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Your Greatest Motivation | Khutbah
The sight of the All-Seeing is the soundest and most permanent of motivators to inspire you to good, or protect you from evil. How can the knowledge of the All-Seeing’s omniscience motivate us in our daily lives?
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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, inna allaha kana alaikum raqeeba. Verily, Allah is ever observing of you. It's something that we say every single Friday. Inna allaha kana alaikum raqeeba. Verily, Allah is ever observing of you. And if I was to ask each and every single person in here, what does the permanent sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala upon you do for you? Does it cause you a sense of apprehension? Does it give you a greater sense of motivation? When someone says in a sentence, Allah is always watching, does it cause you to leave off sin? Does it cause you to want to do more good? Or does it do both? And subhanallah, there is a hadith that I want to start with insha'Allah ta'ala today because the beauty of the advice of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is that he could say in one sentence what we try to say in 30 minutes. A man went to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam by the name of Sa'eed ibn Yazid al-Azdi. It's an authentic hadith. And he said, I said to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, Awusuni, give me some advice. And we know that when a companion would go to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and say, give me advice, it would usually be a sentence or two that you could live by for the rest of your life. And it was something that especially applied to the person in front of him, but not exclusively to the person in front of him, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. So he said, Awusuni, he said, give me some advice. Faqala sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
Usika antastahi minallahi azzawajal, kama tastahi minal rajulus salih. Usika, I advise you to be shy of Allah the way that you would be shy of a righteous person. I advise you to be shy of Allah the way you would be shy of a righteous person. Now obviously, the idea of being watched in and of itself, if someone is looking at you, there are certain things that you would not be able to do, no matter what the status of that person is. If that person is wicked, if that person is righteous, if that person is someone you care about, even a complete stranger has some bearing on your actions if they're watching you. That's why you don't do certain things in public, right? Because you naturally feel a sense of shame in the sight of complete strangers. But the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did not stop there. Because we know that evil people can find complete shamelessness in the presence of other shameless people. And even people that are at a low can find themselves no longer caring, especially when those that are looking at them are people of a similar standard. But how do you act when someone who is righteous is around you? You know, I'm not even righteous and some of you apologize when your ringtone goes off. Or when I'm listening to something or we have to stop talking a certain way. And I am who I am, right? And you might see your uncle or your father or your mother or a parent or someone that you deem to be from the religious class, just from the observable part, and Allah knows our hearts. But immediately when that person comes into your presence, you automatically feel like you have to watch everything that you say and you almost feel like you might even have to apologize, right? Oh, I'm not trying to backbite here. Oh, wait, excuse me. I didn't mean to say that that way. Because something happens to us in the presence of a righteous person
or someone we think is righteous because only Allah knows who is righteous or not. But the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is saying, be shy of Allah the way you would be shy in the presence of a righteous man and of course even more. But the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is giving you something to measure yourself by. Now, subhanallah, if you just took that advice and you started to think about the way that you consider the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala upon you at all times, the temporary states that we enter into that are to make us hyper-aware of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala are meant to do so so that we realize that He is always watching us, whether we're fasting or not, whether we're sinning or doing good deeds, whether we are in complete privacy or completely in front of the public, Allah is always watching us. Hence, the ulema mention, the scholars mention, there is no greater protection and there is no greater motivation in the life of a believer than connecting themselves deeply to the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Even Jannah and Nahr, even Paradise and Hellfire have a consequential sense to them. And yes, the sahaba were motivated by the fear of Hellfire and they were motivated by their desire for Jannah, but the greatest reward in Jannah to them was getting to see Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and their greatest fear of the punishment of the fire was being completely disconnected from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It was personal because knowing that Allah is watching you at all times allows you to be connected no matter what your state of being is, no matter how incentivized the particular moment is. A man went to Wahab ibn Ward, rahimahullah, one of the salaf, and he said to him, give me advice, he said, اتق الله ان يكون الله اهون الناظرين اليك
Be mindful of Allah, fear Allah, that Allah become reduced to the lowest of your observers. This is a powerful sentiment because the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam is saying, consider Allah's sight upon you like the sight of the most righteous person that you know. And consider in this situation, would you be willing to do things when only Allah is watching you that you wouldn't even do in the presence of a stranger? And taqwa is mindfulness. It's mindfulness that has a certain bearing, but it's mindfulness at the end of the day, to become aware of Allah's sight upon you. So are there things that you would do in the sight of Allah alone that you wouldn't even do in the sight of a stranger? So don't reduce Allah to the lowest of your observers. Al-Hafidh ibn Rajab, rahimahullah, he says that some of the pious predecessors used to say, خاف الله على قدر قدرته عليك واستحي منه على قدر قربه منك It's a powerful statement in Arabic, I'll do my best to translate it. He said, خاف الله على قدر قدرته عليك Fear Allah to the extent of the control that He has over you. You fear authority, right? So fear Allah to the extent of the authority that you know that He has over you. واستحي منه على قدر قربه منك And be shy of Him to the extent of His closeness to you. Because you don't just want this to be a relationship of fear. Allah did not create you to only have a relationship of fear in relation to Him. Therefore, it should not just be a relationship of fear to His sight. His sight has to be a protector for you and it has to be a motivator for you. And that's why Imam Ahmed, rahimahullah, used to say, إذا ما قال لي ربي أما استحييت تعصيني وتخفى الذنب عن خلقي وبالعسيان تأتيني He heard a poem that I'm afraid that my Lord will say to me,
weren't you shy of disobeying me? You hide the sin from my creation, but you come proudly with it when you're in front of me. Why would you hide it from the creation? And then feel proud of it in front of me. Now granted here, the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, prohibited us from what? From making public our sins. He prohibited us from boasting about our sins, salallahu alayhi wa sallam. And we have that entire narration and set of ahadith where Allah calls a person on the day of judgment and He puts the sitr, He puts that curtain over you. And Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, forgives you for the secret sins you were struggling with. The secret sins you were struggling with. Not the ones you became complacent with. Not the ones where you said, okay, alhamdulillah, no one's watching now, I'm okay now. No, the ones that you were struggling with. That you genuinely did not like being a part of your private life and you wanted to get rid of them. Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, will do sitr. Allah, azawajal, will conceal that person who was struggling with something and sought forgiveness for it. But at the same time, how do you turn this into a loving relationship with the sight of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala? One of the people that the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, mentioned on the day of judgment, that is under the throne of Allah, is not someone who did something great. You see, you go through the list of these people and their accomplishments, their qualities that yield accomplishments, their people that did things, starting with the righteous judge, right? The person who was a just ruler. A person who led a nation, perhaps, but did it with justice. A person who led at whatever level. And imagine standing right next to that person. The Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, mentioned رَجُلٌ ذَكَرَ اللَّهَ خَالِيًا فَفَاضَتْ عِيْنَاهُ A person who remembered Allah in private. And then their eyes welled with tears. That person is developing a different type of relationship
with Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala's sight, even when they are in a state of privacy. And when Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Qur'an وَذْكُرْ رَبَّكَ فِي نَفْسِكَ تَضَرُّ عَنْ وَخِيْفَ Remember your Lord to yourself. تَضَرُّ عَنْ وَخِيْفَ Broadly, you would say this is hope and fear. With a specific connotation here. But remember Allah even to yourself. Now I want you to think about how we struggle in salah to try to protect our thoughts from other than Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. What if you weren't just striving against your thoughts to protect them from other than Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala when you were in salah? What if you were actively engaging Allah in your thinking and in your internal thoughts, even outside of your prayer? Where you're actually sitting with yourself, where you're taking a walk and you're speaking to yourself and you are actively aware that Allah is listening to what is in my head right now. Allah knows what is in my heart right now. And you start to actually engage that on the inside. How much easier would it be to develop ihsan and salah, a sense of excellence. I'm talking to Allah in prayer. Now I'm coming to a time that belongs only to Allah which is prayer. All of my time belongs to Allah. But this salah now, now I'm standing before you O Allah in the most loving act of devotion where I am engaging your sight upon me as if I can see you. Al-Hafidh ibn Rajab rahimahullah, he described that hadith where the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said the greatest reward of Jannah is the sight upon Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. It is ziyadah, it's the extra of Jannah. It's not an extra palace, it's not an extra river, it's not an extra tree. It's getting to see Allah more. That's the greatest reward for the believer, getting to look at Allah more often. Getting to engage with Allah directly more often while you can see Him.
Imagine the person who tastes the sweetness of dua, especially in a desperate moment in this life. Imagine the sweetness of an instant conversation whenever you want it with Allah in Jannah and you're looking at Him. And Ibn Rajab rahimahullah, he said the reason why this is the reward for the people of ihsan, the people of excellence. He said because excellence in this dunya, ihsan, is that a person worships Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with this complete presence, understanding that he is in the presence of Allah and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is in his presence. And it becomes to a point where it's as if he can see Allah with his heart while he's in a state of worship. It's as if he can see Allah with his heart while he's in a state of worship. That's why the salah was the qurratu'ayn, was the coolness of the eyes of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam. That's why it was sweeter than anything in this world. Because it gets to a point, if you engage that sight to an extent, it's as if you can see Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with your heart while you're in a state of worship. And that's why the reward of that is that a person can see Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala directly in the hereafter. And he went on to say, and this is very powerful, He said, and that's why the greatest punishment, The greatest punishment, may Allah not make us among those people, are the people who enter fire and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says they have a hijab between them and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They're disconnected from Allah at that point. And he said, because they put up an imaginary hijab between them and Allah in this world.
Therefore Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala seals them off in the next. Allah was watching you the whole time but you put up something between you and him. You told yourself, just like if you tell a kid close your eyes and no one can see you. You told yourself that he's not watching me right now. Therefore, you're not able to see him then. But that's not the state of the believer. The state of the believer actually develops a relationship with that sight where it motivates them. And I'll end with this. It's a beautiful saying from an Imam, from Imam Sahl ibn Abdillah Tustari rahimahullah. He says that my uncle taught me something every night before I would go to sleep when I was seven years old. He said to me, listen, I'm going to tell you to say something every night and I want you to say it until the day that you die, until you go into your grave. He said, say, There are different narrations to this. Allah is with me, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala witnesses me, Allah sees me. So he said, I'm a seven-year-old and you're telling someone who's that young, I want you to say this when you're by yourself. When you're alone, when you're going to sleep, Allah sees me right now. Allah is witnessing me. Allah is with me in his knowledge and in his sight. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is present. I have to be present. And he said, Until the sweetness of that actually came into my heart. So it wasn't a paranoia as much as it became a sweetness at that point. Where it went from being a protection to a motivation. The believer starts at the level of trying to make it a protection and keeping it a protection. But hopes to get to a level where it becomes a motivation. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala let our secrets be good secrets. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to be amongst those that honor his sight in private and in public. While we are fasting and while we are not fasting. While we are alone or while we are around others. While we are at our highs or while we are in our lows.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to always be connected to his sight and to be observant of it. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive us for our shortcomings. The private ones and the public ones. The past ones, the present ones, the future ones. Allahumma ameen. أقول قولي هذا واستغفر الله لي ولكم ورسالة المسلمين فاستغفروه إنه هو الوفور الرحيم الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله وعلى آله وصحبه ومن ولا اللهم اغفر المؤمنين والمؤمنات والمسلمين والمسلمات الأحياء منهم والأموات إنك سميع قريب واجيب الدعوات اللهم اغفر لنا وارحمنا واعفو عنا ولا تعذبنا ربنا ظلمنا أنفسنا وإن لم تغفر لنا وترحمنا لنكوننا من الخاسرين اللهم إنك عفو تحب العفو فاعفو عنا اللهم اغفر لوالدينا رب ارحمهما كما ربنا صغارا ربنا هبلنا من أزواجنا وذرياتنا قرة أعين وجعلنا للمتقين إماما اللهم انصر إخواننا المستضعفين في مشارك الأرض ومغاربها اللهم أهلك الظالمين بالظالمين وأخرجنا وإخوانا من بينهم الظالمين عباد الله أن الله يأمر بالعدل والإحسان وإيتاء ذي القربة وينهى عن الفحشاء والمنكر والبغي فاذكروا الله يذكركم واشكروه عن النعماء يزد لكم ولذكر الله أكبر والله يعلم ما تصنعون واقم الصلاة
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