All praise and thanks is for Allah SWT. Please and blessings
on our Prophet, his family and his companions.
Today’s reminder is on remembering Allah SWT
Dear brothers and sisters, as Muslims our aim in life is
quite simple. It is to follow the steps laid out in the Quran and the Sunnah to
worship Allah SWT through our deeds and our intentions.
However, everything we do for Allah SWT stems from a single
source and that is the acknowledgement and remembrance of Him.
Allah SWT has mentioned dhikr (or remembrance of Allah) over
a hundred times in the Glorious Quran. In Sura Al-Imran, ayat 190 and 191,
Allah SWT says:
Indeed, in the creation of the
heavens and the earth and the alternation of the day and night there are signs
for people of reason.
˹They are˺ those who remember
Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the
creation of the heavens and the earth ˹and pray˺, “Our Lord! You have not
created ˹all of˺ this without purpose. Glory be to You! Protect us from the torment
of the Fire.
Dear brothers and sisters, if we look at these ayat. amongst
the many lessons is one of the need for us to remember Allah SWT wherever we
may be.
But how can we remember Allah throughout the normal
course of our day without withdrawing from the routine of our daily worldly
life?
One way we can attempt to do this is to remind ourselves of
the reward of remembering Allah SWT. This was mentioned by the imam in todays
reminder and a few of those references are mentioned now.
Firstly, Sura Ar-Ra’d, ayat 28 is translated to say:
those who believe and whose
hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah. Surely in the remembrance of
Allah do hearts find comfort.
And Sura Al-Ahzab, ayat 35 which is translated to say:
Surely ˹for˺ Muslim men and women, believing men and women,1 devout
men and women, truthful men and women, patient men and women, humble men and
women, charitable men and women, fasting men and women, men and women who guard
their chastity, and men and women who remember Allah often—for ˹all of˺ them
Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.
Dear brothers and sisters, it might seem a mighty task at
first, but one we can accomplish with some ease.
And so what follows then are four states of consciousness
that we must strive to develop by remembering certain things, absorbing them
and reminding ourselves of them often.
- Say to ourselves: “I am in Allah’s presence; He
is watching me.”
If ever we are alone, He is the second and that if we are two, He is the third.
He is with us wherever we are.
The
imam emphasised this through the following hadith in which Allah SWT conveyed
the following to the messenger SAWS. It is translated to say:
I am near to the thought of My
servant as he thinks about Me, and I am with him as he remembers Me. And if he
remembers Me in his heart, I also remember him in My Heart, and if he remembers
Me in assembly I remember him in assembly, better than his (remembrance), and
if he draws near Me by the span of a palm, I draw near him by the cubit, and if
he draws near Me by the cubit I draw near him by the space (covered by) two
hands. And if he walks towards Me, I rush towards him.
Lets try to remind ourselves of this as often as we can, and throughout
the day every time we begin a new task, and every time we speak.
- Say to ourselves. “Everything I have has been
given to me by Allah.”
All that there is surrounding us, on us and in us comes from Allah alone. There
is none that creates or gives anything but Allah. Therefore, reflect upon all
the blessings that He has blessed us with and be thankful to Him. Say
Alhamdullilah. In all the sayings that our beloved Prophet (SAWS) has taught us
to remember Allah with, gratefulness to Allah is a constant theme.
- Say to ourselves: “Nothing in this world can
happen without His permission.”
Everything lies in the hands of Allah. No harm can befall us and no benefit can
reach us except as Allah ordains.
- And finally, Say to ourselves: “I am going to
return to Allah one day and that day could be today.”
Dear brothers and sisters, we do not know when we will leave this world. It may
be that this hour is our last hour, or even, that this moment is our last
moment. Such an uncertainty does not, of course, justify a complete withdrawal
from this life.
However, we should aim that we are
always conscious of this uncertainty, to the extent that it motivates us to
spend every moment of our remaining life seriously, considering it as a gift
from Allah and spending the resources He has blessed us with such as time,
ability and energy as Allah has advised.
Dear brothers and sisters, the rememberce of Allah SWT comes
from living life, not on autopilot without thought but from pondering over the life
we have been given. By doing so we can aim to be of those who remember Allah
SWT and are of those who were spoken of by the Prophet SAWS in the following
hadith:
“Would you like me to tell you
the best and purest of your deeds in the estimation of your King, those which
raise your degrees highest, those which are better for you than spending gold
and silver, and are better for you than that you should meet your enemy and cut
off one another’s head?” On receiving a reply in the affirmative he said, “It
is remembering God.”
May Allah SWT enable us to remember Him in all states. May
Allah SWT enable us to adhere to these four points mentioned above. And May
Allah SWT reward us for our efforts in remembering Him.
Ameen Walhamdullilahirabilalameen.
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All praise is due to Allah (SWT). Peace and blessings upon our beloved prophet (SAWS) his family and his companions.
Today’s khutba is about the rememberance of Allah SWT
Dear brothers, as Muslims our aim in life is quite simple. It is to follow the steps laid out in the Quran and the Sunnah to worship Allah SWT through our deeds and our intentions.
However, everything we do for Allah SWT stems from a single source and that is the acknowledgement and rememberance of Him.
Allah SWT has mentioned dhikr (or rememberance of Allah) over a hundred times in the Glorious Quran. In Sura Al-Imran, Allah SWT says:
Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding.
Who remember Allah while standing or sitting or lying on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth by saying “Our Lord, you did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You above such a thing; then protect us from the punishment of the fire.”
Dear brothers, if we look at this ayat. amongst the many lessons is one of the need for us to remember Allah SWT wherever we may be.
But how can we remember Allah throughout the normal course of our day without withdrawing from the routine of our daily worldly life?
How can we ensure that our personal life, family life, professional life and other activities all continue in full swing, and yet, at the same time, ensure that our life as a whole, every moment of it, is permeated with remembrance of Allah?
Allah SWT mentions the distractions in Sura Al Kahf:
Wealth and children are but an adornment of the worldly life. But the enduring good deeds are better to your Lord for reward and better for one’s hope.
Dear brothers, it might seem a mighty task at first, but one we can accomplish with some ease.
InshAllah after the following four points we can strive to emulate the Prophet SAWS as narrated in the following hadith:
The Prophet SAWS would remember Allah SWT all the time, in different states.
Dear brothers, what follows then are four states of consciousness that we must strive to develop by remembering certain things, absorbing them and reminding ourselves of them often.
1) Say to ourselves: “I am in Allah’s presence; He is watching me.”
If ever we are alone, He is the second and that if we are two, He is the third. He is with us wherever we are. He is nearer to us than our jugular vein. Allah is watching everything that we do and hearing everything that we say. He is ever present and His knowledge is all encompassing. Lets try to remind ourselves of this as often as we can, and throughout the day every time we begin a new task, and every time we speak.
2) Say to ourselves. “Everything I have has been given to me by Allah.”
All that there is surrounding us, on us and in us comes from Allah alone. There is none that creates or gives anything but Allah. Therefore, reflect upon all the blessings that He has blessed us with and be thankful to Him. Say Alhamdullilah. In all the sayings that our beloved Prophet (SAWS) has taught us to remember Allah with, gratefulness to Allah is a constant theme.
3) Say to ourselves: “Nothing in this world can happen without His permission.”
Everything lies in the hands of Allah. No harm can befall us and no benefit can reach us except as Allah ordains.
4) And finally, Say to ourselves: “I am going to return to Allah one day and that day could be today.”
Dear brothers, we do not know when we will leave this world. It may be that this hour is our last hour, or even, that this moment is our last moment. Such an uncertainty does not, of course, justify a complete withdrawal from this life.
However, we should aim that we are always conscious of this uncertainty, to the extent that it motivates us to spend every moment of our remaining life seriously, considering it as a gift from Allah and spending the resources He has blessed us with such as time, ability and energy as Allah has advised.
May Allah SWT enable us to remember Him in all states. May Allah SWT enable us to adhere to these four points mentioned above. And May Allah SWT reward us for our efforts in remembering Him.
Ameen wal hamdullilahi rabilalameen.
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Allah (SWT) says in sura Al Maidah ayat 54
O you who have believed, whoever of you should revert from his religion – Allah will bring forth [in place of them] a people He will love and who will love Him [who are] humble toward the believers, powerful against the disbelievers; they strive in the cause of Allah and do not fear the blame of a critic. That is the favor of Allah ; He bestows it upon whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.
It is probably impossible to find a human being who does not love. Most people love their families, spouses and friends. Others love status and money. You can tell a person’s love for something or someone by what they do and how they act.
And we love all of these things despite their temporary nature, despite the fact that they disappoint us sometimes. It is almost an intrinsic part of a human being. And we all love for similar reasons—we love people for the perceived good qualities that we see in a person or the way they treat us. We love things because of the way those things make us feel.
In sura Al Fusilat aya 17
And as for Thamud, We guided them, but they preferred blindness over guidance, so the thunderbolt of humiliating punishment seized them for what they used to earn.
The Glorious Quran clearly demonstrates the danger of pursuing the love of this Dunya, of this life.
So what does it mean when we say we should we love Allah SWT?
How can we not? If we put together all the reasons why we love other people or things, and then apply it to Allah (swt), we should see that truly it is Him that deserves our love. And because human beings are naturally inclined to love, it is only the love of Allah (swt) that can satisfy this need.
Try to count everything good in your life, and everything that seemed bad but turned out to be good. All that is from Allah (swt).
The fact that you are Muslim. The fact that, as the Prophet ﷺtold us, everything that happens in the life of a Muslim is good, and this is only for the believers.
If you are given blessings, then it is an opportunity to be thankful, and if you are tested, it is for you to be patient and to be rewarded for that patience. Nothing a believer does goes to waste inshallah.
So how does one make one’s heart love Allah SWT? One’s heart begins to feel the love for Allah SWT through:
Reading the Quran with reflection
Performance of more voluntary prayers
The remembrance of Allah SWT through Zikr
Choose what Allah SWT prefers over what you prefer
There is a Hadith which demonstrates how the best of Creation performed such a requirement and is an example for us all once more:
‘A’isha reported: One night I missed Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) from the bed, and when I sought him my hand touched the soles of his feet while he was in the state of prostration; they (feet) were raised and he was saying:” O Allah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your anger, and in Your forgiveness from Your punishment, and I seek refuge in You from You. I can’t do justice to praise You. Only You can praise Yourself as you deserve”
We should all aim to strive to match this level of devotion and love for Allah SWT. True happiness and contentment from this life can only come when our hearts feel this love for Allah SWT.
One last reminder is a dua that was recited by the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him):
“Oh Allah I ask you for your love, and love of those who love you, and love of any action that will make me close to loving you”
We ask Allah swt to be from the people who love him and he loves us. We ask Allah to help us to remember him. We ask Allah to help us to thank him. and we ask Allah to help us to worship him.
We ask for his forgiveness, his mercy on ourselves and our family and ummah.
Ameen. Alhamdullilahi rabill alamin
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