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Episode 29: Gatherings of Remembrance

May 22, 2020Dr. Omar Suleiman

Both worshiping in a gathering and worshiping alone have their benefits, but there are more angels in gatherings bearing witness to your worship. What are blessed gatherings? And how blessed are they?

Transcript

This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings.
The remembrance of Allah alone and the remembrance of Allah in a gathering, both have their unique benefits. And so when you're sitting alone and remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the angels will surely accompany you. And that will not compromise your intention, but only increase your sincerity and in fact, have it recorded with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. When you're sitting with a gathering and remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then that will increase the number of angels and cause the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to descend on every single person in that gathering. The Prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam one time came out to a group of companions and the way that he asked them how long they'd been sitting there caused them to worry. He said, don't worry. It's just that Jibreel alayhi salam just came to me and said that Allah is boasting to the angels about you. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says through a Hadith Qudsi that I am as my servant expects of me and I am with him when he remembers me. So if he remembers me inwardly, I remember him inwardly. And if he remembers me in an assembly, then I remember him in a greater assembly, meaning the assembly of the malaika, the assembly of the angels. And so there's a blessing that comes with both of those things. And it's important to have both of those things in mind. And so the first thing that we're going to do is to remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and it's important to have a share of both of them. And the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam did not restrict the type of gathering here to one form of a dua or just the recitation of the Quran or just a gathering of knowledge or what type of knowledge. But anytime people gather to remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said the angels surround them. Mercy overtakes them. Tranquility descends upon them. And as the angels surround them with their wings until the wings go up to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah makes mention of those that are there with those that are with him. So Allah azawajal mentions them to the angels and boasts about them.
And there's a long beautiful hadith about this where the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said the angels are going out through the streets every single night, and they're looking for people that are gathered and remembering Allah. How big is the gathering? It doesn't matter. Just there are people that are sitting together reciting the Quran or remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Is it only the masjid? No. People are gathered together remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala or drawing closer to Allah through knowledge or the recitation of the Quran. And as those angels go through the streets looking for those people, when they come across those groups of people, the angels call upon the others and say, هَلُمُواْ إِلَى حَاجَتِكُمْ I found what you were looking for. Come to what you were looking for. And the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam says, so then they all extend their wings over that gathering. And as they extend their wings over that gathering, all the way up through the heavens to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, those wings are instantly stacked on top of one another. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala asks about us when we're gathered together, remembering him and Allah knows us better than the angels know us. But this is a conversation. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala asks the angels, why are these people gathered? They're gathered to remember you. What are they saying? They're saying, subhanAllah, alhamdulillah, la ilaha illallah, allahu akbar. They're remembering you. They're glorifying you. They're learning about you. And what are they asking? They're asking for Jannah. Allah says, have they seen Jannah? No, they haven't. And Allah says, and how would it be had they seen it, right? What type of dedication would they have to paradise had they seen it? And what else are they asking? They're asking refuge from the fire. And have they seen the fire? No. How would it be had they seen Jahannam? Then they would have really put more into it. Had they actually seen Jahannam, imagine how much more dedicated they would have been to staying away from it. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala calls all of those angels, those that are stacked at the lowest point, all the way to those that have reached him with their wings.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, I want you all to bear witness that I have forgiven all of these people. And some of the angels will then say, but ya Allah, you know, this person is not there because they came to remember you. They're there because their friends pulled them in. They're there because of some social gathering, some element other than that. It wasn't really just for the gathering or for the sincerity of that pursuit. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that this group of people, la yashqa bihim jaleesuhum that the one who sits amongst them will not be deprived. So even if someone had some, you know, some other motive, or there was some other reason for them being in the gathering, in the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, it will cover the entire gathering, and it won't exclude anyone from that gathering. And that's why I can't emphasize enough that as great as the online world is, and as wonderful as it is that you're able to consume this online, and that we're able to communicate through these different means, that online viewing never beats on-site barakah. It never beats the blessing of us being together and having the angels surround us. And so wherever you have that opportunity, even if it's a local halaqah, even if you don't connect as much with the imam or the speaker, or you know, you find that you benefit more for online, go for the sake of being in that barakah, being in that blessing, and under the wings of those angels, and being mentioned to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and being forgiven. What are you going to learn that is going to give you a greater reward than that reward that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is promising you, whether it is the tranquility that comes into your heart as a result of it,
or the reward that is recorded with Him that you see in paradise as a result of it.
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