Abdurrahman Adesokan - The Remembrance Of Allah

Opening and Testimonies of Faith

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi ta'ala wa barakatuhu. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. He is alone and has no partner.

And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, ask His help and ask His forgiveness, believe in Him and rely on Him. He is the One who guides, so no one can misguide Him.

And whoever misguides, no one guides. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

The Warning Against Neglecting Allah's Remembrance

Servants of Allah, our khutbah today will revolve around the remembrance of Allah. Does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not say in Surat Al-Munafiqoon? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says after I seek refuge in Allah from Satan the accursed:

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: "O you who believe, do not let your wealth nor your children take you away from the remembrance of Allah. And whoever does that, they are the losers."

Also in Surat Az-Zukhruf, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: "And whoever turns away from the remembrance of Allah, we shall choose for him a shaytan who will be his companion. The shaytan will be blocking his way whenever he is trying to do the right thing. That shaytan will be telling him 'don't worry, don't mind that you are in America' - yeah the Quran says that this is haram and that is haram - 'don't worry about it, so far you are here.' Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says 'and they may be thinking that they are guided.'"

The Forms of Shaytan That Lead Us Astray

Brothers and sisters in Islam, what are the shaytan that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will choose for some people? Shaytan that will be misleading them?

It could be their wealth, as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: do not let your wealth mislead you, do not let it turn you away from the teachings of Allah. Some people are looking for this money in all ways. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says وَتُحِبُّونَ الْمَالَ حُبًّا جَمًّا (and you love wealth with excessive love). So we will be looking for fatwa that will say "hey you are in America, you can be selling pork to non-Muslims so far you are not eating it, you can be selling liquor to non-Muslims so far you are not drinking it." They will be looking for ways to make what is haram halal.

The shaytan that Allah will choose for them could be their spouses, their wives, their husbands. It could be their friends. It could be their businesses. It could be the position of authority that Allah gave to them - because they are now directors, they are this, they are that - that position will be pushing them away from remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And it could be their own desires: "I want this, I need that."

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala save me and you from the shaytan that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says whoever turns away from the teachings of Allah, whoever turns away from the remembrance of Allah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will choose the shaytan for them.

What is the Remembrance of Allah?

And what is the remembrance of Allah that we are talking about? Is it just to be saying لا إله إلا الله? Yes, it's part of it. Is it just for us to be seeking forgiveness from Allah? Yes, seeking forgiveness is part of it. Is it for us to be reading the Quran? Yes, it's part of it.

And in addition to that, all the good deeds that you are doing are part of the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says take care of those that are in need, Allah wants you to see them and remember Allah and give thanks to Allah. Allah wants us to take care of people that are going through hardship, and you will remember people that are in Gaza today. You say "wow, alhamdulillah."

Yesterday I was in our masjid and I saw four children that are siblings that are registered in the school of our community, and it happened that they are from Palestine. I saw these children and I remembered Allah and said "Allahu Akbar, how many of these children have died? How many of them have died through the war?" Give thanks to Allah.

Allah wants you to look around you and give thanks to Allah. Allah wants you to see the one that is in need, and if you can help him, help him and give thanks to Allah. Whatever good deeds you are doing, to give thanks to Allah, you are remembering Allah through it.

Remembering Allah Through Our Families

A lot of people will remember Allah and say "oh inshallah before the end of this year I will make sure that I perform umrah." That is part of the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that Allah wants us to be doing.

Remember Allah in your children. Give thanks to Allah. Remember what Allah asks you to do. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says when you look around your family and your spouse is not praying, say "hey, Allah is reminding me to wake you up." Your children are not praying, you say "no son, Prophet Muhammad said teach your children how to pray when they are 7 years old" - which means they must have known how to pray, which means you have to be looking at your children and remember Allah through them.

When you say "Abdullah, have you prayed?" and they say "yes," you say "alhamdulillah." "Abdullah, have you prayed?" "No." "Go and pray." That is remembrance of Allah.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala increase us in iman and make it easy for all of us.

Balance Between Dunya and Akhirah

Brothers and sisters in Islam, remember Allah with all your capability, with all your efforts. And at the same time we are not saying that you should forget about the dunya. We are not saying that you should forget about your akhirah.

Remember the story of Salman al-Farisi when his friend Abu Darda - when Salman al-Farisi visited his brother that Prophet Muhammad joined them together. One day he went to the house of his friend Abu Darda and his friend was not at home. He saw the wife and the way he saw her, he saw her not being happy. Salman al-Farisi asked his wife and said "what is going on? Are you ok?" And the wife said "oh my husband is someone that doesn't need anything in this dunya. My husband is somebody that his own is about the akhirah - akhirah, salat, salat, salat."

"Ok I will wait for him to come." When he came, the wife presented the food to both of them and the husband said "my friend, eat," and Salman al-Farisi said "no I am not going to eat until we eat together." And he said "I am fasting." He said "no you can't be fasting when you are having a guest."

To cut a long story short, he told him: "friend, don't you know that your system, your body deserves some rights that you must give to your system, and your soul deserves some rights that you should give to your body, to your system? Even your guest deserves some rights from you that you must give to your guest."

And they said we have to go back to Prophet Muhammad. When they got to the Prophet, Prophet Muhammad said "yes, what Salman al-Farisi said was true. Your family deserves some rights, your parents deserve some rights - all deserve some rights that you must give to your body, to the system."

Brothers and sisters, may Allah make it easy for all of us.

The Benefits of Dhikr

What are the benefits of dhikr? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala - remember that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"Those that are remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala a lot, and those that are remembering Allah among the sisters also." Allah says prepare for them forgiveness and a great reward if we can be doing that.

Remember Prophet Muhammad said remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala a lot. May Allah make it easy for all of us.

When you remember Allah with your good deeds, you remember Allah with your sadaqa, you remember Allah with your charity, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will move you closer to him. When you remember Allah with your salat, you remember Allah with your fasting.

Remember the hadith al-qudsi where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says "I'm always with my servant whenever he's thinking about me. I will move closer to him and I will take care of him." May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it easy for all of us.

With your dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, remember that Prophet Muhammad said if you can say لا إله إلا الله a hundred times in the morning and a hundred times in the evening, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will use it to increase you in hundreds of hasanat and Allah will use it to erase your sins. May Allah increase us in iman.

With the dhikr of Allah we earn the itmi'nan - the tranquility - that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says. And with the dhikr of Allah, the one that you may not know its value - remember that Prophet Muhammad was telling one of the sahaba: he said there are two words that are light on the tongue but heavy in the scale of Almighty Allah. And he said anytime you remember Allah and you say this word, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will give you great reward. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it easy for all of us.

Preparing for the Hereafter Through Remembrance

With the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you are buying your jannah, you are preparing your jannah. "O you who believe in Allah, remember, fear Allah and you should be looking towards what you are presenting for tomorrow. Allah is aware of all what you are doing."

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants us to move closer to him with our ibadat, with our efforts, with our dhikr - the remembrance of Allah.

We say that remembrance of Allah is not only when you are saying أستغفر الله, not only when you are saying لا إله إلا الله. With all your good deeds you are remembering Allah. With all your ibadat you are remembering Allah. With all your closeness to others, with your good deeds, you are remembering Allah.

And for those that have failed to do that, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala save them from the punishment of Allah. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept all our efforts.

Closing Prayers and Supplications

Brothers and sisters in Islam, remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when we are blessed, when we are in the blessings of Allah, remembering Allah when we are facing difficulties in life - all this work together for us.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept all our efforts as ibadat. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reward all of us with all the efforts. May Allah accept all our ibadat, all our adhkar - the one we are saying during the salat, the one we are saying when we are by ourselves. May Allah accept all our du'a.

May Allah make it easy for all the brothers and sisters that are suffering all over the world. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it easy for them. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala relieve them of all the hardship that they are going through.