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As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Wa alaykum as-salamu alaykum. Bismillah wa alhamdulillah. Amdan kathiran tayyiban mubarakan fihi. Amdan yaliqu bi jalali wajhihi wa bi yadhim sultani. Wa sallallahu ala khairi khalqihi Muhammadin as-sadiq al-amin. Al-mab’uthi rahmatan lil’alamin. Wa ala alihi al-tayyibin al-tahirin. Wa ala ashabihi al-ghurri al-mayamin. Wa man tabiahum bi ihsanin ila yawm al-deen. Allahumma kthubna minhum. Ameen.
Qarallahu subhanahu wa ta’ala. Ya ayyuhu alladhina amanu taqallaha haqqa taqati. Wa la tamutunna illa wa antum muslimun.
We begin by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala who is deserving of all praise. No matter how much we praise Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, it is not enough.
Ahmad salallahu alayhi wa sallam, the one who praised Allah more than anyone else,
said, Ya Allah, I cannot praise you as you deserve. You are only praised as you have praised yourself. And we send peace and blessings on the basis of the diam. best of his creation, khairu khalki, our beloved, our habib, our maula, Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and his noble family and his ahlul bayt.
We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala to open our hearts to that which is useful for us in our relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, that helps us to come closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala in this dunya before we are presented to him in the akhirah.
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala reminds us, actually commands us to have taqwa and we are reminded of this ayah every Juma.
Ittaqullah, have taqwa of Allah, haqqa tuqati, what Allah deserves, what is deserved. What he is deserving. So Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is commanding us to be in a state of taqwa throughout our lives and to die in that state because if you are in a state of taqwa, you are going to die in a state of loving submission, Islam. وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ Having submitted completely to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. That we submit without questions, without whether it’s easy, whether it is difficult, whether we are living in a non-Muslim country or we are living in the haram.
Under all circumstances, to have taqwa of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.
To be aware of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, to be conscious of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala at all times.
Aware. That Allah watches me at all times.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says, and certainly Allah over you is Ar-Raqeeb, one of the names of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. Ever watchful. Allah not only sees the external actions, but Allah sees what thoughts come to my mind. What I entertain, what I plan, what my aspirations are, what my goals are, what my likes and dislikes are, what moves me to action, what makes me feel lazy.
Be aware, Allah says, be aware that Allah knows. So we must live our lives at all times with this awareness. What I’m thinking, what my goals in life are, what my likes and dislikes are, the choices I make in my life, all of that is an open book to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, even though the one sitting in front of me doesn’t know what’s inside me. It’s open to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. So live in that state, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says. So whether it is in times of difficulty. Or in times of ease.
Duniya is darul bala. You are going to be challenged. That is normal circumstances. This is not jannah. So if you face difficulties, and difficulties come in different forms. It could be health challenges. It could be family challenges. It can be economic challenges. It can be social challenges. Living in a different kind of environment. All difficulties are from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala to test each one of us. What is our true worth? Because everyone claims to have Iman. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says that the Arab, the Bedouin said that we have believed. Aamannah. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says that we have believed. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam tells them. No. Iman has not even entered your heart. All you can claim is that we have accepted Islam. That we have accepted Islam.
So the internal states are known only to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. And ultimately where is that? As he said. inside the heart. But that then controls us to our학교 beementhang. This state. My book. Honestly, my book is only from Salman Abdullah Zahra. Now there is an older, my book is more newer, recent. my thought processes, what I’m thinking, what I’m planning, what my goals in life are, likes and dislikes. All of that has to be within that envelope of taqwa and awareness of Allah. Keeping that in mind, in the last day or two, we have witnessed what Allah has written in the universe. Allah says, إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ لَآيَاتٍ لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ Allah says, In the creations of the heavens and the earth, space is the creation of Allah.
وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ And the alternation of day and night, which is creation of time. Allah is the creator of time and space.
Everything other than Allah is His creation. Everything. And we don’t know everything. We have no clue of what’s out there.
So Allah says, Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, there are signs for people who have lubb, who have understanding. Not superficial IQ of passing an exam, who have true understanding.
So, were you aware that you have just completed a journey of approximately 584 million miles in the last year?
Were you aware of that? That you have traveled in an elliptical circle around the sun one solar year? No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.
No. No. No. No.
No. is about 25,000 miles. So it’s spinning, if you’re near the equator like we are in this part of the world, you’re spinning at approximately, how much? A thousand miles an hour. And we are traveling through space around the sun about 30 kilometers per second. Are we aware of this? Everything looks still. So a person who thinks, says what I see is there is stillness. Nothing is moving until I move. Like we tell children in this class, sit still. Nobody can sit still. We are moving in time and space without our control.
So Allah is saying what is truly happening in the batin, in the unseen, is very different than what you are seeing. So don’t, today we say seeing is believing. Our position should be hearing is believing what we hear from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Either directly in His kalam or through His Rasul sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. That is what we have to believe. Because if you just look at the zahir, you will be consumed by the world. Because that, that too, is one of the tests that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has created for us.
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says He has beautified this dunya for you. That’s a challenge. Do you get attracted to it? Does that become the goal of your life? That this is my goal? So Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala tells us that these are reminders. So when we see or we experience or we are given the gift of seeing another new, what we call solar year, then time belongs to Allah. Lunar months belong to Allah. Solar months belong to Allah. It’s all His creation.
What does it do? What is there to celebrate?
It is a time to take accountability. It is a time to take accountability. Muhasaba. Allah gave me one more year. How many of my companions and my relatives did not live to see this year who were here last year?
I would then think what have I done? What advantage have I taken of that extra time that was given to me this year? What do I have to show to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala?
So these are moments of reflection of muhabbub. Muhasaba of taking accountability. Am I using my time in the way that is optimal for my akhira?
Because time is going to pass. Sometimes when we were younger and more foolish than we are now, we are trying to pass time. Time will pass. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala swears by His creation when He says wal asr. He takes everything. An oath on time.
And when Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala uses the qasam in the Quran, it is to bring focus. First of all, to honor what He has sworn by time is valuable. It’s a creation of Allah. But also to bring focus on the jawab al-qasam, what is going to come after that. إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ With emphasis. إِنَّ for ta’keed. Emphasis. الْإِنسَانَ الْإِفْلَامَ of استغراق. أُمُوم All of mankind. لَ Again, ta’keed. فِي خُسْرٍ Is in a loss. All of mankind in terms of time, it’s a losing battle. You’re losing. Why? Because every second your life that is programmed by Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is ticking away. Whether you like it or not. You’re losing. You’re losing it. Then Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala makes taqsees. He makes an exception. إِلَّا الَّذِينَ Except those.
آمَنُوا وَأَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ Some of our early salaf have said that if Allah did not reveal anything else other than this, it would be sufficient for us. Because everything, جَوَامُ الْقَلَمُ of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala in few short ayat, everything is there. The only one who is not in a loss is one who is in a state of iman.
And how do we understand iman?
We say, well, what is iman? We have memorized as a child without knowing what it means. أَمَنْتُ بِاللَّهِ We believe in Allah. We believe in the angels. We believe in the books. We believe in the messengers. We believe in يَوَامُ الْآخِرَةِ life after death, destiny. So we know it by memorization, rote memory.
What is meant by iman is that we live in an envelope knowing I am living in the presence of Allah. Allah is aware of everything. الرَّقِيبَ as we said. I am living in His Kingdom.
There is Allah. No matter who says what. In Jinnah. And Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is As-Sabur. They say there is no God. We don’t know. This is this. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala lets it go. He gives them more.
Has His hikmah. And He is As-Sabur. He doesn’t take people. He didn’t take Firaun to task immediately. He gave him decades and decades of tyranny. Someone who claimed that I am Allah.
So, living with that awareness that there is Allah. Living with the awareness that the whole environment where we are is surrounded by angels. Right now, there are probably more angels in this room than there are brothers. We don’t see them.
And this is just the earth. The Prophet ﷺ in his mihraj, he said there is not the space of a span in the heavens and seven heavens. We have no idea. You know, the whole universe with 14 point some billion light years across the known universe is the first heaven. And first heaven compared to the second is like a ring thrown in an open desert. And so on and so forth. Till it comes and all of that to the Qursi is like a small ring thrown in an open desert. And there is not a space or one span where there is not an angel in worship of Allah. He does.
In ruku or sajda or in dua. And he said the heavens creak in their own ways. Don’t think of it in our way of creaking. So we live in an environment of angels.
And of course, we know that the angels were recording what we do, what we say and all of that. So we live. Iman means to live with that awareness that I have witnesses who are going to be brought back on the day of judgment.
Either for or against me. To live with that awareness. Iman means to live with that awareness that I will be presented individually in front of Allah subhanAllah with no legal representatives in front of me. Nobody to represent me. Not my father. Not my mother. Everyone will run away. I will come with my deeds and my deeds will be shown. Nobody has to read it. Let’s read your own book.
What will that book look like when I stand in front of my Rabb?
That is what we are talking about. Writing, making inscription in your book that you would be pleased to read. You see, Alhamdulillah this is what I have in my book today. Ya Allah, this is what I have.
That’s the life we need to live. That’s Iman. And how do I get there? Allah sent His Qutub. Last one of which is the Quran. He sent His messengers and He sent us Khatamun Nabiyyin Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam Walk in His path. Since He has been sent here all paths of approach to Allah SWT have been closed. No other deen is accepted.
Walk in the footsteps of Sayyidina and Mawlana Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam Iman.
And part of that Iman is knowing that whatever challenges I face were written when the Qalam was first created.
When Allah first created the first creation Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam tells us Allah created the Qalam and said, Qutub, write.
Ma’aktub. The Qalam said in one narration, what should I write? He said, write the Qadr of everything that is and will be till the death judgment, till eternity. It was already written everything that you’re going to face of ease, of difficulty, of challenges, of children, the way they are with you, the spousal relationship, your economic status, your persecution, anything. Anything. The moments of plenty. When you have a lot, you are healthy, you have time, you have honor. That’s what everybody looks for.
Everything is already written and most importantly, the ajal is also written. Everyone’s time is written. And I’m racing towards that.
That’s the Iman that we are required. What are Amal As-Salehat? What are Amal As-Salehat? What Allah loves and is pleased with? As shown by Rasulullah . If we do that, and we invite and remind people to that, and no matter what difficulties we feel, wa tawassal bi sabr, we are patiently perseverant with that. That’s the only group that is not a loser.
So we have a winning group, which we have just talked about. Everything else, which is the majority of humanity, is in a loss. So you have a losing group, the majority, and those who will be winners, inshaAllah. Two paths. The choice is ours to make.
The choice is ours, and the choice was given by Allah . You choose. You want to choose Iman, or you want to choose Kufr?
You want to choose Amal As-Salehat, or you want to choose Allah’s disobedience. Everything we do is based on choices we make. Every moment of our life, we are making choices. Most of the time, without being aware of it, automatically. You chose to come to this masjid for Jummah, instead of somewhere else. Some people chose to stay in the marketplace. Everything is a choice, and every choice has a consequence, even though we are not aware of it. Because Allah has made a web of existence, if you can. Today it’s easier, because now we have a worldwide web. Connectedness. Everything in the universe is connected. Your Amal, your glance, one glance that you make, has vibrations in the cosmos.
It’s a abundance of Ahadith about what happens. Today many times people ask, why are the innocent children in Gaza being starved and killed? Have I looked within my Qalb? Have I looked to see what I am doing? The effects of which could be that. We blame what’s happening, ظاهر. This country doing this, this leader doing this. We are all contributors.
We can blame no one except ourselves. And what the majority does, Allah brings consequences according to that.
ظهر الفصاد في البر والبحر بما كسبت أيدي الناس That corruption, evil, all of this, all of this fasad has developed on land and earth because of the actions of human beings.
And Allah then goes on to say, so that we make them taste. عملوا what they did. لعلهم يرجعون So that they may return to the path of Rasulullah ﷺ. So we make choices and we make those choices based on the state of our Qalb. What is inside us? Many times you’ve heard this hadith that Allah does not look at your ajsam, your exterior or your wealth. But he looks at your Qalb, your hearts and your aamal. And the clearest, clearest declaration is ألا as Rasulullah ﷺ إِنَّ فِي الْجَسَدِ مُدْغَى إِذَا صَلَحَتْ صَلَحَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّ وَإِذَا فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّ أَلَى وَهِيَ الْقَلْبِ That indeed, in the body there is a piece of flesh. If it is sound, the whole body is sound. And the body is not just your body. It’s the Ummah. It’s the Universe. If it is corrupted, everything is corrupted. أَلَى بِوَرْ No! It is the Qalb. How much attention do we pay to the Qalb? And we are talking about the spiritual Qalb. If you have a little shortness of breath, little chest pain, you rush to the cardiologist because we are concerned about the physical Qalb. And he says, you’ve got blocked arteries. We need to do something. We need to look internally, what are the أَمْرَادُ الْقُلُوبِ the real ones that I am carrying with me. Subtle shirk, hasad, bughd. And it goes on. So, we need to pay attention to our Qalb. We have a journey. We have a journey in front of us. We don’t know how much is written for us. As Imam Al-Hasan Al-Basri from the Taba’een said, that life is three days. Yesterday is gone and everything within it is gone. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. You may not see it. So it is today. Make the most of today. Someone put it by saying, yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery, today is a gift. That’s why it’s called present. That’s what it means. Be sahib al-waqt, a person who uses their time in the most optimal manner that you can. At this moment, for example at this moment, what’s the best deed I can do? Attend Jummah. There is nothing better. Not even reading Quran. So every moment has many good options that you can do. We should choose the best of those good options.
That’s how we use our time. That’s how we can celebrate a new year and we can celebrate the new life that is to come. If we have lived our lives within that envelope of Iman, within with Taqwa at all times, so that when we meet Allah we have no regrets. As the hadith says, the only regret the people in Jannah will have, people in Jannah will have, will have regret, yes. For the time spent without the dhikr of Allah . And dhikr of Allah is not la ilaha illallah, la ilaha illallah only. It’s awareness. Everything of mine is open to Allah . My past, present, future, internal, external. And with that awareness, with that muraqabah, I will be able to say, I will be able to say that Allah is what I need to live. So that when the angel of death comes, we are not afraid. May Allah give us the status where we will say, I have been waiting for you. What took you so long? I want to move. Ar-rafiqal A’ala. So may Allah help me first reminder.
We are in this boat together. This dunya is fanny.
Jagaji langane ki dunya nahi hai. Yeh ibrat ki jahe, tamasha nahi hai.
Outside it’s all tamasha, tamasha, inviting. Shaitan makes it even more beautiful. What is life all about? What is success? Power and wealth. Domination, dominion, control. That’s all it is. And after that, for that, what do you do? All kinds of evil. Plundering nations, wars, killing, all of that so that I can have more dominion, more power.
Ajalheen na chhoda, na kisra, na dara. You see, says Sikandar, sifate bihara. There were emperors and empires. What empire do we have? It’s all going to be left here. The real kingdom and empires are being built in the akhirah for us.
The choice is ours. Yes, we have to live in this dunya in moderation as shown by Rasulullah ﷺ. He did everything. He had family, he had children. He conducted political, he conducted defense, all of those administration.
Wealth came to him, wealth was his. Wealth was distributed, showed us economics, showed us administration, showed us family relationships, showed us all of those. Live within that envelope.
Study the seerah of Rasulullah ﷺ. Ask Allah ﷻ to grant us that awareness of him at all times. And last thing, most important, suhbah.
The people, you hang out with, be very, very careful, including relatives. Including relatives. Yes, there is sila rahmi. But if there is some component of your family that takes you away from the path, takes you away from Allah ﷻ, limit. I’m not saying cut off because we don’t cut off. Limit that relationship and be aware of it. And hang out with people who move you closer to Allah ﷻ, who remind you of Allah ﷻ, who help you, in whose company you find your iman goes up. Very, very important, especially living in countries like this. So with that reminder, I ask for your forgiveness. If I’ve said anything wrong, may Allah ﷻ bless us in this new solar year with more taqwa, more ihsan, more iman, more iman, more iman, more iman, more yaqeen, and more amal salih, done sincerely for him, done in the way of Rasulullah ﷺ to make it acceptable. And may Allah ﷻ take us in a state of iman, and may Allah ﷻ make the last part of our lives, the best part of our lives, and the best of our days, the day, liqa, the day we meet. Ameen. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah.