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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 honorable prophets and messengers.
Praise be to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and upon his family and his family.
Peace and blessings be upon him.
Now, my brother and sister, this is a Muscovy duck.
These are, if I’m not mistaken, South American.
But I might be mistaken, so do look it up.
Now, that is a male, and this is a female coming towards me.
They come in these very interesting colors, and they are almost feral, they’re almost wild.
And they’re very capable of looking after themselves and looking after their little ones.
They have these, you can see this.
I don’t know.
I don’t know what to call them.
They’re, you know, there’s growth on their face.
And they lay eggs, they make nests, they raise their young, all on their own.
Here, where I am now, they are also wild.
But also, I think some people feed them and so on.
So, they are, I won’t say they’re domesticated, because they’re not, but they’re almost…
But they’re more friendly.
They’re more friendly towards people.
And not so scared.
Like this, this one is walking.
Usually, she would have flown away by now.
There’s another one there at the edge of the water.
There is a suspicious looking bump in the water there.
I don’t think it’s an alligator, but then, I’m in Florida, so it’s a safe bet to assume.
In Florida, that if there is a piece of water, says the water body, then more than likely,
it has alligators in it.
I want to remind myself and you that if I can say so, I was going to say one of the most,
but I want to actually say this.
I’m not going to say it’s a snake.
I’m not going to say it’s a snake.
I’m going to say it’s a snake.
I don’t want to say any snake.
And these two things don’t go together.
And it’s temple, destruction and countenance are deeply connected, but�
And they’re all suspects who are lurking.
If I have to say it’s hell, I do think that’s killing people.
Sometimes the Tan smiles and the monkey smiles and constantly fling in its eyes, which is
Yorkshire hare.
also created a lot of difficulty for the people of Makkah, the Quresh of Makkah, to accept.
Because truly, I mean, it seems strange to say that, but truly, I think I can safely
say that they understood Islam and what it entailed better than we do.
They understood it much better than we do.
And that’s the reason why two things happened.
One was that they opposed it so strongly.
And secondly, that when they accepted it, they were so true to it.
They were so completely and totally committed to Islam when they accepted it.
Because they accepted Islam not routinely, not, you know,
culturally, not because they were born into it, because they were not born into it.
They accepted Islam because they truly understood it.
And they accepted it with that understanding.
And that understanding had to be, had to do, and has to do with this concept of accountability.
Everything in Islam boils down.
And comes around to the concept of accountability.
And that also accountability to the one from whom nothing is hidden.
So it’s not just accountability to say that, well, you know, I’m accountable.
But like, for example, you’re accountable to the government of the country that you live in.
But you know, and I know that governments are not infallible.
There are people who deceive governments.
There are people who…
do all kinds of scams and shenanigans and they evade taxes and do all sorts of stuff.
And they do it successfully.
I mean, what they’re doing is wrong, but, you know.
But in the case of Islam, when we accept Islam,
and I’m saying that we need to accept Islam consciously,
very consciously with premeditated thought,
not just because our parents happen to be Muslim,
or something.
So when we accept Islam consciously,
the thing that strikes us very strongly is that we are accountable to the one from whom nothing is hidden.
And so there is no question of getting away with anything.
No matter how immune a person might feel in this life.
And if you look at, if you look around you, there are people who seem to feel very immune.
Who seem to feel that, you know, they cannot be touched.
And nothing would happen to them.
They can do whatever they like and so on.
If you look at their lifestyle, this is how their lifestyles seem to be.
But that’s far from the truth.
It is very, very far from the truth.
Nothing at all is hidden from Allah .
To under…
So therefore, if you take any concept, for example, take for example the fundamental principle of the wisdom.
And say, and I’m talking about the very first understanding of it,
and we’ll see, you know, what comes after that.
But very first understanding.
It’s say, okay, I should believe in Tawheed,
in the fact of La ilaha illallah, Muhammad Rasool Allah.
When I say La ilaha illallah, I’m saying that there is no one worthy of worship,
except Allah .
Why should I believe that?
Is it a…
Just an intellectual concept?
Is it something that is, okay, you know, let’s believe in gravity because it exists?
No.
We believe that because this is the truth.
We believe that because there is nothing other than this.
This is the truth.
La ilaha illallah.
That there is no one worthy of worship, except Allah .
And then, we say,
Muhammad Rasool Allah.
We believe in that, that Muhammad is the Rasool of Allah,
is his Messenger, is his Nabi,
and he is the last and final Messenger after whom there is no Messenger.
Now, how do the two connect?
The two connect in the way where, when I bear witness,
and when I say that I accept that there is no one worthy of worship,
except Allah,
and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and the last and final Messenger,
then I worship Allah in the way that Muhammad taught me and demonstrated for me.
Now, this is how the two are connected.
This is the connection between La ilaha illallah and Muhammad Rasool Allah.
The connection between the Kitab and Sunnah.
The connection between the Quran and the Sunnah.
And the Sunnah of Rasool Allah .
This is the connection.
Now, why should I do all this?
Because one day I will meet Allah.
Because one day I will be called to account.
I’m talking about the basic fundamental of this, right?
Take everything as, take for example, you know, I speak the truth.
Okay, I should speak the truth.
I should never tell a lie.
Okay, Alhamdulillah.
Why?
Because everything is accounted.
Arabic
Allah said, truly whatever you have done, good or evil,
even if it is the smallest, like a dharra, like a particle,
this will be shown to you on the Day of Judgement.
You would be called to account for it, no matter what it was.
Both good and evil.
This will be shown to you.
You will be called to account.
Now, there we have the issue of think that what must I do?
Accountability of that.
You name it.
I mean, everything, right?
All that Allah made halal.
All that Allah made haram.
All that Allah made obligatory, fard.
All of these things.
All of these things.
Whether I fulfill them or I don’t fulfill them.
And if you say, why are you doing that?
Because one day I will answer to Allah.
So everything in Islam revolves around this one fundamental concept
of accountability to the one from whom nothing, but nothing is hidden.
So this is the first and foremost and most important thing for us to remember.
And this is the first and foremost and most important thing for us to remember.
Remember and think about and reflect on.
Now taking this a step further, as I said, the fundamental reason to do all this is because
we don’t want to get caught on the wrong foot.
We don’t want to be punished.
We want Allah to give us Jannah and to forgive our sins.
And so we do all this.
But there is a step more than that.
There is a step higher.
And the higher step is.
And the higher step is that we do this not only to escape punishment,
not only because we are, we don’t want to go to Jannah,
but we do this because we love Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Now that’s a higher step and a much higher step.
So you do it because you want to please Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala.
And that is the reason why actions,
which are done in the fulfillment of Farayas are extremely important.
To deliberately leave a fardh or neglect a fardh or deny a fardh can lead to kufr,
can lead to apostasy, can lead to leaving Islam altogether.
But the highest reward is for something which is not fardh,
which is not obligatory,
but which is done in the right way.
Which is done voluntarily,
which is done because we love Allah.
So you have the first salawat,
Alhamdulillah,
we are supposed to do them at the right times and in the right way and so forth.
And we do them Alhamdulillah,
we ask Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala to accept.
But then there is something which,
for which Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala says,
Tata jaafa junubuhum anil madhadi yad’una rabbahum qawfahum.
wa tama’a wa mimma razaqanahum yunfighoon.
Fala ta’alamuhu nafsuhum ma ukhfiyalahum min qurrati a’ayuna.
Jazaaan bima kanu yamaloon.
Allah said that there are those who wake up in the night,
whose sides leave their beds,
who get up in the night and who stand before Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Bayna al-khawfi wa tama’a.
Between two states.
A state,
of the fear of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala’s punishment.
An intense awareness of the kind of life that we have been leading.
Intense awareness of the fact that we have not fulfilled
the rights of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala.
That we have not lived our lives as was mandated for us.
For our own benefits.
This is the tragedy of it, we don’t understand.
That Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala,
laws are not for Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala.
They are for us.
If we follow those laws,
who benefits? We benefit.
Yet, we have to be cajoled and forced and,
you know, somehow made to follow.
Instead of doing it willingly and with show and with great,
you know, enthusiasm.
So, Allah is saying, but those who do that,
with enthusiasm, with show.
Because they love Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala.
They stand before Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala in the night.
They wake up in the night.
And they stand before Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala in this state.
Between the fear of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala’s punishment
and the desire for His reward.
For His forgiveness.
Allah said, for them, I have kept hidden such delights,
such wonderful things,
that they, if they knew what those were,
then this would be a source of great happiness for them.
They would be delighted that Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala
has kept all this for me.
And that is why, for that time of the night,
the time for tahajjud,
Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala says that Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala,
Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam told us,
that Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala descends,
to the first heaven,
from His arsh,
in a manner that suits His majesty and grace.
And Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala asks,
who is there who needs anything from me?
Let him ask, and I will give him.
Who is there who needs my protection?
Let him ask, and I will protect him.
Right?
Who is there who needs my forgiveness?
Let him ask, and I will forgive him.
Imagine, Allah is coming down from His arsh
to the first heaven,
and He is asking this question,
not at the time of fajr,
not at the time of zuhr, asr, maghrib, isha,
but at the time of tahajjud,
at the time of qiyamah,
at the time of light,
in the middle of the night.
This is the step back,
step beyond doing something
only because of the fear of accountability.
Fear of accountability is very important.
Please understand this.
This is where it all begins.
The beginning of all goodness,
the beginning of all goodness is
the fear of Allah’s punishment.
The beginning of all goodness is this khashyat of Allah.
It is the fear of Allah’s punishment.
So there is no running away from that.
Alhamdulillah, we do fear Allah’s punishment.
No matter who the person might be,
no matter how big a wali you think you are,
right?
And if you think you are a wali,
there is a big problem with that.
Because only Allah knows who is awliya are.
And it’s not for any of us to determine
and decide for ourselves,
whether in our favor or in the favor of anyone we love and like,
and say that so and so is a wali of Allah.
We don’t know that.
So don’t say it.
We ask and we hope that Allah will include such and such a person
among His awliya.
Alhamdulillah.
So be very clear about these things.
So the point is that two levels, as I said,
the most fundamental principle of Islam,
the most powerful concept of Islam
is the concept of accountability.
And the most powerful principle of Islam
is the concept of accountability to Allah
from whom nothing is hidden.
And the way that manifests is,
one, through the fear of Allah’s punishment,
and two, the hope for His reward.
Out of love for Allah,
out of the hubba of Allah,
Jalla Jalaluhu.
We do it because we love Allah.
But does it mean we don’t fear Allah?
Of course we fear Allah.
We fear to offend the one
we love.
And that is the essence of Taqwa.
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