Be a person of contentment, be a person who is satisfied with what Allah subhanaw Taala has chose for him/ chose for her.
The prophet (saw) said being rich and prosperous and wealthy is not about having a lot of money, a lot of material possessions. No, he said being prosperous is when your heart is content that is when you are rich, when your heart is content. Allahu Akbar,..
As a traveler how many extras do you want to be carrying on your back, lightest will be quickest on the Day of Judgment.
Truly Victory belongs to the Believers. True success in this world is closely connected to your success in the Hereafter.
The hadith says that the best of speech is the speech of Allah. The best of words are the words of Allah; connect yourself to the words of Allah.
I promise you if you were to make an effort with the word of Allah, Allah will come closer to you more than you can imagine.
The prophet (saw) said that Allah is shy, when his servants raise his hands in dua/ supplication to let them come down empty without being answered. Allah (swt) Allah subhanaw Taala is shy and generous so that when a servant raises His hands to the sky, there’s no way that Allah (swt) would let those hands come down from the heavens empty and rejected.
Here’s transliteration to help with pronunciation of the dua,
Allahumma anta rabbi la ilaha illa anta, khalaqtani wa-ana ‘abduk, wa-ana ‘ala ‘ahdika wawa‘dika mas-tata‘t, a‘oothu bika min sharri ma sana‘t, aboo-o laka bini‘matika ‘alay, wa-aboo-o bithanbee, faghfir lee fa-innahu la yaghfiru-thunaba illa ant
O Allah, You are my Lord, none has the right to be worshipped except You, You created me and I am Your servant and I abide to Your covenant and promise as best I can, I take refuge in You from the evil of which I have committed. I acknowledge Your favour upon me and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for verily none can forgive sin except You.
[Bukhaari 7/150]
Some Reflections for us, we have to become more aware of our own invisible wounds. We sometimes cause and we have to become more aware of the invisible wounds that we so often ignore Okay, in other people around us.
To cause oppression as far worse than to be oppressed, because to be oppressed is to suffer in this world, to oppress someone else is to suffer in the Hereafter, to face the punishment for that in the Hereafter.
Don’t be the one that causes the harm, to think very deeply in the midst of our stress, in the midst of our anger, in the midst of our own uncertainty, in the midst of our own wounds, whether we are saying things to the people that are close to us that are harming them in ways that could really damage them.
Is God one who likes to see us go through hardship and suffering without purpose? The answer to that is absolutely no. God gives His greatest test to His greatest servants and that yields the greatest reward for them.
Allah is going to give us our share of blessings and our share of Trials and we’re not really going to be able to understand in this life why we got that customized selection of blessings and trials. – Shaykh Omar Suleiman
The prophet (saw) said to be moderate and sincere and strive for Perfection, but be gradual in our pursuit of Allah and he said (saw) to focus on remembering Allah. Haste being in a hurry in a way that Allah does not like being Hasty in salah. Be worried about 5G, Fajr Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib & Ishā, that’s you are supposed to be worried about right?
if you think about the beauty of the simple words Allah is greater than your worries, Allah is greater than your grief, Allah is greater than your obstacles, Allah is is greater than your ease, Allah is greater than all of those things and the way that we say that every single time not just when we start our prayers, but every motion that we make in prayer. We remind ourselves Allah Akbar God is great.
And we constantly say that throughout the day what that does is instead of the shadow of the concern and the challenge that lies ahead, it minimizes the Shadow and it causes you to focus on the enormity of Allah is all-encompassing greatness.
The obstacle that’s ahead of you while it may be an obstacle doesn’t need to be given a shadow focus on the size of that obstacle. as big as you think the obstacle, is remember Allah llahu Akbar, God is greater than that obstacle. – Shaykh Omar Suleiman
Masjid being taken away from us and may Allah subhanahu wa’ta’ala allow us to return to His houses , when the masjid reopens here is how my commitment to it is going Change, here’s what I’m going to do different…
Let’s obsess over whether our hearts are open to Allah right now so that when those houses are reopened to us, our longing Hearts will do right by them this time around…
The prophet salallahu alihi wasalam said that the example of people upon whom the Revelation Falls are like the different types of lands. Some people are like hard lands that shaped in a way That’s like a rock. The rains is hits it. It doesn’t absorb it. The rock doesn’t absorb it. The surface doesn’t absorb it nor does it benefit anybody or anything else around it. Then the prophet (saw) said but there’s then a surface that’s like it’s hard but it’s bowl-shaped or it’s shaped in a way that I could carry some water but none of the water is absorbed. then he (saw) said there is surface, That’s like soil.
It takes in the water. It absorbs it. And you know if you think about this in terms of benefit, by the way, right? the the bowl shaped surface that carries water right away offers an immediate sense of gratification and benefit to everything but itself. but once the water is gone, it’s just like the first type of land, right? it’s exposed for its bareness and for its hardness, that type of person the prophet (saw) said is like a person who benefits others with the Revelation but does not benefit themselves, meaning for a short while you’re able to get something out of it and you’re able to offer something from it, but the water gets drunk really quick and then there is nothing left to it. You never actually absorbed it you, just gave others something of it to benefit from. but that other person that’s like soil when the soil absorbs the water. That means that first and foremost. The primary beneficiary of that water, of that Revelation is the person themselves.
That it went deep inside of me, it penetrated. The other implication of that is that it’s going to bear fruit and bear vegetation in the long run. So while the surface that carries the water and that’s a hard surface in the short-term gives people an immediate sense of benefit. The soil doesn’t provide immediate benefit put it provides long-term benefits. And that type of benefit is not just to other parties but it starts off with you. You soak it in, your heart gets saturated by it. And subhanallah, you know, what else? That type of vegetation whatever comes out of that, you might be able to break a branch or break a tree. But it’s so deeply rooted in the soil of your heart that even if people are able to get you momentarily. You’ll just grow something else back. When you talk about how you are meant to represent Islam, I recognize the immense pressure upon young people in particular to have to represent Islam, especially when they have not been able at times to absorb it and it’s most beautiful sense. Make sure that as you’re interacting with religion. in a time when people immediately hear and speak; receive and show; make sure that you’re taking some quiet time to actually try to absorb and appreciate the profound transformative nature of this message. Make sure that you’re actually taking time for yourself, Make sure that before you preach it you practice it, you know with every other form of knowledge. You learn it and then you teach it and Islam you learn, you implement, Then you teach, you learn, Implement, teach and that process never can be interrupted. It has to be that in between your learning and your teaching there is some level of implementation and for a person that has to interact with a broader society that has such ugly Impressions about this beautiful religion what that means is making sure that you allocate some time to read by yourself, to meditate upon the meanings of this religion by yourself at times. No social structure is going to fill that void of your own,. your own ability to sit and to ponder upon the meanings of the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw) what the …..not does is it reinvigorates you it motivates you, it gives you the tools so that you can do that on your own, but Take a step back. And actually try to absorb it. To be a person of substance.
Because if the only way you’ve interacted with the Quran is listening and reciting and the only way you’ve interacted with the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw) is treating it like a reference so that you go and you get the Hadith that you need or you get the lecture that you need so that you can give it to somebody else, at no point in that process. Was there a moment for you to actually absorb it to sit with yourself and actually absorb it. you know, a lot of people think that the reason why I don’t need to do that is because I’m already living or demonstrating some of those meanings. But the reality is that you you’re just that bowl that’s giving water to other people but you haven’t given it a chance to actually penetrate deep into your heart. sometimes even in your hardest moments Allah gives you an opportunity for growth, to grow out of that hard moment. And the idea here is that you don’t really know that you’re a person of substance or What You’re Made Of until you’re put through something that shakes you. And that’s where it comes out. You know anything about good character and Sunnah when I say the word Sunnah. usually it’s something that is external and its nature and the practices of the prophet (saw) the external practices are important. the sunnah as we understand them are important. I am not saying the deen does not Encompass those in that.. They’re not important part of our religion. Your exterior does matter, you know, there is something about it, but When the prophet (saw) was described what that you are upon an exalted standard of character and the prophet salallahu alaihe wasalam was described as Mission as that. I was sent only to perfect good manners.
There’s something deeper about his person, the character of the prophet (saw) was special. But as I said, you don’t really know what you’re made of until your shook, right? You want to know what the greatest test of good character is? the greatest test of your good character is how you deal with people with bad character. Imam al-ghazali (rah) said the greatest test of good character is how you deal with people with bad character. If you think about the person of the Prophet salallahu alihi wasalam his character shines brightest when it was challenged. It’s very easy to be nice to someone who’s being nice to you. It’s very easy to embody Ramah and mercy when it’s with someone who’s really deserving of Mercy around you. It’s very easy to embody empathy when it’s someone that naturally gives off a sentiment solicit that sympathy just by there being, it’s very easy to be for justice. When it forces someone that’s on your team, when you like the person that you’re standing justice for when it’s a popular cause of Justice, all of that is easy, but when you’re challenged and the only incentive that you have is to please Allah subhanahu wa’ta’ala and you have to access that inner self. That’s when you know what you’re made of. That’s when you know whether you’re a person of substance or not. How do I get there?
I recognize that I am constantly Muslim in training, the word for a person who does ehsan is what? moshen All of the qualities that the prophet (saw) embodies, you have to ask yourself. Look. I’m not at the moment. I don’t think that many of us have Abu jahal in our lives. If you do you need help. All right, like I don’t think any of us are experiencing some of the major episodes of challenge that the prophet (saw) experienced and a lot of times. Here’s the disconnect. There are two sides to this. One of them is there are words of what you’re supposed to do and say if you are in a situation that test your character in a major way, words that you’re supposed to recite, words that you’re supposed to do, words that are stories that are good metaphors that are good analogies that a good parable, that are good examples for you, if you end up in this difficult situation or the situation that challenges your character, challenges your substance.
The disconnect is this, every single day of your life is a chance to actually Bridge those two worlds to where you act upon those words. In the most simple ways and in your daily life so that when that comes to you and really test what’s on the inside, just like a person that’s been lifting weights. You’ve been building character. You’ve been building character along the way, you know inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajioon is not something you just say when somebody dies. Inna ma’al usri yusra (Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease) is not just with hardship comes ease is not just when a major tragedy strikes you, patience is not just when you have a life-altering tragedy in your life, gratitude is not just when someone gives you an out of the ordinary gift or bestows a blessing upon you in that way.
Prophet Sallallahu wasallam said whoever doesn’t thank Allah for the small things. It’s not going to be able to thank Allah for the big things. Whoever doesn’t daily or practice gratitude on a daily level, Is it going to understand how to really thank Allah subhanaw Taala when major things happened? Why is it that every single time you eat You say alhamdulillah? Why is it that every single time you wake up in the morning, And you say alhamdulillah you start off your day with praise? And a lack of entitlements, Alhamdulillaahillazi ahyaanaa ba’da maa amaata-naa wa ilaihinnushuur”.
All Praises be to Allah who gave us life after death and to him as the ultimate return. you start off your day with a sense of praise and with no expectation or entitlement of the day the tests that come to you the moments that offer opportunities for gratitude our patients the ability to practice the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw) that our character oriented that are not in the capacity of someone trying to kill you or someone killing your family, all of those things Bridge those two together the word and those major virtues that the prophet salallahu alaihe wasalam was able to capture what this means for how we interact with the world around us, dear brothers and sisters enough talking about the prophets. It’s time to act like the prophets, enough expecting people to Understand who the prophet (saw) was just because he was factually amazing and more of demonstrating those virtues of the prophet Salallahu alaihe wasalam in Your Capacity as a follower of the Prophet salallahu alaihe wasalam .remember yourself as a moshen in training. We ask Allah subhanaw Taala to make us all people who Excel, to make us all from the Mosheneen, to make us able representatives of the Prophet salallahu Alihi wasalam, to allow us to be the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalaam what he was to the Quran, to allow people to see him in us and in seeing him in US be attached to that which generated the beauty in him and us in the Holy Quran, Allahuma ameen.
6:39 in the town of Amwas, Caliph Omar Ibn Khattab (ra), the Muslims had just entered into Jerusalem. And suddenly this plague breaks out, taeun breaks out.
This one taeun (plague) Amwas was not nearly as significant as that except that it took hundreds of sahaba, thousands of TABAYYUN.
Umar ibn khattab (ra) was the khalifa’. He heard about it. Umar ibn khattab (Ra) decided to make his way over to al-Sham to be with his people. Umar (ra) was a man who if the people were suffering he wanted to suffer with them. As he was about to enter, some of the sahaba came to meet him to sort of inform him about the situation as is taking place.
Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah (Ra) who was of course the leader at that time. He came out to Umar (ra) and Umar (ra) asked him about the situation. Abu Ubaidah (ra) said we are falling like sheep. People are dying right and left. So Umar (Ra) started to take shura (consultation) from the people started to consult from them about what his next step should be. Most of the people told Umar (ra) it’s important for you to go back to medina And even if you survive this then you might take some of its effects back to Medina and imagine this spreading through Medina as well.
So, Umar (ra) listened to the to them and when the stakes were not just his health, but the stakes were the entire ummah that this means that Medina could suffer that the khilafah could fall apart that so much could happen… Umar (ra) obviously thinking about the survival of Islam. He’s not thinking about himself. So Umar (ra) said if that’s the case, then we should go back. Abu Ubaidah (ra) says a very famous statement to him. He says, yeah, Amir al-Mu’minin Oh commander of the Believers. Are you running away from the decree of Allah subhanahu wa’ta’ala?
The most famous moments of Umar (Ra) entering into Jerusalem we are people who Allah honoured through Islam. if we seek it through other than Islam Allah will humiliate us.
Umar (ra) said we are fleeing from the decree of Allah To the decree of Allah. , tawakkul, trust in Allah is not foolishness. Trust in Allah is to do your part and then put your trust in Allah (swt) To intentionally Put Yourself In Harm’s Way, or to not take harm seriously because you say it’s okay. Allah will take care of it. It’s all right, that’s not courage. That’s not trust in Allah (swt). Allah tells us to do our part to protect ourselves and to do what’s best to avoid harm.
Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf(ra) approached the Gathering. Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf (ra) said I have some knowledge of this from the prophet salallahu alaihe Salam. He said I heard the prophet (saw) says if you hear about that plague has strucka land then do not enter into that land and if it strikes a place and you are in it then do not leave that place.
That’s the key word right, quarantine right, this idea of trying to contain the harm in one place as much as possible. Be patient seek, the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa’ta’ala and everything will proceed as he decrees.
This is pretty much what the prophet (saw) the hikmah, the wisdom of the prophet (saw), the mercy of the prophet (saw) in the way He’s teaching us to keep things contained into areas as much as possible.
when something similar struck Medina Umar (ra) went out of his way to suffer the worst of what the people suffered, So Umar (ra) almost died in the the drought that would strike Medina. In fact, subhanAllah has a beautiful statement from Umar (ra) that once he was sitting was so hungry. Death was so imminent. He hadn’t eaten for so long that his stomach was making noises. Omar (ra) he’s tapped his stomach and he said you could growl or not growl. I swear you will not be filled until the Muslims eat.
It was narrated that in the days that Musa (Alahi salaam) wandered with Bani Israel in the desert an intense drought befell them. Together, they raised their hands towards the heavens praying for the blessed rain to come. Then, to the astonishment of Musa (Alahi salaam) and all those watching, the few scattered clouds that were in the sky vanished, the heat poured down, and the drought intensified.
It was revealed to Musa that there was a sinner amongst the tribe of Bani Israel whom had disobeyed Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) for more than forty years of his life. “Let him separate himself from the congregation,” Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) told Musa (Alahi salaam). “Only then shall I shower you all with rain.”
Musa (Alahi salaam) then called out to the throngs of humanity, “There is a person amongst us who has disobeyed Allah for forty years. Let him separate himself from the congregation and only then shall we be rescued from the drought.” That man, waited, looking left and right, hoping that someone else would step forward, but no one did. Sweat poured forth from his brow and he knew that he was the one.
The man knew that if he stayed amongst the congregation all would die of thirst and that if he stepped forward he would be humiliated for all eternity.
He raised his hands with a sincerity he had never known before, with a humility he had never tasted, and as tears poured down on both cheeks he said: “O Allah, have mercy on me! O Allah, hide my sins! O Allah, forgive me!”
As Musa (Alahi salaam) and the people of Bani Israel awaited for the sinner to step forward, the clouds hugged the sky and the rain poured. Musa (Alahi salaam) asked Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala), “O Allah, you blessed us with rain even though the sinner did not come forward.” And Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) replied, “O Musa, it is for the repentance of that very person that I blessed all of Bani Israel with water.”
Musa (Alahi salaam), wanting to know who this blessed man was, asked, “Show him to me O Allah!” Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) replied, “O Musa, I hid his sins for forty years, do you think that after his repentance I shall expose him?”
“Subhanallah, that one moment that person upgraded their status with Allah subhanahu wa’ta’ala by turning back to Allah and prioritizing the pleasure of Allah over all of whatever Disobedience He was committing enough to forbid that entire Ummah, Is the Disobedience even mentioned? No because it doesn’t matter. Because, Allah has Mercy is greater than all of disobediences. As long as you’re now going to recalibrate and seek Allah’s pleasure over all of that and that’s what counts.” –Shaykh Omar Sueliman
The All-Loving 