Assalamu alaikum rahmatullah barakatu. Alaikum Asalamu wa rahmaatullahi wahla. Alhamdulillah Rabbilalameen sallallahu sallam wara kana be Muhammadin wa'ala ali wa sahibi wa sala and kathiratim ma'mabad. We welcome you back to the beautiful twenty uh fifth night of the month of Ramadan from Valley Rant Islamic Center with Shaykh Ram Al Salaiman as we discuss our late night khatiras from the book of Mamba ibn Qayyim rahima ta'ala al-Wabul Sayyib, the downpour of blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for those who raised there, Al-Kalimut Tayyib, the good words, and that's the dikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. May Allah subhanahu wa make us a magadakir la kitina wa dakirat. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to keep our tongues always moist for the remembrance. And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to fill our hearts because of this remembrance with peace and tranquility Rabbil Alameen. So my dear brothers and sisters, right now we are at point um uh 36. So we covered Alhamdulillah from one point one to point thirty five of the benefits of dhikr. Ibn Qayim Rahim Allah U Ta'ala, he singled this particular point and is the longest out of the 73 points he mentioned on the benefits of dhikr. So as we will speak with Shaykh Ramaran on the subject, subhanAllah, we cannot give that point its haqb really, because uh the point is extremely, extremely important that Ibn Kaim Rahimallah Utah, he elaborated and went way into tangent just to emphasize the importance of dhikr and the importance of this point in particular. Sheikh now, what's your reflection on this on this point before we start talking about it?
SPEAKER_02I was just thinking about what state of mind he was in when he started writing. Ibn al-Khayim Raheim Allah writes with stream of consciousness. That's actually one of the things that makes his writing so special, is that he didn't care much about proportionality and things of that sort. Like if he when he wrote Al-Fawa'ad, for example, useful sayings, it's just he's it's just streams of consciousness, right? And so this point is about the light of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and you can feel the love for Allah in this chapter. You can feel how much he loves Allah and the way he's writing about the light of Allah in this chapter. As if the light came in him, or he could see with that light as he started writing, because he just starts extracting jam after jam after jan after jamm. So I was looking at this chapter and I was like, okay, this point would take about 20 minutes, this would take about 30 minutes, and then that's when we just decided like tonight we're probably not even gonna finish one point because we're just gonna reflect on what the meaning of the light of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is. And that's actually the point that he's gonna make, is that with the light of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you see something that other people don't see. Um that's not like you know some hidden knowledge or something that elevates a person to prophethood or you know, weird mysticism. That's the depth of the heart and the soul that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gifts when a person tries to see with his light. So it's like you're you're holding something and you're magnifying, magnifying, magnifying. And that was the secret of these ulama. And that's why Imam Al-Krahimallah said, Laysal illm, ketratriwayat, that knowledge is not having an abundance of narrations, it's not memorizing a lot of information. He said, but it's nu'run, yajalullah fiikalbilmu'min. It's a light that Allah puts in the heart of the believer. If Allah gives you that light, you could look at one word and you could spend a day with it. If you don't have that light, you could read a whole chapter of the Quran and go, what's the big deal? I don't see it. Right? So this is the whole point. Like it's as if Allah opened his eyes in this part and he just started writing, and you could tell he went on a tangent that just went way too far. No. But it's a beautiful tangent.
SPEAKER_00You know, subhanAllah, when I was reading him his words as he was writing it, uh rahimallahu ta'ala, I can see that he's trying to catch every single benefit, every single you know, uh uh jim, and he wants to tell us more, and he's just taking too much from his time, and he's just gonna keep going and going and going because he just like everything that he was saying it feeds into the the joy he was having while he was narrating to us the importance of the light that comes with the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So that's the point that he's gonna be discussing, point number 36, inshaAllah ta'ala. Those who have the Arabic text, it's on page 114, and those who have the English text is gonna be 136. Page 136, inshaAllah ta'ala. The point is number 36, dikr, the benefits of dhikr. Anna dikra nur dakirifudia, wanuru lahufi kabrihi, wanuru lahufi ma'adihi, yasa bayne dayhi al-sirat, famastara, famastana ku al-kulubu al-kubu, bibitli dikr allahi ta'ala. He says remembrance is light. It's noor, it's light. It's light for the one who remembers Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in his life. It will also be light for him in his grave, and on the day of return to Allah Azza wa Jal, it will also be in front of him on the bridge, which is he's gonna elaborate on that later, inshaAllah. Nothing illuminates the hearts and graves more than remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And he cuts the ayah or lahbarak, minha. What an amazing subhanallah! And he quote from the Quran, he cursed the ayah and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, is the one who was dead, and we brought him to life, supplying him with a light by which he walks among the people. The same as someone who is in utter darkness, unable to emerge from it. This ayasikh reminds me the concept nowadays, subhanAllah on TV and so on. It's uh uh uh the walking dead, right? Like literally, there are never watched that show before. I never watched it either, man. I just know the title, just so that you know. I don't like zombies anyway. But anyway, but subhanAllah, this is literally what it means over here. Yeah, you walk you're you're you're a living among the dead people. Someone with the light of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has the light that Allah has promised over here. Allah has given this individual nur, light by which they walk among the dead people. Yes, they're walking and they're talking and they're eating and they're moving around, but in terms of guidance, in terms of uh their life, they're in darkness. They're in their dead. Only the one who has light, they know where they're going. Those are the people who experience life.
SPEAKER_02So let's build it with a mafid, inshaAllah. When you came into this world, did you come from a dark place or did you come from a light place? Dark. You opened your eyes to this world and it's light. And then you go to the grave. Is the grave dark or light? Dark. The day of judgment, is it light or is it dark? Depends. That's the point. The Ridamat Mansion that the beginning of the day of judgment is light. The first half is light, the second half is dark. At some point the lights go off. So you open you you came into this world, you open your eyes to the light. And this is the place of Darul Amal, Darul Bala. This is the place of deeds, and this is the place of test and trial. So here's your testing ground. And from Allah's nur, Allah Azwaj made things very clear for you in this testing ground. You didn't wake up in darkness. No, you you woke up and everything is very clear. And if it wasn't clear to you, then you're not accountable. Allah is just. If it wasn't clear to a person, then they're not accountable. Someone who never heard the message properly, someone who couldn't grasp it, they're not accountable. But the norm is that you woke up and you saw everything clearly. Then you went to the grave and it got dark again. Then you come out of the grave and the sun is so close that you could reach out and touch it. And that is the day of hisab, the day of accountability. For the hisab part of the day of judgment, for the hisab part, the accountability part of the day of judgment, everything is excruciatingly bright. Nothing is missing. The earth, Aldul Maqshar itself, where we stand on, is pure white. Right? So everything is extremely bright. Some people are sweating under the sun, some people are not, and there's differences of sweat, but everything is in high exposure, right? Because now is accountability. Then the ilmat talk about at what point do the lights go out on the day of judgment? Some of them said after the receiving of the books, some of them said at the point of the mizan, of the scale of the weighing of the books, clearly the lights go out. And that's when Allah Azwajal starts parting people according to their light. So the person that was shaded under the throne of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala from the sun now has a light and it's dark. And some of us have lights on their hands, some of us have lights ahead of us, and the light of the believer is of a different, it's of a different space. So not everyone has the same amount of light, just like not everyone sweated the same. And at that point, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala starts to part and filter. And this is what Shaykh Islam and Taymi Alhamdulillah was saying in prison when he was quoting the verse in Surah al-Hadith, that Allah puts a barrier between them because the hypocrites are hanging out with the believers. Those who pretended to be righteous, they're still hanging out with the believers. May Allah not make us amongst those hypocrites. Allah Ma'amen. And then they realize they're falling behind. So the ones that actually have light are moving ahead. And they're saying, you know, wait for us, Naqtabism Nurikum. Hey, we were with you. No, no, we want to benefit from your light. You're getting too far away. It's getting dark for us. Pilar ji'u wara akum, go back. Faltamisunura. And find the light. Go back here, it means go back to this dunya. Go back to the world if you can and find a light. And at that point, the door shuts. May Allah make us amongst the people with noor at that point. So it's light, dark, light, dark. That's the chronological part that's mentioned in this first uh statement here about the sirat and the qalbin the qabr. And then finally, awaman can amet and fa'hiyainahu uhja'alna alahu no'ran, yamshi bihi finnas. Does anyone know who this is referring to, who this verse was revealed in regards to? This verse, many of their ulama say, was revealed in regards to Umar bin Khattab radiallahu ta'ala. That this was the depiction of Sayyidina Umar radiallahu ta'ala anhu. Why? Thikr gives you life, and that was the point that Ibn al-Qayyim Rahimallah was talking about here. It resuscitates you. But now it also gives you orientation. What does light give you? Orientation, guidance. Umar radiallahu ta'a anhu was so you know deep in his ignorance, so deep in his delusion that he thought the Prophet was a bad person and he has to kill the Prophet and he's enraged and he can't see clearly. He's intoxicated by ignorance. And then suddenly when Allah opens his heart, not only does Umar radiallahu ta'ala anhu completely come to life, like a dead man resuscitated, but his vision becomes so clear that the Quran would agree with Umar radiallahu ta'a on multiple occasions at that point. What does that mean? Antar al-haqka haqqqa walba'atila ba'atila. You see the truth as truth and you see falsehood as falsehood. He was so at that point engaged with spiritual clarity that before Allah Azza even brought down revelation, his heart would already tell him that this is the way it should be. And he would find himself pointing in that direction, then Allah would confirm the direction of Umar radiallahu ta'ala anhu.
SPEAKER_00So this is the Allah says to your point about Urbi Khattab radiallahu arda. I mean, how many Sahabis were already Muslims when Urb Khattab became Muslim? Many of them were Muslims already, although the number overall was not that great. A small group in secrecy, they're worshiping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and Darul Arcom in Mecca. So it's kind of like a very private kind of uh group. But then this man comes to uh uh trying to even looking for the Prophet to kill him. He ends up in his sister's house, and then subhanAllah he reads the Quran, he becomes Muslim. Allah opens his heart to the light of the dhikr. The dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala than the Quran, and Sarah, all the the the guidance, the truth, as you said, became so clear to him. So he goes to the Prophet and when he came to the Prophet and gave his shahada, what did he say? Aren't we following the truth? And they're following the bottle? They followed the bottle, falsehood. And the Prophet said, Of course. He says, Why do we then uh stay quiet? Why don't we go out and and and uh and and declare ourselves? Which is why they did. They had Hamza on one side, on one side of Allah, and they went out declaring their faith uh and their deen. What does that mean to us here? That means if you truly and genuinely have that light of guidance in your heart, then you know the truth, then you have to feel responsible for the truth. The truth has responsibility. If you know something to be true, something is right, then you owe yourself first of all to stand for that truth. And what does that mean? It might be a sacrifice because not everybody likes the truth, Jama'ah. You know that, right? Especially the politicians of our time. No one likes the truth. So therefore they try to hide, they try to fight it. But you knowing the truth, you have to be responsible for it, you have to fight for it. And that gives you what? Give you purpose, give you direction, give you uh uh a way of life that is completely different from the heedless you know lifestyle. You are someone with principles. So, and that's the meaning of being uh uh a cultivated uh character that belongs to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That's why dhikr, if you can get to that level where dhikr can give you that light and you see with clarity, you become a responsible person. If you see yourself not some responsible, that means something is wrong with your uh uh with your connection over here. If you don't really see yourself responsible for the haqq, you see things happening, but uh not my you know not my business. I I'm not I'm not part of this. No, this is for these people or those people. If you don't feel it in your heart that you're responsible for the haqq and for the truth, specifically standing for justice, then there's something wrong. And that's what you need to start checking into your heart and see how much dhikr you have in that heart.
SPEAKER_02A vulmu vulumat. Yep. And the Prophet said oppression is darknesses, it even comes from the same word, vulm and vulumat. So every Muslim who wants to be a part of the reception of the light of the Prophet has to have some level of da'wah and has to have some level for standing up for justice. Every single one of us, you have to be a vessel to some extent. He's gonna talk about what that vessel looks like. And that's the point, like it increases your capacity, it increases your sense of responsibility. Umar radiallahu ta'ala an who went from being the guy that you know his father's donkey will become Muslim before him, like Allah, like this guy, like let's just stay away from how evil he is, to being like, let's go now, let's take this light to the world. Why are we sitting here? Because once it happens to you, once it dawns upon you, you want to share that and protect that and shine it upon the world. And so that's in that means every Muslim has some share of diawa and some share of justice as well.
SPEAKER_00SubhanAllah, that clarity that Umar had made the shaitan stay out of his way. Because Umar's everything is clear to him. So the shaitan cannot mess up with his uh you know with his with his path. Because he sees everything clearly, so therefore you wasted your time with him. So that's why the Prophet Shaitan is a fajj, he's like, whoa, mashaAllah, mashaAllah, Bil Khattab. I swear if the shaitan sees you walking one way, he would go the other way. The shaitan, if he sees you walking one way, he will go the other way. What about usajima? If the shaitan sees you walking one way, what is he gonna do? He's gonna have a party with you. Allah must. But that's the thing. If I don't have that clarity in my heart, if I'm not principled, if I'm not disciplined, if I'm not really standing for the truth, for the haqq, then I lost my direction. And that's when the shaitan can get through all these gait that we talked about earlier.
SPEAKER_01Can I share one more comment on this?
SPEAKER_02Umar radiallahu anhu, all of his mistakes, because he wasn't perfect. Because how do you reconcile like the hadith now of the shaitan takes a different direction? And some of the mistakes that he made afterwards, he wasn't perfect. Every one of his mistakes after becoming Muslim was a mistake of zeal, like a mistake of too much enthusiasm, not a mistake of lowliness, like taking it too far because he he wanted to, you know, to push further. And that shows you like you're talking about shutting the doors of shaitan. So even like where the shaitan could get him from, he couldn't pull Umar from ego anymore, even though he seemed to have a huge ego before Islam. Ego's not working for him anymore. So you have to take his good intentions of Islam and you have to push a little bit further. So he's sometimes he became a little overzealous. And I say that with no insult whatsoever. In fact, I'm saying it from a place of praise. That even his mistakes are admirable in that sense. That in Hurday Biyah, he's like, no, let's once again, that's not al-haq, aren't we on the truth? Why are we holding back? Ya Rasulullah. He made a mistake. He was wrong to challenge the Prophet on that compromise. But even then, what does he want? He still wants victory for Islam, he still wants goodness for Islam. This isn't about him parading in Mecca. This is because he wants to take that light of Islam to the world. So even then, subhanAllah, his mistakes are still beautiful in that sense.
SPEAKER_00The remind me with also subhanAllah that because of that, people respected him. They respected him big time, and even they they have this haiba in their heart for him. And the remind with the with the story about Umar al-Khattab Al the Anulda, that people they respected and they they feared Umar literally. They were scared of him. So one day he was he would be walking, and people don't dare, you know, uh going after Umar Dwan, like we said. So just like when you when you're driving uh on the highway and there's a police car in front of you. Do you dare go across that uh that car or past that car? You won't, right? So in Medina he was walking, people walking behind him. And he noticed that people walking behind him, so suddenly he stopped and he turned around. And they all got scared. Like, did I do anything wrong? Or was that was that was that something right? Khalala Bil Haqq. It's true. May Allah increase that fear of me in your heart. Like if that's gonna make you see the truth and do the right thing, may you fear me even more. So the fear of Umar wasn't because he was a staqfullah and ugly with fear of his injustice, no, because they knew this man he doesn't mess around. When it comes to the haqq and the truth, he will execute the haqq and the truth no matter what. So, but that's just the clarity, because he had that light that Allah subhanahu wa mentioned over here. And Baqaiim Alhamdulillah he says, Ya qal, this light is the most important issue, and all success lies in this light. While all uh recognition or wretchedness actually is when this light is lost. So if you don't have that light, you're gone, you're done. But if you have that light, you have all the elements of success. For that reason, or for this reason, Rasulullah used to emphasize so much the issue when he asked Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to put it to put it uh to put that light in his flesh, in his bones, in his nerves, in his hair, in his skin, his hearing, his sight, above all, beneath him, subhanahu wa ta'ala, and his right and his left, behind him and before him. So basically what Ibn Qayimala is referring to hadith in Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Dua. Allah ma jalfiq nurah, nurah, fibassari nurah, he said, Ma Allah put light in my heart, light in my hearing, light in my sight, like in my flesh, like this, like all aspects. And then he goes, Allahum majalli nurah, yeah, Allah makes special noor for me, special light for me, and at the narration, ijaal-ni make me light and a source of light as well too. So the Prophet he knew the importance of this light, that he wanted this light to shine from every element, every molecule of his body. Salawatu Allahi was sallam alayhi.
SPEAKER_02And so sometimes dua, the word here in Arabic, waliha the canabiswaisam, yubalik, um, he would exaggerate, more so than emphasize. Like he's exaggerating. Like if I was to ask you, like, how many of you actually memorize the dua of Anur, the dua of light? It's a it's it's a really repetitive dua. And do you really have to get that detailed? Like in my skin light, in my bones light, in my hair light, and in all this light. That's not the usual scheme of the Prophet's dua. Usually the Prophet makes one comprehensive dua and that's it. So why is he dissecting everything here and saying, put light in this, put light in this, put light in this, put light, light in this until the point where he says, and make me a light? Because sometimes the dua is actually a way of reminding yourself of what you want from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So this isn't like, oh Allah, put um put barakah in this investment and this investment, and put money in this account, in that account, and make this shirt nice and that shirt nice, and make this, because that would show something about your priority. Like, what do you get detail-oriented about? Prophet is saying, I want light in everything that I have. Let not a space of me miss light. Put light in every single hair. Imagine Shaykh Yasr's beard if every part of it is light. May Allah make it light on the day of judgment.
SPEAKER_03All that nur masha'll talk about his beard, like you know. You're gonna be able to look at me, man. That'd be the good type of light, shaykh.
SPEAKER_00Subhanallah ibn Kaim rahimullahu ta'ala, he then he says, Look, the religion of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is light. Like he's now reminding you look, if the Prophet was asking to have light in every molecule of his body, so where this light is coming from? How can I get that light? He goes, Look, the religion of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is light. Abuhu Noor. Wadaru Lati Adda Ali Audiahi Nurun. Wahuata Barakata Wataala Nur Samawati Wal Ard Win Asma ihin Nur Wadurumatu Ashrakat Linuri subhanahu ta' He says the religion of Allah is light, his book is light, his messenger is light. The abode he has created for his for his allies is shining light. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the light of the heavens and the earth, and from his names is the name of light, and the darkness is illuminated by the light of his face subhanahu wa ta'ala. So what in Samarib is trying to say, look, light is so important to you, and he's the source of your light. You'll find that source in your in your religion, in the book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, in the Messenger of Allah, and aspiring to live in Jannah, in making sure that you have the anur of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in your life, and then he's gonna start from that point on elaborating on the light of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so the point is what does light mean again? Light means guidance. The name of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala anur comes in the same category of Al-Hadi, Al-Rashid, Anur, Al-Mubeen. Um Allah Azwajal is the guide. So what's a source of guidance for you? What's a source of light for you? So there are places of light, there are people of light, there are possessions of light. Anything that confuses you or anything that takes you away from guidance is a source of darkness, not a source of light for you.
SPEAKER_00He quotes here the Hadith ibn sallallahu alayhi wa sallam when he was uh uh in a ta'if in the dua, he said, Allah, I seek refuge in the light of your face which has illuminated the darkness. He says, My Lord, I seek refuge in the light of your face, with uh which has illuminated the darkness, and set aright the affairs of this world and the hereafter. I seek refuge from your anger being upon me, or that your displeasure befalls upon me. For I am devoted completely in humbleness to you until you are pleased with me. There is no might, no power except by Allah Azza wajal. So he says basically, the Prophet says, Allah Azza wa Jal, by his by his light, it shines on all this creation. So if you're looking for that light, you go back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Remember Allah Dikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
SPEAKER_02Shaykh, it's interesting, he says Yom Ta'if, the day of Ta'if. Think about how disoriented the Prophet felt in Ta'if. He literally says, like I was hit from every direction, bleeding, the blood, like he's tasting his own blood, so it's coming in his mouth, it's covering his whole body. There are pebbles in his sandals from running away from the people, and they beat him alayhi salatu, till he found himself in a completely strange place. And this is what he says. I seek refuge in the light of your face, by which all darknesses are repealed. Right? Like only the light of your face can remove all of the darknesses that I'm in right now. When you feel like you are buried in darkness upon darkness, it's only the light of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that can uncover. And when he says that, you know, and yahilla aliyahbuk, the the concern of the Prophet Ta'F was like that you don't have anger upon me. So I seek refuge, that I would have your anger uh come upon me. Uh awyanzira uh be uh sachatuk, or that your displeasure would descend upon me. We talked about this. To you is the return until you're pleased. I want more light. And there is no power and no might except from you. So, Hata Tarla. Oh Allah, whatever it takes, if these beatings and what I'm going through is meant for me to have a greater capacity to carry the light forward, alhamdulillah, I accept it. Until you are pleased, Ya Allah, and there is no power, no might except from you.
SPEAKER_00Ibn Kayim Rahimallah elaborate more on how that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's light is everything in this in this universe. And the earth will shine with the pure light of its Lord. And then he's gonna bring an example from the day of judgment that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will be shining his light upon all his creation. He brought the story of Abu uh uh um hadith Abu Musa that Rasulullah he stood among the sahaba and he told him about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That Allah in the lahayana, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he does not sleep. He does not sleep. And it's not even befitting him subhanahu wa ta'ala to sleep. Yaqfidul Qusta wafau, he is the one subhanahu wa ta'ala reduces portions and increases them, meaning he is the one who decreases everything that happens in this life. Yurfa'u ilehihi amalul layl qabla amal-nahar to him the deeds of the night go before the deeds of the day. And the same thing al-Nahar, qabla amal layl. And what happened during the day, it goes up before the end of the day to the night. And that's what he wanted to bring the hadith for. He said, Hijabuhu subhanahu wa ta'ala announ, which means his veil is light. Like he screened subhanahu wa ta'ala from his creation by light. Even though he himself is light, subhanahu wa ta'ala, in terms of you know, what we know from the light of Allah Azza wa Jal, right? He is the light of everything. And his screen that screened him from his creation is also light. Call Hijabuhun Noor. That's that is covered, of course, with that light. And law kashafahua ahrakat subuhathi mantaha ilahihi basarhu un kalke. He said if he removed the veil, the light of his face, it would burn the sight of any of his creation who gazed upon him. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. So the point Ibn Qayim Rahimallah is now emphasizing, he says that Fastina dalik al Hijab, that veil itself is illuminated by the light of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So everything is his universe. The source of light in this life is all Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So if you feel darkness in your heart, darkness in your mind, darkness in your affairs, look for that light. And the light is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala himself and with Allah Azza wa Jal. And the only way you can get that light is by remembering Him. Subhanahu wa wa ta'ala.
SPEAKER_02I want to put something towards you all. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, I did not create man and jinn except to worship me, and then complete the ayah. Complete the ayah. What does Allah not want from us? What does Allah say He doesn't want from us? He doesn't want from us any type of risk and He doesn't want from us to be fed. And Yul Tari Moon. He doesn't need us to feed him. Some of the ulmat say the reason why Allah specifically used that is because we know, like once the food and the drink get cut off, like we can feel that vulnerability as human beings. Like, wow, we would die if we're not being fed. So the more that you lean into your human vulnerability, the more you can appreciate Allah's majesty. Likewise, Allah illa illahu, al-hayur qayum, la ta'huluhu, sinatun wala noom. The first way Allah glorifies himself in ayatulsi, as far as things that you know, that he is not taken by fatigue or sleep. You can appreciate that vulnerability when most, right now in these last ten nights. When you're trying to stay awake and you're just like, you know, you're dozing off and you're feeling that tiredness and you're feeling that fatigue. How awesome is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that he never even dozes. He never gets tired, he never gets fatigued. And that's what the Prophet is saying. Your Lord doesn't sleep, he doesn't need to sleep. And in Mr. Anhu is saying that your Lord has no night or day, it's always light. Allah always sees, Allah always controls. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is never losing anything. And of the benefits as well of the idea that even his veil, the light of his veil is from his light, subhanahu wa ta'ala, is that the beauty of that hijab of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the veil of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, would make you long for the beauty of the light himself, subhanahu wa ta'ala, and noor himself. If Allah Azza showed you that veil, that hijab. And every nur, samawati walar, everything that you see of the beauty of light should make you wonder of the beauty of the source of that light, anur himself. The light himself, subhanahu wa ta'ala. Like how beautiful is he then, subhanahu wa ta'ala, in his light. May Allah allow us to be amongst those that see him day and night in Jannah. Where he removes the quality of the harshness. It's not harsh because Allah Azza is harsh. It's harsh to us in this world because Allah has not prepared us to where we could even be in a place where we could where we could uh bear the gravity and that majesty, right, of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, of seeing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. May Allah allow us to be amongst those that perceive in Jannah.
SPEAKER_00You know, speaking about seeing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, may Allah make it among them who granted that Ya R Bal Alameen, Ibn Kayim Rahim Allah, he brings here a uh a possible, for example, maybe objection or some misunderstanding. How can uh we say we see Allah? When Allah said in the Quran, that uh the the eyesight cannot perceive him, subhanahu wa ta'ala. So bin Abbas radi was asked this question. He uh he was asked, how could this be possible? Allah I mean he said, Do you not see the sky? He asked the person who asked him the question was, You do not see the sky? He said, Yeah, of course, I see the sky. He says, Can you truly grasp it? Like, can you really see the entire entirety of the sky and even understand and perceive all the sky that you're looking at? He says, No. He said, indeed, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the Most High, is far greater and even more overwhelming in that sense. Like you can see Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in a manner that's his majesty, but you would never ever be able to perceive his greatness, subhanahu wa ta'ala, because he's way beyond your understanding of who he is, subhanahu wa ta'ala.
SPEAKER_02And that's even a jannah. No. I mean, you'll never be able to fully capture it.
SPEAKER_00And you know, I want to pause on this point, Shaykh, the the whole idea of seeing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And it's it's uh um, I don't know how to put it this way, but this is the greatest thing you can even imagine, Jama'a. Uh look, we live a life of uncertainty here. And I mentioned that multiple times, subhanAllah, the life of uncertainty by design. Allah made us ancient uh anxious creatures to need him. Because if everything is being certain to us, if everything was certain to us in this life, we would never even look for uh guidance, we never look for help or assessment, we never look for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So by design, subhanahu wa ta'ala, when he says, Inn al-insana khulia kahula, insan was created anxious creature. To need Allah, he says, illul musaleen, except those who connect with me with Salah, with dhikr of Allah Azzawajal. And now when we look at the reward, why why this life was made a life of uncertainty? Obviously, to pursue him subhanahu wa ta'ala, so we can find that peace and tranquility. That's what he says. Those who have faith and their hearts find peace and tranquility in their members of Allah because indeed, through the remembrance of Allah, the hearts will find peace and tranquility. You'll find rest in remembering Allah Azza wa Jal. In Jannah, in Jannah, Allah made so many so many things as part of the reward. But the ultimate, the ultimate, I would say the underlying theme of all this reward is what? Is the removal of uncertainty. Everything is certain there. That's why khali dinafiyya abada. Uquluhada imuadulha. Like the food is always perpetual, your life is gonna be perpetual. So everything is permanent. Khalas, Alhamda, there's certainty here. You're not gonna wake up the next day say, Okay, are we gonna have food? Am I gonna get laid off? Uh am I this? No, everything is alhamdulillah is being guaranteed for you. Then comes the second level of reward in Jannah. So the first reward was the physical reward. So all your physical needs are being taken care of. Just like the Maslow's uh uh pyramid of hierarchy of needs, physical ordinary, being taken care of. What comes next? The emotional part, and that's in the hadith of Prophet says Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, in a manner that's just his majesty, he will appear to his people of the people of Jannah. Kala araditum, yahla al-Jannah Araditum, oh people of Jannah, are you pleased? And he would say, of course you are absolutely we are pleased. What else do we need? He says, Shall I give you more? And more than this? What could it be? Kala ridaya, fala aschatu alaykum badaha abada, my pleasure. I will be pleased with you, you will never be exposed to my wrath. Now that's an emotional reward, it's not something physical you touch. But knowing that your master, your Lord, subhanahu wa ta'ala is promising you that you will never be exposed to my wrath. Whatever you do, I'm pleased with you. So that gives you even more pleasure that I can now do without limit. And then comes the highest reward, which is the greatest certainty, obviously. The greatest certainty is what? Is the answer to the most I would say the existential Christ of the world is to understand their God? Who is he? How does he look like? All these uncertainties that we have in this dunya, in terms of those who don't believe, obviously. But subhanAllah in the akhira, Allah will remove all these uncertainties by revealing himself in a manner that to his majesty for the people to see, and that sight obviously is the greatest. As the Prophet mentioned the hadith, when it was the night, when the moon was full, and the sahaba were sitting with him, he goes, Look at this moon, the full moon at night. He says, Hal todam moon afiruyati. Are you crowding yourself? Are you pushing each other to see? They said, No. He says, This clarity of sight will be the exact clarity of sight when you see Lord subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is not how you're gonna see Allah, but the clarity of that sight. This is how clear you'll be able to see your Lord subhanahu wa ta'ala. So May Allah Azwal give us that certainty in Jannah Rabbil Ameen to be able to see the Lord subhanahu wa ta'ala.
SPEAKER_02I mean Shaykh the Quran starts with Al-Ladini Yu'minuna bil-Ghayb. This is this book is only gonna work. Uh this book of light is only gonna work for those that believe in the unseen. The greatest part of the ghayb is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, is Allah Himself. I want you to think about like what it means to build a life of anticipation for meeting Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That every day you anticipate further the meeting with your Lord. Like I'm anticipating this. I've been looking, could you really say, like, Ya Allah, I've been looking for you my whole life. I've been looking for you my whole life, I've been trying to find you my whole life. And so think of like Allah Azwaj putting you here and saying, Alright, now find me. Here's the book to find me, here's the way to find me. And He doesn't leave you in the dark in the sense that it's not like, you know, I don't know if this works or that works. No, there are very clear indicators that you found another clue, that you've gotten closer, that you've gotten closer, that there's more light. Okay, you've gotten closer. And then that ultimate culmination is Allah revealing himself to you and then talking to you individually. You found me, and I'm pleased with you. Talking to you individually. It's such an overwhelming thought. Like you can think of someone that's been looking for their loved one. Like, imagine, and these these examples are used by the ulama, not because Allah can be compared to any human being, but because we know our capacity of love for people, and that capacity for love of Allah should be so much more. Imagine a person who loses their most beloved one, and they know they're still alive. Right? Missing. Your spouse is missing, your child is missing. And how every single day, like you're just trying to find that person, right? Clinging. Do I have a clue? Okay, we have a direction. Okay, we're going in this place. And you look at Ya'qub alayhi salam as an example. That the smell of Yusuf alayhi salam, inni la ajiduriha Yusuf, I can smell him. Right? Put the garment on his face and it cured his eyes. Right? The love that Yaqub had for Yusuf, we should love Allah more than Ya'qub loved Yusuf. Like you're looking for Allah. Like, can can you really honestly say that when you stand in front of Allah on the day of judgment, you could say, Ya Allah, I was looking for you this whole time. I was just searching for you. I was trying to find you this whole time. Ya Abdi, you found me. Not only that, I remember the time that you prayed in secret. I remember the secret charity that you gave. I remember the time that you took the stand. I know the sacrifices that you made. So your physical accommodations are taken care of. So what's the top of the pyramid? Rila'i, I'm pleased with you. And now you can look at me while I'm pleased with you. That's it. At that point, nothing in Jannah, nothing in Jannah is even close to that. But you have to ask yourself, like, are you looking for Allah, like someone who's looking for a lost loved one or not? Or is Allah just an afterthought to you? If He's just an afterthought to you, then it goes back to uh Nasi nakum kema nasitumuna. We forgot you just as you forgot us. Don't be like those who forgot Allah, so Allah caused them to forget themselves. No, you seek him, and he will seek you subhanahu wa ta'ala as well. May Allah make us amongst these people.
SPEAKER_00So that remind me the Shaykh with two examples here. The example of the Prophet when he towards the end of his uh actually before he was commissioned for the Prophethood, as he was now uh loving to be in seclusion and away from people and so on. So he goes to the mountains. Can you imagine someone he leaves the pleasure of this dunya and all the convenience of life to go where? Into the wilderness, into the mountains, and stay there by himself alone for days and nights and weeks until he runs out of supply, then he comes down again and he supplies himself and go back again to the mountains. What was you looking for? He's looking for the light. And Allah gave him that light, subhanahu wa ta'ala.
SPEAKER_02And who put that love in him?
SPEAKER_03Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
SPEAKER_02Aisha radiallahu wa and says Allah bestowed upon him the love of seclusion. Yes. So if you're starting to find your heart is like, wait a minute, I really feel an emptiness, I feel a void, I need more. That's Allah turning on something for you, opening a valve for you so that you can seek him. And that's even that pursuit is a gift from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
SPEAKER_00Musa alayhi salam. He was coming back from Medjyy and to Egypt, right? On the way in the desert, it was dark, it was cold, and he sees light. He tells his wife, wait for me, I'm gonna go get some guidance from there and get you probably maybe a torch so we can find our way and also warm ourselves up. He went there to find to find light, right? But he found more than just light for the dunya, subhanAllah. And he became the source of light himself, alayhi salatu was salah. But then outside of the Prophets, one of my most beautiful stories of pursuit of the truth and pursuit of light that people are willing to live their entire lifetime. Looking for that truth and looking for that light is the story of Salman al-Pharisee. The man who left all the treasure of the world, he belonged to the elite of the Persian society of that time. Like you had access to all the wealth and all the power and all the pleasure that you want. It wasn't satisfactory to him. And he leaves that and he goes into, of course, uh Christianity, and from there he was imprisoned by his loved ones. Then he breaks the chains from and leaves his loved ones, his family, to go with strangers for the sake of, of course, finding that light. And there on the way, uh subhanallah, we know that he went from one person to the other person looking for the truth, and there were a lot of disappointments, a lot of betrayals on the way. But he still remained steadfast because he's looking for the truth, he's looking for that light. And then on the way out, SubhanAllah gets into slavery, and which is supposed to be something horrible. But to him, when he saw what he ended up, he became very hopeful. The light is again shining. Maybe the Prophet's gonna come out from here. And then when he met the Prophet, that scene was amazing. How he cried, you know, before the Prophet, and the Prophet told him, What's your story? And he gave that beautiful story subhanahu wa ta'ala. That's a man who dedicated his entire life for the truth and providing that light.
SPEAKER_02Shaykh, in the pursuit of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, people need to know like this idea of a step in the journey, right? But when you're deluded or when you're in a state of intoxication with this dunya, maybe you don't feel the pain of being away from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Maybe you're not feeling it. Right? Like I'm living my best life, or so I think. Just like when you're physically intoxicated or deluded, you don't realize what's actually wrong with you. Because the intoxication, the delusion of senses, the jarring nature of your senses is removing you from the actual state of your being. Once you come into knowledge of delusion and intoxication, like, oh wow, I need to find this, I need to find the truth. There is an agitation in the beginning. Like, man, I I'm behind. Like, I really need to get there now. That agitation sticks in the very beginning. And so many of the Ridman mentioned that that is the start. The start of the seeking of Allah Azwaj is actually this momentary disturbance. Just like when you come into physical life, it's a moment of disturbance, like you kind of get jarred back. Into reality. But here's the thing about the truth seeker: once a person becomes a truth seeker, they will not be satisfied until they find that truth. Once they become a truth seeker, at that point, that's it. There's only one thing alone. I can't go back into delusion at that point. I can't go back into intoxication because I woke up to that reality. I cannot forget why I'm here at this point. And Allah will only fill that void with one thing.
SPEAKER_00You know, Shaykh, another example from the Quran. For people who lived in darkness, but the moment they saw light, they could not return back to that darkness again, no matter what the sacrifice was, was the magicians in the story of Musa alayhi salam. Right before that moment, right before that moment of the challenge between them and Musa alayhi side they were begging for Awan for reward, for status. He says, What are we getting out of it? He goes, Whatever you asked for, just win it. He says, You're gonna be Muqar Rabin, you're gonna be my best, you're my entourage, I'm gonna make you the closest to me. That's what they were looking for. And they thought that would be something that would bring them actually light, bring them happiness, joy, and so on. You can imagine right now, they're walking with the Pharaoh, so eventually, yeah, you got everything you want from this dunya. But there wasn't anything in comparison to the moment of realization, the moment of truth, when they realized the illusion of their life in comparison to the truth that Musa showed them. And that's why the moment they saw the miracles of Musa, which they thought they mastered everything themselves, they write prostrate before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and they said, they didn't even know how to call him. They said, Qalu Amanna Birobbi Harun al Musa. We believe in the Lord of Musa and Harun, whoever he is, we believe in him. They didn't even know his name yet, how to call him. They just believed in him because they saw the light before even they knew who that light was, subhanahu wa ta'ala. And when Faraon he said it and says, Are you serious right now? You're making this show in front of everybody? You know what? I'm gonna punish you. You're gonna be crucified, you're gonna be killed. What did they say? We don't care, we don't care. We're not going back. We've seen the light, we're going we're going straight towards the light. So if you can think of that story of the magicians who lie, how many of us can claim that subhanAllah when Ramadan started, I saw the light. I'm not willing to go back again to that life of darkness before Ramadan. How many of us can claim that you know what in Ramadan, all what I was doing is pursuing that light, not pursuing uh what? The the the Yemeni cafes.
SPEAKER_01You have to you have to start taking shots up on I like it. I gotta be careful, Shah. Yemeni cafes are gonna start making du'a against you.
SPEAKER_00I go to Yemeni Cafes. No, but what I'm saying is that subhanAllah, we sometimes we fool ourselves for Allah. Alhamdulillah, may Allah bless you all the Jama for being here in the Majids at this time, at this hour of the of the night or early morning, subhanahu wa ta'ala bless you are bil alameen. But imagine I want you to keep that in your mind. You're you're traveling and hopping from one masjid to the other masjid, one program to another program. If it's not for finding that light that will shine in your heart and your life, that you never go back again to the life you had before Ramadan, then you're missing the whole point of Ramadan. Ramadan creates the infrastructure for you, gives you the booster, the ability to escape the gravity of this dunya. So once Alhamdulillah you're out of space from this world, you're living in the divine realm right now. And if you miss this opportunity, you're gonna be brought back again to earth before you were. So make sure to find that light, inshaAllah. Shaykhna Ibn Kayim Rahimallah wa ta'ala, then all what he was mentioning earlier was coming to this point, which hopefully we can conclude with, inshaAllah. And that is saying, like, look, all of this goes back again, it goes down to explain the ayah in the Quran in which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about him being the light of everything. The ayah in Surah Nur Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, Allahu Nuru Samawati Wal Alb. Allah is the light of heavens and the earth. He says, The example of his light is like a niche in which is a lamp. And that lamp is inside a glass. The glass is like a brilliant star. It is for it's it's from the oil, which means the source of that light coming from an oil, a blessed olive tree located neither to the east nor to the west, its oil would almost glow even if no fire touched it. Light upon light, like shining with light completely. And then he says, subhanahu wa ta'ala kaar, yahdillahu linurihi mayasha. And that's where the point comes for us right now. Allah guides to his light whoever he wills. And I need to be part of that will, but I need to make the effort that guides me to where the light can be uh taken. Uh and then he said, Allah He will, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala um presents metaphors for mankind, and Allah has knowledge of all things. Then he explains how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the light of everything. Qala ubayy ibn ka'. Ubaybi ka' the companion he says, Qal. The ayah when Allah says the example of his light, kalfi kalbil Muslim, in the heart of the believer of the Muslim. That's what it means over here. So the example of the light of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that he mentioned here in the Quran is the example of the light of Allah in the heart of the believer. This is the light that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has placed in the heart of his servants so they recognize him, love him, to have belief in him, and uh and remember him. So that's the type of light that you're looking for. That light that will bring you closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala all the time. It is the his light which he sent down to his servant and by which they walk on earth among the people, meaning they are among the living, just like the ayah that was mentioned earlier. He says the light originates in the heart. Which means if your heart is preoccupied, you're not gonna find light in it then. Until the effect, until of course it origin from the heart, and then the fear of Allah subhanahu wa develops as a result of it, then this light gradually um increases until it becomes uh uh uh apparent upon their faces, their limbs, their bodies, and indeed becomes visible even on their clothes and their homes. What an amazing subhanAllah thing. Having the light of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reflect on your face and your clothes and your life and everything becomes devoted for the sake of Allah Azza. So what does that mean, Shaykh, when you say it shines in your house, in your clothes, in your life?
SPEAKER_02Well, so look, what's the presence of angels? The angels are made of what? They're made of light. The angels are made of light. And so anni nurah, the angels who are sustained by dhikr, you're asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make you even like the Mana'ika in that sense, to make you angelic in that sense, right? Like constantly full of light. And so the presence of the angels gives sakinah. Therefore, by analogy, that gives tranquility. Therefore, by analogy, the presence of a person of Nur gives sakinah, light as well. So it's not necessarily like a physical light that's perceived, it is something that's felt. Um, Imam Hasan al-Bassi Rahimallah Ta'ala was asked, how come the people of Qiyamul have the most beautiful of faces? Because they spent the night with the most merciful, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala addressed them in his light, subhanahu wa ta'ala. So when you say someone's nawar, right, this person's like full of light, like you're coming out with nur, mashaAllah, um, after you've you've embarked in some sort of religious exercise, that's not something that can be captured, but it's something that can be really felt. Like you spend your day in the dikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. I can tell you, subhanAllah, even your loved ones, like the way that you come back to them, the way that you return to them, bidnidahita, after being in a state of ibadah, there's some lightness there, there's something good there, there's a good feeling there, right? Everything that gets reduced in hipster terms to like vibes and affirmations and you know all the energy. No, no, like there's noor, that's a real thing. If Allah puts that inside of you, then you bring sakh to that which is around you, just like the angels who are made of noor bring saqina to everything that is around them. So may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us amongst those people. But it originates from the heart. And this is the point that He'll get to is the point of the hypocrites, and may Allah protect us from being amongst them. It has to originate in the heart, and only Allah Azwaj sees the hearts, and only Allah knows the hearts. And so the hypocrite can wear the garment of light, but the heart can be devoid of it. And that reality gets exposed on the day of judgment. May Allah Azza not make us amongst those people.
SPEAKER_00Amin, Ameen, Abraham. And that's why he said to the point about you know how strong the light will be in their hearts. He says on the day of judgment, that light will be visible along with their with their faith. Like, look, it's gonna extend to your uh to your afterlife as well, too. He says this light will be busy for them on that day. It will race ahead of them, illuminating the darkness of the bridge until they cross over it. He's referring to uh what the ulama they called Al-Kantara. Al-Kantara is more like a bridge or more like a tunnel, you could say. So, to the shaykh that he mentioned earlier at the beginning of our discussion over here, on the day of judgment, when people receive their uh um uh their books right now, they start heading towards uh the Akhira, towards actual Jannah. So as they go there in that direction, then they have to go through this uh Kantara, which is where darkness is there. So now that light they had earlier is gonna go to darkness. Now the believers, as Allah mentioned in the Quran, that they will have uh nursa bain adim obe imanim. Their light will be shining in front of them and on the right side and so on. That's for the believers. The hypocrites who've been deceived, who they deceived the believers in in the dunya, they thought they continued to be deceiving even in that moment. But now when Allah says and Allah is deceiving them, because the entire process of going through the account on the day of judgment, the hypocrites were left were left out, were left alone. Allah didn't even talk to them. Why? They thought no one is paying attention to them, so they were happy. Oh wow, uh no one is uh talking to us, so we're good, we're good. The hypocrites, as they see the believers go in the one direction, the non-believers go into Jahannam, they of course they freak out, but no one is is going after them, so they feel okay. When will we be deceived in that moment? So that's when the time round to separate between the believers and the hypocrites. To that moment, the hypocrites they thought they were good. Alhamdulillah, we're good. So as now they go through this, that's when the believers they start going through the darkness depending on the uh how strong their light is. Even the Prophet mentioned the hadith, some people they have a light just like a torch, and some even they said he had only a light on his toes. What does that mean? They only can sh can see the next step, that's it. They can't see what's next, but they can see where they put their foot on the ground. To that level, that light can be that weak, but it's still this beneficial, right? At least they have light. But then the hypocrites, now the people with light, they go and they advance, obviously, and everybody's there for themselves. So the hypocrites they stayed behind. And now they start calling the people of light. Can you give us some of your light? Give us some of that light. He goes, you know, they will heard someone saying, You need to go back and find your light. So they turn around to go and look for light, right? And then the the barrier comes between them, and that's what will be taken to Jahannam, and that's when they realize that they've been actually deceived and fooled all along, just like what they're doing in the dunya, and they were going to be tricked over here. So that's what he refers to in this point at this point, actually, rahimallahu ta'ala.
SPEAKER_02So I'll just a couple of reflections here, inshallah, on the hypocrite in this regard. So when Allah Azza says, You khadiun Allahu Aladina Amaruhta'un illaa and fusahom, wama yasharun. Like they think they're fooling Allah and the believers, but they really are only fooling themselves. So that's the moment of deception. Like Allah Azwajal, khadi'um. Allah deceives them instead. So they think on the day of judgment, yeah, we, oh, this is working. It worked. Like we pretended, we you know showed righteousness though it wasn't our reality, it worked. And then it gets taken away from them. But the second thing, by the way, and it actually subhanAllah relates to uh the khatrah that Dr. Adrazak Janaid gave uh today about the difference between liyah and noor, light and light. When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says the example of one of them is like someone who started a fire. Once it lit up everything around them, thehaaballahu binurihim, Allah took away the nur. Allah took away the light. And left them in darkness where they cannot see. Pay attention to this. The sun is light and the moon is light. The difference is liyah and noor. What does it mean? What's the difference between the sun and the moon? Which one burns? The sun burns, the moon doesn't burn, right? The sun burns, the moon doesn't burn. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says they started a fire and liya came from that fire. But Allah only took away the nur. Allah took away the light, but Az ibn al-Khayim Rahim Allah says in another place, apqa allahum al-haqq. He left for them the burning and he took away the brightness. So he gave them the quality of liyah, which is burning and light, and then he, dahababinu, he took away the light and left for them the burning, which is the darkness of the fire, and and the fire of hell is dark. May Allah Azul protect us from its punishment. Allah Ameen. What's the lesson for us? You can't benefit from the perception of righteousness without actually trying to pursue it. If you benefit from it in this life, and you're not actually trying to embed it and actually trying to have that light inside of your heart, then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will make you pay for that on the day of judgment. We should, each and every single one of us, be seeking to kindle that light in our hearts. Every single one of us has to ask ourselves, dhikr is light on the tongue, wudu is light on the on the limbs. As salatu nurah, prayer is light. How much light do I want on my body and in front of me on the day of judgment? How much light have I kindled for myself on the day of judgment? Or will it be said to me, Pilarji uwara, akumfalisunnura, go back and start your light again? Doesn't work that way. Right now you're investing in your light. Just like we said, you're investing in your real estate in Jannah, you're investing in your light. May Allah make us people of his light. Allahu Amin.
SPEAKER_00Zakallah Hashail, beautiful Alhamdulillah. So I hope next time you guys read that ayah and Surah Noor that you have a whole different perspective on it. Because the Prophet in the Quran compares between light and life. So without that life, without that light, there is no life. You're dead, really. You might be walking, eating and drinking, but you're literally dead. Because subhanAllah, if your soul is not getting enough of that light, then nothing. And he said, I says, look, we're human beings, we need light to live. And if that light is not there, I mean we need the light for the body, but we also need the light for the ruh for the ruh as well, for the soul. And if you only just given your body the light, yeah, you might physically get stronger and get better and so and so, but that doesn't mean that you're happy, you're jolly, you're you're you're functioning properly. No, you need that light for the soul as well. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us that light, Ya Rabbil Arame. So Shaykhbid, a question about the concept of uh um mindfulness when it comes to dhikr. So could you please elaborate on what it looks like, like internally, externally, when someone is mindful in their dhikr and aybadah? Like what do we need to do? How do we occupy our minds to engage in that level? So what does that even mean?
SPEAKER_02Take the prescriptions of the Prophet Learn to spend some time with yourself and repeat and learn until they become reality. Like it's not overcomplicated. In order to taste the sweetness of that dhikr, you have to focus on that dhikr alone. And then once it becomes your reality, then you carry it, inshaAllah ta'ala, outside of that alone time where you're meditating with it, contemplating upon it, and then inshaAllah ta'ala it becomes a repetition of a reality that you've actually experienced.
SPEAKER_00I remember Shaykh reading one of the Alama statements on the Marah he says, meaning when you find joy, when you find only you find your pleasure and your joy by uh intermingling with people, that's a sign of bankruptcy. Like you just you're bankrupt. Which means if you're not if you're on your own alone, you feel that you have nothing. He says, No, you're supposed to have that that you should look for a moment when you be when you're alone, because that's uh being alone doesn't mean that you're lonely. You're alone only, that's it. But you are with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you can find that. So that sense of mindfulness really is when you're alone, you don't feel lonely. Do you feel alhamdulillah the pleasure that mashallah you have the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? But if being alone makes you feel agitated and feel kind of like uneasy, uh that means your heart is still actually doesn't have that full light of dhikr. May Allah subhanahu wa make us among those who have the full light of dhikr al Brahmin. So Ibn Um Ibn Qayim Rahimallah explained that dhikr is the life of the heart. How can a person move from simply repeating words if it remembers to truly experiencing that spiritual life in their heart? Like we repeat the words, but how can we how can I feel them in my heart?
SPEAKER_02The point is, Shaykh, is that is that you have to reflect on what the meanings are. It's the same thing like someone asks, how do I have khushur in my salah? What are the meanings of those words? And I think that's where again, you know, alhamdulillah, there is such a plethora of information now of what these words actually mean. Like reading this book, inshallah ta'ah, is one of the ways that you'll open up the dhikr, that particular dhikr to your heart, to where it doesn't just sound like words anymore. Again, I did a series called Deeper into Dhikr uh a couple of years ago. I know Shaykh Yasad, you've done series on dhikr and the meanings of Khushur and Salah. Take these words, inshaAllah, learn what they mean. And inshaAllah, try to manifest the meanings as well in your life. You have to actually you have to mean what you say, right? That's actually the point here. So you have to pursue what you're asking from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the first place.
SPEAKER_00A question: how do we embody that light when everything in this dunya, politically, economically, etc., feels so dark right now?
SPEAKER_02So how can we it's actually the perfect time. I'm gonna share with you all something, subhanAllah, that like you know, I was thinking about like the names of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and the resonance of the names of Allah Azza at this particular time. And wallahi, like in my lifetime, I can't think of a time where humanity has been more ugly, dark, yeah, depraved. Like it's like you know, to see how dark humanity can get is a perfect opportunity to open up your heart to the light of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because if anything, when it gets darker, the stars shine brighter.
SPEAKER_00Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala ida asas was subhaidat and the night gets to the darkest moment, darkest point, that's when the break of dawn happens. So when things get really, really, really dark, I get very hopeful because there is nothing any gonna be worse than this. So as you see, the whole world is collapsing, things going, you know, uh falling apart, subhanAllah. This is the golden moment right now to bring the light of guidance to the world. You know how many people have seen subhanAllah on social media? They are excited about participating in the fast of Ramadan and they're not even Muslims. Like, wow, I'm shocked to be honest with you. Like I've heard about a few people, but a few years back we had a few friends here, locals in the area, where they participated in fast in Ramadan, just for the sake of the experience and show support to the Muslim community. But no, these people are doing it for themselves now. They wanna they wanna find that light. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala heart and many more, Ya Allah. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the Quran, qali ayya ladinaman intat taqullah jalla kumfurqana. If you fear Allah, if you're mindful of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, if you have dhikr of Allah regularly, Allah will give you the ability to find the furqa, which means discernment, and the ability to to recognize right from wrong, evil from from from haqq and so on. Like by being mindful of Allah at all times, Allah will give that light to your heart to recognize right from wrong and everything and so on. So, yeah, if you want to do that, then observe the dhikr and observe it properly, inshaAllah ta'baraku ta'am. Is it permissible for me to join gatherings where people sit in circles and repeat dhikr together, like seek in danour, the light of guidance from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?
SPEAKER_01Of course, Shaykh, there's a well known disagreement, I think, in Islamic history.
SPEAKER_02There's learning that dhikr for the sake of um practicing it, inshaAllah ta'ana, similar to what we do here, so that people can learn to say it didn't. That's where you do it. So the very first the baselines are that that that dhikr is actually something that's legislated. Yeah, the baseline is that that that dhikr is something mashur, it's legislated, there's nothing wrong with it. It's either from the sunnah or it derives from the sunnah of the Prophet and praiseworthy words. And that a person is not dependent entirely on that uh gathering or on the repetition amongst people. So they're different.
SPEAKER_00That's the problem with some of these kind of like gatherings. The people become so much dependent on them to find that spiritual energy so that when they're on their own, they're unable to function. They don't do that. And I think that's where the problem is, Jama'ah, that you need to start understanding your your ridiculous sessions are your individual relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That's your private time with Allah Azzawajal. So, yeah, there's a time when I sit with people to remind ourselves with the Khay alhamdulillah, meaning or reading Quran or learning how to make dua and so on. But I need to spend more time, more time, alone, not being lonely again with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, but alone to remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Um necessarily related. When uh reciting dua and you don't know the meaning, is it still uh rewarding? Do you get a reward for that? Of course you get reward, but it'll be more meaningful if you know the meaning. Even if you say it in English, does it have the same reward like saying it in Arabic?
SPEAKER_02No. So dua in general, you can make in any language, but again, we talked about this, the prescriptive dhikr. Uh the when the Prophet attached a reward to a dhikr, then you should say it in in Arabic exactly as the Prophet said it.
SPEAKER_00So a very interesting question here. Very short, but Allah very interesting question. How do you begin searching for Allah? Like I want to pursue that light, but where do I start?
SPEAKER_02Learning in a structured way, um, committing in a structured way. So allotting the time to it. Alhamdulillah, there is so much out there in terms of institutions now. Your local masjid, attending the halakat consistently. But it really does come back to consistency, right? Are you willing to give it the time consistently in order to grow close to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and learn in that next step of your journey?
SPEAKER_00And one of the things, Shaykh, I recommend also again that seclusion. That khalwah or seclusion for us, Alhamdulillah, is not just sitting down there doing nothing. No, you're doing ibadah, such as doing tahajud. That's part of your khalwa when no one else is watching, no one is listening, and just by doing by yourself. And then also part of it is uh uh with that khalwa, is uh um you sit down quietly, reflecting on words of dhikr, reflecting on the names of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, reflecting on your personal life. Whether you're doing tahajjud or sitting down there just doing reflection, that in itself, I hope inshaAllah ta'ala is is is your starting point. Like you're looking for that. I want Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to be in my heart. So I'm dedicating my time to be with Him. Yes, you might be alone and you feel agitated at the very beginning. But then there will be a time when you're not alone, you feel agitated. Because I want to be with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah give us ad love for Allah Azza and being always. I know I'm distracted and I want to feel my iman to go up again. How can I ensure that my dhikr is entering my heart? Like when my iman is down, how can I ensure that the dhikr I'm making get into my heart to raise my iman?
SPEAKER_02I think we already kind of answered that, right, Shaykh, when we talked about like the importance of learning the meaning. But look, I would say that the Quran specifically raises a person's iman. Um sometimes before you launch into dhikr, maybe you need to listen to a lecture, and the greatest speech is the speech of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, listen to the Quran, read its meaning bidn a ta'ara, and then you can lean into your dhikr, insha'Allah, and clear the distractions of everything else so that your heart will not be distracted. If your eyes are distracted, your ears are distracted, the heart is the most easily distracted. So make everything else distraction-free, and inshaAllah, the heart will be able to focus as well.
SPEAKER_00So, what if you taste the sweetness of iman and the dunya starts feeling so worthless that it becomes hard to participate in this dunya? So every encounter with evil falsehood feels so heavy. So, what do we do in this situation? How can we balance that?
SPEAKER_02The balance of that is that you find a role for yourself in this dunya that it's no longer about entertaining yourself, but it's about injecting meaning into it. And so that was the Prophet. He socialized, but socialized for a reason. He participated, alayhi salatu wasam, in every element of society, but he did it in a way that never departed from guidance. You also start to make your worldly pursuits also pursuits of the hereafter. And this is what Ibn Qayim Rahimallah talks about, like the definition of the wali of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, of a friend of Allah, is that they take what's ordinary and permissible and they turn it into extraordinary and beneficial. So my job becomes a means of seeking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, my risk becomes a means of seeking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. My leisure becomes a means of seeking Allah. My time with my spouse becomes a means of seeking Allah. Everything I do becomes a means of seeking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So you turn what's ordinary into something that's praiseworthy. It's just halal, but you can actually make it praiseworthy as well. But to feel dejected to an extent, the Prophet mentioned that. He said, how can I really have an appetite for this world when I've already seen Israfi with his lips uh puckered to the horn, staring at the throne of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, ready to blow on command, and then the whole world disappears. I feel like that kefa un'rum is a post-gazah feeling for many of us. After you witness a genocide on your screen for two years, it's it's kinda hard to get deluded by this world again, right? It's kinda hard. It's kind of weird. The world doesn't feel the same anymore.
SPEAKER_00Unless we forget, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Unless you forget, which your algorithm is making sure that you systematically do forget right now. Um so there's a difference between you know being detached in an unhealthy way and being detached in a spiritual way. The Prophet and the companions, they still very much so are participants in this dunya, but with purpose. The problem is when you lose that purpose and you no longer participate with what's permissible, then you become of it. Right? It becomes you. You become a part of this dunya rather than being someone that's in this dunya as a stranger or a wayfarer, ghrib or abir-sabir, someone that's passing through. When you're passing through, you want to gather what's beneficial. At the same time, you need to stop for some relaxation, some rest, but you realize that you're passing through. And so you don't get too comfortable when you're just passing through. You don't try to build build uh your fortune in a place that you're just passing through. So may Allah Azza allow us to pass through this dunya without being tainted by it, but also simultaneously while beautifying it.
SPEAKER_03Amen.
SPEAKER_00Last question, Shaykh. This person he posted this question multiple times. Which means very urgent, basically. He said, Urgent. Could completing half your deen help you become a better version of yourself? Someone wants to get married, Yan.
SPEAKER_02May Allah let that person get married.
SPEAKER_00Amen. To the person who had to complete his other half, inshaAllah. For me, when I hear this question, the first thing comes to my mind like mashallah, like you worked so hard on the first half that the second half is the only missing thing about you, Yanni. Right? But to be serious about this, I think there's a big misconception over here, and unfortunately, it comes from the fact that we feel agitated again in this life, and for good reasons, because subhanAllah, Allah designed us to be pairs all the time. In the Quran, everything is in pairs. Being in pair, obviously, Alhamdulillah, it brings that peace and tranquility. And that's why when someone is not married, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give those who are not married the godly spouse Arab alameen. That will be pleasing to their hearts in this dunya and in the akhirah. But subhanAllah, when you're not married, you feel agitated because there is a missing peace. When you get married, it's supposed to bring you peace and tranquility. However, that peace and tranquility is conditional. It's not like you get married mashal automatically you become righteous, Tabarak al-Rahman. Right? No, it's a lot of work in there. So therefore, you're gonna have to make sure that you um make that good choice, inshaAllahu ta'ala. However, what's the problem with that? Usually, when someone wants to make that uh uh accomplishment in a relationship, Shaykh, would they look for somebody who is what higher than them or lower than them in terms of religiosity? Like let me ask you the question. How many of you guys raise your hand if you want to marry somebody who is lower than you in terms of spirituality?
SPEAKER_01And no one's gonna raise their hand, Shaykh.
SPEAKER_00Wow. How many of you now raise your hands if you want to marry somebody who is inshaAllah better than your religiosity?
SPEAKER_01If you want to get married, that's not a weird.
SPEAKER_00So you have you have more hands, raise their hands when they say, Yeah, I want someone who's actually higher. Why is that? Because everybody has in their fantasy world that my spouse will be waking me up for the hajjude, insha'Allah. We're gonna be fasting Mondays and Thursdays regularly, inshaAllah. When I forget, they're gonna remind me, may Allah bless you, Jama'ah. But that's not the reality of marriage, really, any. Here's the problem. If you're at that level and you're looking for someone at this level in terms of religiosity, right? So you're here, and the person you're looking for is up to this level. So you're pursuing this person to make you a better version of yourself, inshaAllah. But you are not willing to look to someone who is below you. You're not willing to look for someone who's below you. How do you expect the person above there to look at you? Why would they even look at you? Why are you so special about you? You're special to your mom, that's all. So therefore, you're ruthless tonight.
SPEAKER_01What's going on with you? I don't know if tonight's the night, y'all.
SPEAKER_00My advice, I have to flag it in. My advice. If you would like to marry somebody.
SPEAKER_01Only your mom loves you, that's good. It's like the harshest thing I've ever heard you say. Make these people cry. You're gonna see them crying in the corner. They're not crying out of kosure, they're crying because you told them only their mom loves you.
SPEAKER_00I'll give you a hug after this. That's all right, inshallah. But seriously, if you're gonna if you want to marry someone at this level, then what do you need to do? What do you need to do? Get yourself up there. That's what you need to do. So if you're looking for someone that is attractive at this level, they need to be at that level to attract each other. So if you want to marry somebody, make sure for someone around your level, and you grow together, insha'Allah Kawata.
SPEAKER_02That's the point, Shaykh, that it doesn't become like an exchange of bad qualities because no one's a perfect package. Everyone's coming with some baggage of good and bad. When the good qualities meet and you learn from the other the good qualities that you didn't have, and you try to eliminate the bad qualities that you have, and then you find also those collective sunan that the Prophet taught us to strive for, then you're on a trajectory of growth. The worst thing is when your bad qualities become exchanged, right? You're and and you bring out the worst in each other. And that's something that's very dangerous. And it's important, subhanAllah, like to think about, like just like everything else, subhanAllah, if it's if it's done with the way that Allah and His Messenger taught, then there's khirina. Otherwise, it'll it'll it can actually become a poison. And some people, subhanAllah, like you look at Asia, Ali Hassam, she was a woman of perfect iman, and her husband was fira'un. Prophet mentioned her amongst the people with perfect iman, the women with perfect faith. And her husband was fira'un. So you can't wait for someone to complete you, right? Instead, you have to build and romance is complete the sun of Shaykh.
SPEAKER_00Remember last year? Yeah. Romance is a skill, right? Love is a gift, but romance is a skill.
SPEAKER_02I don't know, Shaykh. I doubled down now. I'm just saying romance is risk. I'm gonna say that till I die. Romance is risk.
SPEAKER_00No, but uh last point I want to bring over here, Shaykh now, because I know the question also has an undertone in regards to their personal life, is not something they're proud of. And they want someone to make them a better version of themselves. I just want to remind my dear brothers and sisters that if you have a bad habit, if you have uh a sin that you're committing, you know, uh as a single person, marriage is not gonna make that sin go away. Just so that you know. Marriage is completely irrelevant because that sin is a sin you commit against Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, not your spouse. And your spouse would be completely irrelevant to that. So if you would like to get rid of all these bad habits, work on yourself, purify yourself before you get married.
SPEAKER_02Shaykh, and parents also don't try to fix your kids with marriage. Yep. And leave like some unresolved issues. That's such a dwulm that's done to the other person. Like when your kid is struggling with something, like, oh, I'll just get married and it'll all go away. And you kind of like brush it all under the rug. Like, no, there's you gotta find your way back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, repentance before uh you know, bringing someone else into that relationship. You have to make your relationship with Allah sound. Yes, marriage is part of a solution of a person finding themselves fulfilled in this life, but I I've been seeing a little bit too much of that too. It's it's parents trying to fix their kids with marriage, and that's just not that's not fair to the other person. So be on a path with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and then only goodness comes inshaAllah. Correct, rectify your affairs with Allah, and then Allah will rectify your affairs with the people around you as well. So focus on that, especially in these last 10 bidnanaita, focus on rectifying your affairs with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala first and foremost. And also, someone should make you a shirt. So my moment in Ramadan was the Philistini uh cheesesteak. Yeah, right. Your moment, this Ramadan, is only your mom loves you. So someone should make Shaykh a hoodie with his beard and only your mom loves you, and he'll wear that hoodie on in our eat fast, I think, right?