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Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem. Alhamdulillahi Rabbil ‘Alameen. Wa salatu wa salamu ala ash-sharafi al-anbiya wal-mursaleen, Muhammadur Rasulullah ﷺ. Tasleeman kathiran kathirah.
Fahamabadu. My brothers and sisters, alhamdulillah. Today, the topic is, and I thought I’d begin with this, because everything beneficial and useful comes from self-assessment. If we want to know what our needs are, we must begin with what we already have. And that’s what we’re going to do. And then you bridge the gap, and you say, “I already have this, and I need this much more.” And that is why we said, let us begin with: Am I a Momin?
Somebody asked Al-Hasan al-Basri Rahmatullah Ali, “Are you a believer? Are you a Momin?” So, Hasan al-Basri Rahmatullah Ali said, his sister was Abu Sayyid, so he said, “Yeah, Abu Sayyid, yeah, Abu Sayyid.” When asked if he was a Momin, Hasan al-Basri Rahmatullah Ali replied there are two kinds of *Iman*, two kinds of faith. He said, if you are asking me whether I am a believer in Allah Ta’ala and His Malaika (angels), His books, in the messengers, in Jannah and Jahannam, and in the accounting and resurrection on the last day… this is what we call *Iman-e-Mufassal*. So, if you are asking this question—”Am I a believer in this sense?”—then yes, I am a believer.
But, if you are asking, “If I am the perfect believer as mentioned in the ayat of Surah Al-Anfal,” then I do not know whether I am that or I am not that. Who is saying this? Al-Hasan al-Basri Rahmatullah Ali, one of the greatest scholars of Islam. Why was he called this? He, along with Abdullah bin Mubarak and a couple of others, they are called the *Sayyidul Tawaheen*. They are the people whose rank is after the Sahaba.
So, he said: If you tell me, if you are asking me whether I am a believer in the textbook sense, what do you believe? I believe in Allah, and His malaika, and His kitabs, and His rasool, and so on. He said, “Yes, I believe all that.” But, if you are asking about belief at a deeper level—in the heart, in the mind, in every atom of my body—then he said, “I don’t know.”
So, I ask myself this question, and I am requesting you to ask this question to yourself. Because with Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, the standard that counts is that standard of faith that Al-Hasan al-Basri Rahmatullah Ali described; even I cannot be sure. But that is what we need to aim at. Now, that is where the matrix of faith is. These are the metrics by which we measure ourselves. Without measurement, you cannot say, “You want to be better today than yesterday.” You don’t know that unless there is a measuring parameter. Alhamdulillah, Allah Ta’ala gave us that.
Now, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala gave us these metrics. And He said, in Surah Al-Anfal, Allah described five things as the qualities and attributes of the believers. Allah said: *Truly, innama al-mu’minoon*. Truly, they are the believers (*mu’mineen*). Who? Allatheena idha dhukira Allahu wajilat quloobuhum. Those who, when Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is mentioned before them, when the *dhikr* of Allah comes before them, their hearts shiver with the glory and majesty and awe of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, with the *khashyat* of Allah. So the first quality of the believer is that something happens to his or her heart when Allah is mentioned. *Wajilat quloobuhum*.
And when the ayat of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala are recited before them, their iman increases. *Wa idha turiyat alayhim ayatuhu zadathum imana*. And they have tawakkul. They have complete, total, and certain faith on their Rabb. *Wa ala rabbihim yatawakkaloon*. This is not just a matter of saying “I believe in Allah.” No. Complete and total faith with total certainty on Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. These are three qualities which are within us. First quality: When *Idha Dhikr Allah*, what must happen? The heart must respond. Second: When the ayat of Allah are recited, what must happen? Iman increases (*Zadathum Imana*). Third: On their Rabb, they rely completely (*Yatawakkaloon*). Three qualities within.
Then Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala mentioned two more external qualities. *Alladhina yuqimuna salat*. Wa mimma razaqnahum yunfiqoon. These are the people who establish the Salah. They don’t just read it; they perform it. They offer it. They make it firm. Allah has mercy on us. Allah Ta’ala gave us the word *Iqamati Salah* (establishment). We often translate that into everything except establishment. Why? What is the allergy? That is why our Salah is never established. We never talk about establishing it. We talk about making Salah, doing Salah, or performing Salah. There is a difference between thinking something (*khayam*) and doing it (*panna*). In the case of Salah, there is a huge difference. Allah said “Establish Salah.” He didn’t say “Read Salah,” “Do Salah,” or “Perform Salah.” No. Establish it firmly. So everything to do with Salah, dig it down in the ground. It must not move. Nobody can change that. Nobody can shake that. Nobody can move that. Because the worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala—this is why we have been created. “And I have not created the Jinn and the Insan except for My worship.” So the fundamental reason why we are alive is to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. And we do that with Salah. Therefore, Salah has to be established.
And Allah said: *Wa mimma razaqnahum yunfiqoon*. They spend from what We have provided them in the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. So, establishment of Salah and spending in the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala are the two external visible conditions. These are five metrics, five ways of measurement. What happens to the heart? What happens to Iman? What is the level of my *yaqeen* on Allah Ta’ala? Am I establishing Salah? Am I spending in the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala?
And then Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala also mentioned the reward for this. This is the beauty of the Qur’an; Allah does not leave anything halfway. He describes the whole thing completely. First, Allah says: *Ulaika humul mu’minoona haqqan*. Truly these are the true believers (*Mu’minoona Haqqan*). And so therefore for them: *Lahum darajatuna ‘inda rabbihim*. For them there are stations of honor with their Rabb. Wa maghfiratan. And forgiveness. Wa rizqan karimun. There is a noble provision for them. Now this is the framework. These are the metrics that have been given to us to check for ourselves. “Am I a Momin?” To know this, to check this, to verify this, is something that is absolutely critical for all of us. And it is not a one-time thing. It’s not a matter of saying, “I checked, Alhamdulillah, I’m a Momin, good till I die.” No. This is a check that must be done every single day. Because Iman is something which is very fickle. It is there today, it can go away tomorrow. In one Hadith, Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, “A time will come when a man will wake up on Iman and he will sleep that night without Iman.” He also said, “A time will come when a man will sleep with Iman and he will wake up and he will have no Iman.” May Allah have mercy on us. Difficult times. And your Iman itself is at stake. So, we have to check.
So let us check. The first condition is: Today we have become so disconnected with ourselves. For example, if I ask you what’s in your handbag? What’s in your pocket? You can answer me. Right? You may not remember everything in the handbag or in your pocket, but more or less you will know and you will tell me, giving an answer which will be correct. But if I ask you, “What’s in your heart?” As you are sitting here, what is in your heart? Do you know? You will give me an answer from your head. Really? What’s in your heart? You are not looking there. You don’t even know how to look there.
Ibrahim went to meet his wife and son after having left them when Ismail was an infant, and then he came back. The first time he met them, Ismail was maybe 8-10 years old. Allah knows because Allah Ta’ala said, when he was ready, when his son was old enough to walk with him. Old enough to walk with him does not mean 25 years old. It means just about that age; he can walk. You’re looking at a small boy, and he’s now taking him to slaughter him, to sacrifice him for the sake of Allah. So the first time he’s meeting his little son after leaving him in infancy, that meeting is where he takes him to be slaughtered.
So he tells his son: “I saw in my dream (*Yarafil Manan*) that I am slaughtering you.” This *Ziba* (halal slaughter) is nothing new for Ismail Salam. Because these were agrarian communities. They have sheep, goats, camels, and they slaughter them for food. So he would have seen millions of types of slaughter. He knows exactly what happens. And his father is saying to him, “This is what I have seen in my dream, that I am slaughtering you.” And then he says… He didn’t say, “What is your opinion? What are you thinking?” No. He doesn’t say, “Look, what do you feel? Look, what do you think? Look, what do you see?” He does not need to explain to that little boy what it means to look or where to look. That little boy understands because the mother has already taught him all that. Even at our age, if someone said, “Look, what do you see? Look, where?” we might ask, “What is there to see? How can I see? If you want me to see, do an angiograph, then I will see on the screen, I will tell you what is happening.” Because we have become so disconnected, spiritually from ourselves.
But Ismail al-Islam… when asked, “What do you see?” he saw only submission. He saw only obedience to Allah Ta’ala. He said, “Oh my father, do what you have been commanded. And InshaAllah, you will find me among the people who have patience (*Sabr*).” He is saying, “InshaAllah,” because he doesn’t know for sure. But InshaAllah, I will have Sabr. The sign of the believer is complete and total submission to Allah Ta’ala in whatever state Allah chooses for you. We don’t go around deciding what state we want to be in. And then we are thankful if that happens. If it doesn’t happen, we moan and groan and complain. No. Tell yourself: “I am happy in whatever You decide for me. You decide.” The future is in the hands of Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim fil dunya war akhirah. How can that future be bad? So as a Muslim, if you are fearing the future, thinking that this might happen or that difficulty might come, this calamity… this is a sign of no Iman. It’s a sign of lack of faith. Because the one whose hand holds the future is Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim. So how can the future be bad?
So the first thing to check is: What is the state of responsiveness of my heart? Is my heart alive or is it dead? If the state of my heart is alive, then Alhamdulillah. *Idha dhukir Allahu wajilat qulubuhum*. When Allah is mentioned, when I hear the Adhan, when I hear Tilawat of the Quran, I am standing in Taraweeh. Now you are counting the rakats. Why 8? Why 20? Why 8? I am getting tired. I need to go. This, that. This is all a sign of lack of Iman. And *Wa idha tuliyat alayhim hayatihi zazathum imana*. When the ayat of Allah Ta’ala are recited before them, their Iman increases. So when you listen to the Quran, when you read the Quran yourself, can I advise you, stop for a second and check your heart? Am I feeling a surge of Iman? Is it happening? Or is this Tilawat just a routine thing? “I am supposed to, I have set a goal for myself. Every day I will recite so much Quran. I want to finish it.” Read it, finish it, put it away. Make this into a habit—a complete, absolutely strong habit of yourself—which is: Don’t just say, “Quran pade kya ne pade” (How much did you read?). Ask yourself: “Huwa kya pucho?” What happened? “Padke kya huwa?” Did something happen? If you go to the gym to exercise, and if you simply ask, “Did you go? Yes, I went,” what is the effect of that? Are you doing the right exercises? Is it showing somewhere? That is the question.
So when you read the Quran, when you listen to the Quran, is it having an effect? We ask Allah to help us measure ourselves on this matrix and then to work, to work, to come up to par with what Allah Ta’ala has said for us. *Rabbana faqfil lana dhunumana wa kafir lana sayyatina wa tawaffana ma’ala barar*. Rabbana atina fi duniya hasanatun wa fil aakhirati hasanatun wa qinaza wa nar. Wa Sallallahu ala Nabiyyil Kareem wa ala Alihi wa Sahbihi Ajmain bi Rahmatika ya Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahimin. Walhamdulillahi Rabbil ‘Alameen.