Understanding My Journey: A Qur’anic View
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You Can’t Do It Alone (Part 4)
The Quran is a message of salvation not just to you as an individual, and you cannot make it back by yourself. Every description of getting back home to Jannah in the Qur’an includes a call for us to take as many people with us along the way.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Bismillah walhamdulillah wa salatu wassalamu ala rasulullah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala. I want you to start off with a very distinct image in your head, bi'idhnillahi ta'ala. We often talk about when Adam alayhis salam fell from the heavens, or was expelled from the heavens and came to this earth and the journey back to destination Jannah, bi'idhnillahi ta'ala. And I want you to think about all of us in this room holding on to a rope that is extended from the heavens, from the sky. Think of that image, the person next to you. And each one of us holding on to the person under us, trying to make sure that none of us fall. And subhanAllah, often times when we talk about how to get back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, we forget, and I'll go to the very end of the Quran, a surah that we often recite. wal'asri inna alinsana lafee khusr illal lazeena aamanu wa amilu as-salihaati wa tawasaw bilhaqqi wa tawasaw bilsabr Allah swears by time. We're all hanging on to this rope, and by time as it vanishes, inna alinsana lafee khusr Everyone is in utter loss. illal lazeena aamanu wa amilu as-salihaati We usually get that part. Except for those who believe and work good deeds, wa tawasaw bilhaqqi wa tawasaw bilsabr And then they cooperate with one another in good, and they cooperate with one another in enjoining patience upon that good. SubhanAllah, the idea here is a very compelling idea, because every part of the ayah connects to every part of the ayah before.
The idea that you are in loss unless you work together. You are in loss as a community and as an individual unless you work together, unless you hold on to each other and try to maintain that connection to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's an extremely compelling idea. You can't do it alone. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam warns the one who abandons the jama'ah, who abandons the group of people, who abandons the group of the Muslims, because shaitan will always attack the lone sheep. No matter how strongly committed you are to the theology of Islam, and no matter how committed and disciplined you think you are with your desires, and no matter how certain you are at the moment in the hereafter, if you don't have people around you that you help and that help you, then you will lose. You will fall off because you have no one to hold on to and no one that you are holding. And those things become equally important. So again, I want you to think about this image for the entirety of this lecture, bi'idhnillahi ta'ala. Holding on from the heavens because ever since Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala expelled Adam alayhi salam and forgave him from paradise, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has called us back to that, and we are not just on a journey to get back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the physical sense in jannah, but to remain connected to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with what he sends down from the heavens. And this idea, subhanallah, of a connection to Allah in that sense, the sahaba were very intentional about their language. Anas ibn Malik radiallahu ta'ala anhu says, and I'm going to ask you who the narrator of this hadith is in a bit insha'Allah ta'ala to see if you're still awake.
Anas ibn Malik radiallahu ta'ala anhu says that Abu Bakr and Umar radiallahu ta'ala anhuma went to visit Umm Ayman radiallahu ta'ala anha as the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam used to go visit her. Umm Ayman, the mother of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam after his mother, who used to hold him salallahu alayhi wa sallam, and everyone that he loved passed away. She was always by his side salallahu alayhi wa sallam. She used to go there and monitor him during the battles with her feet swelling, with her concerns overwhelming her. And the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam says, how are you Umm Ayman? She says, ana bi khair, I am good so long as Islam is good. As long as Islam is good, I'm good. And this is a woman that certainly is going to miss the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam. Abu Bakr and Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, they go and they visit her the way the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam used to visit her. And they find her crying. And they make assumptions. Why? Because what do you think she's thinking about? What do you think she's crying about? If she used to monitor the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam throughout, then perhaps she's concerned. What happened to him? Where is he? I miss him. Don't you know, Umm Ayman, that what is with Allah is far better for the Messenger of Allah salallahu alayhi wa sallam? And she said, I'm not crying because of that. I'm crying because the wahi, because the revelation has cut off from the heavens. It's no longer coming down from the heavens fresh. We got to live in a time where that rope was still being extended. And then it stopped. And we have to hold on to what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has sent down to us. But how many people can say they were alive with the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam? How many people can say they were alive while Allah was revealing the Quran to Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wa sallam?
They witnessed that live. So the revelation has ceased from the heavens. And that's what she was crying about. So Abu Bakr and Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, started to cry as well. Now, keep the image in your head. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in Surah Ali Imran, وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنْتُمْ أَعْدَاءً فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, hold on to the rope of Allah, all of you together, and do not be divided. Hold on to the rope of Allah, all of you together, and do not be divided. What is the rope of Allah? Who can tell me? What's the rope of Allah? You guys must be really tired. Anybody? The Quran is the rope of Allah, as Ibn Abbas says. Of course the sunnah is the manifestation of the Quran. You can't access the Quran without the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam and his sunnah because he manifests it. But the rope of Allah here is referring to the Quran. It is the Quran. So think of the image. All of you hold on to it. وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنْتُمْ أَعْدَاءً فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ Remember the favor of Allah upon you when you were enemies and Allah united your hearts? One of the benefits of this that some of the ulema mention is that when you were enemies,
your one focus became to destroy the other person, the other tribe in their dunya-y sense. You didn't even believe in a hereafter. To destroy them, to wipe them out so that you could attain some sort of worldly success and victory. You spend your entire day, imagine that existence. You wake up every day trying to compare yourself to someone else, trying to outdo someone else. Doesn't it sound a lot like social media today? Trying to get more than this person, more attention, more money, whatever it is. Competing with people over this dunya. That's your goal. It's so narrow, so limited and you were killing yourselves over that until you die and you meet a miserable fate. And what did Allah take these people who were trying to destroy each other while competing over the dunya and do with them? Allah united them to where they loved for each other success in this life and in the hereafter. Allah brought in the vision for them and Allah tightened the hearts. How beautiful. You were fighting over crumbs in this world, trying to kill each other. Destroying each other. And Allah extended that rope from the heavens and you realized there are heavens. You realized there is a Lord that is greater than you, there is a purpose that is greater than you. Your vision broadened and suddenly you united. Your hearts became united. And there was no way that you could have done that anyway else. Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala said, if you spent the entire earth in gold, you would never be able to unite their hearts the way Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala united them. You couldn't pay for a friendship like Abu Bakr and Umar radiyaAllahu anhuma. You can't buy something like that. You couldn't pay the Ansar to treat the Muhajireen the way that they did with anything worldly. There was something else there.
وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنْتُمْ أَعْدَانَ فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُمْ بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا You became by His blessing, brothers, sisters. You started to see each other as one. And Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says, وَكُنْتُمْ عَلَى شَفَى حُفْرَةٍ مِّنَ النَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُمْ مِّنْهَا Worse than the way you used to destroy yourselves in this world, you were on the edge of hellfire. You were about to throw yourselves into hell. All of you throwing one another into hellfire. And Allah saved you. Now what is this all to say? That you should just be happy? Alhamdulillah for the unity, alhamdulillah for the brotherhood. And I know, mashallah, in the UK you have no division. Allahu Akbar. Not like the US. You guys didn't sense the sarcasm there. Alright. I'm going to say that again. Alhamdulillah for the brotherhood of Islam. Alhamdulillah for what brought us here together. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, as He has united us in this life, unite us in the hereafter. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala cure the sicknesses and the diseases of the heart that keep us divided in this world and distracted from our purpose of the hereafter. Allahuma Ameen. What does Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala say? I'm not showing this all to you. So you can just say, it's nice to be nice. It's nice to be friends. How many of you know the verse that gets recited at every wedding? You guys don't go to weddings here either? Yasin, what kind of crowd did you bring me to, man? No weddings? There's no weddings out here? What's the verse they recite before they start partying? I'm getting really frustrated now. Somebody? None of the brothers? Brothers, you might get married if you say it.
وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا لِتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً That from His signs is that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, now all of you woke up. From His signs is that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala granted you spouses from amongst yourselves so that you could find tranquility in them and put between you mawadda and rahma, love, compassion, mercy. And in that, inna fi thalika la'ayatim, in that is a sign for people who think. Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala will say, this is a sign for people of this, this is a sign for people of that. When Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says the la'allakum part, I'm telling you about this so that you can understand this. Pay attention to what Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is telling you that you should understand. Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says about our brotherhood and our sisterhood holding on to that rope of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. kathalika yubayyinu Allah lakum aayatihi la'allakum tahtadun Allah is showing you these signs so you could be guided. You can't have hidayah, you can't have guidance unless you grab on to this rope together. You will be, inna al-insana lafee khusr You will be in perpetual loss unless you grab on to this rope together. So unity is not just a nice commodity, unity is a necessity to trying to enter into Jannah together. Trying to accept that guidance that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala has sent to us so that we could get to Jannah together. And that's why in the very beginning of surah al-Baqarah, wasta'inoo bis-sabri was-sala Seek help with patience and prayer. But what does Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala say before that?
wa aqeemu al-salata wa aatu al-zakata wa arka'oo ma'arraaqee'een Establish your prayer, give your charity and bow amongst those who bow. Find yourself amongst the people of salah. Because if you're not bowing to Allah together, then you will enter hellfire together. You can't do it except together. Now again, you have the image of us hanging on to something in the heavens. The rope of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Now in order to pull someone up, you have to be holding on to something that is greater, right? Everything in the Quran, when Allah Azawajal talks about us grabbing on to something, in every parable I'm going to give you in this lecture tonight, is you holding on to something. So I'm going to be asking you an essential question throughout this. What are you holding on to in the storm of dunya? Dunya is a storm, this world is a storm. What are you holding on to? Alright? So I'm going to ask you another question. What is the greatest verse in the Quran? Ayatul Kursi. JazakAllah khair. You should study Quran with him, mashallah. Take advantage of it. Ayatul Kursi. The greatest verse in the Quran. And it shows up in Surah Al-Baqarah very early on in the Quran. Immediately after that, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says, when He demonstrates the pinnacle of the beauty of the speech, one verse that is greater than any composition of books that has ever been written in this world. One verse. Allahu la ilaha illa Hu. One verse is greater than every book that has ever been put together. It is enough if someone is paying attention and being perceptive, to understand the nature of Allah and the nature of this revelation.
And to come to the conclusion that it's true. And Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says right after that, He chooses this verse and He follows it up with what? Laa ikraaha fi al-deeni qad tabayyanar rushdu minal ghayt. There is no compulsion in religion. Allah has already made truth distinct from error. It's very clear where truth is and it's very clear where error is. If you're listening to Ayatul Kursi and you're still not getting that this is truth, something's wrong with your heart, not with the revelation. Laa ikraaha fi al-deeni. There is no compulsion. No one has to be forced upon this. Truth already stands out from error. Faman yakfur bi'l-taagooti wa yu'mim bi'Allahi faqad istamsaka bil'urwati al-withqa. So whoever disbelieves in the false gods and believes in Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, then they are holding on to al-urwati al-withqa. They're holding on to the trustworthy handhold. Laa fee saamalaha wallahu samee'un aaleem. No cracks, no breaks. No cracks, no breaks, no flaw. So think of it this way, as an individual, when you are dropped in the skies and the dunya is stormy weather and you're looking for guidance, and Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says, wa man yakfur bi'Allahi fa ka'anna maa kharra minas samaa. Whoever disbelieves in Allah, they're like someone that got dropped in the skies. Fataakhtaafuhu al-tayru aw tahwee bihi al-reehu fee makaanin saheeqa. So imagine the person who has nothing to hold on to, they got dropped in the skies, they got dropped in the heavens,
they're looking for something to grab on to, they're not finding anything, they get picked up by these birds, they get swallowed by animals, and then they get dropped in different parts of the world to where they don't even know where they are anymore. You know how blessed you are to have la ilaha illallah wa muhammadun rasulullah? Walk out this door, and look at that Quran manifested that way, look at that ayah. People don't know where they are, what am I doing here? They drug themselves to cope every night, and not all drugs are inhaled. They drug themselves every single night to try to figure out, and it's like a person being caught by bird to bird and then dropped in some place, some alleyway, they don't even know where they are anymore. And Allah says, think of that person holding on to al-urwat al-withqa, the trustworthy handhold. La ilaha illallah is the trustworthy handhold. La ilaha illallah wa muhammadun rasulullah is the trustworthy handhold. Think of this dear brothers and sisters. So here's an image, and Abdullah ibn Salam radiyaAllahu anhu actually saw himself in a dream, holding on to al-urwat al-withqa, the trustworthy handhold, and he was in the middle of a garden. And so think of yourself holding on to a trustworthy handhold, and then you have the rope of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that extends. And you want to get as many people as possible holding on to that rope of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The Prophet ﷺ did not teach you to try to kick people off of that rope. The Prophet ﷺ did not teach you to be indifferent to people that are falling off of that rope. This is not just your journey. We are all a part of each other's journey. Allah put you in my life and Allah put me in your life for a reason. And every single person that you've ever met is a part of this journey,
and your ideal outcome is that you all hold on to that rope and you don't fall. That's your ideal outcome is that we're all holding on to this together in this journey of dunya. And look at the Prophet ﷺ, Rasulullah ﷺ gives you the example. He says, I am to you like a man who's standing in front of a fire, and there are flies jumping into that fire. And Rasulullah ﷺ is trying to stop as many people as possible from falling into that fire. And he said, Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, I'm grabbing you by your waist belts. It's like I'm grabbing you by your waist belt so that you don't fall. I'm trying to grab as many people as possible so they don't fall in the fire. That's your messenger Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. The opposite of that, inna minkum munaffireen. Some of you people run people away from Allah. You cause people to flee from Allah ﷻ. You make them hate the religion. With your character, your indifference, your arrogance. Inna minkum munaffireen. Don't make people flee from Allah ﷻ. Try to get people holding on to that rope. Grab them by the waist belts. And if you have a good grip yourself on the handhold, then you have a better possibility of grabbing someone else. Because if you yourself are slipping, you don't have time to worry about someone else. But you're grabbing on to it, insha'Allah ta'ala. And you're grabbing on firm. And you're trying to get as many people as possible in this journey of dunya. You love your friend? Call them to Allah ﷻ. Some people come up to me and say, you know, this person is sinful. Should I still be friends with them? And I say, never ever compromise your deen for anyone else. Don't jump off because of anyone else. You don't follow your friend jumping off of a cliff? Don't follow them jumping off of the cliff in the hereafter either. Never jump off the cliff for your friend. But call them to Allah.
Someone says, you know, this person has gone astray. Have you made dua for them? You love them? Make dua for them. You love them? Call them to Allah ﷻ. You want to grab on to as many people as possible and hold on to the rope of Allah altogether. And get them to grab on. Extend the rope to them while you hold on to the trustworthy handhold. You see how powerful the imagery of the Qur'an is? And there you have your Prophet ﷺ, and he has the most hands and the vastest hands because he has the vastest heart ﷺ. Grabbing on to people and not giving up on them. He held ﷺ Abu Jahl until Abu Jahl slipped away. He held ﷺ Abu Talib, who was much better, until he slipped away. He was holding people ﷺ to the very last moment until they slipped out of his hands because they insisted on slipping out of his hands. But he never stopped trying. Put them on to the rope of Allah ﷻ and hold on to the trustworthy handhold. And SubhanAllah, SubhanAllah, SubhanAllah. You become religious and then you cut your family off. And the Prophet ﷺ said that the family ties are tied to the throne of Allah ﷻ. And they say, مَنْ وَصَلَنِي وَصَلَهُ اللَّهُ وَمَنْ قَطَعَنِي قَطَعَهُ اللَّهُ Whoever establishes me, stays connected to me, Allah stays connected to them. And whoever cuts me off, Allah cuts them off. Holding on to a handhold. Holding on to the throne of Allah ﷻ. Holding on to the rope of Allah, all of us together. Trying to get your friends, your loved ones, family, people that you can, and bring them to the rope of Allah ﷻ. And help them hold on to the rope of Allah ﷻ. You don't want anyone to fall into that fire because you have the heart of a believer.
You inherited the mission of the Prophet ﷺ. You have a bigger goal. You're not just holding on to that handhold and looking away and saying, الحمد لله, I'm not falling like them. Your heart breaks when you see people fall. You care for them. وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ The Messenger ﷺ was a mercy to the world. You see someone messing up on social media, you don't mock them. You don't say, ha ha, that's funny. You say, may Allah ﷻ guide them. Your heart breaks. فَلَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعُ النَّبْسَكَ عَلَىٰ آثَارِهِمْ فَلَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعُ النَّبْسَكَ عَلَىٰ آثَارِهِمْ Ya Rasulullah. It's like you're hurting yourself because you care so much about them. إِنَّكَ لَن تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتُ And you can't guide whom you love, but you want so badly to guide them all. You all have the imagery here. In this journey, when we fall from the heavens and we all try to get back, hold on to the trustworthy handhold and grab it tight, the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Hold on to the rope of Allah ﷻ, which is our community's salvation, and do not be divided. Don't kick anyone off of that rope. And try to grab as many people even by their waist belts when they're falling into the fire, and get them connected. Why? Because that's the only way you remain guided. That's the only way you come close to Allah ﷻ. Is that unity for the sake of Allah ﷻ. Now I want to give you another image. Again, still holding on. The Prophet ﷺ said that, After you, O companions, are days that require great patience. Patience in those days, كَقَبْضٍ عَلَى الْجَمْرِ It's like holding on to a burning hot coal. As time goes on, that handhold gets hotter. It's harder to hold on to it.
It's hot. I feel the burn of it. Because people are living their lives, doing what their desires tell them to do. You only live once. And here I am. And the storm can look serene if you have the right view. Or the wrong view. You know, SubhanAllah, sometimes you're sitting in a room, and maybe because I travel so much, I always relate to travel examples. You're sitting in a hotel room, and you open the windows, and you look out the curtains, you look out the window, and you say, man, that looks beautiful. Then you step out and you go, oh, never mind. Let me get right back into my room. Okay? SubhanAllah, people are falling and flying, but sometimes you might think to yourself, that doesn't look so bad. And you hold on to that trustworthy handhold. And it gets hot. And the Prophet ﷺ is saying, I know it's going to get harder for you to stay on this deen. Rasulullah ﷺ gets you. Allah Azawajal gets you. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala knows how He created you. And Adam ﷺ made a mistake with one tree in the middle of Jannah with his desires. How about us, when we are surrounded by our desires, and they're right in our hands all the time? Allah knows it's tough, but that's why the reward is so amazing. Hold on tight, even when it burns. And SubhanAllah, one of the greatest ways that you can overcome the burn of your desires is to burn them for something more meaningful. What do I mean by that? When you have a purpose, you can take the pain so much more to where the pain can go from being unbearable to bearable,
to even a point where it's pleasurable because you recognize the gains instantly. When you're a person of mission, I see a lot of young people in here, mashAllah tabarakAllah, you're responsible for this torch bearing, you're responsible for this deen. You're not just responsible for staying off of sin, listening to some lectures and getting close to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala on your own. You're responsible for saving your friends, your generation, the generation after you. Take ownership of this da'wah. Take ownership of the mission of this deen. Make it more than about yourself, because if it's more than about yourself, then you can bear more with yourself because you have a greater mission. You've got a greater purpose, a greater gain in sight. And I want you to think about a particular companion with me for a moment. So, the Prophet ﷺ mentions, قَبْلٍ عَلَى الْجَمْرِ People that can't see past their desires, they're quickly going to go, pffft. People that recognize that there is something greater, they'll hold on to it because they want that relief in the hereafter. The day of judgment comes, pffft. Get it out of my hand, and instead receive the book in my right hand, and it's nur for the rest of my life. It's light for the rest of my life. Alhamdulillah. SubhanAllah. Even on the day of judgment, you're holding something. You're holding something. The Prophet ﷺ, Allah Azawajal mentions to us, when you get the book in your right hand, and then you're holding on to it. That book, when Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala mentions the believers going forth, يَسْعَى نُورُهُمْ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَانِهِمْ The light is in their right hands. Allah turns that book into nur for you, and you use it to light yourself through the darkness of the day of judgment. So you replace the burning jamrah, the burning hot coal, with a book in your right hand, and it lights the way for you. But in this life,
why burn my hand in the first place? You've got to see beyond your own individual salvation. You've got to see yourself as part of a greater mission. You've got to see yourself as part of a collective. And there's one Sahabi, and I'll end with this, by the will of Allah Ta'ala, because I want you to see it in relationship to everything that we've been speaking about. How many of you have heard of Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him? Alright, that means that 75% of you have not listened to my lecture today. I told you I'm going to ask you about the narrator. He was the narrator of the first hadith of Umm Ayman, may Allah be pleased with her. Right? Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, lived to be over 100 years old. Over 100 years old. There are many people that are Sahaba, I mean Tabi'een, because of Anas. May Allah be pleased with him. They got that level of being considered from the second generation of Islam because they met Anas, may Allah be pleased with him. You would meet many people who never met another Sahabi except for Anas, may Allah be pleased with him. He's the last of the major companions of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with him. 20 years after Hijrah, so Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, died about 93 years after Hijrah. You heard what I said? 93 years after the moment his mom, Umm Sulaim, may Allah be pleased with her, took him to the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with him, and said, here's my little boy. 93 years after that. The man lived a century, may Allah be pleased with him. Isn't that a miracle? So he lived to what year? 73, I'm sorry, 93 years after Hijrah. Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, had a brother, Al-Bara'a ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him. How many of you are named Anas? Do we have any Anas' in the room? You don't name Anas in the UK?
Sister named Anas? Any Al-Bara'a's in here? Alright, you guys are either messing with me or you need to switch your naming equations here in the UK and name after some companions. Al-Bara'a ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, was the brother of Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him. If you saw him, he was the man the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with him, was speaking about when he said, رُبَّمَا أَشْعَثْ أَغْبَرْ You might see a person who's disheveled, whose appearance is off-putting, who's in rags, who doesn't look like they're of any importance, and people would turn them away from the doors and if they walked into the room, people would be like, who's that guy? And, you know, have a repulsion towards him. The Prophet, Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, said, But that person, نَوْ أَقْصَمَ عَلَى اللَّهِ لَأَبَرَّ That person's so close to Allah that if they took an oath with Allah, Allah would honour their oath. Imagine how amazing these people are. So, you might, you know, say about them, they're not worth marriage. Their intercession means nothing. Their witness means nothing. They come and ask for your daughter? No. And the Prophet, Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, said, And in my Ummah, that's Al-Bara'a ibn Malik, رضي الله عنه. Imagine, the brother of Anas ibn Malik, رضي الله عنه, that's Al-Bara'a, رضي الله عنه. Al-Bara'a didn't, he wasn't very handsome, he didn't really used to care much for his appearance. The man was incredible on the battlefield. He said, my brother can do all the narrating hadith, put me in the battlefield. Always in the battlefield, رضي الله عنه. And he was so brave and so courageous, that you could even interpret it as a form of recklessness. He went in, رضي الله عنه. He wasn't making calculations in these battles. He just went in, he dove deep in. Umar ibn Al-Khattab, رضي الله عنه, said, Do not appoint Al-Bara'a in charge of any battalion.
Because he's going to get them all killed. That's his nature. That's what Umar, رضي الله عنه, said about him. Don't put him in charge of anything. Let him shine, but don't put him in charge of anything. In the battle of apostates, and I'll help you understand why I'm getting to this, inshallah ta'ala. The battle against the Murtadin, against the apostates, Musaylim al-Kaddhab. Musaylim was a brutal false prophet. He killed thousands and thousands and thousands of companions of the Prophet ﷺ. Brutal false prophet. And he had حديقة الموت. He had a place around him that was called the Garden of Death. Which was the closest to him, meaning his most skilled soldiers, the people that would crucify companions, they were all surrounded around him. You know Al-Bara'a, رضي الله عنه, said in the battle of Yamama? Al-Bara'a, رضي الله عنه, said, I want you to catapult me in. And they did. He insisted. They tied Al-Bara'a, رضي الله عنه, to something, and they flicked him in there. And single-handedly he caused such a disruption that he was able to open the gates, and the Muslims were given victory. What a man. And he didn't die. He didn't die, رضي الله عنه. That's the brother of Anas ibn Malik, رضي الله عنه. Why am I getting to this? Anas lived to be how old, رضي الله عنه? A hundred years old. At least a hundred, by the way. At least a hundred. He died 93 years after Hijrah. Do you know that if you open up the shama'il of the Prophet, رضي الله عنه, without Anas ibn Malik, رضي الله عنه, what do we know about our Prophet, رضي الله عنه? How much do we know about our Prophet, رضي الله عنه? How important, how central is he to this deen? How much have we fallen in love with the Prophet, رضي الله عنه, through Anas ibn Malik, رضي الله عنه? Some of you know a hadith, and you don't even know that Anas is the narrator. And they're quoted all the time, and we know the basics about our Prophet, رضي الله عنه, through Anas ibn Malik, رضي الله عنه,
who was with him for that entire time. Why am I talking about Anas and al-Bara'a? 20 years after Hijrah. So Anas lived until, you guys are going to remember this for the rest of your life, insha'Allah. Anas lived until 93 years after Hijrah. 20 years after Hijrah, in the battle of At-Tusr, against the Persians. The Persians had a nasty tactic, like a really nasty tactic. They would heat up iron hooks in this battle, and then, so they were on an elevated ground. They would throw the hooks into the Muslims, and they'd reel them up, and your body was probably disintegrated by the time you got to them. They heated up the iron, and they threw these fire hooks, and they would pull people up. If the hook got you, you were dead. No one survives that. Anas, رضي الله عنه, says that in that battle, a hook caught me, and it started to reel me up. And my brother al-Bara'a, he ran up, and he jumped on me, and then he climbed my body, and he took his hands, and he unhooked me, until he said, Wallahi, the flesh burned off of his two hands, entirely. I'm sorry to get so gruesome. There was no more flesh on his hands, رضي الله عنه, and he fell, and he died shaheed that day. رضي الله تعالى عنه. Anas, رضي الله عنه, lived for 73 years after that. Seven decades of Anas, رضي الله عنه, are possible because al-Bara'a, رضي الله عنه, wasn't just holding on to a burning hot coal for himself. He knew the value of Anas, رضي الله عنه,
to this ummah. And he grabbed that hook himself, and he let it burn through his hands, because he knew this brother of his, that had access to the Prophet ﷺ the way he did, was special. And the ummah needed him. SubhanAllah. 73 years of Anas, رضي الله عنه, would not have been possible, of course, by the grace of Allah, but through a man behind the scenes, who was willing to let his hands burn for this ummah, for his brother. The imagery, dear brothers and sisters, is compelling. And we are all in this journey, when we fell from the heavens through our father, Adam, ﷺ. Grab on to al-Urwat al-Withqa. Grab on to the trustworthy handhold. Do not be led by the storm of this dunya, and let the winds take you wherever, to where you're a person of no principle, a person of no purpose. Let it take you wherever. Grab on to the next drug. Grab on to the next addiction. Grab on to the next high. Forget about all of that. Grab on to the next relationship. All these things of this world, superficial things. Hold on to al-Urwat al-Withqa. Forget about, forget about the storm of this world. And then, the rope of Allah, extend the rope of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, to as many brothers and sisters as you can. Because this deen is a deen that unites us. If when you became more religious, you started excommunicating more Muslims, you are not on the way the Prophet ﷺ taught. Don't tell me that's the way the Prophet ﷺ taught. If that's what your result is of this deen, that you start cutting people off and excommunicating more Muslims, kicking them off of the rope of Allah, come on. How is that in the way of Rasulullah ﷺ, who's literally trying to catch people from their waist belts falling into the fire? Hold on to the trustworthy handhold. Extend the rope of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then, when it comes to the pain of doing so, hold on to that burning hot coal.
In sha Allah ta'ala, you will replace it on the Day of Judgment with your Book of Deeds in your right hand that will be light for you. And let your hands burn for something greater. Feel that pain for something greater. Yes, it's hard. It's hard. To just abide by La ilaha illallah Muhammad Rasulullah ﷺ. Just be a basic Muslim in this crazy world. But it's even harder and more rewardable to go the extra mile, to make extra sacrifices for the da'wah of La ilaha illallah Muhammad Rasulullah ﷺ and have a mission that you're dedicated to. So that you can meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala at the end of this journey and you can see, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala, people that you brought along with you to Jannah. Don't be that person that only thinks about entering Jannah alone. Wasiqalladhina taqaw rabbahum ilal jannahi zumaraa. We're going to be entering Jannah as groups, in sha Allah ta'ala. The people you used to pray with, the people you used to worship Allah with, people next to you in Tarawih, the people you used to take classes with. The people you used to remind Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala of and they used to remind you of Allah. You're going to be entering Jannah with them together, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala. No one gets into Jannah alone. Because this affair of this dunya is not one that we take alone. We take it together, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala. May Allah allow us all to return home together. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala keep us together with the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ. May Allah forgive us for our shortcomings. Allahuma Ameen. JazakumAllahu Khayran.
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