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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the most noble of the prophets and messengers. Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and upon his family and companions. Peace be upon him, and upon many, many. My brothers and sisters, yesterday, one of my students, a revert from the U.S., Abdul Karim, he sent me a request, and very interesting way in which he worded it. He said to me, Sheikh, I want you to give me a gift.
And the gift is, give me one piece of advice, which will be good for my whole life.
So, Alhamdulillah, anytime I get questions like this, I remind myself that this is, he’s not asking me because I’m a great Sheikh. This is Allah, Subhanahu wa ta’ala’s way of helping me to focus on my own priorities in life.
So, Allah, Subhanahu wa ta’ala, causes somebody to ask a question. The beneficiary of that is me, Alhamdulillah.
So, I said to him, and I’m saying to you, and I’m saying to myself, before everyone else,
the one piece of advice I give myself, and to whoever wants to listen,
is the only thing we need to do in our entire life, is to build our connection with Allah, Subhanahu wa ta’ala. That’s it. Nothing more is required. Build your connection with Allah, Subhanahu wa ta’ala.
He’s one of our great sheikhs, Rahmatullah Ali, Sheikh Muhammad Saeed Ramadan al-Buti. He says, his father, his name was Mulla Ramadan.
He said that when I was 12 or 13,
he said, my father called me, sat me down, and he said to me, that if I knew, that you could get close to Allah, Subhanahu wa ta’ala, by sweeping the streets, I would have made you a street sweeper.
If I knew, that the way to get close to Allah, Subhanahu wa ta’ala, is to sweep the streets, I would have made you a street sweeper. He said, but I know that the way to get close to Allah, Subhanahu wa ta’ala, is through ilm. Is through? Is through ilm. Learning about and learning Islam.
So he says, therefore, my advice to you is as follows.
He said, because closeness to Allah, Subhanahu wa ta’ala, is only through ilm. There is no closeness to Allah, Subhanahu wa ta’ala, through jahalat. This bida, that bida, following this one, that one, through ilm. And the ilm of this deen is the kitab of Allah, as explained and as taught by Muhammad Rasulullah, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
So he says, closeness to Allah, Subhanahu wa ta’ala, is only through ilm. Only through knowledge. But don’t study, he’s talking about the, why do you study, the niya of it. He said, do not study to get a certificate or a title or a degree.
Don’t study so that you will be called Maulana or Sheikh or Mufti or this one or that one. Or you, because you have this degree from this jamiyah and that jamiyah. He said, don’t study to get a certificate or a title or a degree. If you do that, if you study for that reason, then you are a customer buying a qualification. You are not a student. You are not a talib ul ilm.
You are a customer buying a commodity. Degree.
Second thing he says is, do not make the ilm of Islam a means of livelihood. He says, don’t teach and take money. Do not make the knowledge, the ilm of Islam a means of livelihood. Because if you do that, the nur will leave the pages and only the words will remain. And the third thing he said is, learn and practice the deen only to get close to Allah .
And if you do that, he said, then he will give you from his treasures in ways that only he knows. And only he knows the wisdom of that.
So, learn the deen only to get close to Allah .
Not for the degree and this and that. Do not make that a means of livelihood. Don’t take money for it. And third thing is, practice it only to please Allah .
So, the first piece of advice to myself and anyone else is, always, always, always, be conscious of your niya.
Continuously check the niya.
As our teachers always told us, the niya is like, imagine that you are somebody who has gone into a big market, into a fair. Right now, Hyderabad and Dumaish is going on. Supposing you are in that crowd. And you have this, your wallet in your pocket. Where will you keep your hand? On the pocket. Because you don’t know, at any moment, there will be somebody who picks your pocket. So, you went in there with your resources. But then when you actually go to a shop to buy something, you know, it’s gone. And that is the state of the niya. We, Alhamdulillah, we come to the masjid. MashaAllah, you stand for salah. This is, may Allah accept it from us. But then the shaitan comes and he hijacks your niya.
So, I advise myself and you, focus on the niya.
And focus only on one thing. How to get close to Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala. And it’s no mystery. Right? And don’t imagine that, how to get close to Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala, I have to have this, some funny practice I have to do, on, you know, 7pm on Thursdays. No.
There is no mystery in Islam. Please understand this very, very clearly. There is no mystery in Islam. Anyone selling you a mystery is a thief. He’s a liar. He’s a cheat. He’s an agent of shaitan. He wants to take you away from the deen. There’s no mystery.
The Rabbi, Alayhi Salam, came with an open, clear deen. Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala mentioned clearly. With proof, with bayinat. There’s no mystery. So our job, the way to get close to Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala, is obey Allah, in the way of Muhammadur Rasulullah, Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. Now this is the essence of the kalima. The kalima ta’iba, what is it? Ashadu an la ilaha illa Allah. I bear witness that there is no God but Allah. I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah. Which means that I will obey the commands of Allah. What is worship? Worship is obedience.
Worship is obedience.
The ultimate form of obedience is worship. And that is why worship is only for Allah. Obedience can be for parents, and should be for parents, for teachers, for, you know, the hukum, wherever you’re living, the laws of the land, and so on and so on. We obey many, many people and many institutions, and this is good, nothing wrong with that. As long as that obedience is not taking you out of Islam. But the ultimate form of obedience is worship. Sujood. And that is only for Allah. You do not make sajda to your parents. You don’t make sajda to anyone. Only Allah. So worship is only for Allah. So worship is obedience. We are saying by saying, Ashadu la ilaha illallah, we are making this qasam before Allah that I will worship only Allah, meaning I will obey only Allah. Now, that is the what. What will you do? I will obey Allah. How will you obey Allah? There has to be a method, no? I will drive a car. How will you drive this car? The how is the sunda of Muhammad, Rasulullah, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, sallallahu alaihi wa ala alihi wa sallam. Anyone who leaves the sunnah has gone into Jahannam. Please understand this very clearly. The sunnah is the way in which we obey Allah. So we obey Allah in the way of Muhammad, Rasulullah, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, and we get close to Allah, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. The finest example of that, I always mention this, the finest example of that is what we did just now. Salah. Salah. Allah said, establish the salah for my zikr. Alhamdulillah, we are ready, Arab.
How will you do that? What is the method? What is salah?
Should I sing one hamd for Allah and beat one drum or something? Is that salah? No. What is salah? Salah is, sallu kamar aaytumuni usalli. Sallmm layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla layla lay Rasulullah s.a.w. prayed. And Nabi s.a.w. showed us the intricate deed from the beginning to the end. So what happens when you come and stand for salah? You make the niyyah. How do you make the niyyah? I am going loudly, I am going to pray two rakat of salah, salatul fajr in this masjid, Mahmood Habib masjid, behind this imam Maulana Abu Bakr on this red carpet. Right?
The place of the niyyah, where is it? On the tongue? Or in the heart?
Where is the niyyah? In the heart.
You make the niyyah silently in your heart.
I am not inventing this. This is what Nabi s.a.w. taught us. If you are doing anything other than that, then you are doing your own. You are on your own. You are not on the method of Rasulullah s.a.w. Your choice.
Then how do you stand? You stand in a state of obedience. You don’t stand like this. You stand like this. You are a slave before Allah s.w.t. You don’t show your chest. No, no, no. You stand like this, submission.
And then you make takbir tahreema. And then depending on which sunnah of the Prophet s.a.w. you are following, you fold your hands and or otherwise by your sides. If you are maliki, you have your hands by your sides. Alhamdulillah, both are okay.
And then you recite Surah Al-Fatiha.
How do you recite it? The way Rasulullah s.a.w. recited it.
And then you recite some other part of the Quran.
How do you recite it? The way Rasulullah s.a.w. taught us. And then you go into ruku’o and tasbihat in the ruku’o and sujood and so on, so on until you finish your salah.
And what must be the condition of the Prophet s.a.w. when he is praying?
Every single thing is clear and taught to us by Rasulullah s.a.w. I am not inventing any of this stuff. It is not from me. How must you stand? How must you pray?
An ta’budu Allah ka’annaka tara fa’in lam takun tara fa’inna hujarak The Prophet s.a.w. said in the Hadith Jibreel we have this narration by Sh. Omar bin al-Khattab r.a. Pray as if you are seeing Allah.
Pray as if you are seeing Allah. And though you don’t see Allah, know that Allah is seeing you.
So we constantly remind ourselves I am standing before Allah.
As one of our teachers said simple things but so powerful. He said when you stand there say to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Again, none of this is loud. It is not loud. Say to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. Ya Allah, this salah is for you. Just try this.
In your heart, say to Allah when you stand there. Ya Rabb, this salah is for you.
Subhanallah, it is so powerful you will be amazed.
Everything disappears. Then you are concentrating. Ya Allah, this salah is for you. The benefit of that is that in the salah you are not able to say Allah. You feel like scratching your nose. I don’t scratch my nose. I say this salah is for you. I am presenting. Ya Allah, this salah is for you. So how must this salah be? This salah will be the best that I can do.
Despite that there will be I am weak and so on. We make mistakes. We are not talking about that. We are not saying you are not doing some ghafla. You are standing there Allah Akbar and then your mind is wandering somewhere and you are scratching my nose and pulling my beard and straightening my ghotra or something. No.
Stand there with complete submission. Total concentration. My Rabb is seeing me. I am standing in front of my Rabb.
Complete submission.
So one piece of advice is what?
Get close to Allah. How? In the way of Muhammad s.a.w. By obeying Allah in the way of Muhammad s.a.w. In the way of Rasulullah s.a.w. Nobody else matters. What will happen if I obey Allah s.a.w.? What will the world think? Will I lose my job? Forget about everything.
Your job is not your raziq. If you lose your job because you are practicing Islam in the way of Rasulullah s.a.w. then wallahi by Allah s.a.w. Allah will replace that with something far superior.
What is there to worry about?
My Sheikh used to say have you ever seen a thin pig?
Kabhi kabhi dubala subbar dekhega baltadai. Nurshad.
Yaad edhar.
My brother, we were little kids. We used to sit on the stone floor in front of him. All these carpets, tamasha neta. We used to sit on the stone floor. He used to say kabhi dubala subbar dekhega. He used to say have you ever seen a thin pig?
He said Allah s.w.t. is feeding the pig and you are worried about your belly? Sharam karo. Be haya log. He said you have no shame. Shameless people. You are worried about your food. Allah is feeding that pig. Every pig in the world is fat.
And you are worried what will happen to me? Inna lillahi wa inna lillahi. Astaghfirullah.
Have some shame. You doubt Allah s.w.t. You don’t get anything. There is nothing to prove. There is nothing to prove. There is nothing to prove. There is nothing to prove. There is nothing to prove. There is nothing to prove. There is nothing to prove. There is nothing to prove. There is nothing to prove. There is nothing to prove. There is nothing to prove. There is nothing to prove. There is nothing to prove. There is nothing to prove. There is nothing to prove. There is nothing to prove. and you, let us focus on this. Focus on getting close to Allah SWT. And as I said, no mystery. Obey Allah in the way of Rasulullah SAW. That’s it. And if you don’t know in a particular case, how did Nabi SAW do this, find out.
Find out. The entire life of Nabi SAW is like an open book. You can read, you can ask somebody who knows, there is no mystery.
It’s clear. But like anything else, we have to make the effort. We ask Allah SWT to make it easy for us. We ask Allah SWT to put barakah in this. We ask Allah SWT to accept it from us. We ask Allah SWT to be pleased with us and to protect us from shaitan, to protect us from ourselves, our nufus. May Allah protect us from ourselves because this is where, this is the root cause of all evil is ourselves. And we ask Allah SWT to help us to please Him and to live our lives according to the blessed sunnah of Muhammad Rasulullah. May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions. By your mercy, O Most Merciful. And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.