Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Was A'ishah ever two rak'ahs? I know this is a very Shaykh Yasir way to start a khatirah, a question. Was A'ishah ever two rak'ahs? When you're traveling? Was it ever just two rak'ahs before that though? Okay. Was duhr ever two rak'ahs? Alright. So it might come as a surprise to many of you, but the initial five salawat, the way that you pray them in travel was actually the way that they were initially revealed. Okay, so initially duhr was two, asr was two, a'ishah was also two. And then over time Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala legislated the additional rak'ahs to those salawat. Now, one of the things that you learn when you look in the shari'ah and particularly in these first few surahs of the Qur'an. And subhanAllah, the genius of the structure of the Qur'an is that in these first few surahs, you can see the transition and the evolution of the law. Why? Because al-Baqarah is a very early madani surah. It's one of the first surahs in Madinah. Of course, not in its entirety, but a significant portion of it. So you see the beginning laws, and then you go to al-Ma'idah, you go to al-Tawbah. You really see the span of Madinah and the establishment of Islamic law over time and its growth and its evolution and the way that it was perfected over time. So you see the initial days of fasting. What was fard to fast first? What days were fard first? Does anyone know? It was fard, it was mandatory to fast, for example, the day of Ashura, ayyam al-ma'dudat, Arafah.
And then these days, or Ashura in particular, ayyam al-ma'dudat, once Ramadan was made mandatory, these days were made voluntarily. So you see the evolution of laws. And one of the things that becomes very interesting is that you can almost tell the sacrifice that was made by the companions and the wisdom and some of that gradualism when it came to some of the laws. So there are a few forms of gradualism, a few forms in which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala built up these companions over time. You have some ibadat that were legislated, some acts of worship that were legislated in stages. You have some things that were prohibited in stages as well. So they weren't immediately prohibited, they were prohibited in stages. And you have other societal matters that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala did not prohibit until iman, until faith was solid in the hearts of the people, until that belief in Allah and that belief in the hereafter was solid in the hearts of the people. So let's go through some of these examples, okay, because you can actually see where some of the difficulty of sacrifice was at that time. Who knows of something that was prohibited in stages? So we talked about salat al-dhuhr, asr, isha, went from two rak'ahs to four rak'ahs for example. Who knows and when did maghrib become six rak'ahs? Never, right, just want to make sure that you all know that. And we know of a very particular thing that was made haram in stages. Can anyone tell me what it is? Khamr, alcohol. Alcohol was a major issue for the people of Arabia. They used to drink a lot. And subhanAllah it's so much so that Aisha radiallahu ta'ala anha mentions that it would have been a fitna, it would have been a test and trial for the people had Allah made alcohol forbidden right away in Mecca. Imagine what she's saying, the implications of what she's saying, because it's very significant. These people were willing to say la ilaha illallah in Mecca.
And saying la ilaha illallah in Mecca would get you killed. Do you understand that? It would get you killed. But she's saying that Allah still did not legislate the prohibition of alcohol. Why? Because some of those people that were willing to go from kufr to iman, from disbelief to belief would have needed time for belief to solidify itself in their hearts before they could give up alcohol. That's the wisdom of Allah subhanAllah ta'ala and Allah knows his creation. They would have been willing to be tortured and submitted to all sorts of persecution as a result of their belief. But they needed time to get over alcohol. SubhanAllah, you find people that convert to Islam and they make the ultimate change in that regard. But they struggle with a sin or two. They struggle with certain addictions. I actually had someone that once told me, look, I'll convert to Islam, but I can't give up my pork sandwiches. I said, listen, inshallah one day you'll give up your pork sandwiches. But it's better that you die on tawheed than eating pork than you die a mushrik who eats pork. So give up, you know, first become Muslim and inshallah you'll give up your pork sandwiches. And then three months later he was like, man, I stopped eating bacon. I'm like, alhamdulillah, it's a good thing. You know, it took some time, but he loved his pork sandwiches. Okay, at the end of the day certain people have certain sacrifices that they have to make and Allah subhanAllah ta'ala gives us a window into the psyche of the people of Mecca in particular and some of the difficulties that they would have had and how Allah solidified the belief in Allah and the hereafter before these prohibitions came in their entirety. And Umar radhiAllahu ta'ala specifically speaks about the prohibition of alcohol. Umar radhiAllahu ta'ala was a heavy drinker before Islam. And he speaks about the prohibition of alcohol. His fitrah, his intuition, his natural goodness, it just made sense that alcohol is not befitting to the people of la ilaha illallah.
You know, Abu Bakr and Uthman, may Allah be pleased with them, never drank alcohol even before Islam. Umar radhiAllahu ta'ala knew it just was not befitting. So he was waiting for that guidance from Allah subhanAllah ta'ala. Initially, don't come to the salah while you're drunk. Don't come to the salah smelling like alcohol. Don't come to the salah intoxicated. And then eventually, as that belief solidifies itself, comes the complete prohibition of alcohol after those stages. And the believers were ready. Not because alcohol was not addictive, but because their belief in Allah and the Messenger sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam and the hereafter had overwhelmed their hearts to where that sacrifice was now more feasible for them to make. It's not that alcohol became less attractive to them. It's that Allah and the afterlife became more important to them and it solidified itself in their hearts. And subhanAllah, there's this interesting window that we have here. Now, what do I want us to think about as we're in Ramadan in particular? The sacrifices that people would have had to make then are not always going to be the same as the sacrifices that we have to make here. In the sense that some sins may be harder for you to give up in your particular circumstances because of your life and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sees that. And Allah azawajal rewards accordingly. Some deeds may be harder for you to practice in your life and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sees that and Allah recognizes the sacrifice. He knows what you are doing for His sake. You know, subhanAllah, I give the example of sisters that want to start wearing hijab in Ramadan. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala help all of our sisters that want to start that in Ramadan. Allahumma ameen. It's a difficult thing in the West, right? It's a new step and it means very significant changes for you. When you look at Mecca and you look at Medina,
the hijab did not come, for example, in stages. Why? Because if you look at the women in Jahiliyyah, the women in the days of ignorance, what they wore in the days of ignorance, if most Americans would have seen them, they would have said, that's hijab. Because they already used to cover their hair. But they didn't cover their hair entirely and they didn't use to cover their neck and their chest entirely. And so the only thing the ruling of hijab did for them was it meant to pull the hijab over and to cover everything except for the hands and the face. So to cover the entirety of their hair and to cover their chest and leave only the hands and the face. As some of the scholars mentioned, there was some transparent clothing that was common in the time of the Arabs that they couldn't wear transparent clothing anymore. Right? And the issue of the niqab is one of difference of opinion. But the point is, is that that jump in that society might not have been as big of a sacrifice as it is for our sisters today. But Allah Azawajal knows that. And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala rewards accordingly. Praying perhaps five times a day in certain societies or even fasting, the idea of fasting in a Muslim country. Everybody is fasting anyway, right? But Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala knows your sacrifice. When you're in a situation where you're surrounded by people who don't fast and you still choose to dedicate yourself to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, that reward is there. Now what does this mean for us right now in Ramadan? Ramadan is a time to take your next step towards Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. And here's the thing about taking that next step towards Allah. One of the most dangerous things that can happen to us is a sense of complacency. Where I've already taken this step, so I'm good now. I pray five times a day, I come to Salatul Jumu'ah. That's fine, but what's the next step in your journey? Maybe you can start coming to Isha every night as well. Maybe you can add Fajr to that as well. What's the next step? So it's not just,
I went from not praying to praying, right? This is how you start to think about sacrifice. It's how can I make my prayer even better and more pleasing to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. How do I go from here to here? Because a lot of times we stop at 70%. We stop at 60%. And one of the things that you see in the process of the Quran and the evolution of law is how the generation of Iman within the hearts of the believers was allowing them to make that next sacrifice and that next sacrifice and that next sacrifice. And it might be a small sin that you're going to give up, but it's a major sacrifice that you're making in your situation. Might be a small sin, but it's a major sacrifice. It's going to redefine something significant in your life, but you know what? That small sin that you give up for Allah might be the reason why you get to Jannah. It might be a small good deed that you're going to start to do, but that small good deed that you start to do is a major sacrifice in your situation, in your circumstances. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala might enter you into Jannah as a result of that. And you know what? And I say this, I told the brother this by the way. I said, you know, Allah might enter you into Jannah because you gave up pork. It's true. Ar-Rahman. Ar-Rahman. He's the most merciful. Someone gives up something that they love, whatever it is. What does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala say to us in Ali Imran? لَن تَنَالُ الْبِرَّ حَتَّى تُنْفِقُ مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ I know that many of you hear this only in fundraisers. And maybe I'll start to fundraise. But this ayah is profound. لَن تَنَالُ الْبِرَّ حَتَّى تُنْفِقُ مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ You will not achieve true righteousness or the reward of righteousness until you give up what you love. Now obviously, spending wealth, when it pinches, that's when the reward of paradise
becomes more imminent. When you have to struggle, when you give more, and you're actually making a sacrifice when you give, that's when that reward of Jannah becomes that much more imminent for you bi'ithni Allahi ta'ala. But you know what? Not all of us love money. Some of us love comfort. You will not achieve true righteousness in Jannah until you give up the comfort that you love. Some of us like looking a certain way, being perceived a certain way. You will not achieve Jannah and true righteousness until you give up what you love for the sake of Allah. Some of us love a certain level of prestige. You won't achieve that level with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala until you give up what you love. Don't stop at comfort. Move yourself to striving. And in Ramadan, this is the time, if you haven't already formed that resolve in your mind, Ramadan is the time you take that next step towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And it should be a significant step. Ramadan is a time to take a significant step to Allah. If that means doing a good deed more consistently or better, or if that means giving up a sin that you've become complacent with, don't stop at 80%. MashaAllah. Can I see a show of hands? How many of you converted to Islam within the last five years? Can I see your hands inshaAllah ta'ala? We want to celebrate you inshaAllah. Hector, you're official ambassador of VRIC man. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless you all and reward you and of course everyone who made that step. Dear brothers and sisters, you're surrounded by people that changed their entire lives around for this deen. We can make a significant step as well inshaAllah ta'ala and give up some of what we love for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Whether it's social, whether it's economic, whatever it may be for the sake of Allah. And that's when we achieve that true level bi'idhnillah. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us the resolve to do so and grant us the full reward. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give everyone who is looking to make that next step bi'idhnillah in whatever way it is.
The ability, the sincerity and the steadfastness to make that step and to stay there. Allahumma ameen. JazakumAllahu khair. Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
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