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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allahﷻ, Lord of the worlds. And peace and blessings be upon the honour of the prophets and messengers. Muhammadﷺ, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and upon his family and his companions, peace and blessings be upon them. From now on, my brothers and sisters, we are talking about the ways of dealing with stress, the ways of living in times of difficulty and fear. We ask Allahﷻ, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, to change our fear to aman, our fear to peace and safety and harmony, inshallah. And Allahﷻ promised to do that on condition that we live according to His way, that we live according to the way of Rasulullahﷺ.
And therefore, we need to look at our own selves, and take care of ourselves and heavens, so that we remain true to our kins and brothers, good and with some Messenger of Allah and therefore claim forgiveness for shaytan and all the unbelievers who used to cheat us. The Usain, after their holistic yoga, will give us a single mission- lasting from the beginning of the spiritual journey to God- at the destination of the heats and the early days This way, Diamond Columbia, may Allahﷻ glorify you, and the humanity here, may Allahﷻ exalt you with the jz- Follow your hearts and the soul who have protected your heart from the Jacket. We look at what is good and we say, Alhamdulillah.
And as I mentioned to you, this is the nature of the human being. You will see what you are looking for. If you look for something, you will find it. I don’t know how many of you have ever read Sherlock Holmes. There is a detective series called Sherlock Holmes. Must read it. Very, very interesting. And Sherlock Holmes has an assistant called Watson. So anytime Holmes would discover a clue to a case, Watson would be very surprised. And he would say, how did you see it? And Holmes’ standard response was, I saw it because I was looking for it. And this is what happens in life. You will see what you are looking for. So beware and be careful of what you look for. If you look for difficulties, you look for trouble, you look for pain, you look for this is bad, that is bad, that’s all you will see. And your whole life will get trashed because your mind will be working on that the whole time. Instead of that, look at the good things. Alhamdulillah. Just see, that’s why the beautiful hadith of Prophet Muhammadﷺ. May Allahﷻ reward Rasulullah in keeping with His Majesty and Grace. Rasulullah said that if you wake up in the morning with a roof over your head, meaning you have safety, you have a house. He is not talking about you own the house, you don’t own the house, it’s on lease. No, you have a place to stay. So he said, you wake up in the morning, you have a house, you don’t own the house, it’s on lease. You are not going to sleep in the morning with a roof over your head. With your body which works. You are not paralyzed. You haven’t had a heart attack. Body is working, Alhamdulillah. And enough food for that day. Think about that. Just one day. We are not talking about tomorrow. Today, I have enough food for today. He said, if you have enough food for that day, you will have enough food for the next day. This is the case then it is as if the whole world has been gathered for you. Whole world is gathered for you.
All of us want jobs, right? We look for jobs. Just walk outside the masjid and see the two security guards here. See where they are sleeping. That little retaining wall, they are sleeping on that wall. You can’t even sleep flat. You have to sleep on your side. They are sleeping on the retaining wall on the side. Do you know how many mosquitoes are here? How many of you would like that job? For whatever they are getting paid. Imagine what they are getting paid for that. Believe me, make no mistake. If Allahﷻ wanted, He would have put you in that situation and you or I would have found ourselves sleeping on a retaining wall. And then whoever is the employer, he will shout at you, he will curse you and you will not be able to open your mouth. No matter what happens to that guy, he will not open his mouth. He will not say, I am a human being, treat me with dignity. He will not say that. Because he is afraid, he needs the money. What Allah will do to those people who abuse them, that’s a different issue. So we thank Allahﷻ. Alhamdulillah. Allah has not put us in this position. Look for good things.
So the third thing to do is stop rehearsing disasters. Constantly imagining worst case scenarios. If this happens, if this happens. How does it help? Tell me. People are doing, I am not saying you are doing it, I am saying people are doing this the whole time. If this happens, if this happens. This is the thing. What is the use of this? First of all, none of that is in our control. So we say, Alhamdulillah, whatever happens will happen only if Allahﷻ wants it to happen. First thing. Number two, if Allahﷻ does not want it to happen, it will not happen. Number three, if Allahﷻ wants it to happen, nothing can stop it. We are not involved in any of this. Allah is not asking our opinion. We have no control over it. We can’t make it happen. We cannot stop it if it happens. So what is the point in ruining your own peace of mind and ruining your own sleep? Makes no sense. Makes absolutely zero sense. But people do it. So this is the advice. Stop imagining and rehearsing disasters. Constantly imagining worst case scenarios. Make it happen. Make your heart fear the creation more than the creator. Because when we are talking all this stuff, where is Allah in this? Allah is not in this. If US does this, if Israel does this, if Iran does this, God knows what. So where is Allah in this? Allah is not in this. All this is maqlook. And where are we supposed to focus on? Nobody has any ability, nobody has any decision making power, nobody has any anything, any force, any strength, any power, except Allah. So if we believe in this, then what is the fear?
And that’s why the ulama have said, you don’t need to live a pain that has no meaning. It hasn’t arrived, and may never arrive. Why are you suffering that? It hasn’t even happened. If you have a habit of imagining worst case scenarios, think of, go back in your mind, in your memory, and think of worst case scenarios you imagined earlier, and ask yourself, did they happen? Just a week ago, there was a panic. What will happen if there is no gas, cooking gas? Imagine some worst case scenario, no cooking gas, what will we do? We live in the middle of a city, there is nowhere to go to some forest and cut some wood and bring that and cook your food. All of this was going on. There was a panic here with regard to fuel. There were huge crowds in the gas stations and all kinds of stuff. Did any of that happen? Just one week ago. How many people’s kitchen is not running because there is no cooking gas? Not even one. How many people ran out of gas, your car is stranded in the middle of the road because I have no gas? Did it happen? No. Just a week ago, all the worst case scenarios we imagined, none of that happened. So why are we worried?
Our job is to make effort. You do what you are supposed to do. Effort with respect to the faraad of Allah. Effort with respect to whatever your livelihood. Go open your shop. You have a shop, you have a business, go open that shop at the right time. You are working for somebody or somebody is working for you, go open your business. Go report to work. Whatever you are supposed to do, do that. Make a schedule, follow the schedule. Make the effort, the outcome belongs to Allah. And He can do whatever He wants. He is not dependent on circumstances. He is the creator of circumstances. He is not dependent on the circumstances. He is the creator of circumstances. He is the one who is responsible for the circumstances. Allah told us about the time when all circumstances were against Rasulullah and his blessed companion Sayyidina Abu Talib. Abu Bakr Siddiq when they were going from Makkah to Madinah. They were fleeing their enemies. There was a bounty on their heads. 100 camels each dead or alive. And dead or alive. So there were groups of people who had left Makkah just to catch Rasulullah and Sayyidina Abu Bakr Siddiq. So they took refuge in a cave. Ghar Thawr. And Allah See this. This is the thing we have to understand. That when Allah wants to save, He will take you right to the edge and then bring you back. So don’t be afraid if you are getting to the edge. It shows that Allah is in control. Allah did not put out the fire that they had created for Ibrahim 10 days before they were going to throw him inside. One day before. Or even one minute before. Allah did not put out the fire at all. Ha Ha? It was burning. Allah wanted to save Ibrahim. He saved Ibrahim. He ordered the fire to save him. Yaanar Kuni Bardan Wa Salaman Alaa Ibrahim. Allah ordered, commanded the fire. You become the means of safety. The fire becomes the means of safety. Allah did not send something else to save him. Allah did not send Jibreel or something. No. The same fire. Ha? The sword that will cut your neck will protect you. Allah is the Almighty. Allah the Almighty wants to show where the power is.
But we want assurance beforehand. This is top, that is top, this is top, this is top. Laa Allah Khawata. This is the whole meaning of Tawakkul is that you have a smile on your face. You have a smile on your lips right to the end. Because you know, Allah the Almighty is in control. Alhamdulillah. And that’s the reason why when Jibreel asked Ibrahim, what can I do? Nothing. Allah wants to know. Allah doesn’t have to ask. So Rasool Allah and Abu Qadir Siddique are in this cave. There is a bounty on their blessed heads. And Allah allows the enemy to come to the mouth of the cave. Allah did not take them away somewhere. They did not find them. No, no. They came right to that space, right to that point, to the mouth of the cave to the extent that Abu Qadir Siddique is looking up. He can see their feet. Standing there he can see their shoes, the boots. And he whispers to Rasool Allah he says, Ya Rasool Allah, if they only look down, if they only look down, I mean, isn’t it natural to look down? You are standing on a mountainside, you are standing on a hillside, in front of a cave, you want to look inside? I mean, why are you there? You are searching for somebody. You come to a cave, won’t you look inside? The most natural thing is you will look inside. Sahabu Qadir Siddique says, if they only look down, they will see us. And Rasool Allah has a smile on his beautiful face. He says, La tahzal Inna Allaha Ma’ala He says, have no fear, no sadness, verily Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala is with us. He didn’t say Allah will save us, Allah will hide us, Allah is with us. Allah will do whatever He wants to do. I don’t have to prescribe to Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala, do this, do that, no. And Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala immortalize this, and reveal Quran, and use these same words as His words to be recited until Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala establishes the earth. To be recited in Salah. Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala said, Illa tansuruhu faqad nasarahullah If you don’t, it doesn’t matter if you help him or not, if you support him or not, because Allah already helped him. Izz akhrajahu allatheina kafaru Thaniya thnayni Izz huma fil ghar Izz yaqulu li sahibihi La tahzan Inna allaha ma’ana Who said this? Rasulullah Where am I reciting it from? The Quran. Allah used the same words. La tahzan Inna allaha ma’ana Fa anzala allaha ma’ana Allah saqeenatahu alayhi Wa ayyadahu Bijunoodi lam tarawha Wa ja’ala kalimatallatheina kafaru sufla Wa kalimatullahi hiya al-ulia Wallahu azizun hakeem Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala said, It does not matter if you don’t support him because Allah already supported him. When the disbelievers drove them out of Makkah and he was only one of two while they were both in the cave, he reassured his companion, do not worry for Allah is certainly with us. So Allah sent down his serenity, his calmness, saqeenah upon the Prophet and supported him with forces you believers did not see and made the word of the disbelievers lowest while the word of Allah is supreme and Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala is almighty and all wise.
Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala is saying here that Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala supported them with forces that we could not see. Whatever they were, Allah knows best. And Allah sent his saqeenah on them. Many years later, this is Hijri, so, this is where it started, Hijri. Then, lived in Makkah, in Madinah for 10 years and all the events which happened. Then he passed away. Then, became the Khalifa and during his time, you had what is called the wars of where people apostated. And Abu Bakr as-Siddiq at that time, the people saw that he was completely and totally calm. He was not worried, there was no… And it was an existential threat. It was like Islam would have been wiped out. Because people all, they apostated, they said, we will not give Zakat. We will pay, we will pray but we won’t give Zakat. And Abu Bakr as-Siddiq said, Rasulullah did not separate Salah from Zakat. And if you don’t give Zakat, he said, even if it is a rope of a camel, I will make war against you. And Sayyidina Umar and others, Radiyallahu Anhum, they said to him, you are going to fight Muslims. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq said, the one who separates the Salah from the Zakat is not a Muslim. I will fight. Now all this is going on. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq is completely calm. There is no worry on his face. Nothing. So people asked him, how is it? This is an existential threat. All the work that Nabi has done till today may be finished. We might actually be in physical danger. Madinah might be attacked. Forces are gathering. You are sending out armies in different directions. And there is no worry. You are not worried. He said, I have not been worried from the day when Allah sent His Sakina on Rasul when I was with him in the Ghar. Allah said, I have sent the Sakina. I have sent the serenity and calmness on them. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq said, from that day till today, my heart I am never afraid of anything. We ask Allah to send His Sakina on us, Insha’Allah. And to keep us and our faith firm. And not to be afraid. And not allow it to be shaken by whatever is happening in the world. We ask Allah to save all innocent and good people wherever they are. We ask Allah to remove all evil and to destroy all oppressors. And may Allah send His blessings upon the noble and the noble and upon the noble and the noble.