Islam is the name of the relationship between our Creator, Allahﷻ and us. The Kalima Shahada is an affirmation of that relationship and the one who accepts it is a Muslim. To accept this relationship means to believe it in your heart, state that with your tongue, and act upon it with your limbs. That is the definition of Iman – Faith. Not merely to know, but to believe and submit our will and obey. That’s why the first and foremost demonstration of that is Salah which is evidence of our Iman. That is also why the first question that we will be asked in the grave will be: Who is your Rabb? The angels will not ask who the Rabb of the Universe is. They will ask, ‘Who is YOUR Rabb?’ Did we accept Allahﷻ Rabbul A’alameen as our Rabb? Rabbi Allahﷻ.
Allahﷻ mentioned a differentiating characteristic of the Believers and said:
وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِّلَّهِ
Baqara 2: 165 But the Believers love Allahﷻ with great intensity
The question is, can you love someone you don’t know? But how can we know Allahﷻ when we can’t see Him? We know Allahﷻ by reflecting on His bounties. Allahﷻ indicated this connection with gratitude in Al Fatiha
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
Fatiha 1: 2 All praise and thanks are for Allah—Rabb of all worlds
The very first thing that we must thank Allahﷻ for is for introducing Himself to us, for honoring us with His Word, for honoring us with His Messengerﷺ and for honoring us with guidance to Himself and Jannah.
The biggest need of humankind is not money or political or military power or anything else but guidance to the way of justice, compassion, charity, concern for one another and when we die, Jannah. That is why Allahﷻ sent all His Messengers and Prophets who were the best of all human beings with the greatest of all gifts – guidance to the path of steadfastness. That is why Allahﷻ taught us to ask for guidance 17 times every day in Sura Al Fatiha. This is what we must thank Allahﷻ for, above all else. For guidance to Him. Sadly, for many of us, we take blessings for granted and do not express gratitude for them and spend our time complaining about any hardship that comes our way. Allahﷻ reminded us always to have an attitude of gratitude.
وَءَاتَىٰكُم مِّن كُلِّ مَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُ وَإِن تَعُدُّوا۟ نِعْمَتَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَآ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لَظَلُومٌ كَفَّارٌ
Ibrahim 14: 34 And He has granted you all that you asked Him for. If you tried to count Allah’s blessings, you would never be able to number them. Indeed, humankind is truly unfair, ˹totally˺ ungrateful.
The Qur’an encourages us to reflect on the creation and learn to see the Glory and Magnificence of Allahﷻ reflected in it and to thank and glorify His praise. This produces joy in the heart that is unequalled and unsurpassed.
قُل لَّوْ كَانَ ٱلْبَحْرُ مِدَادًا لِّكَلِمَـٰتِ رَبِّى لَنَفِدَ ٱلْبَحْرُ قَبْلَ أَن تَنفَدَ كَلِمَـٰتُ رَبِّى وَلَوْ جِئْنَا بِمِثْلِهِۦ مَدَدًا
Kahf 18: 109 Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “If the ocean were ink for ˹writing˺ the Words of my Rabb, it would certainly run out before the Words of my Rabb were finished, even if We refilled it with its equal.”
Allahﷻ reminded us to be conscious of His blessings and to thank Him and said that for those who are thankful, He would increase His blessings.
وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِى لَشَدِيدٌ
Ibrahim 14: 7 And ˹remember˺ when your Rabb proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will certainly give you more. But if you are ungrateful, surely My punishment is severe.’”
We recognize Allahﷻ by His gifts. He said about His Word, the Qur’an.
ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ عَلَّمَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ خَلَقَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ عَلَّمَهُ ٱلْبَيَانَ
Ar-Rahman 55: 1/4 The Most Compassionate, taught the Qur’an, created humanity, ˹and˺ taught them speech.
Allahﷻ drew our attention to the world around us so that we can recognize His bounties and favors upon us and thank Him for them. He said:
أَلَمْ نَجْعَلِ ٱلْأَرْضَ مِهَـٰدًا وَٱلْجِبَالَ أَوْتَادًا وَخَلَقْنَـٰكُمْ أَزْوَٰجًا وَجَعَلْنَا نَوْمَكُمْ سُبَاتًا وَجَعَلْنَا ٱلَّيْلَ لِبَاسًا وَجَعَلْنَا ٱلنَّهَارَ مَعَاشًا وَبَنَيْنَا فَوْقَكُمْ سَبْعًا شِدَادًا وَجَعَلْنَا سِرَاجًا وَهَّاجًا وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ ٱلْمُعْصِرَٰتِ مَآءً ثَجَّاجًا لِّنُخْرِجَ بِهِۦ حَبًّا وَنَبَاتًا وَجَنَّـٰتٍ أَلْفَافًا
Naba 78: 6 – 16 Have We not smoothed out the earth ˹like a bed˺, and ˹made˺ the mountains as ˹its˺ pegs, and created you in pairs, and made your sleep for rest, and made the night as a cover, and made the day for livelihood, and built above you seven mighty ˹heavens˺, and placed ˹in them˺ a shining lamp, and sent down from rainclouds pouring water, producing by it grain and plants, and dense orchards?
The purpose of all this is to remind us that no matter what our present looks like, no matter how wealthy and powerful or poor and powerless we may be; no matter whether we are white, black or anything else, no matter whether we live in America or Brazil, no matter anything, one day we will meet Him and then we will be called to account. Allahﷻ told us:
كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَآئِقَةُ ٱلْمَوْتِ وَإِنَّمَا تُوَفَّوْنَ أُجُورَكُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ فَمَن زُحْزِحَ عَنِ ٱلنَّارِ وَأُدْخِلَ ٱلْجَنَّةَ فَقَدْ فَازَ وَمَا ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَآ إِلَّا مَتَـٰعُ ٱلْغُرُورِ
A’al Imraan 3: 185 Every soul will taste death. And you will only receive your full reward on the Day of Judgment. Whoever is spared from the Fire and is admitted into Jannah will ˹indeed˺ triumph, whereas the life of this world is no more than the delusion of enjoyment.
That my dear brothers and sisters is our reality. If we are alive, we will die. No matter in what state we may be alive, we will die. And then we will know the truth. Why don’t we know it now? Why is the deception of this life so powerful? Imagine that you are sitting in an IMAX 3D theater wearing 3D glasses, laying back in your seat, totally engrossed in the film. If they monitored your vital statistics, they would get very interesting, even alarming results on the heart and brain scanners. Your emotions would be in full flow. Depending on the film, you would laugh your guts out, weep rivers of tears, be terrified out of your wits, fall in love, your heart would break, you would hate someone enough to want to kill them, yet cognitively you would know that it was all make-believe. All acting. All a show. Nothing real. But at that time, when you are in the grip of your emotions, if someone called out to you and your companions and said, ‘Beware, all this is false. The reality is outside the theatre. Did you lock your car? Or you may have to walk home’, what would you say or do?
That is why the people fought against the Anbiya, the Prophets and Messengers. People don’t like those who seek to wake them up from their stupor. That is why intoxication is so popular and why it is Haraam. Our life in this world is the biggest IMAX. The biggest intoxication. I remind you and myself that it is time to wake up before the show ends and we are woken up.
Finally, Allahﷻ said about His greatest gift which is the only thing that He called – Favor:
لَقَدْ مَنَّ ٱللَّهُ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُوا۟ مِن قَبْلُ لَفِى ضَلَـٰلٍ مُّبِينٍ
A’al Imraan 3: 164 Indeed, Allah has done the Believers a ˹great˺ favor by raising a messenger from among them—reciting to them His revelations, purifying them, and teaching them the Book and wisdom. For indeed they had previously been clearly astray.
He was Muhammadﷺ. Sayyidul Mursaleen, Imam un Nabiyeen, As-Sadiq ul Ameen, Al-Habeeb ul Mustafa, Rasoolullahﷺ – Allahﷻ’s greatest gift to humanity. The receiver of the Revelation and the key to its Power and Majesty, without whose teaching and guidance the Revelation could not be understood or acted upon. He connected us to Allahﷻ and through Him Allahﷻ opened His Word to us. He introduced Allahﷻ to those who did not know Himﷻ and he taught those who knew Allahﷻ how to approach Him. Muhammadﷺ is Allahﷻ’s greatest blessing for us. Thanks to him, Allahﷻ made and blessed us with a promise which I invoke for us all.
وَمَا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنتَ فِيهِمْ وَمَا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ
Anfal 8: 33 But Allah would never punish them while you ˹O Prophet˺ were with them. Nor would He ever punish them if they seek forgiveness.
To have Rasoolullahﷺ with us means to follow his Sunnah. Allahﷻ said:
لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِى رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلْيَوْمَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَ وَذَكَرَ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرًا
Ahzab 33: 21 Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example for whoever has hope in Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah often.
Let us follow this and be among those who will be honored by Allahﷻ.
About then Allahﷻ in His Infinite Mercy said:
ٱلَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ ٱلْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُۥ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِۦ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ رَّحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا فَٱغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا۟ وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ سَبِيلَكَ وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ ٱلْجَحِيمِ
رَبَّنَا وَأَدْخِلْهُمْ جَنَّـٰتِ عَدْنٍ ٱلَّتِى وَعَدتَّهُمْ وَمَن صَلَحَ مِنْ ءَابَآئِهِمْ وَأَزْوَٰجِهِمْ وَذُرِّيَّـٰتِهِمْ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
وَقِهِمُ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ وَمَن تَقِ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ يَوْمَئِذٍ فَقَدْ رَحِمْتَهُۥ وَذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
Ghafir 40: 7-9 Those ˹angels˺ who carry the Throne and those around it glorify the praises of their Rabb, have faith in Him, and seek forgiveness for the believers, ˹praying:˺ “Our Rabb! You encompass everything in ˹Your˺ mercy and knowledge. So forgive those who repent and follow Your Way, and protect them from the torment of the Hellfire. Our Rabb! Admit them into the Gardens of Eternity which You have promised them, along with the righteous among their parents, spouses, and descendants. You ˹alone˺ are truly the Almighty, All-Wise. And protect them from ˹the consequences of their˺ evil deeds. For whoever You protect from the evil of their deeds on that Day will have been shown Your mercy. That is ˹truly˺ the ultimate triumph.”
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