Yaqeen Podcast
This podcast is brought to you by Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research. You'll find a variety of Islamic lectures, conversations, and discussions on topics most important to you. At Yaqeen, we aim to make academic and Islamically-credible scholarship mainstream through accessible resources such as infographics, animations, podcasts, learning materials, and more. Visit www.yaqeeninstitute.org or download the Yaqeen app from the app store to continue dismantling doubts, nurturing conviction, and inspiring contribution, one truth at a time
Yaqeen Podcast
When Your Heart Makes Dhikr | Midnight Majlis 1 | Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Yaser Birjas
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Ibn al-Qayyim (rh) outlines the 3 keys to happiness in this life and the next: gratitude, patience, and seeking forgiveness. And dhikr (remembrance of Allah) is essential to each of these.
As Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Yaser Birjas embark on this year’s Midnight Majlis with the book Al-Wabil al-Sayyib min al-Kalim al-Tayyib (available in English translation under the titles “The Invocation of God” or “Remembrance of the Most Merciful”), they first explore ways we should prepare our hearts and lifestyles for dhikr.
Assalamu alaikum wahammutulla barakatuh alaikum assalamu. Alhamdulillah Rubul Alameen salahu salaam wara kala beyla Muhammadin wa'ala alay wa shibi wa sala slima and ketiratum Mamma Bad. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make this gathering a blessed gathering, Ya Rub al Alameen. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to send this rahmah and mercy upon us, Ya Rabbil Alameen. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make this gathering witnessed and mentioned in a better gathering in heaven's Ya Rabbil Alameen. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to fill our hearts with love and mercy for each other, Ya Rabbil Alameen. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. My dear brothers and sisters, we welcome you back after one year, Alhamdulillah Rabba Amin, with a new season from our late night Khatirz as we discuss together with Shaykh Ramsaiman all the way from Valeria Islamic Center, Alhamdulillah, a beautiful work of one of the great ulama of Islam, Ibn Kayim al-Jawziyah, Al-Wab al-U-Sayb. In translation, it is called The Remembrance or Remembrance of the Most Merciful. MashaAllah Shaykh, I want to welcome you back again to a new season. With this first night of the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan for this year, Alhamdulillah Rabi Amin. So how is your Ramadan so far, Shaykhna?
SPEAKER_00Alhamdulillah. InshaAllah, it will be it will be better from here on out, Bibbina. To be honest, it's disruptive. Not disruptive, disrupted so far. I think that with the world events and of course our enemies do this on purpose. They always attack in Ramadan every single year. So they always attack in Ramadan. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us from their harm. And make us a month of victory for our Ummah Allah Amin. But it's just felt for that reason very disruptive, right? And um, you know, subhanAllah, I was I was in the region, obviously, over, especially the month before Ramadan, and everyone was talking about so you think they're gonna attack, you think they're gonna attack, you think they're gonna attack, and it was like, yeah, uh, we know they will attack, it's a matter of uh if, not when, um, or when, not if. And, you know, as Ramadan started, I remember the first night of Ramadan thinking to myself, how dirty would it be of them to attack in Ramadan? And that's always what happens. So we ask Allah to protect our Ummah and to uplift it. Amen. I mean Allah. And um just a reminder to everyone, make dua's for your Ummah in these last 10. It's not just your own personal ibadah, it's also your personal ibadah for your ummah as well. So make sure that they have a significant portion of your du'a bin the night time.
SPEAKER_01Zakallah kashay Allah is a beautiful reminder, and I think this is one of the reasons why the book was chosen anyway. Yes. Uh, because the book is really uh-uh, rahimallah wa ta'ala, it's about the centrality of dhikr in the life of the believer. And especially he believes Rahimallah wa ta' in this book that when it comes to dhikr remembrance or remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, it's the heart for spiritual life as a believer. It's the heart of your spiritual life. Like if you'd like to develop spiritual life, a spirituality, then ask yourself, uh, how much dhikr do you do every day? And what's the status of your dikr in your life? Then he, rahimallah, he speaks about, okay, if if if dhikr is the the heart of spiritual life, then uh um uh where it's where it's uh uh located basically, what's the where's the effect of dhikr should be? And he talks about the heart. So the tops of hearts and how they receive the uh the dikr and so on. He speaks about dikr being a bada of its own right. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the Quran dikrullahi akbar. The remembrance of Allah Azza is the greatest. So remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not a trivial thing of Jummah. Unfortunately, one of the things we have in our time is that our dikr has become ritual. Yep. It's just become a ritualistic thing. You sit down, you make your dhikr, you count your tasbih, and alhamdulillah I made my accomplishment. I did a hundred subhanAllah Bihamdi, Alhamdulillah, I did a hundred stab for Allah, and they're all beautiful, don't get me wrong. This is all about Alhamdulillah, counting your dhir in a nice way because that's Sun of the Prophet. But the point that Imam ibn Kayim Rahimallah is gonna present to us here is um why dhikr is so central in our life and how we should do it right. So in his book, inshaAllah is gonna explain to us, and that's why we're gonna talk about introduction today. Uh he made a longer introduction. For some, it might be completely a tangent and irrelevant to the theme of the book itself, which is uh the benefits of dhikr. But it's important for us to understand the introduction that he's trying to present to us here, inshaAllah. I'm gonna summarize quickly, inshaAllah, and then we go for what bin allay.
SPEAKER_00The idea of dhikr being a protection. I was thinking about this when we were talking about what book to choose. When we talk about dhikr, like let's be very honest here, I'll be honest with myself, not just ritual, but even when we talk about the benefits of dhikr, we think about how many rewards you get for this and what you get for this and what you get for that. But very few people use dhikr as a means of calming the heart and removing all forms of harm. And like see dhikr as an actual solution to their lives, like a way of settling themselves and anchoring themselves. And the way Allah describes dhikr, alabi dhikrilla, don't the hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So, like, when's the last time that you actually believed? Like, as I'm going through what I'm going through, as I'm witnessing what I'm witnessing, the way I ground myself is to resort back to the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Most of us are like, what does this dhikr get me? What does this dhikr get me? Before what does this dhikr get me, this dhikr grounds me. And when it when it allows me to ward off the shaitan and all of his thoughts, then that has benefits in this life and the next. And so the fact that he even refers it to this way, because Ibn Kayim, Rahimallah, his titles uh mean a lot. His titles are statements.
SPEAKER_01And he's gonna he's gonna refer to the subject of healing as one of the main uh benefits of uh of dhikr. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So remind me when when you have subhala, as humans, we always think of Allah as well in crisis, right? Usually when you're scared, suddenly you remember all the atqari being taught since childhood, perhaps, maybe, in that moment. Why? Because now for you that's a that's a very needed moment of making dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So you start remembering qatqar, you thought that you forgot them. But in a moment of need, dhikr that that dhikr comes. But even Qayim Muhammad his argue, that feeling you got in a moment of fear where you suddenly you want to remember every single dhikr you've ever learned in your life, he says that kind of feeling should be constant for the believer. Because you're always gonna be in that because you could die in any moment, and it could be the end of your life. So he said you need to be in that constant state of dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Just like it's so urgent in time of crisis, the same thing is gonna be a time of ease, you need to continue with dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So that's the theme of the book itself, like we said. Uh but Imam ibn Qayim Rahimallah, before he got to talk about the actual theme of the book, which we're gonna start with tomorrow, inshaAllah ta'ala, and that is the benefits of dhikr in the life of the believer, he made the, you could call it again a tangent uh or a random thought, but subhanAllah, the way I see Fabi bin Qayim, rahimallah, the way he wrote the introduction, yes, it's a bit, very long introduction, but he wanted to make sure that you understand why dhikr is so important. So, in summary of what he said, he first began by talking about what brings what brings joy and happiness to the believer. What exactly brings joy and happiness to the believer? And then he talks about you being the servant of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, because that's what makes you really whole, that makes you complete, recognizing your servitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Then he speaks about the shaitan who made his job, all his job, is to divert you away from that path of abudiyyah, worshiping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Therefore, he says, you need a shield from the shaitan, something to shield you from the shaitan so that he doesn't take you far away from that path that belongs to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then he says, okay, where would the shaitan attack you? So where are you gonna put your shield? Where does the shaitan attack you the most? Does it attack you in your legs, in your feet, in your eyes, in your he says, in your heart. Therefore, he spoke about the hearts in details a little bit, type of hearts and how they get affected by the shaitan and so on and so. And then he started talking about, okay, what are the two important things the heart needs to stay strong? So he's gonna speak in details about the two elements that keep the street strong, and now how can you shield your heart from anything else? And he mentioned a few things, and he mentioned hadith, we're gonna maybe refer to a little bit afterwards, Al-Harat al-Ashari, rahim al radialat al-dah, in which the Prophet mentioned five major things are considered the biggest elements or ingredients for that shield. So I want you to remember these five things. Because number one, at tawhid, the absolute belief in the oneness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the way it should be. Number two, he said as-salah. Asala is extremely, extremely important. Number three, he says as fasting. Number four, as-sadaka, giving charity, and number five, he says ad-diqir. So he mentioned these five things. At-tawheed, believe in the oneness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Number two, as-salah, number three, as ayam, number four, as-sadakah, giving charity, and number five, ad-diqir. These are the most important elements you need to have a strong shield. He spoke briefly on the first four, at Tawheed, As-Salah, Asyyam, and As-Sadakah, but then he starts speaking in details about the theme of the book, which is Ad-Dikr. So we would like to share with you, inshaAllah, some of these paragraphs from that introduction before we start talking about the actual benefits of dhikr starting tomorrow, inshaAllah ta'ala. If you have any comment on this, so for those of you that would like to follow with us inshaAllah, in the English translation, it's gonna be on page 28. Page 28 in the English translation, inshaAllah ta'ala. For those who have the Arabic version of the book, if you have the book, that translation, the Arabic version that was actually published under the supervision of Shaykh Bakr al-Buzid Rahim Allah, it's gonna be page number five. So, and in the very introduction, chapter number one, he says, In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful, there is neither might nor power, say in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Almighty, the most elevated, glory to be to him. He besieh we beseech Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and him, we do uh place our hope that our prayer, our prayers are answered, and so on. In Arabic, then he came to this point. Kal, it's one of the things that uh you ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that he will take care of you, he will nurture you, he will protect you, and he will shower you with his blessings and his bounties. Those are uh the the obvious and the hidden ones. And he's gonna mention out now now three things, three things he's gonna mention that are very important for your happiness in this dunya and the akhira. What are these three things? Kal. Wa'anya ja alaqum, minman, either, an amallah alayhi shakar. Wa e the ptulia sabar, wa either adnaba is talata, he on one of sara tilab, wa ala matufalaha ifidunya, wa, wala yam fakku abdun anha abada fa inna abda daiman yatakalabu bain ahadil at bakat telata. So he says here that that he that he shows he he showers you with his favors and worldly, batan and all this aher, and then to make you from those that when bestowed with favors, you give thanks. That's number one. And when put to trial, you persevere. That's number two. And when sinful, you seek forgiveness. That's number three. So the first one is shukur, gratitude. Second is sabr, patience, and number three, forgiveness, seeking forgiveness all the time. He says, indeed, these three conditions are the um epitome of happiness for the servant and a sign of his success in this life and the next. The servant can never be separated from these, always fluctuating between these three levels. So Shaykhana, Rahim Allahu Ta'ala, he begins by saying, Look, the ultimate, the ultimate goal we'd like to achieve is to find that happiness. Happiness in this world, happiness in the hereafter. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is our maker. And he knows what makes you happy, what makes you otherwise. So he says three things that if you accomplish them, you will definitely find that happiness. Number one, to always recognize the blessing and the favor that Allah bestowed upon you and be grateful for them. Number two, you're gonna be tried, and Allah didn't make it a secret. So when that trial comes your way, to persevere in patience. And number three, we always make mistakes. You continuously and consistently seeking forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Remember these three things, my dear brothers and sisters. So do you remember that? What is the first one of Jama? The first one is what? Shukr, which means what? Showing gratitude. Number two, sabur, that's patience. And number three, forgiveness. Your comments, Yahan.
SPEAKER_00There are a few things that come to this. Every single person will have a share of all three of these things, and there is no doubt about it. And if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala removed a single one of these things from the divine scheme, then things would be completely out of order. So if Allah Azza removed an am a meaning, this Allah did not bless us with any good things, we just woke up to this world and it was immediate disaster, a test, a trial, and don't sin. And you'll go to Jannah at the end. Imagine how miserable our existence would be. But from His mercy, from His grace, subhanahu wa ta'ala, He gave us things to actually enjoy in this life. He didn't have to do that. He didn't have to give us families, He didn't have to give us joy, He didn't have to give us hobbies and leisure, He didn't have to give us food that we like, He didn't have to give us companions, He didn't have to give us any of these things. He could have just created us because He calls this life a test. He could have just created us. You wake up to the world and it's a battlefield. You just don't step on that mine, don't do this, don't do that, and don't sin. And you'll go to Jannah at the end of it. And all of us would say it was worth it. All of us, if we actually entered into Jannah, would say it was worth it. So it's out of his mercy, subhanahu wa ta'ala, that he blesses you with things that you can enjoy in this life while you're here. And then waitabturia, sabbar, and if you're tested, then you are patient. If Allah Azza removed the tests and the trials, then we think that that would be a good life. I mean imagine if none of us were tested with anything. Everyone woke up, life was great, who would strive for Jannah? Who would really strive for faith? Who would turn back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Who would even listen to the messengers? Because as much as we hate as human beings to be tested, we have seen, it has been tested, the human experiment, that most people cling to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the truest sense only when they're tested. And that's why the majority of the people who enter into Jannah are the tested. The majority of the people enter into Jannah are the poor and the tested and the oppressed in the Musalaafi. Right? The downtrodden. So it would rupture the divine scheme. And we might say we would love that now, we would love to not be tested now, but it would actually make things miserable. And if he sins, then he seeks forgiveness. Alright, well, let's say there was no sense of accountability, no sense of actually committing any sins. What does Allah Azza Wazal say, or the Prophet narrate that if you were not to sin, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would replace you with a creation that would sin and seek his forgiveness so that he could forgive them. If you were not to sin, you were meant, you were meant to make mistakes and then to turn back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That's part of the divine scheme. Someone says, well, why are why do we have the propensity to sin? Well, then you'd be angels. There's no point of your human creation in the first place. The beauty of your human creation shows in your turning back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the story of humanity starts with Adam a. Think about this, subhanAllah in the Quran. I was reflecting on this subhanallah in the Khatam as I was reading through Al-Baqarah. Like Allah Azzah does not denigrate Adam alayhi salam for the mistake that he committed. He merely states it as a matter of fact and then praises his coming back and the instructions that are given to him. So waida adnaba, stakhar, you were meant to sin. And the last thing that I'll say to your brothers and sisters in this regard, on this sentence, you know, there's always this uh tension we have, Shaykhna, between like Qadr, like what are my choices versus what's already decreed? How much is life happening to me versus how much am I happening to life? Like how much of this is here? And Islam is to submit. And you know what's beautiful about this? Is that two-thirds of this equation are things that you really don't have any say in. If Allah chooses to bless you with something, if Allah chooses to test you with something, right? Two-thirds of the equation here are things that happen to you and how you respond. Only one third of it is what you do. Right? And so your life has been written, but you write your sins. Your life has been written, but you write your sins. And it largely comes to how you respond to the life that's been written for you. How you respond to the life that's been written for you. So this is a beautiful thing. Like if you can put it on your refrigerator and put it somewhere, this these three lessons of life. If Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala um you know blesses him, then he's grateful. If Allah Azza tests him, then he's patient. And if he commits a sin, then he seeks forgiveness.
SPEAKER_01So these are the three things that, like you said, really deserve to be in your face all the time. Yeah. To remind yourself, because this goes back to action. Because when you're grateful, you should you're taking an action to be grateful. When you are tested, you're taking an action, even if it was negative, to abstain from doing anything as a matter of sabr, for example, moment. And then seek your forgiveness. Every time you make a mistake, you turn back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But what does that mean? So if he explains that in a little bit more detail, continuing in his paragraph, he says, rahimallahu ta'ala, like the pillars of shukur, being grateful. He says the blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, thankfulness is based on three supporting pruratic because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is sending all these blessings without even any measure. Without measure, coming down to the people. Three pillars for that. Number one, alaatirafubiha batina. He goes, you do this recognition. Recognition, which means inwardly. What does that mean? Means the heart recognizes that. You know, sometimes when someone does something, you say, Thank you. You're just saying thank you. But in your heart, do you recognize that favor? No. You would never recognize that favor. And it happens a lot with our mashallah. These kids these days, they say thank you, they don't mean it really. Thank you, but still I you know you owe it to me. No, I don't owe it to Allah doesn't owe us these favors. So the first thing, recognize it in the heart. Second thing, called, what the haddu to bihahiram. And then you speak about it. As Allah mentioned, as for the blessing that He bestows upon you, speak about this. Show your gratitude in the way that you speak about Islam. Which again brings me back to something I've ever been talking to you about, but I still hear it from people when they say it. When you ask someone how you're doing, you always hear them saying, Alhamdulillah, I cannot complain. I said you already complained. You couldn't just say Alhamdulillah, stop right there. Khalas. Why that? Why is that? Or Alhamdulillah, it can be better. Like, wow. Like I said, your life is miserable, Ya. Is that what you're trying to say? So again, to be grateful, it has to come from the heart. And then you speak about it properly. And the third one, he said the third pillar about being grateful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And that you use it in a manner that is pleasing to the one who bestowed it. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. So if Allah blessed you with wealth, how are you using it? If Allah blessed you with name and fame, how are you using that? If Allah blessed you with masha convenience in your life, with uh maybe influence somewhere, all these beautiful blessings, how are you using these blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? So that's the first thing about Ashukhnah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, subhanAllah Samadur Ilama they commented on the tafsir of Zakaria alayhi salam. When Allah Azza gave him the glad tidings of the child, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commanded him with what first? What did he command him with? You remember? Come on, y'all. Wake up. I know it's the first to the last time, but what did Allah command Zakari a-Islam with? I want to read Surah al-Mariyam here? Allahim al-Nas. Three days not to speak. And then, you know, so so he could give signs with dhikr, and then he could speak. And some of the illamah they commented on that, that of the blessings of that is that you can really sit with that ni'mah for a few days and just appreciate it with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because sometimes you rush so quickly to tell someone else about the good news before you actually thank Allah for it properly. And like that's the blessing of like sajatul shukur, like a practice of the prostration of gratitude. Before when you Get the good news before you post about it, before you call somebody, before you tell someone about it, like sit with it, alhamdulillah, between you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and really you know, embed it inside of you and really let that gratitude find fruit in your heart first, and then then alhamdulillah, then amma bin armati rabbi kafahadif, then praise Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for it when speaking to other people. This is not from a place of boasting because Allah tells us in Surah al-Fajr that there are those uh who when Allah blesses them with something, Yaqur Rabbi Akraman. He says, My Lord has honored me. But he's not saying it from a place of gratitude, he's saying it from a place of arrogance. He's saying it, in fact, to escape the action of good, to say, clearly Allah loves me, like the man with two gardens in Surat al-Kaf. Clearly Allah loves me because he gave me a lot. I I had this experience, I've spoken about it, subhanAllah. One time I was uh speaking to a brother, may Allah guide him. I hope he has already guided him away from this practice, but he he has an alcohol, he sells alcohol, and I was trying to invite him to come to the masjid and to to reconsider his ways. And he said, uh, Amma ana Rabbi Bihibni, my Lord loves me. He said, Look at look at what I drive and look at what you drive. I had a 1993 Katrina salvage Korola Shaykh. I was like, I was like, all right, fine, but the good old days, right? The good old days. That car never dies though, by the way. It probably still could drive on five or two. Masha'Allah. 993 Corolla was the best car of all time. In any case. Um he says, look at my car and look at your car. And he talks about his family. He's like, clearly, Allah loves me. I don't pray, I do this, but Rabbi Bihni. And you know where he got stuck, subhanAllah said, how happy are you though? And that's where he kind of stopped and paused. Is it any of it fulfilling to you? And that's the adab that comes inside the ni'irma, which Ibn Qayyim talks about sometimes, the punishment embedded in the blessing when it's not properly thinked. And the third thing, Shaykh, which is to act upon it. You know, sometimes, like when a celebrity or an athlete, you know, wins a big game or something like that, and they get on the podium and you know, they praise God. And everyone says, Oh, look, you know, that person praised God, that person praised Jesus, that person did this, that person did that. But that person's life is horrible. Like there's nothing that's exemplary about them, but hey, they had a great statement that they made. It's empty at that point. So the proof of the statement is in the actions. What follows is in the actions, and the proof of the sincerity of the statement is in what was cultivated in the heart in silence before the statement was made in the first place. So these are pillars of shukur that you build until you get to dawud shukra. What Allah says about Dawood, work, O people of Dawood, actions of shukur. Use what Allah gave you of his blessings to be a blessing, to do more good. And that is how you thank Allah for the faculties that He's given to you. So saying that Alhamdulillah is not sufficient. Absolutely not.
SPEAKER_01You're gonna have to prove it. That you really genuinely is coming from the heart first and foremost, and then translate into the actions. Coming to the second point that he mentioned about uh a sabr, patients. So there are three pillars for shuchur, right? Now the three pillars are also for sabr, for patients. He says, as for um for sabr to the three pillars for sabr, obviously, over here. Number one, hapsu nafsya anatasakuti bil magdur. So that now you control yourself from being angry with what he what has been decreed. Like Allah decreed something to you right now, and you go, you curse, and you cuss, and you this and that, and then you say, Well, too late for that. So the first thing is you know, you need to control yourself. And then you control your tongue from complaining. But we need to differentiate between complaining to Allah versus complaining about Allah. It's okay to complain to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. As Allah mentioned about Yaqub when he was crying to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, I only disclose my grief and my sorrow to Allah. So he's complaining to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and that's okay. But complaining about Allah, like saying it can be better, well, I don't know why I'm the only one who's targeted. Well, this and that. Then now you're complaining about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And the third one he says called wahabsul jawari hi anil masya. And also abstain, like controlling your limbs from falling into the sin. Which is the exact same thing about shukur. Like you know, shukur by showing it in good deeds, and sabr by abstaining from doing bad deeds. So there are three things over the three elements. Number one, that you control yourself not to complain, not not to uh reject al-Makdur that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has decreed for you, not to be angry with it. Uh uh, and the second one is to make sure that what you say is complaining to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And the third one is making sure that you control also yourself from committing all these sins.
SPEAKER_00Shaykh subhanAllah, everything that Allah created of the physical body has a parallel to the spiritual self too. Like if you think about your, you know, um, you know, in with your muscles, there's push and there's pull, right? Push and pull. Shukr is is giving something. Sabr is holding back, pulling back. And this the soul needs that as well. It needs to have both of those elements to be able to put something forward and to be able to hold something back. And sabr is about holding back. Shukur is about giving something and putting something forward. And there's something deeply profound, somehow the soul, if it if it lacks one of the two, then it will be imbalanced, just like the body would be imbalanced. It will be out of place. And that's why the Ridama say shukur is nothing but sabr in uh good times, and sabr is nothing but shukur in bad times. What does that mean? Sabr, shukur is gratitude is patience in good times. So what you have, you say Alhamdulillah, and you're patient because sometimes when you get your appetite is open, you want more. So you're patient with your desires. No, alhamdulillah, I'm happy with what I have. So that's sabr. Shukr is sabr. Do you all understand? Sabr is shukur in bad times. What does that mean? How am I patient in bad times? Because I'm grateful for what Allah still gave me. Alhamdulillah, I still have this. I lost this, but I still have this. I might have been struck with this, but I still haven't been struck with that. So they're actually the same, they're coming from the same place, that same devotion to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then the complaint here is the opposite of praise. You know, about the person who loses a child, and Allah sends the angels and says, Madha khalabdi, what did my servant say? He praised you, right? And he said, Inalilah. So Alhamdulillah is the statement of Sabr. Alhamdulillah is the statement of patience. I'm still happy, Alhamdulillah. And when it comes to shekwah, Shaykh, I know you don't read Urdu, but you know, Shekwa wajuab shekwa. You know, uh Iqbal wrote a poem. I could teach you Urdu and I'll teach you the poem. Shekwa wajuab shakwa. Please, I'm inspired right now. I don't know it off the top of my head, you know. But you know, there's a saying from Umar radiallahu ta'ala anu wa, ath, that there's nothing in complaining too much except that you either bring your friend down or you make your enemy happy. Yeah. If you complain to people, what do you do? Your friend was having a good day, but you brought their mood down too. They were finally getting out of their own uh issues, and then you went and you burdened them with your issues. So you brought your friend down. Or someone who doesn't like you is happy that you're going through misery. So the only thing that comes out of shakwa out of complaint is that you will bring down a friend or you will inflate an enemy. Now that's not the same as shura. There is room for seeking counsel, seeking uh advice. That's not the same as complaint. Complaint is when you complain about Az ibn Qayyim, rahimallah said, Shaka'utaman your hammuka ira mah, your hammukha. You complain about the one who has mercy upon you to the one who has no mercy upon you.
SPEAKER_01That's what sometimes sometimes complaining becomes an excuse not to do anything. Like people they complain because they want to magnify the problem to the extent that you know, you see, it's too much for me, I cannot do anything about it. Right. So that's kind of like a uh subconscious that's kind of defeat you already. The other thing about patience, there's another problem with the subject of patience, the suburban in our culture, is that unfortunately we grow up, we grow up conditioned that patience is a negative thing. You only patient against negative things. We're not being taught that patience in itself is an act of ibadah. Like we need to be patient. It's an act of worship in itself, to be patient, act of worship. No, you be patient because there's nothing else we can do. You be patient because look, if you don't, I'm gonna, for example, do this or do that. So we start associating patience with negativity. And that's why when you tell someone, be patient, what is what is the most common response you get from them when you tell them, be patient. Like I'm done being patient. So basically, what they're saying is that it's a personal thing right now to them. Instead, we need to look at patience being an act of an act of worship. So even in the most difficult circumstances, in the most annoying circumstances, me exercising patience is an act of worship. It's not just in response to the action itself. It's not about how big or small or you know difficult or easy. No, it's about me worshiping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to my patience.
SPEAKER_00I want everyone to just imagine with me for a moment. Like seriously, take a moment. Imagine if you are Amaru Ta'a anhu, and Sumayya radiallahu anha, and Yasr radiallahu ta'ala anhu, Ali Yasr, and you're tied up and you're being tortured, and the worst types of torture are being inflicted upon you. Imagine being that person for a moment. I mean, the the hot sun, the whips, the chains, everything is just hitting you, hitting you, hitting you. And the Prophet walks by, and all you can do is you hear his voice saying, Sadhguru. Be patient, O family of Yasr. You've been promised paradise. Be patient, O family of Yasr, you've been promised paradise. They didn't say anything back. They just took it. They're listening to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam say it, and they're sitting with what he's saying, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. And perhaps, you know, that is what gave Sumayya radiallahu anha the courage and the clarity to spit back at Abu Jahar even under the worst torture. She is the weakest of the three of them, but she took the strongest stance. Physically, she's the weakest of the three, and her torture was the most brutal. But she took the strongest stance, against her oppressor. Sabrunya Aliyasa, be patient. All the Prophet could give them that. It's really a ibadah that you sit with. You don't have to respond. But some of their ill mah say that when Yaaqu alayhi salam, this is probably one of the most beautiful things I read about Istirujar, saying, Ina lillahi wana il rajun shaykh. And honestly, I never I never like um felt the beauty of that statement until my mother passed away. Allah. The first time I really understood inna alillahi when alay rajun was when when when my mother passed away. When I said it when my mother passed away. The Rilma said that Yaqub alayhi salam, one of the reasons why he did not say Inna lillahi wa il raja'un, because that's the most supreme way that to Allah we belong and to him we return, is because that was not yet given to him. Had he known it, he would have said it. That statement is a gift to this Ummah. To Allah we belong, and to Allah we return. So to Allah we all belong and to Allah we return. All of us and everything that belongs to us. That's patience. It was his in the first place. So why am I complaining about it being taken away if it was never mine in the first place? It was always for Allah. I was always for Allah. So let Allah do with me what He wills and let Allah do with what is with me and for me what He wills because it's all His in the first place. And those two statements go together. That is patience and gratitude married together in what the Prophet gave to us as a prescription, a medicine for anything that happens with us to sit with those hardships and those trials.
SPEAKER_01Shukur and Sabar. That's why he has the whole book about Sabr and Shukur, obviously. And he says that look, that goes down again to you, human being, as being Abdullah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Your obudia, your servitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is on these two pillars. Showing gratitude to him and being patient against the trials he puts you through. You do that, you submit yourself, you're proving yourself to be the true servant of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And as a result, if you do that, he says in the book of Iqqal, Inkalabatil Michna to fi haki minha. If anyone exercises these rules over here like this, he says, All these trials and calamities, they're turn to be blessings for them. Which is true. SubhanAllah, the people of Gaza are a great example of life for us. May Allah subhanahu wa take it easy for them al-Ameen. Like to your point, Shaykh, I've never really understood the meaning of inna illahi wa inna ilajar until I heard from them. We say it regularly, but for us it's just a lip service. It's just a matter of dhikr for us, really. But for them it's a lifestyle. They all live knowing that we all belong to Allah and to Him our eternal shall be. They believe it because they live it every single day and they see it every single day. And subhanAllah, having that level of spirituality that you truly in you truly from your heart believe in all of this, that's the true meaning of being a servant of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Which is why one of the most powerful statements I heard from one of the people of Gaza, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it easy for the Mi Rabbi. I mean probably all of you saying my videos uh went viral. When he was literally just kind of like sending off his family, who's been bombed and been killed, Allah Mustan. And he says, and that for me was like I I reflected on his statements for some time, really. I'm still reflecting on it. He goes, Ya Rabbi, khud minna hat ta'tard. Yeah Allah take from us until you're pleased. Not until we're pleased, no, until you are pleased with us. So for him, it's just like it all belongs to him, subhanahu wa ta'ala. Take it. You gave it to us, take it back. That's the true meaning of servitude, and that's the true meaning of Allah of Abu Dhiya. So when Payim Rahimallah says, look, your abudiyyah, your true being servant of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is based on these two things. True shukur, true gratitude based on these three pillars, and true sabr, patience, based on these three pillars as well. If you have that, he says, you shall have the joy and the happiness of this world and the hereafter. May Allah make a subdued mea rabilal. So yeah, that was a moment of abuddiya he mentioned right now. And then Rahimallahu Ta'ala, he goes on saying, Look, your tamamul abudiyya, the perfect abudiya, servitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, will show in every single ibadah that you practice. And he gave a few examples. One of them he says, Look, when you make wudu. You make wudu in a hot day with cold water. Can you endure that? Absolutely, with joy. But now you make wudu in a cold day with cold water. Can you do that? Can you endure that? Of course. But is it going to be with joy? Most likely not. Because you see, both of them are the same action, the same act of ibadah in itself. But for the believer, when they reach that level, even when they're using cold water in a cold day or cold night, they're doing it with joy. Why is that? Because for them they're doing it for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because this is the level of servitude, and you see this person is just so happy. Just being able to make wudu, even if the water was cold. So that level, if you guys would like to really have that happiness in this dunya, you're gonna have to work on this part. That part is that your gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is always spoken about in the heart, making sure to make it displayed in your actions. And when it comes to the subject of patience, you make sure you always accept Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You don't completely accept Him subhanahu wa ta'ala, and obviously you abstain from committing the sins and submit your heart to it, and you find the happiness inshaAllah Azza wa Jr. So that's the meaning of Abu Diya Ubiriya and bringing it in.
SPEAKER_00So when he says, these are the slaves that that uh uh shaitan has no control over, that the enemy has not been given control over. Allah said that verily, my slaves, you have no control over them. But look at this sentence. This what he says here, I never heard any other scholar frame it this way. Um he said when when Iblis understood, just pay attention here, that Allah was not going to give up his slaves just like that. Allah didn't give us up. Think about that for a moment. Iblis got Adam alayhi salam to fall, and he's framing Rubudiya like Allah loves his ibad too much to just give us up to Iblis like that without giving us the armor, the protection, the readiness, the incentive, so that we don't become victims of Ibris. That's a sign of Allah's love. Islam is a sign of Allah's love. The path is a sign of Allah's love, the incentives, the prescriptions, the rewards, even the punishments. They're a sign of Allah's love. Allah's not giving us up to Ibris. No, you don't just get to take humanity now. You got you got one fall. You don't get to take them all. And that's when Ibris understood, he got it in the beginning, that Allah was not going to give us up. And he's not going to give Ibris control over us. That's when he said, So I've got to delude them then. Delude them from who? Delude them from your Lord, your generous Lord. I have to I have to mess them up then. I've got to confuse them a bit. I've got to delude them because if they know how much their Lord loves them and how much the Lord has given to them, I've got no chance with them. So I have to mess them up. I've got to mess up their senses so that they can fall into the sins that I plant for them to get away from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Illa ibada kameh al-Mukhrasim. The only ones that I won't be able to get away from you, O Allah, are your sincere slaves. If you notice here, Ibad are only attributed to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the positive sense. So in na ibadi Allah says, My slaves, you have no power over them. And Iblis says, I have no power over your slaves, the sincere slaves. The characteristic of becoming abduh is not achieved through worshipping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in a circumstance. There are some people they worship Allah. They're able to do ibadah, but they're on an edge. Only when things are good, they're able to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But when bad things happen, they forsake their ibadah, therefore they were never really ibad of Allah. They were ibad in a circumstance. They worshiped Allah, they enslaved themselves to Allah on a condition that Allah treats them a certain way. But Iblis is saying, your sincere slaves, I've got no chance with them. Because I can't delude them with circumstance because they already know who you are, and they've already decided that they're going to entrust themselves to you no matter what happens. So no matter what I tell them about this tree or this sin or this or this or that, or they're never going to fall for it. Because you have control over them, and they have forsaken their own control over their circumstances to you.
SPEAKER_01He continues following the ayah here. For those who follow in the book, it's actually on page 31 in the English translation. He says, Rahimallahu ahear that Allah never allows his enemy to have control, Sultan, over his believing servants. He says, Allah will never allow them, Allah Shaitan, to do that over his believing servants. However, he says, However, um falling short a little bit here and there, it's unavoidable because of human beings. And then he says, for those believing people, believing men and women, he said the shaitan has three doors, three doors through which he will enter your heart. Three doors with a shaitan can come to break that seal that you have and that covenant you have with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. What are the three doors? Remember them, my dear brothers and sisters. Number one, Qal al-Ghafla, heedlessness. Number two, as Shahwa, desire. Number three, al-gadab, anger. Three things, because these are the doors through which the shaitan can enter your heart and mess you up completely. Number one, gaflah, heedlessness. And heedlessness can be cured with what? With dhikr. Constant dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, which is why He brings it over here. The second, he says, Shahua, desire, and that can be cured with what? With obviously with fulfilling the halal, in a way that Alhamdulillah satisfies you from the haram. And number three, Al-Ghadab, anger. Now that we need a lot of patience with that. Shaykhana, these three doors, Al-Ghafla, wa shawa, heedlessness, desires, and anger. SubhanAllah Ibn Qayim Rahimallah also explained that in a different uh place, in different book, that these are the three first sins ever committed, as they were mentioned to us in the story of Adam and Iblis, believe it or not. Or even the angels as well, too. Because the story that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, which is why why did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in sort Al-Baqarah, the very first story you will face in Surah Al-Baqarah when you restart Surah Al-Baqarah, the very first story is what ajuma about the creation of Adam. Allah told the angels, I'm gonna be creating another creation over here. So being qayim alhamdulillah, he says that the angels who don't usually commit sins obviously, but they fell short in this moment out of what? Out of ghafla. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala just reminded them. He says, Inni alaw malatalamun. I know what you don't know. We're done. So Al-Ghafla requires a reminder. And you reminding yourself of diqr of Allah can seal that door the shaitan cannot come through it. Then comes Adam. Adam, Allah subhanahu wa told him you have Jannah. But then don't eat from that tree. What happened? Adam was tempted by the desire of becoming an angel or living eternity. And Iblis came and says, I swear to you, I swear to you that this is what this is true. So the inclination to fulfill that desire caused Adam to commit that sin. As Shahua. Right? And how how did Adam seal that door again? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala taught him how to repent. He repented to Allah, and that was it, the door was sealed. So returning back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and Tawbah can seal that door for you. The third one right now is anger. Now that's what the problem is. That's the sin of who Yajama. Iblis. When Allah said to the creation, the angel proste before this creation, Adam Iblis got upset. Me for this? I was made of fire. This is made of mud. What kind of creation is that? And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he punished Iblis because it's not the anger that was the problem. What the anger led to became the bigger problem. So Iblis's anger led him to become what a Jama? Abba was takbar. He refused and he became arrogant. So that means anger has consequences that are extremely, extremely, extremely dangerous. And the shaitan can go through all these windows and all these doors easily. So if you can control your anger, you steal that door, you will seal every other path that anger might lead to. And the shaitan can take advantage of it. But if you allow yourself to be angry for everything and anything by anybody, that means basically you're letting the shaitan come through so many paths. So many doors, so many windows the shaitan can come through and go through it. This is how dangerous that is. So remember, my dear brothers and sisters, you need to seal all these gates and these doors where the shaitan comes through into your life and ruin your abudi, your servitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Well, number one, do you remember the majama? What are they? What are the doors that the shaitan come through? Number one? Heedlessness. And how are you gonna how are we gonna close that? With constant dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Number two is what? Shah, desires. What do you do? Fulfill with the halal and repent to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala every time la kada there's a mistake. And the third one is what? Al-Ghadab. What do you need to do to seal that door of Jamma? Learn to be patient and also to be grateful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This all ties into this actual moment over here for us now.
SPEAKER_00Yeshaykha subhanAllah, the idea here of anger, by the way, and I'll just I'll put it here for everyone because it's Ramadan where people work on their habits. You know, some of the ulama they would say that Al-Gadah Baridul Khibr. That anger is the male of pride. It's a manifestation of pride. What does that mean? When someone makes you upset and you get angry, it's who are you to say that to me? Who are you to stand in front of me? Who are you to do that to me? Who are you to prioritize your happiness over my happiness? Who are you to try to claim this moment, to claim this space over me? So when a person is easily angry, their agitations, their annoyances, their anger, that could be a sign that you think you're better than someone else. That you that you're more deserving than someone else. And that's far more dangerous than desire, because desire involves you and Allah Azza. Every human being has desire. We were created with desire, and Allah did not make desire inherently dispraiseworthy. In fact, Allah Azza incentivizes desire with better desire in Jannah. But you will not enter Jannah with one atom's worth of pride in your heart. Pride has to completely be removed. Arrogance has to completely be removed. And so if you find yourself getting angry all the time, agitated, annoyed, that's what you really need to remedy first. These three things are also tied together because ghaflah, it's in a moment of heedlessness that shaitan can push you towards anger in the first place. If you have the fortress of the dikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, that's why Ibn Kayim Rahimallah focuses on dhikr here. If you have the fortress of the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then you won't be absent-minded for shaitan to inspire you towards an angry course of action in the first place. If you have that fortress of dhikr, then you will not let your desire lead you to try to fulfill it in a way that's displeasing to Allah because you're in an active state of remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So if you solve the gafla problem, you inherently solve the other two. If you're constantly in a state of remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you constantly, or you inherently and inevitably solve the other two things. So put yourself in that state of dhikr, and this is going to be building a lifestyle of dhikr. But be very, very self-critical here, dear brothers and sisters, and ask yourself, like what I need to remedy, in what order I have to really remove the anger part, the rage part, as Adi radiallahu ta'ala anhu said that its beginning is craziness and its end is regret. Its beginning is craziness, insanity, and its end is regret. Does Shaitan regret his action? Does Ibris regret what he did? Yes, he did. He does. Prophet said, when he sees you in Sajud, Shaitan Yapki, Yaqul ummirah bis sujood fashid wa umirtuf. He sees you make sajda and he says, He was commanded and he responded, and I was commanded and I disobeyed. He cries. But he was in a moment of rage, insanity, and then he doubled down. Why? Because you know what's not going to let you come back even after your anger, and this is perhaps getting a little bit too technical, but some of the irma actually differentiated between the anger of Shahua and the anger of kibir. I don't know, Shaykh, it's really interesting. Imam Muhasibi rahimullah ta'ala distinguishes between the two. Why? Because the anger of desire, like someone maybe just throws out some words. I just felt like I felt like telling them off. I felt like saying it. And then like, oh wait, that actually hurt them. I'm so sorry. Like right away, like they regret and they rewrite their course. But when anger comes from kibir, when someone tells you that you messed up, you'll double down. Who are you to tell me to regret my actions? Who are you to tell me to repent? They'll double down, and that's the anger that comes from kibir. And most anger has some sort of kibir uh embedded in it, some sort of pride that's embedded in it. So we ask Allah Azza to protect us.
SPEAKER_01I mean, Shaykh, to your point, subhanahu wa ta'ala, before we start taking questions, inshaAllah ta'ala. Uh if you guys can give us the other iPad, inshaAllah, with a question, zakalakha. No, we have it? Okay. So um here, uh subhanAllah, um, a statement to the point that you mentioned, Ibn Qaim rahimallah, he quotes Shaykh al Islam Abu Sma'il Harawi. And by the way, for those who have the book, it's on page 34, the top of page 34 in English. It says Shaykh al Islam ibn Taymiyyah, but that's actually a mistake. It's actually Abu Smail Harawi. He says, In translation he says, know that the servant travels to Allah between recognizing Allah's favors upon him and constantly searching for his own flaws or faults in himself or his actions. Like these two things. You always, always being grateful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for all the blessings, and you always remind yourself how often you fall so short from being grateful to all these names. And that's why the dikr is required constantly. It's required so you can always praise Allah subhanahu wa for the favors and also compensate for the loss, for my faults, for my mistakes, for my errors. That's why dhikr is extremely, extremely important over here. And subhanallah then he goes to the subject of the hearts. He goes to the subject of the heart over here because the heart he says there are two elements or two ingredients, two um, you could say pillars in order for the heart to remain steadfast. Number one, mahabbah. Your heart needs to develop the absolute perfect love for the Creator subhanahu wa ta'ala. And he mentions all the details of what does that even mean? How can you prove that you love Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? And the second thing he says, Qad, Ta'im, Ta'im ulrwan. That you revere the commandments, you respect the commands of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Brothers and sisters, today, in our time unfortunately, maybe we have a lot of people claim to love Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We all probably have alhamdulillah and have that love for Allah Azul, but we are at different levels. Everybody has our journey, right? But the second part is problematic over here. Our level of respecting and revering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commandment, to what level is it? Is it to the level that we need to do more to please Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala or escape away from it as much as we can if we can't take concessions? And he started making this subhala here. And I can see it in our time. Like in the past, As-Sahaba used to compete to do better and more. Remember the story of Abdullah ibn Amrullah when the Prophet said he met him one day and he was a teenager. A teenager. He asked him, he said, Look, I heard that you fast every day. Is that true? He goes, Yes, Ya Rasulullah, I do. He said, Don't do that. That's too much. Yasul, I I can do it. He goes, okay, if you want to do it, then then fast three days every month. He goes, I can do better than this. Because okay, if you're gonna do that, then at least you know you do uh this much and this much until he got him to start fasting every other day. He goes, Ya Rasul, I can do better than this. The Prophet said there's nothing better than that. Seek the ex this example of how the sahaba they compete to do better and more. Versus us nowadays you have people come and ask you, is that halal or haram? And you say it's haram. He goes, Are you sure? That's the first thing you get from them. And then if you say, yeah, it's haram, you say, okay. Is it haram or makru? Now that we come for kahaam, mashaAllah. Right? La it's haram. Type, is it haram or haram haram? Now there's a new category on Usul al-Fiq I've never heard of. Haram versus Haram Haram. The idea is that we're trying to escape the commandment. Instead of feeling honored, feeling honored to serve Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala through these commandments, we're trying to escape the commandments. And allow me to say this is for all the brothers and the sisters, whether it's the way we wear our hijab, the way we come to the major and we pray, the way we dress up, you know, the way interact with the opposite gender, all these things. We try to escape the commandments as much as possible by practicing from the deen at the edge that Shaykh Umah was talking about. And Noah Jama, if you truly want to find that peace and tranquility, then you're gonna have to adhere to these rules. So your heart needs two things. Number one, the absolute love for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to the extent that you submit yourself to his commandment, and number two, that you revere and respect these commandments, not try to escape the commandments of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
SPEAKER_00Shaykh, I'll just read just this one last thing that stood out to me. And you know, just to your point, subhanAllah, he actually acknowledges, says, look, it's not like you don't love Allah if you fall to these things sometimes, or you prefer something to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, but your love is diminishing, it's not strong enough. And every time you prefer something to Allah, then your reverence of Allah will go down. Every single time you do that haram, you're telling Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he doesn't matter enough to you for you to forsake that haram. So you're diminishing that love systematically, consistently. But he says something here that's so powerful. Um, and I'll end on my side with this shif. He says, that Allah has made a rule. And this rule is firm and established. It always happens. And I want you to think about that. That if you love something more than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah will punish you with that thing that you love, and there is no escaping that. You preferred a person, you preferred a thing to Allah Azzawajal by pursuing it in haram or doing with it something that is haram or with that person, whatever it may be, Allah will punish you with that thing that you love, like you should love him. And if you fear something other than him too much, then Allah Azza will let your fear become reality. Allah will put you at the mercy of that which you fear. You fear that thing, you fear that person, you fear that enemy, then Allah will put you at the mercy of that enemy. Say that by the way, subhanAllah, in the current time. We're scared. Scared of the Zionists, scared of the Islamophobes, oh my God. And the most careful people, the most cautious people end up becoming the most cowardly people. Not that we shouldn't be careful, not that we shouldn't be cautious, but like when you start being paranoid, like, oh no, we can't say that, we can't do that, we can't say that, we can't do that, you start like buckling, and then you know what ends up happening? You actually end up becoming a victim. Because you enslaved yourself to your enemy as a as a result of that. So when you start to, that's the thing about the people of Reza, they drive their enemies crazy because they're just not afraid of them. With everything that's happened, they'll still stare down this idea of soldier that's blown up everything that they have and look them dead in the eyes like you coward, you're nothing to me. Hasbi Allah when i'm al-Waqir. They're not afraid of them till now, right? You work for something or you busy yourself with something other than Allah Azza, Allah will exhaust you with that thing. Especially to the career folks here in the money chasers, right? Whoever prefers something other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah will not put barakah in their pursuit. When you pursue something at the expense of your religion, Allah will not put barakah in that pursuit. And he says, and whoever um pleases other than Allah by displeasing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will make it so that that person also becomes displeased with them. Meaning what? You try to make people laugh by backbiting. Whoever uh pleases people by displeasing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The Prophet said, Allah will be angry with you and Allah will cause the people to be angry with you. They'll laugh with you at first when you talk about people, when you gossip, but eventually people will recognize you as a messy person and no one will like you anymore. So the same people you were trying to impress with your speech, they won't like you anymore because they're like, wait a minute, this person's always talking about people. I don't like that person. So you angered Allah and you angered the people, right? But manarballah, whoever pleases Allah, by displeasing the people, Allah is pleased with them, and Allah will cause the people to be pleased with them as well. What does that mean? You're someone that holds to your principles. Initially, people get annoyed by that because they want to live their best life, and you know you're you're kind of the party pooper, right? You're kind of the one that doesn't get involved in certain things, doesn't say certain things, says, hey, let's calm down, we shouldn't go there. Initially, you're kind of annoying because like you're too religious for this. But you know what happens later on? You get recognized if you're consistent, not as an arrogant person, but as a principled person, as a consistent person. And this is true also for the standards that we pursue. Social media has created a world of trying to perform for the eyes of other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And you buy into those standards, and as much as you alter yourself and buy into those standards, you'll never be enough for the people you're altering yourself for. You'll never be enough for those standards. And you'll always be disappointed. But remember Allah who didn't give you up to iblis. When you do for Allah, Allah fills your heart with tranquility. How good you feel when you leave the masjid after these last ten nights. How good and fulfilled you feel. That's a gift from Allah that He gives you that, Ya Abdi, you're enough for me. You're enough for me. Now keep working, because I'll never make you feel like you're not worthy. As long as you try to honor the commands of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah will honor your station and make you more honorable in his sight.
SPEAKER_01Just uh a closing statement for bin Qayim rahala, but those who have the book on page 61, the English uh translation, he uh uh narrates hadith Al-Haratul Asha Alialla, in which the Prophet spoke about Bani Israel, and he mentioned how uh there are five things they will be considered the most valuable thing, the most important things for you to help you maintain these two important things for your heart. And that's again the whole idea of loving Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and respecting and revering the commandments of Allah Azza wa Jal. You need five things to do that. Number one, he says Asala, he sorry, number one is attauheed, and that's the pure sincerity and believing in the oneness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Number two, he says, As-salah. You prove that with the daily with the daily prayers. The bare minimum obviously the first salah. Well, we talk about salah in general. Number three, he said, as-suyam, you fast regularly, not just Ramadan, outside of the month of Ramadan. How often do you fast outside of the month of Ramadan? Ask yourself this question. And number four, as-sadaqah, charity. How much do you sacrifice of your hard-earned money for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to help the poor and the needy and other people? And the last he said ad-dikr. He didn't elaborate much on the first four because he said we talk about this in many other books. But ad-diqr, he designated the book for that matter. So next week, tomorrow, inshaAllah ta'ala, when we come back, we are gonna be talking about the benefits of dhikr. And he mentioned in the book 73. He said there are hundreds, he said. But he says he meant he was able to count 73 of them, and then he said, Let's move on. So we're gonna start going over these, inshaAllah talk, Ebina, bin illahi ta'ala, so we can see how valuable indeed a dhikr is. May Allah subhanahu wa tak usam a dhakrala, kitana wa dhirat. Shaykhana, we have a few questions here from our audience. Uh, those who are watching us uh uh live online, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless them and reward them for being with us. I know some people already actually mourning to them, and for us it's still uh past midnight, Ani here. So the first question says, Combat heedlessness with dhikr. Can you expand on this where we cannot think of ritual dhikr? So literally and robotically, mindfulness is deeper than the words on the tongue. So, how can we establish this mindfulness that when I'm making my dhikr, I'm not just pronouncing words, I'm literally transforming my mind, my heart, myself.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so obviously there is dikhir that is made as you kind of go throughout your day. And it's very difficult to exert yourself in mindful dhikr sometimes because let's say that you're at work. We actually talked about even karimat al-ikhla saying, La ilaha, the statement of sincerity, while your mouth is closed, even you're between tasks and you're doing dhikr. That type of dhikr is better than silence. That type of dhikr, which is when it's just the tongue is just moving, and you're not really able to exert your mind and exert your heart, it's better than being quiet. And silence is better than speaking evil. Right? Mankani yuppmi nobidah'n akh, tariqul khair, ali yasmut. Whoever believes in Allah in the last day, let them speak well, or don't say anything at all. So think about like degrees here. So the worst thing you could do is say something evil, use your tongue for bad. The next thing that you could do is at least just be silent. And then better than silence is that the tongue is just moving with the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and better than that is mindful dhikr. So think of it this way: mindless dhikr is better than silence, silence is better than sin. Mindful dhikr is what you want to do as much of as possible to be able to guard yourself. Now, the dhikr that's just rolling off the tongue, it does protect you in many ways. How? It's awkward to go from dikr to a curse word or to backbiting, or to it's awkward, right? You're not gonna be able to transition, like the tongue won't allow it, the fitra of the tongue won't allow it for you to be making dhikr and then to say something disgusting, to say something nasty. It's just not working, right? So that dhikr does actually protect from something. But mindful dhikr will protect the eyes, will protect the heart, protect the mind. That's when you actually sit with yourself in silence and remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Wallabu d'aqaminhu. Like that's what he's saying. You have to have a portion of that every day. You can't survive without some portion of that every day. After your salah, before your salah, but some portion of the day where you Sit with yourself and you remind yourself of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala because that orients your priorities, that orients your faculties. If you don't have that daily regimen, even if it's for a few minutes, like they talk about mindfulness and stuff like that, and and and sit down with yourself and deep breathe. And all right, all that is good. Just add dhikr to it and don't do anything weird with it, right? But what are you doing here? You're calibrating your system, you're orienting your system towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, so that throughout the day you'll always come back to that no matter what happens.
SPEAKER_01I might add to that to this point, subhanAllah. People they understand when it's come to dhikr it's not just about repeating words. Even when you reflect on the world around you, when you see something, and the first thing that crosses your mind is Allah Azza wa Jal. Like there's a big difference between someone looking at the sunset, sunrise, and says, like, wow, this is so beautiful, they're saying, SubhanAllah, this is amazing. Big difference. Because when you say, wow, this is beautiful, now you're looking at the object itself as it's worthy of praise, right? But when you say subhanallah, you immediately you direct your heart and your mind to praise the maker of this beautiful thing, right? So even these things, these moments, can be powerful. It doesn't have to be a long session of dhikr yan. Also, you're already doing dhikr on a regular basis. You pray, you sit down after salah and do tasbih. Make these moments meaningful. Be mindful of your tasbih, your dhikr. How many times you had to repeat your tasbih because you couldn't even focus for a few seconds to count 33 subhanallah? And you keep asking, is that the second one? Is that 30 or 25? I don't know. That's the god of Bismillah, subhanAllah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Why can't you just focus for the first time? So be mindful, and you'll be able to do that, inshaAllah Tabarakhua Ta'ala. Someone is asking about the title of the book, so once again it's the book of Imam ibn Qayim al-Jozir Rahimallahu Ta'ala, al-Wa Alwabi al-Sayyib, Al-Wab al-Sayyib, which translates into English as remembrance of the most merciful, inshaAllah. Uh, which is the best dikr? He's gonna talk about this insha'Allah later in the book bin Allah, but eventually he says the best dhikr is the Quran. It's the best dhikr of the Quran. And then he talks about other form of dhikr based on the circumstance, inshaAllah. If anyone missed anything from the from the lecture, some people they asked to repeat something that was mentioned in the lecture. Uh, once the session is concluded, you can watch the the uh the recording uh on both channels, Valerat Islamic Center and Yaqeen Inshallah Institute bin the Lahita Baraka Wa'ala, and you can take notes as well, inshaAllah.
SPEAKER_00And you should do that, by the way. Two things that you should do: read the whole book, make it a point to read the whole book, inshaAllah ta'ala, uh, because we're inevitably not going to be able to read every sentence. And go back and review the notes. By the way, subhanAllah, like these sessions, they're not as watched as like the khutbas and the khatiras and the smaller things, but like the people that actually like engage them throughout the year take like meaningful notes. Like I know a lot of people that actually sit with these sessions after Ramadan and take proper notes, inshaAllah, and go back and review. So do make your own notes with the notes.
SPEAKER_01And I want to uh emphasize on this point, we mentioned that last year as well too, Shaykhna, at the beginning of the sessions. He said, look, my dear brothers and sisters, and al-Ataf al-Almubilamal, Alm, this knowledge requires practice. If it doesn't respond to it, actually it just disappears. So all what you learn over here, it just becomes amazing, that's all. And then when you leave, what did he say? I have no idea. Another thing is that Alm, Al-Elmu Sayyidun, Walkitabatu Kaiduhu. Knowledge is just like a uh a hunt. You go hunting for for these games, right? And you capture those games with your with your writing. So I highly recommend for you to download the book or buy the physical copy of the book, inshaAllah ta'ala, and write your notes on the margin of the book. Whatever you feel like a gem, oh, this beautiful, just write it down there. It's okay. You pay this much money for the book, let the margins become darker with that ink. Because it's okay, inshaAllah. I hope, inshallah, by doing so, that ilm will be strengthening your heart, your mind, and hopefully, inshaAllah in ta'ala, in your life and your actions, but inlahi azza wa jal. Shaykh question here, um, when it comes to dhikr, so do we focus on quality or quantity? I think it's the same thing, right? We focus on the mindfulness, not just how many times you repeat that. But to a point, somebody once asked me before, uh, what about these numbers the Prophet mentioned? Like he said, subhanallah bihamdihi, a hundred time, staqfarullah a hundred times. Can I say 101? Can I say 102, 103? The answer is absolutely. So, what do these numbers then mean? Look, these numbers first of all means abundance, that's number one. Number two, mindfulness of a hundred and then add as add as much as you want. Like start by counting a hundred for sure. So that you're mindful of what you're doing. Once you reach the hundred, then bismillah. Open the door and don't count anymore. Add as many as you want. Um someone's asking, says, Look, I can think of tons of things to get in the way of my relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Tons of things can distract us from Allah. Where do I even begin to mend my heart? If I want to start with one thing to start fixing my heart, where do I start?
SPEAKER_00Allah knows best the condition of the person, but I would start with the masjid. The connection with the place. Like I just there's such a difference between someone who has a connection to the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and someone who doesn't. So the masjid is in this Qur'an. The masjid is the house of every believer. And masjid is a bait to khulli Muslim, the Prophet said, Oh mu'min, uh, the house of every Muslim or the house of every believer. And also, Qur'an kal bait ill khab. And the one who doesn't have any Qur'an in their heart is like a ruined house. So you can't have a home for the heart without the masjid and without a regimen of the Quran outside of the masjid. Those are two things subhanAllah will mend you. And obviously, look, you've got to give up what's displeasing to Allah Azza. Allah will not allow these gifts to be given to someone who insists on sins. It's as simple as that. He won't let you use these faculties for goodness and blessing if you insist on using those faculties for the disobedience of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
SPEAKER_01So your last question over here, the three conditions or three married that we mentioned earlier, shukur, sabur, and is the pillars by which you can find that happiness in the dunya and the akharam. Allah give us that happiness al Balameen. So they are described as unavoidable. Every person will face all three. Which of the three do all Muslims find most neglecting? And why do you think that is? Like which one we usually neglect the most? Is it being grateful, being patient, or seeking a stif when we make mistakes?
SPEAKER_00Allah knows best, but I would say patience. Like if you look at when the Prophet says Allah, that no one has been given a blessing more expensive, better and more expansive than patience. It's because of how rare it is to find people that are actually patient. It's a lot easier to find grateful people and regretful people. But people that are truly patient are such a rarity. And the more of a rush society becomes, the more hasty everything becomes. The more impatient and impulsive we become as people, the rarer that gift becomes. And the Prophet said, that knowledge is through seeking knowledge and forbearance, which is patience. Patience with people specifically, is through practicing it. So patience, there's no doubt, is the hardest and the most rare. And if a person spends their entire life trying to become less impulsive and more patient, then everything else falls into. Like I've never met someone who's let me put it this way, I've never met someone who's patient but not grateful. But I've met many people that are grateful but not patient. What about you, Shaykh? Like I'm thinking about anecdotally. Like I've never met someone that's patient with hardship but not also grateful.
SPEAKER_01If I may add to this point, as you say, Zakala, beautiful, mashallah. I would maybe put a condition on that patience, is the patience that is done as an act of ibadah, not adaptation to loss. There's a big difference over here. And if someone who is patient because I have nothing else to do, I can't do anything else besides that. They're still holding grudge in their hearts, their heart is still heavy. They wait for a moment to revenge, and if they see someone, you know, going through the difficulty, they will probably maybe laugh at it because, oh my god, I see payback and so on so. So that patience doesn't really count as patience anymore. Really. It's like detachment. This is just adaptation to loss. That's like I have another thing to do. But we talk about patience as an act of ibadah. I can retaliate, I can seek revenge, I can go after you, but you know what? May Allah forgive you. I'll move on. Not because you deserve it, but because I deserve to be forgiving, I deserve to move on. So I hope that people understand that the patience is an act of ibadah. So when you do it, you do it withan as well. You're not just patient because I can't, or there's nothing else I could do, or I'm afraid with the consequence if I don't show patience, for example. No. I'm truly doing it because I truly believe if I show patience, Allah will reward me. And then comes, of course, everything else as part of it, inshaAllah. Shaykhana Zakum Allah Khiran for uh being here with us, inshaAllah ta'ala. Tomorrow bin illay azza wa jal, we're gonna be studying uh the benefits of uh dikr. Hopefully, inshaAllah we'll be covering a few of them, maybe from one until 17. So about 17 points, each one is one line, inshaAllah, and we explain some of these benefits of adkar. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to accept from us. We ask Allah to accept our fasting, accept our salah, accept our dua, accept our adkar. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Rabbil Alameen. Forgive us our sins, our shortcomings.