# How Believers Protect Themselves from Pride | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 4

**Author:** Dr. Omar Suleiman
**Series:** Servants of the Most Merciful
**Published:** 2025-12-16
**YouTube:** https://youtu.be/xLoOku2NIyU
**URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/how-believers-protect-themselves-from-pride-servants-of-the-most-merciful-ep-4
**Topics:** Acts of Worship, Sharia

## Description
Between fear that humbles the heart and hope that lifts it, the Servants of the Most Merciful walk a path of beautiful balance. In this fourth session of ʿIbad ar-Rahman, Dr. Omar Suleiman explores the Qur’anic verse: “Our Lord, turn away from us the punishment of Hell. Indeed, its punishment is...

## Chapters
- 0:00 The Prophet ﷺ’s advice for survival
- 10:25 What it means to be far away from Hell
- 18:36 When Hell stalks you
- 24:33 Avoiding even a moment in Hell
- 29:50 Speaking of Hell from a place of knowledge and focus, not paranoia
- 40:16 Why do Ibad ar-Rahman still fear Hell?
- 50:38 The Meccan context of these verses
- 56:48 How fear and hope protect you
- 1:06:44 Making du’a for protection from Hell

## Transcript
**[0:00]** I want to welcome you all back and Alhamdulillah Ar-Rahman. We are now on the fourth halaqa, Alhamdulillah, of the qualities of Ibadur Rahman.

**[0:21]** And I wanted to start off by saying that tonight we're going to tackle the subject of hope and fear in a very different way than I would traditionally cover it. Because I want us to look at this ayah as part of a collection.

**[0:37]** Every concept that we are studying is in context of trying to become one of those privileged servants of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala who He calls Ibadur Rahman. May Allah Azawajal make us from Ibadur Rahman. Allahumma Ameen. And so I want to start with a hadith.

**[0:53]** And I want to preface this hadith by putting you in the situation, if you had a moment with the Prophet (ﷺ), what would you ask him? Everyone think for a moment. If you had a moment with the Prophet (ﷺ), what would you ask him? Okay?

**[1:09]** What would you ask him? You can shout out answers. What would you ask the Prophet (ﷺ) if you had a moment with him? To be his neighbor in Jannah. Beautiful. So a request for the Prophet (ﷺ) to allow you to be his neighbor in Jannah. What else?

**[1:24]** Put his hand on your chest and tell you to say Astaghfirullah. Very specific, Mashallah. Beautiful. Anyone else? What is it? Advice?

**[1:40]** To seek his advice. Very good. So request to be his neighbor in Jannah. Have him touch you, make du'a for you, or tell you to seek forgiveness from Allah. Advice? Anyone else? Anyone else have an answer to mine? Just get to Jannah straight up?

**[1:58]** What should we do in our time? So what you'll notice is that largely it falls into two categories. Du'a and advice. Right? So whether the du'a is to be with him (ﷺ) or you want advice from him (ﷺ), it's largely going to fall in these two buckets.

**[2:17]** And I suspected that that would be the case. Any time I've asked this question in any other setting, all of the answers fall within these two buckets. And that's exactly how the Sahaba were. When they were around the Prophet (ﷺ), these were the two types of questions that he would get.

**[2:32]** Pray for me or give me some advice. Like I've got one on one time with the man Alayhi Salatu Wasalam who receives direct revelation from Allah. There is no other human being on the planet that can speak to me from the divine inspiration of Jibreel Alayhi Salam sent to him by Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.

**[2:51]** So it's a very special moment. But then there is a sub-branch here. What type of du'a would you ask him? What type of advice would you seek from him? Right? So there's this narration from Uqba bin Amir (رضي الله عنه) that is very specific

**[3:08]** and it actually matches what you just said here. Where he's with the Prophet (ﷺ) and he said, Ya Rasulullah, man najaa? How do I survive? How do I survive? An-najaa can be survival in this life or salvation in the hereafter.

**[3:28]** But like how do I survive? Fitna is abundant. I feel like you're going to leave soon perhaps or I'm not going to always have you around Alayhi Salatu Wasalam. Give me a survival kit. And the Prophet (ﷺ) so beautifully, whether it's in the bucket

**[3:44]** of du'a or in the bucket of advice, the Prophet (ﷺ) never gave anyone anything long. He gave short comprehensive du'as, short comprehensive advices. So much so that for some, they'd be left desiring more. And of course, anytime you are with the Prophet (ﷺ), you want more.

**[4:02]** But it's almost too much that it's so little. It's too much to process. Such a short du'a and it does everything. Ask Allah for al-afwa wa al-afiya. That's it. Al-afiya, just to be spared. That's it. Rabbana aatina fi dunya hasana wa fi al-akhirati hasana wa qina a'adhaban naar.

**[4:20]** That's the secret sauce. That's the secret du'a. Allahumma innaka a'fuwwun tuhibbu al-afwa fa'fu anni. That's it. Like I'm expecting a long elaborate du'a that I can write down and this is just between me and him Alayhi Salatu Wasalam. Likewise with advice, la taghdab.

**[4:35]** Don't get mad. Don't get angry. Qul aamantu billah thumma istaqim. Say I believe in Allah and then hold firm. Very short advices, very short du'as. He wants to give you something deep in meaning but he has jawami al-kalim (ﷺ). He has the comprehensiveness of words where he gives you short words that are packed with

**[4:54]** meaning that you can keep for the rest of your life. So this narration from Uqba ibn Amir, you might be wondering when are we getting to Ibadur Rahman. There's a realization that it actually fits the last three ayat perfectly.

**[5:09]** How do I survive? What is salvation? So the Prophet (ﷺ) gives him a survival kit for fitna. Pay attention. Qala amsik alayka lisanik. Number one, hold your tongue.

**[5:25]** Your tongue will doom you. Your tongue will ruin you. Your tongue will throw you into the deepest pit of hellfire even if you have a legacy of qiyam al-layl and sadaqa and everything else in between. Your tongue will doom you. Most people in hellfire, if you were to ask them, like if you're reading a criminal record,

**[5:43]** why are you here? It is hasa'id al-lisan, as the Prophet (ﷺ) said, the harvest of the tongue. We say things and we don't pay attention. The tongue is also the fingers. It's what you write online. It's what you text. It's what you put on your social media. Tongue is representative of expression.

**[6:01]** Hold it back. Now, if you realize, the beginning of the description of Ibadur Rahman, so they don't engage in any violent or transgressive or aggressive way with the world around them.

**[6:18]** People try to agitate. They say salam. They're practicing amsik alayka lisanik. They're holding back their tongue. So that's the first advice, right? And if you're talking about protecting yourself from the hellfire, there is nothing that gets you there like your tongue, right?

**[6:34]** Like your expressions, backbiting, slander, lying, inappropriate jokes. It all comes from here, being abusive and aggressive towards people. It all comes from this. May Allah protect us from it. Allahumma ameen. One word can doom you. One word can save you.

**[6:50]** The same tongue. How do you protect it? Engage it with tasbih. Engage it with beautiful words. Engage it with nice things that you say about other people. Use it for da'wah. Use it for courtesy. Use it for character. Use it for good things. Use what Allah gave you of expression for beautiful things instead.

**[7:07]** Okay? So that's the first survival kit, amsik alayka lisanik. And if you think about fitnah, the time that we are in right now, you have multiple ways to express yourself, right? I mean, you could tell AI, you could give it four words and it'll write you 40 words.

**[7:25]** And just the irony of the time that we live in, someone writes you an email using AI, and then you go and you write a small prompt getting a long response, AI, like, where's the human part of this? Where are the human beings that are supposed to be talking to each other right now?

**[7:40]** Right? But expression, expression, expression. And if you think about the time that we live in as well, it's not just an overload of output, I mean, input, it's an overload of output, right? So amsik alayka lisanik. When times of fitnah are there, because there is so much room for the blurring of senses

**[7:59]** and deception and things of that sort, then you might weigh in on something inappropriately. Just try to practice silence, intentional silence. Amsik alayka lisanik. That's number one. Then he said, wal yasa'aka baytuk, what we talked about last time.

**[8:15]** wal ladheena yabeetoona li rabbihim sujjadan wa qiyama, wal yasa'aka baytuk. I love the expression here, (ﷺ). Wal yasa'aka baytuk. If I was to translate it best, some of you maybe can even help me.

**[8:30]** Let your house be enough for you. Wal yasa'aka baytuk. Let your house be enough for you. Like the literal translation would be, let your house fit you, right? So don't be so big that you can't fit in your house. But that's not the literal meaning that we're looking for.

**[8:45]** Let your house be enough for you. Like be content with being at home. Be content with your own space. Be content with your own place. Stop trying to always seek something on the outside. And subhanAllah, one of the greatest protections from Jahannam, one of the greatest protections from the fire is to reduce your exposure to sin-fueled environments.

**[9:04]** Right? That's one of the greatest ways to keep yourself away from expressing or doing things that are going to be inappropriate. So you stay out of fitna. You're content with being anonymous. You spend more time in ibadah and introspection, right?

**[9:20]** In grounding yourself rather than doing things that are external of their nature. So you're just spending more time building yourself, building the structure within, rather than trying to construct something outside. So wal yasa'aka baytuk. That's the second thing, right?

**[9:35]** Let your home be enough for you. Let your home be a place of refuge for you. The third thing, wabki ala khatiyatik. Cry over your sins. This is going to be the most difficult lecture of all of the lectures of Ibadur Rahman. I'm letting you know from now.

**[9:51]** Cry over your sins. Because it's a concept that is so delicate because there's a fine line between fear of Allah that is healthy and despair. It's a very fine line. And I don't want anyone to despair of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[10:06]** Remember, He is Ar-Rahman. That's the whole point here, right? So there's a fine line here between acknowledging your sins and crying over your sins and falling into a state of despair. So let's come to, and so you'll realize these three qualities

**[10:22]** actually fit the exact orientation of Ibadur Rahman here. And we're going to spend time with the third one today. The next verse, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala said, wal ladheena yaqooloona rabbana srif'anna athaba jahannam

**[10:37]** inna athabaha kaana gharaama Those who retreat, remember, yabeetoona li rabbihim sujjadan wa qiyama So there's a visual that's given that it started off with the external. The external, like just think about a visual roadmap of Ibadur Rahman is that you're walking on the outside

**[10:55]** lightly, you're treading the earth lightly. That people are agitating and you're saying salam. You're not engaging with foolishness or ignorance or stupidity. You're focused, calibrated towards Ar-Rahman. That's the external. Then Allah gives you a vision of the internal. You're at home, you're in sujood, you're in qiyam, okay?

**[11:13]** Realize, yabeetoona sujjadan wa qiyama all describes an external posture inside of your home. Right? So where are you physically? You're inside your home. What are you doing physically? You're in sujood and qiyam. You're prostrating and you're standing up.

**[11:28]** Now, what are you saying? What are you saying? So Allah now gives us the du'a. So now you're in the visual of the person that's in their home. What are they asking Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala for? Think about it this way. When the angels go around looking for gatherings like this one,

**[11:44]** may Allah azawajal make it as such. Allahumma ameen. That this is a place where Allah is being remembered and the angels are surrounding us right now bi-idhnillahi ta'ala reporting our names to Allah. And we ask Allah for the full reward and the full forgiveness. Allahumma ameen. What does Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala ask the angels?

**[12:02]** Allah asks the angels and He knows better than them. What are they asking for? What are they asking for? They're asking for Jannah. They're asking for protection from hell. And Allah asked the angels, did they see Jannah? No. Have they seen hellfire?

**[12:17]** No. And Allah asked the angels, how would it be if they had seen Jannah? How would it be if they had seen hellfire? They would have spent all the time in the world. Like what would possibly distract you and delude you if you had seen paradise and you'd seen hellfire, right?

**[12:35]** So Allah is asking the angels, what are they saying? Even though Allah knows better. Here, Allah is telling us what they're saying and He knows better. In the privacy of their homes, in the external posture, those who say, our Lord, keep away from us. Ward off from us the punishment of hellfire

**[12:53]** for verily its punishment is one that clings. And Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala continues, innaha sa'at mustaqarran wa muqama. That verily it is a terrible abode and a terrible place of permanence. I'm gonna get into the words, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala,

**[13:10]** in a bit, but let's focus on the concept, inshallah ta'ala. wal-ladheena yaquluna rabbana rabbana asrif'anna athaba jahannam Oh, our Lord, ward off from us the punishment of the fire.

**[13:27]** When you think of an image of success, I want you to think about watching a race or watching someone getting through a really tough competition. By the time they get to the finish line, how do they look? They're covered in sweat, they're tired.

**[13:43]** Maybe they have a few wounds that they've gotten along the way because they tripped here or they got cut by something here. When they get to the finish line, they look beat up, right? They've been through stuff. But then once they cross the finish line, right?

**[13:59]** It's as if whatever marathon they just ran, whatever competition they just went through, all of that pain goes away because of the reward of crossing the finish line. That's an image of success, right? And they look past it now. Like, I don't have to run that race again.

**[14:15]** I don't have to run that course again. For those of you that are like into the whole fight game, someone that has to cut weight for the very last time and starts crying, like, I never have to do this again. Finally, I can look back on this. This is an accomplishment that I can now put behind me.

**[14:32]** I never have to do this again. I succeeded, right? Look at how Allah Azawajal describes success in terms of exiting or getting away from hell. Rabbana srif anna athaba jahannam. Oh, our Lord, push hellfire away from us. And Allah says,

**[14:48]** faman zuhziha anin nari wa udkhila aljanna faqad faz. Whoever is pulled away from the hell and put into paradise, verily they have succeeded. Now you might be thinking like, that doesn't sound very appealing.

**[15:05]** Zuhziha anin nari, being pulled away from hellfire and placed into paradise, faqad faz, then that's success. But if you actually consider it in the capacity of what I just mentioned, you're running the race of this dunya. And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala mentions

**[15:20]** that Jannah has been surrounded by all sorts of hardships. The path to Jannah is thorns, as the Prophet (ﷺ) said, right? It's thorns, makara, it's hard things on the way to Jannah. Hellfire is surrounded by lust and ease. Getting to hell is remarkably easy.

**[15:37]** It's really easy to get to hell, right? And getting to Jannah requires some sacrifice, right? Now the sacrifice can be made easy by Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, but it still requires an effort on your part, okay?

**[15:53]** It's not impossible. Yadkhuluna aljannata illa man aba, as the Prophet (ﷺ) said, everyone enters paradise except for the one who refuses it, right, by disobeying Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, by disobeying the messenger of Allah (ﷺ). So it's not an impossible stride, but you're running a marathon here.

**[16:09]** And you have to think about that visually, that you're gonna take some wounds, you're gonna sweat, you're gonna cry, you're gonna go through some things to get to Jannah. But as the ulama of tafsir mentioned, man zuhziha anin naar wa udkhila aljannat, does not necessarily mean that you get put into hell

**[16:26]** and you're dragged away from hell. Right now, if you are in the process of worshiping Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and toiling towards Allah Azawajal with your struggle, you're already engaging that process, bismillah ta'ala, being pushed away from hell, being dragged away from hell, and hell being put away from you.

**[16:42]** And that image is powerful. When the Prophet (ﷺ) says, man sama yawmin fee sabeedillah, it's not from the hadith, whoever fasts one day for the sake of Allah, Allah Azawajal distances their face from hellfire, the journey of 70 years.

**[16:59]** There's a distancing that's being put. Faman zuhziha anin naar, Rabbana asrif anna athaba jahannam, right? Hell is being made further from you. May Allah Azawajal make it far from us, Allahumma ameen, and pull us away from it. So the pulling has already started.

**[17:15]** And that's why some people on the day of judgment, may Allah make us amongst them, they cross the Sirat over hell, wa in minkum illa wariduha, we all have to cross. But some people cross like this. Did anyone see what I just did? I just blinked my eye.

**[17:30]** That's it. Some people cross like the blink of an eye, the Prophet (ﷺ) said. Some people cross like lightning, just like that, they're done. Because they've already engaged, pushing hellfire away, asking Allah to push it away, zuhziha anin naar, so they're being pulled away from hellfire,

**[17:47]** and Allah is pushing hellfire away from them. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala put between us and hellfire, a distance that is so long that we never feel it, Allahumma ameen. So it is made far away, right? You're asking Allah to distance it from you,

**[18:02]** and distance me from it. Think about someone that you hate, or you don't like, right? Don't bring me close to that person, don't bring that person close to me. I never wanna see hellfire, or be in its presence in a way that it would harm me, right? All of us will see it on the day of judgment, may Allah protect us, Allahumma ameen.

**[18:20]** But may Allah not make us of its inhabitants, right? And grant us a sense of safety and security. So these people, they say, our Lord, Rabbana asrif anna athaba jahannam Push away from us, take the fire far away from us.

**[18:36]** Inna athabaha kaana gharaama Verily, its punishment is gharaama. I know, mashallah, a lot of you speak Arabic. When you hear the word gharaama, what do you think? Anyone just tell me, like, what does it sound like?

**[18:52]** Those of you that speak Arabic. Ticket. Taxes, speeding, right? Exactly, so it's like a fine.

**[19:09]** Alright, what happens when you don't pay a fine? We're going to speak in Qatar terms now. You go to the airport and you try to leave and what happens? You thought you were getting away from this, right? Okay, so it's a fine that sticks. It's not going anywhere.

**[19:27]** It's on your record and it clings and it sticks. Gharaama refers to al-iltizam. It's something that sticks to you. La yufarikuh. It does not depart from you. It doesn't leave you. It clings to you. And if you think about, may Allah protect us,

**[19:45]** the all-encompassing nature of hellfire. By the way, I want you to be more afraid of Jahannam by the end of the lecture. I'm not going to belittle Jahannam or the punishment. That actually would defeat the purpose tonight. But there is hope at the end of this, bi-idnillahi ta'ala. But if you think about the hellfire and the way Allah Azawajal describes it,

**[20:00]** like you're put in there and you're surrounded from all directions. It's not like you can see a way out, right? The fire encompasses you from every direction. The blaze encompasses you in kulli makaan, from every direction. It's all-encompassing. Malik, the angel, sits at the gates of hellfire.

**[20:18]** No one will escape. You have this sense of imprisonment, right? Sijjin, right? It's an imprisonment in hellfire. So it clings to you from every direction. It surrounds you from every direction. And ghareem, when the Arabs would say rajulun ghareem,

**[20:35]** it means someone that you owe money to and they stalk you, right? A debtor that's stalking you for their debt. Like, I need you to pay that money. And they're constantly following you, okay? And making sure that you pay that money. So think of something that you can't get out of, like a debt or a lawsuit or a stalker,

**[20:54]** someone that's stalking you from every single direction and that will take its haqq from you, that will take its right from you. So Imam Hassan Basri Rahimahullah says, kullu ghareemin yufaariqu ghareemahu illa jahannam. Every debtor eventually leaves the debt, except for Jahannam, right?

**[21:11]** Except for the fire. May Allah protect us. That if the fire has been given a haqq on you, a right upon you, it will stalk you and it will get you and it will take its right from you. So every creditor leaves you eventually, except for hellfire.

**[21:26]** And so, Muhammad ibn Ka'b (رضي الله عنه), he says about the verse, qala inna allaha sa'ala al-kuffar an ni'mihi. Allah Azawajal will ask the disbelievers about His blessings upon them.

**[21:41]** Ya'ni thaman al-ni'mah, the price of that blessing. Now when you say alhamdulillah, when you praise Allah, when you glorify Allah, you're paying the price of those ni'mahs, those many blessings that Allah has given to you. You're paying the price of it. Even though you can't fully pay the price of it,

**[21:57]** you still need His mercy to exaggerate your praise and to cover your shortcomings, but at least you're acknowledging His blessings upon you. When you say astaghfirullah, you're acknowledging the sins that you've committed and Allah Azawajal will forgive you for those sins, bi-idnillahi ta'ala. So even though your alhamdulillah is insufficient,

**[22:13]** for Allah Ar-Rahman, Allah Azawajal will increase the beauty of your hamd and it will cover. Likewise with istighfar, even though as Sayyidina Ali (رضي الله عنه) said, you should make istighfar for your istighfar, astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah. Like you should seek forgiveness for the way you're seeking forgiveness.

**[22:30]** If it's sincere, bi-idnillahi ta'ala, it will remove the penalty of the sin. Not because you deserved it, but because you acknowledged it. So your istighfar is insufficient, but Allah removes your sins. Your hamd is insufficient, but Allah allows your blessings to go paid in terms of the price.

**[22:49]** But when Allah Azawajal asks about the blessings that He gave, and they are unpaid, when Allah Azawajal asks about the blessings, you neither acknowledged Him,

**[23:05]** nor did you seek forgiveness for your sins, nor did you thank Him for the blessings, then Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala uses the hellfire as the place of that fine of that penalty. Well now you have to pay for those blessings. Your existence was a blessing, your time on earth was a blessing,

**[23:22]** everything Allah gave you was a blessing. And so inna a'adhabaha kana gharama, you know, we ask Allah Azawajal for protection. You're thinking about this idea of hellfire as a stalker. Okay? And Allah Azawajal says on the Day of Judgment,

**[23:38]** idha ra'atuhum min makanan ba'eed, sami'u laha taghayyudan wa zafira. May Allah protect us. That when they see hellfire, even from a faraway place, they will hear its raging and its roaring. And hellfire will say, wukiltu bi fulan, I have been commanded to take so and so,

**[23:56]** I've been commanded to take so and so. May Allah Azawajal allow us to see our oppressors entering into it and paying the consequences for what they inflicted on the oppressed. And may Allah protect us from being amongst them. Allahumma ameen. So hellfire will stalk the oppressors. It will stalk those who Allah Azawajal wrote it down for.

**[24:13]** And that's something that these believers are now saying in their du'a. Oh Allah, keep it away from us. So visually push it away from us as much as possible because its punishment sticks, it stalks, it clings. And I don't want that penalty on me at all or to cling to me at all.

**[24:36]** This is one of those verses that also the translation does not do justice at all. But we'll break it down inshallah ta'ala. That verily it is a wretched abode and resting place. There are two ways that the ulama spoke about mustaqar and muqama.

**[24:51]** Mustaqar, a place of istiqrar, refers to an ever-present place. The permanence of place. For those of you that are taking notes. Which is about 75% of the sisters and 2% of the brothers.

**[25:07]** That's every, mashAllah, that's universal by the way. So mustaqar refers to an ever-present place. Muqama refers to never-ending time. Never-ending time.

**[25:22]** So some of the ulama of tafsir, they said mustaqar refers to the place. Muqama refers to the permanence of time. That it's continuous. So clingy, permanent in place, and the time factor is permanent as well.

**[25:38]** Another way that the ulama spoke about it is they said mustaqar refers to a temporary stopping place. Muqama refers to a permanent ending place. So if you're traveling through somewhere, then it's mustaqar.

**[25:53]** Maybe you're traveling through there for a few days, a few months, maybe even a few years. Iqama refers to a place where you reside, right? So muqama, I'm just using these terms so that we can kind of understand. It's where you eventually, permanently will end up. So it's as if they are saying, hellfire is not suitable neither as a place to stop nor as a place to settle.

**[26:14]** Like I don't want to go there even for a single moment. And we should aim for that, to not want to enter hellfire even for a moment. And we should be willing to ask Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala for that. That Allah enters us into paradise, bi-ghayri athab, bi-ghayri hisab.

**[26:33]** Without punishing us and without holding us accountable. Allahumma ameen. Ask Allah, be audacious. He wouldn't tell you that this is what they're asking for if it's an impossible du'a. I don't even want to stop there. I don't want hellfire to be a stop along the way to Jannah. Now, there are people that will spend years in hellfire before they get into paradise.

**[26:53]** By the time, when they get into paradise, they'll forget their punishment in hell. But do you really want to be there even for a day? You don't want to be that person. And this attitude is the opposite of what Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says about some of the people of the book. lan tamassana alnaaru illa ayyaman ma'doodah

**[27:10]** So, you know, look, we'll go to hellfire, but it'll just be a few days. We'll cheat a little bit here, we'll do a little bit there, we'll do a little bit, we'll, you know, we'll violate this law. But at the end of the day, we'll go to hell for three, four days. At the end of the day, we are chosen to go to paradise, we'll go to paradise anyway.

**[27:26]** That attitude is going to land you in hell for much longer than a few days. And even if it was only for a few days, it's not something you want to touch even for a few moments. Okay, so the opposite and the irony, SubhanAllah, these are people who are living their lives in goodness.

**[27:44]** And they're still asking Allah, I don't want to touch hellfire even for a moment. Right? And you have other people that are cheating, that are deceiving. And they're saying, we go to hell, it'll be for a few days. Right? Practically speaking, dear brothers and sisters, this is one of those real conversations that we have to have amongst ourselves.

**[28:04]** When you're committing a sin, and you know that it's a sin, and you say, What are you actually saying at the practical and operating level? Yeah, I know it's wrong, but inshallah Allah will forgive me. Think about that.

**[28:19]** Instead, it would be better to say, I know it's wrong. May Allah enable me. May Allah guide me. I really want to get away from this sin. I really want to practice this. Like show aspiration. Yes, Allah is indeed forgiving and Allah can forgive anything.

**[28:36]** That's true. That is absolutely true. Allah can forgive anything. His mercy is far greater than His wrath. His mercy encompasses all things. All of that is true. But don't show disregard towards your Lord. It's the attitude Allah is speaking about here. Right?

**[28:51]** So, innaha sa'at mustaqarran wa muqama. I don't want to touch it even for a moment. It's not suitable as a temporary place nor as a permanent residence. It's not suitable for place or for time. May Allah protect us from hellfire in all of its manifestations and for a single moment of our existence. Allahumma ameen.

**[29:12]** That's the attitude of the believer. Ask Allah with that belief and ask Allah with that attitude. I want to do everything I possibly can. And so, I have an attitude of excellence. Remember, Ibadur Rahman, they're a little extra. Right? Like they're going above and beyond in every element of their lives. Because they want to be extra careful and they are extra hopeful on the Day of Judgment as well.

**[29:31]** Okay? So, they're people who strive with excellence. When they say, I don't want to leave a single stone unturned. It's that person that thinks they got 100% on the exam but they still want to do the bonus just in case because I need to get 100%. That's ihsan. That's the attitude. Inna ha sa'at mustaqarran wa muqama.

**[29:49]** Now, let's talk about this inshallah and break it down. If you pay attention, their description of hellfire in all of its pain and its permanence and its estrangement from Allah actually comes from a place of deep clarity.

**[30:04]** Deep clarity. Let me explain what I mean here. Imam al-Qurtubi Rahimahullah said, ay innahum yaqooluna dhalika an ilm Like, they're speaking about hellfire from a place of knowledge. They're not speaking from paranoia or craziness or despair.

**[30:21]** They're speaking about it as a very real place, right? And they know about that place as if they've seen it and they don't want to touch that place. So, the ilm here, like Imam al-Qurtubi Rahimahullah is mentioning, this is not from a place of paranoia. This is from a place of yaqeen. It's from a place of certainty.

**[30:38]** I'm certain it exists. I know what it's like even though I've never been there because I trust the messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I don't want to touch it. Right? And remember when Allah sent Jibreel Alayhi Salam and he showed him paradise? And then he showed Jibreel Alayhi Salam hellfire?

**[30:56]** And, you know, he asked Jibreel Alayhi Salam, how do you think a person would behave if they would have seen it? If they would have seen paradise? They would have never given up asking Allah to enter them into it. Their whole lives would be about getting into paradise. And what if they saw hellfire? Their whole lives would be about escaping the hellfire.

**[31:13]** The operational response is the same. Getting into paradise is the same road map as getting away from hell. Right? Operationally, it's the same impact on you. But, the point is, is that you fear the consequence, you hope for the reward.

**[31:29]** So, yaqooluna thalika an ilm. The second thing the scholars talk about. With a deeper sense of awareness, there's a deeper sense of urgency. With a deeper sense of awareness, there's a deeper sense of urgency.

**[31:47]** You know, subhanAllah, when they tell you, like, ignorance is bliss, you don't want to know too much about the world because then you're going to necessarily become an activist. Alright? Like, it's better not to ask questions about where your clothes come from, or who makes the things that you consume,

**[32:04]** or, you know, like, it's better not to ask questions if you want to be comfortable. Right? Don't ask questions about how other people live their lives. Just be comfortable. Enjoy what you have and don't ask questions. Because if you ask too many questions, you'll become an activist. If you're a sincere human being.

**[32:20]** Right? Because the more aware you become of issues, the more your conscience is awakened. I have to do more. There's a sense of urgency. And other people look at that and they're like, come on, it's not that deep. It's not that serious.

**[32:35]** And you're like, it's that serious. Okay? It's just this. It's just that. Right? So with a heightened sense of awareness, there's a heightened sense of urgency. Urgency. And the ulama mention that if you pay attention to how Allah Azawajal describes awakening in the Quran.

**[33:01]** What's next? A person who looks around and they say, oh my God, you did not create all of this without purpose. How perfect are you? Protect me. Like it dawns upon you, wow.

**[33:18]** This is all real. Okay? Allah Azawajal mentions. I can't do a tafsir of the whole surah.

**[33:39]** Paraphrase just how much here. You are flooded by distractions. You're being hit by distractions constantly. They distract you from your purpose. When you go to someone's janazah, when you see a grave being opened and you see someone being buried there.

**[33:56]** And you realize that that's one day yours. That that's your inevitable ending. All right? There's an awakening. So Ziyarat al-Maqabir has one benefit of visiting as in literally visiting the graveyard. And one of them is referring to the temporary stop that you make in the grave when you die.

**[34:14]** Right? Which is the predominant definition here. Right? But the benefit is in both. Right? The more you see, the more you have a sense of urgency. So you'll notice that Allah Azawajal when He mentions believers waking up to the world. Rabbana innana amanna faghfir lana.

**[34:32]** Right? That they immediately go from, oh Allah, we believe. So forgive us. Forgive us. Forgive us. There is that sudden like hit. Like I can't afford to mess this up. I've got to get this right. I live this life as a test.

**[34:48]** Only once. But the consequences are eternal. I've got to get this right. So the sense of urgency that comes is connected to waking up to the reality of the world, the reality of your existence. So that's why the mention of hellfire and punishment and consequence and fear.

**[35:06]** Like there's this fear of failure when you're like, okay, like this is real. Okay? That's the first thing. The second thing that there is this concept of when you become consumed with something more meaningful than something that otherwise would have been less concerning.

**[35:27]** I'm sorry. Something that otherwise would have been more concerning becomes less concerning. How do you move past the petty? Someone starts poking at you. You know when you say, I don't have time for you right now. That's not, by the way, saying salama.

**[35:43]** Remember we said salama. It's kind of implied here, like salama. Like it's not the salama of greeting. It's salama of mufaraka, like I'm going to move on now. It's actually saying I don't have time for you right now. It's not I don't have time for you because I'm arrogant. I'm not walking away from a poor person or someone in poverty or someone in need.

**[35:59]** It's I don't have time for this pettiness. I don't have time for this dispute. I don't have time for this backbiting. I don't have time for this type of stuff. So I don't have time for this right now. Why? Because I'm focused on something far more meaningful. You've got like a deadline. You've got to hit.

**[36:14]** Everything else drowns in that deadline. I've got to focus on the deadline. I've got to make sure that I meet this. I've got to make sure that I meet that. How many of you have been for umrah before or hajj? Raise your hands again. Okay. I don't want you to raise your hands this part, but think about it this way.

**[36:31]** Brothers, first time you wear your ihram, weird. Right? Feels a little strange. You feel vulnerable. Sisters, first time seeing a bunch of men in ihram, also strange perhaps.

**[36:46]** Right? Hajj or umrah, it's like this is a very weird like can you think about this happening anywhere else? Like if right now in this gathering, right, all the men just dress down in two towels and all the sisters went down to their basic. Okay, this is strange. It doesn't match.

**[37:01]** But let me tell you something. Once you start doing tawaf, you're not thinking about your ihram anymore. No one's even thinking about what anyone's wearing anymore. Because you're too busy thinking about the matter at hand.

**[37:16]** I'm in tawaf. I've only got seven rounds. I've got to make du'a right now. No one's thinking about their ihram. No one's thinking about someone else in their ihram. The dress becomes completely irrelevant. Aisha (رضي الله عنها), when she heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say that on the Day of Judgment, people would be without clothes.

**[37:34]** Aisha from her fitrah, from her modesty and her goodness and her shyness, and her questioning always for our good as well. Istifsar, asking for, explain this Ya Rasulullah. Ya Rasulullah, ar-rijal wa-n-nisa, won't the man and the woman be looking at each other then?

**[37:50]** Prophet (ﷺ) said, Al-amru ashaddu min dhalik. The affair at hand will be too severe for people to even notice. It's a day of judgment. No one cares. No one even notices. Because the matter at hand

**[38:08]** is greater than what's happening. You tie this into the previous ayat of Ibadur-Rahman. You're too busy worrying about the severity of the hereafter to be thinking about the silliness of this world. You're too busy focused on your own mission to get bogged down into

**[38:26]** somebody else's warped, weird little world. I don't have time for this. I don't have time for the distraction. I don't have time for the vanity. I have a bigger purpose in life here. I have something that I need to be pursuing. And I'm not saying that from a place of being

**[38:42]** condescending. I'm saying that from a place of being focused. Like, Jazakumullah Khayr, but I really gotta focus right now. Okay? I can't just waste time. And I can't just waste time on vanity. You understand? So the severity occupies them. And Allah is telling us about

**[38:58]** the internal spiritual engineering that gives you the external amazing people that you've been seeing here. All right? So the reason why they're not getting into it with people? Because they're too focused on their Lord and appealing to their Lord. So I can't be worried about petty insults and foolish people taking aim at my reputation or someone trying

**[39:17]** to bog me down into some drama. Like, if you really take a step back and you think about dramas that you've gotten involved in, this is a nadmutawba, right? Regret is repentance. Look back at a drama that you've been involved in. Everyone in here has been involved in a drama before, right? Be honest. Has anyone in here never been in a drama in their entire

**[39:36]** lives? All right. Alhamdulillah. Some honesty. No one raised their hand. All right? We've all found ourselves in some silliness, some drama, some foolishness. You look back on that and you go, that was really, really, really dumb. That was a serious waste of time.

**[39:52]** That was a serious waste of relationship that burned a bridge that didn't need to be burned, that hurt, you know, a family dynamic that didn't need to be hurt. I wasted a lot of head space, a lot of heart space. I could have been doing something so much better. That really wasn't worth it. Right? So Allah is saying, this is where their hamm is. This

**[40:12]** is what dominates their conscience. Now here's the thing as well with the previous ayat. The irony. Ibadur Rahman and they're afraid of punishment. They're the servants of the most merciful and they're afraid of punishment. Flip that. Ibadur Rahman appeal to Ar-Rahman

**[40:33]** for His Rahma because they know He can bestow it. Ibadur Rahman appeal to Ar-Rahman for His Rahma, for His mercy, because they know that He can bestow it. Rabbana, yabeetoona li rabbihim. They go home to their Lord. Rabbana, our Lord. Right? Our

**[40:54]** Lord protect us from the fire. La malja wa la manja minka illa ilayk. There is no escape and no refuge from You except to You. They're afraid of the hellfire in a way that runs them back to their Lord, not away from Him, because the closer you get to Allah, the more

**[41:15]** you realize that you are completely in need of His protection. You also notice, SubhanAllah, they're not attributing to Allah the fire, they're attributing to Allah the relief from the fire. Do you notice that? They're attributing to Allah the relief from the fire, not the fire itself. Even though Allah creates paradise and hellfire, but they're appealing to Allah

**[41:33]** for the protection and they're attributing to Allah that relief because they have a good assumption of Allah. Husn adhan billah. A good expectation of Allah that, Ya Allah, when I ask You for this here, You will grant it, not because I deserve it, but because

**[41:48]** it befits You. Because that's who You are. You are Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim. I'm worried about the hereafter, I'm worried about being punished, I'm worried about falling, and You are the one that can pick me up and You are the one that can protect me. Also, the benefits, dear brothers and sisters, is that in hellfire, you can't say Rabbana anymore. Something so

**[42:10]** beautiful. Our Lord, Rabbi, my Lord. In hellfire, the inhabitants of hellfire will say to the angels, Ud'oo Rabbakum yukhaffif anna yawmin min a'adhab. Can you ask your Lord to lighten

**[42:26]** the punishment for us for a day? Because they have severed the connection between them and Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Here, at any moment, you say Rabbi, Rabbana, Allahumma, and Allah is closer to you than your jugular vein. Allah Azawajal says, what is it, O' Abdi, what do

**[42:43]** you want? I'll give it to you. Every single night, you can call upon Him, and you call upon Him, and the Prophet (ﷺ) said, Ud'oo Allah wa antum muqinoona bil-ijabah. Call upon Allah while you're certain in the answer. So you call upon Allah, and

**[42:59]** you say, Our Lord. Now someone might say, well, wait a minute. So we're going to unravel a few contradictions here. Ibadur Rahman yamshoon ala al-ardi hawnan, idha khatabahum al-jahiluna qaloo salama. They do this, they do that. These are amazing people. Why would

**[43:17]** they be afraid of hell? Why would they be afraid of hell? Because they do all of the actions of the people of paradise. What I put back to you is, what if they weren't afraid? What if they didn't fear anything? What if they felt like they arrived? What if they

**[43:38]** felt like they already achieved magnificent status? What if they wore badges, or like in competitions, right? I'll use a golf example, right? They give you the golden jacket. What if you got to wear an Ibadur Rahman jacket? Like you've been doing this for 10 years now,

**[43:53]** you get to wear that Ibadur Rahman jacket. What would happen as a result? Arrogance. Pride. Treating people the wrong way. Condescending. Basically, they would undo all the progress

**[44:10]** that they've done, so Allah is telling you that in the perpetual fear, there is actually perpetual mercy, right? So the child that's crying is manifesting Ibadur Rahman, right? In the perpetual fear is perpetual mercy. Why? Because if they felt like they arrived,

**[44:29]** and that's what happened to Iblis. Iblis is looking around, I've been worshipping Allah for all this time. He got there, and then when Adam Alayhi Salam showed up, he said, who's this guy? Ana khayr minhu. I'm better than him. I've been worshipping Allah all this time. Who is this? He dismissed him. He became ignorant of his own, and he dismissed

**[44:49]** the other. That's what happens. And so, the beauty of this is that they are Ibadur Rahman in part because they're still afraid that maybe they have not qualified yet for His Rahman. Do you understand that? It's actually beautiful, ironic, but clarifying. They're

**[45:09]** not sure yet. Did I reach Ya Allah? Did I reach that status? In fact, SubhanAllah, the awliya of Allah, Allahumma ja'alna minhum, Allahumma ameen, the close friends of Allah can't ever reach a position where they're sure that they're awliya. They worry. A person

**[45:29]** could be a wali of Allah and worry that they're a major sinner. Right? Because Ibn Mas'ud (رضي الله عنه) said that the believer sees sin as a mountain about to crush him. The hypocrite sees sin like a fly on his nose. Moves it away. Belittles the sin. So, part

**[45:48]** of why they're so humble in their disposition towards people is they're still humbling themselves to their Lord and they're asking Allah from a place of uncertainty in themselves, having certainty in Him. And so they're not proud as a result of their worship to presume that

**[46:06]** they are the beloved ones of Allah and that the fire of hell will not touch them. On the other hand, in spite of their good deeds, in spite of their beautiful character, they're still filled with tears. They still have a level of humility and uncertainty and Ya Allah,

**[46:21]** have I arrived? Ya Allah, have I arrived? Ya Allah, have I arrived? And in the process of that, they don't depend on their resume of success. They continue to depend on Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala's unlimited rahmah, unlimited mercy. And that's why Allah azawajal says

**[46:36]** ulaika yusari'una fil khairat, wa hum laha sabiqun. [Al-Mu'minoon]. Allah says that verily, they are the ones who rush to do good deeds and wa hum laha sabiqun. They're competing for those good deeds. Our mother Aisha (رضي الله عنها) once again. Aisha (رضي الله عنها) always

**[46:55]** asks the questions that come to our minds. Right? It's beautiful because it's like in qadaya al-fiqh, the issues of fiqh, of jurisprudence. It's even in aqeedah. Aisha (رضي الله عنها), she doesn't hold back. She asks. So when Allah azawajal says, the one who receives their

**[47:11]** book in their right hand, fayuhasabu hisaban yasira, that they'll have an easy accountability. Aisha (رضي الله عنها) says, but wait a minute, Ya Rasool Allah, you said, didn't you say to us that man nooqisha al-hisab, whoever is held accountable, udhdhiba, halak, they'll be punished?

**[47:28]** But here Allah is saying that these people will be held accountable. The Prophet (ﷺ) is saying, man su'ila, whoever is asked on the day of judgment, truly, halak, will be destroyed. Like if Allah starts scrutinizing your deeds, you'll be destroyed. So Aisha (رضي الله عنها)

**[47:44]** is saying, but wait a minute, Ya Rasool Allah, Allah is saying that yuhasabu hisaban yasira, you'll be held accountable, but easy. And the Prophet (ﷺ) says to Aisha (رضي الله عنها), that that is al-ard, that's just the presentation of deeds. And he repeated,

**[47:59]** but if Allah actually starts to hold you accountable to your deeds, you're in trouble. Right? But Allah will see the deeds of the believer, and then He'll overlook. That's hisaban yasira. So here, realize this is the third question we're already getting to with Aisha (رضي الله عنها) asking for clarification. Here, when Allah says, ulaika yusari'una fil khairat,

**[48:20]** Aisha (رضي الله عنها) says, Ya Rasool Allah, ahuwa alladhi yazni wa yashriq, yashrabu al-khamr? Those people that rush to do good deeds, is that someone who steals, who commits adultery, who drinks alcohol? Meaning what? Sometimes you see someone who had a really, really dark

**[48:39]** past, did something really, really, really bad. And they turn to Allah with a sense of desperation. Okay? A major sinner becomes a major saint because they turn to Allah azawajal and they realize, I have a horrible past to atone for. Right? So if you see someone suddenly

**[49:00]** in the masjid crying, and you know what their life is like, you're like, oh boy, he must have done something really bad. Right? That's why now he's in the masjid crying and coming back with this urgency. So Aisha (رضي الله عنها) says, Ya Rasool Allah, is this who that's talking about? Prophet (ﷺ) said, laa ya bint as-siddiq, beautiful address

**[49:21]** as well. No, oh daughter of the truthful one. As-siddiqa bint as-siddiq. He praises Aisha (رضي الله عنها) because these questions come from a good place. He says (ﷺ) wa laa kinna hu alladhi yusalli, yasoum, wa yatasaddaq. Wa huwa ma'a thalik, yakhaf

**[49:39]** Allah azawajal. This ayah is talking about a person who prays, who fasts, who gives charity, and with all of that, they're still afraid of Allah azawajal. They still have a fear of Allah. Not the fear that makes them run away from Allah. A fear that makes them run back to Allah. So it seems counterintuitive. They do good deeds, but they're afraid. Right?

**[49:57]** They're afraid their good deeds are not enough, and that's part of what keeps them humble. Imam Ibn al-Qayyim Rahimahullah ta'ala, he said, for you to sleep the entire night, but to wake up in regret, is better than for you to pray the entire night, but then to

**[50:13]** wake up with pride. I'd rather you sin and feel bad about it, than pray qiyam al-layl and feel proud because of it. Have a sense of ujb. Law laa tu'dhniboon khashiytu alaykum maa akbaru min dhalik. Al-ujb bil-ujb. Authentic hadith. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, that if you were not to sin, I would fear for you something worse than sin. Al-ujb,

**[50:31]** you become conceited. So you're kept humble, even as you do these good things. Context as well. And we're coming to the last 10 minutes, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala. This is Meccan Quran. This is before the Hijrah. Who are the people that are making this du'a? The handful of people

**[50:50]** that have embraced Islam in Mecca. Nifaq has not even showed itself yet. There are no hypocrites yet amongst the Muslims. No hypocrites amongst the Muslims. This is early Islam. This is Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali. This is Khadija and Fatima. This is Abdur Rahman Ibn Auf and

**[51:08]** Abu Ubaidah. These are like the cream of the crop. This is Bilal and Khabbab. These are the believers that we're talking about here. The best of the best of the best of the best and they're afraid that maybe they're not doing enough. What sin are you committing, O muhajirun? That you would be afraid of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala for those sins. Which

**[51:27]** shows you that if the best people in the history of Islam, as-sabiqoon al-awwaloon min al-muhajireen, right? The best people in the history of Islam, the best of the best of the best, still felt like maybe there was an insufficiency in their deeds, who are you

**[51:42]** to not feel that way? That you arrive at a certain point? Salman al-Farisi (رضي الله عنه) he heard the ayah, wa inna jahannama lamaw'iduhum ajma'een. That verily hellfire is the promised place for them all. [Al-Hijr]. Salman (رضي الله عنه) disappeared

**[52:02]** for three days. Prophet (ﷺ) didn't see him for three days and he was riddled with panic. Fajee'a bihi ila nabi (ﷺ). So he was brought to the Prophet (ﷺ). Qala ya Rasool Allah, unzilat hadhihi al-ayah, wa inna jahannama lamaw'iduhum ajma'een, fa walladhi ba'athaka bilhaqqi qatta'at qalbi.

**[52:22]** Said oh messenger of Allah, that verse about hellfire being promised, it's like qatta'at qalbi, it shattered my heart into pieces. I don't know how to deal with this. I don't know how to process this. My heart tore. Fa anzala Allahu ta'ala, inna al-muttaqina fee

**[52:38]** dhilalin wa uyoon. That verily the believers will be sitting in vast shade with springs. As a response to settle the heart. SubhanAllah, there's something here about how they were dealing with these ayat. When Allah Azawajal describes the messenger of Allah (ﷺ)

**[52:55]** he describes him as basheeran wa nadhira. He's a giver of glad tidings before he gives warning. Yassiru, wa la tu'assiru. Make things easy, don't make things hard. Bashshiru, wa la tunaffiru. Give people glad tidings, don't deflate them. Which I hope

**[53:12]** I'm not doing tonight. I'll try to undo anything I did wrong tonight. Bashshiru, give people glad tidings. But bashshiru doesn't just mean talk about Jannah all the time. Because sometimes people need to know about consequences too. So that they don't fall into those consequences. That too is from the mercy of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. From the rahmah of Allah is that

**[53:30]** He tells you about hellfire so that you don't fall into it. That's also a function of His mercy. That I don't want you to go into this punishment. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, I am like a man who kindled a fire and then I stood in front of the fire and I'm trying to catch these fireflies jumping into it and I'm grabbing you by your waist

**[53:47]** belts. But some of you are fleeing from my hands. You're getting out of my hands. So the Prophet (ﷺ) is Bashirun wa nadhira. First and foremost, he's a giver of glad tidings. All right. Now stay with me philosophically. When the messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood on Mount Safa for the very first call to Islam

**[54:06]** and he said to them, if I was to tell you that there is an army behind this mountain that is coming to attack you, would you believe me? They said, what? Yes. Why? Because you are Al-Ameen. You're trustworthy. We know you, Ya Rasulullah. Or we know you, Ya Muhammad

**[54:27]** (ﷺ). We know you. You don't lie. You're trustworthy. 40 years. We have not tried you. We have not seen you lie one time in 40 years. Why would you lie to us now? So the Prophet (ﷺ) said, if I was to tell you there's

**[54:42]** an army coming, you'd believe me, right? Then what did he say? Did the Prophet (ﷺ) start his call with Jannah? He actually said, so I'm warning you about a punishment in the hereafter that's far more severe than this one. Wait a minute, but he's

**[54:58]** Bashirun wa nadhira. Why did he go straight to nadhira? Why didn't he start with the warning? And the scholars mentioned here that there's a function of psychology here. When you trust someone, they don't have to layer the warning with, you know, softening the blow. Because

**[55:16]** you trust that they have your goodness at interest. All right? So what does that mean? Someone who's always good to you. Someone who always is smiling. Someone who's always comforting

**[55:32]** and calming. If they walk in the house and they got this look on their face, you're like, is the house burning down? Why? Because their disposition is a calming and loving one, a caring one. So the Prophet (ﷺ) is employing a sense of urgency with his family. Like you know me,

**[55:49]** this call was to his tribes, to his family. This was to Banu Hashim. These are my people. You know me, I'm warning you, like this is serious. What I'm about to tell you is serious. So the ulama mentioned that the Prophet (ﷺ) started with that as a function of like

**[56:05]** urgency. Like, hey, you know me. I don't just, I don't scare you for the sake of, I'm always comforting you. The Prophet (ﷺ) walks in, we're happy, he's here. He's always going to make things easier for us. He's like, look, I'm telling you there's something far worse than this. Because you're materialist and you only think about consequence in a worldly sense. I want you

**[56:24]** to think about the other worldly. The ulama also mentioned that his whole life was a Bushra (ﷺ). So he still was Bashiran wa Nadhira. For 40 years it was Bushra. Because you know that what is going to come from this man is khair, is good.

**[56:42]** So the Nadhir came after the Bushra, the Bashir (ﷺ). But we know he's trying to protect us. All right, let me summarize this inshallah in 10 minutes, bismillah ta'ala, as far as how we actually take this practically, how we take this set of ayat and fit it into these things. Different people.

**[57:00]** Are motivated by different things. Anyone in here that studied psychiatry, psychology? Okay, mashallah. Every wife is a psychiatrist to her husband, right? She diagnoses her husband every day, right?

**[57:17]** But the point is, is like, we're motivated by different things. Our personalities, like some people, some people really like are driven by doom. The only thing that gets them moving is doom. Some people are driven by hope, by good things. Some people, all they want to do is talk about Jannah. That's the majority.

**[57:35]** Some people actually want to hear about punishment so that they can be steered away from it. Hudhayfah ibn Yaman (رضي الله عنه), he talks about this from his perspective. He says, people used to ask the Prophet (ﷺ) always about the good things. They used to ask Rasulullah (ﷺ) about al-Jannah, they used to ask Rasulullah (ﷺ) about all the good things.

**[57:54]** Qala wa kuntu as'aluhu anish sharr But I used to ask him about the bad things out of fear that I would fall into them. I was driven, what drove me more was fear. I needed to know that I can avoid the bad things.

**[58:09]** So I asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about sins and the punishment of sins. Other people asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about good deeds and the reward for good deeds. The believer has to have some of both. Yad'oona rabbahum khawfan wa tama'a

**[58:24]** They call upon their Lord in fear and in hope. And here's what I want you to pay attention to. Hudhayfah ibn Yaman (رضي الله عنه) was the furthest person from hypocrisy. He is the secret keeper of the Prophet (ﷺ).

**[58:41]** Because he's so far from nifaq. I mean imagine being so trustworthy that the Prophet (ﷺ) gives you the names of the hypocrites. So that's how far you are from hypocrisy. He tells you who the hypocrites are. So functionally speaking khawf, fear, protects you from hypocrisy.

**[58:59]** Fear protects you from hypocrisy. Because imagine as we said, Ibadur Rahman, if they stopped being afraid, they would become hypocrites. They'd be forgetful of themselves. They'd become prideful. They'd become satanic in that sense that oh we're great. We pray, we fast, we give sadaqah.

**[59:15]** Someone comes to them and starts to agitate with them and you say you fool. Salama, mashallah, I'm so pious and look at you. I feel sorry for you ignorant fool. When I'm in Jannah enjoying al-Firdos, you're going to be drinking blood in hellfire. You fool, you poor person.

**[59:31]** I'm this. When you're in the masjid, you say look at all those people in the clubs. Well they don't have clubs here, right? Inshallah. Alhamdulillah, astaghfirullah. I should just use all the athkar here, right? Just throw them all out there, right? But like you know like those poor people that are out there doing this and doing that.

**[59:46]** But I am, you know, alhamdulillah in the masjid. I'm in a halaqah right now. I'm so much better. That's nifaq. You'll breed hypocrisy. Khawf, fear, protects from hypocrisy. Tama'ah, which is hope, protects from shahwah.

**[1:00:05]** Protects from being driven by desire. Why? Because when you hope in what Allah azawajal is going to give you, then everything else in this world is really not that big of a deal. So it's not just its insults, but it's also its offerings.

**[1:00:20]** What is this dunya going to give me that's better than what Allah is promising me? Right? So khawf protects from nifaq, tama'ah protects from shahwah. Fear protects from hypocrisy, hope protects from desire.

**[1:00:36]** But I want to give you something else. This is a point of reflection. I said in the beginning of this lecture, I'm going to treat this very differently. Take this as an anecdote, okay? And we'll see if you agree with me or not. All right? I used to ask this question, how many of you are driven more by fear? How many of you are driven more by hope?

**[1:00:52]** How many people, let's actually do a survey to the audience right now. How many of you are driven more by mentions of Jannah and mercy and hope? Can you raise your hand? How many of you are driven more in your life by hellfire and fear and consequences? Subhanallah, almost exactly 50-50.

**[1:01:09]** Most places I do this experiment, social experiment, 50-50. So I'm going to give you a personal anecdote here that maybe you can think about inshallah ta'ala. On a personal level, fear of hellfire is more potent in stopping you from committing sins,

**[1:01:28]** stopping you from disobedience. Hope in paradise is more potent in incentivizing extra good deeds, personal level. And most people that I've met, when I ask them to really dial back and think about their own lives,

**[1:01:45]** this is haram and the punishment of this sin is this, is more potent. You don't want to hear it, you might even get offended and you don't like it. But this sin or not doing this obligation has this punishment is far more potent in getting you away from that sin

**[1:02:02]** than talking about Jannah and its na'im and its blessings. When it comes to extra good deeds, read ayatul kursi and this will happen. Do this dhikr and this will happen. Give these extra deeds and this will happen. Pray these extra prayers and this will happen.

**[1:02:17]** Talking about Jannah is far more potent in encouraging you to take that extra step towards Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. How many of you agree with that assessment in your own personal life? That's my personal experience. No seriously, I want to see hands, like my first time doing a social experiment.

**[1:02:34]** Okay, a little more than half. Fear of punishment is more potent in keeping you away from sin. Reward and paradise is more potent. Hope in paradise is more potent in getting you to do extra good deeds.

**[1:02:50]** We need both of these things in our lives. And I want us to think about this, subhanAllah, that before you commit a sin, you need more fear. After you commit a sin, you need more hope. Before you commit a sin, you need more fear. After you commit a sin, you need more hope.

**[1:03:06]** Why? Because fear before sin stops you from falling in the first place. Hope after sin brings you back to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allows you to rise back to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. What does that mean? Think about the shaytan.

**[1:03:22]** Shaytan, before you commit a sin, he gives you delusion packaged as hope. How does he give you delusion packaged as hope? Don't worry. InnaAllaha ghafoorun raheem. Shaytan tells you, innaAllaha ghafoorun raheem.

**[1:03:37]** Allah is going to forgive you. Allah is merciful. Go ahead. Live your life as you want. Commit that sin. It's okay. Jumu'ah is next, you know, in a few days. You can do this. You're going to Umrah next week. It's alright. When you get a little bit older, when, you know, you can change your life.

**[1:03:54]** You still have time. That's shaytan's delusion packaged as hope. He gives it to you before you commit the sin. Then when you commit the sin, the same shaytan comes back to you and goes, You are terrible.

**[1:04:09]** How would Allah ever forgive you? You have no chance. Don't even bother going to Umrah. Don't even bother going to the masjid. Don't even bother trying to change your life. You've already stained yourself too much. You've already buried yourself in sin.

**[1:04:24]** You might as well just stay down here with me. So he gives you despair packaged as fear after the sin. The good voice. The angelic prompting.

**[1:04:39]** The divine prompting. Gives you hope after the sin. Fear before the sin. Don't fall. Don't follow the footsteps of the devil. Take extra caution. Put barriers between you and that haram.

**[1:04:56]** Don't put yourself close to it. Don't come near it. Stay away. But once you fall, Say, O my servants who have transgressed against themselves,

**[1:05:12]** don't despair from the mercy of Allah. Come back. Allah forgives all sins. Verily, Allah is all forgiving and all merciful. The point is, dear brothers and sisters, in conclusion, Allah knows our psychology.

**[1:05:28]** Allah knows our psychology. He knows what He created. He knows that fear is a motivator. He knows that hope is a motivator. And there is wisdom of Allah creating hellfire. And there is wisdom of Allah elaborating on specific punishments. And there is wisdom in Allah creating Jannah

**[1:05:44]** and elaborating on specific rewards. Allah knows us. He knows how to move us. O Turner of hearts, make our hearts firm on Your path. And Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala does not talk about Jannah without talking about Jahannam or Jahannam without talking about Jannah.

**[1:06:01]** It's very rare in the Quran. That you'll find a mention of the punishment without the redemption coming right after. Right? And that's why even these verses, Subhanallah, Like Allah ends off this elaboration on Ibadur Rahman

**[1:06:18]** by talking about them achieving the highest reward of paradise. Okay? While they were asking Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala to be purified from the punishment of hell. So Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala's response in a few ayat to the fear of the terror of Jahannam

**[1:06:33]** is an elaboration on the beauties of Jannah which answers both by the way, Mustaqarram wa Muqamma. We'll get to that InshaAllah ta'ala when we do, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala. The last thing I give you, the major lesson from this, Du'a, not despair.

**[1:06:48]** Du'a, not despair. Allah Azawajal gives you these mentions of hellfire and tells you to ask Allah to protect you from hellfire, not to despair in the inevitability of your entering into hellfire. Du'a, not despair. And this is the other side as well with the Sahaba.

**[1:07:05]** It's very hard to forgive yourself sometimes for some of the stuff that you've done. Some of the Sahaba had really, really, really, really, really bad pasts. We're talking murder. We're talking adultery.

**[1:07:20]** We're talking alcohol. We're talking oppression. We're talking all sorts of things. And for them to suddenly embrace this mold of trying to follow the messenger of Allah (ﷺ),

**[1:07:35]** you've got to think like sometimes Shaitaan is telling them like, you, who are you kidding? You think because you've been Muslim a few years, you're going to be forgiven for all that you've done? Du'a, not despair. And that's why the Prophet (ﷺ) said,

**[1:07:50]** do not die. la yamutanna ahadukum. No one of you should die, except that he has husn adhan in Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. And he said, ahadukum, any of you, no one of you should die unless he has illa wa huwa yuhsinu adhan billah. Except he has a good expectation of Allah.

**[1:08:06]** Du'a, not despair. That's what these verses are. May Allah protect us from delusion. May He protect us from despair. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, whoever asks Allah for Jannah three times, Jannah says, oh Allah, enter him into Jannah. Whoever asks Allah for protection from hellfire three times,

**[1:08:23]** Allah Azawajal protects him from hellfire. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala enter each and every single one of us into al-Firdaus al-A'la without any form of questioning and without any form of punishment. May Allah enter each and every single one of us into Jannah al-Firdaus without any form of questioning, without any form of punishment.

**[1:08:39]** May Allah enter every single one of us into Jannah al-Firdaus without any form of questioning and without any form of punishment. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala protect each of us from hellfire, from even touching it for a moment. May Allah protect us all from the hellfire, from touching it even for a moment. May Allah protect us from the hellfire,

**[1:08:55]** from touching it even for a moment. Rabbana aatina fi al-dunya hasana wa fi al-akhirati hasana wa qina a'adhaba al-naar SubhanakAllah wa bihamdik Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah Astaghfirullah wa atubu ilaih Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh

## Other Episodes in "Servants of the Most Merciful"
- [Du’a for Marriage and Children | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 10](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/servants-of-the-most-merciful-episode-10-dua-for-marriage-and-children.md)
- [How To Really Revere the Qur’an | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 9](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/how-to-really-revere-the-quran-servants-of-the-most-merciful-episode-9.md)
- [Silence In The Face of Sin | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 8](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/servants-of-the-most-merciful-ep-8-silence-in-the-face-of-sin.md)
- [How To Wipe Out Your Sins | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 7](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/how-to-wipe-out-your-sins-servants-of-the-most-merciful-episode-7.md)
- [Understanding Major Sins in Islam | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 6](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/understanding-major-sins-in-islam-servants-of-the-most-merciful-ep-6.md)
- [What Your Spending Habits Say About You | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 5](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/what-your-spending-habits-say-about-you-servants-ep-5.md)
- [Those Who Bow When the World Sleeps | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 3](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/those-who-bow-when-the-world-sleeps-servants-of-the-most-merciful-ep-3.md)
- [Training Your Temper and Responding to Insults | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 2](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/training-your-temper-and-responding-to-insults-servants-of-the-most-merciful-ep-2.md)
- [Those Who Walk on the Earth Humbly | Servants of the Most Merciful Ep. 1](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/servants-of-the-most-merciful/those-who-walk-on-the-earth-humbly-servants-of-the-most-merciful-ep-1.md)