Hadhrat Hudhayfah رضي الله عنه reported: Nabi ﷺ said, “Tribulation will be exposed to the hearts of people like a reed mat woven, stick by stick. Any heart afflicted by them will have a black mark put into it, but any heart that rejects them will have a white mark put into it. Thus, there will be two kinds of hearts: one is pure like a white gemstone; it will not be harmed by any trial as long as the heavens and earth endure. The other is black and dusty like a worn-out vessel, neither acknowledging good nor rejecting evil, rather absorbed in its desires.” [Sahih Muslim]
One heart absorbs the wrongdoing and the other heart rejects the corruption. The one that does not accept it, for as long as this person is in the world, no corruption and evil can impact his heart. The one who accepts, his heart will be darkened and flipped upside down. He will not accept any good. He will not be able to differentiate between good and bad and he will become full of desires. He will chase after the world and become destroyed. The corruption and evil mentioned in the Hadith are present in this generation. We have sins taking place everywhere and we have made the oceans and the heavens a witness to our sins. We live in such an age where we are being invited towards sins from all avenues. However, the Muslims who live and endure this era, will earn a very great status!
What is the reason for this evil and corruption today?
We have left the ways of the Sunnah. Wherever the Sunnah has been abandoned, corruption and evil is created there. Unfortunately, we have no connection with the Sunnah today and we do not even consider it to be a part of deen. If someone practices the Sunnah, he is mocked and shunned and considered a foolish person.
The one who abandons the Sunnah is indulged in evil and corruption. He has no principles. He has adopted his own Quran and his own version of deen. This is something extremely common today. Abandoning the Sunnah has in fact, become a means of punishment for us.
In reality, the soul of our religion and our worship is the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. Thus, if we fail to practice, our worship itself becomes a form of evil and corruption for us.
Allah ta'ala has granted us this path of protection. We only have one objective and that is to please Allah ta'ala and attain His nearness. The one who achieves this, is given a beautiful death. The one who drifts from his purpose, is the one who fails. Whenever you try to attain success in the deen through seeking knowledge, purification or Tasawwuf, then you should keep one intention - to please Allah ta'ala. We must strengthen our intentions because nafs and Shaytan are always with us and will never let us succeed. Whoever’s intention is contaminated, cannot be successful and has fallen prey to his desires. Whoever distances himself from his purpose, becomes a materialistic person filled with lust and he ruins all his hard work.
When deen comes in to your life, then the world will automatically come too. Nabi ﷺ would supplicate, "Oh Allah, better my deen so that I can protect my world as well." We should strengthen our deen so that we may find enjoyment in this world. If you abandon your deen, you won't acquire this world and neither your deen.
How should we save ourselves in this generation of evil and corruption?
By engaging in dhikr. This is the worship which is most necessary in this era we are living in.
There are countless means of corruption today. Desires are many in this world and are being created with every second. These desires take us away from deen. If you wish to be safe and you wish to depart from this world with faith, then engage in abundant dhikr. Dhikr is what protects our heart and saves us from the evil and corruption of today. Allah ta'ala has ordained upon us abundant dhikr for our own benefit and goodness. Those whose hearts are protected, will be safe from corruption and evil and they will implement the Sunnah. Their way of life will be in complete accordance to the Sunnah and the success of their life is the Sunnah.
Nabi ﷺ mentioned that the one who engages in dhikr in times of ignorance and laziness, is like the example of a beautiful lush tree emerging from a dry barren land.
Nabi ﷺ is a role model and an example for us which means that we should follow him step by step. There shouldn't be an action in which we fail to imitate his ways, whether it is eating, drinking, societal affairs and mannerism.
We should not be afraid of these difficult times. If you're following the path of Allah ta'ala, you needn't worry because no jinn, no storm, no country, nor any conditions can affect you. You are a protected individual and this is guaranteed by the Prophet ﷺ. If you want to strengthen your faith and save yourself from corruption, then you must protect your heart. The one who safeguards his heart, has safeguarded his worship and knowledge. Everything depends on the heart and the heart cannot be safeguarded by anything except the dhikr of Allah ta'ala.
The pious predecessors have always attached themselves to dhikr in order to safeguard them.
Allah ta'ala sent Hadhrat Musa عليه السلام to Firaun with his brother, his staff and with certain miracles. Despite all this, Allah ta'ala reminded him that he shouldn't forget Allah ta'ala. This is because one may only become successful through dhikr and corruption is suppressed through dhikr.
Dhikr is our security and protection. It is a unique weapon for us. Evil and corruption can only be wiped away with dhikr. Those who do not believe this, will be drowned in evil and will never depart with faith. We should engage in dhikr so that our hearts may be protected from fitna and as a result, the signs of Allah ta'ala's love will enter our heart.
A true believer has concern for the hereafter, but at the same time he has no worry or sadness in this world. This journey is difficult and dangerous. There are many obstacles as well as our desires and Shaytan along the way. Our objective is Allah ta'ala and the path to arrive to Allah ta'ala is difficult and life is short. What do we do?
Nabi ﷺ came to us as a guide and informed us that we shouldn’t be afraid. He stated that if we desire to attain Allah ta'ala's nearness quickly, we should imitate him in order to become his beloved. Whoever becomes the beloved of the Prophet ﷺ, will be taken to Paradise with him.
Secondly, Allah ta'ala provides us with a shortcut of attaining Him. As mentioned in the Quran, He ordered the Prophet ﷺ to inform us that if we perform the Sunnah actions, we will also become the beloved of Allah ta'ala.
Allah ta'ala is attained via the Sunnah. Whoever does not believe this, does not believe in the Quran and whoever does not believe in the Quran, is a disbeliever. This is the only path which will take you towards Allah ta'ala. None of our worship will benefit us besides that worship which is performed according to the Sunnah.
Every observer of Sunnah becomes a beloved of Allah ta'ala. He fears nothing and is focused on his deen and on his goal of attaining Allah ta'ala. He is always thinking of Allah ta'ala and His Nabi ﷺ and he has no sadness. He doesn't argue over the Sunnah. He doesn't hesitate and question.
To summarise, this deen is straightforward and easy. Our objective of life is to attain Allah ta'ala and He is attained via the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. If we practice the Sunnah, we will attain everything. To be safe from the corruption and evil, we must perform dhikr. Thereafter, we will become a Wali Allah.
1) Find Allah ta'ala's nearness through the Sunnah and be steadfast upon the Sunnah.
2) Protect yourself with dhikr in the heart morning and evening. This is called Murãqabah, through which you are connected to Allah ta'ala.
Learn this dhikr from a Sheikh. If you don’t have a certain type of knowledge, then learn about it. The blessed companions weren't ashamed to travel a far distance in order to learn. Therefore, we shouldn’t become arrogant to learn. We should connect ourselves to a Sheikh, learn Allah ta'ala's dhikr and protect ourselves.
Hadhrat Hudhayfah رضي الله عنه reported: Nabi ﷺ said, “Tribulation will be exposed to the hearts of people like a reed mat woven, stick by stick. Any heart afflicted by them will have a black mark put into it, but any heart that rejects them will have a white mark put into it. Thus, there will be two kinds of hearts: one is pure like a white gemstone; it will not be harmed by any trial as long as the heavens and earth endure. The other is black and dusty like a worn-out vessel, neither acknowledging good nor rejecting evil, rather absorbed in its desires.” [Sahih Muslim]
One heart absorbs the wrongdoing and the other heart rejects the corruption. The one that does not accept it, for as long as this person is in the world, no corruption and evil can impact his heart. The one who accepts, his heart will be darkened and flipped upside down. He will not accept any good. He will not be able to differentiate between good and bad and he will become full of desires. He will chase after the world and become destroyed. The corruption and evil mentioned in the Hadith are present in this generation. We have sins taking place everywhere and we have made the oceans and the heavens a witness to our sins. We live in such an age where we are being invited towards sins from all avenues. However, the Muslims who live and endure this era, will earn a very great status!
What is the reason for this evil and corruption today?
We have left the ways of the Sunnah. Wherever the Sunnah has been abandoned, corruption and evil is created there. Unfortunately, we have no connection with the Sunnah today and we do not even consider it to be a part of deen. If someone practices the Sunnah, he is mocked and shunned and considered a foolish person.
The one who abandons the Sunnah is indulged in evil and corruption. He has no principles. He has adopted his own Quran and his own version of deen. This is something extremely common today. Abandoning the Sunnah has in fact, become a means of punishment for us.
In reality, the soul of our religion and our worship is the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. Thus, if we fail to practice, our worship itself becomes a form of evil and corruption for us.
Allah ta'ala has granted us this path of protection. We only have one objective and that is to please Allah ta'ala and attain His nearness. The one who achieves this, is given a beautiful death. The one who drifts from his purpose, is the one who fails. Whenever you try to attain success in the deen through seeking knowledge, purification or Tasawwuf, then you should keep one intention - to please Allah ta'ala. We must strengthen our intentions because nafs and Shaytan are always with us and will never let us succeed. Whoever’s intention is contaminated, cannot be successful and has fallen prey to his desires. Whoever distances himself from his purpose, becomes a materialistic person filled with lust and he ruins all his hard work.
When deen comes in to your life, then the world will automatically come too. Nabi ﷺ would supplicate, "Oh Allah, better my deen so that I can protect my world as well." We should strengthen our deen so that we may find enjoyment in this world. If you abandon your deen, you won't acquire this world and neither your deen.
How should we save ourselves in this generation of evil and corruption?
By engaging in dhikr. This is the worship which is most necessary in this era we are living in.
There are countless means of corruption today. Desires are many in this world and are being created with every second. These desires take us away from deen. If you wish to be safe and you wish to depart from this world with faith, then engage in abundant dhikr. Dhikr is what protects our heart and saves us from the evil and corruption of today. Allah ta'ala has ordained upon us abundant dhikr for our own benefit and goodness. Those whose hearts are protected, will be safe from corruption and evil and they will implement the Sunnah. Their way of life will be in complete accordance to the Sunnah and the success of their life is the Sunnah.
Nabi ﷺ mentioned that the one who engages in dhikr in times of ignorance and laziness, is like the example of a beautiful lush tree emerging from a dry barren land.
Nabi ﷺ is a role model and an example for us which means that we should follow him step by step. There shouldn't be an action in which we fail to imitate his ways, whether it is eating, drinking, societal affairs and mannerism.
We should not be afraid of these difficult times. If you're following the path of Allah ta'ala, you needn't worry because no jinn, no storm, no country, nor any conditions can affect you. You are a protected individual and this is guaranteed by the Prophet ﷺ. If you want to strengthen your faith and save yourself from corruption, then you must protect your heart. The one who safeguards his heart, has safeguarded his worship and knowledge. Everything depends on the heart and the heart cannot be safeguarded by anything except the dhikr of Allah ta'ala.
The pious predecessors have always attached themselves to dhikr in order to safeguard them.
Allah ta'ala sent Hadhrat Musa عليه السلام to Firaun with his brother, his staff and with certain miracles. Despite all this, Allah ta'ala reminded him that he shouldn't forget Allah ta'ala. This is because one may only become successful through dhikr and corruption is suppressed through dhikr.
Dhikr is our security and protection. It is a unique weapon for us. Evil and corruption can only be wiped away with dhikr. Those who do not believe this, will be drowned in evil and will never depart with faith. We should engage in dhikr so that our hearts may be protected from fitna and as a result, the signs of Allah ta'ala's love will enter our heart.
A true believer has concern for the hereafter, but at the same time he has no worry or sadness in this world. This journey is difficult and dangerous. There are many obstacles as well as our desires and Shaytan along the way. Our objective is Allah ta'ala and the path to arrive to Allah ta'ala is difficult and life is short. What do we do?
Nabi ﷺ came to us as a guide and informed us that we shouldn’t be afraid. He stated that if we desire to attain Allah ta'ala's nearness quickly, we should imitate him in order to become his beloved. Whoever becomes the beloved of the Prophet ﷺ, will be taken to Paradise with him.
Secondly, Allah ta'ala provides us with a shortcut of attaining Him. As mentioned in the Quran, He ordered the Prophet ﷺ to inform us that if we perform the Sunnah actions, we will also become the beloved of Allah ta'ala.
Allah ta'ala is attained via the Sunnah. Whoever does not believe this, does not believe in the Quran and whoever does not believe in the Quran, is a disbeliever. This is the only path which will take you towards Allah ta'ala. None of our worship will benefit us besides that worship which is performed according to the Sunnah.
Every observer of Sunnah becomes a beloved of Allah ta'ala. He fears nothing and is focused on his deen and on his goal of attaining Allah ta'ala. He is always thinking of Allah ta'ala and His Nabi ﷺ and he has no sadness. He doesn't argue over the Sunnah. He doesn't hesitate and question.
To summarise, this deen is straightforward and easy. Our objective of life is to attain Allah ta'ala and He is attained via the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. If we practice the Sunnah, we will attain everything. To be safe from the corruption and evil, we must perform dhikr. Thereafter, we will become a Wali Allah.
1) Find Allah ta'ala's nearness through the Sunnah and be steadfast upon the Sunnah.
2) Protect yourself with dhikr in the heart morning and evening. This is called Murãqabah, through which you are connected to Allah ta'ala.
Learn this dhikr from a Sheikh. If you don’t have a certain type of knowledge, then learn about it. The blessed companions weren't ashamed to travel a far distance in order to learn. Therefore, we shouldn’t become arrogant to learn. We should connect ourselves to a Sheikh, learn Allah ta'ala's dhikr and protect ourselves.
May Allah ta'ala allow us to implement. Ameen