# Leave Your Nafs Behind and Come to Allah | Midnight Majlis S2 Ep. 6

**Author:** Dr. Omar Suleiman
**Series:** Midnight Majlis
**Published:** 2026-03-15
**YouTube:** https://youtu.be/eS2xZvuZRZU
**URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/midnight-majlis-s2-ep6-leave-your-nafs-behind-and-come-to-allah
**Topics:** Acts of Worship, Sharia

## Description
What is ma’iyyah (with-ness) of Allah, and how do you gain it? And how can we avoid the pitfalls of our dhikr becoming mere lip service, a pursuit of spiritual ecstasy, or something that feels like a cheat code? Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Yaser Birjas continue to discuss gems on the benefits of...

## Chapters
- 0:00 Introduction
- 2:10 Dhikr must be more than lip service
- 7:50 Dhikr brings true richness and power
- 14:36 Dhikr disperses your regrets
- 22:05 Are you bothered by missing good deeds?
- 28:57 The ma’iyyah (with-ness) of Allah
- 35:36 Tasting the sweetness of closeness to Allah
- 38:58 Dhikr is not a spiritual ecstasy
- 40:20 Seek Jannah, and closeness to Allah is even greater
- 45:38 Dhikr is not a cheat code
- 51:15 Q&A

## Transcript
**[0:00]** As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Wa alaykum as-salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Alhamdulillahi rabbil 'alamin. Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam wa barakatuhu. Nabiyyina Muhammadin wa 'ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam. Tasliman kathiran ma'a ma ba'd. We welcome you back again to the beautiful nights of the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan. Tonight is the 26th, right?

**[0:16]** So may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala put barakah in this night, ya rabbal 'alamin. We ask Allah to bring the angels to surround us. And send the mercy and rahmah to be upon us. And fill our hearts with peace and tranquility, ya rabbal 'alamin. Ameen. JazakAllah khair, sheikh. And again for all these beautiful nights.

**[0:31]** MashaAllah. SubhanAllah. Tonight, particularly, our discussion is going to be a very special discussion. When it comes to the benefits of dhikr from the book of Imam Ibn Qayyim, rahimahullah. Al-wabil al-sayyib min al-kalim al-tayyib. Which means the downpour of blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[0:47]** Because of the dhikr of Allah 'azza wa jal. The pronouncement of the words of dhikr. So I want to keep reminding my brothers and sisters. But the main most important point over here from dhikr. We said that dhikr is important because it helps us against the gates through which the shaytan enters your heart.

**[1:05]** Do you guys remember these three doors? Number one. Ghaflah. The doors through which the shaytan enters your heart. Ghaflah, which means heedlessness. And that door can be closed with what? With dhikr. Constant dhikr.

**[1:20]** Remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The second door is? Desires. And that can be closed with what? Tawbah. What does that mean? If you make a mistake, return back to Allah. Don't let the shaytan pull you away from Allah because you made a mistake.

**[1:35]** Don't let the shaytan take you away from Allah 'azza wa jal. Number three. Anger. And you close that door with what? With istighfar. Which means admit your fault. If you make that mistake, admit your fault. Seek forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[1:50]** And also from the people that you wronged with your anger. If you maintain these three a'mal. Dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Tawbah to Allah 'azza wa jal. As well as always seeking istighfar. You will not allow the shaytan to enter your heart. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect you from the shaytan, O Lord of the worlds.

**[2:07]** So, Shaykh Ahmad, tonight insha'Allah we're going to start with point number 37. For those who are following with us with the book in English translation. It's page 172. Those who would like to follow, insha'Allah it's going to page 172. The Arabic version is actually page 155.

**[2:22]** 155 insha'Allah ta'ala. Point number 37. He says, rahimahullah ta'ala, of the benefit of dhikr. He says, dhikr is the head of all matters. It's the way of all sects. It's the way of al-walaya.

**[2:37]** Whoever is open to it, the door of entering Allah is open to him. Let him purify himself and enter his Lord. He will find with him all that he wants. If he finds his Lord, he will find everything. And if he misses his Lord, he will miss everything.

**[2:54]** In this point, he says, rahimahullah ta'ala, remembrance is the chief of all fundamentals. It's the most important thing. It is the way of those who are most devoted, that leads towards righteousness. He says, so whoever has a door open up for him to the remembrance of Allah,

**[3:11]** has a door open to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Let him purify himself in order to enter upon his Lord. And with him, he will find everything he wants. For whoever finds his Lord will find everything with him. And whoever loses his Lord has lost everything.

**[3:27]** So the point he's making here, rahimahullah ta'ala, look, this is the path of the righteous people from the past. Those who have already reached certain status in the dunya, in terms of their religiosity and spirituality, they've done that through dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They opened a door between them and Allah that led straight to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[3:45]** They purified their hearts, they purified themselves, and they made sure that they had that access to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And that's why these people succeeded in reaching the status that they've reached in this dunya. Insha'Allah ta'ala, the point that we're going to stick with most tonight

**[4:01]** is actually going to be the ma'iyyah of Allah, being with Allah, which is 42. But as we're running through these, in this one, ad-dhikr 'ala Allah ta'ala, entering upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. When the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam described ihsan, excellence, an ta'bud Allah ka'annaka tarahu, that you worship Allah as if you can see Him.

**[4:19]** And if you can't see Him, then you know that He sees you. I want you to imagine that what he's saying here is that when you make dhikr, it's like you're entering into a portal with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Like Allah being with you is a very real thing. So imagine like right when you start remembering Allah,

**[4:34]** you should visualize that you just entered upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Like you entered into a room only with you and Allah 'azza wa jal. And at that point, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has welcomed you. So ask. It's also like what the 'ulama mention of the benefit here, that dhikr is not some like side practice.

**[4:51]** Dhikr is the key door to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. If Allah allowed you to remember Him, that is His opening the door to you to welcome you to ask Him whatever you want to ask Him. So now enter upon me. Ibn Rajab rahimahullah ta'ala has a famous narration from one of the salaf. I forgot which one.

**[5:07]** But he said, I saw my Lord in a dream and I asked him, kayfa tariq ilayk? How do I come to you? Qala utruk nafsak wa ta'al. Leave yourself behind and come. Leave your nafs and come. Enter upon me. So Allah is inviting you. Leave the lowly parts behind and come.

**[5:23]** So the beauty of this portal is it can be entered in any place and any time. You could be in an airport. You could be at work. Wherever it is, once you remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you have to be able to visualize, alright, I'm entering upon my Lord right now.

**[5:38]** It's just me and Him. And you have to be able to freeze out the elements and leave behind the lower self as you enter into that portal with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Point number 38. He says, rahimahullah, anna fil qalbi khallatan wa faqatan la yasuddaha shay'un al batta illa dhikrullah 'azza wa jal.

**[5:56]** He says, the heart has a need which cannot be satisfied except by the remembrance of Allah. Actually, there's another word missing from the translation, the word khallah. He says, in the Arabic, he says, anna fil qalbi khallatan wa faqatan. So the faqah means need. There is a need in the heart. Like the heart is always craving something, right?

**[6:12]** But khallah actually means void, emptiness. That's what it means. The heart always has emptiness. There's an empty compartment, basically. That empty compartment is always empty and nothing can fill that, nothing can close that, basically, that emptiness

**[6:28]** and cover that emptiness except the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Fa idha asara adh-dhikr, shi'ara al-qalb bi haythu yakunu huwa adh-dhakir bi tariq al-asala wal-lisan taba'u al-lahu fa hadha huwa adh-dhikr alladhi yasudd al-khallah He said, the heart has that emptiness.

**[6:44]** And he says, it becomes a lonely, without dhikrullah subhanahu wa ta'ala, without the remembrance of Allah, it becomes lonely and empty. So when the heart is absorbed by the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, so too does the tongue stay moist with the remembrance of Allah 'azza wa jal.

**[7:00]** However, he says, look, if the remembrance of Allah fills the heart, so the remembrance of Allah originates from the heart and the tongue only follows, not the other way around. You see, most of us, when we make our dhikr, where does the dhikr come from?

**[7:16]** From the tongue, unfortunately. You keep counting them and making that dhikr, the physical dhikr, but it doesn't even connect, it's not tethered to the heart at all. Lip service. He says, no, no, no,

**[7:31]** when the dhikr enters the heart, so your heart is the one that's making dhikr and you find the tongue only just follows the command of the heart. So if you would like to fill that void and that emptiness in the heart, you're going to have to do a lot of dhikr.

**[7:46]** It's that dhikr that's going to fill that gap and then your tongue is going to just follow. SubhanAllah, in this regard, I think you can go to the next point, sheikh. 'Azeezan bila 'ashira, muhibban bila sultan.

**[8:02]** Fa idha kana ghafilan 'an dhikr Allah 'azza wa jal, fa huwa idhdh thalik. Faqiran ma' kathrati jiddatihi. Dhalil ma' sultanihi. Haqir ma' kathrati 'ashiratihi. Unbelievable line that he has here as he goes into it.

**[8:19]** So the one who has Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he can be rich without money. Ghaniyan bila mal, rich without money. 'Azeezan bila 'ashira, can be like honorable, renowned without any followers.

**[8:34]** Muhibban bila sultan, can be someone with great power and authority without actual, without the domain of authority. And then he says on the other hand, you have a person who doesn't remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and he is poor with the abundance of wealth.

**[8:51]** He's still faqir, he's still poor with the abundance of wealth. He's still dhalil, humiliated, even though he has power and authority. He's still haqir, belittled, despite the amount of followers that he has. This line here is really important

**[9:06]** because it connects to something we actually started off this book with, which is the idea of being connected to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala independent of circumstance. A person can be generous in the sight of Allah. Let's take tonight for example, we just had a major fundraiser, right?

**[9:22]** A person can be karim in the sight of Allah 'azza wa jal and can enter into Jannah as one of the most generous people in the world and he gave barely any money. 'Urwah radiAllahu ta'ala 'anhu, the very famous narration of 'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, we talked about in the first where he was traveling one day

**[9:37]** and one of these Bedouins, the only thing he had was one animal. He slaughtered the whole, basically his entire possession to serve his guests and 'Urwah gave him a lot of money and his followers told him, 'Urwah, that was a little bit too much. It was way overpriced what you gave him.

**[9:52]** He said, that man is more generous than we are because he gave everything that he had and I gave just a little bit of what I had at the end of the day. So Allah's labels for you are by your intentions and by proportionality,

**[10:08]** not by people's judgments and your realization of things is by Allah 'azza wa jal's blessing what he has given you. If Allah 'azza wa jal has not blessed what you possess or who you possess in terms of relationship,

**[10:24]** then you're always going to feel a void and that's why Allah 'azza wa jal says, Do not be amazed by their wealth and their children. Allah 'azza wa jal is punishing with their wealth and with their children. It's like how can Allah be punishing someone with wealth

**[10:41]** because they're so beholden to that wealth and they're trying to fill the void and it's not working. So Allah is punishing them. The 'adhab of chasing more wealth and it's not working. The 'adhab of not raising your children upon righteousness and so your children treat you like garbage when they grow up.

**[10:56]** That's 'adhab, that's punishment. The 'adhab of having a lot of followers or having authority and still being absolutely miserable because you're so dependent upon your followers and upon that authority to validate you as a person that you keep making it more extreme

**[11:13]** in order to try to fill something, in order to try to fulfill something that cannot be fulfilled except by the remembrance of Allah 'azza wa jal. This idea of being rich without money and honorable without followers and so on, it's just unbelievable because subhanAllah in the Arabic language,

**[11:28]** the word for being rich in the Arabic language is ghani. Ghani and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala describes himself in the Qur'an as being ghani. Ghani means self-sufficient. Like basically you're so wealthy, not necessarily with money,

**[11:43]** but you're so wealthy to the extent of self-sufficiency. That's the meaning of wealth, that you don't depend on people really. If you depend on anybody, you're not that wealthy or that rich actually. But if you're completely free from want or need or dependence on anybody, that's when you're the richest person.

**[11:58]** That's why there's a difference between being ghani and thary in the Arabic language. Thary, the word thary in the Arabic language means wealthy. That wealth is measured by the amount of possession you have in your hand. Not everybody who has wealth is actually ghani.

**[12:14]** Not everybody who has wealth is self-sufficient because some people have so much wealth, but they're always, always afraid of losing it. They're always afraid of being manipulated or taken advantage of or this or that and so on and so on. So that wealth becomes a curse. It doesn't make them self-sufficient.

**[12:30]** And you'll have people who have absolutely nothing in terms of possessions, but they're so independent from the wants of people and needs of the people. That is a rich person. So when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala named himself or called himself al-ghani, he didn't call himself al-thari. It's not because Allah has the treasures of the heavens

**[12:45]** and the earth that he's ghani. No, because he needs nobody. He depends on nobody, subhanahu wa ta'ala. So he says if your heart full with dhikr, you become ghani without wealth, without money. You become self-independent and self-sufficient and you don't need to depend on anybody

**[13:00]** for validation, for approval. You're self-sufficient. You're self-sufficient from the need to the people. That's why ghani and hamid come together. Ghani and hamid. Subhanahu wa ta'ala doesn't need your property and he doesn't need your praise. And subhanahu wa ta'ala, when you say also azizun, without followers,

**[13:16]** being honorable and honored without followers, because usually al-aziz, you are aziz in relation to the people. Like among the people you're honorable, right? Because in comparison to the other, of course, class of people. But how can you be honorable without having people

**[13:31]** to validate that for you, to be that noble person? Nowadays, subhanahu wa ta'ala, you have people who are called influencers online, obviously. They're so much dependent on following that they enslave themselves. They enslave themselves to the service of these followers

**[13:47]** in order to keep taking their approval so they can keep, of course, the cash flow coming in. Is that honorable? Is that something, someone who is aziz? And that's why when these people, they close their account, what happens to them? They lose it.

**[14:02]** What kind of honor is that? You just lose it right away. So if your heart is not attached to the followers, is not attached to the wealth itself, to the position itself, then you are rich, you're honorable. Otherwise, no matter how much you think of yourself, you're poor.

**[14:17]** You might have billions of dollars in your pocket, but you are still poor, because you're in poverty, you're in need of people's approval, of people's satisfaction with you, and all these kind of things, subhanahu wa ta'ala. So that's a very important thing, and the only way you can become that ghani,

**[14:32]** and that honorable, if you fill that void in the heart, with the remembrance of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. Absolutely. In point number 39, sheikh, he says something very interesting here. I want to elaborate on that a little bit more. He says, rahimahullah ta'ala, from the benefits of the dhikr, anna al-dhikra yajma'u al-mutafarriq,

**[14:49]** wa yufarriqu al-mujtami' wa yuqarribu al-ba'id, wa yuba'idu al-qarib. Four things he said here. He says, rahimahullah ta'ala, remembering brings together whatever has dispersed, and dispersal of whatever has been gathered, it draws nearer what is distant,

**[15:05]** and makes distant what is near. Did you guys understand anything? Sounds like a riddle, right? What does it mean? So let's explain that, rahimahullah ta'ala. Qal, fa yajma'u ma tafarraqa ala al-abdi min qalbihi, wa iradatihi, wa humumihi, wa azumihi,

**[15:20]** wa al-adhabu kullu al-adhabi fi tafriqatiha wa tashattutiha. He says, so, dhikr of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, gathers for the servant what has slipped away, his heart, his wants, his fears, his intentions. All of this, it brings it together

**[15:37]** for the sake of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. Like when you are focusing on Allah, the Prophet also mentioned the hadith. Qal, man ja'ala al-humuma hamman wahid al-hammam ma'ad, kafahu Allahu wa sa'ira humumihi. If anybody makes his main concern one single concern, the concern of the hereafter, Allah will suffice them all their other concerns.

**[15:55]** Everything will be taken care of for you. That's one thing, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. If you do that, Allah is with you, all your other concerns will be taken care of. And if you make your concern the dunya, then you're going to be divided and dispersed all over the place. So he says over here, it brings together for you what has been dispersed such as your heart, your intentions, your fears, all gathered together to be in one direction,

**[16:18]** Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So that's the first point he mentions over here. The second point he says, qal, wa yufarriqu majtama'a alayhi min al-humumi wal-ghumumi wal-ahzani wal-hasarati ala fawti hududihi wa ma talibihi. It also separates him from the army of the shaytan. Actually, not this one. He says over here,

**[16:42]** and it also means of breaking away from what has gathered of worries, sadness, and regrets over what has slipped him by. Like subhanAllah, when people, nowadays these people, if they miss financial opportunities, they cry their hearts out on this matter.

**[16:59]** If they miss a promotion, if they miss something of pleasure and so on, they just get really concerned about it. But he says dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will help all these things that gather around you to go away from you. Concerns, worries, regrets, and all these things will just disperse away because when you remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,

**[17:21]** you know that's the qadr of Allah azza wa jal. I'm not going to really make a big deal out of this. I leave it to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So that's the first two points. The point, by the way, this is like these words in English get completely lost. Like this concept of jama'Allahu lahu amrahu, aw farraqAllahu alayhi ash'alahu.

**[17:37]** Like these two things make no sense in English whatsoever. So let's just break it down really quickly insha'Allah. When the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam says, من أصبح الدنيا أكبر همه Whoever wakes up and the world is his greatest concern, جعل الله فقره بين عينيه Allah puts poverty between his two eyes.

**[17:53]** He always sees poverty and everything is dispersed. Everything is scattered. What does it mean to have everything scattered? One of the ways that a person does not find happiness is that they feel fragmented.

**[18:08]** So fragmentation of self. That's one form of being scattered. Fragmentation of worry. That I always feel like, okay, I solved one problem, but then I've got ten more problems that pop up. I solved another problem, then I've got ten more problems that popped up.

**[18:24]** Everything is just all over the place. So I feel like a mad person constantly trying to catch things. And I've got to plug this hole and get this done and get this done. Fragmentation also of problems. I get this one done and then a whole bunch of other things open up for me. So everything keeps on opening up for me.

**[18:41]** And then the fragmentation of personality. Fragmentation of personality is that you're never one person. You've got a work version of yourself. You have a family version of yourself. You've got a friend's version of yourself. You've got a chilled version of yourself.

**[18:57]** You're never really one person. And that's exhausting. Intentional spiritual split personality. I've got to be here, here, here, here. That's an exhausting life to live. And so you're always poor and just bothered and scattered and worried.

**[19:12]** And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam says on the other hand, man asbaha, and whoever wakes up, and the akhirah is his himmah. The hereafter is his greatest concern. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gathers all of his affairs for him. So the gathering of the affairs means what?

**[19:27]** Number one, everything that happens to you in life, you interpret in accordance with your relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So you get hit with a hardship, you turn to Allah. You get blessed with something, you turn to Allah. Everything is being interpreted in accordance with your relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[19:44]** So you're only dealing with one. You're only dealing with one. So this whole thing is being seen through one lens. My whole life is being seen through one lens. How does this affect my relationship with Allah? How does this bring me closer to Allah? How does this take me away from Allah?

**[20:00]** Everything gets filtered into those two things. Does it bring me closer to Allah? Does it take me further from Allah? Does it bring me closer to Allah? Does it take me further from Allah? A hardship struck me. You know what, alhamdulillah, this brings me closer to Allah. A blessing came to me, distracted me. You know what, this is taking me away from Allah.

**[20:16]** Let me say alhamdulillah, let it bring me closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So everything is just coming back to a very simple filtration process. And on top of that, Allah gathers your affairs for you. So you're calmer. You know when they tell you like, when you get anxious, it doesn't help the situation.

**[20:33]** In fact, that's when you start making bad decisions. Because you feel like you're panicking. No, no, you have to stay cool, stay calm, stay collected. So Allah azza wa jalla gives you that calmness. So you deal with things in a very systematic way. You're not overwhelmed by all the things that are happening.

**[20:48]** And what does the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam say? The dunya comes chasing after that person. The world comes chasing after that person. No, please, please, come back. Don't leave us. The barakah, the blessing, the world comes to that person. He's not even trying.

**[21:04]** But because of how Allah azza wa jalla is gathering his affairs for him, the world comes after him. Right? Like think about, you know, we talk about Umar al-Khattab radiyallahu ta'ala anhu. The world chased Umar radiyallahu ta'ala anhu. Like the shaytan fled away from him and the world was like, please take us.

**[21:20]** It chased him. Look at his success. Right? But at the same time, when Allah azza wa jalla gathers your affairs for you, He gathers your concerns. He gathers everything for you. And your interpretation of life is simple.

**[21:35]** And on top of that, you're always the same person. You're a gathered person. You don't have a work version of you, a family version of you, a friend's version of you. You're a consistent person.

**[21:51]** You're on a journey with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And everything else is a circumstance. And you're on a journey with Allah azza wa jalla throughout the entire process. So, you're always moving in the right direction. You're always moving in a singular direction towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. No, shaykh. That reminds me of a few things, subhanAllah.

**[22:07]** So, how even non-Muslims noticing that about Muslims. I remember seeing one traveler with a Muslim driver. He was actually traveling in the desert, in the mountains. Like in the middle of nowhere. So, this guy was driving.

**[22:22]** And this guy, the European guy, he was so marveling at the idea that this man in the middle of nowhere, he looked at his watch and he goes, you know, it's time for salah, time for prayers. And he stopped the car. And he didn't care about this tourist who was with him for the ride.

**[22:41]** He goes, I have to stop for a second. Well, can we just do it later? He said, time for salah. And the guy went out, put his sajjadah, started praying. And this guy started videoing the man and speaking to his crowd online. He goes, look at this dedication. Because we're in the middle of nowhere.

**[22:56]** He was showing where they were. He said, this guy didn't even care about anything. He looked at his watch. He goes, prayer time, we have to stop. Can you imagine somebody is so conscious and so mindful that even in the middle of the most difficult task,

**[23:11]** you know, in the road, you have to keep going, right? But you had to interrupt your dunya. Just for a few minutes. And to stand up, you know, in devotion. And the guy was just like, this is really, this is commitment. Commitment to faith. He's just like, wow, this is so beautiful.

**[23:26]** But subhanallah, how Allah azza wa jal is showing us right now, even the nonbelievers when they look at the Muslim, this dedication is a different level. And all of this, I hope, inshallah, because we have that sense of dhikr we have in our heart. Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, rahimahullah ta'ala, he speaks on point number 40, shaykh, now.

**[23:48]** Because dhikr wakes the heart up from its slumber and from sleeping. Like it always wakes you up. For the sleeping heart will miss out on all the benefits and bargains.

**[24:07]** And this heart will most likely always lose, always losing. So when this heart wakes up from its sleep and knowing what they missed, they hopefully, probably, with dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,

**[24:23]** tighten their belt and using the remaining time of their life to try to catch up what they missed. So dhikr, subhanallah, hopefully it brings people back again from their ghaflah. Basically, how mad are you when you missed out on an opportunity to do khayr?

**[24:39]** When you missed out on an opportunity to do good? It's something you have to ask yourself. You get so mad when something misses you of this dunya. So mad, so upset, like, man, I missed out.  I missed out on this gathering, I missed out on this relationship.

**[24:57]** This person beat me to it. You get so upset and bothered and agitated, like, I missed out. When you start converting that into, I'm missing out on good deeds. How many good deeds did I miss? You know, the famous narration of Abdullah ibn Umar radiyallahu ta'ala anhuma,

**[25:14]** when he heard for the first time the narration that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, whoever follows the janazah, so whoever prays the janazah has one mountain of Uhud, whoever follows the janazah to the burial has two mountains. So he didn't hear that narration before. So he used to pray the janazah and he wouldn't follow the janazah to the graveyard.

**[25:30]** Then he said, wait a minute, did that really, did he really say that? So he sent the man who he heard that to Aisha radiyallahu ta'ala anha to confirm. And he was sitting there and he was like, like nervously, like, you know, grabbing some of the rocks from the ground and stuff like that.

**[25:45]** And, you know, waiting to hear back, like, if Aisha radiyallahu anha confirms this. When the messenger came back to him and said that Aisha radiyallahu anha confirmed that, he threw the rocks and he said, how many mountains of good deeds did I miss out on? How many mountains of good deeds did I miss out on?

**[26:02]** Like, you should be bothered to miss good. Bothered to miss good. Like, that's what should agitate you. And on the Day of Judgment, عَلِمَتْ نَفْسٌ مَا قَدَّمَتْ وَأَخَّرَتْ A person would know what they put forth of bad deeds and they would know all the good that they left out on the table.

**[26:19]** How many opportunities did I miss to please Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? How many salats did I miss? How many sadaqat did I miss? How many volunteer opportunities did I miss? Like, I should feel bad, someone beat me to it. No, no one's going to beat me to this. I don't want to feel left out of good. And when a person wakes up to that reality,

**[26:35]** and they look back and they go, wow, a lot of years went by, and I missed out. The opportunity cost of sin. The opportunity cost of ghaflah, of heedlessness. I missed out. There were a lot of years, a lot of months. I missed out.

**[26:50]** So what are you going to do now? What are you going to do now? Right? When that clicks for you and you realize, I've wasted a lot of time here. And for some reason, Allah let me live through it all. I've really wasted a lot of time not having a connection

**[27:06]** to what Allah told me to be connected to. I've wasted a lot of time on tasting the sweetness. It's like I say to, you know, subhanAllah, you meet people who revert to Islam, that have been thinking about it for five, ten years. And like, my only regret is I didn't convert to Islam earlier. Like, I wasted all those years to taste the sweetness.

**[27:23]** Same thing is true for tawbah, that repentance. I've wasted a lot of time, and I've missed a lot of opportunities. So you should be more bothered when you miss good opportunities for the sake of Allah subhanAllah, than when you miss good opportunities from a worldly perspective.

**[27:38]** And someone has to wake you out of that sleep to where you go, whoa, I've missed out on a lot, and I'm not going to miss out anymore. There's a hadith in the life of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, who says, Two blessings that Allah bestows upon people,

**[27:54]** and they're so completely deceived with them. Like, you don't really pay attention to them very well. Health, well-being, being alhamdulillah healthy, having the spare time. You know, when people tell me in this time and this age,

**[28:09]** they say, I'm bored. I'm like, are you kidding me? What do you mean you're bored? Do you have extra time that you don't know how to use it? Can I borrow this time from you? Like, literally, people, they just don't know what to do because they're bored, subhanAllah. And he says that, just look, this is the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,

**[28:25]** you're going to be deceived. You're thinking that time is, you know, kind of free time for you, and mashaAllah, you're being healthy and strong, alhamdulillah, you can utilize that for enjoying your life and so on. Instead of focusing on what is most important thing for you, it's the akhirah. So I hope that remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala

**[28:42]** will help us always utilize that spare time to do something useful, even if it was just dhikr, and also help us, inshaAllah, use our physical strength, our bodies, into that which is also useful for us in the dunya, before the akhirah as well too, inshaAllah.

**[28:57]** Sheikh, if it's okay, I want to jump to point number 42. It's a very, very important point, actually, here, before the time is up. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, of the benefits of dhikr,

**[29:21]** He is speaking right now on something in Arabic called ma'iyyah, from the word ma', which means with. So al-ma'iyyah is basically, you could say the word with, with him, or always with him. Withness, another translation was mentioned.

**[29:37]** He says, Which means, if you are remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then you're making yourself close to the one you remember. And he is close to the one remembered,

**[29:52]** and the one remembered is with him. So if you're close to the one that you're remembering, then he is also close to you, subhanahu wa ta'ala. Withness, as he says,

**[30:09]** And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has multiple ma'iyyah. This withness is ma'iyyat al-'ilm. He is with you, knowing you, and knowing where you are. There is ma'iyyah in terms of support, as giving you support, just when he was with the believers, overall.

**[30:24]** But then there is that special ma'iyyah, he's described for the one who's making dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and that's what he calls, That is the ma'iyyah of proximity, alliance, love, victory, and help.

**[30:39]** Yeah. Sheikh, if you don't mind, this topic, I want to spend a little bit of time with it. Please. It's a very special topic. So ma'iyyah to Allah, the withness of Allah. How do you know Allah is with you, and what does it mean for Allah to be with you? So, building on what Sheikh Yasser just mentioned,

**[30:56]** if you look at the combination of the ayat here, Allah is with those who excel in doing good, Allah is with the patient. Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave us examples of our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

**[31:12]** Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Okay? And the Prophet Musa alayhi s-salam. When the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was with Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu, and they were right at the time of death. And that's when you really know who your Lord is. Sheikh, when you say, someone saying la ilaha illallah at the time of death,

**[31:29]** and Allah is giving us an example of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and the Prophet Musa alayhi s-salam, when they're basically about to get caught and killed. And at that point, Allah tells us that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu, when they were in the cave, and they could see the feet of their murderers.

**[31:46]** Right? Their attempted murderers. Don't worry, Allah is with us. What do you say about two and Allah is the third of them? Allah is with us. Don't worry, Abu Bakr. Allah is with us. Musa alayhi s-salam, when he was right at the brink,

**[32:03]** and he has behind him the genocidal army of Fir'awn, la tahzan, I'm sorry, he says, kalla inna rabbi ma'iya sayahdeen. Verily, my Lord is with me, so he will guide us. My Lord is with me. That's a testimony to Allah 'azza wa jal being with a person.

**[32:19]** Now that ma'iyyah, ma'iyyat al-'amma, again, the rule is ma'iyyat al-'amma, the general ma'iyyah, the general of Allah being with us, is with his knowledge. Ma'iyyat al-khassah, special ma'iyyah, special withness, comes through good qualities when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is with you.

**[32:35]** It happens in two situations. Number one, when Allah takes everything away from you, all your safety blankets, all your other pursuits, and that's when your true nature comes out, who you really rely upon, who you really rely upon.

**[32:53]** So, inna Allaha ma'a as-sabireen. Allah is with the patient. The second one, Allah is with the good-doers. Now, subhanahu wa ta'ala, in this category, Imam al-Qayyim rahimahullah will talk about dhikr and talk about the meaning of the special ahadith of Allah

**[33:09]** being with the one who remembers him. But I want you to think about the good-doers. Inna Allaha ma'a al-muhsineen. There's a specific type of good-doer, which is someone who participates in divine service. What does that mean?

**[33:25]** Allahu fee 'awni al-'abd, ma kan al-'abdu fee 'awni akhih. Allah is in the aid of his servant, so long as his servant is aiding his brothers. Allahu fee hajati, akhi, in one narration, Allah is in the hajah, in the need of his servant,

**[33:41]** so long as his servant is in the service of his brother. You're helping someone who's in need. You become the means of Allah to someone else. So you're participating in divine service. And so what does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala do for you?

**[33:57]** And Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah elaborates this in other places. Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah elaborates on the ma'iyyah in beautiful ways. But the idea here is that when you've taken it upon yourself now to be, for example, the removal of someone else's hamm, someone else's hardship and worry, Allah 'azza wa jal says, I'll remove your worries now.

**[34:14]** I'm with you, I'll remove your worries. You go take care of your brother, I'm taking care of you. You go and you spend on your brother, Allah says, I'll spend on you. You go take care of someone, okay, I'm taking care of you the way you're taking care of your brother. So the ma'iyyah is Allah looking at you in a loving way,

**[34:29]** al-muhsinun here, the mufassirun say, are people who are beneficial to al-nas, who are beneficial to other people. And there are multiple narrations in this regard. So imagine when you decide to participate in divine service and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,

**[34:46]** you're taking care of someone else, I'm taking care of you now, I'm with you. You're with your brother, I'm with you. And that's why there's no more beautiful good deed than to dedicate yourself in that regard and remember someone for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala even with something as simple as du'a.

**[35:02]** You make a du'a for someone else and Allah 'azza wa jal appoints an angel. The angel didn't do it on themselves, Allah says to the angel, go be with that person, ameen wa laka bi mithl, ameen and for you as well. You sacrificed your du'a for someone else, Allah 'azza wa jal gives an angel that will make ameen

**[35:18]** and for you as well. And so this is one of the ways to break down, wa inna Allaha lama'a al-muhsineen, some of the scholars also mention the emphasis here, wa inna Allaha lama'a al-muhsineen is an added emphasis of Allah's withness

**[35:34]** with a person who's doing works of excellence. You know, Sheikh Ibn Qayyim explains towards the end of this point, a beautiful part of that, qalu al-ma'iyyah al-hasilah lil-dhakir ma'iyyah la yushbihuha shay' which is that closeness, that ma'iyyah, that basic withness that is gained

**[35:51]** by the one who remembers is unlike anything else. wa hiya akhassu min al-ma'iyyah al-hasilah lil-muhsineen wal-muttaqeen It is also more unique than what is gained by the doers of good deeds such as muhsineen and the pious ones. Like look, the righteous people, the good doers,

**[36:08]** they also have that sense of ma'iyyah with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, this withness with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But the one who does dhikr has a whole different level of understanding that withness with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. How so? qala wa hiya ma'iyyah la tudrikuha al-'ibarah wa la tanaluha as-sifah

**[36:24]** wa innama tu'lamu bil-dhawq He says this level of closeness to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not understood by mere terms or can be reached by descriptions, rather it is something has to be experienced. What does that mean? al-dhawq, taste of dhawq.

**[36:41]** So basically, the proper translation for it in our time, Sheikh, is it's not something that you can really experience, it's not something tangible you can touch it or feel it, and it's not something you can even describe. You have to live it. That's called the transrational experience.

**[36:57]** Like what? Give an example. The example of hajj. People go to hajj, right? You have thousands and millions of people go to hajj. But when they come back, they don't feel the same. For some people, you ask about hajj, how was hajj? Oh my God, it was so difficult. You know, it was so crowded, blah, blah, blah.

**[37:15]** Nothing. Some other people, how was hajj? Amazing. How was it? Now tell me, I can't describe this with words. Like how many times we heard that from hujjaj? They always say the same thing. I cannot tell you, you cannot describe it with words. You have to be there to feel it.

**[37:31]** That's what is called dhawq. That's something that you only, when you're there, you can feel it, but you can't tell it with words, you can't describe it with anything. And by the way, it's similar with iman. And iman, the same thing too. When the iman gets into the heart

**[37:48]** and the heart finds that sweetness of faith, it is way beyond measure. No one can describe this to you. And that's why you see some people, their iman is in the heart, it's just like they're so joyful in all circumstances of life. Because now with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They are with Allah 'azza wa jal.

**[38:03]** Others, their iman is transactional. Good deeds, making good deeds and so on. Different level. And honestly, frankly, similarly with the subject of love as well too. No matter how much you try to describe what love is, at the end of the day, it's something,

**[38:18]** only those who experience it truly and genuinely, they would feel it, but they can never describe this with words. So when it comes to this ma'iyyah, with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. How can I feel that Allah is with me? I can't tell you with words.

**[38:34]** You have to live it. You have to be there. How am I gonna be there? That's when your dhikr needs to be in the heart. Your dhikr is actually focused on something different, which brings to the last point he mentioned over here in regard to this matter. But I just wanted to point this out, that when it comes to this ma'iyyah,

**[38:50]** just being righteous and doing good deeds does not guarantee you're gonna get that level of ma'iyyah. It has to be a higher level of dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Can I comment really quickly, Sheikh? It's one of the connections also between the jannah of the hereafter and the jannah of this world. The jannah of the hereafter,

**[39:05]** it has what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard. It's not something that can be comprehended through the imagination. Likewise, the jannah of certainty in this world, unless you've felt it, unless you've been there,

**[39:24]** you can't really talk about it. You can't really convey it with words. And the believer should strive for that. This is not like a spiritual ecstasy, by the way. I mean, it's really important here. Again, you're not chasing some sort of otherworldliness. You're actually chasing what it means to be anchored

**[39:41]** in your love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala while still being very much so part of this world. Stop chasing the rush. Stop chasing the escape. None of this is an escape. It's bringing Allah into everything that you do. Remember what Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah started off this whole risalah with, this whole book with.

**[39:56]** Like, a person remembers Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in their most mundane and minor things. That's the gift. That's the special part of this, right? Not that I escape from the world and things of that sort. So, Sheikh, I don't know if you want to,

**[40:12]** do you want to read the athar ahl al-dhikr, ahl al-majaalis, or you want to skip it? I will skip it to the point for the sake of time, Sheikh. 45 is extremely, extremely, extremely important point about dhikr and what dhikr can do to you. He says, rahimahullah, on point number 45,

**[40:28]** qala, anna akram al-khalqi 'ala Allahi ta'ala min al-muttaqin man la yazal lisanuhu ratban bi dhikrihi. Fa innahu ittaqahu fi amrihi wa nahyihi wa ja'ala dhikrahu shi'arahu. He says over here, rahimahullah ta'ala,

**[40:44]** that among the most honorable people to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, among the righteous ones, among the righteous ones. Remember what he's saying. He's speaking about the righteous right now. He says, among the righteous ones, there's a special category as well, too. Who is that category? Qala, man la yazal lisanuhu ratban bi dhikrihi Allah.

**[41:01]** The one who keeps his tongue moist with the remembrance of Allah 'azza wa jalla. Like they're all righteous people. They do good deeds. They observe alhamdulillah, halal and haram and stuff. But among all of these righteous people, there's a separate category, separate class among the people,

**[41:16]** are those who remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala regularly. What's so special about them? Qala, fa innahu ittaqahu fi amrihi wa nahyihi wa ja'ala dhikrahu shi'arahu. Because he says, this righteous one with this dhikr, he reveres him through his commands and prohibitions

**[41:34]** and makes his remembrance his constant slogan. Okay, so what does that give him? Qala, fa al-taqwa, his righteousness, awjabat lahu dukhul al-jannati wa al-najatu min al-nar. This will necessitate his entry into Paradise. Like his righteousness gave him jannah.

**[41:51]** Okay, that's the reward that you deserve. That's now the recompense that you deserve. You deserve for the good deed that you've made. However, wa dhikruhu yujibulahu al-qurba min Allahi 'azza wa jalla, wa al-zulfa ladayhi wa hadhihi al-manzilah. He says, as for his remembrance,

**[42:07]** that is the thing that brings him closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and give him the special status of nearness or qurb, or witness with Allah 'azza wa jalla. And then he completes that by saying, therefore you have to understand, 'ummalu al-akhirah, those are the people who work for the akhirah,

**[42:26]** are two parts, or two categories. Minhum man ya'malu 'ala al-ajri wa al-thawab. Some, they work for what? Just to get the work for the reward. And then its recompense. What does that mean? You pray in the masjid to get the 27 degrees.

**[42:43]** You read the Qur'an to get 10 hasanaat per letter. You fast to get your face distant from Jahannam sab'in kharifan. All these are valid reasons and absolutely sought after when it comes to the 'ibadah. He goes, but these people stop at that.

**[42:59]** That's it. And then he said the second category, qala wa minhum man ya'malu 'ala al-manzilah. Some people, they focus on status with their good deeds. They're looking for what brings them closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, not what gives them the hundred levels of jannah,

**[43:16]** the seven levels of jannah. No, they're looking to be close and near to Allah 'azza wa jalla. Qala fa huwa yunafisu ghayruhu al-wasilata wa al-manzilata 'inda Allahi ta'ala wa yusabiqul qurbi minhu. So this person always races with others to get near to Allah 'azza wa jalla.

**[43:32]** That's his job. So even when you do your salah and siyam and charity and so on, what's your intention? What are you trying to get out of this? If you're looking for the reward, alhamdulillah, the righteous people do that and there's nothing wrong with that. But what's beyond just getting the reward?

**[43:48]** That's when the dhikr of the heart comes into play. And he mentioned some examples from the Qur'an over here. As he mentioned, Allah 'azza wa jalla qala in surah al-Hadid, inna al-mussaddiqina wa al-mussaddiqati wa aqradu Allaha qardan hasana yuda'afu lahum wa lahum ajrun karim.

**[44:04]** He mentioned in surah al-Hadid, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentioned in surah al-Hadid, the example indeed, the men and women who give charity and make a good loan to Allah 'azza wa jalla will have it increased for them in the dunya and they will have a generous reward in the akhirah.

**[44:20]** So yeah, you did something, I'll give you a return. Transactional relationship right now. However, he says, and then next category he says, wa alladhina amanu billahi wa rusulihi ula'ika hum al-siddiqun. He says, as those who believe in Allah and His messengers,

**[44:37]** such people are the truly sincere. So what he says over here is that the first category worked for the reward. The second category worked for the manzilah, which means for the status. What's the difference? The difference is the second category focuses on the dhikr of the heart.

**[44:57]** The dhikr of the heart. The first category focused on the dhikr of the actions and the limbs. But the second category focused on the dhikr of the heart. So basically what he says, if you can do dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with your heart, with your heart, like if your heart comes truly closer

**[45:15]** to Allah with understanding and perception and so on, that is way more important than just tiring your body with the 'ibadah only. Basically seek the rank over the reward. Seek the rank over the reward. So just remember that, like, do I want the rank or do I want the reward?

**[45:32]** Or both? The Muslims should want both. Sheikh, do you mind if I just do a quick reflection on point 43 before we go to questions? So if you go back to 43, point 43, it says, that dhikr equals 'itqu al-riqab wa nafaqat al-amwal

**[45:47]** wa al-hamlu al-khayli fi sabilillahi 'azza wa jalla wa ya'dilu darba bi al-sayfi fi sabilillahi 'azza wa jalla. That dhikr equals freeing slaves and equals spending money for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and equals, you know, all of these actions

**[46:02]** in the battlefield for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then he gives some examples of Ibn Mas'ud radiya Allahu ta'ala 'anhu and other companions, like where Ibn Mas'ud is sitting with 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As and saying, for me to take,

**[46:18]** akhutha fi tariqin aqulu fihi subhanAllah wa alhamdulillah wa la ilaha illallah wa Allahu akbar. For me to take a path and to say, subhanAllah, alhamdulillah, la ilaha illallah, Allahu akbar. Ahabbu ilayya min an unfiq. It's more beloved to me than to spend the same amount fi sabilillah in dinars and gold coins.

**[46:36]** And he mentions a narration from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, shall I not tell you of the best of your deeds? And, you know, he goes on to say sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the deeds that are the most pure, the most beloved

**[46:53]** and that raise your rank the most. And he mentions in this narration sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that even better than spending gold and even better than freeing the slaves and even better than meeting your enemy in the battlefield and striking them and they strike you,

**[47:09]** he says dhikrullah, the remembrance of Allah. Now, I really wanna clarify this point because it was actually asked by someone a few days ago and I hope you'll pay attention to this one carefully, inshAllah ta'ala. Someone's like Islam feels like a cheat code. This all feels like a cheat code.

**[47:24]** Just remember Allah and it's all done. Say subhanAllah, you don't have to do this. Say alhamdulillah, you don't have to do this. Say la ilaha illallah, you don't have to do this. And the 'ulama speak about this extensively. So please listen very carefully to this point, inshAllah ta'ala. The Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam

**[47:39]** in these narrations is in no way diminishing the other actions. He's extolling the deeds that are available to everybody. The Sahabah were still very much so invested in freeing the slaves

**[47:55]** and very much so invested in striving for the sake of Allah sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam in the battlefield and in their own personal lives and very much so invested in spending. So what's the attitude that the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam is really trying to create? Is he trying to create the attitude of don't worry about doing all of those things.

**[48:10]** Just say subhanAllah, alhamdulillah, la ilaha illallah, Allahu akbar. No, in fact, the 'ulama say the beauty of what the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam achieved with his companions was that he caused the poor to have an element by which they could strive

**[48:26]** and reach the rank of the rich and the rich to desire what the poor were doing to elevate their rank. What does that mean? The most famous example of this is when some of the poor companions complained to the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam that we don't have all this money to spend for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[48:44]** We can't go out and do the things that the rich companions are doing. They've taken all of the reward. What did the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam say? Didn't Allah give you something by which you can give sadaqah? And then he said, say after your salah, subhanAllah, alhamdulillah, Allahu akbar.

**[49:01]** He gave you something. So the poor companions got excited. We have a way now to equalize the playing field with the rich companions because they were unable to do the other deeds. So what did the rich companions do? They found out what the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam said, so they started doing that as well.

**[49:19]** And so the poor companions complained again, ya Rasulullah, now they're doing that stuff too. Like this was supposed to be our thing, right? That's the bounty of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, alhamdulillah. Another example is when the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam said that whoever goes and prays two rak'ahs in Quba, Masjid Quba, it's equal to 'Umrah, right?

**[49:40]** Did that diminish in the hearts of the companions in any way the love of going to Mecca and actually doing 'Umrah? Do you think they just said, do you think any Sahabi said, oh, in that case, no need to go all the way to Mecca. I can just go to Quba around the corner and get my 'Umrah there.

**[49:57]** No, but you know what it did do? It comforted those companions that were prohibited from going to Mecca because of the siege on Mecca, the circumstance and the oppression that they couldn't go. So it gave them something to do and something to feel the reward and achieve the reward.

**[50:13]** But none of the deeds that the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam is comparing to dhikr are being diminished here. So no, Islam is not a cheat code, but Allah 'azza wa jalla has given everyone a lane to him and dhikr is the ultimate equalizer of the deeds. That's actually the point here. Dhikr is the ultimate equalizer of deeds because if Allah is truly great in your heart,

**[50:33]** then He knows that when any circumstance presents itself to you by which you can please Him, you will please Him with that circumstance. He already knows that about you. That if you had the money, you would do this. If you had the experience, you would do this. If you had the strength, you would do this because you would do anything for Him because you love Him.

**[50:52]** So dhikr is the great equalizer because it magnifies the one who's being pursued so that all pursuits are gathered in a singular direction. So it's not a cheat code. It doesn't escape the other actions in Islam and it certainly does not diminish our need for fighting for justice and, you know, striving for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in every other affair.

**[51:13]** We've got the question inshallah for these next 10-15 minutes inshallah. Do you think learning Arabic should be part of every Muslim's life so that at least we understand the text of dhikr and the Qur'an and it gives a deeper meaning to it? Is that something that we should really focus so much on?

**[51:29]** Like can the dhikr be useful without learning the Arabic language or should we do our effort to learn the Arabic language for that reason? Look, learning the Arabic language is in and of itself beautiful and beneficial and a person should strive especially if you want to take a path of knowledge, of 'ilm.

**[51:46]** Learning Arabic is very important. Can you be an amazing Muslim without knowing Arabic? Yeah, you can be a great Muslim without knowing Arabic. But is learning Arabic a great way to come close to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and broaden your knowledge and find depth? Absolutely. So what I would say is when it comes to dhikr in particular, they're short phrases.

**[52:05]** Learn the meaning of those phrases. It's like when someone says salah, I can't find khushu' in salah. I understand taraweeh is rough. Right? But you can learn the benefits of Allahu akbar. Like you can learn those meanings of the things that you say in every prayer and enrich yourself and you can read, you know, about the chapter that's going to be read in taraweeh, for example, and still find connections, still cling on to things.

**[52:35]** But certainly Arabic unlocks a whole nother ocean. And if a person can learn it, then it is a beautiful pursuit of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's not mandatory, but it is very enriching. Sheikh, if you don't mind, I want to qualify this with one thing very important.

**[52:52]** When you learn the Arabic language, you need to know why you're learning the Arabic language for. Because there are so many programs that are out there and you might be wasting your time in learning these programs. If you're learning the Arabic language to understand the Qur'an and the hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and the adhkar, then you need to focus on programs that serve that area.

**[53:11]** Instead of wasting your time in conversation in Arabic, for example, learning to say, how are you doing, good morning, good evening. That's not your business. But if you want to go and live in a Muslim world, go and learn that stuff. And even when you learn the conversation in Arabic, when you go to the Muslim land, forget it.

**[53:28]** You're not going to even use it, actually, because they speak different dialects, right? But you need to make sure that when you try to learn the Arabic language, learn the language that will benefit you. When you open a text, an Arabic text, you'll be able to understand and translate easily. That's the kind of program you need to look for, inshallah.

**[53:45]** So sheikh, all those like programs that learn Egyptian Arabic. Yeah, you're not going to get anything out of the Qur'an by learning. Learning 'Amiyyah is not going to have you understand.

**[54:00]** I have something in Islamic schools, unfortunately, because they want to teach Arabic language as part of the Muslim curriculum of the Islamic schools and so on. But when I see the homework that the kids bring home for the Arabic language, all these books that they teach, they're done for Arabic-speaking kids who live abroad.

**[54:20]** Completely different from what we need for our children. So are my kids going to learn about ghasala and thallajah and tabakh? What do they have to learn about a plane and a stove and this and that? I mean, what exactly is the point of it? So I'd rather that they have a more focused program on reading the Qur'an and the hadith

**[54:39]** than just learning about ghasala and thallajah and tabakh. I think they should put a picture of you in the book, holding the brick. This is a sheikh. Allahu Akbar. This is a sheikh who is angry. But seriously, we need to make sure that when we learn the Arabic language, we learn for the right reason, inshallah.

**[54:58]** Absolutely. A question says about making dhikr of a sole name of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Like, is that something that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did? Is that something we should do? Like many people, they say, I would repeat the name Ya Fattah a thousand times. Ya Latif a thousand times.

**[55:15]** That's not from the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, is it? You know, if you realize all of the adhkar, they have Allah's name in it, right? SubhanAllah, alhamdulillah, la ilaha illallah, Allahu akbar, la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah, astaghfirullah.

**[55:36]** Right? They all have the name of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So the most frequent name that is remembered is Allah's name, Allah. Now, when it comes to the specific adhkar, there are some secrets and beautiful things that are unlocked through the names of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah says, fad'uhu biha, to call upon him with those names.

**[55:56]** So the formulas can become deeply problematic because they start to make suggestions that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam never made. But at the same time, I would say what's just so much more effective is either take the Sunnah du'as of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam or take those names of Allah 'azza wa jalla and interact with those names themselves.

**[56:15]** Personalize your du'a with those names. And there's no problem with repeating a name of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The problem is when you start to like prescribe specific formulas and think like if you repeat this. But also if someone just wants to make an entire session just saying a thousand times, ya fattah, ya fattah, ya fattah, ya fattah.

**[56:35]** That's not how the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam remembered Allah azawajal. Even when Allah revealed to the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, wa lillahi al-asma' al-husna, to Allah belongs all these beautiful names. So call upon him with these names. He himself never used that system. Right. Instead, like you said, Sheikh, he uses the name of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala purposefully.

**[56:52]** There's a purpose for it. So you mentioned the name of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with your request. So that's how the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam did it and that's how we should do it insha'Allah wa ta'ala.

**[57:12]** Someone is wondering, he says, when do you all sleep during Ramadan, Sheikh? He said, maybe this will help us plan for the next year insha'Allah. Do you sleep, Sheikh? Alhamdulillah, I do.

**[57:28]** It's not very organized right now. It's not very structured, but you know, we talked about Allah, the beauty of Allah azawajal. Like on a serious note, by the way, like I really do, I was thinking about this. I think about this hadith a lot.

**[57:44]** Like this Ramadan in particular, I've been struggling so much with my sleep. So much my sleep and like sometimes, I think like three days ago, I was sitting in the chair and I woke up in the middle of the first rak'ah at Fajr, like jolted, like I could hear the imam reciting.

**[58:03]** And you know, that hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, that whoever sleeps and they sleep through their witr of the night, Allah writes for him what he intended and his sleep was a charity from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[58:21]** So beautiful. Even your sleep, like if sleep overtakes you, sleep never overtakes Allah azawajal. But if you're trying and sleep overtakes you, Allah azawajal even writes that down for you. Here's a, this is a charity for you.

**[58:37]** And Allah writes down what you intended. And honestly, like because sometimes like I hate myself, like man, I still had one more juz I wanted to get done and like, you know, I wake up and I still wake up and I look at the phone like, oh, you know, the mushaf is still on the same page, right?

**[58:54]** The phone is still on the same page. Like I didn't get what I wanted to get. I didn't, I didn't, you know, I didn't pray this many rak'ahs or maybe like I had the intention to pray witr. And I didn't pray witr. Allah azawajal writes it down for you. Anyway, and that's, remember you're dealing with Allah.

**[59:13]** You're dealing with Allah azawajal. You're dealing with ar-Rahman. So don't hate yourself too much when you fall asleep and get drowsy. In fact, it may be that it is for that reason that Allah looks at you with pity and mercy. Like look at this servant of mine trying so hard to fight sleep for my sake.

**[59:33]** Dozing off and trying so hard to remember me. And it may be that that's actually what attains the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. More than any du'a that you were going to make, ya rabbi rhamni. Maybe that's what actually attains the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Sheikh, how can we reach that rank with Allah azawajal, al-ma'iyyah?

**[59:49]** It says over here, what steps can we take in our daily life? If I may comment on this quickly insha'Allah ta'ala. I think if you really want to reach that level, I hope insha'Allah ta'ala, you need to understand there is a lot of actually sacrifice and a lot of exercise. Exercise is more mental exercise than physical exercise.

**[1:00:05]** You're going to have to start learning to sit down and do tafakkur and tadabbur and you know, just reflection and devote some time really just for the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Like basically break away from the hustle and bustle of life and learn to sit down alone and you will never feel lonely.

**[1:00:22]** Our problem, we got used to the chaos that when we sit alone, we start craving, you know, some attention or some noise. So that's a big problem. A book I would highly recommend for you to check on insha'Allah ta'ala that would help you with that is the book of Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah himself, the same author of this book here, Madarij as-Salikeen.

**[1:00:40]** Madarij as-Salikeen, I think it's translated into two volumes in English as well. And that book, he explains the different stations that takes you all the way to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Different stations, like from one station to the other.

**[1:00:56]** He goes basically, this is how you spiritually grow. If you read that book and follow one station at a time, I hope you will find yourself insha'Allah in the right path. The last thing, sheikh, insha'Allah ta'ala, is when it comes to the subject of dhikr,

**[1:01:14]** how can we specifically right now in Ramadan continue making dhikr and having that ma'iyyah with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, balancing our life with all that stuff? Like I have so many other things to do, how can I focus on that? How can I get that ma'iyyah if I don't even have time to do dhikr?

**[1:01:32]** So the idea of ma'iyyah is that Allah is always with you, but you can hyper-focus on His withness when you're alone. Allah is always with you, but you can hyper-focus when you're alone. Once you create enough of a withness with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when you're alone,

**[1:01:48]** then you won't depart from that withness when other people are there. And so like, what's the secret of ikhlas, sincerity? That Allah azawajal becomes your greatest audience alone, so that even when other people are seeing you, you're only really concerned with His sight.

**[1:02:08]** What's the secret of pursuing Allah azawajal over other things? That even when you're pursuing other things, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's pursuit always remains greater. What's the secret of Allah's company? ana jaleesu man dhakarani, I'm with the one who remembers me. That even when other people are around, you always imagine that Allah azawajal is the company,

**[1:02:27]** the unseen company, and the greatest of your unseen company. So once that company violates the presence of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, I no longer want that company, I want to rectify that company, right? So the idea is, in private, you generate a connection with Allah that will then continue into public,

**[1:02:46]** when you're alone, and then when you're with people. That's the benefit of i'tikaf, that's the benefit of al-khalwah ma'a Allah azawajal, is to develop that relationship so that you don't forget Him when other people are also there. Insha'Allah ta'ala.

**[1:03:23]** And show us that which is right and make it easy for us to follow it. And that which is wrong and stay away from it. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to accept our fasting, accept our qiyam, accept our du'a, accept our salah, accept our ibadah, our ta'ah. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that just as He gathered us in this place,

**[1:03:38]** that He gathers us together in Jannatul Firdaws al-A'la, with the Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, wa alhamdulillahi rabbil 'alameen. Jazakumullah khairan. Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Wa alaikum assalam.

**[1:03:53]** Al-Fatihah. you

## 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)
- [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)
- [When Your Heart Makes Dhikr | Midnight Majlis S2 Ep1](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/midnight-majlis/midnight-majlis-s2-ep1-when-your-heart-makes-dhikr.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)