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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And peace and blessings be upon the honour of the prophets and messengers. And praise be to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and upon his family and companions. And peace and blessings be upon him, and upon his family and companions. [PAUSE] And now, brothers and sisters, we must continue to make dua. May Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, [PAUSE] help us and help us to [PAUSE] live with dignity and with khair and aafiyah in these times. [PAUSE] And the way to do that, we have been taught by Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and by the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, the way to get relief in times of difficulty. [PAUSE] As I mentioned yesterday, the ayat of Surah Al-Talaq, that Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, said, وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا [PAUSE] وَيَرْزُقُهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَهْتَسِبُ وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَزْبُهُ Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, said, the one who has taqwa, Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, will solve his problems. Allah will extract him from his difficulty. [PAUSE] So here is the solution. Allah is saying, Allah will do this for you. But condition is, you must have taqwa. And Allah will provide from sources they cannot imagine. And the one who has tawakkul, Allah will be sufficient for him. In the hadith in Abu Dawud, Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, if anyone constantly seeks pardon from Allah, constantly makes istighfar, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala will appoint, for him, a way out of every distress and a relief from every anxiety and will provide sustenance for him from where he does not expect. [PAUSE] I repeat, in this hadith, it is also mentioned in other places, in Musnad, Ibn Ahmad and so on. In the hadith in Abu Dawud, Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is reported to us, that if anyone constantly seeks pardon, constantly makes istighfar, [PAUSE] Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala will appoint for him a way out of every difficulty, every distress and a relief from every anxiety and will provide sustenance for him from where he does not expect. The key thing is, the key thing is to make istighfar. And the thing to remember is, that making istighfar does not simply mean having a tazbeen in your hand and saying, Astaghfirullah, Astaghfirullah. No. [PAUSE] Istighfar and tawbah, [PAUSE] a man came in the masjid, in the masjid of Abu Sharif and he was making dua and Sayyidina Ali Radhiyallahu Anhu was there. So this man said, Ya Allah, forgive me, Ya Allah, forgive me. Astaghfirullah, Astaghfirullah. Sayyidina Ali, Ali Radhiyallahu Anhu called him, he said, this is not how you make istighfar. [PAUSE] Don’t simply say, Ya Allah, forgive me. What does it mean, Ya Allah, forgive me? He said, first and foremost, there should be genuine regret in the heart for a specific thing that you have done. Right? Sometimes people say, please forgive me if I have done anything or not. What do you mean, if you have done anything? Did you do or you didn’t do? If you did, you ask specifically, I did this to you, please forgive me. Don’t say, if I did something, what do you mean, if I did? [PAUSE] You don’t even know if you did or not. You ask people, what’s the meaning? Senseless. You know, completely makes no sense. So, just simply saying, Astaghfirullah, no. Specifically, Ya Allah, I did this. Ya Allah, I am ashamed. Ya Allah, please forgive me. Specifically, have deep regret in the heart. Second thing is, he said, then seek forgiveness, and ask Allah, Ya Allah, forgive me. Then he said, give some sadaqah. [PAUSE] Not simply, go give money, or whatever, right? Give sadaqah. And then, [PAUSE] never return to that thing, which you are seeking forgiveness from. [PAUSE] It’s not that you say something, Ya Allah, forgive me, then again, next day, the same thing you do. No. If you have made istighfar, then you never go back to that thing, which you asked Allah to forgive. So, making istighfar is a very serious matter, because with this istighfar, inshallah, all our problems will get solved. So, it is serious. Right? If the problem is serious, this has to be serious. [PAUSE] Now, istighfar and tawwa, the two words which are used in the Quran, Allah SWT said, فَاسْتَغْفِرُوا ثُمَّ أَطُوبُوا إِلَيْهِ Allah said, seek forgiveness, and then turn towards Allah SWT. So, istighfar and tawwa, when they are mentioned individually, they mean individually, but if one is mentioned, the other one is implied. If you say, make tawwa, it means istighfar and tawwa. If you say, make istighfar, it means istighfar and tawwa. But if you are specifically saying istighfar and specifically saying tawwa, then it means that. Because, the reason it’s implied is that when you are seeking forgiveness, the implication is, you will not do the same thing again. Implication is, you are turning towards Allah SWT, and vice versa. If you are making, if you are saying, I am turning towards Allah, it means that you have already sought forgiveness for whatever you did. So, it’s very important to seek forgiveness and to do it consciously, sincerely, right? Not just mechanically saying, astagfirullah, astagfirullah. No. Very consciously, very sincerely. It’s very, very important. [PAUSE] So, think about this. Now, many ways of, of doing it once, the most, you know, usual and thing which we know. Astaghfirullahil-Azim. Alladhi la ilaha illaahu alhayyul qayyum wa atubu ilayh. Astaghfirullahil-Azim. La ilaha illaahu wa alhayyul qayyum wa atubu ilayh. Right? Or simply astaghfirullah. Whatever. But seek this. In this one, it means I seek the forgiveness of Allah, the mighty. Astaghfirullahil-Azim. Alladhi la ilaha illaahu. So, astaghfirullahil-Azim. I ask the forgiveness, I seek the forgiveness of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, the mighty. La ilaha illaahu. Apart from whom there is no one worthy of worship. Alhayyul qayyum. The living and the established, the eternal. Wa atubu ilayh. And I turn towards him. I repent towards Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. Ibn Abbas radhi al-anuma reported that Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, whoever increases his istighfar, making his istighfar, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala will grant him a relief from every worry, a way out from every hardship and provide for him in ways he does not expect. And this is in Musnad Imam Ahmad. [PAUSE] So, [PAUSE] the thing to remember is that the ! fight between good and evil will continue until the last day. It is not something which will finish. This will happen. And in this there is khair because Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is giving us daily an opportunity to stand for virtue, to stand for good. If the fight was not there, then we would not have this opportunity. So Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala makes this opportunity, gives this opportunity, and, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala then rewards those who do the right thing. Right? So, one should not feel, oh, you know, why is this difficulty? Why is this problem? I wish everything would be solved. No. Alhamdulillah, we can say that. Nothing wrong with saying that. But at the same time, there is no need to feel depressed, and no need to feel bad. Why is there, you know, difficulty and, this is also khair from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. Because there is a, clash between good and evil. People have the opportunity to stand for good, and to stand against evil. So we say, Alhamdulillah, we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala to help us to stand for the good. To give us the courage, give us the ability, to do something useful and worthwhile, and not fall into the trap, where people, which people generally fall into. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala mentioned the story of Dhul-Nun, Yunus alaihi salam, [PAUSE] where he left his people in anger, and then he, we know the whole story. He went and then he was crossing the sea or the river, in a boat, and then all that happened, and they threw him into the water, and Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala got [PAUSE] a fish to swallow him, and he was in the belly of the fish. And then there, [PAUSE] he made dua. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said, and he called out, fi zulumat, from the darkness, la ilaha illa anta subhanak, inni kuntu minaz zalimeen. [PAUSE] So Allah said that, Dhul-Nun, the man of the fish, when he went off in anger, and thought that we would not decree anything upon him, and he called out within the darkness, there is no deity, except you, exalted are you, indeed I have been of the wrongdoers. la ilaha illa anta subhanak, inna kunna minazalimeen, inni kuntu minazalimeen. Rasulullah said, the one who says this, and then makes dua, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala will accept his dua. [PAUSE] So before making dua, say this, and then make dua, Allah will accept his dua. Because Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala mentioned this in the Quran, where Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said, fastajabna lahu, we accepted his dua. fastajabna lahu, wa najjainahu minal gham, and we gave him najat, released him from his gham, from his distress. wa kadhalika nunjil mu’mineen, and thus do we save the believers. See the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. Allah ta’ala did not only save Yunus alaihi salam, but Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala then opened the door for anyone who makes this dua. [PAUSE] Right? Nunjil mu’mineen, Allah said this is how we save the believers. So who are the believers? Anyone. Any Muslim who makes this dua, inshaAllah Allah ta’ala said that he accepts this dua. He accepted the dua of Yunus alaihi salam, and inshaAllah Allah ta’ala will accept your dua and my dua as well. So, this is the solution of how to get out of difficulties. Whether these are personal difficulties in your own life, whatever it might be, or general, you know, situations in the world, like we are making dua qunut in alhamdulillah, [PAUSE] in Salatul Fajr, which was the sunnah of Muhammad , to relieve us from the trials and tribulations of the world. Whatever it is, whether it is micro or macro level, only Allah ta’ala can resolve these things. We know this. This is our Raqee that only Allah can solve it, therefore we ask Allah. So, genuine istighfar. Now you might say, well if you know what, I make istighfar, how does it help the war which is happening? It helps, everything helps. Every little thing, every individual, two things to remember. One is every little thing helps. Second thing is, we can only do what is in our control. Right? So I cannot make somebody else to make istighfar. I have to make istighfar for my own self. So each one of us, let us make istighfar. We ask Allah to forgive us. Genuinely, we should be regretful for whatever we have done. Small or big is not the issue. Whether it is small or big, it is a disobedience of Allah . And Allah is the greatest. So therefore, every disobedience of Allah is very very important. So think about it. Nabi said, the difference between a Momin and a Fasiq, he said the Momin, even if he commits the smallest sin, for him it is like a huge boulder is on his head, which is going to fall down and crush him. So immediately he tries to get out from there by making istighfar. He doesn’t wait. He doesn’t say, I will do it tomorrow, no, right now. Whereas the Fasiq, he says he can commit the biggest sin, but he feels it is like a fly sitting on his head. He doesn’t even move his nose. He waves and it goes away. [PAUSE] This is the difference between the Momin and the Fasiq. See what happened when Adam made a mistake and Iblis made a mistake. What is the difference? Adam and Hawa our ancestors, our mother and father, immediate istighfar. رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنفُسَنَا وَإِلَّا اَمْتَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَعْرْحَمْنَا لَنَا كُونَنَا مِنْ الْخَاسِرِينَ Allah, we made a mistake. We made zulm on ourselves. If you don’t forgive us, we will be destroyed. And Iblis, he also made a mistake. Both of them disobeyed Allah . Allah gave a command, do this. He said, don’t go near the tree. They went near the tree. In this case, Allah said, make sudu. He didn’t make sudu. Difference is, how did they deal with that? For them, immediately they made istighfar. Allah forgave them and general. With Iblis, [PAUSE] أَنْظِرْنِي إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ بَعْثُمْ Give me time until the day of judgement. [PAUSE] He is not making istighfar. He is not sorry. He is not saying, I made a mistake. No. Give me time. [PAUSE] What sense does it make? Don’t punish me now, punish me then. I mean, it doesn’t make any sense. [PAUSE] You want to get out of the punishment. You don’t want the punishment to be delayed. What? How? How does it help you? Punishment, you are still getting punished. [PAUSE] Delay the punishment. I mean, so anytime that we have this, sometimes people have this, you know, they say, make istighfar. He says, I will do. I am going to Umrah now. After that, I will do Hajj. No, none of that. As soon as we realize that we made a mistake, immediately make istighfar. Right? If it’s a mistake, with regard to the rights of Allah, the rights of Allah, then make istighfar to Allah and give some sadaqah and never go back to that. If it is a mistake or a sin or something you have done against the people, [PAUSE] against anybody, makhluk, then there is a second thing also required, which is, go and apologize to the person that you wronged and give them compensation. If you have taken something from them, give it back. Right? In a hadith which is also quoted, in Bulughul Maram, Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is reported to have said, that if somebody takes a shibar, a shibar is, we call it balish, balish, which is from this tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger, this much. He said, if somebody takes this much of land, [PAUSE] unjustly, ghasab, from somebody else, only this much, one balish, on the day of judgement, Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala will put the weight of seven times the weight of the earth on his neck, for him to carry into Jahannam. [PAUSE] One shibar of land, can you believe it? One balish. [PAUSE] So why do you want to wait for that? If you took something, give it back. [PAUSE] Give more. [PAUSE] Maybe you did it, maybe you did it deliberately, maybe you did it, you know, whatever, shaitan was there, and you did something, immediately, don’t wait. Do not let the sun set, do not let the sun rise, the moment you realize, I did this mistake, [PAUSE] give it up. Return, compensate, whatever. I’m saying only one example, maybe other example. Somebody you backbited, you slandered, you said something bad about somebody, right? It harms. Al fitnatu ashaddu min al qatal. Allah said the fitna is worse than qatal. Character assassinating somebody, saying bad stuff about somebody, is like killing that person. It’s not physical killing, but it’s killing of the reputation and so on, which is worse. [PAUSE] Okay, so maybe you did it, maybe you did it, you know, unknowingly, you didn’t realize it, something. And remember, do in khibat, and listening to khibat, is the same thing. There’s no difference. [PAUSE] So you might say, well, I didn’t say it. Yeah, you didn’t say it, but you were sitting there. You were sitting there, that was happening, you didn’t say anything, you didn’t stop them, you didn’t walk out, you sat there. Maybe you enjoyed it, maybe you gave a thumbs up sign or something, God knows. Even if you did nothing, you were simply sitting there like a chair, like a piece of furniture. You are equally guilty, equally ungrateful, equally responsible, equally culpable, equally punishable. [PAUSE] There’s only two things you can do. In the case of these things, one is immediately stop it. Tell them, excuse me, sorry, not listening to this. Don’t talk about other people. Or, if you feel you can’t do that, get up and walk out. Allah gave you two legs, use them. [PAUSE] If you do khibat, if you sit there, you’re equally responsible. So, maybe this happened. We didn’t realize that. It happened. We did not stop it. We did not walk away. Now you realize. Now what to do? Immediately make a step for an taubah. Go to that person, apologize to them and say, I’m extremely sorry this was happening. I was there. I could, I did not say anything, but please forgive me. I will make sure it doesn’t happen again. Go talk to the people who are doing it. Tell them, please stop this. If there is a problem with somebody, go talk to that person. Don’t talk about that person behind his back. Not, nobody said don’t correct. Right? People say, don’t say this. Don’t say this at all. Who should I talk to? That’s the question. [PAUSE] Do say it. If somebody has done something wrong, go and talk to that person. Why are you telling me? I didn’t do it. Right? Go talk to that person. Go and tell him, you did something wrong. Don’t, why are you talking to others? [PAUSE] This is the problem with khibat is, wrong person. [PAUSE] So, even though what you are saying may be true, you are saying it to the wrong person and that makes it a major sin. [PAUSE] So, whatever we are doing, I just gave you one or two examples. We know what we are doing better than anybody else. Let us make istighfar. Let us make tawbah. Let us turn to Allah . Let us absolutely leave all that and then we make dua and Insha Allah, Allah will accept this dua and Allah will relieve us from it. And then we will be free from our difficulties and problems. We ask Allah to give us tawfeeq to make istighfar and tawbah, to accept our tawbah, to forgive us because there is no one who forgives except Allah . [PAUSE] We ask Allah to forgive us because there is no one la yaghfiru dhunubah illa Allah There is no one who forgives except Allah . And therefore we say Allah, only you can forgive, so forgive us. And may Allah bless the noble Prophet and his companions with your mercy, O Allah.