, that act in a certain way, your heart is going to receive that in a certain way. Your inside is going to feel a certain way. That's why I have, you know, brothers and sisters every single year at Ramadan come up and say, I want to quit my job because I'm feeling amazing in the masjid. I just want to stay in the masjid because I don't feel right at work. I feel in that corporate environment or wherever it is, I don't feel like my heart is fulfilled. Like, well, that's kind of the point, right, is that when you surround yourself with certain people, then that's going to have an impact on the way that you feel internally. And so there's the involuntary, which is who you have to be around at work. And then there's who you choose to keep around you. Imam Malik rahimahullah ta'ala used to speak about this concept when he said that I go to visit a laith when I want to increase in my iman, when I want to increase in my faith, I just go sit with him
because my faith naturally increases around him. When you're around righteous people, when you're around people that are doing righteous things, that has a spiritual impact on you on the inside. Just being around them allows your faith to rise. It gives you a certain calm because at the very least, you know that you're not going to be violating anything. You're not going to be sinning and inviting the shayateen, inviting the devils into that gathering and inviting that noise and that lack of peace into your heart. So it's what you're doing, the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's who you're choosing to bring into your company. Those that remember Allah and bring the angels into your presence or those that do not remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and bring the devils into your presence. And then you go on to this, وَنَزَلَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّكِينَ وَذَكَرَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي مِنْ عِنْدَ What you are seeking as well. What you are seeking as well. Are you seeking recognition? Are you seeking something of this world? Or are you seeking that recognition from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? The last thing I'll say about this and it's extremely important is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives you لِيَزْدَادُوا إِيمَانًا مَعَ إِيمَانِهِمْ He adds a layer of faith to your faith. Someone says, what am I supposed to be feeling in these last 10 nights of Ramadan? What does it mean to feel peace, tranquility? سَكَن literally means stillness. So if I'm not looking for this moment at like 3.30 a.m. where I randomly break out crying and start screaming and what am I looking for here? What is that سَكَن? What does that peace feel like? Allah says He adds a layer of faith to your existing faith. Now compare this to the hadith where the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said لَا يَزْنِلْ مُؤْمِنْ حِينَ يَزْنِي وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنْ that a person لَا يَزْنِلْ زَانِي an adulterer does not commit adultery while they are a believer وَلَا يَسْرِقْ حِينَ يَسْرِقْ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنْ he doesn't steal when he steals while he's a believer.
And as Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه said when you're engaging in those sins think of إيمان, think of faith like a cover. It temporarily, it's like you take off that cover, you take off that garment while you commit those deeds and then it only returns to you after you finish completing those deeds. It's like you took off let me take off إيمان right now so I can do these things. And if you think about that when you're committing a sin outside of Ramadan as well you know what, this is the part of me that's not the Muslim part this is the part of me that's not the believing part let me go take off my إيمان for a moment. No one would say something like that no one would do something like that but let me go take it off for a moment. Here Allah سبحانه و تعالى is saying that when you do that ذكر when you immerse yourself in these environments He adds a layer of إيمان to your existing إيمان. So the faith is already there and the scholars say this is intellectual this is spiritual this is emotional this is mental this is a level of إيمان that is added on that translates itself in every single domain of your life. So what does that mean? After every Ramadan as Ibn Al-Qayyim رحمه الله said you should have more يقين in Allah سبحانه و تعالى more certainty in Allah سبحانه و تعالى and greater لذة greater pleasure in worshipping Him. So with every Ramadan that passes with every ليلة القدر experience that passes are you more Muslim now than you were before? That's not an extreme jump. Are you more of a believer now than you were before? Because you experience something special someone comes to you and says are you really sure about this faith? Are you really sure about this stuff? And your mind has an added layer of faith now your heart has an added layer of faith now there's a stillness you're less volatile. And this is what the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم meant when he said that the heart is like a feather that is blowing around in the desert.
You want to be as stable as possible with your faith so that when the wind blows upon you when you leave these environments and you leave these months they can't completely uproot you. But if you constantly expose yourself to stronger winds and you don't put yourself in the environments that give you a stronger settlement of faith then of course your faith is going to be uprooted periodically. Of course you're going to have weeks upon months where you're in faith crisis because you're not doing the things that stabilize faith on a consistent basis. So لِيَزْدَادُ إِيمَانًا مَعْ إِيمَانِهِمْ Every time a Ramadan comes around I'm more of a Mu'min after that Ramadan than I was before. Every time a Hajj comes around I'm more of a Mu'min I have a greater certainty in this faith and a greater pleasure in acting upon it than I did the year before. Every Jum'ah that comes I am more settled but if you show up to Jum'ah two minutes before the Adhan every week or if you're not paying attention every week then of course you're not going to be settling yourself but you show up every week on time so that you can listen to the khutbah and contemplate and say what is it that's going to settle in the brain and in the heart to where I'm building on a consistent basis. So don't be that person that only wears Iman on in Ramadan and then takes it off after Ramadan and says I'll see you next year and don't be that person who only seeks these out-of-body experiences when Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is saying faith is what settles the heart deep inside your body and gives you stability and be that person that does the things that bring about tranquility that surrounds themselves with the people of tranquility and that seeks the mention in the gathering of the Most High not the mention of people that are lowly or the mention of things that are lowly just for the sake of prominence or power or prestige in a world that is temporary and its pleasures are temporary as well. May Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la grant us sakinah
May Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la grant us tranquility May Allah grant us His forgiveness May Allah grant us His mercy May Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la grant us His highest mention and may Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la allow us to be amongst those that are included in the front rows of Al-Jannah and in the highest places of Al-Firdaws Al-A'la Allahumma Ameen I say this and ask Allah's forgiveness for you and the women of the Muslims so ask His forgiveness, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful All praise is due to Allah and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and upon his family and companions and those who follow him O Allah, O Allah, do not take us into account if we forget or commit mistakes O Allah, do not burden us with burdens as You did them to those before us O Allah, do not burden us with that by which we have no strength forgive us, forgive us, have mercy on us You are our Master, so help us against the disbelieving people May Allah's blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family and companions May Allah's blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah
Welcome back!
Bookmark content
Download resources easily
Manage your donations
Track your spiritual growth
1 items
1 items
1 items
25 items
50 items
9 items
