{وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ ءَامِنُواْ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ قَالُوٓاْ أَنُؤۡمِنُ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُۗ أَلَآ إِنَّهُمۡ هُمُ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا يَعۡلَمُونَ} Surah al-Baqarah v13
And when it is said unto them, ‘Believe as the people believe’, they say, ‘Shall we believe as the foolish believe?’ Beware! Indeed they are the foolish ones, but they know not.
There are two parts to the truth: to know it, and to accept it. Everybody is aware of the Truth. The Haq, the truth, the reality, is such a thing that every heart accepts it, because Haq is light, whereas Batil, falsehood, is darkness. Light is a thing that nobody can reject. The light radiates and shows itself. So everybody is aware of the truth; everybody is aware of the truth – no doubt. The difficulty arises in accepting the truth. That’s where the situation goes wrong. Everyone is aware; but we do not accept. And what are the reasons for not accepting? The Qur’an explains at the beginning, very clearly, simply, and in detail, that the commands of Allah are to be implemented in the way that Allah ta’ala has mentioned. Why? So that we cannot give the excuse that we don’t understand, that we couldn’t understand.
In the beginning of the Qur’an, Allah says ‘You are aware, and you understand, but it is hard for you to accept.’ Why is it hard for us to accept? Because of Nafs, the biggest obstacle for us, which forces us not to accept. Our base desires overwhelm us, overtake us, and they take a person towards hypocrisy, Nifaq, and make him into a Munafiq. These base desires get bigger and bigger; they swell up and take a person towards Nifaq, hypocrisy. And then it is difficult for a person to accept.
The Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam came, and he presented the Haq. Who was not aware? Even those who were overtaken by their Nafs and desires – they all knew. He was regarded as al-Ameen, the honest, trustworthy one. They were aware of his every habit and characteristic sallallahu alayhi wasallam. But when the Haq was presented, they rejected. These are the base desires, which do not allow acceptance. So the Qur’an tells us the Haq. All of its orders are Haq. The whole Deen that the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam brought, his lifestyle, his Tariqa, his methodology, the blessed and honourable life of the blessed Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam – all of it, from A to Z, is Haq.
But the clash comes when we don’t accept. Those who don’t accept are falling prey to their base desires; they are drowned and have fallen into the trap of their desires. Did the Yahud not know the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam? When the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam came, they had the Tawrah. All of the signs were present in regards to the coming of Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam and big scholars of the Yahud were present, living at that time. They had people who believed. They had people who accepted. Not everyone had rejected in Makkah, from where Hadhrat Abu Bakr as-Siddique and Umar radhiAllahu anhuma came, and in the same way, when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam came to Madina Sharif, the people there knew; they were aware. Hadhrat Moosa alayhi sallam mentioned that the Prophet would come, and the Tawrah gave the good news and explained the signs. So when all the signs in their Kitab were seen on the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, then how could a person reject? They had to accept.
So the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam came to Madinat-ul-Munawwara, and the big scholars, the Ulema of the Yahud, consulted and they came to see the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. They were aware, at that time. Abu Yasir was a big scholar, who was a brother of one of the main chiefs of the Jews. He came to the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and he saw the signs and then accepted that it was the truth. He went back and announced to his tribe saying ‘Brothers, that person whose signs we have been awaiting and looking for has come! He is present. He is that Prophet who we were waiting for. Don’t oppose him; rather, obey him.’ His brother, however, was the chief, so he could not accept this. The rest of the tribe therefore followed their chief – there were people like that at that time as well. His brother had told them clearly, so why didn’t they believe? Due to their base desires – their Nafs had overtaken them.
Hadhrat Ibn-e-Abbas radhiAllahu anh has narrated a Hadith in Baihaqi that one scholar from the Jews came into the presence of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. When he entered, Surah Yusuf was being recited by the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, so he asked ‘Oh Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam, where did you learn the knowledge contained in this Surah?’ Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam replied ‘Allah ta’ala gave me this knowledge!’ He was surprised, and immediately went back to the Jews and said ‘The Qur’an that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam recites is a Book like that which was revealed to Moosa alayhi salam.’ He then collected a whole group of people, and they presented themselves to the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. When they arrived, SubhanAllah, they all embraced and accepted Islam. SubhanAllah! From hearing the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam reciting Surah Yusuf, they all accepted Islam. In this case, they disregarded their base desires and accepted the Haq, the truth.
In a similar vein, in Musnad Ahmad, there is a narration that tells of how a person came looking for the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and said ‘Who is that person who claims that he is a Prophet? I want to ask him some questions.’ The Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam came out, so he said to him ‘Is it you to whom Revelation comes? If so, then recite a verse of it to me.’ When the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam recited a verse, he stood up and said ‘Wa’llah! This is the same type of Kalam that came to Moosa alayhi salam, and I accept that you are a true Prophet, so I accept Islam.’ Zaid also accepted Islam in the same way. In other words, they were aware. Those hearts in which there is a passion to find the truth accept. There is no Nifaq within them. They accept; the passion is transformed into acceptance.
Abdullah bin Salam radhiAllahu anh was another big scholar of the Yahud and also one of their leading men. He himself was from the progeny of Hadhrat Yusuf alayhi salam and his name was not originally Abdullah bin Salam – he had another name. The Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam gave him this name himself. It was a unique event when Abdullah bin Salam entered Islam. He was a very big scholar, and when he came, he didn’t get a chance to speak, but immediately, when he saw the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, SubhanAllah, he said ‘What can I say beyond this, that this is a shining, glowing face. This face alone testifies that he is a Prophet of Allah! What other sign do I need to ask for? You face itself sallallahu alayhi wasallam is the biggest sign for me that you are the Prophet of Allah’ So how can the truth be concealed? Tell me.
Another great event is related where the chiefs of the Yahud said that they accepted, and so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam invited them into his room to question them about their knowledge and what they were ready to accept. He realized that they knew the truth but were not accepting of it. The Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam brought Abdullah bin Salam radhiAllahu anh into an adjacent room, ready to give Da’wah to all these big scholars and invite them to Islam. Then the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said to them ‘If Abdullah bin Salam believes that I am true Prophet and he has Yaqeen in me, will you listen to him?’ So they said ‘Abdullah bin Salam will never come into Islam. How could he bring Iman in Islam?’ The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said ‘And what if he does?’ They said ‘He could never be a Muslim. We can’t imagine that he could ever become a Muslim. He is our chief and our biggest scholar – how could he come into Islam? We respect him greatly.’ They then started to praise him and glorify him as their leader and major scholar. So then the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam called Abdullah bin Salam to come out. When he came into the room, he said ‘Ash-hadu an La ilah illa’llah, was ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Abduhu wa Rasooluh.’ Then he addressed them, saying ‘Oh Yahud, fear Allah! You know that this is the Prophet of Allah. He has come with the truth, with the Haq. Accept him and believe in him.’ Immediately, they turned against him. Even though they had just praised him for his eminence and piety, they started to rebuke him; they didn’t want to believe.
Another example is of Maymun Yabeen, who was a wealthy member of the Jewish community, and his case is much like that of Abdullah bin Salam. He came to visit, and as soon as he saw the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, he recited the Kalima of Shahadah, the declaration of faith.
So if we look at reality of the truth, there is a difference between knowing and accepting. We know the truth of this verse of the Qur’an that we are reciting. Can anyone reject the truth of this verse? What a clear verse, what a clear message Allah has given to us. Who can reject this verse? Deen is a Straight Path; Islam is a Straight Path. The Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam defined the Shari’ah and the Sunnah, and that is the Straight Path, the Deen. Those who know this and accept this will be successful. They will be the Kaamil believers who follow the path of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. The Qur’an is telling us this in the beginning so that in the future, there is no quarrel and no confusion. With ease, strengthen your foundation; if you strengthen your foundation, you can do Amal on the rest of the Qur’an.
But if we reflect, how many people accept these verses and understand these verses? From this we can make a decision as to Nifaq and belief. If these verses are being absorbed into our hearts, and we accept this point and accept that the Qur’an is conveying truth to us here, then what? It is clearly telling us plain, simple truth. If we accept that, and if our lifestyle and ideology are different, and we match all the signs of Nifaq that the Qur’an is explaining, and we see those points of Hypocrisy inside us, then what? The Qur’an is asking ‘Is there anybody who accepts? If someone does accept today, then he has reached the status of Iman.’ Is the Qur’an not telling us this?
We know, so why don’t we accept? Due to our base desires, our Nafsani desires. What stops us from having complete Iman? The biggest barrier is the Dunya – worldly things. The reason for not accepting is ‘What will the people say? What will Dunya say? What will the comments be?’ What is the main root cause of us obeying our desires? It is ‘What will people say?’ It is love for the Dunya, fear of the world, fear of the Dunya, being cowardly. Inwardly, we know what is wrong, and that we shouldn’t do these things, but we think ‘What will the people say?’ The fear of the Dunya is there; we fear opposition from people. ‘What will people we know say?’ That’s the problem. They look at the path others have taken, and they say ‘This is wisdom. We have to act according to wisdom and go with the times. We have to practice according to the times and go along with the Dunya so that we can keep our Nafs happy and keep the people happy. We will do a little bit of practice, and that way we will get Dunya and Deen as well.’ This attitude amounts to a separate religion that people have devised and are following and practicing today. And to satisfy this ideology, to justify it, we have made traditions and cultures in whose shade we can convince ourselves that we are honest and truthful. On certain days and in yearly events, we celebrate those customs and attend those gatherings, getting certificates and stamps and seals that we are lovers of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam; and we propagate this Deen in that way. This has no link with Islam. Islam is a straightforward, plain, simple Deen.
So there are two types of people that we see around us, and this group of which we have been speaking has spread around the world today. They are spread throughout society. The Qur’an is explaining the signs of this group. May Allah forgive! Today we still have time, brothers; we must open our eyes.
{وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ ءَامِنُواْ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ قَالُوٓاْ أَنُؤۡمِنُ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ} The Qur’an has told us. Can we not see what the Qur’an is saying in this generation today? Some people do practice Islam today, and though the numbers may be low, the population of believers cannot be wiped out. Why not? Because the Qur’an is present alhamdulillah. There will always be people who practice, who cannot reject the verses of the Qur’an. Can anybody eliminate the Qur’an? No. The Qur’an is present, and it always will be – it cannot be wiped away or eliminated.
So those who follows Nafs and desires due to being afraid of the world and of people will proliferate and spread. This group will expand, and this is the sign of Nifaq, and of the worst of eras into which Allah’s Adhab and punishments will descend. Look at what a huge punishment is in front of us today. This year, there is no Hajj! There is no Hajj. If you look at pictures of the Haramain ash-Sharifain in bygone days, you can see nothing but human beings. Today, if you look at the Haramain, you can see nothing but the floor tiles. Nothing else, just the walls and the tiles. Allah is Supreme! Allah ta’ala doesn’t want drama – Allah wants Deen. We say that all this is due to the disease, but it is not due to the disease. Allah ta’ala is great, He knows; He is Khabeer, Baseer, All-Hearing, All-Knowing , All- Seeing. He knows how much we practice the Deen. He knows! Does the Qur’an not speak the truth?
{وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ ءَامِنُواْ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ قَالُوٓاْ أَنُؤۡمِنُ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ}
Allah says this. And today, when we see a person practicing the Deen, and his life is in accordance to the Shari'ah and Sunnah, what does society say about him? Is it not what the words of this verse say? Don’t people say this? { كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ} ‘Oh, these people are Jaahil, they are foolish and backward. Do you want us to become like them? Should our attire be like theirs, should we make our faces like theirs? Are we supposed to destroy ourselves in the world, to put ourselves down like them?’
What sort of a Deen is this, this new Deen that they have brought? They say these things. They show open disrespect and say that problems are due to the practicing people. They show their attitude with their eyes also and try extremely hard to please the people they want to please. The Qur’an says ‘Don’t do this!’ The Qur’an is Haq; it is truth! Can’t you see that the Ka’abah has been taken away from you? Can’t you see that that your Masjids have been closed? Did we not notice how our Ramadhan was spent? Where has that Qur’an gone? The Qur’an belongs to Allah! Where were the Huffadh reciting the Qur’an? Where were the gatherings and the assemblies? The greatest assembly in Islam, which is Hajj, Arafat, Mina – why is there silence there now? Why is nobody going to go this year? Is this not a sign for us?
{وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ ءَامِنُواْ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ قَالُوٓاْ أَنُؤۡمِنُ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ} Allah says, ‘Are you calling the people who are practicing foolish? I gave this Deen; I sent the Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam, My Habeeb, the one to whom I gave the title of Mahboob, My Beloved, the leader and chief of the Prophets sallallahu alayhi wasallam – and you call this the Deen of the foolish people? You call those who practice this Deen foolish?’
I ask you to give a just answer to this question: Is this not the case today in our society? Today, when we read this verse, how many people accept these points that I am mentioning? Many people say ‘Oh no, we look at a lot of Tafseers, leave this.’ Others slip away and say ‘No, this is not the Deen, we don’t accept what you are saying.’ They don’t even accept the Qur’an – forgive me for saying this. Even if they are sitting in front of the Qur’an, they won’t accept it. When you open the Qur’an and present these verses, they will not accept them. When a Hadith of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam is presented, they won’t accept the Hadith. They will be silent, or will say, ‘Forget this – this is not the Deen. It is not that strict – what are you saying? It is not that strict.’ These words of the Qur’an are translated into reality all the time these days. If people start practicing the Deen, they get shunned; they don’t get invited to weddings or functions. People don’t like them. And if they do attend, people look down at them, thinking ‘Look at this monkey who has come! What monkeys and animals have come to the gathering? Who are these people who have gatecrashed our conference? Why did they come here?’
In reality, a beautiful Noor comes from those great people. The Qur’an says ‘Do you call them foolish? You ask if you are supposed to believe as the foolish believe?’ You hear them say ‘Look how they are eating – they are eating like animals!’ Astahgfirullah. I have heard this from Muslims, I tell you the truth. A person was sitting and eating according to Shari'ah and Sunnah, alhamdulillah, and this person said ‘Why are you eating like this? It looks like you are eating like animals, licking your fingers.’ Will the Ka’abah open up for these people? Will the Baitu’llah open up? Will the Haramain open up for us just because we have Muslim names? I am not saying this. It is the words of the Qur’an in front of us who are telling us this, SubhanAllah.
What will be the condition and status for those who stand firm on the Deen? Will Allah leave them? No. Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam explained and announced about this time:
“الْعِبَادَةُ فِي الْهَرْجِ كَالْهِجْرَةِ إِلَىَّ”
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said that a time would come when people consider you foolish, useless, mad, and crazy. People in your home won’t let you live – they will mock you, abuse you, beat you if you practice according to the guidance of Islam. And this is not the reaction of strangers - I am talking about our own people. Allah ta’ala is not referring in these verses to other groups – this is about our own people. Why do we accuse people who have no faith? Never mind that, they have no link with these verses. They don’t tell us not to practice; they don’t say anything. It is ourselves who are wrong. Look in our homes and in our families. It is we who are naked; it is Muslims who drink alcohol in our homes. This happens in Pakistan; they dance in the night, father and children, all together. And when the Adhab of Allah descends, they open up Surah YaSeen. No! Allah has given you Iman, so do Tawbah in your hearts and repent. I swear by Allah, if you do Tawbah, Allah ta’ala will forgive everything.
Surah YaSeen won’t benefit us; no recitation, no Wazeefah - just one action. Even today, Allah ta’ala has given us a chance and an opportunity via the Qur’an. Allah has given us a lesson. Repent - do Tawbah, true honest Tawbah, and you can then prepare for a nice clean death. Today, a phone call came to me, SubhanAllah. There are such people, right here in this country. One woman from our Halaqa passed away. She was the respected mother of one of our brothers, and of one of the sisters as well. Everyone in the family, MashAllah, is pious, with Tasbeeh in the hands, and the mother was the same. As we have seen from this verse of the Qur’an, this generation defines such people as foolish, but I tell you she was a great person in reality. It is when people leave the world that we find out who is foolish, and who is a person of wisdom. Are those who follow the Sunnah people of intellect and wisdom, or are they foolish? It is when they die that we realise. It may be that a person we thought and considered to be foolish is seen to be something else when they depart this world.
Look at this lady’s death – an ideal death! She implemented the Qur’an where Allah ta’ala says {وَٱعۡبُدۡ رَبَّكَ حَتَّىٰ يَأۡتِيَكَ ٱلۡيَقِينُ} – come towards Allah’s obedience and remembrance until death comes. Until death comes to your doorstep, keep on remembering Allah, remembering Allah. It was morning time today, and through Allah’s Fadhl and Karam, and my Sheikh’s Sadaqah – we are not capable. This is all Allah’s Fadhl and generosity and blessings that He gives us the ability and allows us sinners to do Dhikr in the morning after Fajr. This is all Allah’s Karam, and Fadhl and mercy; this is the blessings from the dust on my Sheikh’s shoes MashaAllah. I don’t consider myself capable – how could Allah ta’ala give such a great reward? SubhanAllah. The morning Dhikr is great, it is glorious, something unique! It is so amazing and fantastic and carries such rewards. How Ghaafil and wretched to sleep at that time!
There are so many Hadith about this that I could tell you. One Hadith in Tirmidhi speaks of a special Noor, a light, in the morning. What a great favour it is – that’s why I say that it is due to the blessings of Hadhrat Sahib’s slippers, and shoes and feet that we do Dhikr in the morning. Otherwise, the question doesn’t arise that we could do Dhikr in the morning. It is due to his Sadaqah and his blessings. It comes in Hadith that the human being has three hundred and sixty joints in his body, and that we have to give Sadaqah for every joint in order to be saved. May this action not cease; may it not cease! We have such unique, Ajeeb machinery within us, and Allah ta’ala has given us protection for this. May I be sacrificed for the ways of Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, for his every action. What a great Sunnah, what great Sunnahs there are of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam! What great protection is afforded by his Tariqa, his ideology, his mindset, his beautiful Sunnahs! Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said that there are three hundred and sixty joints in a person’s body, and on every joint, you have to give Sadaqah. If you don’t give this Sadaqah, this charity, this compensation, then calamity can come; destruction can come. You will be given protection from the morning if you implement one Sunnah: as soon as you finish Fajr Salah, start to do Dhikr of Allah. SubhanAllah! Say SubhanAllah. How can me and you get this ability and permission from Allah? After Fajr, straightaway do the Dhikr of Allah, and then the sun rises with Allah’s blessings. The rays of the sun stretch across the ground, and the birds are singing also, going tweet tweet. They are not saying tweet tweet; they are doing Dhikr of Allah! It is not empty singing – they are doing Dhikr of Allah. The Qur’an says that the birds remember Allah. Allah says that the birds have a Halaqa, an assembly in the heavens – read the Qur’an. You know that verse where Allah ta’ala says {صَـٰٓفَّـٰتٍ۬}? Allah ta’ala says that the birds float in the air, and they gather together, floating in the air in the morning and they do Dhikr of Allah. Allahu Akbar, SubhanAllah. This is not singing when the birds sit in the branches at that time of the morning. And when the rays of the sun fall on a person who is doing Dhikr of Allah, if he is grateful to Allah at that time, he says ‘Oh Allah, my Mawla, my Lord, I am so grateful. After praying Salah, You allowed me to remember You. What a great deed You have enabled me to do! You have enabled me and included me in a deed that the whole universe is doing at this time, the birds and animals, water, fish, leaves – everything is remembering You! Oh Allah, I am not a Ghaafil who didn’t leave his mattress, who stayed in bed. I didn’t just pray Salah and then jump back into bed, rather I remembered You.’
SubhanAllah! What a great favour from Allah! How He guides us via the Friends of Allah. This is {ٱهۡدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٲطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ}. How did I get this Deen? How? How did this become a habit in my life? Alhamdulillah, this is a blessing from Hadhrat Sahib’s feet, from his shoes. I sat in his honourable presence and he showed me {ٱهۡدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٲطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ}.
So a person does Dhikr of Allah, and after doing Dhikr of Allah, what great rewards! I am telling you about just one of the rewards. So then, a person prays two Rakahs of Salah, and it is stated that when he has done this acton, Allah ta’ala announces that he has paid Sadaqah for all three hundred and sixty joints in his body. The charity has been given for each joint. SubhanAllah. How many sicknesses that would have come are turned away by Allah ta’ala? And if accidents do occur, they are converted to minor problems. If there is a car crash, it becomes just a scratch and a shudder, whereas it would have been a big crash. The reality of a given sickness may have been very serious, but all that occurs is a minor inconvenience. Allah ta’ala saves and protects. The Qur’an refers to {ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ}, the foolish people. These people call themselves intellectuals and modernist, and think they are advanced and brainy, and think they are successful by going with the times. They say ‘We are successful – who are these foolish people?’ The Qur’an is asking who these people are calling foolish What is their crime? Astaghfirullah! They are following the Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam and they are calling them foolish? Na’oodhu bi’llah! Astaghfirullah!
MashaAllah, I was talking about that sister. How did she leave the world? It was her habit MashaAllah, to do Dhikr in the morning. Due to Allah’s Barakah, He has created men and women who sit for this. Their life has become this; it is their habit, alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. So she was following her habit, and she loved the Dhikr in the mornings. She was one of the Saalikeen, the followers, the devotees – look at her death! She had love for the Dhikr of Allah. She was lying down on her bed, this sister, and she did not want to miss Dhikr, so she put her phone on her chest and was following the Dhikr – say SubhanAllah. She was included in the gathering. She was lying down, the Dhikr was going on – tell me! Her relative phoned and said that she was lying down in the morning after Fajr; she didn’t leave her Dhikr, her Muamulaat, even though she must have had some pain because she was ill and lying down. Her phone was on her chest and she could hear and was doing Dhikr with us, joining with the gathering and reciting the Kalimaat, SubhanAllah. Then the sun rose and came out; the rays spread, and then the Dhikr concluded and her soul was removed and she returned to Allah. ‘HasbunAllah’, she said – what a death! She said ‘La Hawla wa la Quwwata illa bi’llah’; she said ‘La ilaha illa anta Subhnaka inni Kuntu mina-dh-Dhalimeen’, ‘SubhanAllah wa bihamdihi SubhanAllahi-l-Adheem’, ‘SubhanAllah wal-Hamdulillah wa la ilaha illa’llahu wa’llahu Akbar’. Allahu Akbar, SubahnAllah!
What do we hear about these people? ‘Oh foolish people, oh backward woman – why was she doing this, wasting her time? Women are advancing in the Dunya – they have careers and jobs and they are earning money in their professions.’ People say so much along these lines today, talking about wealth, and saying that pious people are foolish. No! Allahu Akbar, the Qur’an says:
{وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ ءَامِنُواْ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ قَالُوٓاْ أَنُؤۡمِنُ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ}
‘Should we become like these people?’ they say. Astaghfirullah. They degrade the Deen, and say ‘We don’t want an Islam like this.’ These are the people who spread disorder and Fitnah, who utter such words, whose style of life is like this, who degrade the Deen, whose lifestyle degrades the Deen, from whose mouths come these foolish comments, and who don’t like hearing the verses that I am reciting and explaining – and they will never like this Deen, nor accept it or absorb it into their hearts; they will never accept these Hadiths. Allah ta’ala has given a great reward to those people who we, Astaghfirullah, say are foolish. Astaghfirullah. They say ‘This is not Islam.’ The whole Dunya makes fun of you if you wear the Shari’ah attire; the whole world speaks against you when you follow the Sunnah; members of your household swear at you when you follow the Sunnah; in society, they mock you. Never mind one in a hundred, that is a high percentage. Perhaps you will find one person in a thousand living according to Shari’ah and Sunnah. That is 0.1%.
1400 hundred years ago Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said ‘Do not tremble; do not shake; do not fear; do not be afraid of the Dunya! Just stand firm. Don’t worry – nothing to be worried about. Don’t be a coward! Rather, SubhanAllah, in you Ibadah and worship, you have become such a superstar that, in my time’ – and here Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam gives the reference of his era SubhanAllah – ‘when these conditions arose in Makkah, when people would pester us, and make fun of us and mock us, and didn’t let us pray Salah, didn’t let my Sahaba follow my Tariqa, when they stopped everything of ours, when they disliked everything of ours, when they isolated us and persecuted us, some being burnt in fire, some being beaten, some being pulled by ropes, some being hanged from a tree’ – and why? They were persecuted because they prayed Salah, they obeyed their Nabi, they followed his Shari’ah. ‘And when that time comes when the conditions will be akin to those of my generation, SubhanAllah, when people are fed up of you, then “هِجْرَةِ إِلَىَّ”. My Companions left their city, their country, their locality, their homes, and they came to me! They never left my Deen, and they never left me! SubhanAllah. They left everything and they came to me – “هِجْرَةِ إِلَىَّ”.’ SubhanAllah!
‘Oh Muslims of today, if in this modern age, you are the same, standing firm on the Deen, following my Sunnah and Shari’ah, then you are comparable to my Companions, you have come to me, you have done Hijrah to me!’ What a great piece of news! Don’t fall into deception – remember! Don’t be two-faced! This Deen is for the sake of Allah. Don’t be half of this and half of that, with your first son like this, the second like that, the third different again. Don’t play games; don’t change and fluctuate. Take the whole Deen, one hundred percent, and if people call you foolish, remember: when they call you foolish, and mock you, and call you Jaahil, illiterate, backward and say ‘It is too hard – you can’t do this’, then consider that you are successful. Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam has given you good news: ‘Your Hijrah to me has been successful, and you are now in the shade of my mercy!’ SubhanAllah!
May Allah ta’ala give us the ability to follow the Shari'ah and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam; and may Allah ta’ala give us the ability to live our lives according to the verses of the Qur’an. Ameen, ya Rabbil-Aalameen.
{وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ ءَامِنُواْ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ قَالُوٓاْ أَنُؤۡمِنُ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُۗ أَلَآ إِنَّهُمۡ هُمُ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا يَعۡلَمُونَ} Surah al-Baqarah v13
And when it is said unto them, ‘Believe as the people believe’, they say, ‘Shall we believe as the foolish believe?’ Beware! Indeed they are the foolish ones, but they know not.
There are two parts to the truth: to know it, and to accept it. Everybody is aware of the Truth. The Haq, the truth, the reality, is such a thing that every heart accepts it, because Haq is light, whereas Batil, falsehood, is darkness. Light is a thing that nobody can reject. The light radiates and shows itself. So everybody is aware of the truth; everybody is aware of the truth – no doubt. The difficulty arises in accepting the truth. That’s where the situation goes wrong. Everyone is aware; but we do not accept. And what are the reasons for not accepting? The Qur’an explains at the beginning, very clearly, simply, and in detail, that the commands of Allah are to be implemented in the way that Allah ta’ala has mentioned. Why? So that we cannot give the excuse that we don’t understand, that we couldn’t understand.
In the beginning of the Qur’an, Allah says ‘You are aware, and you understand, but it is hard for you to accept.’ Why is it hard for us to accept? Because of Nafs, the biggest obstacle for us, which forces us not to accept. Our base desires overwhelm us, overtake us, and they take a person towards hypocrisy, Nifaq, and make him into a Munafiq. These base desires get bigger and bigger; they swell up and take a person towards Nifaq, hypocrisy. And then it is difficult for a person to accept.
The Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam came, and he presented the Haq. Who was not aware? Even those who were overtaken by their Nafs and desires – they all knew. He was regarded as al-Ameen, the honest, trustworthy one. They were aware of his every habit and characteristic sallallahu alayhi wasallam. But when the Haq was presented, they rejected. These are the base desires, which do not allow acceptance. So the Qur’an tells us the Haq. All of its orders are Haq. The whole Deen that the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam brought, his lifestyle, his Tariqa, his methodology, the blessed and honourable life of the blessed Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam – all of it, from A to Z, is Haq.
But the clash comes when we don’t accept. Those who don’t accept are falling prey to their base desires; they are drowned and have fallen into the trap of their desires. Did the Yahud not know the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam? When the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam came, they had the Tawrah. All of the signs were present in regards to the coming of Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam and big scholars of the Yahud were present, living at that time. They had people who believed. They had people who accepted. Not everyone had rejected in Makkah, from where Hadhrat Abu Bakr as-Siddique and Umar radhiAllahu anhuma came, and in the same way, when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam came to Madina Sharif, the people there knew; they were aware. Hadhrat Moosa alayhi sallam mentioned that the Prophet would come, and the Tawrah gave the good news and explained the signs. So when all the signs in their Kitab were seen on the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, then how could a person reject? They had to accept.
So the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam came to Madinat-ul-Munawwara, and the big scholars, the Ulema of the Yahud, consulted and they came to see the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. They were aware, at that time. Abu Yasir was a big scholar, who was a brother of one of the main chiefs of the Jews. He came to the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and he saw the signs and then accepted that it was the truth. He went back and announced to his tribe saying ‘Brothers, that person whose signs we have been awaiting and looking for has come! He is present. He is that Prophet who we were waiting for. Don’t oppose him; rather, obey him.’ His brother, however, was the chief, so he could not accept this. The rest of the tribe therefore followed their chief – there were people like that at that time as well. His brother had told them clearly, so why didn’t they believe? Due to their base desires – their Nafs had overtaken them.
Hadhrat Ibn-e-Abbas radhiAllahu anh has narrated a Hadith in Baihaqi that one scholar from the Jews came into the presence of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. When he entered, Surah Yusuf was being recited by the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, so he asked ‘Oh Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam, where did you learn the knowledge contained in this Surah?’ Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam replied ‘Allah ta’ala gave me this knowledge!’ He was surprised, and immediately went back to the Jews and said ‘The Qur’an that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam recites is a Book like that which was revealed to Moosa alayhi salam.’ He then collected a whole group of people, and they presented themselves to the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. When they arrived, SubhanAllah, they all embraced and accepted Islam. SubhanAllah! From hearing the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam reciting Surah Yusuf, they all accepted Islam. In this case, they disregarded their base desires and accepted the Haq, the truth.
In a similar vein, in Musnad Ahmad, there is a narration that tells of how a person came looking for the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and said ‘Who is that person who claims that he is a Prophet? I want to ask him some questions.’ The Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam came out, so he said to him ‘Is it you to whom Revelation comes? If so, then recite a verse of it to me.’ When the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam recited a verse, he stood up and said ‘Wa’llah! This is the same type of Kalam that came to Moosa alayhi salam, and I accept that you are a true Prophet, so I accept Islam.’ Zaid also accepted Islam in the same way. In other words, they were aware. Those hearts in which there is a passion to find the truth accept. There is no Nifaq within them. They accept; the passion is transformed into acceptance.
Abdullah bin Salam radhiAllahu anh was another big scholar of the Yahud and also one of their leading men. He himself was from the progeny of Hadhrat Yusuf alayhi salam and his name was not originally Abdullah bin Salam – he had another name. The Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam gave him this name himself. It was a unique event when Abdullah bin Salam entered Islam. He was a very big scholar, and when he came, he didn’t get a chance to speak, but immediately, when he saw the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, SubhanAllah, he said ‘What can I say beyond this, that this is a shining, glowing face. This face alone testifies that he is a Prophet of Allah! What other sign do I need to ask for? You face itself sallallahu alayhi wasallam is the biggest sign for me that you are the Prophet of Allah’ So how can the truth be concealed? Tell me.
Another great event is related where the chiefs of the Yahud said that they accepted, and so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam invited them into his room to question them about their knowledge and what they were ready to accept. He realized that they knew the truth but were not accepting of it. The Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam brought Abdullah bin Salam radhiAllahu anh into an adjacent room, ready to give Da’wah to all these big scholars and invite them to Islam. Then the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said to them ‘If Abdullah bin Salam believes that I am true Prophet and he has Yaqeen in me, will you listen to him?’ So they said ‘Abdullah bin Salam will never come into Islam. How could he bring Iman in Islam?’ The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said ‘And what if he does?’ They said ‘He could never be a Muslim. We can’t imagine that he could ever become a Muslim. He is our chief and our biggest scholar – how could he come into Islam? We respect him greatly.’ They then started to praise him and glorify him as their leader and major scholar. So then the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam called Abdullah bin Salam to come out. When he came into the room, he said ‘Ash-hadu an La ilah illa’llah, was ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Abduhu wa Rasooluh.’ Then he addressed them, saying ‘Oh Yahud, fear Allah! You know that this is the Prophet of Allah. He has come with the truth, with the Haq. Accept him and believe in him.’ Immediately, they turned against him. Even though they had just praised him for his eminence and piety, they started to rebuke him; they didn’t want to believe.
Another example is of Maymun Yabeen, who was a wealthy member of the Jewish community, and his case is much like that of Abdullah bin Salam. He came to visit, and as soon as he saw the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, he recited the Kalima of Shahadah, the declaration of faith.
So if we look at reality of the truth, there is a difference between knowing and accepting. We know the truth of this verse of the Qur’an that we are reciting. Can anyone reject the truth of this verse? What a clear verse, what a clear message Allah has given to us. Who can reject this verse? Deen is a Straight Path; Islam is a Straight Path. The Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam defined the Shari’ah and the Sunnah, and that is the Straight Path, the Deen. Those who know this and accept this will be successful. They will be the Kaamil believers who follow the path of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. The Qur’an is telling us this in the beginning so that in the future, there is no quarrel and no confusion. With ease, strengthen your foundation; if you strengthen your foundation, you can do Amal on the rest of the Qur’an.
But if we reflect, how many people accept these verses and understand these verses? From this we can make a decision as to Nifaq and belief. If these verses are being absorbed into our hearts, and we accept this point and accept that the Qur’an is conveying truth to us here, then what? It is clearly telling us plain, simple truth. If we accept that, and if our lifestyle and ideology are different, and we match all the signs of Nifaq that the Qur’an is explaining, and we see those points of Hypocrisy inside us, then what? The Qur’an is asking ‘Is there anybody who accepts? If someone does accept today, then he has reached the status of Iman.’ Is the Qur’an not telling us this?
We know, so why don’t we accept? Due to our base desires, our Nafsani desires. What stops us from having complete Iman? The biggest barrier is the Dunya – worldly things. The reason for not accepting is ‘What will the people say? What will Dunya say? What will the comments be?’ What is the main root cause of us obeying our desires? It is ‘What will people say?’ It is love for the Dunya, fear of the world, fear of the Dunya, being cowardly. Inwardly, we know what is wrong, and that we shouldn’t do these things, but we think ‘What will the people say?’ The fear of the Dunya is there; we fear opposition from people. ‘What will people we know say?’ That’s the problem. They look at the path others have taken, and they say ‘This is wisdom. We have to act according to wisdom and go with the times. We have to practice according to the times and go along with the Dunya so that we can keep our Nafs happy and keep the people happy. We will do a little bit of practice, and that way we will get Dunya and Deen as well.’ This attitude amounts to a separate religion that people have devised and are following and practicing today. And to satisfy this ideology, to justify it, we have made traditions and cultures in whose shade we can convince ourselves that we are honest and truthful. On certain days and in yearly events, we celebrate those customs and attend those gatherings, getting certificates and stamps and seals that we are lovers of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam; and we propagate this Deen in that way. This has no link with Islam. Islam is a straightforward, plain, simple Deen.
So there are two types of people that we see around us, and this group of which we have been speaking has spread around the world today. They are spread throughout society. The Qur’an is explaining the signs of this group. May Allah forgive! Today we still have time, brothers; we must open our eyes.
{وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ ءَامِنُواْ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ قَالُوٓاْ أَنُؤۡمِنُ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ} The Qur’an has told us. Can we not see what the Qur’an is saying in this generation today? Some people do practice Islam today, and though the numbers may be low, the population of believers cannot be wiped out. Why not? Because the Qur’an is present alhamdulillah. There will always be people who practice, who cannot reject the verses of the Qur’an. Can anybody eliminate the Qur’an? No. The Qur’an is present, and it always will be – it cannot be wiped away or eliminated.
So those who follows Nafs and desires due to being afraid of the world and of people will proliferate and spread. This group will expand, and this is the sign of Nifaq, and of the worst of eras into which Allah’s Adhab and punishments will descend. Look at what a huge punishment is in front of us today. This year, there is no Hajj! There is no Hajj. If you look at pictures of the Haramain ash-Sharifain in bygone days, you can see nothing but human beings. Today, if you look at the Haramain, you can see nothing but the floor tiles. Nothing else, just the walls and the tiles. Allah is Supreme! Allah ta’ala doesn’t want drama – Allah wants Deen. We say that all this is due to the disease, but it is not due to the disease. Allah ta’ala is great, He knows; He is Khabeer, Baseer, All-Hearing, All-Knowing , All- Seeing. He knows how much we practice the Deen. He knows! Does the Qur’an not speak the truth?
{وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ ءَامِنُواْ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ قَالُوٓاْ أَنُؤۡمِنُ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ}
Allah says this. And today, when we see a person practicing the Deen, and his life is in accordance to the Shari'ah and Sunnah, what does society say about him? Is it not what the words of this verse say? Don’t people say this? { كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ} ‘Oh, these people are Jaahil, they are foolish and backward. Do you want us to become like them? Should our attire be like theirs, should we make our faces like theirs? Are we supposed to destroy ourselves in the world, to put ourselves down like them?’
What sort of a Deen is this, this new Deen that they have brought? They say these things. They show open disrespect and say that problems are due to the practicing people. They show their attitude with their eyes also and try extremely hard to please the people they want to please. The Qur’an says ‘Don’t do this!’ The Qur’an is Haq; it is truth! Can’t you see that the Ka’abah has been taken away from you? Can’t you see that that your Masjids have been closed? Did we not notice how our Ramadhan was spent? Where has that Qur’an gone? The Qur’an belongs to Allah! Where were the Huffadh reciting the Qur’an? Where were the gatherings and the assemblies? The greatest assembly in Islam, which is Hajj, Arafat, Mina – why is there silence there now? Why is nobody going to go this year? Is this not a sign for us?
{وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ ءَامِنُواْ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ قَالُوٓاْ أَنُؤۡمِنُ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ} Allah says, ‘Are you calling the people who are practicing foolish? I gave this Deen; I sent the Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam, My Habeeb, the one to whom I gave the title of Mahboob, My Beloved, the leader and chief of the Prophets sallallahu alayhi wasallam – and you call this the Deen of the foolish people? You call those who practice this Deen foolish?’
I ask you to give a just answer to this question: Is this not the case today in our society? Today, when we read this verse, how many people accept these points that I am mentioning? Many people say ‘Oh no, we look at a lot of Tafseers, leave this.’ Others slip away and say ‘No, this is not the Deen, we don’t accept what you are saying.’ They don’t even accept the Qur’an – forgive me for saying this. Even if they are sitting in front of the Qur’an, they won’t accept it. When you open the Qur’an and present these verses, they will not accept them. When a Hadith of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam is presented, they won’t accept the Hadith. They will be silent, or will say, ‘Forget this – this is not the Deen. It is not that strict – what are you saying? It is not that strict.’ These words of the Qur’an are translated into reality all the time these days. If people start practicing the Deen, they get shunned; they don’t get invited to weddings or functions. People don’t like them. And if they do attend, people look down at them, thinking ‘Look at this monkey who has come! What monkeys and animals have come to the gathering? Who are these people who have gatecrashed our conference? Why did they come here?’
In reality, a beautiful Noor comes from those great people. The Qur’an says ‘Do you call them foolish? You ask if you are supposed to believe as the foolish believe?’ You hear them say ‘Look how they are eating – they are eating like animals!’ Astahgfirullah. I have heard this from Muslims, I tell you the truth. A person was sitting and eating according to Shari'ah and Sunnah, alhamdulillah, and this person said ‘Why are you eating like this? It looks like you are eating like animals, licking your fingers.’ Will the Ka’abah open up for these people? Will the Baitu’llah open up? Will the Haramain open up for us just because we have Muslim names? I am not saying this. It is the words of the Qur’an in front of us who are telling us this, SubhanAllah.
What will be the condition and status for those who stand firm on the Deen? Will Allah leave them? No. Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam explained and announced about this time:
“الْعِبَادَةُ فِي الْهَرْجِ كَالْهِجْرَةِ إِلَىَّ”
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said that a time would come when people consider you foolish, useless, mad, and crazy. People in your home won’t let you live – they will mock you, abuse you, beat you if you practice according to the guidance of Islam. And this is not the reaction of strangers - I am talking about our own people. Allah ta’ala is not referring in these verses to other groups – this is about our own people. Why do we accuse people who have no faith? Never mind that, they have no link with these verses. They don’t tell us not to practice; they don’t say anything. It is ourselves who are wrong. Look in our homes and in our families. It is we who are naked; it is Muslims who drink alcohol in our homes. This happens in Pakistan; they dance in the night, father and children, all together. And when the Adhab of Allah descends, they open up Surah YaSeen. No! Allah has given you Iman, so do Tawbah in your hearts and repent. I swear by Allah, if you do Tawbah, Allah ta’ala will forgive everything.
Surah YaSeen won’t benefit us; no recitation, no Wazeefah - just one action. Even today, Allah ta’ala has given us a chance and an opportunity via the Qur’an. Allah has given us a lesson. Repent - do Tawbah, true honest Tawbah, and you can then prepare for a nice clean death. Today, a phone call came to me, SubhanAllah. There are such people, right here in this country. One woman from our Halaqa passed away. She was the respected mother of one of our brothers, and of one of the sisters as well. Everyone in the family, MashAllah, is pious, with Tasbeeh in the hands, and the mother was the same. As we have seen from this verse of the Qur’an, this generation defines such people as foolish, but I tell you she was a great person in reality. It is when people leave the world that we find out who is foolish, and who is a person of wisdom. Are those who follow the Sunnah people of intellect and wisdom, or are they foolish? It is when they die that we realise. It may be that a person we thought and considered to be foolish is seen to be something else when they depart this world.
Look at this lady’s death – an ideal death! She implemented the Qur’an where Allah ta’ala says {وَٱعۡبُدۡ رَبَّكَ حَتَّىٰ يَأۡتِيَكَ ٱلۡيَقِينُ} – come towards Allah’s obedience and remembrance until death comes. Until death comes to your doorstep, keep on remembering Allah, remembering Allah. It was morning time today, and through Allah’s Fadhl and Karam, and my Sheikh’s Sadaqah – we are not capable. This is all Allah’s Fadhl and generosity and blessings that He gives us the ability and allows us sinners to do Dhikr in the morning after Fajr. This is all Allah’s Karam, and Fadhl and mercy; this is the blessings from the dust on my Sheikh’s shoes MashaAllah. I don’t consider myself capable – how could Allah ta’ala give such a great reward? SubhanAllah. The morning Dhikr is great, it is glorious, something unique! It is so amazing and fantastic and carries such rewards. How Ghaafil and wretched to sleep at that time!
There are so many Hadith about this that I could tell you. One Hadith in Tirmidhi speaks of a special Noor, a light, in the morning. What a great favour it is – that’s why I say that it is due to the blessings of Hadhrat Sahib’s slippers, and shoes and feet that we do Dhikr in the morning. Otherwise, the question doesn’t arise that we could do Dhikr in the morning. It is due to his Sadaqah and his blessings. It comes in Hadith that the human being has three hundred and sixty joints in his body, and that we have to give Sadaqah for every joint in order to be saved. May this action not cease; may it not cease! We have such unique, Ajeeb machinery within us, and Allah ta’ala has given us protection for this. May I be sacrificed for the ways of Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, for his every action. What a great Sunnah, what great Sunnahs there are of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam! What great protection is afforded by his Tariqa, his ideology, his mindset, his beautiful Sunnahs! Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said that there are three hundred and sixty joints in a person’s body, and on every joint, you have to give Sadaqah. If you don’t give this Sadaqah, this charity, this compensation, then calamity can come; destruction can come. You will be given protection from the morning if you implement one Sunnah: as soon as you finish Fajr Salah, start to do Dhikr of Allah. SubhanAllah! Say SubhanAllah. How can me and you get this ability and permission from Allah? After Fajr, straightaway do the Dhikr of Allah, and then the sun rises with Allah’s blessings. The rays of the sun stretch across the ground, and the birds are singing also, going tweet tweet. They are not saying tweet tweet; they are doing Dhikr of Allah! It is not empty singing – they are doing Dhikr of Allah. The Qur’an says that the birds remember Allah. Allah says that the birds have a Halaqa, an assembly in the heavens – read the Qur’an. You know that verse where Allah ta’ala says {صَـٰٓفَّـٰتٍ۬}? Allah ta’ala says that the birds float in the air, and they gather together, floating in the air in the morning and they do Dhikr of Allah. Allahu Akbar, SubhanAllah. This is not singing when the birds sit in the branches at that time of the morning. And when the rays of the sun fall on a person who is doing Dhikr of Allah, if he is grateful to Allah at that time, he says ‘Oh Allah, my Mawla, my Lord, I am so grateful. After praying Salah, You allowed me to remember You. What a great deed You have enabled me to do! You have enabled me and included me in a deed that the whole universe is doing at this time, the birds and animals, water, fish, leaves – everything is remembering You! Oh Allah, I am not a Ghaafil who didn’t leave his mattress, who stayed in bed. I didn’t just pray Salah and then jump back into bed, rather I remembered You.’
SubhanAllah! What a great favour from Allah! How He guides us via the Friends of Allah. This is {ٱهۡدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٲطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ}. How did I get this Deen? How? How did this become a habit in my life? Alhamdulillah, this is a blessing from Hadhrat Sahib’s feet, from his shoes. I sat in his honourable presence and he showed me {ٱهۡدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٲطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ}.
So a person does Dhikr of Allah, and after doing Dhikr of Allah, what great rewards! I am telling you about just one of the rewards. So then, a person prays two Rakahs of Salah, and it is stated that when he has done this acton, Allah ta’ala announces that he has paid Sadaqah for all three hundred and sixty joints in his body. The charity has been given for each joint. SubhanAllah. How many sicknesses that would have come are turned away by Allah ta’ala? And if accidents do occur, they are converted to minor problems. If there is a car crash, it becomes just a scratch and a shudder, whereas it would have been a big crash. The reality of a given sickness may have been very serious, but all that occurs is a minor inconvenience. Allah ta’ala saves and protects. The Qur’an refers to {ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ}, the foolish people. These people call themselves intellectuals and modernist, and think they are advanced and brainy, and think they are successful by going with the times. They say ‘We are successful – who are these foolish people?’ The Qur’an is asking who these people are calling foolish What is their crime? Astaghfirullah! They are following the Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam and they are calling them foolish? Na’oodhu bi’llah! Astaghfirullah!
MashaAllah, I was talking about that sister. How did she leave the world? It was her habit MashaAllah, to do Dhikr in the morning. Due to Allah’s Barakah, He has created men and women who sit for this. Their life has become this; it is their habit, alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. So she was following her habit, and she loved the Dhikr in the mornings. She was one of the Saalikeen, the followers, the devotees – look at her death! She had love for the Dhikr of Allah. She was lying down on her bed, this sister, and she did not want to miss Dhikr, so she put her phone on her chest and was following the Dhikr – say SubhanAllah. She was included in the gathering. She was lying down, the Dhikr was going on – tell me! Her relative phoned and said that she was lying down in the morning after Fajr; she didn’t leave her Dhikr, her Muamulaat, even though she must have had some pain because she was ill and lying down. Her phone was on her chest and she could hear and was doing Dhikr with us, joining with the gathering and reciting the Kalimaat, SubhanAllah. Then the sun rose and came out; the rays spread, and then the Dhikr concluded and her soul was removed and she returned to Allah. ‘HasbunAllah’, she said – what a death! She said ‘La Hawla wa la Quwwata illa bi’llah’; she said ‘La ilaha illa anta Subhnaka inni Kuntu mina-dh-Dhalimeen’, ‘SubhanAllah wa bihamdihi SubhanAllahi-l-Adheem’, ‘SubhanAllah wal-Hamdulillah wa la ilaha illa’llahu wa’llahu Akbar’. Allahu Akbar, SubahnAllah!
What do we hear about these people? ‘Oh foolish people, oh backward woman – why was she doing this, wasting her time? Women are advancing in the Dunya – they have careers and jobs and they are earning money in their professions.’ People say so much along these lines today, talking about wealth, and saying that pious people are foolish. No! Allahu Akbar, the Qur’an says:
{وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ ءَامِنُواْ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ قَالُوٓاْ أَنُؤۡمِنُ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ}
‘Should we become like these people?’ they say. Astaghfirullah. They degrade the Deen, and say ‘We don’t want an Islam like this.’ These are the people who spread disorder and Fitnah, who utter such words, whose style of life is like this, who degrade the Deen, whose lifestyle degrades the Deen, from whose mouths come these foolish comments, and who don’t like hearing the verses that I am reciting and explaining – and they will never like this Deen, nor accept it or absorb it into their hearts; they will never accept these Hadiths. Allah ta’ala has given a great reward to those people who we, Astaghfirullah, say are foolish. Astaghfirullah. They say ‘This is not Islam.’ The whole Dunya makes fun of you if you wear the Shari’ah attire; the whole world speaks against you when you follow the Sunnah; members of your household swear at you when you follow the Sunnah; in society, they mock you. Never mind one in a hundred, that is a high percentage. Perhaps you will find one person in a thousand living according to Shari’ah and Sunnah. That is 0.1%.
1400 hundred years ago Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said ‘Do not tremble; do not shake; do not fear; do not be afraid of the Dunya! Just stand firm. Don’t worry – nothing to be worried about. Don’t be a coward! Rather, SubhanAllah, in you Ibadah and worship, you have become such a superstar that, in my time’ – and here Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam gives the reference of his era SubhanAllah – ‘when these conditions arose in Makkah, when people would pester us, and make fun of us and mock us, and didn’t let us pray Salah, didn’t let my Sahaba follow my Tariqa, when they stopped everything of ours, when they disliked everything of ours, when they isolated us and persecuted us, some being burnt in fire, some being beaten, some being pulled by ropes, some being hanged from a tree’ – and why? They were persecuted because they prayed Salah, they obeyed their Nabi, they followed his Shari’ah. ‘And when that time comes when the conditions will be akin to those of my generation, SubhanAllah, when people are fed up of you, then “هِجْرَةِ إِلَىَّ”. My Companions left their city, their country, their locality, their homes, and they came to me! They never left my Deen, and they never left me! SubhanAllah. They left everything and they came to me – “هِجْرَةِ إِلَىَّ”.’ SubhanAllah!
‘Oh Muslims of today, if in this modern age, you are the same, standing firm on the Deen, following my Sunnah and Shari’ah, then you are comparable to my Companions, you have come to me, you have done Hijrah to me!’ What a great piece of news! Don’t fall into deception – remember! Don’t be two-faced! This Deen is for the sake of Allah. Don’t be half of this and half of that, with your first son like this, the second like that, the third different again. Don’t play games; don’t change and fluctuate. Take the whole Deen, one hundred percent, and if people call you foolish, remember: when they call you foolish, and mock you, and call you Jaahil, illiterate, backward and say ‘It is too hard – you can’t do this’, then consider that you are successful. Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam has given you good news: ‘Your Hijrah to me has been successful, and you are now in the shade of my mercy!’ SubhanAllah!
May Allah ta’ala give us the ability to follow the Shari'ah and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam; and may Allah ta’ala give us the ability to live our lives according to the verses of the Qur’an. Ameen, ya Rabbil-Aalameen.