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People Push Their Ego

to the Fire or to Paradise

Shaykh Nour Mohamad Kabbani

25 October 2024 Burton, Michigan USA

As-Siddiq Institute & Mosque (ASIM)

Jumu`ah Khutbah

A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem.

Bismillaahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.

O mu’mins, O believers! Alhamdulillah. Always, alhamdulillah, that Allah (swt) has guided us to this door. You see so many people are outside, running around, whatever they are doing. Either they are buying Akhirah or they are ruining themselves as Rasoolullah (s) said. They run around. Either they are pushing their egos or themselves to perishing. They are going to be finished, ruined, or they are making sure that they are securing Jannah. That is your job, O mu’min, O Muslim.

You are on the path of Jannah. You are on the path of Paradise. You are following Rasoolullah (s) and you will reach his destination. Wherever he reaches, you are supposed to reach so he can meet you at the Hawd, the Pond. Don’t forget, O Muslim, O mu’min. You are not for this dunya. You are not for this transitory life. Get that in your mind. O human being, nobody will last in this world. Why don’t you get it? They don’t. It’s as if they are going to continue forever.

Who continued forever? Nobody continued forever. This life is transitory. This life is temporary, not only by speech but you can actually see it happening. How many times do you pass by the funeral home on Hill Road? You are across from the funeral home on Hill Road, you are working there, you are driving there or whatever you are doing. Don’t you see the funeral homes? Don’t you see the cemeteries?

O human being, you see but how come you don’t understand that this life is temporary? They run after this life as if it’s forever. Every Friday morning we pray Fajr and read the two chapters that Rasoolullah (s) used to read. Surah Sajdah in the first raka`at of the fard prayer and Surah Insan, human being. When you read these two chapters, you are supposed to remember what Allah (swt) is telling you. Who is remembering? Which Arab is remembering?

Leave alone those who don’t speak Arabic. Those who speak Arabic, what is in Surah Insan? We don’t know. Don’t you read it every Fajr on Jumu`ah? No, we don’t. Why don’t you? Why did Rasoolullah (s) make it a Sunnah to read them? What does it say in Surat al-Insan? O human being, it is your chapter, the chapter of the human being, the human being that was never mentioned. Nobody knew what he was. In the first verse of that chapter, Allah (swt) says, Hal ata.

هَلْ أَتَىٰ عَلَى ٱلْإِنسَـٰنِ حِينٌ مِّنَ ٱلدَّهْرِ لَمْ يَكُن شَيْـًٔا مَّذْكُورًا

Has there not been over Man a long period of Time, when he was nothing - (not even) mentioned? (Surat al-Insan, 76:1)

It has come a time on a human being that he was not something remembered. Were you here a hundred years ago? Did anybody know you a hundred years ago? No. Did anybody know me a hundred years ago? No. Did anybody know you fifty years ago? No. You were not mentioned. You were not remembered. People did not know you. Who made you know? Who made you something that is mentioned? Who made you something that is remembered? Don’t you ask yourself, O human being, “Who made me? Who wanted me to come to this world?” Did you put in an application? “On January 1st, 1954 send me so I can have a great birthday.”

Is that what you did, O human being? No. Allah (swt), the Lord of Heavens, decreed time. Some viewers are non-Muslims. Inshaa-Allah, they can be guided to Islam. The Creator created you with His Order, with His Want, with His Will. He sent you here. Also when you leave, do you write an application, “I’m done with this world. Let me go.” You wait for the time that He decrees, that He orders.

Your life and your death is not in your hand, O human being. Don’t you ask whose hand it is in? No, they don’t ask. Why should they ask? They can get an organ transplant. They can get a new body. “No, my soul is going to go into 7,000 bodies. I will never die.” All these weird thoughts that have nothing to do with common sense.

Your life is transitory, O human being. Allah (swt) says in Surat al-Insan, a`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem, innaha `ula’i yuhibbuna ‘l-`ajila.

إِنَّ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ يُحِبُّونَ ٱلْعَاجِلَةَ وَيَذَرُونَ وَرَآءَهُمْ يَوْمًا ثَقِيلًا

As to these, they love the fleeting life, and put away behind them a Day (that will be) hard. (Surat al-Insan, 76:26)

Certainly they love the present life of this world. They love the transitory life. They love the temporary life. They love the fleeting life, al-`ajila, the one that will pass so quickly. Do you love this world? Do you love the life of this world? If you don’t love the life of this world, why are you running after wealth and prestige and fame and money and positions? They love it. Allah (swt) tells the truth. Yuhibbuna ‘l-`ajila. Every human being that has not accepted that he will pass on to the other life, loves this life, runs after everything in this life.

When they run after this life, what happens? They fall into mistakes. What are the mistakes, O insaan? What are your mistakes, O human being? When you love this temporary life and transitory life and you want to be a president, a prime minister, a county board whoever, you want to be on the school board, you want to be on the company’s board, you want to be on the hospital board, you want to be, want to be, want to be. So many want to be.

What do you do to get there? Three characteristics are in every human being. In everybody that loves this dunya, these three characteristics are leading him: hirs, hasad wa kibr. Hirs is the immense desire to have more, never satisfied, never full of having what they have, the immense desire of wishing and having more. If I have one, I want two. If I have two, I want three. If I have three, I want four, neverending requests, neverending wanting more. Hirs. When you want more, what happens? You do everything in your power to get whatever more you want.

The second is hasad, envy. You envy the one who is higher than you. You envy the one who is richer than you. You envy the one who is more powerful than you. “Why him and not me? He has dunya. Why don’t I have dunya?” Do you think like that, O Muslim? Do you have this immense desire to have more, to acquire more, to be more? Do you have that avid envy and jealousy of others? “Why are they mentioned and not me? Why are they rich and not me? Why are they powerful and not me?”

The third is kibr, arrogance and pride. “I am the most knowledgeable among all of you. I am the most wise among all of you. I am the greatest one among all of them. I am the richest one among all of them.” Don’t you say, “I am”? When you see your colleagues at the hospital, do you say, “I am better than them”? You see your colleagues in whatever company you work. Don’t you say, “I am better than them. I know more than them. I am richer than them. I am smarter than them. I’m more beautiful than them. I’m more handsome than them. I’m more elegant than them.”

They said even if you say, “My shoe is better than his shoe,” that is kibr. Hadrat Ali (r) said that is kibr too. If you say that, kibr has entered your heart. “I am better than him.” Don’t you have that O insaan? Yes, you do. When you have these three things: al-hirs wa ‘l-hasad wa ‘l-kibr, you have the desire to acquire more, not desire, incredible desire as if you are so hungry for that. You have envy, arrogance and pride. You have these three things, they lead you to hubbu ‘l-maal, hubbu ‘l-jaah, hubbu ‘r-riyasa. They lead you to the love of money, to the love of prestige and status and to the love of leadership.

You see them. Don’t be like them, O mu’min. Don’t say, “I also want to be a big one. I want to be a head. I want to be a leader. I want to be this and that.” Don’t say, “I want to be known. I want to have prestige and fame. I want to have status.” What is your status? You’re going to be a rotting corpse at the end. If they open that casket, they will smell your stench. That ugly smell will come from the casket. That’s why they keep it closed and wrap it. That’s your end. Your beginning is a pitiful drop of water in the worst areas of your body. Your end is a stinking corpse. Why do you want prestige and status? That is the ego, the nafs. They love money and wealth, status and prestige and leadership. “I want to be the chief.”

What happens? What do they do? Awliyaullah have narrated that there was a young ruler, a youthful king. He said, “I find taste in my ruling and I like it. Do others find the same taste?” The people with him said, yes, everybody who rules gets some kind of taste because they are powerful. He said, “How can I keep it going?” Mashaa-Allah, everybody wants to be a ruler, so listen. They said, “If you obey Allah (swt), the Lord of Heavens, and don’t disobey Him.”

What did he do? He gathered all the `ulama and sulahaa, the scholars and pious people in his land and he put them in his presence. He said, “You are in my presence. Whatever is obedience to Allah (swt), show me. Whatever is disobedience to Allah (swt), tell me and tell me to avoid it.” They said, “Okay.” So, he ruled by obedience to Allah (swt), by the obedience to heavenly messages. What does Allah (swt) say in the Holy Qur’an? Wa idha hakamtum bayna ‘n-nsasi an tahkumu bi ‘l-adl.

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَن تُؤَدُّوا۟ ٱلْأَمَـٰنَـٰتِ إِلَىٰٓ أَهْلِهَا وَإِذَا حَكَمْتُم بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ أَن تَحْكُمُوا۟ بِٱلْعَدْلِ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ نِعِمَّا يَعِظُكُم بِهِۦٓ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ سَمِيعًۢا بَصِيرًا

Allah commands you to render back your Trusts to those to whom they are due; And when you judge between people, that you judge with justice: Verily how excellent is the teaching which He gives you! For Allah is He Who hears and sees all things. (Surat an-Nisa, 4:58)

Isn’t that a heavenly message? When you rule among people, you have to rule with justice. The Lord of Heavens is telling His servant, you have to rule with justice. Where is justice? Allah (swt) said, wa wada ‘l-meezan. He has set the balance for you. He has given you a mind and He has given you a heavenly book. That is meezan.

Wa samaa rafa`aha. He elevated the sky. Wa wada` al-meezan. He put the balance, the scale. Alaa tatghaw fi ’l-meezan. Don’t be unjust. Apply balance in your daily life.

The Creator did not leave His creation without a book of justice, without a balance of justice. He has given it to you. Where is it? In the closet, in the bookcases, in the bookshelves. Nobody looks at it. That’s why you have this.

That king asked, “How do I continue my ruling?” They said, “If you follow the obedience of Allah (swt) and the heavenly messages and don’t disobey Him.” He gathered the `ulama around him. Where are the `ulama around the chiefs? Where are the heavenly scholars among the chiefs, among the heads? There are no heavenly scholars. They’re bankers. Good job for you.

He gathered the heavenly scholars and the pious people around him. He ruled for 400 years. At the end, Shaytan came. You have to be careful, O insaan. Shaytan will come to you at any time. He will want to deceive you, take you away from ta`atullah to ma`siatullah. He takes you away from the obedience to Allah (swt) to the disobedience. That’s his job. He does his job very well. On the Day of Judgement, he will tell the prophets, “Look at you pathetic ones. You have one, two, ten behind you. The one who has the most human beings behind him is me.” On the Day of Judgment, Shaytan will come with the most people behind him. Look at them. They’re running after Shaytan. Run after Shaytan. He is their teacher.

He came to this just king in order to corrupt him. It doesn’t work for him that there’s a just king, no, we have to corrupt him. He said, “You lived this long life.” In the past, people used to live long lives. Sayyidina Adam (a) lived for 900 years. Sayyidina Nuh (a) lived for 950 years with his people and 50 years after his people and some time before his people. He lived 1000 plus years, but among his people he lived for 950 years as a Nabi. Some human beings have lived long lives, according to our heavenly books. He said, “You lived 400 years. You are not a human being because if you’re a human being, you would have died like the rest of them. You are a god. Call people to yourself.”

That’s the end. When somebody has so much power and wealth at their disposal, what do they do? They start calling people to themselves. They make a statue of themselves and say, “Come to me.” Don’t you see that? I see it in my country everywhere, in the east, in the west, in the north. You have these people who claim to be something and make statues of themselves saying, “Come to me. I am your god. Obey what I say. Tell me your needs and wants. I will give you everything you need.”

When Shaytan comes to the one with severe arrogance, a high level of pride, a high love of power and prestige and status, wanting to have everything for themselves, at the end they say, “I am not like you. You have to come to me and worship me because I am the one to give you everything.” They set themselves up as gods.

This guy came up, the whispering of Shaytan entered his heart and he told his people, “I was keeping a secret from you. I am not a human being. I am a god. Worship me. Obey me. Follow me. Do what I say.” Just as Fir`awn said, anaa rabbukumu ‘l-`alaa, “I am the highest lord.” Human beings say that.

Allah (swt) revealed to the Nabi of that time, “Tell your king I was good with him as long as he was good with Me. I was straight with him as long as he was straight with Me. Now he has changed. If he does not come back...” Look, Allah (swt) accepts tawbah, repentance. No matter who is on top, no matter who is down, whoever makes mistakes, Allah (swt) accepts tawbah. He said, “Let him return back, otherwise I will let loose on him another tyrant.” See how the tyrants are eating each other? Take a lesson. Take heed. What’s driving these tyrants against each other? There’s no just one. If you look at them, they have not established justice wherever they are. There is always a tyrant eating another tyrant, attacking another tyrant. They are tyrants among each other. Don’t be with them. Leave them. Let them eat each other. Let the tyrants devour each other. Both of them deserve it.

Allah (swt) said, “If he does not come back to My Way, I will let loose on him another tyrant.” He did not, so Allah (swt) let loose on him Bukhta Nasar. He came onto his land, killed him, ravaged his land, took all the treasures and went back. A ruler, a king, a high one, no matter how high they get, they still have to be mu`tee. They have to be in ta`atullah, in the obedience of Allah (swt). As you obey your ruler, the ruler have to obey the Ruler of rules. As you obey your malik, they have to obey Maliku ‘l-Mulook. That’s why Allah (swt) is Maliki Yaumi ‘d-Deen. He is the King of all kings. As you have to obey your king, the kings have to obey the King of kings, otherwise there is no nizaam, discipline, no justice, in this world. You see it. Nobody is obeying their king and no kings are obeying the King of kings and that’s why this world is in this dilemma.

That is all from hirs, hasad and kibr, the desire of having more, envy and the pride and arrogance that is in the hearts of people. Whether it’s a king or a common person, Shaytan will come to deceive you. Be aware. Wake up and know that this is a transitory life. Don’t run after it. All of us have that in our hearts.

What do you do? That’s why messengers came. Messengers came to tell you that you have to cross an ocean. That ocean is called dunya. You have to reach the other side, but you cannot cross the ocean without a safety net. You cannot venture on your own. You will drown in this dunya. Everybody that has no safety net around them, they drown in this dunya. What is the safety net? You’re going to cross that ocean. How do I cross it? Sayyidina Musa (a) said, “Yaa Rabbee. How do I cross the sea?” He said, “Hit it with the stick.” What stick? O mu’min, it’s the stick of, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah. To cross the ocean of dunya, you have to have, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah in your head, in your heart, in your mind, and on your tongue. You have to remind yourself, “I am the servant and my Lord is Allah (swt). I do what He says.” What happens? Allah (swt) will open the sea for you. It’s not going to drown you.

Whoever says, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah (s) in our time, whoever says, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Nuh Nabiullah or Musa Nabiullah or `Isa Nabiullah, whoever believed in a prophet and declared the unity of Allah (swt), did not drown in this world. Allah (swt) also showed it physically. The ones who followed Musa (a) were saved. They went to the beach on the other side. Who was on the other side? Wa ana rabbikal muntaha. To your Lord is the end.

وَأَنَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ ٱلْمُنتَهَىٰ

That to your Lord is the final Goal. (Surat an-Najm, 53:42)

Wa inna rabbika ruj`a. To your Lord is the return.

إِنَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ ٱلرُّجْعَىٰٓ

Verily, to your Lord is the return (of all). (Surat al-`Alaq, 96:8)

You cross this dunya, O mu’min. Leave the non-mu’mins. May Allah (swt) guide them. But you are a mu’min. You cross this dunya with Kalimatu Laa ilaaha illa-Llah, following the footsteps of your Messenger. That Tawheed will put you in balance, so you don’t run after hirs, kibr, hasad, hubbu ‘l-maal, hubbu ‘l-jaah, hubbu ‘r-riyasa and all that stuff that will kill you here and over there.

May Allah (swt) forgive us. Keep that, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah on your tongue. If you don’t remember it by your heart, keep it on your tongue so it can settle in your heart and understand that the return is to Allah (swt), the end is to Him. The destination is to Him, not to this status, prestige or power here. That is nothing. That left everybody. Mashaa-Allah, the Persians were shahun shah as they called themselves. What happened? What happened to the Sassanid emperors? What happened to the Mughal emperors? What happened to the Chinese emperors? What happened to the European emperors? What happened to the African emperors? They’re gone. They ruled with iron fists. They crushed their people and the people around them. What happened to them? They’re on the other side now, answering questions. “What were you doing?”

May Allah (swt) forgive us. May Allah (swt) guide humanity to the right way. The right way is the heavenly messages. Heavenly messages are the scale. Heavenly messages are the balances. As long as you leave the Qur’an, as long as you leave your heavenly book, whatever was revealed to you, Muslim and non-Muslim, you are unbalanced. You need to be recalibrated. Even the lab machines need to be recalibrated. They have a kit. You have gone astray. You have gone wild. Humanity has gone wild. May Allah (swt) bring them back to the fold of prophets, messengers and heavenly books.

Keep, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah. Cross this dunya with, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah in your mind, your heart and on your tongue and teach it to your children. The only way to safety in this world is Kalimatu ‘t-Tayyiba. May Allah (swt) keep it on our tongues all the time and in our hearts.

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