Abraham Moosa - 5-9-25

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته.

We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the sins of our actions. Whoever Allah guides shall be guided. And whoever Allah leaves misguided, you shall not find anybody who can guide him. And I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except for Allah. And I bear witness that Muhammad, who is his final Prophet and Messenger, صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Allah sent him with the truth as a witness, as a giver of good tidings, and as a warner. And called to the worship of Allah with his permission. O mankind, fear your Lord who created you from one soul, and created from it its mate, and dispersed from both of them many men and women.

And fear Allah through whom you ask one another and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever over you an observer. O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims in submission to Him.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will then amend for you your deeds and forgive your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly gained a great attainment.

The truest of speech is that which is found in the book of Allah, the Qur'an. And the best of guidance is the guidance of the Prophet Muhammad. Peace and blessings be upon him, صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Our Ultimate Purpose

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, we dedicate time from our lives for the purpose of achieving the goals that we have put for ourselves. We excel in our careers. We excel in our studies by the amount of time and dedication that we give to those things.

We increase in rank when we gain experience in the field that we work in. And we enter our desired field oftentimes by studying for a degree, which oftentimes takes about four years to complete. The goals that we want to achieve we pursue through time and dedication.

However, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, we must remind ourselves that despite all the preoccupations that we have in our day-to-day lives, like taking the kids to school, to going to work, to taking care of a home, to worrying about taxes, to worrying about the bills and so on. We have to remind ourselves that our ultimate purpose and goal is one thing. We want to receive the reward of Allah in the hereafter, which is الجنة, Paradise.

And we want His acceptance. So brothers and sisters, what is the thing that can guarantee us الجنة? Let me not say guarantee, because that is the decision of Allah and we enter by His mercy. But what is the thing that can increase our chances of entering الجنة?

The Ten Promised Paradise

We can find the answer to that by reflecting on a few select sahaba, companions of the Prophet ﷺ, who were guaranteed or who were promised الجنة.

These companions are Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Talha ibn Ubaidullah, Az-Zubair ibn al-Awwam, Abdurrahman ibn Auf, Said ibn Zaid, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas.

Abu Bakr al-Siddiq

We start by looking at the first of those, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه. And we all know him, that he was the first adult man to accept Islam. He was the most beloved to the Prophet ﷺ from the men. He stood with the Prophet ﷺ since the beginning of his دعوة. He immigrated with the Prophet ﷺ when he went to Al-Madinah.

And Umar رضي الله عنه would always try to compete with Abu Bakr when it came to doing good deeds. And every time that Umar رضي الله عنه would try to overcome him, to surpass him, he would find Abu Bakr was surpassing him in earliness and in quantity of those deeds.

Umar ibn al-Khattab

And next is Umar رضي الله عنه. As we know about him, he was a strong and fierce man. And ever since he accepted Islam, he defended the دين very vehemently. It's even said that when الشيطان would see him coming in a path, الشيطان would get out of that path and he would flee from him.

He spread Islam to many countries, and the reason of his death is that he was stabbed while praying صلاة الفجر.

Uthman ibn Affan

Uthman ibn Affan رضي الله عنه donated his wealth for the cause of Allah. And he was also known for his bashfulness, his shyness, that it was even said that the angels would be shy from him.

In his khilafah, he made sure to collect the copies of the Qur'an and make the official one, so that the ones that had clerical errors in them were not spread. So he made sure to spread the correct copy of the Qur'an. On top of that, there is a well that he had purchased, and he made it as a وقف, which is called بئر رومة, the well of Rumah.

Until this day, from about 1400 years ago, it continues to give to the needy around that area.

Ali ibn Abi Talib

Ali ibn Abi Talib, as we know, was the cousin of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. He was the first of the young men, the boys, to accept Islam.

When the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم left to immigrate to Al-Madinah, he is the one who laid in his bed, so that the كفار would think that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is still in his tent. He put his life at risk for the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. And of course he was the husband of the daughter of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, Fatima رضي الله عنها, and the father of the grandchildren of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, al-Hasan wa al-Husayn.

Talha ibn Ubaidullah

Talha ibn Ubaidullah had defended the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in the battle of Uhud. He protected him by covering him with his back, that his whole back had gotten full of arrows. Also his arm had gotten paralyzed from all the injuries that he had sustained.

And when Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه would remember the day of Uhud, he would say, all of that was the day of Talha.

Az-Zubair ibn al-Awwam

Az-Zubair ibn al-Awwam was the first to lift his sword for the cause of Allah. He participated in the battles to the point that there was no part of his body that was not injured.

And Umar رضي الله عنه said about him, that he is one of the pillars of this religion.

Abdurrahman ibn Auf

Abdurrahman ibn Auf was known for his knowledge of trade, for being a good merchant, and was of the richest of the companions. He donated from his wealth freely.

So much so that al-Imam al-Zahabi said that the people of Medina were dependent on Abdurrahman ibn Auf. He had given to a third of them loans. He had paid off the loans of about a third of them, and he had donated about a third of his wealth.

He labored to earn so that he could spend and give freely in the cause of Allah. He sought to compound his returns, not in this life, but in the hereafter.

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas

Then Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas was the first to shoot an arrow for the cause of Allah. And his دعاء was accepted, and likewise he had participated in the spread of Islam.

Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah

Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, the Prophet ﷺ said, speaking about him, "Every nation or every people has a trustworthy person or a fiduciary or a trustee among them, and the trustee of this nation is Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah."

Now of course these companions have a much larger story behind them, but there is much that we can learn from studying their lives. And the question that I want to pose while I'm mentioning the most famous things about them, and the question that we asked earlier is how can we guarantee الجنة? Is what gained these sahaba, these companions of the Prophet ﷺ that promise of الجنة? We will reflect on this question and learn the answer inshallah after the break.

We ask Allah to allow us to follow the sahaba, the companions of the Prophet ﷺ as role models. We ask Allah to allow us to enter الجنة in the ranks of the Prophets ﷺ and the companions, the martyrs and the righteous.

We ask Allah to forgive us and to allow us to learn beneficial knowledge and to fill our time with بركة. We ask Allah to forgive us for our sins and to save us from the hellfire. And we ask Allah to make our ultimate reward the highest level of الجنة.

The Secret of Their Success: Himmah

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, the question I raised is what is the thing that earned these sahaba the promise of الجنة? When we ponder on their character and the actions that we did, we notice that the sahaba had something that's called همة. They had initiative, they had discipline, they were selfless, they prioritized the دين over everything else.

They were quick to implement the orders of Allah when they were revealed and they were quick to abstain from the prohibitions when they were revealed. They increased in good deeds and حسنات as much as they could. And they donated for the cause of Allah without fear of poverty.

They realized that successful people are those who put their right foot first. They did not hesitate when it came to implementing what they knew was right.

Brothers and sisters when you listen to the stories of modern successful people, you hear of them that aside of them being visionaries that they had initiative, they had discipline, they ignored the naysayers, and they chugged forward until their vision had been materialized. Of course these people have received their recognition in the دنيا, and Allah knows best what will happen to them in the آخرة.

But when it comes to the sahaba, they had همة. When it came to the affairs of the hereafter, they chugged forward in being a lighthouse, in being leaders. They led by example.

They did not allow the fear of people of what they might think or what those people might do to them. They did not let that stop them from their mission, which was receiving the acceptance from Allah, and the recompense which is the hereafter, الجنة.

Call to Action

So brothers and sisters, the call to action for myself first and foremost, and for all of us here, is to do a few things.

1. Reestablish Our Priorities

We must reestablish our priorities. I'm sure many of you must have come across, or are familiar with something that's called a vision board. On this vision board, on the very top of it, you put what is your main mission, what is your main goal.

And then under it you put what are those things that are going to help you get to that mission. And on the top of all of our vision boards, must be gaining Allah's acceptance and entering الجنة.

2. Dedicate Time to Learn

Secondly, we need to dedicate the time to learn about the religion, and study the life of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, and the lives of the sahaba, of the companions of the Prophet.

Brothers and sisters, a lot of our time is wasted watching real stories, videos online. When we could be using that time to benefit ourselves by learning, about those who were successful in attaining the hereafter.

3. Act Upon Knowledge

And lastly, my dear brothers and sisters, we must act upon this knowledge that we learn, and implement it in our lives.

Oh Allah, in this hour of الجمعة, we ask you for your acceptance, and we ask you for your guidance to act upon what is right.