Lecture
64 / 84
17
Social Justice
Islam, A Coherent Social Justice Tradition | Omar Suleiman | 16th MAS-ICNA Convention
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Jurisprudence (fiqh)
Appreciating Scholarship: Intro to Islamic Law - Tesneem Alkiek | Yaqeen in NY
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Islamophobia
How Yaqeen Heals Internalized Islamophobia - Dalia Mogahed | Making Principled Progress
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Education
How Yaqeen is a Resource for Our Community - Sh. Omar Suleiman | Making Principled Progress
34
General Psychology
Spiritual Personality - Zohair Abdul-Rahman | 2018 Yaqeen/MAS Academic Conference
35
Social Justice
Conflict Resolution: The Line Between Justice and Peace - Sh. Omar Suleiman | Lecture
47
Identity
Keeping Masculinity from Trending Toxic - Dr. Jonathan Brown | Reframing the Gender Question
What Does Allah Really Want From Me? | Dr. Omar Suleiman
Is the path to Allah ﷻ mysterious? Is it unreasonable? How do we utilize Ramadan to nurture a closeness to Allah ﷻ? Prepare for Ramadan by entering it with clarity, purpose, and sound vision.
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Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Masha'Allah, what a beautiful welcome from a noble and beautiful brother, Dr. Rajab, Hafizahullah Ta'ala, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless him. A very kind introduction, always a blessing to be in your company, and always a blessing to be here, alhamdulillah rabbil ameen. In this particular masjid, I only wish that those who were watching could see the view that I have right now. And as beautiful as the architecture is in this place, what's more beautiful is the gathering of people to remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that as He gathered us today, that He gather us in the month of Ramadan as well, and that He gather us in the presence of our beloved Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, fil firdawsil a'la, ya rabbil alameen. Allahumma ameen. I wanted to begin with a discussion between the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, and Mu'adh ibn Jabal, radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. And I'll give you the first part of the hadith, and then I'll come back to the second part of it. Mu'adh ibn Jabal, radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, said that I was once riding behind the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, and Mu'adh, who is the leader of the ulema on the Day of Judgment, he often has these conversations with the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, in close proximity with him. So he says that as I was riding with the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, he said, Ya Mu'adh ibn Jabal, I said, labbayka wa sa'dayk, what is it, O Messenger of Allah, at your service? And the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, went quiet. And the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, said, Ya Mu'adh ibn Jabal, labbayka wa sa'dayk, Ya Rasulullah, what is it, O Messenger of Allah? And the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, went quiet again. This is a way of capturing that intense anticipation for what the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, is going to say.
Ya Mu'adh ibn Jabal, labbayka wa sa'dayk, what is it, O Messenger of Allah? And the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, says, Atadri ma haqqullah ala al-'ibad? Do you know what Allah's right is upon His slaves? And Mu'adh, radhiyallahu ta'ala anhu, said, Allah and His Messenger know best. Which was the mannerisms of the companions of the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, with our beloved Messenger, salallahu alayhi wa sallam. He could have given an answer from himself, but he wants to hear the answer from the best answerer, Rasulullah, salallahu alayhi wa sallam. So he says, Allah wa Rasuluhu a'lam, Allah and His Messenger know best. So the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, said, An ya'buduhu la yushriku bihi shay'ah. That they worship Him and they don't associate a partner with Him. That's Allah's greatest right upon you, that you worship Him and you don't associate a partner with Him. Very simple. La ilaha illallah. And then some time passed. Ya Mu'adh ibn Jabal, labbayka wa sa'dayka, Ya Rasulullah. What is it, O Messenger of Allah? The Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, keeps writing. Ya Mu'adh ibn Jabal, labbayka wa sa'dayka, Ya Rasulullah. What is it, O Messenger of Allah? I'm at your service. Ya Mu'adh ibn Jabal, labbayka wa sa'dayka, Ya Rasulullah. What is it? I'm at your service. Atadri maa haqqu al-'ibadi ala Allah? Do you know what the right of the slaves is upon Allah? Wait, we have a haqq upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Subhana, glory be to Him who assigns rights to those whom He creates. We have a haqq on Allah, but He created us.
We don't even exist without Him, so how do we have a right upon Him? But O Mu'adh, do you know what the right of the servants of Allah, the slaves of Allah, is upon Him? Should they abide by that right? Mu'adh radiyallahu anhu says, Allahu wa Rasuluhu a'lam, Allah and His Messenger know best. Qala an laa yuAAadhibuhum. That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, laa yuAAadhibuhum. Allah does not punish them. Amazing hadith, so simple. You worship Allah, and your right upon Allah is that Allah will not punish you. Now if Allah does not punish you, then He certainly will reward you, because there's no neutral space in the hereafter. You're either in the rahma of Allah, His mercy, which is manifested in His jannah, or you're in the azaab, in the punishment of Allah, which is manifested in His fire, even if it's for a temporary time, before you shift over to His rahma, His jannah. May Allah enter us into His jannah, without any form of accountability, or any form of punishment. Allahumma ameen. There's no neutral place here. Laa yuAAadhibuhum. Allah will not punish them. Mu'adh radiyallahu ta'ala anhu said, Ya Rasool Allah, this is incredible. Atha laa ubashrunna? Should I go tell everybody now? I mean this is great news. This is what we're afraid of. We're afraid of being punished, we're afraid of falling short. And I'm not going to give you the answer yet. Pause, we'll get back to that. Mu'adh says, shouldn't I go tell everyone now? Fast forward for a moment, to the Day of Judgment. The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said in another narration, that when Allah resurrects the disbeliever,
and this person who transgressed, who associated partners with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and who did not fulfill the greatest right, which is that Allah be worshipped alone, and obviously what follows is a life of misguidance, and a life of corruption, and a life of wickedness. And the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam says that as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala finishes this conversation with this man, on the Day of Judgment, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says to this person, if you could have the whole earth in gold, to present right now as a ransom, to get yourself out of this situation, would you do it? And the person says, of course, on the Day of Judgment, of course, I'd take the whole world in gold, and I'd spend it to get myself out of this situation that I'm in today. And Allah says to him, فَقَدْ سَأَلْتُكَ مَا هُوَ أَهْوَنُ مِنْ هَذَا I asked you for so much less than that. I didn't ask you for the world in gold. I didn't ask you to live a tortured life. I didn't ask you to be miserable. I didn't ask you to be overburdened. In fact, لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وَسْعَهَا Allah does not burden a soul beyond its scope. I didn't give you all of those assignments. I did not make life too burdensome for you. I gave you opportunities. I gave you an easy path to an eternal abode of ease. I gave it to you. And imagine the regret of that person. May Allah not make us like that person. When Allah says, فَقَدْ سَأَلْتُكَ مَا هُوَ أَهْوَنُ مِنْ هَذَا
I asked you for so much less. I didn't ask you for that. Those are the last words this person hears before he is taken to his punishment. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not make us like that person. اللهم أمين I asked you for so much less. What does Allah want from you? What does Allah demand of you? It's a philosophical question but a deeply personal question as well. What does God want from you on a personal level? What does Allah want from you? When Mu'adh رضي الله تعالى عنه said, Should I go tell the people, يا رسول الله, that Allah will not punish them if they don't associate a partner with Him, that they get to go to Jannah? And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, إذن يتكلوا Then they'll get lazy. They'll trust in that and they won't do anything more. And then he said, in another narration, يا مُعَاذ لَرِ النَّاسَ يَعْمَلُونَ I love this. Let the people work. لَرِ النَّاسَ يَعْمَلُونَ Let them work. Don't let them get lazy. Don't let them get complacent. You go make this announcement, you're all forgiven. All you say is, لا إله إلا الله. You get to Jannah. خلاص. Nothing more. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, Let them work. Why? إِنَّ فِي الْجَنَّةِ مِئَةَ جَرَجًا Paradise has a hundred degrees. The difference between any of those two degrees is ما بين السماء والأرض. The difference between the heavens and the earth. Let them strive harder. Let them work. معاذ رضي الله تعالى عنه did not share this hadith until he was on his deathbed in what is now Jordan in the plague of Amwas when he died from the plague. And he said, I held this hadith until my last breaths to share with you because I didn't want you to be complacent but at the same time
I did not want to conceal anything I learned from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم from you. قُولُوا لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ تُفْلِحُوا You'll be successful. But the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, Let the people work. There are a hundred degrees in Jannah. The highest level of that Jannah is الفردوس الأعلى. May Allah سبحانه وتعالى make us amongst the people of الفردوس. The highest level of Jannah is there. Let them work for that. Don't make them lazy. Don't make them complacent. Don't let them feel like they don't have to do anything. They've got to do better. They've got to do more. What does Allah want from me on a personal level? Let's set the basis for a moment. سبحان الله This is a reflection from my beloved brother Shaykh Tahir Wyatt. Actually in Umrah we were talking about this and he was sharing this reflection with the group and I want to build on it a bit Inshallah تعالى There are people that lived in the time of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم who wanted to just be ordinary Muslims believe it or not. There are people that did not crave to be in the masjid all day that weren't waiting eagerly in front of the home of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم that weren't crowding the masjid that weren't following him around. There were people that were Bedouins on the outskirts of Medina that simply wanted to get by. They believed in the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم but they wanted to just do enough to make it to Jannah. What's the bare minimum we have to do? That mindset exists in every generation. Just as في كل قرن من أمتي سابقون قال عليه الصلاة والسلام In every generation of my people there are forerunners there's a mindset of excellence, of ihsan there are people that want to just get by as well. And you have a famous narration. A man comes to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
He says What do I have to do? Okay, and then what, Ya Rasulullah? Pray five prayers. Then what? Fast Ramadan. Then what? Give the zakah. Then what? Make the hajj one time if you're capable of doing so. And he says to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم I'll say, لا إله إلا الله He said, ask for those five prayers. I'll do my five prayers. Nothing more, nothing less. Don't ask me for taraweeh. Don't ask me for witr. Don't ask me for sunnah. Nothing more, nothing less. I'll do my five prayers. I'll fast Ramadan. None of the Mondays and Thursdays or three middle days of the month or six of Shawwal. No, no, I'll fast my Ramadan. I'll pay my zakah. Don't fundraise for me afterwards. I'm obviously elaborating a bit on the meaning here. Okay, don't quote this as the hadith, alright? Don't come to me with the fundraiser and the extras. I'll pay my zakah. If I can do hajj, I'll do hajj. And then he walks away from the Prophet ﷺ. Now, if you're an Abu Bakr type, رضي الله عنه, who wants to be called from every gate of Jannah on the Day of Judgment, and he will be called from every gate of Jannah on the Day of Judgment, this is a very interesting mindset. You have sahaba around the Prophet ﷺ who can't get enough of him, who want to do more and more and more and more, who the Prophet ﷺ has to temper their deeds a bit. You have a man that just walked in the masjid of the Prophet ﷺ and said, five pillars, I've got it, I'm done, that's it. And then he just walked out. And you know what the Prophet ﷺ said? He looked at the companions and he said, أفلح أن صدق You know, if he's telling the truth, he'll be successful. If he's telling the truth,
he'll make it to Jannah. If that's all he's going to do, bare minimum, but he's going to do it right, he'll fulfill his farad, he'll fulfill his obligations, he will succeed. But, is that the type of Muslim you want to be? Is that the type of aspiration that you want to have with Allah ﷻ? Now there's another young man, Rabi'a ibn Ka'b al-Aslami. رضي الله تعالى عنه A young, unmarried companion of the Prophet ﷺ. May Allah ﷻ marry off all of our righteous single ones, say ameen. That was a loud ameen, right? That was louder than the اللهم بلغنا رمضان Right? But, he's a young man who's not married and he's in the company of the Prophet ﷺ. And he's always serving Rasulullah ﷺ. Shows up, the Prophet ﷺ finds him already holding his wudu. Comes to a place, he finds Rabi'a setting up the place. Rabi'a is at the service, he's got his watchful eye on Rasulullah ﷺ, always trying to serve the Messenger ﷺ. By the way, صلى الله عليه وسلم I want to hear it from you all. صلى الله عليه وسلم Always serving him ﷺ. And one day, Rasulullah ﷺ says, Ya Rabi'a, sell me. Rabi'a, ask me. What do you want? You want a price? You want something extra? You want a position? You want a wife? What do you want? And the only thing he asks the Prophet ﷺ for is what? Your company in the hereafter. My Jannah in this world is being in your company here.
I want your eternal company in the hereafter. I want to be with you in Jannah. And Rasulullah ﷺ could have simply told him, أنت مع من أحببت As he told another person, you're with the one that you love. But he gave Rabi'a a very specific prescription. A very specific prescription. قَالَ فَأَعِنِّي عَلَى نَفْسِكَ بِكَثْرَةِ السُّجُودِ You want to reach those high ranks, O Rabi'a? I'm not going to tell you what I told the other man about five prayers. Support me against yourself بِكَثْرَةِ السُّجُودِ with making many prostrations, meaning add to your prayer. Do more. Lower yourself to Allah, and you'll be elevated higher. You want a higher rank? That's going to take greater sacrifice. ذَرِ النَّاسَ يَعْمَلُونَ يَا مُعَاذٍ Let the people work, O Mu'adh. That's what you want? I need you to help me, O Rabi'a. I need you to increase in your prayer if you want that level. There are people that want to just get to Jannah. There are people that want الفردوس الأعلى. There are people that want to pass Ramadan and they're already doing their Eid shopping or their Eid planning. And there are people that are going to try to absorb Ramadan, squeezing it like a sponge to get every single one of its blessings, making sure that they catch one of the last ten nights, making sure that they read the Qur'an, making sure that they connect to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, until the Adhan of Maghrib comes in for the first of Shawwal. There are people that want ليلة القدر. There are people that want more from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They're not simply asking the question,
what does Allah want from me? They're asking themselves, how much of Allah's favor can I get from Him? They flip the equation. They want more. They want a higher place. They want a greater level. Now this phenomenon of wanting that greater level with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is one that was present in a group of young people around the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. A very famous narration, and I want you to pretend you're one of these three men. You go to the house of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam so you can ask Aisha radiallahu anha, our mother, what's the worship habit? يسألونها عن عبادة النبي sallallahu alayhi wasallam Asking her about the عبادة, the worship of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Oh our mother, what does he do? sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And so they go to her house and they ask her, tell us what his worship life is like. Tell us all that he does sallallahu alayhi wasallam. So we can aspire as well. Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Aas, Uthman ibn Maz'oon, Miqdad, in one explanation, these were the three men. Almost certainly one of them, Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Aas, who we'll get to. May Allah be pleased with them all. So she describes the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. She says, listen, he prays alayhi salatu wasalam at night, but he also sleeps. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam fasts. But he also eats. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam has an appetite for the akhira, for the afterlife. But he's intimate with his spouse sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Meaning, it's not this quantity thing that you might think it is. It's not just about, let me do a lot more good deeds. Let me just pile on the resume so that I could have this place
with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But what did they take from that? They said, well, that's Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. So one of them said, ask for me, I will sleep, I'm sorry, I will pray and I'll never sleep. Another one says, I will fast every single day. Another one says, I'll never get married. وأِدْمَعْنَا مُوَنَّةً لِلْطَلَبِ and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم finds out about that and he not only condemns it and admonishes it saying that this is not my sunnah and whoever turns away from my sunnah is not like me but he says I know Allah better than all of you أنا أعرفكم I am the one who knows Allah better than all of you meaning knowing Allah and being in a relationship with Allah سبحانه وتعالى is not just a mathematical game. It's a pursuit, it's Sidqut Talab. It's a pursuit that's deep in the heart that transforms your daily life. Doesn't make you unreasonable, but inspires even the most mundane actions of your life to turn them into Jannah opportunities. Because you want as much as possible from Allah. But I know Allah better than you. A'rafukum a'lamukum bil-lah atqaakum The most fearful and God conscious of you all. Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wa sallam Qalbuhu alayhi salatu was salam la yanaam His heart never sleeps alayhi salatu was salam. He's always connected to his Rabb, always connected to his Lord. You might be missing the point for a moment. But you understand the phenomenon, right? If you came into the presence of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam and Abu Bakr and Umar and Uthman and Ali and Aisha and Fatima, you wanna be like them. And you wanna catch up. And you wanna get as much of it as possible so you understand the mindset, right? But Abdullah ibn Amr radiyallahu anhuma has to learn a little bit about what relationship looks like with Allah. He's pursuing al-firdaws.
He's pursuing a higher level. But he's pushing himself in a certain way. So you all know that when you get married, insha'Allah ta'ala, you pray two rak'ahs, right? Pray two rak'ahs with each other. You go home after the wedding, you pray two rak'ahs. That's your sunnah, is to pray two rak'ahs with each other. Okay? Now, brothers, if you pray two rak'ahs, you lead your new wife in two rak'ahs, what are you gonna read? Qul wallahu ahad, wa la'udhu bi rabb al-nas wa la'asr, twice. What are you gonna read, right? You'll probably read two short surahs because it's a sunnah that you want to perform. Abdullah ibn Amr bin al-As radiyallahu anhuma on his wedding night, he did the whole Quran. So they didn't even have any time to be husband and wife at night, that first night. He just finished the Quran. And Amr ibn al-As is talking to his daughter-in-law and says to her, how is Abdullah as a husband? She says, huwa khayru abid. He's a great worshiper. Not a good husband, not a bad husband, but a great worshiper, khayru abid. Then he has to go to the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam and tell the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam, Ya Rasulullah, talk to my son. He's doing too much, let him tone it down a bit, right? And the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam has to tell him, you can't fast every day. Fast a few days, and if you take it to the max, the siyam of Dawud alaihi salam, the fasting of David every other day. You can't pray all night, pray the last third of the night. The prayer of Dawud alaihi salam. But don't be like that person,
kani yaqoom al-layl, who one day will look back and say, I used to pray qiyam al-layl, fataraka qiyam al-layl, and then he left it all together. So he got really excited, overzealous, into religion, and then burnt out really quickly. That's not it, oh Abdullah. There's a different way to pursue Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But that mindset was a praiseworthy mindset. However, the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam, while praising the mindset, was teaching that there is another way to pursue Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Now we set the foundation. I wanna bring it back full circle now. Some of you were there last night at the talk at Qatara, and I mentioned that, you know, imagine what it would be like to be one of the tabi'een. One generation removed from the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam, and your parents knew the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam. He had dinner in your house before you were born. You know, your parents visited his house, salallahu alaihi wa sallam. They prayed behind him. They could tell you all these things, and they light up with joy when they remind you of the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam. And the tabi'een were distinguished by so much zeal. They used to want to do so many good deeds. Like if you took the Abdullah ibn Amr mindset, radiallahu anhuma, the tabi'een represent that generation. They wanna pray so much, read so much, do so much, because they feel like they're so behind. We wanna be like those people. We wanna be like the sahaba. And we feel like we are behind. Then they come to Anas ibn Malik radiallahu anhu. And they ask Anas ibn Malik radiallahu anhu, you know, they're talking to Anas ibn Malik, how do we be like you all? How do we get to your level? And hence I'm gonna bring it into this next phase, inshallah ta'ala. He said to them, look, you all do more deeds than we did. Meaning from a quantity perspective, the tabi'een were distinguished by a lot of deeds.
They used to do a lot, a lot. But he said, innakum lata'maluna a'malan hiya adakku fii a'yunikum minash sha'ar You do certain things and they are smaller in your eyes than a hair. inkunna lana'udduha ala ahdi nabiyyi sallallahu alaihi wa sallam minal mubiqat ayy minal kabair We considered those things that you consider smaller sins than a hair to be destructive, major sins in the time of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. Meaning what? They had a greater sense of taqwa, awe of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala inside of them. There was a greater presence, a greater, not fear only, awe, khashiya of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala where they didn't want to violate anything that could potentially take them out of that favor from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And so I'm going to tell you that this is an affair of the heart as much as it is an affair of a quantifiable pursuit. It's an affair of the heart. What do I mean by that? Umar bin Abdul Aziz rahimahullah ta'ala, his father was Abdul Aziz bin Marwan, the governor of Hilwan in Egypt. He was the brother of the Khalifa Abdul Malik bin Marwan. And he left Umar bin Abdul Aziz to study with the great scholars in Al-Madinah. And he would come and check up on him during the hajj time, and sometimes in Umrah, and he'd send letters to Abdullah bin Umar, to Tawus, Salih al-Kaysan, other great scholars of the time. And he came and he asked Salih al-Kaysan about Umar bin Abdul Aziz during hajj. And Salih's answer to him was, والله ما رأيت أحداً الله أعظم في صدره من هذا الغلام I swear I've never met a young man who Allah has a greater part of his heart,
occupies a greater portion of his heart than this young man. Allah means so much to that young man. It's like his heart is overwhelmed by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The description of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, ما سبق الصحابة بكثرة صلاة ولا صيام He didn't beat the rest of the companions because of a quantifiable number of prayers, or a quantifiable number of fasts. ولكن سبقهم بشيء قد وقر في صدره رضي الله تعالى عنه He beat them because something happened in the heart of Abu Bakr, where he was looking for a way to please Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in every room, where he was making sure not to displease Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in every conversation. He was always alert. You know, taqwa is God consciousness. You can't be conscious if you're not alert, right? So there's an alertness there. What can I do right now that's pleasing to Allah? What is displeasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَام كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَىٰ ٱلَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ Fasting has been prescribed upon you so you could become God conscious people. You can't be God conscious if you're not alert, if you're not awake, if you're not thinking about your environment constantly. And what is it right now that I might be doing unknowingly, subconsciously that's displeasing to Allah? And what is it that I could be doing that others are not paying attention to that's pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? There was something in the heart of Abu Bakr, something in the heart of Umar bin Abdul Aziz that they looked at a situation and they were thinking differently than the people around them. They had higher aspirations, higher pursuits, but it starts with a foundation. La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah. Complete trust, complete belief that there is only one God and that Muhammad Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is his messenger. The mandatory deeds
and then not having any holes in their buckets. So I'm going to give you an example and to Allah belongs the greatest of examples. If you are a parent or you have a parent and the parent says to the child, I need you to go do the dishes. And the child goes out and cuts the grass. Zakal la khair but go do the dishes. And then you go and you vacuum the house. Zakal la khair but can you do the dishes. Then you go buy flowers. Zakal la khair but can you do the dishes. You go make your bed. Zakal la khair Okay, what's happening here? There's a disconnect between what you're being told and what you're trying to do. And spirituality often becomes what we want to do, not what Allah has told us to do. And that especially starts with this foundation and I want you to memorize a hadith. We're going to memorize a hadith tonight inshaAllah ta'ala so that I can hopefully say that if you forgot everything else that I taught you tonight inshaAllah, you'll remember this hadith. Maybe Dr. Rajab you can tu'darrisuhum ya'ani alayhi. This is a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful hadith. The Prophet ﷺ was given comprehensiveness in speech. Abu Huraira radhiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said, Ittaqil mahaarim Can you repeat after me? Ittaqil mahaarim Fear the prohibitions, the things that are haram. Takun a'abad al-naas Ittaqil mahaarim takun a'abad al-naas
Leave off the prohibitions and you'll be the greatest of worshippers. You want to be people of ibadah, people of greatness? Leave off the prohibitions, you'll be the greatest of worshippers. And he said, warada bima qasamAllahu lak takun a'agnan naas Be pleased with what Allah has allotted for you, has apportioned for you, and you'll be the wealthiest of people, you'll be the richest of people, you'll be content human beings. This hadith, this advice, which many of the ulema authenticated through a riwayah and a tirmidhi, this advice is one of the most comprehensive advices for spirituality in Islam. And what differentiates our spirituality from the spirituality and the philosophies of others, of what God wants from us. Because for you to leave off a sin that you crave, is far more difficult than doing a bunch of good deeds that make you feel good anyway. For you to leave off a sin that you crave, is much harder and greater in the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, than for you to do a bunch of good deeds that make you feel good anyway. Let me tell you, if you go into Ramadan, and you say I'm going to quit this particular sin, that sin could be a barrier between you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, that nullifies all of your good deeds. And you say I'm going to quit these sins. I'm going to be self-conscious about the things that are displeasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. As I said last night, before your to-do list in Ramadan, you need your to not do list.
Taqwa, what are you leaving off? What are you putting aside? What are you looking at yourself and saying, I need to remove this because it's a barrier between me and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and then struggling to overcome that sin. Now it doesn't feel as ceremonious when you stop backbiting for example, where every night, you spend a few minutes and you look back and you analyze every conversation you had that day. And you say you know what, I probably slipped there. Astaghfirullah. I'll be more conscious next time. Where you start to purify your eyes, you start to purify your wealth, you start to purify all of these different things. Those are the greatest signs of a greater pursuit of Allah when you're willing to leave behind the pursuits of the lower self. And Ramadan is to orient your pursuits towards the hereafter to where not just your appetite for food and drink and intimacy are diminished, your appetite for dunya is diminished. And if you have an uncontrollable appetite for dunya, then you have this propensity to sin that becomes uncontrollable, to where you don't even recognize your tongue in your eyes anymore. It's to diminish that appetite for dunya and to grow that appetite for the hereafter. And on the Day of Judgment, Allah will not punish you because you didn't pray enough taraweeh. But He will punish you if you wronged your neighbor. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will not punish you if you didn't give extra charity. But He will punish you if you cut off your family ties. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives you a baseline of spirituality. And if you go back to what Anas sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said and what the Prophet ﷺ was saying, that we the companions, maybe we didn't pray as many rak'ahs as the next generation of tabi'een.
Maybe we weren't in the masjid as long as they were. But we had a greater fear and awe of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and we self-scrutinized. We were able to hold up a mirror to ourselves in a way that no other generation could hold up a mirror to themselves. That's a gift from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That tadabbur and tafakkur, introspection, reflection, that you hold up a mirror to yourself. And the secret of becoming a sage, a wali of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, it starts there. Abdullah Mubarak, he's not a companion, but he's a great sage and scholar in Islamic history. And he said, قَالَ لَأَنْ أَرُدَّ دِرْهَمًا بِشُبْهَةٍ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَ مِنْ أَنْ أَتَصَدَّقْ بِمِئَةِ أَلْفٍ وَبِمِئَةِ أَلْفٍ وَبِمِئَةِ أَلْفٍ وَبِمِئَةِ أَلْفٍ وَبِمِئَةِ أَلْفٍ وَبِمِئَةِ أَلْفٍ وَبِمِئَةِ أَلْفٍ وَبِمِئَةِ أَلْفٍ وَبِمِئَةِ أَلْفٍ وَبِمِئَةِ أَل
فَالَّا لِلَّهِ لِمَا يُجْزِيهُ لَنَبْتَيواً وَلَا نُغْيُّوا لِلَّهِ لَنَبْتَيَوَاً وَلَا نُغْيُّوا لِلَّهِ لَنَبْتَيَوَاً وَلَا نُغْيُّوا لِلَّهِ لَنَبَتَيَوَاً وَلَا نُغْيُّوا لِلَّهِ لَنَبْتَيَوَاً complacent with sins in our lives and the worst sins are the lifestyle sins. A lifestyle sin is the one that you wake up with every day and you go to sleep with every day and you don't bat an eyelid over it anymore. It's become a part of you. You don't even feel guilt anymore. An-nadm-u-tawbah, kama qal a'lihi salatu was-salam, and regret is repentance. You can't be regretful if you're not even thinking about it anymore, right? So starting off with that and then building and building and building. And let me tell
you SubhanAllah that journey to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, that journey to wilaya, that journey to being a friend of God, may Allah make us all from his awliya. Say ameen. You said it louder when I said get you married. May Allah make us all awliya. Say ameen. And by the way believe that you can be a wali of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala because to achieve that friendship of Allah is accessible to every Muslim. It's not something that is exclusive to the ulama. It's not something that's exclusive to the scholars or exclusive to any hierarchy or class. It's accessible to every single Muslim. Allahu wali-yul-ladheena amanu. Allah is the wali of the believers. But that special friendship with Allah is accessible to every single believer which is beautiful. Hadith of Abu Huraira radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, hadith Qudsi. And I want you to look at this hadith now in light of everything that we've said today. The Prophet Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, qalallahu azzawajal man aada li waliya faqad aadhantuhu bilharb. What an amazing friend to have. Subhanah. Tabarakah wa ta'ala. Allah says whoever takes a friend of mine, a wali of Allah, a wali of mine, as an enemy, faqad aadhantuhu bilharb. I will wage war on that person. That's why you gotta be careful. You know, subhanAllah, that forgetful person, the Prophet Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam mentioned to us, that woman that used to give sadaqah, pray extra, fast extra, walakin tu'thijiranah, but she was deluded by her good deeds because she had an abusive tongue towards her neighbors. La khaira feeha hiya finnaar. There's no good in her. She's in hellfire. The other side of that, not just the aadha of the tongue,
the constant talking down to people and bad character because you think that you do all of these religious acts and that entitles you somehow to have a nasty and foul character towards people that you deem less religious than you. It's not just the own aadha, the harm from your tongue. It's, do you even know who you're harming? Do you know the status of that person that you're harming with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? You know the status of that person that you just backbite it? Even if they're committing a major sin right now, perhaps they will come out of it and achieve a status with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And even if in a moment of temporary fall, they still may retain a deep love for Allah and His Messenger Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. من عاد لي ولي فقد آذنته بالحرب You want your friends that have your back, right? Achieve friendship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah will wage war on your behalf. Subhanallah. من عاد لي ولي فقد آذنته بالحرب Then Allah gives you the process. And this is not me speaking. This is what Allah says in the hadith Qudsi. وَمَا تَقَرَّبَ إِلَيَّ عَبْدِي بِشَيْءٍ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا فْتَرَتُهُ عَلَيْهِ My slave will not come close to me with anything more beloved to me than the obligations. It starts with the fara'at. You're not going to start to build this building without those foundations. وَلَا يَزَلْ But then he continues. يَتَقَرَّبُ إِلَيَّ بِالنَّوَافِلِ يَتَقَرَّبُ إِلَيَّ بِالنَّوَافِلِ يَتَقَرَّبُ إِلَيَّ بِالنَّوَافِلِ Coming close to me with the voluntary deeds. You know what happens here? You prayed five times a day and you actually started to pray right. What does that mean? You cleared your head before salah. You took some time before prayer to do your wudu' properly, to calibrate properly before prayer. You stopped looking at your phone right before the takbirat
al-ihram. You took a few moments. You tried your best to be khaash' to be in awe of Allah, humble, listening to the words that you're reciting, connected to Allah in your prayer. You know what ends up happening? The prayer no longer is a burden for you. The prayer actually becomes an escape. The prayer becomes your greatest relief. It's not, God it's hasr already, it's maghrib, I gotta go pray so I can get back to what I was doing. The salah becomes arihna biha, raha, comfort me with it. And then you can't get enough of it. You want more because you tasted the sweetness of your salah. Ramadan, your siyam, feels amazing. I love this connection. Six days of shawwal, you know what, I believe I can fast three days a month. I wanna fast three days a month now. I think I like this Monday Thursday thing. I see the difference in my life, the barakah in my life, the blessing in my life. Feels sweet. I wanna be a Monday Thursday person now. You tasted the sweetness of it, unlocked. You gave zakah and you saw that sadaqah did not decrease your charity but in fact the reward of charity to you is far greater than anything that you possess. Subhanallah. I happen to live in Texas where Elon Musk lives. I don't like to name drop. I was listening to this man talk about his concept of the hereafter, like whatever, it is what it is. If I go to hell I don't really care because probably most people will be there anyway. And I'm thinking to myself, subhanallah, how amazing that this man that owns all this stuff is gonna end up in the same dirt that I end up in. And he won't be able to make a single phone call. Won't be able to call a single person for help. Will
be in the grave just like me under that dirt. What blessing did you get from it? What blessing did you get from it? And so when you start to realize what I give is actually what I receive and you taste the sweetness of giving, it's no longer an obligation. You're no longer crunching numbers. It becomes a spirit. The Prophet ﷺ was not doing math when people came to him and asked him for charity. Gave ﷺ like a blowing wind, alayhis salatu wassalam. You go to Hajj or Umrah, may Allah ﷻ facilitate it for you. Say ameen. And you taste the sweetness of it. And the moment that you're getting on that plane in Jeddah, you see some people that are like, I'm done. I'm ready to get out of here. Hajj was hard. How was Hajj? It was hot. It was hard. People were elbowing me. People stunk. People were rude. This, this, this, this, that. And you have the other person that gets on the plane, looks back, and is already trying to look for the moment they can get back. Can't wait to go back. Ya Allah, I want to go to Medina. Ya Allah, I want to go to Mecca. Take me back, take me back, take me back. Because something was unlocked. So it started off with fara'id, then you tasted the sweetness. And what does Allah say in this hadith? Hatta wa hibba. You keep doing this until I love you. Wait a minute, doesn't Allah love everyone? It's a western construct. Might not sound convenient what I'm going to say right now. وَلَا كِذْنَ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْكَافِرِينَ وَلَا يُحِبُّ الْظَالِمِينَ وَلَا يُحِبُّ الْفَاسِقِينَ Allah does not love evildoers. Not because Allah hates them, but because they have placed an object between them and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They still have the potential to be beloved by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But no, you don't just take that for granted. And Allah loves all of the believers, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the wali of all
of the believers, but there is a different level that Allah is talking about in this hadith here. Hatta wa hibba. Until I love that person. May Allah make us amongst those whom He loves. Say ameen. Allahumma inna nas'aluka hubbak wa hubba man yuhibbuk. Oh Allah we ask you for your love and the love of those that are beloved. And the love of every amal, of every deed that brings us closer to your love. Until I love you. What's the manifestation of that love now? Remember Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, what's the manifestation of that love? If I love that person, then suddenly I am the sight with which they see, the hearing with which they hear, the hand with which they strike, the steps that they take. Meaning, you only see what is pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala now. Everything you see in front of you, an opportunity, a moment, I can please Allah with this. You hear, there's something I can please Allah with here. There's an aversion here. You start hating those things that are displeasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You know I spoke about my mother rahmatullah alayha last night, and I actually wrote a post about her reading of the Quran. And I talked about this in a recent podcast with Lex Friedman. Something subhanallah she used to say, she was partially deaf, due to her sickness. She used to sit in a gathering and she would see the people talking, and she said subhanallah, I used to thank Allah that I couldn't hear them. Because I could tell from their faces when they would start to do ghibah, when they would start to backbite, because you can see the ugliness transform their faces. Like there's a certain look, she was being perceptive at that point because she couldn't hear unless she was really being attentive to something, or someone was really raising their voice for her. So she sits in a gathering in the corner and smiles, and she used to say, I say alhamdulillah that I can't hear them. Because
I can tell when they start to talk about somebody. The hearing starts to form an aversion towards that which is displeasing to Allah. You hear it and you hate it. Why are you talking about people like that? Why are you using that type of language? And when you hear the Qur'an, and you hear beneficial knowledge, your ears perk now. Your vision, your sight, you look at things that are pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and you say alhamdulillah. You start to move in ways that are pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Your being becomes transformed by that pursuit of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. What's the end result of this? This person, if this person asks me, la'ootiyanna, idha sa'alani la'ootiyanna. You ask Allah, I will give you. What do you think you're going to be asking Allah for if your pursuit has changed though? You see people say, I make dua, I make dua, I make dua, and Allah is not giving me. But your pursuit is different. You know your dua will tell you a lot about yourself. And yes, ask Allah for this dunya and the akhira. But if your dua is a to-do list for dunya only, and then you get to the akhira and you say, rabbana a'tina fi dunya hasna fi al-akhira wa tia hasna wa kuna ala banna. Allahumma khfirullahu wa arhamna. You're nonchalant, and you're not begging to be forgiven, begging for jannah, and you're not as sincere and pleading and crying. What do you think the sahaba were crying for? The sahaba were told to ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala even to fix a shoelace, right? The Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam taught them that, that they could make dua for everything. But if you saw Umar bin al-Khattab radiallahu ta'ala anhu in front of the Kaaba with his hands up crying and weeping, you think he was asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to get him a new camel? What do you think were the most sincere duas? You see when you're transformed, your
dua is transformed as well. That person, insa'alani la'ootiyanna, they ask me for something, something I give it to them. And if they seek refuge from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, la'ootiyanna, then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says I will grant that person refuge. It really brings it full circle. You want to measure yourself on this spectrum and say how do I build from here to here? And stop asking yourself only what does God want from me, what do I want from Him? Because if I want from Him the highest reward, then He will guide me to a higher way. And this Ramadan bi'idhnillahi ta'ala, and not just Ramadan, you have an opportunity to start thinking about something greater, to start thinking about something higher. You know subhanAllah, we just are coming out of this great devastation of this earthquake in Turkey and Syria. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala have mercy on the shuhada. Make it easy for those that are left behind. So many people that have passed away recently and we can all name people and we all have people close to us and we saw the pandemic and so many disasters and tragedies. And sometimes you get hit with something that really reminds you like this dunya is not worth my pursuit. Like I don't want to just be a five times a day person, a fast Ramadan person. Like I want to pursue something higher. Someone dies in your family that you love, it's like the sweetness of dunya is gone. You lose something that you love, it doesn't taste the same. Dunya doesn't taste the same. You know what the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said? He said I saw Israfil alayhi salam, the angel, and he had his lips puckered on the horn and he was staring at the throne of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala waiting for the command and he said his eyes are fixated on the throne like two stars. And what did the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam say? Kaif an'am. What appetite can I have of this dunya after that? After I saw that, what's left? It's not worth it. If the whole dunya is, if that's what it takes, you know subhanallah the brothers that went to Turkey and I was just speaking with Dr. Rajab about this, may Allah make it easy for them, went to Syria and they were talking to the victims and almost all of them used the same words, all of a sudden, all of a sudden, all of a sudden, right? All of a sudden like everything was fine and then all of a sudden in a few seconds thousands of miles gone, thousands of people gone, all of a sudden, right? Wa qaala al-insanu maa laha? What's going on? All of a sudden, all of a sudden, kaif an'am. What's the appetite for this world then at that point? You want to grow your appetite for what Allah has. Stop asking for the minimum, stop asking just for the hacks and the good deeds and make meaningful sacrifices in your next step towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And let me tell you something by the way, no one can give you better advice than yourself if you're honest with yourself. Now I often tell people that if you want to give yourself nasiha, give yourself advice, I want you to imagine that you're the best version of yourself sitting in the masjid and then your current self walked into the masjid and you were trying to find a way to give that person advice. You're talking to yourself and you went and you sat them on the side and you're giving them some personal advice. What would you want to say to that person? What would you tell yourself? Because as Umar radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu said, there is no greater mirror than self-reflection. That tadabbur, no greater mirror than it.
Because no one of your friends around you knows you better than you know yourself. Your inside diseases, your inclinations, what you crave, what you intend, no one knows you better than you. But you've got to commit to that. Be honest with yourself and be willing to sit with yourself and say where do I need to improve? And that's better than any list that anyone else can give you. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us amongst those that are most beloved to him, that occupy the highest level of paradise, that have the highest companion, that have the highest morals, that have the highest character, that have the highest aspirations and the highest ambitions. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not let us be pulled by our lower selves or by the lowly shayateen from the human beings and the jinn, or by lowly goals and lowly aspirations that pull us to the lowest abode of hellfire. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to witness Ramadan and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us amongst those who are forgiven through Ramadan and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to be amongst those who observe Laylatul Qadr and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us his full reward. Allahumma ameen. Jazakum Allah khairan. Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh. Applause Jazakum Allah khairan. Dearest Sheikh Omar, we appreciate everyone who has joined us tonight for this enlightening session on Ramadan. Please stay connected with us via our social media handle, Admin Artein, as we have planned a diverse range of events to help you maximize your Ramadan in this beautiful space over here. And as the Sheikh will be departing for Dallas tonight, kindly remember him in your du'as and insha'Allah grant him permission to leave promptly after this to catch his flight. Jazakum Allah khairan again, Sheikh. Jazakum Allah khairan.
So, alhamdulillah, before you leave, we have four people that want to embrace Islam, insha'Allah. SubhanAllah, I can tell you that I've never witnessed in my entire life a time where more people are embracing Islam, alhamdulillah. February this year, I've never seen more people embrace Islam than that month and this is a blessed opportunity. So I'm going to ask our... Bismillah. So will they come up now? Three brothers, one sister. Bismillah. After the adhan? But I got them all excited. Bismillah. Come on up, please, insha'Allah. So let's have the three brothers and the sister come up. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. I see no deity but Allah. I see no deity but Allah. I see you
you you you You
How are you sister? Nervous? It's okay. That's great. We're happy for you. So if I can get your names one more time your name Kilara Okay, Kilara, Sayla, Jordan. Yeah. Denise. Denise. So we'll start with Sister Kilara, insha'Allah. So I'm gonna have you all repeat after me one by one insha'Allah and as you repeat after me Your sins are entirely forgiven when you take this step it's a new step with God and all of your sins are entirely forgiven and You get to turn that page and write your story all over again But all the good that you've done before remains in your record and you have the month of Ramadan coming up Which is the season of great mercy So I'll have you start if you can repeat after me hold the mic close and say Ash hadu Allah Ilaha Illa Allah Wa Ash hadu Anna Muhammad Rasul Allah I bear witness That there is only one God And that Muhammad Is his final messenger Allahu Akbar Congratulations Congratulations Alright Ready Ash hadu Allah Ilaha Illa Allah Wa Ash hadu
Anna Muhammad Rasul Allah I bear witness That there is only one God And that Muhammad Is his final messenger Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Repeat after me Ash hadu Allah Ilaha Illa Allah Wa Ash hadu Anna Muhammad Rasul Allah I bear witness That there is only one God And that Muhammad Is his final messenger Allahu Akbar Last but not least Ash hadu Allah Ilaha Illa Allah Wa Ash hadu Anna Muhammad Rasul Allah And that Muhammad Is his final messenger Takbir Congratulations To our new family Welcome to your new community, to your new home Alhamdulillah, may Allah bless you all And keep you firm and steadfast and sincere And allow you to see every obstacle through Until you reach the highest level of paradise Ameen, congratulations Welcome Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar
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