IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE MOST MERCIFUL
When Allah Forced Adam (AS) and his wife out of Paradise, He Promised them Guidance:
قُلنَا اهبِطوا مِنها جَميعًا ۖ فَإِمّا يَأتِيَنَّكُم مِنّي هُدًى فَمَن تَبِعَ هُدايَ فَلا خَوفٌ عَلَيهِم وَلا هُم يَحزَنونَ
We said: “Get down all of you from this place (the Paradise), then whenever there comes to you Guidance from Me, and whoever follows My Guidance, there shall be no fear on them, nor shall they grieve. 2: 38
In addition if anyone of us sincerely seeks Guidance, Allah will Grant Increased in Guidance as well as Taqwa
وَالَّذينَ اهتَدَوا زادَهُم هُدًى وَآتاهُم تَقواهُم
While as for those who accept guidance, He increases their guidance, and bestows on them their piety. 47: 17
The Qur’an is one of the greatest Miracles of Allah – a Promise by Allah to Grant Guidance Whom He Wills and the Qur’an itself as you open the Book, revealed boldly Allah’s statements in 2:2
ذٰلِكَ الكِتابُ لا رَيبَ ۛ فيهِ ۛ هُدًى لِلمُتَّقينَ
This is the Book (the Qur’an), whereof there is no doubt, a guidance to those who are Al-Muttaqun [the pious] .
To be Guided – you must understand and ponder. There must be lots of reflections. You see that after the 11 Nov 2023 event in Palestine – many people started to pick up the Qur’an. I have posted many youtube videos on the thoughts of these non Muslims BEFORE they took shahadah subhanAllah. Sincere thoughts and unanswered questions that have just been answered by Allah just by them reading the Qur’an in English. So for general guidance – the Qur’an must be read in a language you understand. Once these reverts take shahadah then the Arabic language must be taught and recitations must be done in Arabic.
LET’S SEE OUR BROTHERS WHO REVERTED HERE – IF THE QUR’AN WAS THE MAIN FACTORS WHY THEY TOOK THEIR SHAHADAH.
REVELATIONS
Allah Revealed the Qur’an in the perfect way and Arranged it for us to read in the perfect order…. And Allah Ended the Qur’an in the perfect manner in terms in revelation and in the perfect arrangement in the Qur’an
1st revelation : IQRA Surah 96 Al Alaq
2nd Revelation: Surah Al Muddaththir 74 – Do da’wah (ONLY AFTER KNOWLEDGE), glorify Allah and don’t commit shirk
3rd Revelations Al Muzzammil 73 – Build up relationship with Allah – through Tahajjud
Ends with – Surah 2 verse 281 as the last verse to be revealed:
وَاتَّقوا يَومًا تُرجَعونَ فيهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ ثُمَّ تُوَفّىٰ كُلُّ نَفسٍ ما كَسَبَت وَهُم لا يُظلَمونَ
And be afraid of the Day when you shall be brought back to Allah. Then every person shall be paid what he earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.
4 main things:
اللَّهُ لا إِلٰهَ إِلّا هُوَ ۚ لَيَجمَعَنَّكُم إِلىٰ يَومِ القِيامَةِ لا رَيبَ فيهِ ۗ وَمَن أَصدَقُ مِنَ اللَّهِ حَديثًا
Allah! La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He). Surely, He will gather you together on the Day of Resurrection about which there is no doubt. And who is truer in statement than Allah? 4: 87
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “There is no creature but that it is alert on Friday when it awakens until the sun sets, anxious of the Hour, except for humans and jinn.”
Source: Sunan Abī Dāwūd 1046
Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani
WHAT IS YOUR POSITION IN THE HEREAFTER – PARADISE OF HELLFIRE?
People are now so obsessed with the dunya that preparation for the Hereafter becomes much and much less. How can that be??? How long are we on this earth? How long will we be in Paradise or Hellfire? Especially with social media – you can see how much obsessed we are in this world?
Allah Warned us:
إِنّا جَعَلنا ما عَلَى الأَرضِ زينَةً لَها لِنَبلُوَهُم أَيُّهُم أَحسَنُ عَمَلًا
“Verily! We have made that which is on earth as an adornment for it, in order that We may test them (mankind) as to which of them are best in deeds.“ 18: 7
المالُ وَالبَنونَ زينَةُ الحَياةِ الدُّنيا ۖ وَالباقِياتُ الصّالِحاتُ خَيرٌ عِندَ رَبِّكَ ثَوابًا وَخَيرٌ أَمَلًا
Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world. But the good righteous deeds (five compulsory prayers, deeds of Allah’s obedience, good and nice talk, remembrance of Allah with glorification, praises and thanks, etc.), that last, are better with your Lord for rewards and better in respect of hope.18: 46
This worldly life in nearly worthless to Allah.
Jabir b. Abdullah reported that Allah’s Apostle (Sallalaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) happened to walk through the bazar coming from the side of ‘Aliya and the people were on both his sides.
There he found a dead lamb with very short ears. He took hold of his ear and said:
Who amongst you would like to have this for a dirham?
They said: We do not like to have it even for less than that as it is of no use to us.
He said: Do you wish to have it (free of any cost)?
They said: By Allah, even if it were alive (we would not have liked to possess that), for there is detect in it as its ear is very short; now it is dead also.
Thereupon Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: By Allah, this world is more insignificant in the eye of Allah as it (this dead lamb) is in your eye.
Source: Sahih Muslim
The dunya is, however, the heaven for the disbelievers and sinners.
Imam Ahmad reported that the Prophet SallAllahu alayhi wa sallam said
The Dunya (life of this world) is the residence of those who have no residence, the wealth of those who have no wealth, and it is harvested by those who have no sense of reason.
“Verily! We have made that which is on earth as an adornment for it, in order that We may test them (mankind) as to which of them are best in deeds.“ 18: 7
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The world is sweet and green. Verily, Allah will make you successors in it to see how you will behave. Beware of the world and beware of women. Verily, the first trial of the children of Israel was with women.”
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2742
Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Muslim
On the authority of Thawbaan , the Prophet SallAllahu alayhi wa sallam said:
“The People will soon summon one another to attack you as people when eating invite others to share their food.” Someone asked, “Will that be because of our small numbers at that time?” He replied, “No, you will be numerous at that time: but you will be froth and s.cum like that carried down by a torrent (of water), and Allah will take the fear of you from the breasts (hearts) of your enemy and cast al-wahn into your hearts.” Someone asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what is al-wahn?” He replied, “Love of the world and dislike of death.” [An authentic hadith recorded by Abu Dawud and Ahmad]
قُل مَتاعُ الدُّنيا قَليلٌ وَالآخِرَةُ خَيرٌ لِمَنِ اتَّقىٰ وَلا تُظلَمونَ فَتيلًا
أَينَما تَكونوا يُدرِككُمُ المَوتُ وَلَو كُنتُم في بُروجٍ مُشَيَّدَةٍ
“Say: ‘Short is the enjoyment of this world. And the Hereafter is the best for those who do right. And you will never be dealt with unjustly in the very least. Wherever you are, death will find you out, even if you are in towers built up strong and high.” [An-Nisaa, 4:77-78]
ASK AUDIENCE – WHAT IS ON THEIR MIND WHEN THEY HEAR “ALLAH” BEING MENTIONED
إِنَّمَا المُؤمِنونَ الَّذينَ إِذا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَت قُلوبُهُم
“The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts…” 8: 2
Mu’adh bin Jabal reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “O Mu’adh, do you know what is the right of Allah upon His servants?” I said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” The Prophet said, “To worship Him alone and to associate none in worship with Him. And do you know what is their right upon Him?” I said, “Allah and His messenger know best.” The Prophet said, “Not to punish them if they do so.”
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 7373, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 30
MUST UNDERSTAND THE 3 BRANCHES OF TAWHEED
“Hasibu Anfusakum Qabla Antuhasabu”
“Bring yourself to account before you are taken to account.”
by Sayidina ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab r.a.
فَمَن يَعمَل مِثقالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيرًا يَرَهُ
وَمَن يَعمَل مِثقالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ
So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it.
And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it. 99: 7-8
We have to be accountable for all the obligatory duties and at the same time prevent ourselves from committing major sins.
إِن تَجتَنِبوا كَبائِرَ ما تُنهَونَ عَنهُ نُكَفِّر عَنكُم سَيِّئَاتِكُم وَنُدخِلكُم مُدخَلًا كَريمًا
If you avoid the great sins which you are forbidden to do, We shall remit from you your (small) sins, and admit you to a Noble Entrance (i.e. Paradise). 4: 31
Be careful especially on infringing the rights of others – the hadith on a bankrupt person. We discussed on Thursday on how to avoid things which will destroy our deeds.
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Do you know who are bankrupt?” They said, “The one without money or goods is bankrupt.” The Prophet said, “Verily, the bankrupt of my nation are those who come on the Day of Resurrection with prayers, fasting, and charity, but also with insults, slander, consuming wealth, shedding blood, and beating others. The oppressed will each be given from his good deeds. If his good deeds run out before justice is fulfilled, then their sins will be cast upon him and he will be thrown into the Hellfire.”
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2581
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأمُرُ بِالعَدلِ وَالإِحسانِ وَإيتاءِ ذِي القُربىٰ وَيَنهىٰ عَنِ الفَحشاءِ وَالمُنكَرِ وَالبَغيِ ۚ يَعِظُكُم لَعَلَّكُم تَذَكَّرونَ
Verily, Allah enjoins Al-Adl (i.e. justice and worshipping none but Allah Alone – Islamic Monotheism) and Al-Ihsan [i.e. to be patient in performing your duties to Allah, totally for Allah’s sake and in accordance with the Sunnah (legal ways) of the Prophet SallAllahu alayhi wa sallam in a perfect manner], and giving (help) to kith and kin (i.e. all that Allah has ordered you to give them e.g., wealth, visiting, looking after them, or any other kind of help, etc.): and forbids Al-Fahsha’ (i.e all evil deeds, e.g. illegal sexual acts, disobedience of parents, polytheism, to tell lies, to give false witness, to kill a life without right, etc.), and Al-Munkar (i.e all that is prohibited by Islamic law: polytheism of every kind, disbelief and every kind of evil deeds, etc.), and Al-Baghy (i.e. all kinds of oppression), He admonishes you, that you may take heed. 16: 90
One of Allah’s Beautiful Names is Al Adl – The Just.
In fact Allah has been more than just:
Verily Allah ta’ala has written down the good deeds and the evil deeds, and then explained it [by saying]: “Whosoever intended to perform a good deed, but did not do it, then Allah writes it down with Himself as a complete good deed. And if he intended to perform it and then did perform it, then Allah writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds up to seven hundred times, up to many times multiplied. And if he intended to perform an evil deed, but did not do it, then Allah writes it down with Himself as a complete good deed. And if he intended it [i.e., the evil deed] and then performed it, then Allah writes it down as one evil deed.” [Al-Bukhari] [Muslim].
