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Yaqeen Podcast
What Do You Make Your Angels Do? | Midnight Majlis 8 | Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Yaser Birjas
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What are you keeping your angels busy with? What are they building for you in Jannah, brick by brick, with the dhikr that you make every day? And how does dhikr give you the strength and courage in this life to do the right thing?
Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Yaser Birjas continue to discuss gems on the benefits of dhikr (remembrance of Allah) that are outlined by Ibn al-Qayyim (rh) in his 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”).
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatulla barakatuh.
SPEAKER_04Alaikum wa salaamu rahat.
SPEAKER_00Alhamdulillah bilan a minimusallalla sala barak anabina Muhammadin wa'ala ali wa sahbi wa salamataslim and kathi ratumabad. We welcome you back on the 28th night of our beloved uh guest, the month of Ramadan from Valeran Islamic Center with Shaykh Umar Sulaiman over here as we talk together and discuss the beautiful book Imam Qayim Rahimallahu Ta'ala Al Wabir U-Sayb bin al-Kalim Ta'ayib, the uh the downpour of blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala upon those who raise their voice with the Kalimut Ta'ib, the good words, and that's the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So, mashaAllah, every single night we'd be discussing some of the benefits of dhikr according to Ibn Kayim Rahimallahu Allah. Shaykh says, What a beautiful journey, mashaAllah. I mean the guy that Rahimallah Imam ibn Qayim rahimallah sitting down there, just writing from his memory all these, because that the original book was the letter response to a friend who sent him a letter actually. That's why, just like he's just downpouring all these blessings, mashallah, while he's uh uh uh putting it together. And citing, of course, the ayah or the hadith or some uh uh statements from the ulama in regard to this mana. So he's uh so many things that he mentioned, and number we are right now at point number 57 for those who like to follow with us, inshaAllah ta'ala. Point number 57, the English version is as uh uh on page 215, 215 for point 57. The Arabic version is uh the standard one for Ubakar Abu Zaid is actually uh page 183, but it's this is point 57, Rahim Allah ta'ala. He says, He says that inab uh uh idama ta-diqi ta'nubu anat ta' wa'at, which means constant remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can replace voluntarily good actions. This is very important, this is very, very important point for those who have a very, very, very busy lifestyle. Like we say, hey, why don't you do the Hajjud? I don't know, I have to be up until this time and this and that. Okay, why don't you uh uh do this or do that? So a lot of people might complain about time constraint, physical maybe uh capability, financial uh uh obligations, so on. So they feel deprived of really doing all these good deeds that other people masha have the ability to do that. So he says over here that if you constantly make dhikr, this can replace a lot of voluntarily good actions. Kal, he said, Wata ku makama, sawkat badaniya o Maria Kal Hajjwaida. He says this was mentioned Haithan Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And that's a beautiful story. I want you to uh reflect on this. That gives you a window into the culture of the people of Medina. What are their uh their focus on? What exactly they were looking for? What's on their mind all the time? So he says, The Muhajiren, the poor among the Muhajirin. So the immigrants, they left everything from Mecca, or even whichever town that they lived in, or whatever uh area in the Arabian peninsula, they left everything behind for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They went to Medina. The people who were rich, they became suddenly poor because they have nothing else except for the clothes that they have on their backs. And that reminds us of the situation Ghaza Mallah, make it for the people Gaza Rabul Alameen. A lot of these people, a lot of these, two, three years ago, subhanAllah, they were living in alhamdulillah in a very comfortable uh lifestyle. But in an instant, everything changed. And now they had to migrate from the north down to the south, and then they live in subhanahu conditions. May Allah alleviate their suffering, Ya Rabbil Alameen, and bring them home safely, Ya Allah. So here the Sahaba, the poor among the Muhajareen, they used to say in the Majid, that's what's their place where they live, Alu Sufa. Fakaluya Rasulullah, dahabahul duthuri bil uju bid the razatil ulla wa naim al muqim. They said, Oh Messenger of Allah, the rich among us have taken the highest decrees, the highest degrees, and prominent pleasure with permanent pleasure in in Jannah, like they have secured their place in the highest stations in Jannah with the reward as well too. How so? Kalu, usaluna kemanusali, they pray and we pray. Wa usumuna kemana soon, we fast, they fast. However, they have excess wealth, they have excess money that they use to go for umrah, for hajj, and even spend for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and jalbi sabililla. Like we can't compete with them on this manner. He said, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, shall I then guide you to something that if you do, you will be, you will even uh outdo those who uh uh do this, and no one will catch up with you except someone does exactly you what you do. If someone can do what you do, then they will share the reward with you. He said sallallahu alayhi sallam to sabbihoon, wa tahmadoon, u to kabbirun a khalfa kulli sala. He said that you say subhanAllah, alhamdulillah, akbar, after every fart salah, another narration he said basically he taught them to do a uh dhikr overall, tasbihant iqqr and so on. So then they start doing this. And when they did that, at some point the rich people heard about it. They're like, wow, that's good. So this I'm making dhikr as well, too. And when they came back to the Prophet and said, Ya Rasulullah, our rich brothers, they heard what you said, and now they're doing the same thing. Like we're back to square one. So the Prophet said, Dalika foddullah, yutih mayeshah. That is now the blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is now the virtue that Allah subhanahu wa distows upon everyone who wills, and the rich people have this advantage, and Allah subhanahu wa bless them with that and testimonies as well too. So, my point from the story over here is that look what the people, the rich and the poor, are competing for in this dunya. They were competing for the khair, for that which is right and that which is good. And the rich people, the rich people, they will compete for the khair as well too. The poor people did not envy the rich people. Rather, they said, Ya Rasulullah, alhamdulillah, they do good, they do good. Our brothers do good. Can we do something to try to catch up with them? And the Prophet told them to do dhikr. And and that is now for those who always complain about being busy in their life and I don't have time to wake up with a hajjud. I I'm not that type of person to fast because I go to work and I get tired and fatigued and so on. So, what do I do in replacement of all these good deeds? And that's what the Prophet said in this point you can do dhikr and that will suffice you from a lot of these good deeds.
SPEAKER_02I want to take it, Sheikh, to first of all, there's just a fa'idah that comes to my mind, just a reflection, that the muhajiren, when Allah talks about them, they're the refugees, they're the migrants that came from Mecca. Allah talks about them in terms of fadluj-darjah, that they have the highest rank. The muhajiren are greater than even the ansar. The Quran puts them in that order. Right? The Muhajreen come first. The first people to become Muslim, the first people to strive with the Prophet, they are the best of the best of the best. So Allah solidifies their place with darajat, with their rank. And you can see that what they had, they didn't want to lose. And so their concern when they came to Medina is did we lose a daraja? Did we lose a rank? The ansar are distinguished by what? What distinguishes the ansar? Their love for the Prophet. They love the Prophet. They love those that migrated to them, and they loved amongst those that migrated to them no one more than Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And so what was their fear when the Prophet went back to Mecca and Allah opened the doors for him once again, and they saw the Prophet giving from the spoils to the people of Mecca. Their fear was that they lost that closeness to the Messenger of Allah. Hence the famous story where the Prophet gathers them together and says, What has reached me from you, O Mashar al-Ansar, O people of the Ansar? And he said, Don't you love that the people will go back with their goats and with their camels? And you guys, terudun antum, ma'asulinahi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, you will go home and you'll have amongst you the Prophet. And that's when they were just like, okay, forget about it, we're happy, we're pleased. I mean, they threw up their arms and their hearts immediately became light that this is exactly what we wanted. And the Prophet said, if I could choose to be an ansari, then I would be from the ansar. And he made dua for them. So it's interesting because the people of Mecca, the Muhajin, their mindset was we don't want to lose the rank. And Allah solidified the rank. The ansar, their mindset was we don't want to lose the closeness to the Prophet, and Allah solidified their closest to the Prophet. Now another reflection on this Shaykh is uh Did you want to say something? No. Another reflection on the Shaykh is like the envying of people's circumstances, like thinking that person has a quicker way to Jannah than me. It's a very wrong way of thinking. And I remember, I'm sure I've shared this story here before, so I'll keep it uh short, inshaAllah ta'ala. Like when I took a group to Hajj one time, and one of the brothers was really upset. He said, These people, they get a hundred thousand the reward for praying here. How easy. You're born in Mecca, you die in Mecca, you get a hundred thousand salawat just like that. And he was actually questioning Allah's mercy and how Allah has apportioned his fadl. You know, like, and you know, he took a shot at the people of Mecca, so no offense to the Makkawis here. He kind of took a shot. He's like, they're not the nicest people, and like they're getting all these rewards, you know, a hundred thousand. And I said to him two things. I said, number one, think about you. If Allah guides one person through your hand, then it's better for you than a valley of red camels, then the world and everything in it. These people have never seen someone embrace Islam. You have the opportunity of da'wah. If one person is guided on your hand, that's better than the whole world and everything in it. And they've never even experienced that or seeing that. And they could envy you. And indeed, like you talk to people that live in the Muslim world, and to them, like seeing someone take shahadah is like, whoa, unbelievable. The second thing, those people that live right next to the haram, most of them have never done hajj because that's their season where they have to actually earn. So they're driving cabs every hajj season, they're doing this every hajj season. And Allah gave you the opportunity to do hajj. The point is, dhanika fadlullah, like Allah has given everyone a customized path to him. Look at the lane that Allah created for you to Jannah and focus on that because you will see that you have an advantage over everybody in some regard. In some way, you have an advantage over other people. And at the bare minimum, like, can you imagine someone who could say I did 50 hajjs in one year?
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_02Alright, you can do once a week. Once a week, stay in the masjid from fajr to duha. Remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Once a week. Remember Allah from Fajr to Duha. And at the end of the year, you have 50 Hajjs in your account. Right? Hasn't Allah given you the peace of mind and the stability to be able to take that time out to even dedicate once a week to sit in the masjid from Fajr to Duha without worrying about bombs falling on you without worrying about certain things? Dariqa Fadlullah. Allah will give you your way or facilitate your way when you seek your lane to Jannah.
SPEAKER_00You know, Shaykh, how it comes to my mind right now is that this brother or sister or talk to you about Ismail, forgive them, Rabba-alameen. There's no guarantee that if they lived in Mecca, they would be in the haram every single day. There's no guarantee. They're probably among the people who is criticizing, unfortunately. Which also brings us over here to our situation here as a community, mashaAllah. May Allah bless you, Rabal Amin, and continue to increase you with Khair and Barakati Allah. You know that there are a lot of people outside of the Valley Ryan's Islamic Center community, for example, would love to be in your place. They would love to live here, they would love to be in this area, they wish they they have the access to the masjid, to the community, the program, subhanAllah. But we get to the point where we become so comfortable that I live alhamdulillah a few steps away from the masjid, but we don't take advantage of this. So we skip Fajr, we skip Isha, we skip the classes, we skip the because Alhamdulillah, we're secure. The masjid is just next door. Alhamdulillah Rabblamin. I mean, just think about this. The advantages you've been you you have right now and the opportunity you've been given to uh uh do better in your personal life and with the community and so on, but you're not taking full advantage of that. May Allah forgive us all our Rubin. Guilty or charged, all of us perhaps maybe sometimes we think that way. But I want us to get out of this mindset and knowing that look, if Allah subhanahu wa placed you in a position like this, then uh take advantage of it. As travelers, we go to Mecca and we see some of what the Meccans might do, and we start kind of like look down upon them. Say, look, oh, if I were in your place, I would be this, I would do that, subhanAllah. Allahu Alam. I don't know. I don't know. So basically, you need to make sure that you take advantage of the circumstances that you have. I have to mention that story that happened with me in Mecca, Sheikh, one time when I was in Medina at the time. So we were going to uh uh Tawaf at sometimes around I would say past midnight, take advantage of the time. So let's go, and my friend and I, we went there around maybe 2 or 3 a.m. perhaps. And then somehow there was a bunch of three, four kids, uh uh teenagers, maybe 15, 16, sitting on the car, and then as we were going through, one of them jumped off the car and he starts uh uh making Michael Jackson moves, and then he froze with his hands up like this, yeah, like Michael Jackson. So I turned around to go and say salam to him. My friend tried to pull me, he goes, just leave him, man. I said, no, let me just talk to him. So I go turn around and I say salam alaikum. He just not doesn't even acknowledge acknowledge me at all. And I said, Salaam alaikum, Yahi. Salam Lilla. And then he just goes, Alaikum as salam. And uh he said, What do you want? He starts speaking in English to me. What do you want? I said, Yachi, why don't you speak Arabi with me? And we're here in Mecca speak Arabian with me. He goes, that's none of your business. So I started speaking English with him. When I spoke English with him, he froze. He goes, Minant! Now he's speaking Arabic with me. He goes, Who are who are you? Where are you from? I said, None of your business. We had a beautiful conversation, subhanAllah and this and these kids, and at that time, their hope and dream to be in my place where they could come to the US and live in the US. I'm telling him, Do you know how many people I know they wish to be in your place? And you guys are in a situation that you have no idea what you're missing here, subhanAllah. Fayafah I would say if Allah puts you in a position where you have an advantage in regards to Alhamdulillah, good community, close to the masjid, have access to Khair and Dawah and so on, what are you waiting for? What's holding you back from taking advantage of all these opportunities to better yourself, your family, and your community as well. May Allah bless you all. Just I had to mention that subhanAllah because it really I always think about this this contrast. Everybody thinks that's always green on the other side. When subhanAllah, if they just look around, they see the how lush and green the circumstances are. Absolutely. He mentioned that actually kind of like a repetition to something almost mentioned earlier. Um, that dhikr makes ibadah easier when you start making dhikr frequently. Coming to salah becomes easier, inshaAllah ta'ala, make the difficult easy for you, uh, all the way until he mentions on page point 61. On point 61 he says, Rahima Allahu ta'ala, Anna dikra yoti dakira kuwa. That's a very interesting point here. He says, a dhikr yoti dakira kuwa. Remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives the one who does dhikr uh strength. What kind of strength is he talking about? He said to the extent that so much so that he is able to do that which he cannot be done without it. Like basically, with dhikr, it really sometimes you start seeing strength and power, and even you have courage in you. Without dhikr, you would never, you'd never even expect that you would have these qualities. And he gave an example of his teacher, Shaykh R-Snab ibn Taymiyyah, Rahimahullahu ta'am. He says about him, he said, For I witnessed Shaykh al-Snabi bin Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on his soul, has strength in his actions, speech, writing, even walking, he says, and writing his books in an amazing way. He said, He used to write um in a day what others would might take them a week to write. Like in a single day, he would write an amount of books and scribes that takes people more than a week to write them, to put them together. And he says that the ask, which means the soldiers in the battlefield, uh, when it just intensified, they saw from his strength, amazing strength in combat, that uh because of course of a dikhir of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And that's what we mentioned earlier in the khatra, if you guys remember Bar ibn Taymiur, Ta'ala. He was a man on the field. He wasn't just a man in the masjid or just behind his mechanism and this. No, no, no. He was in the field. And he was also recruiting people to fight against the crusaders, against the the the Mongols, and so on. And subhanAllah, he was that model. But at the end, Allah chose for him to die in prison. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala me.
SPEAKER_02So Shaykh, just from a calibration perspective, for those of you that are following along, like the next section is going to talk about the idea. We've talked about dhikr strengthening the heart. We've talked about dhikr, you know, the remembrance of Allah bringing joy, we've talked about it bringing blessing to your deeds. But the idea of it physically increasing your capacity. And, you know, someone's like, well, how's that even possible? Dhikr allows you to bear what you otherwise could not bear. It allows you to have greater strength, to remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And we already mentioned the narration of Fatima and Adi, may Allah be pleased with them in this regard. But even, you know, he mentioned Shaykh Islamullah mentioning a narration about the throne of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that, you know, I don't know if you want to read it, read through Shaykh Ta'am.
SPEAKER_00Well, from from uh uh the narration that he mentioned, Rahim Allah Ta'ala, and Al Malaika talamir arshalaika, wa alahi ala matu kawa jalaluk. So in the narration that the Prophet uh um uh mentioned that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, um he when he ordered the angels to carry his throne. The angels they ask, our Lord, how can we do this? Like how can we uh even do that when the throne uh um has all your glory and of course all your might? He said, just say, which in translation means basically there is no might, no power except through you, my lord. And as a result of that, they were able to carry the throne by these words. So Ibn Qayyim rahamallah he says over here, wa hadihil kelima. He says and this statement, uh, has tremendous benefit and effect in uh in aiding servants when forced with difficult tasks. Like if you have something difficult, you say, and then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will facilitate that to you. Shaykh, I mean, I have to share.
SPEAKER_02So by the way, you know, this idea of la hawla wa la kuwa billah, la haul, there is no one who can change the situation, and there's no one who can inspire the strength to change a situation except for Allah. Prophet mentioned that la hawla wa la kuwah is one of the treasures of the throne of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Like you're connecting your might, right, to the Lord of the throne. And so you gain a strength that's mental strength, that's emotional strength, that's the ability to bear a situation that you otherwise cannot. But subhanAllah, you know, you're talking about like the stories from Mecca. You know, I actually I actually have a story as well, just the the brother who was in Hajj driving me um around uh this this last time uh that I went. And uh, you know, he comes off as someone that's kind of like very rough and obviously you know managing the hajj, moving things around. He was working for the Hamla that I was with. And um while we were driving, you know, he he just asked, you know, where are you from? I told him from Falastin. And he just he broke down crying. I mean, this is a big guy, big man, huge man, right? And he broke down crying. And he said, uh and he started crying and he said, those kids in Gaza, and you could like the sincerity of him just breaking down into that, and he's like, We're just looking to Allah. You know, that idea of like admitting your own weakness in order to gain strength from him. Part of viqr is admitting that you can't do it without him. You can't do it without him. And so that la haula wa kwa ta alabilla it has to come from a place of sincerity and vulnerability coming together. That I will not find strength except through you. Remember, you know, Nu Haley's son looked around, he said, I've got the mountain. So you're jabrun and I'm good. I've got a mountain to protect me from the flood. You know, like if you look at the villains in the Quran, they were materialists. They really they looked to the tangible to get themselves out of situation. Oh, I've got I've got enough money, right? I've got a palace, I've got, I've got the mountain, I've got the strength, I can do this, I can do that. They relied on their own strength, and that's actually a weakness. That they relied on their own strength. Being vulnerable to say, even if I have. Have what appears to be a strong position from in terms of means, the only strength that's going to be in that strength is from Al Qawi. Subhanahu wa ta'ala it's going to come from him. So Lahawa wa la kuwa ta ilabilah is a treasure because it makes the strength that you have actually strength and it turns your weak points into strength. And really, like you find someone who is of little means, of little physical capacity, able to do incredible things with that statement of Lahaula wa la kuwa ta' blah, which is why the Prophet mentioned it as a as a means of averting poverty. Laha'ula wa la kuwa talabla, repeating it as a means of averting poverty even as well, financial weakness as well.
SPEAKER_00You know, beautifully said subhanAllah Sheikh the remind me with uh the story of uh our sahaba, we love it sahabla annuada, when uh uh they went after the conquest of Mecca to Hunain, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala called them for that in the Quran. When they depended on their numbers, the materialistic, the tangibles, you know, for power, they failed. Right. They went and they thought that they have the numbers right now, and they're not gonna be defeated from a small army from Hawai Hawazin and Taqif, that the groups that were recruiting against them. They had the numbers right now. So, what did they say? Allah even recorded that in the Quran to teach us a lesson over here. When they said to themselves, we can't be defeated by a small number of people. What does that mean? What did they say? They say we have the numbers, we're not gonna be beaten because of numbers. Basically, we will win. What happened? They all they at the beginning they failed miserably. Not just that, they even left the Prophet and they abandoned the Prophet, going backward into the into the valley. But the Prophet he stood his ground and he was holding uh the position and he starts calling the people Al Anan Nabiula Khib and Abn Abdul Muttalib. I am the Prophet, I am the Prophet, there is no doubt. I am the son of Abdul Muttlaq. You know who I am, I'm the son of Abdul Muttalib. So he kept calling and shouting those calls until the sahaba they start finding strength back again to their hearts. They were remember, they remembered. It's not the numbers that's gonna bring them victory, it's that message where they came for. SubhanAllah, so that's a beautiful reminder that when we see ourselves mashallah as a community, mashah we have the numbers, we have the vote, we have the money, we have the capability. That's when you fail. You need to make sure that you have your dependence on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
SPEAKER_02You know the story of Gharaud ibn Harith. When he saw the Prophet sleeping under a tree and his sword was hanging in the tree, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. The Prophet was taking a nap under the tree. So he grabbed the sword and he stood on top of the Prophet and he said, Ya Muhammad, manyam na'u Kaminni, who's gonna stop me from harming you now? And the Prophet said, Allah. He just said, Allah with such strength that Ghaudath dropped the sword. He was afraid. Like, whoa, he he didn't flinch. The Prophet wasn't scared at all. He said, Allah. So Ghaud dropped the sword, and the Prophet grabbed the sword and got on top of him and said, Manyam na'uqaminni, and who'll stop me from killing you? And he said, Kun khaira achid, no, be generous. Don't and the Prophet let him go. Also, when the Prophet stood up to Abu Jahl in Mecca, when a man came complaining to the Prophet about Abu Jahal stealing his money, and the Prophet took that man to the house of Abu Jahal and demanded the money. And Abu Jahl froze and gave him the money, and it's confusing. Like, what happened? The people asked Abu Jahal, what happened? He said, When the Prophet spoke, when Muhammad spoke, I saw two lions on his shoulders that were going to devour me if I didn't give the money back to that man. Right? So that's kuwah, and that's why he has even the Habib radiallahu ta'ala anu when he would encounter an enemy or storm a fortress. He said he preferred to say La Hawla Wallaqua alabila while he was storming a fortress, while he was in the battlefield, that he would repeat that. And one day he attacked a fortress belonging to the Byzantines, and the Muslims began to repeat La Hawla Walla kuwa alabilla. Imagine like thousands of soldiers all saying La Hawlawala kuwa talabilla. Can you imagine how powerful that would be? And he said that the fortress uh fell to the Muslims as a result of that, that collective strength that they were able to garner.
SPEAKER_00So never fail mentioning La Hawla Walla kuwabilla in your day and night. Frequently. And what we like we have been describing the meaning of dhikr, it needs to be mindful dhikr. Meaning when you say it, you really you think about the meaning of the words and you mean it that's coming from your heart. That's when it is effective. But if it's just a lip service, it comes from the mouth and it doesn't really go to the heart. I'm not sure how much of that you will get. Just like we're describing. Your remembrance in the heart gives strength to the heart. The more mindful you are, the more strong, the stronger the message of the heart will be. So therefore make sure to say lahawa kuwa ta' ilabilla more frequently. But of course, in a meaningful way, inshaAllahu ta'ala. So in number 62, he says, Rahimullah here, anna ummal akhirah, almidmar katara wa bar, yamna amru eatisabki. Very beautiful analogy he mentions in Rahimallahu. He goes, those who work for the next world, and I hope that we all are in this place because of that. We all seek in the akhira. He says, those who work for the next world are like those who are running upon a racetrack, and the people of remembrance are the ones leading the race. Like they're way ahead. They're way, way ahead of everybody else. Like those who fast and do the Hajjud and they give charity. They're doing good, they're on the racetrack. But those who do dhikr, they're way ahead of everybody. And he says, however, the lead is is uh is forming dust clouds that are not allowing the view of the track to be clear. When the dust settles, the people finally get to set them and they will have already won the race. Like, what does that mean? Like a lot of people, maybe they are so happy, excited about what they do. Like I fast Mondays and Thursdays, I wake up for tahjud, I give charity regularly, I do all these good things, alhamdulillah, mashaAllah, and we think that we're doing so great, which is true. It is great, depends on the intention, though. But you have someone who's just sitting down doing some mindful dhikr, just a few words of dikr, and it will do much more than yet that what you've done. Which reminds me Hadith Um Salam radiallahu anha when one day that one day the Prophet after Sat al-Fajr he got into the house, he saw her sitting there after Salah making dhikr. And then he went to take care of certain things after some time. He comes back when the sun is already up, which means at least an hour perhaps. And he looks at her, he goes, Have you been sitting here doing dikr all this time since I left you? She goes, Yes, I did. He goes, Ama inni. I've said few words that are equivalent to all what you've said. Like I have done few words that will have the reward or the amount of reward that will that you get from spending all this time doing that dhikr. You know what these words are jama'ah? SubhanAllah. Subhanallah Rudanafsi. SubhanAllah, Zinata Arshi, SubhanAllah, midada kalimati. These few words, when you praise Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the number of his creation, uh, the number of his, of course, his words, subhanAllah, the the weight of his throne, uh um the khab. And his pleasure, subhanahu wa ta'ala. The love of his pleasure. These words now equivalent to so much rewards. So basically what he says, Rahim Allah, those who do dhikr frequently, they're ahead of everybody else. And if I may just also connect it to a point that was mentioned from before, he said, when you compare those who fast and give charity and do umrah and hajj and ibadah, all of them are doing good. Who is the best among them all? Aktar um dhikra. The one who's more mindful and doing dhikr when in that particular ibadah. So among those who all fast, who's ahead of everybody else? The one who has dhikr. Among those who pray the hajjut, who's the best among them all? Those who do dhikr. So doing dhikr will maximize your chance of making your ibadah inshaAllah ta'ala ahead of everybody else.
SPEAKER_02And it's important for people not to misunderstand like the idea that doing dhikr absolves you of doing those deeds, because there's no one who understands the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that they're making, except that they're going to exert themselves in striving for Allah's cause and in charity and in doing da'wah and the work of justice and whatever it may be. Because they understand the dhikr. So this is not calling people to become monks. We don't have that concept of asceticism in Islam where there's the abandonment of the world and only doing dhikr. It's injecting the dhikr into those ibadat while you inevitably do those aibadat. Second thing I'll say here, so I want you all to indulge me for a moment here, inshaAllah ta'ala. Everyone's on a racetrack, right? Ibn al-Qayyim uses a lot of analogies. So you have one person who kicks up a lot of dust and he thinks he's going fast, and then he, when the dust clears, someone's way ahead because they use the dhikr to get ahead. Allah Azwajal mentions people that are in like what's a hamster wheel of sorts. The verse in Surah al-Hadith to summarize, a person goes through all the phases of life and then only to find themselves at the very same place that they started, everything vanished and it meant nothing. Okay? So someone that was in the hamster wheel of dunya, and at the end of it, I got nowhere. I kicked up a lot of dust, but I got nowhere. Ibn Kayim Rahimallah, in another place, he uses the example of a person who does deeds without sincerity. And this is a powerful one. He says the example of a person who does deeds without iklas, and he specifically mentions that showing off, is like a person that is carrying a water jug full of dirt. Yuthkirhu walayan fa'u. It burdens him, it's heavy, but it doesn't actually benefit him. So he carries the water jug and it's full of dirt, and when he gets to the end of it, he opens and it's just sand in the desert, right? So it burdened him, it made him heavy, but it did nothing for him at the end of the day. So this idea of being in a race and getting to the end with sincere deeds for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, what's done for the sake of Allah sincerely propels you so far ahead. And dhikr is what makes things sincere because you're remembering Allah throughout. So therefore those deeds will be for no one but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So remember Allah Azza, and you'll constantly find yourself getting ahead in the quantity and the quality of those deeds as well.
SPEAKER_00So dhikr is just like being in a race and you hit a booster and shoots you completely ahead of everybody else, subhanahu wa ta'ala. That's what he means again, that among all those who do good deeds, the one who had the booster to go ahead of everybody else, those who have the best dhikr, and the best, of course, you know, uh a bay of dhikr wallah subhanahu wa ta'ala. He mentioned he called it Harida Bhai radial and sunaturimidi, in which the Prophet said, He said, Go ahead. Which means al-Mufaridun, they went to they surpassed everyone. So Sahaba were kind of uh confused about the meaning of those of that word. Who are they? Who are these mufaridun? The Most High Subhanahu wa Ta'ala remembrance has removed their burdens completely. Like to the extent they got accustomed to dhikr, it becomes a natural thing for them. A natural thing. How many of us have seen some of those videos? May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on the people who are on these videos, when they're on their death uh deathbed. Like I remember actually watching that video that an old man, subhanAllah, he's just he lost it, he was kind of like dying. And all what he was doing in that moment calling the Adan. Why? Because he was a Mu'addan. All his life he was a Mu'addin. And on his deathbed, he was calling the Adan. That's it. Because subhanAllah, they get used to it so much so that it becomes part of their nature. There's no way it will come without them calling the adan. For subhanAllah, when comes to a moment of difficulty like that, Allah will make it easy for them to remember his words subhanahu wa ta'ala. So make sure that you always have the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, so that you know when a moment like this comes and will come eventually, at least our last words will be La ila Allah Muhammad.
SPEAKER_02Shaykh, I saw an old man in Jordan when I visit Jordan and we pray in the masjid, and he was always there in the masjid, like the whole summer, a few years ago. And he had some sort of a stroke, and he lived for about two years after his stroke. And the only thing I mean, subhanAllah, I kid you not, it was a wonder. It was like one of those ayat of Allah. All he goes, he goes, Allah Muhammad. Allah Muhammad. In fact, even during the salah, you hear him the whole time in the salah going, Allah Muhammad. Allah Muhammad. Five times a day. I mean, any time I would go to the salah, I just hear him doing that. Finishes the salah, he's still going, Allah Muhammad. Like two years all he's saying is, Allah Muhammad, until he passed away. Rahmatullah alayhi. Like that got so embedded in his heart and his mind. Like, truly, like that was to me like a sign of Allah in a person. Like, imagine the stroke took everything except for that. Allah Muhammad. Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. It's truly beautiful. So, like that's when like the dhikr really gets branded inside of you, inside your heart, and it becomes like part of who you are, uh, to a point that it just comes in that in that natural way.
SPEAKER_00Now, point number sixty-three, he says, Rahimallahu ta'ala, and the dhikra, sebabulitas dikerobi azewajella abdahu, faina huhaborun anilahi ta'ala beausafi, wa kema safi kemalihi, one uti jelali. Faida Akbora vihala abdu Sadakahorobbo, oman sad dakullahu ta'alam Yosharma al Khadibin, Uruji Lohu, and Yosharam Asadikin. He says, Remembrance becomes a means for the Lord to confirm his servant's truthfulness. Like Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, testifies for your truthfulness. He affirms your truthfulness when you do the kirr. How for the person making remembrance, he pronounces clearly Allah's lofty attributes of perfection. And uh Anjalal, each time the servant pronounces uh this remembrance, his Lord confirms his statement. In the hadith that was mentioned afterwards that the Prophet said, when Allah Azza wa Jal says, Idaqal abdu, la ilaha illallahu alla hu akbar. If a servant says, La ilaha ilallah, Allahu Akbar, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will say, Sadaqa' abdi, my servant told the truth. La ilaha illa ala wa ana akbar. Indeed, there is no God worthy of worship but me, and I am definitely the greatest. Speak about himself subhanahu wa wa ta'ala. And he mentioned other words of dhikr. And for each one of them, Allah will say, indeed, my servant told the truth. So he says, Rahimallah, if Allah Azza wa Jal is confirming your truthfulness, you will never be written among the liars. And if you're not, that definitely will be on uh on the Akhirah to your credit, obviously. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sadiq in Rabbil Ari. 64 he says, Anna dur al Jannah Titubna Bid Dhikr. That's a very interesting point here. He says, you know that the houses of Jannah are built with dhikr. Like Alhamdulillah a few nights ago, we were talking about bricks to build the masjid, right? So the masjid here builds with bricks. And those bricks cost money, right? But in the Akhirah, he says, the bricks of Jannah are the words of dhikr.
SPEAKER_04Shaykh, be careful, they might withdraw their donation and say, I'm just gonna do the dhikr then.
SPEAKER_00By the way, some people they're asking me, are there still any more uh um bricks left? Alhamdulillah, even though mashallah we reached that the goal that we were hoping for, but we're opening the gate for anybody who would like to have more, insha'Allah. So if anybody is actually still did not get a chance to purchase some of these bricks to put on the wall and the measure, inshaAllah, please make sure to reach out and shout to our team and bin that they will take care of you. But to the point here again, words of dhikr build houses in Jannah.
SPEAKER_04Sheikh, you want to read the point about the angels and then the narration from Ibn Abadunya? This is so interesting.
SPEAKER_02Uh which one of them? I'm looking at the English right now.
SPEAKER_00Go ahead, I'll come with the English, I'll for I'll look for that.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so he says, so when the servant ceases his remembrance, the angels cease their building. When he continues his remembrance, they continue building. And he says, Ibn Abidunya has a narration in his book that it has reached me that the buildings of Jannah are made through dhikr. So when the servant stops his dhikr, they stop building. And when the angels are asked why have you stopped building, they say, When our wages come. Pay attention to this for a moment because this is such a beautiful and vivid way of looking at life. You want to exhaust your shayyateen so that they don't even come near you, right? You just repel your devils. Repel the shayyateen so that they don't even want to be on the same path of you. Like Umar al-Khatabrahu ta'anu. But when it comes to the mala'ika, what are you making the angels do? You know, I remember uh one Shaykh who was talking about, you know, he said when you curse, he's like, stop making your angels write curse words. Don't make your angels write curse words. What are you making your angels do? The narration about Subhanallah wa bihamdihi, adada da kharihi, wamida karimati. And the the angels going to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, like we don't know how to write this, it's too much ajr. Or Rabbanakarhamdham Khathir Tayyiban Mubarakanfi, praising Allah. And the Prophet mentioning the angels is trying to capture, like, this is too much praise. We don't know how to write this much glory and praise of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. What are you making your angels do? So now, like you think about these angels that are building in paradise and they're putting the bricks and then they pause. And when the when the ajr comes, when our wages come, like we're waiting for the next deposit of zikr to keep on building the house in paradise. This is real. These are not metaphors. This is actually happening. What are you making the angels write for you as a result? So do you find the Bel Arabia? I do have it here.
SPEAKER_00He says, Muhammad al Achna see and Nadura Jenna Titubna Bid Dikr. Just like we said, the houses of Jannah are Bel Vud Dikr. So the angels are your masons, basically. They put the bricks for you. But you need to send, you know, your uh uh the wages and the fund for it. So they say, or the hadith that says over here, when you stop making dikr, they will hold back and they will stop putting any more bricks. Until we get the wages for that. We need the fund for it. We don't have the fund yet. Subhanallah. So it's in your control by the grace of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to send ahead all that fund so you can build, inshaAllah, without your houses in Jannah. May Allah grant us his house in Jannah Rabbil Alameen. And obviously we learned from before previous sessions is that part of also the gardens and the and uh the landscape around around your house in Jannah is also goes through dhikr. The Prophet mentioned Jannah, the plants and Jannah trees of Jannah are made of dhikr. SubhanAllah Alhamdulillah wail akbar. So while you're building the house, other ages are doing the landscape. So keep doing your dhikr, inshaAllah. So in the day when you go there, you'll be pleased to see the the outcome of your uh dhikr and your ibar and your ta'a inshaAllah ta'a.
SPEAKER_02And one tasbih in Ramadan is, as the Zuhri narrates, like a thousand outside of it. And that's not even including theatul qadr. So when you're thinking about the last few days of Ramadan and the last few moments of Ramadan and that last hour, to sit in the masjid and just do dhikr for the last hour of Ramadan, where that season is closing. Right? The multiplication upon the multiplication upon the multiplication. So take advantage of these last few nights, inshaAllah, these last few days.
SPEAKER_00InshaAllah. Imam ibn Qayyum Rahimallah says point number sixty-five. This is a very great point, subhanAllah, in regard to those who might not do much of good deeds. But unfortunately, they're not on a good path. That's what the problem, which means they do a lot of bad stuff. So, what stops them, what stops them on this path, what blocks them from proceeding to Jahannam? How can they take a detour back to Jannah while they're going on the path to Jahannam? He says, rahimallah, remembrance, that's point number 65. He says remembrance is a barrier between the servant and the hellfire. So if he is going on a path towards Jahannam because uh because of certain action, then remembrance will form a barrier on that path. It will form a bear on that path. So if the remembrance is continuous, it is continuous and complete, then the bear is fortified and uh impenetrable, otherwise it will become according to the level of his remembrance. So if you continue with your dhikr, they put a barrier. You keep doing the dhikr, it becomes fortified and so strong you can't go through it, and I will shiddu protect you. But if you make dhir and then you stop, that barrier is not that strong. You can break through and continue on that path, the wrong path. But if you want to keep it strong, Then you continue with your dhikr. That's the struggle we have with our with our, of course, desires and our thoughts and so on. So the moment you remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, that the barriers now is being built. You want to fortify that that's that barrier, and that that said, make sure to continue with your dikr so you don't go through it.
SPEAKER_02You know, if you think about like, especially with extreme weather, and your layers start to follow, you know, to fail you when the weather is extreme. Extreme cold and like what typically used to work as a heater doesn't work anymore. Extreme hot and the AC starts to give out because it just reaches a temperature that you cannot get to. So when it comes to jihannam, may Allah Azza protect us, one of the the du'as of the Prophet, Allah Ma ba' ad bain you wain chata ayayai, kema ba'at ta bain al-mashriki wa al mahrib. O Allah, put between me and my sins the distance between the east and the west. And you can add to that, I mean, this is not from the dua of the Prophet, but just Allah ma ba'at bain y wa bain al nifaq. If you feel like you're struggling with a particular spiritual disease or you're afraid of something, oh Allah, put between me and this sin of hypocrisy or a zina or whatever it may be. The Prophet mentioned that whoever fasts one day for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah Azza will put the distance between him and hellfire of 70 years, a journey of seven years. You can't insulate yourself enough from hellfire. You can't be far and away enough from Jahannam. So keep building layers between you and Jahannamita'ara with these atkar.
SPEAKER_00Point number 66, he says, rahimallahu ta'ala, an al-malaikathu lud dakirikama tastarfu ta'ib. He goes that the angels seek forgiveness for the one who makes regular dikr, just as they do for the one who repents from sins. And we mentioned that a lot in regards to uh uh after salah when you sit down for a few extra minutes, instead of rushing into leaving the masjid and leaving your musallah area or rushing into grabbing your phone and distracting yourself. No, just give the angels an opportunity to seek forgiveness for you. As the Prophet mentioned, when you finish your first salah, while you're making dhikr, the angels will come and they will start making forgiveness for you, making dua for you. As long as you have wudu and you're still sitting in that pot in that place. Once you move out of that place or you lose your wudu, that's it, they stop. So you have a chance for the angels to have this wasila. Like now you're asking them to uh uh uh, or at least you you're alhamdulillah, you're you're you're enjoying the blessings of them interceding for you on your behalf to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala by saying, Allah maqfillahu, Allahu Marham, Ya Allah have mercy on them, Ya Allah forgiving their sins, subhanAllah. So that's what a golden opportunity, Juma, that you have Alhamdulillah, the angels coming and making dhikr for you over here. So yeah, making dhikr will bring the angels to make dhikr, to to make the dua for you and stihfar for you, inshaAllah ta'am.
SPEAKER_02Shaykh where he has the just it's it's we we skipped over, but it's really beautiful, uh, where he has the narration of Abdul Aziz ibn Abirwad. Uh uh who says, Kan Raj al-Bilbadiyya, khaditah masjid dan uh he says that Abdullah uh Abdul Aziz ibn Abirwad uh said that a man was out in the desert and he built for himself a masjid where he placed seven stones towards the front of the masjid. And when he finished from the prayer, he said to the stones, that I make you a a witness of La ilallah. And uh sometime later the man when you know uh became sick and his soul ascended, and he saw, I saw in my sleep that I was ordered to enter into the hellfire, and then all of a sudden I saw these stones, one of these stones, which I realized had grown a huge side in front of me until it blocked the doorway between me and the hellfire, and then I was called from another door of hellfire, and another stone came which I recognized, and it did the same thing until all seven stones blocked the seven doors of the hellfire. What does this refer to? That it's not just the angels who are uh noting your dhikr. Everything else is bearing witness to your dhikr, and that's why Allah may asbah to ushiduk. Anna ka'antallah. Oh Allah, I c I call you to bear witness. And the carriers of your throne. And your angels, and all of your creation. I call them all to bear witness. This is actually deeply profound because everything around you bears witness to your dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Everything. And can you imagine the earth testifying for you? Can you imagine uh your windows testifying for you, your curtains testifying for you, your carpet testifying for you, like all of these different things testifying for you on the day of judgment? But that's actually the point that you know, like visually, even Abdullah ibn Umar when he was uh he he mentioned he narrates about the talbiya when the people are saying La baykallahuma bayq as they're proceeding towards the haram, that all the trees and the stones are joining in with them in the talbiya. So involve the entire creation in your remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and it will all bear witness for you bidnight on the day of judgment.
SPEAKER_00So this is beautifully said that it's on page on uh point number 67. It says, rahima allahul anna aljibala, what a step shall be my yatkurlah, azza wa jalla uh the mountains and the wilderness posed to one another and rejoiced at the one who remembers Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Almighty. And one of the narrations, Imam Mujahidi Muhammad, he says that the mountains and uh and the uh and the valleys, they will ask one another, hey, did you have anybody passing through today that was remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Like even the mountains and the valleys, they're waiting for the kirim of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So even when you're walking around the jumal, when you do your your uh uh your your your hiking, for example, or just walking or biking, just make dhikr. Let those trees also witness your dhikr, insha'Allah, and all these beautiful uh creation of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala also be uh witnesses for you.
SPEAKER_04Can I tell a funny story here, Shaykh? Imam al Amash. You have to laugh first.
SPEAKER_03Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_02I have to ask you about why you know Michael Jackson's moves, but that's another thing. I was gonna wait for QA to ask you where you saw Michael Jackson's moves, but that was my generation. The 1980s. Um, last year we mentioned this Imam al Amash, rahimullah ta'ara. So that he he wanted to make sure that people studied for the right reasons, that they came to learn for the right reasons. So he put a dog in front of his house, like an attack dog. So if anyone wanted to come learn hadith, they had to fight through the dog so that he could make sure that he had serious students only, right? He's like, I don't want any of these people that are just gonna come say, I oh, I studied hadith with Imam al-Ahmus. You gotta fight through a dog. And so one when the dog died, he he he cried and he said, Had al-kalbmatillah. This dog died in the path of Allah. You know, all those years of sorting out and filtering out my students, you know, to get the serious ones. So subhanAllah, there's uh all of all of this idea of like the creation being involved in the endeavor of pleasing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and seeking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So, what are you trying to say? Do you want us to bring as a dog out here, Ya?
SPEAKER_03I mean, I thought about putting one in front of my office for the obvious reasons, Yaam.
SPEAKER_00Allah bless you Rubin. Allah. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala may because make full dicker. And often he says, Rahim Allah on point number sixty-eight, abundance in remembrance of Allah is security from hypocrisy for the one who of course invokes Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. For the hypocrites and munafiqeen, they remember Allah Azal but little, as Allah says in the Quran, Walla yatkurun Allaha illa kalila, and they do not remember Allah but very little. So that's kind of like scary. Like if you don't engage in dhikr frequently, uh there's an opportunity or a chance, unfortunately, that this person might be count among the munafiqeen.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and he has the narration from Ka'ab, Radiallahu Ta'ala anhu, the the opposite of that, right? That the way that you free yourself from nifaq from hypocrisy is being amongst those amongst those that that are frequent remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And this is a deep point, by the way.
SPEAKER_00Because that means that there's a lot of sincerity in there. Right. No one who's watching while you're making dhikrya.
SPEAKER_02Like think of fasting. Fasting is a form of dhikr. And when Allah Azza says Asalhi, that fasting is for me, wa'ana ajzibi, and I reward accordingly. Uh one of the reasons for that is that a person who is fasting, right, at some point someone's not watching them. They could sneak off and they could drink something, they could eat something. But they keep it for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So dhikr is so sincere because if you're remembering Allah Azzaal, when no one else sees you, hears you, if you're keeping your own wird, your own regiment, that's a sign of iklas. You're purging hypocrisy. And you're purging both types of hypocrite. There are different types of hypocrisy. There's the hypocrisy of riyah, showing off, and there's the hypocrisy of hub dunya, loving the world too much. And so, like, this is a deep point when he says Allah ended Surat al-Munafi kun with the the chapter of hypocrisy, with Ya'yu aladinamu, la tulikum a malakum ala'u la dukum and dhikrillah. Oh you who believe, do not let your wealth or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So he's saying that like it clearly is so deeply tied to nifaq, to hypocrisy. And if there was no benefit to dhikr except for closing the door of nifaq, that's enough. Right? That's an that's enough of an incentive that would come uh from this practice of remembering Allah frequently. And by the way, let me just put it to you this way, too. Not everyone needs to know your wird. No one needs to know how much you're reading every day. No one needs to know how many times you do tasbih and how many times you do tahli and takbir. No one needs to know how many salawat you do in a day. No one needs to know how much dhikr you made. Like, don't spoil it. By you know, you got your dhikr counter and at the end of the day, like, hey, check this out. How much I was able to pull off today. Or posting it online. Or posting it on. Oh my god. Oh shit. Shalissa man.
SPEAKER_00Shaw saw with this.
SPEAKER_02You just you almost almost got I almost got like a you know, I got I got caught my last umrah. I always make fun of these people, may Allah forgive me, but like that the ones that are like, you know, take a picture of me and and I wanna, you know, and they try to get themselves making dua like with that angle of the Kaaba. And I got caught holding the camera for some, I was like leaving on my way, and like someone stopped me, wait, wait, wait, and I was like, oh god, they're gonna ask for a picture. And I don't do pictures in like it's just a personal policy. If you ever see me in Umrun Hajj, I do not do pictures in Umr and Hajj. I just don't do it. So I was like, oh God, he's gonna ask for a picture. And then he goes, Can you take a picture of me? I was like, Oh, okay. Interesting. So I took the camera, Shaykh, and then he goes and he grabs his wife and he goes, Yellow, they both started. I was like, oh God. I was like, am I sinful for and I was just like, fine, just take the picture like here. Let's go.
SPEAKER_00You should have you have made a selfie to yourself.
SPEAKER_02Frowning at the camera, but but like, yeah, don't post pictures of like your dhikr at the end of the day, alhamdulillah, jogged two miles and pulled off 10,000, you know, while it was just keep your dhikr to yourself. Don't spoil it. The way you mess it up, by the way, like even you pray qiyamul, don't tell people about your tahajud. Don't tell people about your qiyam. It's so silly, it's like you just zip it all up and throw it all away. What's the point of that? You know, to the point that one of the sadafah, you know, or one of the sahaba actually, I forget which one which one of the companions, but you know, he was saying, Who amongst you saw the stars last night? And then he realized that by saying that, he was implying that I was up praying at night. And he said, No, no, he said, he said, by the way, just in case, the only reason I was up at night is because I got stung by something. I got stung by something. Rudiht, just to show, like, don't think I was up praying at night. I don't want you to get that impression. Hide your dhikr. Hide your tahajud. No one else needs to know about it. You spoil it. You risk, even if you're sincere and you have no doubt that when you're sharing it with someone, you're you're you're being sincere. Hide it. Because the salaf, as Fudir Rahimallah, said they would hide their good deeds the way they would try to hide their sins. No one needs to know your dhikhir and it frees you from hypocrisy, bidn a hit'ana. We live in the culture of oversharing, Shaykh.
SPEAKER_00We overshare everything. We share our most, subhanAllah, most private even in life. Uh the the your habits, your uh uh your traditions, your culture, even your family, and all the stuff. Oversharing is too much, Allah al-Mustan. When it's supposed to be something that it's only for yourself. So your ibadah, your ta'a, that's between and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Why people had to know about it anyway? So therefore, make sure that you your dhikr stays also private between you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Of course, Allah said with your family, you try to encourage them, inshaAllah. That's a different thing, yeah. He says, rahimwall, and we go over these points quickly, insha'Allah, because they're something we already covered from before. Point number 69, anal dhir in bail amay, laddha lay. Because when it comes to dhikr, remembers has such a sweetness that there is no other practice that can compare to it. Nothing can compare that. He says, if there wasn't any anything you get out of it except for that delight, for dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then it should be give you that happiness that is sufficient for you. He's just like he said, when you sit down in circles of dhikr, it is a garden of Jannah. So you are putting yourself in that garden of Jannah. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala put us in Jannah Rabbilalameen. Number 70, he says, He says, Remembrance adorns the face with a glow, natural glow. In this life and light in the hereafter. As Allah says, that there are shining faces that will have the access to see the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. May Allah make us among the Mub alameen. Point number 71, he says, Rahimullah. If you remember Allah while you're walking, indoors, outdoors, traveling, increases the number of witnesses. Those who will bear witness to your goodness and to your remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, which is a point we also covered actually earlier. Then in the last two points he says, Rahima Allah wa ta'ala, and dhir stigh. When you get yourself busy doing dhikr, you get yourself busy saying something bad. You do dhikr, you busy yourself with something good, Alhamdulillah Rabba'ameen. And the last point, out of the 73 points he said are benefits of dhikr. It is the one that we started with in the first place. Like he's repeating back again that same first point he said. It's that the shaateen, he said, the devils have surrounded a servant. And they are his enemies. There is no escape except through the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then he starts elaborating on this point in more details.
SPEAKER_02And Shaykh has the long hadith. For those of you that watched the Barzakh series, I elaborated on this hadith the other side and quite a bit. I love this hadith. It's the hadith of Sabr ibn Jundub that one day the Prophet came out and he stood before us, and we were seated on the steps of Medina, and the Prophet said, I saw something amazing last night. And he said, I saw a man from my ummah, and when the angel of death came to take his soul, the righteousness that he did to his parents came and uh repelled the angel of death for him. And then I saw a man from my ummah who Adab al-Kabr was about to come to him, the punishment of the grave, and then his wudu came and it saved him from it. And then he said, I saw a man from my ummah who was surrounded by shayyateen, and then the remembrance of Allah came to him and it caused all of them to flee away from him. Like that's a that's an incredible image because you think it's just one shaitan that's messing with you? Like the Prophet mentioned, like, when you're about to give sadaqa, 70,000 shayateen open their mouths and say, No, don't do it. Can you imagine 70,000 people yelling at you? And one dhikr of Allah makes them all go away. One remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And he said, I saw a man from my angel, from my from my ummah, surrounded by the angels of punishment, and then his prayer saved him. And he said, I saw a man from my ummah thirsty, and each time he would try to come near the lake, uh, he would be prevented and pushed back from it, and then his Ramadan came to him, his Slyyam of Ramadan came to him, his fasting came to him, and it gave him water and quenched his thirst. And you can read the rest of this hadith. Like I said, I elaborated it uh on it uh extensively in the Barzak series and the categorizations of these deeds. But dhikr is the one word that shuts 70,000 mouths around you and makes them all go away uh in an instant. May Allah make us from Addakirin Allah Khatih almaqir.
SPEAKER_00Amin, Abba'min Amin Shaykha. Uh we'll begin by somebody sending a message all the way from the East Coast saying, I want to thank you very much both for the beautiful words and reminders, Alhamdulillah. A lot of blessings we've learned from these uh points, mashallah. Although we live far away from this measure, from this area, but definitely Alhamdulillah, we have uh benefited tremendously from the daily programs and khatas of zakumallah khair and barakallah. And barakallahikum the zakumallah khair for all our brothers and sisters, the volunteers, our uh AV team, and and for all the brothers who attended with us over here for making this Alhamdulillah uh really truly a tremendous experience for all of us, mashallah. I mean, without your presence over here, the energy would be at different levels but Alhamdulillah, that presence, mashallah, makes us all feel the need for these reminders. And may Allah make us benefit from it first before anywhere else. Uh and somebody here is commenting on my dress code saying, MashaAllah, you're waiting right now just to try to look taller than Shaykh Umar Salaiman? Is that what the hat is for?
SPEAKER_04I mean, I don't know, Shaykh. I think I still got you.
SPEAKER_00I want to wear the song when I wear the songgok tomorrow, you have no chance. Bismillah, we'll see, inshallah. Alright, so um a mother is asking, she's like, I'm an ordinary mother, busy with raising children. How can I reach the the ranks? How can I reach the ranks? Yeah, and she said the ranks of Ambiyah and Shuhadan or Mah and so on. No one can reach the ranking of Ambiyah, no doubt about it, but to be in the same space in the Akhirah that's a possibility, inshaAllah ta'ala. So how can we do that? I'm a very busy.
SPEAKER_02First of all, the rank of a mother is the highest rank amongst those who are not ambiyat, right, and in this regard. So her rank already, just by virtue of what she is doing, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless her in her task, and may Allah make her her children a testimony for her on the day of judgment. Allah mean in and of itself. Like Shaykh Yasser said yesterday, like you think like this is such a mundane action, so so small, and it doesn't really spiritually please you that you're doing this and doing that, uh, these tasks, but all of those are forms of honoring Allah and forms of obedience to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and bidn the nahi ta'h testimonies for you. But that's actually the point of dhikr being the great equalizer. You can do dhikr while you go about your day. That is the point of it being the great equalizer. Your circumstances give you an opportunity, bidn nahi ta'ala, to still get ahead, inshaAllah ta'a, with your dhikr. And so you don't feel like remember that example of the person that's kicking up the dust. Everybody else is running really fast, they're hitting the ground. But your dhikr is boosting you along the racetrack. And it's important here to remember that the deen of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not about what makes you feel good, it's about what makes you acceptable in His sight. Stop making it so much about you, like, yeah, it doesn't feel great. I'm not talking to the mother, I'm saying all of us. Like Deen always becomes about our high, about how you know I don't feel spiritually fulfilled. It's not about feeling spiritually fulfilled, it's about being spiritually accepted. And sometimes in those deeds that feel repetitive and and daily tasks, those are the very deeds that gain us acceptance. So we all have to sort of lean into those deeds bidnight and seek acceptance through them.
SPEAKER_00I mean somebody saying, I I'm trying to struggling with consistency. So that consistency basically with with my good deeds, specifically dhikr and Quran and so on. And the more I try to keep it consistent, the more I get fatigued and tired, and that starts making me disliking it. Yeah. So that's very dangerous. So how can I deal with that?
SPEAKER_02Reduce the portion. Reduce the portion without giving up the whole thing. Um you know, I I know a lot of people set these goals, especially like in a post-Ramadan setting. I'm gonna read this much Qur'an every month from now on. And then you get so down on yourself when you you don't even hit fifty percent. That's okay. Reduce it to fifty percent and then keep that as the new goal, as the new benchmark, inshaAllah ta'ala. Reduce the portion, but don't forsake the goal. That's true with dhikr, that's true with Quran. That's true even like you know, your Sunan, for example, like you know, oh man, I'm not keeping up with my sunnah, I'm gonna stop praying Sunnah altogether. No, reduce the portions of the voluntary deeds, inshaAllah ta'ala, but just don't forsake them altogether.
SPEAKER_00Someone is asking if I'm attending with you this halakha online, far away from your masjid, will the angel also be in my presence, Ani?
SPEAKER_02I hope so, because you're remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, but there's nothing like the physical gatherings. No. So but I but I hope, look. The angels go where Allah is remembered, and even if that's in your own room by yourself.
SPEAKER_00Which is why we encourage people, whatever they actually are watching from here, to go to the local majid. Don't abandon your your local halakha. I know subhanAllah, unfortunately, in the culture of celebrity culture, I would say, a lot of people would like to be in the presence of an honorable person, someone with a special name and so on. But wallahi subhanallah, sometimes you will have an unknown imam in a small musallah or so some majid, but this person can be the gym that you really need in your life. Maybe you think you don't want this kind of like uh uh star, but subhanAllah, that imam could be the one you need in your life. So make sure not to uh you know overlook the blessings of having a masjid, a musallah, an imam available in your community. Benefit from them to the best of your ability.
SPEAKER_02To the point we have mashallah our sister Lila. She's even she just got out of prison today and she's attending the 1 a.m. You need to go to sleep too, you know. You know, at some point you have to get some rest, inshallah. But I can tell, I mean, obviously, every moment in these halakat is a means of of just f filling the heart and filling the cup, like this is a this is a dream for people. Like imagine those people that don't have the ability to attend the halakat. And I know that um you know, Sister Warud would uh wouldn't she turn on like I'm asking you, Ta'har, would she turn on the uh the app like and yeah, so so she would put the app on so that she could hear the khutbas from prison through the app, the getting out app, subhanAllah. And like here you are, these opportunities are so precious to be able to attend the masjid, to be able to remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. May Allah Azwajal not make us amongst those that forsake these easy blessings that we have, and may Allah make it easy for our brothers and sisters in prison that don't that don't have this opportunity to gather and remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
SPEAKER_00So I'm trying to make uh uh what dhikr I should build for myself after moving forward after this discussion, inshaAllah ta'ala. So they're asking what else could I do? InshaAllah, we're gonna be discussing this for the next two nights bin Allah. Also, the book that was mentioned, I believe, a couple of nights ago, inshallah, or maybe last night, you mentioned Al Atkar by Imam and Nawi, rahimallah. Al Atkar, the book is called Al-Atkar by Al-Imam and Nawi, Rahim Allahu ta'a. For those who would like to build on this discussion, inshaAllah, and benefit from Atkar and increase their benefits of dhikr bin Nilahi Azza wa Jal.
SPEAKER_02Um I believe that book's been translated, by the way. Kitab al-Atkar. No. Imam al Nawi Rahimallah, but I'll confirm it, inshaAllah.
SPEAKER_00There are a lot of people asking about specific dhikr for a specific situation like stress, injustice, and so on. So I hope inshaAllah ta'ala, um, when you go to the book of Mam bin Nawi Atkar, you'll find a lot of these atkar for these occasions. Also, uh the Arabic version of the book, Al-Wab al-Sayyib, Imam al Nawi Rahimallah is going to elaborate on certain atkar as well, too. Unfortunately, the English translation skipped that part. It did not put the translation of that atkar because it was just mentioned what to say in the morning, in the evening, at the time of this, at the time of that. So let's skip that. But if you have the Arabic uh version of it, inshallah al-Fan and details but Nilahi Azul.
SPEAKER_02So let me let me give you guys something practical. Alright? Fortress of the Muslim. Make it a goal for this year, insha'Allah. To memorize the morning remembrances and the evening remembrances. And there is a method, some people have different methodologies to memorizing them. On a personal level, uh, the way that I recite them is I take the ones that are most frequently mentioned. So for example, Hasbi Allah illahu alayhi waqal to wahu rabu arshradim seven times. And then you have Allah to ushidu hammer four times. And then you have the ones that are by three. Subhanallah, Muhammad in Sabullah Ali Wa Sarah. You take the ones that are mentioned three times. And then when I go to the ones, the ones that are mentioned by one, then I do the longest ones first. So go from longest to shortest. And then times. And that's usually just while I'm walking and moving on from it. I'm giving this to you as an easy method. If you memorize Afkar al-Sabaq al-Masa, the morning remembrances and the evening remembrances, it covers every single benefit. Read through the morning remembrances and evening remembrances. You'll have du'as for anxiety, du'as for stress, du'as for protection, du'as for asking Allah for Jannah, and uh to not be amongst those that are admitted into the fire, du'as for protection from the punishment of the grave, du'as for blessing in your relationships, du'as for protection from uh people that wish you evil and envy and hatred. Like atkar al-Sabbah and Masah are so comprehensive. So make it a point, inshaAllah ta'ala, that you don't need a year, by the way, that you'll memorize inshaAllah ta'a the morning remembrances and the evening remembrances. In the meantime, you read them every day. Try to memorize one of them every day as you read them every day, for example. So from now on, I'm gonna read them every day, Fortress of the Muslim. Whether it's the app or it's online or whatever it may be, fortress of the Muslim. Morning remembrances, evening remembrances. The morning remembrances are between Fajr and sunrise, the evening remembrances are between Asr and Maghrib. May Allah Azzawajal facilitate it for all of us. Allah Ma'amen.
SPEAKER_00So we talked about how um Alhamdulillah dhikr, of course, heals the heart and how it also heals the body as well too. So there's a message here from a sister from Canada. She sends salam to everybody here and said, Jazakum Allah Khadir Mashayah. I just wanted to share that since the first day of attending this gathering, I've experienced Alhamdulillah the healing benefits of consistent dhikr. She said, doctors haven't been able to figure out how to treat my severe seizures for the past six months. But Alhamdulillah, I haven't had a single seizure since implementing the remembrance of Allah Azza wa Jal throughout my days. Allah Ya Shafi's. Of any illness, Ya Allah. We ask Allah to keep us all consistent with our dikah and ibadah, ya Rubul Alameen.
SPEAKER_02Shaykh one of my close friends with his daughter in another state, subhanAllah frequently was experiencing frequent seizures and they couldn't figure it out. And truly with the Quran and the recitation of the Quran over her, it's like it completely went away. Somehow, like a year of trying to figure this out. There are things that exist within these remembrances that we should not underestimate at all.
SPEAKER_00SubhanAllah, like we said that dhikkhras Allah Masha Shifa, there's healing in the Quran, there's healing in the dhikr that you know gives you that sense of uh um tranquility and peace. I hope that when you do it mindfully, obviously, you get all the benefit of the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
SPEAKER_02And you do it with the medicine. Yep, of course. The cure, the healing, it all goes together. But you know all along, all along that Allah Azza is a Shafi'i and He's the one who can heal mid the night.
SPEAKER_00Finally, a question comes from a revert saying, I'm I'm feeling a fresh enthusiasm about Islam. How do I stay upon this path after Allah has placed his nur in my life? Like how can I keep with that? Using the dhikr, what would you suggest for them?
SPEAKER_02So, first and foremost, when someone converts to Islam and they feel that zeal and they feel the initial excitement, one of the ways to prepare for what comes next is to recognize that every single pi person has a high and then eventually it runs its course. And alikulishain Shira, Walikulish and Fatra. The Prophet said everything has its peak and then it runs its course. The most important thing that I would say to that person that feels the initial zeal and that has those initial practices is to not get overwhelmed and try to take everything in at the same time. As Umar ibn Abdul Aziz Raheimullah Ta'ala mentioned to his son, I don't want to have them try to force them upon it all at once because then they will leave it all at once. Right? So build consistent small blocks, inshaAllah ta'ala and don't do it alone. If you can find, you know, try to, inshaAllah, insert yourself into a group, into a halakha. Also bounce your regimen off of someone, inshaAllah ta'ala. Don't go at it alone. Small, consistent steps, inshaAllah Ta'ala. So even though you feel the zeal now, it's okay. Don't let the zeal translate into setting unreasonable goals for yourself. Because you know, like you get to the gym for the first time, you feel zeal, and then you throw your back out. Because you tried to lift too much weight at the at the moment. Your mind was there, but then you realize that your your your body wasn't yet there. The same thing for your soul. Your zeal is there, alhamdulillah, but you still need to build smart, inshaAllah, even though you have that zeal.
SPEAKER_00InshaAllah, zakumullah, shaykhan, alhamdulillah. We just we're done with the 28th night almost subhanahu wa ta'ala. Now we have 29th, and the theory is inshaAllah. Um, as it comes closer, I just want to remind myself and everybody here is that look, right now, this is your chance. You build the momentum. So, what are you gonna do with all these sessions? What did you learn from these sessions? What's your plan for starting having, inshaAllah, the dhikr as part of your life, and specifically mindful dhikr? What is your target? Is your target gonna be just building reward or building ranks? And how are you gonna get to the highest ranks, inshaAllah? Remember the three gates that the shaitan comes through to the heart and how you can block the shaitan and close these doors. Remember these things, insha'Allah. Take the mudi home, biddin la azza wa jal. May Allah subhanahu wa tak some wa dakharatya. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make our life a life of diqriy Allah. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us a mother who always remember him and never forget about his remembrance. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to give us the benefit of diqriya rub alameen. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make this gathering a blessed gathering and mention the gathering better than this. And the way we all gather in this place, we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that we gather together in Janatir Fiddle Salah with the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam Salahin. Allah Surum Taqabi, Alhamdulillah Rabbil Amin. Salam alaikum wahullah wa wa sala.