My brothers and sisters, Allahﷺ sent his Kalaam (Word, Speech) so that we would reflect on it and change our lives to make them obedient to Him. In that lies our success both in this life and the next. Allahﷺ said in the Qur’an:
لَقَدْ أَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ كِتَابًا فِيهِ ذِكْرُكُمْ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ
Anbiya 21:10 Indeed, We have sent down for you (O mankind) a Book, (the Qur’an) in which there is Dhikrukum, (your Reminder or an honor for you). Will you not then understand?
We know that Allahﷺ didn’t mention anyone by name. But Allahﷺ mentioned groups of people and their qualities and He mentioned what would happen to people with those qualities. We must ask, ‘Which group do I belong to? Is that good? If not, what must I change in my life to be in the group that will go to Jannah?’ Allahﷺ gave the pen in our hands to write our destiny. We can choose where we want to go. So, choose wisely.
The choice is a no-brainer, but the test is in living the kind of life that will take us to Jannah. For on the Day of Judgment, it is our actions that will speak, not our tongues.
الْيَوْمَ نَخْتِمُ عَلَى أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَتُكَلِّمُنَا أَيْدِيهِمْ وَتَشْهَدُ أَرْجُلُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ
Ya Seen 36: 65. This Day, We shall seal up their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their legs will bear witness to what they used to earn.
An exercise in contemplation for Tazkiyyatun Nafs is to look at our right hand and imagine it speaking. What do we hear it saying? Do we like what we are hearing? If not, what do we want to do about that? Let’s do the same with our left hand and our feet, eyes, ears and whole body. What do we hear each part saying to Allahﷺ about how we used it? This is the way to approach the Qur’an. Literally as a guide to action. And act on it immediately
Allahﷺ mentioned one group and their ending as a metric for us. He said:
إِنَّمَا ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ ٱللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتُهُۥ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَـٰنًا وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ
ٱلَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَـٰهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ
أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ حَقًّا لَّهُمْ دَرَجَـٰتٌ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ وَرِزْقٌ كَرِيمٌ
Anfaal 8:2-4 The ˹true˺ believers are only those whose hearts tremble at the remembrance of Allah, whose faith increases when His revelations are recited to them, and who put their trust in their Rabb. ˹They are˺ those who establish prayer and donate from what We have provided for them. It is they who are the true believers. They will have elevated ranks, forgiveness, and an honorable provision from their Rabb.
Five critical characteristics; three internal and two external. A heart that is responsive to Allahﷺ and to His Word. A heart that sees the signs of Allahﷺ in His creation and this increases its faith. And a body that submits in obedience and exerts itself in worship of Allahﷺ and in charity with the intention to please Allahﷺ alone. This is the metric to evaluate ourselves.
Allahﷺ said about the value of a responsive heart on the Day of Judgment:
يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ
إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى ٱللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ
Shua’ara 26:88-89 the Day when neither wealth nor children will be of any benefit. Only those who come before Allah with a pure heart ˹will be saved˺.”
The single most reliable sign of true feeling is action. Actions are evidence. If I love my spouse, what is the sign of that? If I love my family or friends, what is the evidence of that? If I love my country, what is the evidence of that? If I claim to love reading, I will ask, ‘How many books did you read this year?’ So, if I claim that my heart shivers with the Majesty and Glory of Allahﷺ when I listen the Qur’an and see the signs of my Creator around and within me, what is the evidence of that? Not to show anyone, but to prove it to myself, because a day will come when this evidence will be in my favor or not. If I claim that my heart shivers with the Majesty of Allahﷺ but I earn and eat Haraam, is my claim true or false? If I claim that my heart shivers with the Glory of Allahﷺ, but park my car on my neighbor’s lawn, then my actions give the lie to my claim. If I claim that my heart is responsive to Allahﷺ and am kind, and compassionate, if I have the courage to stand for the truth against falsehood, then my actions prove my claim. It doesn’t matter what spin I want to put on my actions, my heart knows the truth and my Rabb knows the truth and, on that Day, only the truth will prevail.
Allahﷺ mentioned two other qualities. Establishing Salah and spending in the path of Allahﷺ. Establishing Salah, not praying when we like. Spending in the path of Allahﷺ as an investment in our Aakhira, which is what it is. Not simply discharging what we consider to be a burden. Obeying joyfully. Not under duress. Let’s check our score. Are we satisfied? If not, what’s the plan to change our lifestyle so that we can pass this test of faith and gain the guarantee that Allahﷺ gave those who pass?
Islam is a practice, not a philosophy. A Muslim is one who practices Islam. Allahﷺ mentioned another group and said something very salutary.
وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ ءَامَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَبِٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ وَمَا هُم بِمُؤْمِنِينَ
يُخَـٰدِعُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ إِلَّآ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ
فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ فَزَادَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مَرَضًا وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْذِبُونَ
Baqara 2:8-10 And there are some who say, “We believe in Allah and the Last Day,” yet they are not ˹true˺ believers. They seek to deceive Allah and the believers, yet they only deceive themselves, but they fail to perceive it. There is sickness in their hearts, and Allah ˹only˺ lets their sickness increase. They will suffer a painful punishment for their lies.
These Ayaat were revealed concerning the Munafiqeen during the time of Rasoolullahﷺ but like all the Qur’an, the Asbaab-un-Nuzool do not restrict the applicability of the Ayaat to the time and place of the revelation. The Qur’an came for all mankind for all time and is not restricted by any means.
Allahﷺ mentioned the two things that we take for granted; claiming to have faith in Allahﷺ and the Day of Judgement and think this is enough. Allahﷺ said that this is not enough. And that to make this claim but to live a life of disobedience is a sign of heart disease. But unlike physical cardiac ailments, which are restricted in effect to this life, this is a spiritual disease which if allowed to grow, will lead to the Hellfire. In Islam, our belief must be supported by our actions.
That is why in the Qur’an, Imaan (Faith) is always coupled with good deeds (A’amaal us Saleh) and is not mentioned alone. On the contrary Allahﷺ stated clearly that simply claiming to have faith is not sufficient but that the claim must be supported by deeds as evidence of faith.
قَالَتِ ٱلْأَعْرَابُ ءَامَنَّا قُل لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوا۟ وَلَـٰكِن قُولُوٓا۟ أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ ٱلْإِيمَـٰنُ فِى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَإِن تُطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ لَا يَلِتْكُم مِّنْ أَعْمَـٰلِكُمْ شَيْـًٔا إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Hujuraat 49:14 ˹Some of˺ the nomadic Arabs say, “We believe.” Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “You have not believed. But say, ‘We have submitted,’ for faith has not yet entered your hearts. But if you obey Allah and His Messenger ˹wholeheartedly˺, He will not discount anything from ˹the reward of˺ your deeds. Allah is truly All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
As I mentioned, Allahﷺ demands that we demonstrate evidence of belief.
As for those who seek to please Allahﷺ (may Allahﷺ make us among them), Allahﷺ told us how easy it is to please Him and earn Jannah.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَلَّا تَخَافُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَبْشِرُوا بِالْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي كُنتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ
نَحْنُ أَوْلِيَآؤُكُمْ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَفِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِىٓ أَنفُسُكُمْ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ
نُزُلًا مِّنْ غَفُورٍ رَّحِيمٍ
Fussilat 41:30. Verily, those who say: “Our Rabb is Allah (Alone),” and then they Istaqamu (remain steadfast on it) on them the angels will descend (at the time of their death) (saying): “Fear not, nor grieve! But receive the glad tidings of Jannah which you have been promised! We are your supporters in this worldly life and in the Hereafter. There you will have whatever your souls desire, and there you will have whatever you ask for: an welcome from the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
May Allahﷺ enable us to be among those who will be given the glad tidings of Jannah at the time of death itself. A time where every living being will have anxiety of various levels because he/she is facing a time which they have never faced before. Especially when some of us live lives as if we don’t believe that death will come to us. Yet we claim to be Muslim.
The key is Istiqaamat (steadfastness). Consistency is the essence of quality. High quality means to deliver the same high standard for every transaction. That is the meaning of Istiqaamat. We must develop the consciousness of Allahﷺ’s presence in our lives. This gives us huge confidence and protects us from sin. That Istiqaamat (steadfastness) will result in Husn-ul-Khatima (good ending) and Bashara (good news) of Jannah Insha’Allah.
I ask Allahﷺ for this for us all.
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