Loving the People Who Remember Allah | Midnight Majlis 7 | Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Yaser Birjas

“How can you neglect to remember the One Who never neglects to remember you?” 

Never discourage the dhikr of Allah for yourself or others, for that is a way of showing enmity to Allah and depriving yourself of the great reward of even just being present in the gatherings of remembrance.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Maybe tomorrow in honoring uh the group, everybody should wear uh a Nigerian uh cap or West African cap. Do you own one?

SPEAKER_02 0:06

Huh?

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Do you own one? I own one.

SPEAKER_00 0:08

How come you never wore it?

SPEAKER_01 0:11

How come I see you for the first time doing it?

SPEAKER_00 0:13

I wore this on Eid two years ago. No. I'm just saying. Some brothers, some brothers have noticed that you haven't worn a Nigerian hat before. Some brothers. Yeah, like you? Some brothers, I say.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

No, actually I did. I did multiple times, but not as often. Maybe because actually it doesn't fit the shape of my head. That's a different journey. Yours is different, man.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

I don't know how to take that. But the Afghan hat. Compliment, compliment. The Afghan hat. The Afghan hat fits your head, right? Alhamdulillah, right? It fits your head, mashallah. It fits your beard too, Shaykh.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

I was wearing one at answer time as well, too.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

But Shaykh, today you have to walk into Sahur and you have to say, I want chop. I want chop. That's slang in Nigeria. I want to eat. I want chop.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Oh, I thought I thought uh Can you say it, Shaykh? I want chop. I want chop? Yeah, there you go.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

If you want to speak Hausa, you say Ya Yakuke. No, that's too much for me. But tomorrow you wear the hat, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:11

I'll stay with the Bosnian inshallah.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Chabapi, huh?

SPEAKER_01 1:15

No. Ready? Assalamu alaikum wahatullah barakatu.

SPEAKER_00 1:19

Aikum wa salaamu wa rahmatulla waqatu.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

Alhamdulillah Rubul Alameen sallallahu alayhi waqaraqana bear Muhammadin wa' ali wa sahbi wa salamataslim and katiratum Ma'mabad. Welcome you back on this beautiful twenty-seventh night of the month of Ramadan. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it a blessed night, Ya Rub al Arameen.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to send his barakah and blessing upon us, Ya Rubul Alameen. We ask Allah to bring the presence of the angels as they surround us with their wings, Ya Rabul Alameen. Amen. And to fill our hearts and our lives with peace and tranquility, Ya Rubul Alameen. Shaykh al Habda Kumallah we continue alhamdulillah discussion with Shaykh Ahmed Saliman from the Val Islamic Center. The book Imam ibn Qudam ibn Qayim al-Jauzi rahimallah, Alwa Sayyid, which means the downpour of blessings from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, uh-kalimatayib for the one who raises the beautiful words. And the beautiful words mean here's the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We've been discussing all these past few nights the benefits of dhikr. And I hope that all these beautiful uh points that Ibn ibn Qayyim rahtioning really strengthens your understanding of the value of dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So it's not just a lip service of jama'ah, it is a lifestyle. Being dhakr, someone who's continuously remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, it is indeed a lifestyle. It's more than just making words of dhikr. And the last thing Shaykh we discussed last time, if you remember, we talked about how people are two categories. Those righteous people are two categories. We talk about now the righteous ones. Because Talibul Ajir, wa talibul Darajah. Some are pursuing the reward, and some pursuing the ranks and the status. Those who are pursuing the road, the the reward, they're focusing on the amal, the deeds that will increase their uh count of merits. Like for example, salatul Jamah, 27 times more than salatul fur, the individual salah, um walk into the major the steps that you bring you hasanat and take sayat away. And when it comes to fasting, the reward for fasting. So we focus on the reward. But the other group, the other category of righteous people, they look for the ranks and the status. And that's when Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala Quran He mentioned Ya'fa'allahu ladina Amanu Aladinu Utul ilma, the Rajat that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala raised amongst you those who have faith and those who have the knowledge, he will raise them into ranks. This is what we're looking for. So we're looking for the ranks, and you need to focus your heart to be the true um devotee, the one that's the decor of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So while people are pursuing the Hasanat in numbers, you're actually going after the ranks in bulk, basically. It is our ranks here in the dunya and in the akharah so this was our discussion last time, Shayya Abdullah Kumullah. Tonight, inshallah, we're gonna we're gonna begin from uh uh point number 46. For those who are following the the Arabic text is on page 171, and the English version is actually on page 197. Number 46, rahimallahu'ala says, Anna filbi kaswatan layy dibuha illa dikrullahi ta'ala, fayambagil abdi andyya kaswata kalbihi bidikr lahi ta'ala. He says Rahimallahu Ta'ala of the benefits of the dhikr. There is in the heart there is a hardness, qaswa, like it gets hard sometimes, that cannot be removed except with the remembrance of Allah. So let the servant treat his hardness of the heart with the remembrance of Allah. So uh Al-Hasar al-Bassi was asked by a man, he says, Oh Abu Sa'id, I complain to you about the hardness of my heart. Like, what can I what should I do? He said to him, Remove it with remembrance. Remove it with the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is because the heart, as the heart increases in heedlessness, and the hardness also intensifies. So when a person remembers Allah, the hardness dissolves as copper melts in fire. Nothing dissolves the hardness of the heart better than the remembrance of Allah Azza wa Jal.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

Absolutely. Shaykhna like when we talk about Qaswat al-kalb, the hardness of the heart, there's also a narration uh with the Prophet Abu Rai radiallahu ta'an who says, Sakharajan Abi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, di Qaswati Khalvihi. A man complained to the Prophet about the hardness of his heart. And he taught him to caress the head of an orphan. There's something about khaswatil qalb that this is not just some expression, that there are actual practical ways to know the hardness of the heart. The illamah primarily mentioned three. The first one is that it doesn't receive guidance, it's not receptive to guidance anymore. So it hears guidance, guidance does not penetrate it. The second one is that warnings don't scare it. Like, you know, it hears the warnings, the threats, the and warnings not necessarily to them, but warnings about the you know collapse of the earth and the uh imminent nature of the day of judgment, everything coming, al-wa'een. That doesn't wake it up. And the third one is that blessings don't awaken it. Shukur, gratitude. And so you'll notice that the Prophet's advice falls within this and also this advice here. The remembrance of Allah softens the heart because it makes it receptive to guidance. It also makes it primed to hear those warnings. Again, not warnings about that person's sinfulness per se, but just in general the severity of the affair. And the third one is awakening gratitude, right? Like the blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala immediately soften the heart, and they enter the heart, and so that person, by interacting with things that remind them of Allah's blessings upon them, or with text and words that remind them of Allah's message to them. Those are the two pathways that really keep the heart softened between the two narrations.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

This ayah summarizes this concept completely. Allah subhanahu wa says, isn't it about time for those who have faith, for those who believed? So Ibn Abbas radianu in commenting on the ayah, he goes, Look, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is, I don't want to say scolding, but he is calling the believers because they're being slow in their response. The believers. This that he's not addressing the non-believers. No, he's addressing the believers themselves. They're not being, they're not being any, they're not racing to come closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They're not racing enough, they're not coming fast enough. So Allah Azza, in Allah, Ya stabtu ibadah Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is seeing his servants are being very slow very slow in their response, very slow in their response. Is it about time for the believers, for their hearts to humble itself for Allah Azzawajal? He said their hearts. Not nufusuhum, not their minds, no, their heart. It needs to humble itself for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. For what? Lidhikrilla. For the remembrance of Allah Azzawajal. Which what Ibn he's been talking about all these you know past nights, that when it comes to the real dhikr is the dhikr of the heart, not the dhikr of the lips. The dhikr, the constant dikr of the heart, which is why in this point he says, if there is no dhikr, the heart goes into ghaflah. Ghafla, heedlessness, which is one of the gates that we talked about where the shaitan can come through. So if the heart is not getting enough life from dhikr, it's gonna get hard. When it's gets hard because there is ghaflah, there is heedlessness, and that's when the shaitan becomes, you know, easy can find a way into the heart of the individual. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saying, Lidikrillah. Shouldn't their hearts to humble humble themselves to the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when Azaram al-Hakana was revealed from the truth, which means the book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, which is the best of dhikr. The Quran is the best dhikr. Don't be like those who received their books from before. Tala alayhimul. And then they took their time, like it just kind of like they thought there's there's there's enough time for them. And then what happened? As a result of that, they become heedless and their heart becomes so hard. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentioned them, those are the ones who are disobedient, rebellious. So, brothers and sisters, what Allah subhanahu wa says over here, if you're not fast enough, returning back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, by attaching your heart to the dhikr of Allah Azza wa Jal, you're eventually gonna become rebellious.

SPEAKER_00 9:59

Shaykh, it's actually Pa'ala alayhim al-amad even is subhanAllah like the time passed. Many of the illmah really elaborated on that in a very powerful way. That there's a time when you come into knowledge of something. You know a command, you know something that you should be doing or something that you shouldn't be doing. The longer time passes without you acting upon it, the more the heart hardens in that spot. And then it becomes an attitude towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then it becomes an attitude towards religion as a whole. And that's why you get terms like non-practicing Muslim. Who in the world coined the term non-practicing Muslim? How do you be a non-practicing Muslim? The word Muslim entails submission. How do you non-practice submission? Right? It doesn't work. And so like submit or who doesn't submit, right? Yeah, submit and not submit at the same time. And this is what Allah talks about Bani Israel and condemns the people of Musa in particular, right? He talks through like they got used to trying to find loopholes, they got used to abandoning, acting upon the command, to where their hearts just became so hard that it was harder than rocks, right? Their hearts became harder than rocks. There was no penetration of the water anymore to their hearts. The water just bounces off the rock and goes right off now. And also one of the signs that the Uma mentioned is um that a person finds it easy then to mock Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Right? So there's a mockery, and like you think about like the society that we live in right now, and like mocking God. Yeah. Right? Like in this day and age, the mockery, making a mockery of God and how easy that is. Like it just it just flows.

SPEAKER_01 11:28

Because their hearts are hard completely. SubhanAllah to your point, Shaykh, about you know, that when the time passes and people they have the knowledge. And that's how Ibn Kayim Rahimallah defines ghaflah. There's a big difference between heedlessness and forgetfulness. So forgetfulness happens, you know, uh naturally. It's it's it's a normal thing. We we're aware of something, but at some point we're completely unaware of it, for whatever reason, whatever circumstances, and that's called Nisyan. You forget. But if you remember, if someone reminds you, you go back again to it because you're not supposed to forget it. Ghafla, on the other hand, and heedlessness, he says Rahimallahu ta'ala, is that deliberate forgetfulness.

SPEAKER_02 12:04

Right.

SPEAKER_01 12:04

Like you know, but you choose not to remember it. Meaning you know, but you choose not to pay attention to it. So you go against what you know and what you or what you're conscious of. That is ghafla. Like you know the need to pray. You know Temple Salah entered, but you're still playing, you're still doing whatever maraj of dunya, or resting, or scrolling on your phone, whatever that is. You do all these things, even though you know the salah came in. That is ghafla now. That's not Nisyan anymore. But salah Nisyan is if you didn't hear the adan and you didn't pay attention until later, oh my god, Dora is already in. Now that is Nisyan, that's not ghafla. So the ghaflah that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is that we know that we need to return back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We know that our dhikr needs to be in the heart, not just on the lips. We know all these things, but we're not making enough effort. We're not making enough effort to enforce that on ourselves, in our heart, to stay awake. And as a result of that, your heart becomes so hard. And the only way you would would you melt that that uh uh that copper, as he said over this example here, is with dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But what kind of dhikr jama'ah? The dhikr of the heart. Remember this more than anything else. That's point number 46. Number 47, Rahimallah he says, Anna dhikra shifa'ul kalbi wadawa uhu walgafla tu maradu. He says, remember that when it comes to dhikr, remembrance is the cure of the heart and it's medicine. Just like knowing that heedlessness is the uh heedlessness is the sickness of the heart. So what is trying to say over here? These hearts are sick, and the only medication, the only remedy for that sickness is found in the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. One of the Salaf he says remembrance of Allah is the cure, and remembering the people is the sickness.

SPEAKER_00 14:04

That's in this statement, by the way, there's also an athar to Umar anhu of the same effect. Talking about Allah is medicine, talking about people is disease. Think about how you feel after you talk about somebody, how your heart feels. You feel nasty, like the heart gets nasty. When you're in a gathering where someone was mentioned in a negative way, just talking about people constantly. I remember Sheikha Ibn al-Jawzi Rahimallah mentions in uh in in uh I forgot which book it is, a very famous book. He talks about a narration of Lukman al-Hakim. It's a it's atr. That Dawud al-Islam at Lukman al-Hakim a-islam. I just take the wisdom from it. We don't, it's not thabat, we don't have the exact chain for it. He says that Dawud al-Islam saw Lukman al-Hakim in a gathering and they were contemporaries or something like that. And Lukman was silent the entire time. So he was shocked by Luqman al-Hakim's silence. So he went to Luqman afterwards and he told him, I noticed that you didn't speak much in the gathering. He said, Is there any point of speaking unless it's about Allah? And is there any point in silence unless you're thinking about Allah? So both your speaking and your silence should be intentional. And of course, Luqman al-Hakim was the scholar, the sage of the tongue, right? His master told him once uh to bring me the best part of the sheep. So he brought him the tongue. Then the next day he said, Bring me the worst part of the sheep, he brought him the tongue again. And he said, What is that all about? He said, if this tongue is used in remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, it's the best part of the body. Whereas if it's used in the you know, slandering of people and in ways that are displeasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, it's the worst part of the body. So the tongue is the best or the worst part of you. But think of how your heart feels when you leave a gathering like this, and how your heart feels when you leave a gathering where everybody was laughing, but you were talking about people the whole time. And how dirty you feel on the inside, and what that cleanse actually has to look like. So talking about Allah is medicine, talking about people is a disease. Remember that for your shaft.

SPEAKER_01 16:07

We live in the culture of the celebrity culture. Like people, they always go uh online to follow these influencers and famous people, and some of these people are famous for absolutely nothing important, really. Nothing, nothing important. They're just famous for whatever thing they do, or even uh some remarks or some even facial expression and so on. And people they talk about these people day and night, but at the end of the day, it's like I said, their heart is empty, it doesn't fulfill anything. But remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, even in silence, it's very fulfilling for the light of ta'a. We mentioned uh the name of Allah Azzah and even saying La ilaha illallah can be pronounced without even moving your lips. Do you know that? So when you say when you close your lips and try to say Allah or say La ilaha illallah, you will be able to pronounce La ilaha illallah without moving your lips. So even when you're sitting down in a big gathering, you can still make dhikr and no one will be noticing that. This is how sincere dhikr can be, and that's how it brings you close to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

SPEAKER_00 17:05

Shaykh, one thing here though, like if everyone does an assessment on themselves, when someone else's name is brought up in a gathering, just ask yourself, how often do you say something nice about people versus something negative about them? Because you'll notice that speaking in defense, it's like actually this subhanallah, the rewards. So, for example, an airdi ahihi, whoever speaks in defense of his brother, Radda Allah, the Prophet said, Allah distances his face from the fire. That sounds like a reward for dhikr. It sounds like some of the rewards for remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So to speak well of someone in a gathering, like get your tongue used to saying nice things about people. Mention their positive qualities. And if you have nothing good to say about them, move on. I have nothing good to say. Um, so just don't say anything. But a tongue that gets used to saying good things about people is a beautiful tongue. A tongue that remembers Allah, and a tongue that Allah is pleased with, and a tongue la hit, that just keeps accumulating reward after reward after reward, and your heart will feel good as well. So try always when someone's name is brought up in a gathering, before it can even go to backbiting, say something positive about that person. Say, what an amazing brother, what an amazing sister. Right away, right?

SPEAKER_01 18:14

You you change the tune of that gathering, you change the way that people are spoken about in your presence, bidn al-point number 48, Rahimallahu Alaihi says, This is to the point that you mentioned earlier, Shaykh, in translation he said, Rahim Allah, remembrance is the basis and the means of loyalty to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and its main part. However, heedlessness is the basis and the means of his enmity. The servant will continue to remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala until he loves him and gives him his loyalty, or he will continue to neglect him until he hates him and becomes his enemy. He continues by saying down there, Saskal, Ma'ada Abdun Rabbahu, Bishay in Ashadda Aleihi min an yakraha dikrahu, aw Mayyudakkiro. He says, Al-Abzai, Al-Hassan ibn ibn Atiyyah, he says, a servant can never show more enmity to his Lord than disliking his remembrance or disliking the one who remembers him subhanahu wa ta'ala.

SPEAKER_00 19:30

This is a huge one.

SPEAKER_01 19:31

So what he says over here, rahimallah, is what you just mentioned earlier, Shaykh. Because of the hardness of the heart and the gafla and the heedlessness, the heart is empty, doesn't have a remember of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So anyone tries to remember remind you with Allah Azzawajal, you cringe. You know, I see that a lot. We see that a lot when people they're living their dunya. They want to just be heedless, they want to enjoy their moment of some worldly pleasure. But then when one of those righteous people, or they keep calling the righteous one, right? When they come into the gathering, they all start cringing. Why? Because oh, here we go again. We're gonna talk about God now. We've seen that. You probably you know some people like that. Every time you you come in and they everybody just turning right now because the the god the session is gonna now turn into masAllah halakah, and it becomes mashallah uh reminder and so on. And they hated that. That's because their heart and fortune are empty and full with ghlah rather than full with dhur of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

Shaykh, two things here that come to mind. Number one, you know, when someone thinks about becoming a do and lillah, an enemy to Allah, may Allah protect us. You think of some major act of rebellion. But it's not a major act of rebellion, it's consistent neglect. Consistent neglect puts you in that category. Right? Your creator puts you here, he calls upon you, he descends blessings upon you. Consistent neglect puts you in that category. And so it's not like I have to take on this major action of rebellion. Just like to become a wali of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, right, to become a friend of Allah is consistent remembrance. Right? There's the famous long hadith ma'a dari walia faqata adantul bihar, where Allah talks about how much he loves his wali, how much he loves his close friend. And what is it? He comes close to me through performing his obligations, and then and nawafir starts doing voluntary good deeds too until I love him. Hata uh until I love that person. Then when I love that person, I become the sight with which he sees, the hearing with which he hears, the hand with which he strikes, and the foot with which he steps. Now, so that's the first thing. Consistent neglect, consistent remembrance is what puts you in the category of friend or enemy. The second thing is loving the people of dhikr. Loving the people of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. I love the righteous people even though I'm not amongst them. So that maybe they'll intercede for me on the day of judgment. Right? Imam Shafra said, And I dislike the one who disobeys Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala even if we trade in similar inventory. Like being around those people. The narration of Abu Durda radiallahu ta'ala anhu kuna aliman omuta' adiman omut tabi'an om muhidbin. Be a scholar or be a student or be a follower or be a lover, but don't be the fifth. Right? Love the righteous people. And the Prophet talked about one of the signs of iman that you love someone only for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So loving the righteous is a sign of the love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, hating them is a sign of wickedness and enmity of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And you know, to Shaykh Yasha's point as well, like when someone is in the gathering, there's a two-way street here, right? So the Prophet, when he sat with the companions, he talked about worldly things too, but in a decent and dignified and noble way. But at the same time, like if your gatherings, any like any serious discussion and any mention of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is like looked down upon, that's just not a good gathering to be in. That's not a good place to be in. Where like it's not welcome to even have a discussion about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, talk about meaningful things in life. That's not a good gathering to be in.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

They feel disgusted by this mention. Just like kind of like again, it's cringy. You know, uh we don't want to have this kind of conversation. But Allah subhanahu wa says, what but when others are spoken about, when others are being mentioned, Idaho, they all become mashallah, they rejoice. They're now very happy and excited. Now, this is even though it's talking is is spoken about a shirk, like when they speak about Allah subhanahu wa versus idols and so on, but even with the context of uh um speaking about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala versus speaking about other names and celebrities and so on, when you have the exact same excitement when you hear about all these human idols versus Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, that I applies over here. When you start feeling disgusted just by the mention of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, when you try to remind somebody about Allah, and they're just like, ah, I don't want to have this conversation right now. So may Allah protect us from the Sarah B alame. And frankly, that kind of attitude can be an attitude that by some Muslims, like those who believe in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, but again, because their heart is empty and has ghafla and heedlessness, it's because of that it is shutting down from recognizing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala or feeling excited about the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

SPEAKER_00 24:32

Sheikh point here, loving the people of Allah starts with the Prophet, the Prophets of Allah, right? You love the Prophet, you love Isa alayhi salam, you love Musa alayhi salam, you love Dawood alayhi salaam, you love the Prophets of Allah, you love Ibrahim, and then you love the family of the Prophet. And you love the companions of the Prophet, and you love the Ansar, right? The Prophet has an Hubul Ansar al-Iman. Uh loving the the people of Medina, loving the Ansar who hosted the Prophet is from Iman, it's from faith. So I mean, like, I'm just being very clear here. Like, when you think about the sahaba, when you think about these stars, how much love do you have in your heart? And if you pay attention, when you love them, your relationship with Allah is better. The more you love them, the more you're going to find yourself loving the Prophet and loving Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So learn about them and love them as well. It's not just the living people of Allah, it's actually more so the people that have passed away, the people of Allah Azza that have passed away.

SPEAKER_01 25:37

Point number 49, Rahimallah, he says, Annahu must fiatli dikrita'ala. He says over here on point number 49, nothing brings about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala blessings and repels his wrath more than remembrance of Allah Azza wa Jal. Remembrance leads to blessings and is a shield against anger. Allah says, Innallaha yudafi wa ladina amun. That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, indeed, Allah defends those that believed. So here, rahim Allah, he's mentioned that look, one of the blessings of dhikr of Allah, it brings it brings the naam, the blessings from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and repels all the the uh um uh the niqam, the wrath of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the trials, the calamities, and so on. So obviously, if you would like to have if you'd like your your blessings to be increased, you need to increase your dhikr. And if you want to protect yourself definitely, you have to protect yourself, of course, with the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Kal, he said after that, um akter anhu difa hu adam, when an akas oman nakasa, nakasa dikran, bidikrin when he says, so as a result, your um your the strength, the substance of course of the heart is iman. Iman is the substance of the heart. Your faith is the substance that the heart really needs. And the strength of that iman comes from remembering Allah Azza wa jal. So if you have a strong iman, that's an indication you have a strong dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And if you are more, if you do more dhikr of Allah as in your heart, your iman becomes stronger until it becomes even complete. Therefore, he says it diminishes. You know, the dhikr becomes less, the iman becomes less, and the strength of the heart becomes less as well too. And the more you add to it, you add strength to your heart and to your iman, inshaAllah. So the word that he mentioned beautifully, Fadikru Jallabu Ni'am, the faunin niqum. A dhikr remembrance brings a lot of blessings and shields against the wrath and the and the calamities.

SPEAKER_00 27:44

And he says, Remember when your Lord announced that if you are grateful, I will increase you. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala did not say that I will increase you in a specific blessing. He said, I will increase you, I'll increase you in everything. And the first thing that the scholars mentioned that he'll increase you in is iman. He'll increase you in faith because you'll have a different lens. Remember yesterday we talked about the lens. If you see everything through the lens of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then everything is gathered for you. And so Allah increases you in iman, he increases you in the barakah of those specific blessings, the blessing of those blessings, and he increases you in the blessings as well. And he has one of the beautiful statements of the Salaf here as well. Like, what is worse than neglecting to remember the one who is never neglectful of remembering you? Like the opposite of Fatkuruni Athkurkum. Remember me and I will remember you. So how can you neglect to remember the one who never neglects remembering you?

SPEAKER_01 28:37

Shaykh, in a human relationship, obviously, if the relationship is not reciprocal, it's hard for the person to continue with that energy and for a long time. If you're always the one who's given and always remember your spouse, or your loved one, your parent or your child even, and you do all the khairat to them. But you get nothing in return. Why is that? Because a lot of that, a lot of time those who don't reciprocate that kindness, that goodness, because what they feel entitled to it. And us human beings, sometimes we feel entitled to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's blessings. And if Allah chooses to test us, we get frustrated with that. Like, why me? Why not him? Why not her? And so on and so. So remember, you know, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, He never ignores remembering you with His blessings. He always gives subhanahu wa ta'ala. Even when you disobey Him, He's still taking care of you subhanahu wa ta'ala. So to the point that uh the Salah Rahimallah says, Ma'akba halgaflata uh al-gafla to an dikri man lay fulrik. He says that like what is worse than neglecting to remember the one who is never neglectful of remembering you. Very powerful statement, subhanAllah. Rahimallah he moved to point number 50. He says, Anna dhikra you jibu salatullahi azza wajal wama' ikatu ala dakir says the benefit of remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is remembrance necessitates Allah sending blessing on the one who practices it and do so, uh and do so his angels. Like what does that mean? If you remember Allah Azza, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala put upon himself, then he will remember you. And also he will make the angels remembering you. How so? In the form of salawat. What's the meaning of salawat? In translation, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says over here, O you who believe, remember Allah much. Dhikran Khathira, and glorify him in the morning and in the evening. It is he who sends down blessings upon you, as do says his angels, that he may bring you, you bring you out from the depth of darkness into the light. He is most merciful to the believers subhanahu wa ta'ala. Shaykh wanna comment on the term that is mentioned in the Quran versus the translation. So the Arabic term in the Quran, Allah says, Who will ledi you sali alaykum? It is he subhanahu wa ta'ala who blesses you with salawat. Okay, and the angels as well too. So what does that mean? So the ulama they say, when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is sending salawat upon you, blessing you with salawat from him subhanahu wa ta'ala, that means he is praising you, he is praising you particularly in front of the angels. And you can imagine, you know, your Lord subhanahu wa ta'ala is acknowledging you and give you a special mention in a gathering that is way better than our gatherings in the dunya. That's a great honor. And from the angels though, a salawat from the angels means that they're making dua for you. The angels making dua for you. And the hadith of Prophet mentioned when you finish your first salah and you sit down making dhikr after salah, instead of scrolling on your phone, making dhikr, Allah will assign angels to come around you, and they will seek istighfar, they will say, Allah ma'hfalahu, Allah Muhham, you Allah forgive her, you Allah forgive him, you Allah have mercy on him, until you get up from your spot or you lose your wudol. So Allah brings the angels to mention salawat upon him, meaning to make dua for you while you make a dhikr.

SPEAKER_00 32:15

And anything, anyone that Allah loves, the angels love. Anyone that Allah hates, the angels hate. Anyone that Allah remembers, the angels remember. But that specific point, I don't want you to lose it. Any dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala brings the angels to you to make dua for you. Even when you go to sleep at night, Prophet Al-Tahira, whoever goes to sleep in purity, in a state of wudu, Allah assigns an angel to sit right at the head of that person to seek forgiveness. Oh Allah forgive him because he went to sleep in a state of purity. So the angel will keep making dua for you throughout the night. So the mention of the angels, and there's something very profound about this. Like Allah is the one who is called upon, so Allah has no one to call upon Himself. So it's Allah making dua for you doesn't make sense, right? But the angels call upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for you. Right? So Allah's salah upon you is mention. The angel's salah upon you is supplication, is dua back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for you.

SPEAKER_01 33:14

He says Rahimallahu, on this point, he says, salaatu minhu malaikati seva ikrajum mina durumati ila nur. See, so this mercy, this blessing is from him, subhanahu wa ta'ala and his angels, are a means for them to emerge out of the darkness into the light. If they receive this mercy from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and his angels, they emerge from the darkness into the light, then what goodness has not has not reached them through it. And what evil has not been repelled from them. Like, look, if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gets you out of darkness into the light because of that dhikr. And so whatever misses you, it doesn't really matter. Shouldn't bother you because you have Allah's light, subhanahu wa ta'ala. And whatever gets it's not gonna get you overexcited because you have what is better than that, and that's Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala dhikr in your heart as well too. So see, basically, if you'd like your heart to be shining with light, then remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We can go to 51 Shaykh. Now 51 He says, rahim Allah, Anna Mansha, and Yaskuna Ryad al-Jannah Fiddunya Falliya stoutun majal dikir fannah riyadul Jannah Does anyone want to be in Jannah in this world, Jamah? Anyone wants to be in Jannah in this world? I hope so. I hope so, right? We would like to be in Jannah in this world. Why do you think people when they go to Umrah, when they go to Umrah, what do they do usually? They go and they book they book what? The Rawdah, the Rawdah appointment. Have you been to the Rawdah lately, Jamah? How long does it take even to book that time and how long does it take to get in there? You will be probably sometimes standing for hours, for hours, until you get your turn to get into Majin Nabi. Just to spend five minutes in a spot in Majin Nabi that he said, This is like it's a Rawda Muriadul Jannah. This is a space from Jannah. Like when you sit there, as if you have been granted a space in Jannah. Can you imagine how great that is, how beautiful this is? The Prophet mentioned to us alhamdulillah that you can get that opportunity every day. But what is exactly? So a translation here he says, Rahimallahu ta'ala, whoever wishes to live in the gardens of paradise in this world, then let him frequent the gatherings of remembrance. For they are the gardens of paradise. Where is he getting this from? Hadithin Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, Hadith Jabir Abdullah Radilanu Arda, Rasulullah, Ya ayyuanasul Jannah. Abdullah Jabr Abdullah says, the Prophet one time he came out to us and he said, O people, take as much benefit as you can from the Garden of Paradise. So Sahaba, they were surprised. They asked, O Messenger of Allah, what are the gardens of paradise? He said, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, remember Allah as much as you can when you come and you go, and whoever wishes to know his place with Allah, then let him know, let him look at his Allah's place with himself. Very powerful statement over here. You want to know exactly, really truly, uh, what's your status with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Then you need to know how what is Allah's status in your life to begin with. A very powerful statement.

SPEAKER_00 36:37

Shaykh, there's a Abu Huraira, who wanted to test the companions one time or test the Tabari in the second generation. So I just want you to imagine this like sentiment. Abu Huraid goes to the streets of Medina and he says, Hurry up to the masjid. The inheritance of the Prophet is being distributed. Like you know when you hear like free stuff, right? Like Shaykh Yasser loves Yemeni cafes. That's why he always hates on them. What? So he he loves them so much he just can't stop talking about them, right? Yeah, right. So it's free Yemeni coffee outside.

SPEAKER_01 37:10

Are they paying you for this advisadmi right now?

SPEAKER_00 37:13

Free Shaykh Adani outside, right? Anytime there's free stuff, we love it. Like we we cling to free stuff, right? Come to this store at this time, you're gonna go get a free, like you're not even thinking about the idea of like, okay, it's only three dollars when it's not free, but you know what? Like this idea of getting a free donut, awesome. Everybody go crowd the store, get your free donut. Stand for hours in line, huh?

SPEAKER_01 37:34

What's that?

SPEAKER_00 37:34

And they stand in for hours. Yeah, stand in there for hours. But free this, free that, right? So Abu Huraira said, the inheritance of the Prophet is being distributed. People just like immediately left what they were doing in the marketplace and they ran to the masjid of the Prophet and then they came back to Abu Hare and they were upset. They were like, Are you messing with us? Like, we got to the masjid, there was no distribution here, nothing was being passed out. They thought like he was basically trying to like gain some sort of market advantage. So send everybody to the masjid, then sell his own product, then make money off of everybody, right? So he said, Well, what did you find when you went to the masjid? They said, We found a circle of hadith, a circle of fiqh, a circle of you know, this and this and that. He said, That's the inheritance of the Prophet. The Prophet said that the Prophets, we the Prophets do not leave behind inheritance. Our inheritance is knowledge. That idea, like the gardens of Jannah, are there. And a Shaykh Yasser's point, like about the Rawdah, like people go to Medina and you almost don't want to like burst their bubble that some of their ulama mentioned, I'm sorry, like this is a reality check here. Some of their ulama mentioned that the Prophet, the reason why he said between my house and my minbar is a rawdah and riad al-Jannah, is because that's where the halakhas of the Prophet used to be. So it's the halaqat. There's no doubt that there's no that there's something special about the rawdah and how it feels. But this right here is a rawdah from Riyadh al-Jannah. This right here is a rawdah from Riad al-Jannah, I'd say from the gardens of paradise. And then that's when you start asking yourself, like, how many times have I been missing out? Like, you want to get courtside seats, front row to this, whatever it is. You go to a garden of paradise where Allah is being remembered. Far ta'ufiah and take your time. Get there early, sit, dwell in the presence of the angels while the angels make dua for you. That's why I tell people, like, I want to go study one day, I want to go do this, I want to go that. Do you attend your local halakha or not? Do you attend your local halakhs or not? That's what it comes down to. Like, don't tell me one day I'm gonna go memorize the Quran and become a sheikh. Do you attend your local halakhs or not? Oh, but you know, just attend your local masjid halakahs and be consistent with it and roam in the gardens of paradise as much as you can build the night time.

SPEAKER_01 39:46

Ma'am al-Kayim rahimallahu ta'ala, he mentioned point number 52. So he talks about the halakh of dhikr, our uh God is from paradise, right? He says now keep in mind these gatherings are where angels come together. They themselves come together these days. So the gatherings of remembrance are also the gatherings of the angels. He says the angels only gather in this world in those gatherings where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is being remembered. That's it. Nothing else brings them together in this dunya except the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You want the presence of the angels to be in your house, make dhikr in your house with your family. You want a dhikr, bring friends and start remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala together. So all of these brings the angels into your presence, into your household, into your family's life, inshaAllah ta'barak. And he mentioned Rahimallah, a long hadith, the beginning of it is that Allah the Prophet says, Inna lillahi mala ikatan fudulan and kutabin nas. He says, indeed, Allah has some angels roaming the paths and roads of the earth seeking out the people of remembrance. Well, he didn't translate actually the beginning of the hadith. The beginning of the hadith says, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala ascends to earth, angels are uh different than the ones who write down your deeds. Like those are extra angels, basically. Not the ones assigned to write your deeds. Those extra angels. What is their job? So their job, what do they do? Ya tufunattuq. They go into the paths of this earth, they're looking for the gatherings of remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. When they find people remembering Allah, the Most High Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, they call upon each other, Halummu, be quick, come, come. We found it. We found the gathering you're looking for. So they found the gathering and they sit down together, as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the Prophet mentioned, and they will come and they surround this gathering with their wings. And I hope Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has sent these angels to gather us together around the Sharabila. And they will cover you with their wings and they will be on top of each other all the way until the heavens, all the way top to the heavens, subhanahu wa, until they're up there, and that's when Allah asks them what's happening there. And Allah knows the answer, obviously, but He wants to mention our presence to the angels. What are they doing? Ya Rabbi, they're glorifying you, they mention you, and they ask, What are you looking for? What are they asking about? They're asking for Jannah. Do you know how it looks like? No. What if they've seen it? What else are they asking for? Protection from Jahannam. Do you know how it looks like? No. What would they do if they know how it looks like? They will be away, far away from it, subhanAllah. But all of this is a conversation between the Lord subhanAWAT and the angels, because of you gathering in a gathering like this.

SPEAKER_00 42:48

By the way, you know there's a everyone always likes to talk about jinn. If we start talking about jinn right now, everybody will wake up. Let's talk about jinn, two subjects, jinn and marriage, right? No. Two subjects that mashallah, the community, never get sick of. You know? And if you talk about marrying jinn, that's like gold. The ultimate clickbait. That's a new thing is the marriage, marry marrying the jinn. Have you done niqah like this before? No, I have not. Not in this hat or any other hat. Like I've never done it before. Um, you know, there's this almost like obsession that we have with with jinn. And one of the things that uh the manifestations of the hadith that some of the immature that Allah Azza prescribed, Rahmati Rhabat, Ralabi, Radhabi, my mercy over overcomes my anger, is that Allah created way more angels than He did devils. Way more angels than He did devils. Just the idea that from here to Allah Azza, the Prophet is saying the heavens are creaking. Like they're they're about to explode. Because there is not a handspan except that there's an angel that's remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, standing, bowing, or prostrating. Imagine Allah created angels that just do sujood their entire existence. Remember Allah and sujood. They just prostrate their entire existence. So Allah poured into this world angels who don't protect you, who don't write for you. They just look for these gatherings. That's it. And it's their oxygen. And then the fact that these wings go all the way through the heavens, it's unbelievable, subhanAllah. But that's that's how much light Allah ingested into the air, put into the air for us to try to have that oxygen and that saqinah, that tranquility descend upon us. And also, Shaykh, of course, at the end of the hadith is really important that a person, you know, the angels are like, yeah, but that guy, you know who you are, came because their dad brought them here, came because their friend said, Let's go to Valley Ranch Islamic Center at 1 a.m. And like, oh man, I just I really want to go to Sa'Qud and I'll just come on with me. You know, came because of peer pressure. That person came because they wanted to see what Shaykh Yasser was going to wear today. That person came because that person came for this, came for that. Like they really weren't looking for this. They just kind of got dragged along. All right. They were, they thought they were going out somewhere else tonight and they got pulled in, or whatever it may be. Peer pressure. And the angels are like, yeah, Allah, that person wasn't really there for that. And Allah says, but that group of people, their jalis, the one who sits amongst them, La Yashka, will not be deprived. I'll even give my mercy to that person. Just because they were there. Which shows you, like, if you came here and like you're like, I didn't really benefit that much, or I don't know if my intention was that, work on purifying your intention because you're seeking rank, not just reward. But Allah in His mercy surrounds the whole gathering and says, My mercy is written for all of them. May Allah Azza make us amongst them. And that's one of the benefits of always being around righteous people, by the way. That by being around righteous people, good friends, then you'll be resurrected with them, bidnallahi ta'ala.

SPEAKER_01 45:44

You know, Shaykh the Prophet towards the end of the hadith when he says, Allah Azza, when he has this conversation with the angels, and then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will tell the angels, I make you witnesses that I have forgiven them all. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgiveness to all of us are. Look, we talk about a gathering like this, Sajama. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is talking to the angels about a gathering like this. And he speaks about each and every one of you in this gathering. In a man's majesty, subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then he says, Subhanahu wa ta'ala to the angels, I have forgiven them all. And that's when the angels they say, My lord, but uh we know one person there is not for that. He came for something different. And Allah says, subhanahu wa ta'ala, he's forgiven as well. And Ibn Qayim, Rahimallah, he comments in that shaykh, he says, Rahimallahu ta'ala fahada min barakati him, ala nufusihim wa ala jalisi him, fala hum nasibum min kawaihi ta'ala waja ala ni mubarakan aina ma'kunt, fahakad al mu'min mubarakun aina halla, alfaju mushumun ay na hal. He says Rahimallahu ta'ala over here. So, this is uh from the the blessings upon themselves, me the believers, upon themselves and upon those who sit with them. They will have a portion from the stream of Allah, he has made me blessed wherever I am, I may be. Likewise, the believer is blessed wherever it may be, the evildoer is unfortunate uh whoever he may be. So remember, being in a gathering like this, you are getting giving yourself the opportunity to be forgiven even if you believe I don't deserve it. Even if you believe I'm not worthy of it. Don't let the shaitan deceive you with that. Gathering like these might say, Well, I shouldn't be here, you know, all these people, mashallah, good people, I'm gonna ruin it, I'm gonna be just like the bad apple on this beautiful gathering, this bushul bunch. Don't let the shaitan deceive you with that statement. Just go look for them, even if you feel that you are the bad one, right? I want to be in good gathering. Hopefully, I can get the barakah of these people, inshaAllah.

SPEAKER_00 47:47

Can I comment on this ayah really quick? Like, who's the one saying mubarak and ainum akunt? Who said that? He made me blessed wherever I may be. Aissa alayhi sallam. Jesus, peace be upon him, right? Isa aislam said that. If you think about the personality of Jesus, peace be upon him, of Isa alayhi salam. Right? What a blessing. Like when you think of Isa aisla, you think of miracles, you think of mercy, you think of a beautiful personality, like how much the Prophet praised him and said an aawl nas, fiddunya, v Isa. I'm the closest person in the world to Isa ibn Mariah. And Allah praises his miracles and things of that sort. But when Aissa alay came into the gathering, the wicked doers they hated him. They hated him. Why? Because he always called out their corruption. He always called out their corruption. Right? So Isa was very disagreeable to the corrupt of Beni Israel and to the Romans, because like he always called them out on their corruption. So they treated him like a curse. But he's mubarak and ainamakunt. He was blessed wherever he may be. Can you imagine Isa was being pushed? Like, how do we get rid of this guy? Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Who's more blessed than that? But they hated him, right? Like we would love to be with him. We cry over our missing him, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, having not had that opportunity. And in Mecca, what were they doing? Shoeing him away from the gatherings, persecuting him, trying to get rid of him, trying to make sure his name will never be mentioned, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Why? Because he holds up a mirror to their corruption. He holds up a mirror to their corruption. So why would someone hate the one who reminds them of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Because they remind them of their own sinfulness. They remind them of their corruption. I don't like people that make me uncomfortable. I seek people that make me comfortable, that validate me in my evil. That's the story of humankind. Right? The story of mankind is seeking the validators and those that comfort. They don't like people that hold up a mirror. And the prophets brought mirrors when they reminded people of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So we take on the inheritance of the prophets when we hold on to this knowledge, and we take on the mission of the Prophets when we seek to be mubarak, wherever maybe we may be.

SPEAKER_01 49:44

SubhanAllah Shaykh, uh, to the end of that paragraph that he mentioned, Alhamdulillah. So therefore, the good the gathering of good people, mashallah, it brings goodness in you as well too, just like the gathering of uh those who are heedless, would also bring the worst out of you. So that reminds me one time a story actually I had with uh uh a young Imam I've known in Bosnia at the time. We were talking together, and he says one time he was sitting with he's and mashallah, he's a young Imam, but you can say he wants to live the life of the people as well too. And he's not much into the Ibada on Ta'a, but he's just as a profession. So one time we were talking, he says he was sitting with some people from the community, and then he he said to one of them, hey, I haven't seen you in the majid lately. Why don't you come to the masjid? He said this to him, and then he tells me, he said, when he said that, he said, Oh my god, he regretted it. He said, I regret it, he said, Oh man, why did I have to say that to him? I said, What's the problem with what you said? He goes, They're gonna hate me right now, they're not gonna like me anymore. And wallahi just I reflect on that so much, I said, but your job is to make sure that these people see the light, that they see the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and so on. But that reminds me of this point over here that when you gather with good people of goodness, the good, the best of you comes out.

SPEAKER_02 50:58

Right.

SPEAKER_01 50:58

And when you gather with those people who are heedless, unfortunately you start also leaning towards heedlessness, and you mentioning words of dhikr to them becomes odd and very strange, subhanAllah. So Ma Allah protect us.

SPEAKER_00 51:16

So when the Prophet saw like a rotting, you know, uh the rotting flesh of a goat, right? What's the word I'm looking for? It starts with a C. Carcass? Carcass, yeah. Yeah, he saw that rotting, the rotting carcass of a of a goat, and he said, you know, on the flies and and all just think of the bugs that are that are flying to it, right? Like that's the example of people that backbite. That's the example of those that do hiba. That's the example. You're attracted to that stuff because that's who you are on the inside. You get attracted to garbage, types of flies that fly to garbage, right? So when you find yourself starting to get pulled to the masjid, starting to get pulled to good friends, starting to get pulled to good gatherings, starting to get pulled to listening to beneficial things, that's a sign that your inner state is craving that now. That's good. So he's saying, like you're attracted to what your inner state actually is. So change your inner state, and it's a it's a duality, right? So you change your external until your internal reflects that reality, and you elevate your internal until you seek of your external what reflects your aspirational reality.

SPEAKER_01 52:22

Some people just like flies, they only fall on the wound, which means they look at the pus, we look at the the filth, and they fall down there somehow. That's the inner state of themselves also, attracted to these things. And may Allah protect you, all the jama'ah. If you see yourself attracted to these kind of gatherings, to these kind of you know, people, those kind of attitudes, it should be it should be something to alert you about who you are. And what you what you the state of your heart, the state of your mind as well too. So Ma Allah protect you from the Sarah Balameen. Point number 53, he says, Rahim Allah, and Allah Azza wa Jalla Yahibi bidaki mala iketah. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he will boast about his creation, about about people in front of the angels. Like Allah is proud of you in a way that says Major subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is pleased to mention you in the gathering better than this gathering. And uh he mentioned, he said, Qal Fahadin Muba al-Mubaha. This basically the kind of uh um al-Mubaha when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is boasting about you to the angels, he says, This is this so this boasting from the Lord is proof of the great honor and sharf and esteem which is connected to the to the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and how it is value, its value above all the other Amar and good deeds. So that's a very important point over here to mention, inshaAllah Azza wa Jal.

SPEAKER_00 53:46

Saqhi um in this mention, if you go back to the original point where he said that Allah loved the children of Adam too much to give them up to shaitan. Like Iblis said, I got them from here. And Allah loved them too much, that He protected them. Remember when Allah Azza created Adam, the angels said, wait a minute, but these are people that are going to spread corruption and spill blood. Allah said, I know that which you don't know. And Ibn Abbas radiallahu anuma said that what that means is that from that descendant or from the descendants of Adam alayhi salam, yes, there are a lot of corrupt people, there are a lot of evil people, but there are people that Allah loves so much and they surpass the angels in rank. There's Muhammad, the prophets of Allah, the righteous ones that come out of the lineage of Adam a Islam, and Allah is proud of them. Allah loves them. And that idea of Allah saying, not only are you like forgiven and you know, I'm not gonna punish you, but I'm proud of you, you bahi bihum al-mela'iqa, that's an incredible feeling. I'm proud of this creature. And Allah is saying that to a creature that doesn't sin. Allah is saying that to angels that are sinless about humans that are inherently sinful. I'm proud of them. Look at these people, I'm proud of them because they're choosing Allah over other than Allah. The angels don't choose, humans choose. And so the beauty and the brilliance of the human being is when the human being chooses to remember Allah Azwal over all else. And the angel admires that and loves that because the angel never had that choice the way that the human being had that choice.

SPEAKER_01 55:24

So Shaykh, I want to move to quickly for point to point 55 and 56. This is very important to mention quickly before we go to the question, inshaAllah ta'ala. Point number 55, he says, He says, know that all the deeds of Allah that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala prescribed to ush upon you, all the actions and deeds have been legislated for the purpose of establishing the remembrance of Allah Azzawajal and to achieve this remembrance is the aim. Which means when you fast, when you give charity, when you pray, when you do dikr, when you uh do any kind of ibadah, if if you are not focusing by heart on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you're not benefiting from that ibada very well. That's why people they keep saying, I've been praying all these years. I don't feel it. Yeah, because you just you'll be praying with your limbs, not with your heart. Same thing, you fast, and by the end of the day you feel exhausted. The only thing you got out of it is just being hungry and hit and thirsty. But it did not increase you in any kind of you know spirituality because the heart uh doesn't have that dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So he says, everything, every good deed, the purpose of it to remind you of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. If it's not reminding you of Allah Azza wa Jal, then you're missing the point. And he brings the ayah to the evidence for this qal, wa akim is salat al-dikri and established the salah rigra salah lidikri. Translation said to remember me. The ulama of tafsir they say actually has multiple meanings. One of them is to remember me, so you pray to remember me. Ada tafsir they say it's actually the opposite. Aqim is salat al-dhikri, basically, you prep you you pray, you're gonna salah, so I would remember you. Like so I can remember. When you start making ibada and dikr of me, I will remember you. As Allah said, if you remember me, I remember you. So when you pray and remember me, I will in return remember you as well. But either way, Ibn Taymi Rahimullah He says actually the meaning of the ayah is both. Right. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala remembered you first, so he made it easy for you to go and pray. So he could remember you. SubhanAllah. Like it's a barakah from Allah that he guides your heart to remember him. So that's the that's the point uh 55.

SPEAKER_00 57:46

Can I share one thing from 55 really quick? Because Ibn Taymiyyahimallah also says about the prayer. Well a dhikrullahi akbar, the remembrance of Allah is greater. So Allah says about prayer in na salata, prayer causes you to abstain from evil and uh obscenities. But then what he says is that dhikrullahi akbar, the remembrance of Allah is greater. He says prayer has two purposes. One of them is to prevent you from shameful deeds and wrongdoings, but the other one is the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and that's greater, that's the greater goal, because it's greater than restraint. And we were talking about this idea that when you use your tongue for good, you kind of block out the space to use it for evil. But the greater goal is that your heart will remember Allah with your tongue. Likewise, when it comes to prayer, prayer naturally causes you to leave off certain evil deeds. But the greater goal is that you remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and you raise and rank as well with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

SPEAKER_01 58:45

Finally, Shaykh point number 56, which is extremely, extremely important and valuable. If I might ask right now, who is the best of those who fast i Jama? What do you guys think? The best of those who fast, who are they?

SPEAKER_02 58:59

Huh?

SPEAKER_01 59:00

Who doesn't speak ill, right? Who is the best of those who pray? Who is the best among those who give charity? Who is the best among those who do such a badah? Like if like all of you over here, mashaAllah, may Allah bless you, Rabbi. Who is the best among you all over here right now? Now Allah knows we don't. Allah knows, right? But who is the person will be in a gathering like this, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will count them to be among the best? So point number 56, he says, Rahimallah. He said, the most excellent of those who perform any good deed are people who do it with a great amount of remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You'll find a thousand people in the masjid, they're all praying to Hajjud, they're all praying to Rawih. But they're not the same. They're not the same at all. You'll find one person whose heart is indeed in the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and that person will be the best among them all. Those who fast. Everybody fasts on Ramadan, mashaAllah, but not everybody is at that rank of being the best. So we talk about ranks right now, we're not talking about reward. So that person will be the best because they have the dikr of Allah while fasting. And that's how every time when they uh think about their fasting, they want to think about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They don't want to say anything bad, they don't want to do anything wrong, they don't want to cheat, they always think of doing it with ex with excellence, they don't want to tarnish their fasting. That level of dhikr makes the person among the best in terms of ranks with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So that's the point he's making over here. I want to make it very clear that in order for you to increase your ranking, not reward, reward everybody's getting maybe equally for praying, for fasting. But among those who pray and fast, there are people who are also advancing in ranks, not just in reward. May Allah make them.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:52

And he has a narration here, it's Mursalf, that the Prophet was asked who the best people who visit the Masjid are Ahlul Masjid. And he said, Aladina Yafkurun, Allah, those who remember Allah the most. And he was asked about Ahlul Janazah, or Jana's, those who who uh attend the Janazahs, and he said, those who remember Allah the most. And he was asked about Al-Mujahideen, he said, those who remember Allah the most. And he was asked about the Hajj, those who remember Allah the most, until he was asked about uh the Ibad as a whole, the worshippers as a whole, and he said, those who remember Allah the most. The point is to give you just something here as well. In the middle of your Sliyam, Imam al-Ghazai Raimallah mentioned three levels of fasting, for example. So the first one is the fasting of the body, that you abstain from food and drink in intimacy. The second level is that you abstain from sinfulness. The eyes abstain from looking at what is displeasing to Allah, the ears abstain from listening to what's displeasing to Allah, the tongue abstains from speaking what is displeasing to Allah, and that's the fast of taqwa. That's the fast of restraint, and it's a good one. The third level is those who fast from worldly thoughts, they're thinking more about the hereafter now. So even their hearts and their minds are fasting because they're really leaning into thoughts of the Akhirah and Allah Azza wa Jal and what it all actually means. So the greatest salah is the one where Allah has thought about most. The greatest hajj is not the one who like everyone's doing seven rounds of tawaf. You don't get credit for doing an eighth one. Everyone's doing seven sa'i, you don't get credit for doing an eighth one. The greatest hajj is the one who remembered Allah the most. The greatest Umar is the one who remembered Allah the most. So injecting the remembrance of Allah into every one of your ibadat, how often are you thinking of Allah and magnifying Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, is the most important. It reminds me, Shaykh, of a of a story with Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, Raimullah Ta'ala, where uh Salah ibn al-Kaysan was asked by his father about Umar. So Abdul Aziz uh Ibn Marwan went to be the governor of Hilwan in Egypt. And he left Umar ibn Abdul Aziz in Medina to study with the ulama. And he used to check up on him. And he asked Salah ibn Kaysan in Hajj, he said, you know, how is my son? I've never met a man who has a greater reverence for Allah in his heart than this young man. Allah is great in his heart. Like he has so much reverence for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in his heart. And that's the thing here. You inject that reverence into everything that you do, and there's a duality to it. The more you work on the external, the more the internal condition changes, the more the internal condition changes, the more that internal condition seeks a better external uh condition and character.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:41

We're not going to take a few questions, inshaAllah. Here's question number one. So my sake, I know seeking Islamic knowledge is important, but I spend many years of my life pursuing worldly education, like college and all the stuff and so on. So uh not much really on Islamic knowledge. Would that be considered Rafla? Look, at the end of the day, Al-Gafla is the absence of Allah subhanahu wa in the heart in the pursuit of whatever good that we do, right? So you can transfer your uh pursuit of secular knowledge into good deeds with the good intention. And honestly, frankly, when we talk about secular knowledge, Islamically speaking, we don't believe in that anyway to begin with. There's no such thing as secular knowledge in that sense, because knowledge is knowledge, right? So even when you study math or or science or whatever that you study with the good intention, it's an act of ibad as well, too. There's nothing wrong with pursuing that inshaAllah properly bin ill. However, I don't want you to deceive yourself. Like, don't go too far in that field to the extent that in the process you lost the purpose while you were doing that for. You thought you were doing it for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, to make things better, to improve the ummah and this and that, and then eventually you realized after some time you lost the track of your intention, and now you're going for the field just like everybody else. So that's what the tricky part of it, Yaani, that was he. But overall, if you realign your intention to make inshaAllah a good deed out of it, I hope inshallah every hour and every breath that you spend on it is accounted as part of your dhikr, insha'Allah.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:12

It may be that Allah was preparing you for something, like you spent 30, 40, 50 years learning something, learning some sort of trade, becoming something in a particular field, and then your tawbah happened. And that's probably that could be part of it, right? That now, how do I take that previous life and all that accumulated experience or knowledge or wealth or talent or networking and use it for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? But there's a unique way to please Allah no matter where you've been and what you've done.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:40

So a question here, um, I'm sure many people probably feel the same way. If you don't feel the nearness with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the closeness of Allah Azza, while uh um oh no, if you don't feel that that nearness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, will the extra fasting, salah, zakah, open our heart and make it easier for dhikr to? To enter our heart, or is that something different? And is it by increasing the ibadah that suddenly you become mashallah zakrullah subhanahu wa ta'ala or is that something different, like a mind shift that needs to change? What exactly how can we do this?

SPEAKER_00 1:06:12

There's an increase in quality and there's an increase in quantity, and they both go hand in hand. Um, Imam Ahmad Rahimallah Ta'ala said, Raid U Rabbi, I saw my Lord in a dream and I asked him about reading the Quran with or without understanding. That would Allah Azza love a person who reads it even without understanding, he said, even without understanding. So even when you read the Quran, for example, and you're just reading it and you don't know the meaning of the words, you're still getting the reward of reading it. But on the other hand, you should study the meaning of it, inshaAllah ta'ara, and you'll get the reward for studying the meaning of the Quran as well. Likewise, when it comes to dhikr, when it comes to fasting, when it comes to prayer, when you study the meaning and you try to get the deep qualitative understanding of what you do, that is a ibadah in and of itself. That's an act of worship in and of itself. But quantity, especially when it comes to dhikr, watkurullaha khathira, wetkurullah, khathira, na'a la kum zuftihun. Remember Allah frequently and often. So usually, you know, this is a false dichotomy when we pitch uh uh quality versus quantity when we pit them against each other. Usually it's a false dichotomy. If you're in a journey to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you're going to do a little bit of both, inshaAllah. You're going to build meaning, intentional meaning, and you'll also build intentional quantity, inshaAllah, with every one of these good deeds.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:32

Yeah. Um, what can we do to help guide those in our family whose hearts have become hardened and who are among those who cringe at the mention of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?

SPEAKER_00 1:07:44

Look, you know, we're talking about Amar ibn Yasr, radiallahu ta'ala anuma, and following his example. When the Sahaba made hijrah from Mecca, they said Umar was the only one who migrated from Mecca who both parents were Muslim. And his parents were the first Shuhada of Islam, the first martyrs of Islam. The companions dealt with this. And having a family member, someone close to you, who cringes at the mention of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. I mean, they dealt with this in the most extreme of ways. And that's a test in and of itself. And Allah teaches you, especially when it comes to your parents, that you should still treat them with excellence, honor them, show them their rights. But at the same time, you have to, you know, you have to really, really take that pain that you feel and channel it into meaningful prayer, making dua for them to be guided and continuing to rise with your example. And the more goodness you show towards them consistently, the more at some point there's a likelihood that, inshallah, they'll be embarrassed, even if they still have those feelings towards Islam, have those feelings towards Allah, have those feelings towards the Messenger, they'll be embarrassed to do that because they don't want to hurt you because you keep showing them so much goodness. But it takes time, right? Continue to carry yourself with dignity and with honor and make dua for them. You know, the greatest example of that is Abu Huraira anhu. I mean, can you imagine Abu Huraira narrated over 3,000 hadith of the Messenger? How much he loves the Prophet? He loves the Prophet. He comes to the Prophet so depressed. Why? Because my mom talks bad about you. My mom talks bad about you. What did the Prophet say? Go home and take care of her? Right? Go kill her? Right? Go curse her out. No. The Prophet on the spot made dua for her. He prayed for her with Abu Huraira anhu for her to be guided. Right? Abu Rairah treats his mom so well and he's making dua'. Abu Huraira comes home and he can hear the water running. So as he's about to come in, she says, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. She was making ghusul. She came out and she said, I'm ready to take shahada. Shaadullah ilallahu shahadullah Muhammad Rasulullah. And Abu Huraira brought his mom back to the Prophet to embrace Islam. Now it's not always that easy, and you don't have the Prophet to go to to make dua for your relatives. But you make dua for your loved ones, you make dua for your relatives and keep shining with your dignity and your character, and inshaAllah eventually they'll come around. Bidnina.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:20

I want to also add one more thing quickly here is that our our duty towards our family and loved one is not really to uh uh convince them. Right. That's not our duty. Our duty is to do our part, and our part is just to uh remind them. And Allah subhanahu says, Wadakir Fanadikamfal Mu'minin, you remind. For the reminder will benefit the believers. And we hope, we hope that Allah subhanahu wa decreed for them at some point that guidance will come, will come through. And how many people we know that subhanAllah they went rebellious on a path of rebellion for a very long time, and then sometime later on in the future they reflected back and they found words of wisdom they learned from their loved ones that brought them back again to their faith and their Islam. Like I remember actually hearing it from a sister one time who said that she went far away from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But then at some point in life she said, the only reason why I came back again says because the way I was raised brought me back in. Like I remember those things that my parents they taught me when I was young. And those things from the early years of my life brought me back again to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So you just your job is just to do the reminder and let Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide the hearts. A very interesting question coming from a six-year-old from the mommy almirum, mashallah, who was watching with us here and listening with us. She says, or he said, child, why should do should we do dikr all the time? Why? Tough one, huh?

SPEAKER_00 1:11:55

Yeah, so they ask the tough, toughest questions. Like, how do you even get the most basic, the most basic questions? Because it pleases Allah, it makes Allah love you more. And when Allah loves you more, then all good things happen in your life. So it makes Allah love you more, and also I'm sure your parents will be very happy with you too. No. And if your parents are happy with you, you'll probably get a better aid gift too, inshallah.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:17

InshaAllah. Another question coming from a 14-year-old son. Uh he says, she says, um, he really admires the clothes you wear. Me or you? It's mashayh, it's both of us. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:30

Alhamdulillah.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:31

May Allah may I ask uh if you purchase them locally or from overseas?

SPEAKER_00 1:12:38

I got this from Abuja. You have to go to Nigeria if you want it. MashaAllah, mashaAllah.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:43

Shafiasr, uh mashallah, always just give people just give him stuff. No, but sometimes I go buy them from conferences as well too. When you go to the conferences, mashaAllah, they have a lot of active stuff there, alhamdulillah. And very nice from the light of Rakawatala. So you can uh look them up there, inshaAllah. Next conference. Um when I when I do a dhikr during the day while caring for my child, my heart doesn't feel the same peace I feel when I remember Allah alone at night. Is this normal?

SPEAKER_00 1:13:15

There's something, you know, Allah Azul mentions in the Nashia Ladyhiyya Ashaddu Wa Ta'an wa akwa muqila. When Allah tells the Prophet to stand up and pray at night, he says the night is more befitting. You're you're less distracted, less duties, it's quieter. So the dikr at night is definitely more peaceful, more comforting, more uh tranquil than the dhikr of the day because you're less distracted. Subhanallah learning to wake up at night is just such a blessing from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in general, by the way, like just the quiet of it all. You know, the world is still asleep, you have a chance to pray, you have a chance to do so many things that are of productivity, but remembering Allah Azzah in that quiet is absolutely beautiful. And I hope, inshaAllah, you know, if there's one habit, like people ask, like, what do I take from Ramadan? If there's one habit, it's waking up at night, inshaAllah. Waking up at night, even for a short while and praying. Look, you were getting up for suhur. You managed to get up and eat, get up and feed your soul 15, 20 minutes before fajr, inshaAllah. Like there's something very special about that bidnait.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:21

So I want to add to this uh uh answer to this answer saying that uh you know subhanAllah as human beings we tend to take these uh um these duties as as tasks and therefore becomes very completely void from ibadah and worship. But no, I would recommend and I would remind my dear sister, you know, when you take care of your child, this is your new ibadah as a mother. Before you got married, before you had a child, your ibadah is different, a different level. But now that you're married and you have a child, your ibadah is a different level as well too. Now, your duty for being a mom is more important than you know coming to the majid by yourself to pray. Like your reward for taking care of your new role in life as a mother is much more rewarding right now. And that's why subhanAllah, it's easier Allah the Prophet when he mentioned that it's it's more rewarding for the lady to pray at home, that's because it's not gonna be easy for you to continue to do that when you have kids or when you get married. So therefore, alhamdulillah, your reward is secured. So the point, what I'm saying here is that even when you take care of your child, I hope you keep in your mind that what you're doing is an act of ibadah. And if you think of it as an act of worship, an act of ibadah, I hope inshaAllah it's gonna as part of dhikr as well. That's part of your dhikr. So hopefully, inshallah, you can feel bidnallah, next time you play with your child, feed your child, or change your child, you realize you're not just doing a chore or a task that you feel completely um not happy or excited about, or feel resentful towards subhanallah. No, now you feel excited because mashallah, that's my ibad alhamdulillah. May Allah reward you for this. So people they say that subhanAllah, uh every Ramadan we have different feelings. And if someone feels a bit emptiness in this month of Ramadan, how can they catch up before it's too late?

SPEAKER_00 1:16:13

Keep at it until the very last minute of Ramadan. Yeah, you know, Amal Khawati. And the Prophet said actions are by their endings. You know, subhanAllah, some people will not get that click until the last hour of Ramadan. And by the way, like I want to recommend to you all from now the last hour of Ramadan, the last few hours of Ramadan, just go to the masjid, sit, remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, bid farewell to Ramadan properly. Spend the last few hours of Ramadan, remembering Allah, reading Quran, making your final du'as, inshaAllah, with that last hour. So seek it until the very last moment, inshaAllah. And at the end of the day, acceptance is not because of a feeling. Acceptance is because you honored the right of Ramadan upon you. So, inshaAllah, the feeling will come. There could be other reasons why the feeling is not there. So long as you honor the right of Ramadan, bidn a ta'ana, the acceptance is there.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:10

Shaykh, is there any book of dikr uh that you could recommend with translation?

SPEAKER_00 1:17:16

I know I mean if you're talking about like daily athkar, du'a, uh we have a few of them at Yaqeen Institute's website, but if you go to the e-books, uh we have like du'aas for hardship, I did um du'aas that I need. I also did um a series on deep runadikr. Obviously, the the most famous uh classical one is the book of Imam Nawi Rahimallah, Athkar. Right, which is a very beautiful compilation of the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala by Imam Nawi Rahimallah. Um but I think the daily and and and you know morning and evening remembrances, fortress of the Muslim. Fortress of the Muslim.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:51

And now there are many apps already available as well. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:54

That has the book as well, Alhamdulillah Rabbi's. So it's a beautiful contemporary work.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:11

Shaykh al-Zakmullah, we've been in this beautiful night with us. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala access from Ya Ralameen. We ask Allah Azzah to grant us the reward for Atl-Qadir Ya Rabbil Alameen. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to give us a grant us the reward for the month of Ramadan. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to help us seal the deeds of Ramadan with the best of Amal Ya Rabbil Alameen. And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make the best of our Ramadan yet to come in the last few nuts Ya Ralameen. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to accept our fasting, accept our salah, our adkar, our dua, our good deeds, Ya Rabbil Alameen. And the way we all gather in this place, we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that we gather together in Janatir for Dawsulallah. With the Prophet Muhammad Salaheen, with Alhamdulillah, Salah Abir Muhammad Sahab.