# When Your Heart Makes Dhikr | Midnight Majlis S2 Ep1

**Author:** Dr. Omar Suleiman
**Series:** Midnight Majlis
**Published:** 2026-03-10
**YouTube:** https://youtu.be/XBNrklHTdAA
**URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/midnight-majlis-s2-ep1-when-your-heart-makes-dhikr
**Topics:** Acts of Worship, Sharia

## Description
Ibn al-Qayyim (rh) outlines the 3 keys to happiness in this life and the next: gratitude, patience, and seeking forgiveness. And dhikr (remembrance of Allah) is essential to each of these. As Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Yaser Birjas embark on this year’s Midnight Majlis with the book Al-Wabil...

## Chapters
- 0:00 Make du’a for your ummah in the last 10 nights
- 2:47 How dhikr (remembrance of Allah) grounds you
- 7:28 The 5 parts of your shield against the Shaytan
- 11:23 3 keys to happiness: gratitude, patience, and seeking forgiveness
- 18:35 The 3 pillars of gratitude
- 20:15 “Alhamdulillah, I can’t complain” is a complaint
- 21:26 Why Zakariyya (as) didn’t speak for 3 days after receiving a blessing
- 25:15 The 3 pillars of patience
- 30:24 Thinking positively about patience
- 37:10 Your joy while enduring hardship for the sake of Allah
- 42:24 Shaytan’s 3 doors into your heart: heedlessness, desire, and anger
- 48:02 How arrogance inspires anger
- 52:07 2 ways to make your heart steadfast
- 57:38 If you love something more than Allah, Allah will punish you with it
- 1:01:59 Outline of Ibn al-Qayyim’s book, Al-Wabil al-Sayyib
- 1:04:00 How to perform dhikr mindfully
- 1:06:55 Mentioning Allah first in a moment of reaction
- 1:10:19 Why the Prophet ﷺ prescribed dhikr in certain amounts
- 1:11:17 Connect with the Qur’an and the masjid

## Transcript
**[0:00]** As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Wa alaykum as-salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Alhamdulillah rabbil 'alamin, wa sallallahu wa sallam wa baraka 'ala nabiyyina Muhammadin wa 'ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam tasliman kathiran thumma amma ba'd. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make this gathering a blessed gathering, Ya Rabbal 'alamin. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to send His rahmah,

**[0:16]** mercy upon us, Ya Rabbal 'alamin. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make this gathering witnessed and mentioned in a better gathering in the heavens, Ya Rabbal 'alamin. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to fill our hearts with love and mercy for each other, Ya Rabbal 'alamin. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala al-'afuw an ya'fu

**[0:32]** 'anna, Ya Rabbal 'alamin. My dear brothers and sisters, we welcome you back after one year, alhamdulillah rabbil 'alamin, with a new season from our late-night khatirah as we discuss together with Shaykh Omar Suleiman, all the way from Bayyinah Islamic Center, alhamdulillah, a beautiful work

**[0:48]** of one of the great 'ulama of Islam, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, al-Wabil al-Sayyib. In translation, it is called The Invocation of God, or Remembrance of the Most Merciful. Masha'Allah, Shaykh, I want to welcome you back again to a new season with this first night

**[1:04]** of the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan for this year, alhamdulillah rabbil 'alamin. So, how is your Ramadan so far, Shaykh? Alhamdulillah, insha'Allah ta'ala it will be better from here on out than not. To be honest, it's disruptive. Not disruptive, disrupted so far. I think that

**[1:20]** the world events, and of course our enemies do this on purpose. They always attack in Ramadan. Every single year. So they always attack in Ramadan. May Allah protect us from their harm. And may this be a month of victory for our ummah. Allahumma ameen. But it's just felt for that reason, very disruptive.

**[1:36]** Right, and subhanAllah, I was in the region, obviously, over especially the month before Ramadan, and everyone was talking about do you think they're going to attack, you think they're going to attack, and it was like, yeah, we know they will attack, it's a matter of

**[1:52]** if, not when, or when, not if. And, you know, as Ramadan started, I remember the first night of Ramadan, thinking to myself, how dirty would it be of them to attack in Ramadan? And that's always what happens. So we ask Allah to protect our ummah and to uplift it.

**[2:08]** And just a reminder to everyone, make du'a for your ummah in these last ten. It's not just your own personal 'ibadah, it's also your personal 'ibadah for your ummah as well, so make sure that they have a significant portion of your du'a in the nighttime. JazakAllah khayr Shaykh. I think this is one of the reasons why the book was

**[2:24]** chosen anyway. Because the book is really, it's about the centrality of dhikr in the life of the believer. And especially, he believes, in this book, that when it comes to dhikr, it's the heart

**[2:40]** for a spiritual life as a believer. It's the heart of your spiritual life. Like if you'd like to develop a spiritual life, a spirituality, then ask yourself, how much dhikr do you do every day? And what's the status of your dhikr in your life? Then he,

**[2:56]** he speaks about, okay, if dhikr is the heart of spiritual life, then where is it located basically? Where should the effect of dhikr be? And he talks about the heart. So the types of hearts and how they receive

**[3:12]** the dhikr and so on. He speaks about dhikr being 'ibadah, in its own right. And Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, says in the Qur'an, the remembrance of Allah is the greatest. So remembering Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, is not a trivial thing. Unfortunately, one of the things we have in our time

**[3:28]** is that our dhikr has become ritual. It's become a ritualistic thing. You sit down, you make your dhikr, you count your tasbih, and alhamdulillah, I made my accomplishment. I did a hundred, subhanAllah, alhamdulillah, and they're all beautiful, don't take me wrong. It's all about, alhamdulillah, counting your dhikr

**[3:44]** in a nice way, because that's the sunnah of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. But the point that Imam Ibn al-Qayyim is going to present to us here is why dhikr is so central in our life and how we should do it right. So in his book, insha'Allah, he's going to explain to us, and that's why we're going to talk about

**[4:00]** the introduction today. He made a longer introduction. For some, it might be completely a tangent and irrelevant to the theme of the book itself, which is the benefits of dhikr. But it's important for us to understand the introduction that he's trying to present to us here, insha'Allah ta'ala.

**[4:16]** I'm going to summarize quickly, insha'Allah, then we go over there and go with Ibn al-Qayyim. I'll say one thing, subhanAllah, on the title. The idea of dhikr being a protection. I was thinking about this when we were talking about what book to choose. When we talk about dhikr, let's be very honest

**[4:32]** here, I'll be honest with myself, not just ritual, but even when we talk about the benefits of dhikr, we think about how many rewards you get for this, and what you get for this, and what you get for that. But very few people use dhikr as a means of calming the heart and removing all forms of harm.

**[4:48]** See dhikr as an actual solution to their lives, like a way of settling themselves and anchoring themselves. And the way Allah 'azza wa jal describes dhikr, don't the hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? When's the last time that you actually believed as I'm going

**[5:04]** through what I'm going through, as I'm witnessing what I'm witnessing, the way I ground myself is to resort back to the dhikr of Allah. Most of us are like, what does this dhikr get me? What does this dhikr get me? Before what does this dhikr get me, this dhikr grounds me. And when it allows

**[5:20]** me to ward off the shaytan and all of his thoughts, then that has benefits in this life and the next. And so the fact that he even refers to it this way because Ibn al-Qayyim, his titles mean a lot. His titles are statements. And he's going to refer to the subject

**[5:36]** of healing as one of the main benefits of dhikr. So it reminds me how subhanAllah, as humans we always think of Allah 'azza wa jal in crisis. Usually when you're scared suddenly you remember all the adhkar you've been taught since childhood perhaps.

**[5:52]** Why? Because now for you that's a very needed moment of making dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So you start remembering adhkar, you thought that you forgot them. But in a moment of need, that dhikr comes. But Ibn al-Qayyim argues that feeling

**[6:08]** you got in a moment of fear where you suddenly want to remember every single dhikr you've ever learned in your life, he says that kind of feeling should be constant for the believer. Because you're always going to be in that, because you could die in any moment. And it could be the end of your

**[6:24]** life. So he said you need to be in that constant state of dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Just like it's so urgent in time of crisis, the same thing is going to be at time of ease. You need to continue with dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So that's the theme of the book itself like we said. But Imam Ibn al-Qayyim

**[6:40]** before he got to talk about the actual theme of the book, which we're going to start with tomorrow insha'Allah ta'ala, and that are the benefits of dhikr in the life of the believer. He made the, you could call it again a tangent or a random thought. But subhanAllah the way I see Ibn al-Qayyim, the way he

**[6:56]** wrote the introduction, yes it's a bit, very long introduction. But he wanted to make sure that you understand why dhikr is so important. So in summary of what he said, he first began by talking about what brings joy

**[7:12]** and happiness to the believer. What exactly brings joy and happiness to the believer. And then he talks about you being the servant of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, because that's what makes you really whole, that makes you complete. Recognizing your servitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[7:28]** Then he speaks about the shaytan who made his job, all his job, is to divert you away from that path of 'ubudiyyah. Worshipping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Therefore, he says, you need a shield from the shaytan. Something to shield you from the shaytan

**[7:44]** so that he doesn't take you far away from that path that belongs to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then he says, okay where would the shaytan attack you? Where are you going to put your shield? Where does the shaytan attack you the most? Does he attack you in your legs, in your feet, in your eyes,

**[8:00]** in your heart? Therefore, he spoke about the hearts in detail a little bit. The type of heart and how they get affected by the shaytan and so on and so forth. And then he started talking about, okay, what are the two important things the heart needs to stay strong?

**[8:16]** So he's going to speak in detail about the two elements that keep the heart strong and now how can you shield your heart from anything else? And he mentioned a few things and he mentioned a hadith, we're going to maybe refer to a little bit afterwards, al-Harith al-Ash'ari, in which the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam

**[8:32]** mentioned five major things are considered the biggest element or ingredients for that shield. So I want you to remember these five things. He goes, number one, the absolute belief in the oneness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the way it should be.

**[8:48]** Number two, he said, as-salah. As-salah is extremely, extremely important. Number three, he says, as-siyam, fasting. Number four, as-sadaqah, giving charity. And number five,

**[9:04]** he says, adh-dhikr. So he mentioned these five things. At-tawhid, believing in the oneness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Number two, as-salah. Number three, as-siyam. Number four, as-sadaqah, giving charity.

**[9:20]** And number five, adh-dhikr. These are the most important elements you need to have a strong shield. He spoke briefly on the first four, at-tawhid, as-salah, as-siyam, and as-sadaqah.

**[9:36]** But then he starts speaking in detail about the theme of the book, which is adh-dhikr. So we would like to share with you, insha'Allah, some of these paragraphs from that introduction before we start talking about the actual benefits of adh-dhikr starting tomorrow, insha'Allah ta'ala. So, for those that would like

**[9:52]** to follow with us, insha'Allah ta'ala, in the English translation, it's going to be on page 28. Page 28 in the English translation, insha'Allah ta'ala. For those who have the Arabic version of the book, if you have the Arabic version that was actually published under supervision of Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd

**[10:08]** rahimahullah ta'ala, it's going to be page number five. So, in the very introduction, chapter number one, he says, in the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful, there is neither might nor power save in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the most elevated, glory be to Him. We beseech Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala

**[10:24]** and Him, we do place our hope that our prayers are answered, and so on. In Arabic, then, he came to this point. It's one of the things that you ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. In Arabic, in Arabic,

**[10:40]** in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic,

**[10:56]** in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic,

**[11:12]** in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic,

**[11:28]** in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic,

**[11:44]** in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic, in Arabic,

**[12:00]** So the first one is shukr, gratitude. Second is sabr, patience. And number three, forgiveness. Seeking forgiveness all the time. He says, indeed, these three conditions are the pyramid of happiness for the servant

**[12:16]** and a sign of his success in this life and the next. The servant can never be separated from these, always fluctuating between these three levels. So Shaykh, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he begins by saying, look, the ultimate goal we'd like to achieve

**[12:32]** is to find that happiness. Happiness in this world, happiness in the hereafter. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is our maker. And He knows what makes you happy, what makes you otherwise. So he says, three things that if you accomplish them, you will definitely

**[12:48]** find that happiness. Number one, to always recognize the blessing and the favor that Allah bestowed upon you and be grateful for them. Number two, you're going to be tried, and Allah didn't make it a secret. So when that trial comes your way, to persevere in patience.

**[13:04]** And number three, we always make mistakes. You continuously and consistently seek forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Remember these three things, my dear brothers and sisters. So do you remember, what is the first one, jama'ah? The first one is what? Shukr, which means what?

**[13:20]** Showing gratitude. Number two? Sabr, that's patience. And number three? Forgiveness. Your comments. Your comments. There are a few things that come to this.

**[13:36]** Every single person will have a share of all three of these things, and there is no doubt about it. And if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala removed a single one of these things from the divine scheme, then things would be completely out of order. So if Allah 'azza wa jal removed, meaning

**[13:52]** Allah did not bless us with any good things, we just woke up to this world, and it was immediate disaster, test, trial, and don't sin, and you'll go to Jannah at the end. Imagine how miserable our existence would be, but from His mercy, from His grace subhanahu

**[14:08]** wa ta'ala, He gave us things to actually enjoy in this life. He didn't have to do that. He didn't have to give us families, He didn't have to give us joy, He didn't have to give us hobbies and leisure, He didn't have to give us food that we like, He didn't have to give us companions, He didn't have to give us any of these things. He could have

**[14:24]** just created us, because He calls this life a test. He could have just created us, you wake up to the world, and it's a battlefield. Just don't step on that mine, don't do this, don't do that, and don't sin, and you'll go to Jannah at the end of it. And all of us would say it was worth it. All of us, if we actually entered into Jannah, would say

**[14:40]** it was worth it. So it's out of His mercy, subhanahu wa ta'ala, that He blesses you with things that you can enjoy in this life while you're here. And then, and if you're tested, then you are patient. If Allah 'azza wa jal removed the test and the trials,

**[14:55]** then we think that that would be a good life. I mean, imagine if none of us were tested with anything. Everyone woke up, life was great. Who would strive for Jannah? Who would really strive for faith? Who would turn back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?

**[15:11]** Who would even listen to the messengers? Because as much as we hate as human beings to be tested, we have seen, it has been tested, the human experiment that most people cling to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the truest sense only when they're tested. And that's why the majority of the people who enter into Jannah

**[15:27]** are the tested. The majority of the people who enter into Jannah are the poor and the tested and the oppressed and the mustad'afeen. Right? The downtrodden. So it would rupture the divine scheme. And we might say we would love that now. We would love to not be tested now. But it would actually make things

**[15:43]** miserable. Wa idha adhnaba istaghfar. And if he sins, then he seeks forgiveness. All right, well, let's say there was no sense of accountability, no sense of actually committing any sins. What does Allah 'azza wa jal say, or the

**[15:59]** Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam narrate that if you were not to sin, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would replace you with a creation that would sin and seek His forgiveness so that He could forgive them. If you were not to sin. You were meant, you were meant to make mistakes

**[16:15]** and then to turn back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That's part of the divine scheme. Someone says, well, why do we have the propensity to sin? Well, then you'd be angels. There's no point of your human creation in the first place. The beauty of your human creation shows in your turning back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[16:31]** The story of humanity starts with Adam 'alayhi salam making a mistake and Allah praising how beautiful his tawbah is. Think about this. Subhanallah, in the Qur'an, I was reflecting on this, subhanallah, in the khatm, as I was reading through Al-Baqarah.

**[16:47]** Like, Allah 'azza wa jal does not denigrate Adam 'alayhi salam for the mistake that he committed. He merely states it as a matter of fact and then praises his coming back and the instructions that are given to him. So, wa idha adhnaba istaghfar,

**[17:03]** you were meant to sin. And the last thing that I'll say, dear brothers and sisters in this regard on this sentence. You know, there's always this tension we have, shaykh, between, like, qadr, like, what are my choices versus what's already decreed. How much is life happening to me

**[17:19]** versus how much am I happening to life. Like, how much of this is here. And Islam is to submit. You know what's beautiful about this? Is that two-thirds of this equation are things that you really don't have any say in. If Allah chooses to bless you with something, if Allah chooses to

**[17:35]** test you with something, right? Two-thirds of the equation here are things that happen to you and how you respond. Only one-third of it is what you do, right? And so, your life has been written, but you write your sins. Your life has been written, but you

**[17:51]** write your sins. And it largely comes to how you respond to the life that's been written for you. How you respond to the life that's been written for you. So this is a beautiful thing, like, if you could put it on your refrigerator and put it somewhere. These three lessons of life. If Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you know,

**[18:07]** blesses him, then he's grateful. If Allah 'azza wa jal tests him, then he's patient. And if he commits a sin, then he seeks forgiveness. So these are the three things that, like you said, really deserve to be in your face all the time. To remind yourself, because this goes back to action. Because when you're grateful, you're

**[18:23]** taking an action to be grateful. When you're tested, you're taking an action, even if it was negative, to abstain from doing anything as a matter of sabr, for example. And then seeking forgiveness. Every time you make a mistake, you return back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. What does that mean? So Ibn al-Qayyim, he explains that in a little bit more detail. Continuing

**[18:39]** in his paragraph, he says, like the pillars of shukr, being grateful. He says the blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, thankfulness, is based on three supporting pillars. Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is sending

**[18:54]** all these blessings without even any measure. Without measure, coming down to the people. Three pillars for that. Number one, he goes, you do this recognition.

**[19:09]** Recognition, which means inwardly. What does that mean? It means the heart recognizes that. You know sometimes when someone does something, you say, thank you. You're just saying thank you. But in your heart, do you recognize that favor? No.

**[19:25]** You would never recognize that favor. It happens a lot with our, mashaAllah, these kids these days, they say, thank you. They don't mean it really. Thank you, but still, you owe it to me. No. I don't owe it to Allah. Allah doesn't owe us these favors. So the first thing, recognize it in the heart. Second thing,

**[19:41]** and then you speak about it. As Allah mentioned, as for the blessing that He bestows upon you, speak about it. Show your gratitude in the way that you speak about this. Which again, brings me back to something I've been talking to you

**[19:57]** about, but I still hear it from people when they say it. When you ask someone, how are you doing? You always hear them saying, Alhamdulillah. I cannot complain. I say, you already complained. You couldn't just say, Alhamdulillah.

**[20:13]** Stop. Right there. Why is that? Or, Alhamdulillah. It can be better. Like, wow. Like I say, your life is miserable. Is that what you're trying to say? So again, to be grateful,

**[20:29]** it has to come from the heart. And then you speak about it properly. And the third one, he said, the third pillar, about being grateful to Allah. And that you use it in a manner that is pleasing to the one

**[20:45]** who bestowed it. So if Allah blessed you with wealth, how are you using it? If Allah blessed you with name and fame, how are you using that? If Allah blessed you with, masha'Allah, convenience in your life, with maybe influence somewhere, all these beautiful blessings, how are you

**[21:01]** using these blessings of Allah? So that's the first thing about the shukr. SubhanAllah, some of the ulama, they commented on the tafsir of Zakariyya alayhi salam. When Allah Azza wa Jal gave him the glad tidings of the child, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commanded him with what first? What did He command him with?

**[21:17]** Do you remember? Come on, y'all. Wake up. I know it's the first of the last ten, but what did Allah command Zakariyya alayhi salam with? No one read Surah Maryam here? Alla yukallim an-nas? Falatha layan thalathatan sawiya.

**[21:33]** Three days not to speak. And then, you know, so he could give signs with dhikr, and then he could speak. And some of the ulama, they commented on that, that of the blessings of that is that you can really sit with that ni'mah for a few days and just appreciate it with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because sometimes you rush

**[21:49]** so quickly to tell someone else about the good news before you actually thank Allah Azza wa Jal for it properly. And like, that's the blessing of like sajdat al-shukr. Like a practice of the prostration of gratitude. Before, when you get the good news, before you post about it, before you call somebody, before you tell someone about it, like sit with it.

**[22:05]** Alhamdulillah. Between you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And really, you know, embed it inside of you. And really let that gratitude find fruit in your heart first. And then, then, alhamdulillah, then, then, praise Allah

**[22:21]** subhanahu wa ta'ala for it when speaking to other people. This is not from a place of boasting. Because Allah Azza wa Jal tells us in Surah al-Fajr, that there are those, who when Allah Azza wa Jal blesses them with something, He says, my Lord has honored me. But He's not saying it from a place of gratitude. He's saying it from a place of arrogance.

**[22:37]** He's saying it, in fact, to escape the action of good. To say, clearly Allah loves me. Like the man with two gardens in Surah al-Kahf. Clearly, Allah loves me because He gave me a lot. I had this experience. I've spoken about it, subhanAllah. One time I was speaking to a brother. May Allah

**[22:53]** guide him. I hope He has already guided him away from this practice. But he has an alcohol. He sells alcohol. And I was trying to invite him to come to the masjid and to reconsider his ways. And he said, my Lord loves me. He said, look at what I drive

**[23:09]** and look at what you drive. I had a 1993 Katrina salvage Corolla, sheikh. I was like, alright, fine. The good old days. That car never dies though, by the way. It probably still could drive. Vintage, masha'Allah. 93 Corolla was the best car

**[23:25]** of all time. In any case. He says, look at my car and look at your car. And he talks about his family. He's like, clearly Allah loves me. I don't pray. I do this. But, my Lord loves me. And you know where he got stuck, subhanAllah. He said, how happy are you though? And that's where he kind of stopped and paused.

**[23:41]** Is any of it fulfilling to you? And that's the azab that comes inside the ni'mah, which Ibn al-Qayyim talks about sometimes. The punishment embedded in the blessing when it's not properly used. And the third thing, sheikh, which is to act upon it. You know, sometimes like when a celebrity or an athlete

**[23:57]** wins a big game or something like that and they get on the podium and they praise God. And everyone says, oh look, that person praised God. That person praised Jesus. That person did this. That person did that. But that person's life is horrible. There's nothing that's exemplary about them. But hey, they had a great statement that they made.

**[24:13]** It's empty at that point. So the proof of the statement is in the actions. What follows is in the actions. And the proof of the sincerity of the statement is in what was cultivated in the heart in silence before the statement was made in the first place. So these are pillars of shukr that you build until you get to

**[24:29]** i'malu ala Dawud shukra What Allah says about Dawud alayhi salam. Work, oh people of Dawud. Actions of shukr. Use what Allah gave you of His blessings to be a blessing. To do more good. And that is how you thank Allah for the faculties that He's given to you. So saying alhamdulillah by tongue is not sufficient. Absolutely not.

**[24:45]** You're going to have to prove it. That you genuinely, it's coming from the heart first and foremost and then translate it into the actions. Coming to the second point that he mentioned about as-sabr, patience. There are three pillars for shukr, right? Now the three pillars are also for sabr, for patience.

**[25:01]** Wa as-sabru habsu an-nafsi 'an at-tasakkhuti bil-maqdur wa habsu al-lisani 'an ash-shakwa wa habsu al-jawarih 'an al-ma'siyah He says, as for sabr, the three pillars for sabr, obviously, over here, number one,

**[25:17]** habsu an-nafsi 'an at-tasakkhuti bil-maqdur So that now you control yourself from being angry with what has been decreed. Like Allah decreed something to you right now and you go, you curse and you cuss and you this and that, and then you say, astaghfirullah la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah.

**[25:33]** Look at that. So the first thing is, you know, you need to control yourself. Qal wa habsu al-lisani 'an ash-shakwa And then you control your tongue from complaining. But we need to differentiate between complaining to Allah versus

**[25:49]** complaining about Allah. It's okay to complain to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. As Allah mentioned about Ya'qub when he was crying to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, qal innama ashku bathathi wa huzni ila Allah I only disclose my grief and sorrow to Allah. So he's complaining to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and that's okay.

**[26:05]** But complaining about Allah, like saying it can be better, well I don't know why I'm the only one who's targeted, well now you're complaining about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And the third one he says, qal wa habsu al-jawarih 'an al-ma'siyah And also,

**[26:21]** abstain, like controlling your limbs from falling into the sin. Which is the exact same thing about shukr, like you know, shukr by showing good deeds and sabr by abstaining from doing bad deeds. So there are three things, there are three elements. Number one, that you control yourself not to complain,

**[26:37]** not to reject al-maqdur that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made as decreed for you, not to be angry with it. And the second one is to make sure that what you say is complaining to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And the third one is making sure that you control also

**[26:53]** yourself from committing all these sins. Sheikh subhanahu wa ta'ala, everything that Allah created of the physical body has a parallel to the spiritual self too. Like if you think about your, you know, you know, with your muscles, there's push and there's pull, right? Push and pull.

**[27:09]** Shukr is giving something. Sabr is holding back, pulling back. And the soul needs that as well. It needs to have both of those elements to be able to put something forward and to be able to hold something back. And sabr is about holding back. Shukr is about giving something and putting something forward.

**[27:25]** And there's something deeply profound, subhanAllah. The soul, if it lacks one of the two, then it will be imbalanced, just like the body would be imbalanced. It will be out of place. And that's why the ulema say shukr is nothing but sabr in good times.

**[27:41]** And sabr is nothing but shukr in bad times. What does that mean? Sabr, shukr is, gratitude is patience in good times. So what you have, you say alhamdulillah, and you're patient because sometimes when you get, your appetite is open, you want more.

**[27:57]** So you're patient with your desires. No, alhamdulillah, I'm happy with what I have. So that's sabr. Shukr is sabr. Do you all understand? Sabr is shukr in bad times. What does that mean? How am I patient in bad times? Because I'm grateful for what Allah still gave me. Alhamdulillah, I still have this.

**[28:13]** I lost this, but I still have this. I haven't been struck with this, but I still haven't been struck with that. So they're actually the same. They're coming from the same place, that same devotion to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then the complaint here is the opposite of praise. So when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, you know, about the person who loses a child,

**[28:33]** and Allah Azza wa Jal sends the angels and says madha qala 'abdi? What did my servant say? He praised you, right? And he said inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un Alhamdulillah is the statement of sabr. Alhamdulillah is the statement of patience. I'm still happy, alhamdulillah.

**[28:49]** When it comes to shakwa, Shaykh I know you don't read Urdu, but you know shakwa wa jawab shakwa. Iqbal wrote a poem. I could teach you Urdu and I'll teach you the poem shakwa wa jawab shakwa. Please, I'm inspired right now. I don't know it off the top of my head. But you know, there's a saying from Umar radiyallahu ta'ala 'anhu wa athar

**[29:07]** laysa fi ash-shakwa illa an tuhzin as-sadiq aw tushmit al-'aduw but there's nothing in complaining too much except that you either bring your friend down or you make your enemy happy. If you complain to people, what do you do? Your friend was having a good day but you brought their mood down too.

**[29:22]** They were finally getting out of their own issues and then you went and you burdened them with your issues. So you brought your friend down. Or someone who doesn't like you is happy that you're going through misery. So the only thing that comes out of shakwa, out of complaint is that you will bring down a friend

**[29:39]** or you will inflate an enemy. Now, that's not the same as shura. There is room for seeking counsel, seeking advice. That's not the same as complaint. Complaint is when you complain about as Ibn Qayyim rahimahullah said shakawt min yarhamuk ila man la yarhamuk

**[29:56]** You complain about the one who has mercy upon you to the one who has no mercy upon you. Sometimes complaining becomes an excuse not to do anything. Like people, they complain because they want to magnify the problem to the extent that, you see, it's too much for me. I can't do anything about it. So that's kind of like a subconscious that's going to defeat you already.

**[30:14]** The other thing about patience, there's another problem with the subject of patience and sabr in our culture is that unfortunately we grow up conditioned that patience is a negative thing. You're only patient against negative things. We're not being taught that patience in itself is an act of ibadah.

**[30:32]** Like we need to be patient. It's an act of worship in itself. To be patient is an act of worship. No, you be patient because there's nothing else you can do. You be patient because, look, if you don't, I'm going to, for example, do this or do that. So we start associating patience with negativity.

**[30:49]** And that's why when you tell someone, be patient, what is the most common response you get from them when you tell them, be patient? Like, I'm done being patient. So basically what they're saying is that it's a personal thing right now to them. Instead, we need to look at patience being an act of ibadah, an act of worship.

**[31:06]** So even in the most difficult circumstances, in the most annoying circumstances, me exercising patience is an act of worship. It's not just in response to the action itself. It's not about how big or small or, you know, difficult or easy.

**[31:23]** No, it's about me worshiping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala through my patience. I want everyone to just imagine with me for a moment. Like seriously, take a moment. Imagine if you are 'Ammar radiyallahu ta'ala 'anhu and Sumayyah radiyallahu 'anha

**[31:38]** and Yasir radiyallahu ta'ala 'anhu, Al Yasir. And you're tied up and you're being tortured and the worst types of torture are being inflicted upon you. Imagine being that person for a moment. I mean, the hot sun, the whips, the chains,

**[31:54]** everything is just hitting you, hitting you, hitting you. And the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam walks by and all you can do is you hear his voice saying, sabran ya Al Yasir. Be patient, O family of Yasir. Maw'idukum al-jannah. You've been promised Paradise. Be patient, O family of Yasir. You've been promised Paradise.

**[32:10]** They didn't say anything back. They just took it. They're listening to the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam say it and they're sitting with what he's saying sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam. And perhaps, you know, that is what gave Sumayyah radiyallahu 'anha the courage and the clarity to spit back at Abu Jahl

**[32:27]** even under the worst torture. She is the weakest of the three of them, but she took the strongest stance. Physically, she's the weakest of the three and her torture was the most brutal. But she took the strongest stance radiyallahu ta'ala 'anha against her oppressor. Sabran ya Al Yasir. Be patient.

**[32:42]** All the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam could give them was that. It's really 'ibadah that you sit with. You don't have to respond. Some of the 'ulama say that when Ya'qub 'alayhi as-salam, this is probably one of the most beautiful things I read about istirja', saying inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. And honestly, I never felt the beauty of that statement

**[33:01]** until my mother passed away. The first time I really understood inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un was when my mother passed away. When I said it, when my mother passed away. The 'ulama say that Ya'qub 'alayhi as-salam, one of the reasons why he did not say inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un

**[33:16]** because that's the most supreme way that to Allah we belong and to Him we return is because that was not yet given to him. Had he known it, he would have said it. That statement is a gift to this ummah. To Allah we belong and to Allah we return. So to Allah we all belong and to Allah we return.

**[33:33]** All of us and everything that belongs to us. That's patience. It was His in the first place. So why am I complaining about it being taken away if it was never mine in the first place? It was always for Allah. I was always for Allah. So let Allah do with me what He wills and let Allah do with what is with me

**[33:49]** and for me what He wills because it's all His in the first place. Alhamdulillah. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. And those two statements go together. That is patience and gratitude married together and what the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam gave to us as a prescription, a medicine

**[34:05]** for anything that happens with us to sit with those hardships and those trials. Shaykh Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullahu wa ta'ala always goes back again to saying that your life as a believer is based on these two major pillars. Shukr and sabr. That's why he has a whole book about sabr and shukr obviously.

**[34:20]** And he says that, look, that goes down again to you human being as being 'abdillah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Your 'ubudiyyah, your servitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is on these two pillars. Showing gratitude to Him and being patient against the trials He puts you through. You do that, you submit yourself,

**[34:36]** you're proving yourself to be the true servant of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And as a result, if you do that, he says in the book Al-Fawa'id, if anyone exercises these rules over here like this, he says all these trials and calamities,

**[34:52]** they're turned to be blessings for them. Which is true. Subhanallah, the people of Gaza are a great example of that for us. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it easy for them. But to your point Shaykh, I've never really understood the meaning of inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un until I heard it from them. We say it regularly, but for us,

**[35:08]** it's just a lip service. It's just a matter of dhikr for us, really. But for them, it's a lifestyle. They all live knowing that we all belong to Allah and to Him our return shall be. They believe it because they live it every single day and they see it every single day. And subhanallah, having that level of spirituality

**[35:26]** that you truly from your heart believe in all of this, that's a true meaning of being a servant of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Which is why one of the most powerful statements I heard from one of the people of Gaza, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it easy for them.

**[35:41]** Probably all of you have seen his videos. It went viral. When he was literally just kind of like sending off his family, who's been bombed and been killed. And he says, and that for me was like, I reflected on his statements for some time, really.

**[35:58]** I'm still reflecting on it. He goes, Ya Allah, take from us until You're pleased. Not until we're pleased. No, until You are pleased with us. So for him it's just like, it all belongs to Him.

**[36:14]** Subhanallah, take it. You gave it to us, take it back. That's the true meaning of servitude. And that's the true meaning of 'ubudiyyah. So Ibn al-Qayyim said, look, your 'ubudiyyah, your true being a servant of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is based on these two things. True shukr, true gratitude based on these three pillars.

**[36:31]** And true sabr, patience, based on these three pillars as well too. If you have that, he says, you shall have the joy and the happiness of this world and the hereafter. May Allah make us among them, ya Rabb al-'alamin. So yeah, that was a moment of 'ubudiyyah he mentioned right now.

**[36:47]** And then he goes on saying, look, your tamam al-'ubudiyyah, the perfect 'ubudiyyah, servitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, will show in every single 'ibadah that you practice. And he gave a few examples. One of them he says, look, when you make wudu, when you make wudu,

**[37:03]** you make wudu in a hot day with cold water. Can you endure that? Absolutely, with joy. But now you make wudu in a cold day with cold water. Can you do that? Can you endure that?

**[37:18]** Of course. But is it going to be with joy? Most likely not. You see, both of them are the same action, the same act of 'ibadah in itself. But for the believer, when they reach that level, even when they're using cold water in a cold day or cold night,

**[37:34]** they're doing it with joy. Why is that? Because for them, they're doing it for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. He goes, this is the level of servitude. And you see this person is just so happy, just being able to make wudu, even if the water was cold.

**[37:50]** So that level, if you guys would like to really have that happiness in this dunya, you're going to have to work on this part. That part is that your gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is always spoken about in the heart, making sure to make it displayed in your actions.

**[38:05]** And when it comes to the subject of patience, you make sure you always accept Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's qadr. You don't complain about Him subhanahu wa ta'ala. And obviously, you abstain from committing the sins and submit your heart to it, and you find the happiness insha'Allah 'azza wa jal. So that's the meaning of 'ibadah over here.

**[38:21]** There's something that he says in this book that I never heard anyone frame 'ibadah as. Maybe you have, servitude as, but it stuck with me for a minute. So when he says, wa ha'ula'i hum 'ibaduhu alladhina laysa li 'aduwwihi 'alayhim sultan.

**[38:36]** These are the slaves that Shaytan has no control over, that the enemy has not been given control over. Qala Allahu ta'ala, inna 'ibadi laysa laka 'alayhim sultan. Allah said that verily, My slaves, you have no control over them. But look at this sentence. What he says here,

**[38:51]** I never heard any other scholar frame it this way. Qala, wa lamma 'alima 'aduwwullahi Iblis anna Allaha ta'ala la yuslimu 'ibadahu ilayhi wa la yusallituhu 'alayhim qala fa bi 'izzatika la 'ughwiyannahum ajma'in illa 'ibadaka minhum al-mukhlaseen.

**[39:08]** He said when Iblis understood, just pay attention here, that Allah was not going to give up His slaves just like that. Allah didn't give us up. Think about that for a moment. Iblis got Adam 'alayhi as-salam to fall,

**[39:26]** and he's framing 'ubudiyyah like Allah loves His 'ibad too much to just give us up to Iblis like that without giving us the armor, the protection, the readiness, the incentive so that we don't become victims of Iblis. That's a sign of Allah's love. Islam is a sign of Allah's love.

**[39:41]** The path is a sign of Allah's love. The incentives, the prescriptions, the rewards, even the punishments, they're a sign of Allah's love. Allah's not giving us up to Iblis. No, you don't just get to take humanity now. You got one fall. You don't get to take them all. And that's when Iblis understood,

**[39:56]** he got it in the beginning, that Allah was not going to give us up. And He's not going to give Iblis control over us. That's when he said fa bi 'izzatika la 'ughwiyannahum ajma'in. So I've got to delude them then. Delude them from who? Ma gharraka bi rabbika al-kareem.

**[40:12]** Delude them from your Lord, your generous Lord. I have to mess them up then. I've got to confuse them a bit. I've got to delude them because if they know how much their Lord loves them and how much the Lord has given to them, I've got no chance with them. So I have to mess them up.

**[40:27]** I've got to mess up their senses so that they can fall into the sins that I plant for them to get away from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Illa 'ibadaka minhum al-mukhlaseen. The only ones that I won't be able to get away from you, O Allah, are your sincere slaves.

**[40:42]** If you notice here, 'ibad are only attributed to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the positive sense. So inna 'ibadi Allah says, My slaves. You have no power over them. And Iblis says, I have no power over your slaves,

**[40:58]** the sincere slaves. The characteristic of becoming 'abd of Allah is not achieved through worshipping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in a circumstance. Wa min an-nasi man ya'bud Allaha 'ala harf. There are some people, they worship Allah.

**[41:13]** They're able to do 'ibadah but they're on an edge. Only when things are good they're able to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But when bad things happen, they forsake their 'ibadah. Therefore they were never really 'ibad of Allah. They were 'ibad in a circumstance. They worshipped Allah. They enslaved themselves to Allah

**[41:28]** on a condition that Allah treats them a certain way. But Iblis is saying, your sincere slaves, I've got no chance with them. Because I can't delude them with circumstance because they already know who you are. And they've already decided that they're going to entrust themselves to you

**[41:44]** no matter what happens. So no matter what I tell them about this tree or this sin or this or this or that they're never going to fall for it. Because you have control over them and they have forsaken their own control

**[42:00]** over their circumstances to you. Beautiful. He continues following the ayah here. For those who follow the book, it's actually on page 31 in the English translation. He says that Allah never allows His enemy to have control over His believing servants.

**[42:16]** He says Allah will never allow them to do that over His believing servants. However, he says, however, falling short a little bit here and there, it's unavoidable because we're human beings. And he says, we're believing people. We're believing men and women.

**[42:31]** He said the shaytan has three doors. Three doors through which he will enter your heart. Three doors where the shaytan can come to break that seal that you have and that covenant you have with Allah. What are the three doors? Remember them, my dear brothers and sisters.

**[42:46]** Number one, heedlessness. Number two, desire. Number three, anger. Three things because these are the doors through which the shaytan can enter your heart

**[43:02]** and mess you up completely. Number one, heedlessness. And heedlessness can be cured with what? With dhikr. Constant dhikr of Allah, which is why he brings it over here. The second, he says, desire.

**[43:17]** And that can be cured with what? Obviously with fulfilling the halal. In a way, that satisfies you from the haram. And number three, anger. Now that, we need a lot of patience with that. Shaykh, these three doors,

**[43:32]** ghaflah, shahwah, and ghadab, heedlessness, desires, and anger. SubhanAllah, Ibn al-Qayyim also explained that in a different place, in a different book. These are the three first sins

**[43:47]** ever committed, as they were mentioned to us in the story of Adam and Iblis. Believe it or not. Or even the angels as well too. Because the story that Allah, which is why, why did Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, in Surah al-Baqarah, the very first story you will face,

**[44:03]** when you start Surah al-Baqarah, the very first story is what? About the creation of Adam. Allah told the angels, Allah told the angels, I'm going to be creating another creation over here. Arabic Are you going to bring another creation

**[44:19]** to create mischief and bloodshed? Arabic So Ibn al-Qayyim, he says, the angels, who don't usually commit sins obviously, but they fell short in this moment out of what? Out of ghaflah.

**[44:34]** Out of ghaflah. So Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, just reminded them. He says, Arabic I know what you don't know. Well done. So ghaflah requires reminder. And you remind yourself with dhikr of Allah, can seal that door that shaytan cannot come through it.

**[44:49]** Then comes Adam. Adam, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told him, you have Jannah. But then don't eat from that tree. What happened? Adam was tempted by the desire of becoming an angel or living in eternity.

**[45:04]** And Iblis came and said, I swear to you, I swear to you that this is true. So the inclination to fulfill that desire caused Adam to commit that sin. Arabic Right? And how did Adam

**[45:19]** seal that door again? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala taught him how to repent. He repented to Allah. And that was it. The door was sealed. So returning back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and tawbah can seal that door for you. The third one right now is anger. That's where the problem is.

**[45:35]** That's the sin of who, ya jama'ah? Iblis. When Allah said to the creation, the angels prostrate before this creation, Iblis got upset. Me? For this? Arabic

**[45:50]** I was made of fire. This is made of mud. What kind of creation is that? And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he punished Iblis because it's not the anger that was the problem. What the anger led to

**[46:05]** became the bigger problem. So Iblis' anger led him to become what, ya jama'ah? Arabic He refused and he became arrogant. So that means anger has consequences

**[46:20]** that are extremely, extremely, extremely dangerous. And the shaytan can go through all these windows and all these doors easily. So if you can control your anger, you seal that door, you will seal every other path

**[46:35]** that anger might lead to. And the shaytan can take advantage of it. But if you allow yourself to be angry for everything and anything by anybody, that means basically you're letting the shaytan come through so many paths, so many doors, so many windows that shaytan can come through and go through it.

**[46:51]** This is how dangerous that is. So remember, my dear brothers and sisters, you need to seal all these gates and these doors where the shaytan come through into your life and ruin your 'ubudiyyah, your servitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Number one, do you remember, ya jama'ah? What are they?

**[47:06]** What are the doors that the shaytan come through? Number one? Heedlessness. And how are you going to close that? With constant dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Number two is what? Shahwah, desires. What do you do? Fulfill with the halal.

**[47:22]** And repent to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala every time there's a mistake. And the third one is what? Al-ghadab. What do you need to do to seal that door, ya jama'ah? Learn to be patient. And also to be grateful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[47:37]** This all ties into this action moment over here for us now. SubhanAllah, the idea here of anger, by the way, and I'll put it here for everyone because it's Ramadan where people work on their habits. Some of the 'ulama, they would say that al-ghadab barid al-kibr.

**[47:53]** That anger is the mail of pride. It's a manifestation of pride. What does that mean? When someone makes you upset and you get angry, it's who are you to say that to me? Who are you to stand in front of me?

**[48:09]** Who are you to do that to me? Who are you to prioritize your happiness over my happiness? Who are you to try to claim this moment, to claim this space over me? So when a person is easily angry, their agitations, their annoyances, their anger, that could be a sign that you think you're better than someone else,

**[48:26]** that you're more deserving than someone else. And that's far more dangerous than desire because desire involves you and Allah 'azza wa jalla. Every human being has desire. We were created with desire. You cannot make desire inherently dispraiseworthy. In fact, Allah 'azza wa jalla incentivizes desire

**[48:41]** with better desire in Jannah. But you will not enter Jannah with one atom's worth of pride in your heart. Pride has to completely be removed. Arrogance has to completely be removed. And so if you find yourself getting angry all the time,

**[48:56]** agitated, annoyed, that's what you really need to remedy first. These three things are also tied together because ghaflah, it's in a moment of heedlessness that shaytan can push you towards anger in the first place.

**[49:11]** If you have the fortress of the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, that's why Ibn al-Qayyim rahimullah focuses on dhikr here. If you have the fortress of dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then you won't be absent-minded for shaytan to inspire you towards an angry course of action in the first place. If you have that fortress of dhikr,

**[49:28]** then you will not let your desire lead you to try to fulfill it in a way that's displeasing to Allah because you're in an active state of remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So if you solve the ghaflah problem, you inherently solve the other two. If you're constantly in a state of remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,

**[49:43]** you constantly, or you inherently and inevitably, solve the other two things. So put yourself in that state of dhikr, and this is going to be building a lifestyle of dhikr. But be very, very self-critical here, dear brothers and sisters,

**[49:58]** and ask yourself, like, what I need to remedy, in what order? I have to really remove the anger part, the rage part, as 'Ali radiyallahu ta'ala 'anhu said that, awwaluhu junoon wa akhiruhu nadam that its beginning is craziness, and its end is regret.

**[50:14]** Its beginning is craziness, insanity, and its end is regret. Does shaytan regret his action? Does Iblis regret what he did? Yes, he did. He does. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said, when he sees you in sujud, i'tazala ash-shaytan wa yabki yaqul umira bis-sujud fa sajada wa umirtu fa 'asayt

**[50:31]** He sees you make sajdah and he says, he was commanded and he responded, and I was commanded and I disobeyed. He cries. But, he was in a moment of rage, insanity, and then he doubled down. Why? Because you know what's not going to let you come back,

**[50:46]** even after your anger? And this is perhaps getting a little bit too technical, but some of the 'ulama actually differentiated between the anger of shahwah and the anger of kibr. I don't know, shaykh, it's really interesting, Imam al-Muhasibi, rahimAllah ta'ala, distinguishes between the two.

**[51:01]** Why? Because the anger of desire, like someone maybe just throws out some words, I just felt like, I felt like telling them off. I felt like saying it, and then like, oh wait, that actually hurt them. I'm so sorry, like right away, like they regret and they rewrite their course.

**[51:16]** But when anger comes from kibr, when someone tells you that you messed up, you'll double down. Who are you to tell me to regret my actions? Who are you to tell me to repent? They'll double down, and that's the anger that comes from kibr, and most anger has some sort of kibr embedded in it,

**[51:31]** some sort of pride that's embedded in it, so we ask Allah 'azza wa jalla to protect us. Ameen, shaykh, to your point, before we start taking questions, inshallah ta'ala, if you guys can give us the other iPad, inshallah, with the questions. Do we have it? Okay. So here, subhanAllah,

**[51:48]** a statement to the point that you mentioned, Ibn al-Qayyim, rahimahullah, he quotes Shaykh al-Islam Abu Ismail al-Harawi, and by the way, for those who have the book, it's on page 34, the top of page 34 in English. It says Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, but that's actually a mistake. It's actually Abu Ismail al-Harawi.

**[52:03]** He says, قَالَ الْعَارِفُ يَسِيرُ إِلَى اللَّهِ بَيْنَ مُشَاهَدَةِ الْمِنَّةِ وَمُطَالَعَةِ عَيْبِ النَّفْسِ وَالْعَمَلِ In translation, he says,

**[52:19]** Know that the servant travels to Allah between recognizing Allah's favors upon him and constantly searching for his own flaws or faults in himself or his actions. Like these two things,

**[52:34]** you always, always being grateful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for all the blessings, and you always remind yourself how often you fall so short from being grateful to all these ni'am. And that's why the dhikr is required constantly.

**[52:49]** It's required so you can always praise Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for the favors and also compensate for the loss, for my faults, for my mistakes, for my errors. That's why dhikr is extremely, extremely important over here. And subhanAllah, then he goes to the subject of the heart.

**[53:06]** He goes to the subject of the heart over here, because the heart, he says, there are two elements or two ingredients, two, you could say, pillars in order for the heart to remain steadfast. Number one,

**[53:21]** Your heart needs to develop the absolute perfect love for the Creator subhanahu wa ta'ala. And he mentions all the details of what does that even mean. How can you prove that you love Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? And the second thing he says,

**[53:39]** That you revere the commandments. You respect the commands of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Brothers and sisters, today, in our time, unfortunately, maybe we have a lot of people claim to love Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We all probably have, alhamdulillah, have that love for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,

**[53:55]** but we are at different levels. Everybody has their journey, right? But the second part is problematic over here. Our level of respecting and revering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's commandment, to what level is it? Is it to the level that we need to do more to please Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,

**[54:13]** or escape away from it as much as we can if we can take concessions? And he starts making this, subhanAllah, here, and I can see it in our time. Like in the past, the Sahaba used to compete to do better and more. Remember the story of Abdullah ibn Amr al-As, when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he met him one day,

**[54:29]** and he was a teenager, a teenager. He asked him, he said, Look, I heard that you fast every day, is that true? He goes, Yes, Ya Rasulallah, I do. He said, Don't do that, that's too much. He said, I can do it. He said, Okay, if you want to do it, then fast three days every month.

**[54:48]** He said, I can do better than this. He said, Okay, if you're going to do that, then at least you do this much and this much, until he got him to start fasting every other day. He said, Ya Rasulallah, I can do better than this. The Prophet said, There's nothing better than that.

**[55:04]** See this example of how the Sahaba, they compete to do better and more, versus us nowadays, you have people come and ask you, Is that halal or haram? And you say, It's haram. He goes, Are you sure?

**[55:20]** That's the first thing you get from them. And then if you say, Yeah, it's haram. You say, Okay. Is it haram or makruh? Now they become fuqaha, mashallah. It's haram. Is it haram or haram haram?

**[55:38]** Now there's a new category of usul al-fiqh I've never heard of. Haram versus haram haram. The idea is that we're trying to escape the commandments. Instead of feeling honored, feeling honored to serve Allah through these commandments,

**[55:54]** we're trying to escape the commandments. Allow me to say this for all the brothers and the sisters, whether it's the way we wear our hijab, the way we come to the masjid and we pray, the way we dress up, the way we interact with the opposite gender, all these things. We try to escape the commandments as much as possible

**[56:11]** by practicing from the deen at the edge that Shaykh Omar was talking about. And know, ya jama'ah, if you truly want to find that peace and tranquility, then you're going to have to adhere to these rules. So your heart needs two things. Number one, the absolute love for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala

**[56:28]** to the extent that you submit yourself to His commandments. And number two, that you revere and respect these commandments, not try to escape the commandments of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Shaykh, I'll just read just this one last thing that stood out to me, and you know, just to your point.

**[56:43]** SubhanAllah, he actually acknowledges and says, look, it's not like you don't love Allah if you fall to these things sometimes or you prefer something to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, but your love is diminishing, it's not strong enough. Every time you prefer something to Allah azza wa jal, then your reverence of Allah will go down.

**[56:58]** Every single time you do that haram, you're telling Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala He doesn't matter enough to you for you to forsake that haram. So you're diminishing that love systematically, consistently. But he says something here that's so powerful, and I'll end on my side with this, Shaykh.

**[57:13]** He says, وَقَدْ قَضَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَضَاءً لَا يُرَدُّ وَلَا يُدْفَعُ that Allah has made a rule, and this rule is firm and established. It always happens, and I want you to think about that. أَنَّ مَنْ أَحَبَّ شَيْئًا سِوَاهُ عُذِّبَ بِهِ وَلَا بُدَّ

**[57:29]** That if you love something more than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah will punish you with that thing that you love, and there is no escaping that. You preferred a person, you preferred a thing to Allah azza wa jal, by pursuing it in haram or doing with it something that is haram or with that person, whatever it may be,

**[57:44]** Allah will punish you with that thing that you love, like you should love Him. وَأَنَّ مَنْ خَافَ غَيْرَهُ سُلِّطَ عَلَيْهِ And if you fear something other than Him too much, then Allah azza wa jal will let your fear become reality. Allah will put you at the mercy of that which you fear.

**[57:59]** You fear that thing, you fear that person, you fear that enemy, then Allah will put you at the mercy of that enemy. See that, by the way, subhanAllah, in the current time. We're scared. Scared of the Zionists, scared of the Islamophobes. Oh my God. And the most careful people, the most cautious people

**[58:16]** end up becoming the most cowardly people. Not that we shouldn't be careful, not that we shouldn't be cautious, but like, when you start being paranoid, like, oh no, we can't say that, we can't do that, we can't say that, we can't do... You start like buckling, and then you know what ends up happening? You actually end up becoming a victim. Because you enslaved yourself to your enemy as a result of that.

**[58:33]** So when you start... That's the thing about the people of Gaza, they drive their enemies crazy because they're just not afraid of them. With everything that's happened, they'll still stare down this IDF soldier that's blown up everything that they have, and look him dead in the eyes like, you coward, you're nothing to me. حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ

**[58:49]** They're not afraid of them, till now. Right? وَمَنِ اشْتَغَلَ بِشَيْءٍ غَيْرِهِ كَانَ شُؤْمًا عَلَيْهِ You work for something, or you busy yourself with something other than Allah azza wa jal, Allah will exhaust you with that thing. وَمَنْ آثَرَ غَيْرَهُ عَلَيْهِ لَمْ يُبَارَكْ لَهُ فِيهِ

**[59:04]** Especially to the career folks here, and the money chasers, right? Whoever prefers something other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah will not put barakah in their pursuit. When you pursue something at the expense of your religion, Allah will not put barakah in that pursuit.

**[59:19]** وَمَنْ أَرْضَى غَيْرَهُ بِسَخَطِهِ أَسْخَطَهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَا بُدَّ And he says, and whoever pleases other than Allah, by displeasing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will make it so that that person

**[59:36]** also becomes displeased with them. Meaning what? You try to make people laugh by backbiting. مَنْ أَرْضَى النَّاسَ بِسَخَطِ اللَّهِ Whoever pleases people by displeasing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, Allah will be angry with you, and Allah will cause the people to be angry with you.

**[59:52]** They'll laugh with you at first, when you talk about people, when you gossip, but eventually people will recognize you as a messy person, and no one will like you anymore. So the same people you're trying to impress with your speech, they won't like you anymore, because they're like, wait a minute, this person's always talking about people,

**[1:00:07]** I don't like that person. So you angered Allah, and you angered the people. Right? But, مَنْ أَرْضَى اللَّهَ Whoever pleases Allah, by displeasing the people, Allah is pleased with them, and Allah will cause the people to be pleased with them as well. What does that mean? You're someone that holds to your principles. Initially people get annoyed by that,

**[1:00:23]** because they want to live their best life, and you know, you're kind of the party pooper, right? You're kind of the one that doesn't get involved in certain things, doesn't say certain things, says, hey, let's calm down, we shouldn't go there. Initially you're kind of annoying, because like, you're too religious for this. But you know what happens later on? You get recognized if you're consistent,

**[1:00:39]** not as an arrogant person, but as a principled person, as a consistent person. And this is true also for the standards that we pursue. Social media has created a world of trying to perform for the eyes of other than Allah. And you buy into those standards,

**[1:00:56]** and as much as you alter yourself, and buy into those standards, you'll never be enough for the people you're altering yourself for. You'll never be enough for those standards. And you'll always be disappointed. But remember Allah who didn't give you up to Iblis? When you do for Allah,

**[1:01:11]** Allah fills your heart with tranquility. How good you feel when you leave the masjid, after these last ten nights. How good and fulfilled you feel. That's a gift from Allah azza wa jal that He gives you. Ya 'abdi, you're enough for me. You're enough for me. Now keep working, because I'll never make you feel like you're not worthy.

**[1:01:27]** As long as you try to honor the commands of Allah, Allah azza wa jal will honor your station, and make you more honorable in His sight. JazakAllahu khayran Shaykh. SubhanAllah. Just a closing statement for Ibn al-Qayyim. Those who have the book on page 61,

**[1:01:42]** the English translation. He narrates Hadith al-Harith al-Ash'ari, radiyallahu ta'ala wa radha. In which the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he spoke about Bani Israel. And he mentioned how there are five things that will be considered the most valuable thing,

**[1:01:58]** the most important thing for you, to help you maintain these two important things for your heart. And that's again, the whole idea of loving Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and respect and revering the commandments of Allah azza wa jal. You need five things to do that.

**[1:02:13]** Number one, he says, As-Salah. Sorry, number one is at-tawhid. And that's the pure sincerity and believing in the oneness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Number two, he says, As-Salah. You prove that with the daily prayers. The bare minimum, I would say the fard salah.

**[1:02:29]** But we talk about salah in general. Number three, he said, As-Siyam. You fast regularly. Not just in Ramadan, outside of the month of Ramadan. How often do you fast outside of the month of Ramadan? Ask yourself this question. And number four, As-Sadaqah, charity. How much do you sacrifice of your hard-earned money

**[1:02:46]** for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to help the poor and the needy and other people? And the last one, he said, At-Dhikr. He didn't elaborate much on the first four because we talk about this in many other books. But at-dhikr, he designated the book for that matter. So tomorrow, inshallah wa ta'ala, when we come back,

**[1:03:01]** we are going to be talking about the benefits of dhikr. And he mentioned in the book 73. He said there are hundreds, he said. He was able to count 73 of them, and then he said, let's move on. So we're going to start going over these, inshallah wa ta'ala,

**[1:03:16]** every night, bi-idhnillah wa ta'ala, so we can see how valuable indeed dhikr is. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us among the dhakireen. Shaykh, we have a few questions here from our audience. Those who are watching us live, online, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless them and reward them for being with us. I know some people are already actually morning for them.

**[1:03:32]** And for us, it's still past midnight here. So the first question says, Combat heedlessness with dhikr. Can you expand on this, where we cannot think of ritual dhikr? So literally and robotically, mindfulness is deeper than the words on the tongue.

**[1:03:48]** So how can we establish this mindfulness, that when I'm making my dhikr, I'm not just pronouncing words. I'm literally transforming my mind, my heart, myself. Okay. So obviously, there is dhikr

**[1:04:07]** that is made as you kind of go throughout your day. And it's very difficult to exert yourself in mindful dhikr sometimes, because let's say that you're at work. We actually talked about even kalimat al-ikhlas, saying la ilaha illallah, the statement of sincerity, while your mouth is closed even, you're between tasks,

**[1:04:22]** and you're doing dhikr. That type of dhikr is better than silence. That type of dhikr, which is when the tongue is just moving, and you're not really able to exert your mind and exert your heart. It's better than being quiet.

**[1:04:37]** And silence is better than speaking evil. Right? مَن كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ فَلْيَقُلْ خَيْرًا أَوْ لِيَصْمُتْ Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let them speak well, or don't say anything at all. So think about like degrees here. So the worst thing you could do is say something evil.

**[1:04:52]** Use your tongue for that. The next thing that you could do is at least just be silent. And then better than silence is that the tongue is just moving with the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And better than that is mindful dhikr. So think of it this way. Mindless dhikr is better than silence. Silence is better than sin.

**[1:05:08]** Mindful dhikr is what you want to do as much of as possible to be able to guard yourself. Now the dhikr that's just rolling off the tongue, it does protect you in many ways. How? It's awkward to go from dhikr to a curse word or to backbiting. It's awkward, right?

**[1:05:24]** You're not going to be able to transition. Like the tongue won't allow it. The fitrah of the tongue won't allow it for you to be making dhikr and then to say something disgusting, to say something nasty. It's just not working, right? So that dhikr does actually protect from something. But mindful dhikr will protect the eyes,

**[1:05:39]** will protect the heart, protect the mind. That's when you actually sit with yourself in silence and remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. وَلَا بُدَّ لَكَ مِنْهُ Like that's what he's saying. You have to have a portion of that every day. You can't survive without some portion of that every day.

**[1:05:55]** After your salah, before your salah, but some portion of the day where you sit with yourself and you remind yourself of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because that orients your priorities. That orients your faculties. If you don't have that daily regimen, even if it's for a few minutes.

**[1:06:11]** Like they talk about mindfulness and stuff like that and sit down with yourself and deep breathe. All right, all that is good. Just add dhikr to it and don't do anything weird with it. But what are you doing here? You're calibrating your system. You're orienting your system towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala

**[1:06:28]** so that throughout the day you'll always come back to that no matter what happens. If I add to this point, people they understand when it comes to dhikr it's not just about repeating words. Even when you reflect on the world around you, when you see something and the first thing that comes to your mind is Allah azza wa jal.

**[1:06:43]** Like there's a big difference between someone looking at the sunset, sunrise and says like, wow, it's so beautiful. They're saying, subhanAllah, it's amazing. Big difference. Because when you say, wow, it's beautiful, now you're looking at the object itself as it's worthy of praise, right? But when you say, subhanAllah,

**[1:06:58]** immediately you direct your heart and your mind to praise the maker of this beautiful thing. So even these things, these moments can be powerful. It doesn't have to be a long session of dhikr. Also, you're already doing dhikr on a regular basis. You pray. You sit down after salah and do tasbih.

**[1:07:14]** Make these moments meaningful. Be mindful of your tasbih, your dhikr. How many times do you have to repeat your tasbih because you couldn't even focus for a few seconds to count 33, subhanAllah? And you keep asking, is that the second one?

**[1:07:29]** Is that 30 or 25? I don't know. That's the bismillah, subhanAllah, subhanAllah. Why can't you just focus for the first time? So be mindful. And you'll be able to do that insha'Allah. Someone is asking about the title of the book. So once again, it's the book of Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, Al-Wabil al-Sayyib,

**[1:07:46]** which translates into English as Remembrance of the Most Merciful, insha'Allah. Which is the best dhikr? He's going to talk about this, insha'Allah, later in the book, but eventually he says the best dhikr is the Qur'an. The best dhikr is the Qur'an. Then he talks about other forms of dhikr

**[1:08:02]** based on the circumstances, insha'Allah. If anyone missed anything from the lecture, some people, they asked to repeat something that was mentioned in the lecture. Once the session, insha'Allah, is concluded, you can watch the recording on both channels, Qadrat Islamic Center and Yaqeen Institute, bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

**[1:08:19]** You can take notes as well, insha'Allah. And you should do that, by the way. Two things that you should do. Read the whole book. Make it a point to read the whole book, insha'Allah. Because we're inevitably not going to be able to read every sentence. And go back and review the notes. By the way, subhanAllah,

**[1:08:34]** these sessions, they're not as watched as the khutbahs and the khatirat and the smaller things. But the people that actually engage them throughout the year, take meaningful notes. I know a lot of people that actually sit with these sessions after Ramadan and take proper notes, insha'Allah,

**[1:08:49]** and go back and review. So do make your own notes on the notes. And I want to emphasize on this point. We mentioned that last year as well, too, Shaykh, at the beginning of the session. We said, look, my dear brothers and sisters, this knowledge requires practice. If you don't respond to it,

**[1:09:06]** it actually just disappears. So all what you learn over here, it just becomes amazing. That's all. And then when you leave, what did he say? I have no idea. Another thing is that knowledge is just like a hunt.

**[1:09:23]** You go hunting for these games, right? And you capture those games with your writing. So I highly recommend for you to download the book or buy the physical copy of the book, insha'Allah ta'ala, and write your notes on the margin of the book.

**[1:09:38]** Whatever you feel like, a gem, or this is beautiful, just write it down there. It's okay. You paid this much money for the book, let the margins become darker with that ink. Because it's okay, insha'Allah, to do that. I hope, insha'Allah, by doing so, that 'ilm will strengthen your heart, your mind, and hopefully, insha'Allah ta'ala,

**[1:09:54]** in your life and your actions. So a question here. When it comes to dhikr, so do we focus on quality or quantity? I think it's the same thing, right? We focus on the mindfulness, not just how many times you repeat that. But to a point,

**[1:10:09]** somebody once asked me before, what about these numbers the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned? Like he said, subhanallahi wa bihamdihi, 100 times. Astaghfirullah, 100 times. Can I say 101? Can I say 102, 103? The answer is absolutely. So what do these numbers then mean?

**[1:10:25]** Look, these numbers, first of all, means abundance. That's number one. Number two, mindfulness of 100, and then add as much as you want. Like start by counting 100 for sure, so that you are mindful of what you're doing.

**[1:10:41]** Once you reach the 100, then bismillah, open the door and don't count anymore. Add as many as you want. So someone is asking and says,

**[1:10:56]** look, I can think of tons of things to get in the way of my relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Tons of things can distract us from Allah azza wa jal. Where do I even begin to mend my heart? If I want to start with one thing to start fixing my heart, where do I start?

**[1:11:12]** Allah knows best the condition of the person, but I would start with the masjid. Connection with the place. There's such a difference between someone who has a connection to the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala

**[1:11:27]** and someone who doesn't. It's the masjid and it's the Qur'an. The masjid is the house of every believer. The masjid is the bayt of every Muslim. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, bayt al-mu'min, the house of every Muslim is the house of every believer. And also,

**[1:11:42]** الَّذِي لَيْسَ فِي جَوْفِهِ شَيْءٌ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ كَالْبَيْتِ الْخَرَبِ And the one who doesn't have any Qur'an in their heart is like a ruined house. So you can't have a home for the heart without the masjid and without a regimen of the Qur'an outside of the masjid. Those are two things, subhanAllah, that will mend you.

**[1:11:57]** And obviously, look, you've got to give up what's displeasing to Allah azza wa jal. Allah will not allow these gifts to be given to someone who insists on sins. It's as simple as that. He won't let you use these faculties for goodness and blessing if you insist on using those faculties

**[1:12:12]** for the disobedience of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So the last question over here, the three conditions or three matters that we mentioned earlier, shukr, sabr, and istighfar, these are the pillars by which you can find that happiness in the dunya and the akhirah. May Allah give us that happiness.

**[1:12:27]** So they are described as unavoidable. Every person will face all three. Which of the three do all Muslims find most neglecting? And why do you think that is? Like, which one we usually neglect the most? Is it being grateful, being patient, or seeking istighfar when we make mistakes?

**[1:12:44]** Allah knows best, but I would say patience. Like if you look at when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, that no one has been given a blessing more... better and more expansive than patience. It's because of how rare it is to find people that are actually patient.

**[1:13:00]** It's a lot easier to find grateful people and regretful people. The people that are truly patient are such a rarity. And the more of a rush society becomes, the more hasty everything becomes.

**[1:13:15]** The more impatient and impulsive we become as people, the rarer that gift becomes. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, that knowledge is through seeking knowledge and forbearance, which is patience. Patience with people specifically.

**[1:13:31]** It's through practicing it. So patience, there's no doubt, is the hardest and the most rare. And if a person spends their entire life trying to become less impulsive and more patient, then everything else falls into... Like, I've never met someone who's... Let me put it this way.

**[1:13:47]** I've never met someone who's patient but not grateful. But I've met many people that are grateful but not patient. What about you, Shaykh? I'm thinking about anecdotally. I've never met someone that's patient with hardship but not also grateful.

**[1:14:03]** If I may add to this point, I would maybe put a condition on that patience. It's the patience that is done as an act of 'ibadah, an act of worship to Allah. There's a big difference over here. Someone who is patient because I have nothing else to do, I can't do anything else besides that, they're still holding grudge in their hearts,

**[1:14:19]** their heart is still heavy, they wait for a moment to take revenge, and if they see someone going through the difficulty, they will probably maybe laugh at it because, oh, I see payback and so on and so on. So that patience doesn't really count as patience anymore. It's like detachment.

**[1:14:35]** This is just adaptation to loss. That's another thing to do. But we talk about patience as an act of ibadah. I can retaliate. I can seek revenge. I can go after you, but you know what? May Allah forgive you. I'll move on. Not because you deserve it, but because I deserve to be forgiven.

**[1:14:51]** I deserve to move on. So I hope that people understand that patience is an act of ibadah. So when you do it, you do it with ihsan as well, too. You're not just patient because I can't or there's nothing else I could do or I'm afraid of the consequences if I don't show patience, for example.

**[1:15:07]** No, I'm truly doing it because I truly believe if I show patience, Allah will reward me. And then comes, of course, everything else as part of it, insha'Allah. Jazakumullahu khayran for being here with us, insha'Allah ta'ala. Tomorrow, bismillah 'azza wa jal, we're going to be studying the benefits

**[1:15:23]** of dhikr. Hopefully, insha'Allah ta'ala, we'll be covering a few of them, maybe from 1 until 17. So about 17 points, each one is one line, insha'Allah 'azza wa jal. We're going to be studying some of these benefits of dhikr. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us among the dhakirin of Allah. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala

**[1:15:39]** to accept from us, ya Rabb al-'alamin. We ask Allah to accept our fasting, accept our salah, accept our du'a, accept our dhikr. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to accept the best of our a'mal, ya Rabb al-'alamin. Forgive us our sins, our shortcomings. Jazakumullahu khayran.

**[1:15:55]** Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Al-Fatiha.

## Other Episodes in "Midnight Majlis"
- [Loving the People Who Remember Allah | Midnight Majlis S2 Ep. 7](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/midnight-majlis-s2-ep7-loving-the-people-who-remember-allah.md)
- [The Beauty of the Light of Allah | Midnight Majlis S2 Ep. 5](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/midnight-majlis-s2-ep5-the-beauty-of-the-light-of-allah.md)
- [Leave Your Nafs Behind and Come to Allah | Midnight Majlis S2 Ep. 6](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/midnight-majlis-s2-ep6-leave-your-nafs-behind-and-come-to-allah.md)
- [Freeing Yourself From Other Than Allah | Midnight Majlis S2 Ep. 4](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/midnight-majlis-s2-ep4-freeing-yourself-from-other-than-allah.md)
- [Allah Will Love You For Your Dhikr | Midnight Majlis S2 Ep. 3](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/midnight-majlis-s2-ep3-allah-will-love-you-for-your-dhikr.md)
- [Your Dhikr Makes You Beautiful | Midnight Majlis S2 Ep. 2](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/midnight-majlis-s2-ep2-your-dhikr-makes-you-beautiful.md)
- [Getting Past A Grudge | Midnight Majlis](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/getting-past-a-grudge-midnight-majlis.md)
- [Between Self-Admiration and Self-Hatred | Midnight Majlis](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/between-self-admiration-and-self-hatred-midnight-majlis.md)
- [How to Become A Great Person | Midnight Majlis](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/how-to-become-a-great-person-midnight-majlis.md)
- [How to Spot Fake Friends | Midnight Majlis](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/how-to-spot-fake-friends-midnight-majlis.md)
- [Be Your Own Toughest Critic | Midnight Majlis](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/be-your-own-toughest-critic-midnight-majlis.md)
- [When People Cause You Pain | Midnight Majlis](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/when-people-cause-you-pain-midnight-majlis.md)
- [You Choose To Be Learned or Lost | Midnight Majlis](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/you-choose-to-be-learned-or-lost-midnight-majlis.md)
- [Defeat Your Ego Before It Defeats You | Midnight Majlis](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/defeat-your-ego-before-it-defeats-you-midnight-majlis.md)
- [How to Break Free from Anxiety | Midnight Majlis | Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Yaser Birjas](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/how-to-break-free-from-anxiety-midnight-majlis.md)