A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem.
Bismillaahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
O Mu`mins! O Believers! May Allah (swt) admit us into His Jannah and make us from ahlu ‘l-Jannah--Jannah on earth and Jannah in Heavens. May Allah (swt) make our lives peaceful. May Allah (swt) bring our hearts into satisfaction. It is in His Hands. If He wants, your heart can become as peaceful as the ocean. If He wants, also that same ocean can become turbulent. Your heart is an ocean that can contain everything. Allah (swt) opened your heart to this world so you can navigate yourself with iman in this world. May Allah (swt) make this ocean peaceful.
You are trying to reach a destination. You are not in this world forever. You worry about this life from morning until evening, from evening until morning. We worry about this life everyday. What do we do? What don’t we do? Where do we go? Where don’t we go? Rather, maybe you will disembark today.
A mu`min understands that Allah (swt) has promised, al-Yaumi ‘l-Akhir. Isn’t that true? In our iman we say, amantu billah. Alhamdulillah, everybody believes in Allah (swt), the Lord of Heavens, the Creator. Wa mala’ikatihi, and His angels. Everybody believes in that too. People of faith believe in the Creator and His angels. We believe in the books and the messengers and we believe in Yaumi ‘l-Akhir. That’s where it can differ between faiths. I don’t need to go into details but as Muslims we believe Yaumi ‘l-Akhir is coming. What is Yaumi ‘l-Akhir? The Last Day. When is the Last Day? The day you die is your last day. When you die, Allah (swt) will either take your soul on iman and you become from ahlu ‘r-Rahmah or ahlu ‘l-Jannah or ma`adh Allah--may Allah (swt) shelter us from that--that soul might go out with mala’ikatu ‘l-`adhaab, from the people of wickedness, cruelty, tyranny.
Today might be your last day. Is there a guarantee that it’s not? Why do you come to the masjid, to talk about dunya? There is no place for dunya in the masjid. You come to the masjid to know about Allah (swt). We come to the masjid to remember our last day. Rasoolullah (s) has said Qiyamah is on Jumu`ah, on Friday. This Friday might be your last day. Next Friday might be your last day or the last day for everyone. Why do you worry too much? Why do you worry about where you’re going to be ten years or twenty years from now? Why don’t you ask this question, “Where will I be 200 years from now?” Make that in your head. You will be six feet under. You can be six feet under ten years from now or five years from now. It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, your last day is the day you disembark.
You are in an ocean called dunya and you are in safinatu ‘sh-Shari`ah. You have taken that boat of safety, the boat of, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah. Whoever enters this boat is safe from the turbulence of this dunya. Whoever is on the edge of this boat might fall out.
Wa minna ‘n-naasi man yabudAllaha `alaa harfin. Among people are some that worship Allah (swt) on the edge.
Fa in asaba’u khayrun atmanabiha. When goodness happens to them, when khayr comes their way, they are happy.
وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَعْبُدُ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ حَرْفٍ فَإِنْ أَصَابَهُۥ خَيْرٌ ٱطْمَأَنَّ بِهِۦ وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ فِتْنَةٌ ٱنقَلَبَ عَلَىٰ وَجْهِهِۦ خَسِرَ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْـَٔاخِرَةَ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْخُسْرَانُ ٱلْمُبِينُ
Wa mina ’n-nāsi man yaʿbudu ’Llāha ʿalā ḥarfin, fa-in aṣābahu khayrun iṭmaʾanna bihī, wa in aṣābat-hu fitnatun inqalaba ʿalā wajhih; khasira ’d-dunyā wa ’l-ākhirah; dhālika huwa ’l-khusrānu ’l-mubīn.
There are among men some who serve Allah, as it were, on the verge: if good befalls them, they are, therewith, well content; but if a trial comes to them, they turn on their faces: they lose both this world and the Hereafter: that is loss for all to see! (Surat al-Hajj, 22:11)
Wa in asaba’tu fitna, when a fitna comes, a trial, a difficulty, a hardship, he falls down on his face. It means he leaves iman, he leaves Islam. “Everything is cool as long as I’m happy, O Allah (swt). When hardship comes, I leave You.” That’s how it has become. Not for everybody, for some people. Allah (swt) says, wa minna ‘n-naas, among people.
When a trial or hardship comes, anqalaba `alaa wajhihi, his face will turn upside down. That means he will fall. Khasira ‘d-dunya wa ‘l-Akhirah. That person will lose dunya and Akhirah.
Don’t be from those who worship Allah (swt) on the edge. “I am in between. If it’s all good, I stay with Muslims. If it’s all bad, I will go to non-Muslims.” You should not be like that. You should be on this boat until you reach your destination. Iman, Islam, that safinatu ‘sh-Shari`ah, the safina of, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah, is how you cross this ocean called dunya safely. Once you leave what Rasoolullah (s) has brought, you’re going to fall into dunya.
What happens when you fall into water? The more you try to swim, the more you go down. Isn’t that true? Do you ever float on the sea? When you submit, what happens? You float. When you have no movement, you float. The water will take you.
Dunya is still a servant of Allah (swt). He can make it at your service. If you are at His service, dunya is at your service. If you are at His service, Heavens are at your service. If you are His service, Kursi and `Arsh are at your service. They are all khalq, makhluq, even the Throne is a creation, a creature of Allah (swt).
If you are the service of Allah (swt), if you are `abd, dunya is at your service and Akhirah is at your service, the inhabitants of dunya are at your service and the inhabitants of Heavens are at your service. That is what Israa’ wa 'l-Mi`raaj is. Rasoolullah (s) was `abd. When Allah (swt) addressed him in Surah Isra, He said: Subhanalladhi asra bi `abdi He is My servant. He is Our servant.
What happened? Earth was folded for him all the way to Quds Shareef and Heavens were opened for him. Heavens were at his service and all the angels in Heaven were at his service, rafraf and Kursi, `Arsh, Sidra and all of them were at his service with the angels up there and dunya and all its inhabitants were at his service. The prophets and messengers were all behind him, at his service.
If you are `abd, if you are on that safina correctly, on that boat of, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah (s) then dunya will be at your service. The winds that will move your sail will be at your service. Everything will be for you because you are for Allah (swt). Nothing will be against you. There is kalam of Awliyaullah: `Ata Allahu min kulli shay`in. Whoever obeys Allah (swt), everything is at his or her service.
See. Look at Awliyaullah of the past. They were at the service of Allah (swt). How did they move in this dunya? How did they move in Akhirah. In Akhirah we will see but in dunya, see how they are moving. Until now, Awliyaullah are followed, even if they are dead in their graves. Awliyaullah are remembered. Saints are remembered. Saints are visited. Saints went to their maqams and prayer is to Allah (swt) for the honor of the saint. Yaa Rabbee, for the honor of Rasoolullah (s), for the honor of Jannatu ‘l-Baqi` and its inhabitants, yaa Rabbee, accept me as a good one. People make du`a.
If you are a good one, Allah (swt) will keep you. But when we become bad, Allah (swt) will throw you in that ocean. If you want to save yourself, save yourself but the rope is ready to bring you back on the ship. Wa`tasimu bihablillah. Hold onto the Rope of Allah (swt).
وَٱعْتَصِمُوا۟ بِحَبْلِ ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا۟ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنتُمْ أَعْدَآءً فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم بِنِعْمَتِهِۦٓ إِخْوَٰنًا وَكُنتُمْ عَلَىٰ شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِّنَ ٱلنَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُم مِّنْهَا كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ
And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah's favour on you; for you were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, you became brethren; and you were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make His Signs clear to you: that you may be guided. (Surat al-Imran, 3:103)
Where are we to hold on to the Rope of Allah (swt)? You are in the ocean of dunya, the turbulence, the wavy ocean of dunya and it’s going to take you down to the abyss. There is no end. You can go down, go down. If you catch that rope that has been thrown to you from the safina, the boat of, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah (s), it will bring you up.
Why don’t we do that? Why don’t we learn our Way correctly? We are learning, alhamdulillah. We come to the masjid once a week. Some people come to the masjid once a year for `Eid. At least you’re coming. Learn something that will guide you to the other side. What will guide you to the other side? I will mention a small story because we always pass by cemeteries on the highways or roads. Wherever you travel, you will cross a cemetery.
When Sayyidina `Uthman (r) used to visit the cemetery, he used to cry and cry until his beard was all wet. The people around him would ask, “Yaa Sayyidi. You mention Jannah, you mention Naar, and you don’t cry but when you are physically in front of the grave, you cry.”
He said, “I am crying because this is the first station of Akhirah.”
When you look in there you don’t see anything but is there something happening there? What do you think? What does your belief tell you? What does your faith tell you? What happens inside the grave? Sayyidina Hasan al-Basri (r) passed by a cemetery as well. He saw a girl who was the daughter of somebody who was freshly buried. She was crying at the grave of her father. Sayyidina Hasan al-Basri (r) saw her crying and he heard her say, “O my father! I used to prepare food for you at the end of the day. Did anybody prepare dinner for you today? I used to make your bed everyday. Did anybody make your bed today?” She was crying and remembering the memories with her father.
Sayyidina Hasan al-Basri (r) said, “O my daughter! Instead of asking these kinds of questions, why don’t you ask him the following? Say, ‘O my father! We turned your face to Qiblah to, Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammadun Rasoolullah. We turned your face to Madinah and Mecca. Is your face still turned to Qiblah or was it turned backwards?’”
May Allah (swt) always keep us on the right path but you don’t know what so many Muslims carry in their hearts. Is what they’re doing truly for Allah (swt) or is it for something else? They will be turned to something else. Whatever their face turned to when they were doing `amal for Allah (swt), that face will be turned there. It will be said on the Day of Judgement, “You wanted them to be happy with you. Go to them and get what you want from them.”
He continued, “‘O my father! Is your qabr Rawdah min Riyadu ‘l-Jannah, a Paradise of Heavens, or has it become a fire pit from Hell?’ That’s what you ask.”
Sayyidina `Uthman (r) was looking and they saw with the eyes of iman, with the eyes of the heart. They are the perfect disciples of the Perfect Messenger (s). He showed them everything that happens in the qabr. He was crying and said, “This is the first station of Akhirah. If this is good, the rest is good. If this is bad, the rest is even worse.”
Sayyidina Hasan al-Basri (r) continued and this is the most important, especially for the young ones. Do you believe that there are two angels that come to the grave? Ask yourself, “Do I believe in that?” If not, you have left iman. Rasoolullah (s) told us about the two angels that will come to question you. “‘O my father! Did you answer the truth to these two angels or did you mess up?’”
The summary of whatever you are doing in this dunya is, are you able to say to these two angels, “Rabbee Allah. My Lord is Allah (swt).” That is it. The angels will not ask you anything else. They won’t ask you about politics, elections, financial, banking, traveling or anything from the events and circumstances of this world. They will ask you, “Who is your lord?” What will you say? If you have practiced enough then you will pass but if you come to the masjid once in a blue moon, once at `Eid, once at Jumu`ah or whenever you think, “Maybe I should pray today. I haven’t prayed for one week.” If that’s happening to you, you will mess up in the grave because you have not trained your tongue to say, “Allah (swt).” Be in Dhikrullah. Be in `Ibadatullah. Train yourself. Tomorrow might be your last day.
“When is my last day? Oh, I’m planning for retirement when I’m 70. What last day are you talking about? I’m going to live here forever.” Lo and behold, at age 50 they are out of this dunya. All that they did to invest in the Wall Street firms didn’t pay off anything for them. They did not practice to be a good mu`min, a good Muslim who will answer these two angels correctly. “Who is your lord?”
What you do in this dunya, that boat is to teach you that Allah (swt) created you. He is carrying you and He will make you disembark and reward you. That’s why we say, alhamdulillahi Rabbi ‘l-`Alameen, the Lord of the Worlds. `Alameen is everything created. Why do you say “alhamdulillah”? Because He created you to know Him. What bigger honor than to know your Creator? Ma`rifatullah. He created us. We were with Him but He physically put us in this world to know Him physically. Ruh will receive some levels, some stations, some `ilm through this physical body that it cannot receive in Heavens. Allah (swt) taught Adam (a) the names of things and sent him down to earth to learn more. Inshaa-Allah, we can learn more but on this earth you should know that Allah (swt) created you so you say, alhamdulillahi Rabbi ‘l-`Alameen. Allah (swt) is carrying you. You say, Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem, with His Mercy, His Provisions. Whatever comes from you is from Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem.
It’s time to deplane. “I am happy here. First class, everything is coming, the food, the drinks, the company, the TV. Everything is so cool. I forgot myself on this plane.” Time to get off. “To where?” Walk on that bridge. “What bridge?” Be careful. If you fall off that bridge, you’re in big trouble.
You are on a plane. The pilot is Rasoolullah (s). You have taken his plane. You have taken what he has brought you. You have taken the sidq, the truth that he has brought you. You have taken the Haqq that he has brought you. You have embarked with him. He is delivering you to Allah (swt). He is delivering you to Yaumu ‘l-Qiyamah. Inshaa-Allah, may we all be saved.
He carried you, Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem. He disembarked you. He deplaned you to reward you, Muslim, and to give you what you asked for if you are from another faith. May Allah (swt) forgive all of us. We have nothing against humanity. We ask Allah (swt) to guide all of them to His Pleasure, to His Jannah. His Jannah is big. It’s not small that He cannot fit some people and only fit a few people like here on earth. “We can only take a hundred people inside this hall. Sorry, everybody else stays outside.” No, the more that people come, the more Jannah opens up.” Wa ladayna mazeed.
لَهُم مَّا يَشَآءُونَ فِيهَا وَلَدَيْنَا مَزِيدٌ
There will be for them therein all that they wish, and more besides in Our Presence. (Surah Qaf, 50:35)
We have more space. How much? It will expand. Allah (swt)’s Name is Al-Wasi`, The Expander. Allah (swt) is Merciful. May He guide all of us, all of humanity to what we have tasted, to what we have known, to the beauty of Rasoolullah (s) and the messengers and prophets, to the beauty of iman. That iman makes you happy here no matter what waves come against you, no matter what storms come towards you. You are happy with iman because you know everything comes from Allah (swt). You say, Wa bi ‘l-qadri khayrihi wa sharrihi minAllahi ta`ala.
Where are we from that? You don't have to speak about fancy topics and high level volumes and university grades. We are still struggling with the pillars of iman. We are still struggling with Yaumu ‘l-Akhir, not remembering the Last Day. We are still struggling with destiny, good and bad, from Allah (swt). Why do you go all the way to the top and talk from high grade university articles and topics that nobody understands? Tell people to be in this world with iman. It will carry you with happiness. You will be happy, content with what Allah (swt) has sent to you. Whenever you pass by a cemetery, understand that you will be next. When? Allah (swt) knows.
One Awliyaullah composed a poem. I remembered his verse. If you are carrying a casket to the cemetery, know that you might be next on the shoulders of people. What do you need to do in this world, young ones? Remember, “Rabbee Allah wa deeni ‘l-Islam. I submitted to my Lord through the message of Muhammad (s) to take whatever is coming from Him as He pleases, as He wills, as He likes. I am His servant and the Master can do whatever He likes with His servant.” The Master only does good. Allah (swt) said: bi yaddihi ‘l-khayr. In His Hand is khayr.
Try to find that khayr in your life. Instead of finding the problems in your life, say, “Yaa Rabbee. I am happy with the two eyes You have given me.” Yesterday some people came to our dhikr association and the man was blind. I have eyes. I can see. “Yaa Rabbee. How can I repay You for this?” He is testing that one with sabr and He is testing me with shukr. If you see somebody who is afflicted and he is sabir, he has Jannah. Say, “Yaa Rabbee. Thank You. You have given me what You have not given others.” You will have Jannah.
See what Allah (swt) has granted to you from goodness instead of seeing what Allah (swt) is testing you with difficulties. Where do we run when we have difficulties? We never run to Allah (swt). We run to somebody else or another organization. Why don’t you run to Allah (swt)? If you are in difficulty, run to the masjid or make a musallah in your home, a prayer room. If you don't have a prayer room, make sajdah on your bed and say, “Yaa Rabbee. Help me.” Does He hear you? Do you think Allah (swt) hears you? Do you think Allah (swt) sees you? Do you think Allah (swt) knows what’s happening with you? Why do you put Him in a position that He doesn’t know? Why do you see, “YOu don’t see. Don’t You see what’s happening to me? Don’t You hear what they’re saying about me? Don’t You do this and that?”
How can you do that to Allah (swt) when you are a mu`min, when you know that He knows. Wa Huwa Sami`un `Aleem. Is is the All-Hearing, All-Knowning. Then your heart becomes content. When you remember Allah (swt), you calm down and cool off. Remember Allah (swt). Try not to fight the waves. Be one with the waves. If you submit yourself to the ocean, you will float. If you struggle, you will sink.
May Allah (swt) forgive us. May Allah (swt) make us from ahlu ‘l-Jannah. May Allah (swt) allow us to give these two angels the right answers. May Allah (swt) allow our graves to be gardens of Paradise. May Allah (swt) forgive us and forgive everyone. Yaa Rabbee, we are asking for Your Maghfirah. Wa rahmatuka wasi`a kulla shay`. Your Rahmah has encompassed everything. Wa Anta ‘l-Ghafooru ‘r-Raheem. You are the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful. Yaa Rabbee, lift the afflictions that we are in. Why not? Lift the difficulties that we are in. You are seeing our situation. We are in a dire situation, asking for Your Support and Your Help. Yaa Rabbee, allow us to be from the good ones who offer good service to others. Allow us to be from the good ones who offer good advice to others. Ameen.
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