Jum'uah June 26, 2015

Overcoming Obstacles Through the Sunnah of Rasulullah

Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu. Alhamdulillah, we have a guest speaker today. He is visiting us from Buffalo, New York. He completed his hifz in New York City — he started there and then completed at Darul Uloom Mazahirul Uloom in South Africa. Insha'Allah he will be here today, and tomorrow he will also be addressing us after Dhuhr. Insha'Allah his talk will be about overcoming obstacles through following the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ.

Allah has sent us into this world, and Allah says in the Qur'an that He has not sent us in vain — He has not created us in vain.

How Humans Learn Through Experience

When a person is born and comes into this world, there are many things that happen in his life. A person progresses through life, he grows, and he overcomes obstacles — and this creates a maturity in a person. After some time, these obstacles become easier to overcome because he has experienced them over and over again.

As humans, when we are born — children, babies that are born — they do not know anything. If they have any trouble, any problem, all they do is cry. And Allah has given parents this understanding: if their baby is crying, then there is something wrong. But it is such an ajeeb — a unique — understanding that Allah gives to the parents. The cry of the baby is the same: if the baby is hungry, it cries, but the mother knows it is hungry. If a baby needs to be changed, it cries — the cry is the same, but the mother knows it needs to be changed. If the baby is feeling hot or feeling cold, it cries, and the mother understands this.

In contrast to that, if you look at the other creations of Allah — the animals — as soon as the animal is born, it starts walking around looking for its food. It has that understanding and ilm from Allah from before. It knows how to survive. It knows what to do. It is instilled with the knowledge directly from Allah. But humans — we have to go through the experience. We have to learn. And then for the next time, the second time something happens, we are ready and we are prepared. We know how to behave and act in those situations.

The Test of Faith — Trials Are Inevitable

So Allah has mentioned this in the Qur'an:

Allah mentions this in the Qur'an: Do people think that when they want to believe in Allah and they bring Islam and iman — when they say, "We have brought iman, we believe in Allah, we say لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ and we are mu'mineen" — that they will not be tested in this statement of theirs?

Allah says: وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ — "Definitely We have tested the people before them." Those who came before them, We have tested them. And Allah will make it clear and apparent — those who are truthful — and Allah will distinguish and separate them from those who are liars.

So this test that Allah is going to send us is similar to the test that I mentioned — the obstacles humans overcome while they grow up, in order to learn. And in this place, Allah specifically speaks about when a person accepts Islam, or says he believes in Allah. Allah says: when you make this statement, obstacles are going to come. Trials are going to come. Calamities are going to come upon you.

Believe in Allah and follow exactly what Rasulullah ﷺ has taught you to do in those adverse conditions. Then in those situations you will learn, and your conviction in Allah will grow. As you overcome these obstacles, slowly, slowly, they will become easier — the obstacles will come and go, but you will have experienced them already, and you will be able to remain steadfast in iman and in the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ.

As Muslims, our mindset and our outlook in life should be this. Allah explains in the Qur'an that when we say La ilaha illallah — because we are Muslims — Allah is going to test us. It is not that when we are tested we become worried, become depressed, and start asking: "Why is this happening to me? I have brought iman, I believe in Allah, I'm a Muslim — why is this happening to me?" Rather, Allah is telling us to expect it.

Allah says in the Qur'an:

Allah says in the Qur'an: "We will definitely test you." Now, after a person has iman, Allah says: We are going to test you. How? بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ — sometimes with a little fear. وَالْجُوعِ — sometimes with a little hunger. وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ — sometimes there is going to be a deficiency in your numbers, in the profits and benefits you enjoy in this world.

And Allah says: وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ — give glad tidings to those who are patient. So Allah is telling us in this Qur'an: We are going to test you, and these tests are going to come. Sometimes He is going to test us with fear. Sometimes we are going to go hungry. Sometimes some family members will pass away. Sometimes we are going to lose our jobs. Sometimes we are going to become sick.

Allah tests every single person differently. Some people Allah tests them by giving them health. Some people Allah tests them by taking away their health. Some people Allah tests them by taking away their wealth, and some by giving them wealth. Some Allah tests them by giving them honor, dignity, and positions — and some by taking it away. But in every single situation, in every condition, we have to turn to Allah. We have to remember Allah. And we do exactly what Rasulullah ﷺ has encouraged us to do and taught us to do.

The Hadith on Continuous Trials

There is a hadith in which Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه narrates that Rasulullah ﷺ said:

(Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2399)

Adverse conditions, calamities, tribulations, and obstacles are going to continuously come upon a person — whether in regards to his self, his children, or his wealth. This is a recurring cycle; it is going to come again and again and again. And what is the purpose? The hadith mentions: حَتَّى يَلْقَى اللَّهَ — until the person meets Allah, until the person dies, he will see these conditions. And the reason for this is that he will meet Allah on the Day of Judgment in a state where he has no sin left on his body. Allah cleanses us through these conditions.

Sometimes a person has Allah set a high status for him in the Hereafter — a high position — and Allah wants to give that person something in the Hereafter. But that person's actions are not powerful enough, or strong enough, or good enough to reach that stage. So what Allah does is put this person through conditions. Allah tests this person over and over again. By this, Allah raises his status and makes him worthy of the stage which Allah has set for him in the Hereafter.

The Story of Umm Salamah and the Du'a of Patience

Just to give an example of the types of conditions the Sahabah رضي الله عنهم faced: the problems are going to come first in a person's life — in his health, in his own body. Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها mentions in a hadith that Rasulullah ﷺ said:

There is no servant who is afflicted by a calamity, and then says:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 918)

"To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return. O Allah, grant me a reward in my calamity and grant me something better than that which I have lost" — except that Allah will reward them in that problem of theirs, and Allah will grant them something better.

Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها mentions her own story. When she came to Madinah, she was married to Abu Salamah رضي الله عنه. She says: "My husband Abu Salamah was a perfect husband. He was a great man. I was very happy with him, and we had a very close relationship." But then Abu Salamah رضي الله عنه passed away. Now Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها was very grieved over this. And since she described him as a perfect man and a perfect husband, her grief was even greater.

According to the custom of Arabs before Rasulullah ﷺ came, when a person would pass away, the family members — especially the wives and children — would mourn the dead. The way they would mourn was by wearing tattered clothes, with disheveled hair, crying and screaming the person's name. They had this ritual that they would carry out.

So Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها says: "My husband was such a great man, so I am going to mourn him in such a way that for years and years people will speak about how I mourned my husband, and they will know how much I missed him." She says: "While I was in this situation, Rasulullah ﷺ visited me. When he saw all the preparation I was making, he prohibited me from doing this. He said: 'Do not do this.' Rather, he told her to read this du'a:"

In her mind, it must have passed the thought: "There was no one better than Abu Salamah رضي الله عنه. I do not see anyone equal to him. How is Allah going to give me someone who is better than Abu Salamah?" But since she was a Muslim, she believed in Rasulullah's ﷺ words. She acted upon his command. And then she says: "After some time, a proposal came directly from Rasulullah ﷺ. She accepted the proposal, and got married to Rasulullah ﷺ." And she says: "Definitely, Allah has given me someone who is better than Abu Salamah رضي الله عنه — and that is Rasulullah ﷺ himself."

So these conditions are going to come. But when we follow the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ and we limit ourselves to the confines of the Shari'ah — to what is allowed in that situation — we will see that Allah will definitely grant us something which is better. Allah will grant us peace. Allah will grant us the ability and the strength to forbear, to tolerate the situation.

The Story of Rasulullah's Grandchild

And in the hadith, Rasulullah ﷺ says these conditions are going to come on your children also. Rasulullah's ﷺ daughter Zaynab رضي الله عنها had a child. Once Rasulullah ﷺ was sitting in the masjid with the companions, a messenger came and told him: "Your daughter sends a message that your grandchild is having difficulty breathing and is almost at the throes of death. Come quickly — come see your grandchild."

At that moment, Rasulullah ﷺ wanted to teach the ummah a lesson. He wanted to give the Sahabah رضي الله عنهم an understanding. So he sent a message back:

"Verily, whatever Allah takes belongs to Allah. And whatever Allah gives us also belongs to Allah. And everything Allah grants us has a time limit. We do not know the time limit — Allah knows the time limit. But everything we have has a time limit, and when the time is up, Allah takes it away. We have to be patient, and we have to hope for reward from Allah."

The messenger went and came back with another message — that his daughter insists that Rasulullah ﷺ come to the house. So he got up with the Sahabah رضي الله عنهم and went to the house. The child was placed in Rasulullah's ﷺ lap. The child was having difficulty breathing, as it was almost at the end of his life. Rasulullah ﷺ was holding the child, and tears were flowing down his eyes.

There was a Bedouin Sahabi who was present. He looked at Rasulullah ﷺ and said: "Ya Rasulullah, what is this on your face? What are these tears?" — thinking that to be tough, one cannot cry, one cannot show emotions, one has to hide everything. Rasulullah ﷺ said: "This is the mercy Allah has put in the hearts of the believers."

This shows that conditions will come and these things will happen to us. But that does not mean we are immune to them. We will be affected by them. We will feel grief, we will feel sorrow. Sometimes we will want to cry. Sometimes we will feel depressed. That is normal — we are humans. It is going to happen to us. But what do we do in this situation? We follow exactly what Rasulullah ﷺ has told us to do.

When the son of Rasulullah ﷺ, Ibrahim رضي الله عنه, passed away, Rasulullah ﷺ said: "The heart is grieved, the eye is tearing, but the tongue only says that which Allah has permitted to say." Nothing like: "Why me? Why my son? Why my children? There are many other people." Nothing like that. We understand this as coming from Allah.

So these things are going to come in our life. We are going to see them over and over and over again. So expect them. And when they happen, do not become overwhelmed. Do not become hysterical. Know that this is from Allah — Allah is testing me. And there is definitely a reward for me in this. Allah does what is best for me.

That is why Allah says in the ayah: وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ — give glad tidings to those who are patient. الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ — Allah says in the Qur'an: these are the same people — when any calamity, any musibah, comes upon them, they say إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ. أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ — these are the people upon whom Allah's mercy and His blessing descend. وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ — and these are the rightly guided people.

The Three Types of Patience — Lessons from Ramadan

Speaking about patience — we are in the month of Ramadan, and this is the month of patience. When we speak about sabr and patience, we tend to think that when any trouble or calamity comes upon us, we have to be patient, and that is all. But patience in Arabic encompasses different situations.

1. Patience Upon Obedience — الصَّبْرُ عَلَى الطَّاعَةِ

Being patient upon the command of Allah. When Allah has commanded us in the month of Ramadan to fast — and the hours are very long, 15–16 hours, and it is summer and it is hot and we are thirsty — a person thinks he cannot do it. Now we have to be patient upon the command of Allah. We have to hold ourselves back and fulfill the command of Allah. This is the month of patience in this regard.

2. Patience Against Sin — الصَّبْرُ عَنِ الْمَعْصِيَةِ

That we hold ourselves back from committing sin — from breaking the command of Allah.

3. Patience Upon Calamity — الصَّبْرُ عَلَى الْمَصَائِبِ

This is the type of patience we are most familiar with: when any trouble or calamity comes upon us, we are patient.

So this is the month of patience. And when Allah has commanded us to fast, we do not eat and we do not drink. But is that enough? Rasulullah ﷺ mentions in a hadith:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1690)

There are many a fasting person who do not get anything from their fast except that they stay hungry. And there are many who stand up all night in prayer but do not get anything from their prayer except tiredness and sleeplessness.

So what does this highlight? This shows that just abstaining from food and drink is not enough. Something more is required. We have to curtail our desires. We have to make sure that we do not break any command of Allah. That is the fast Allah wants from us — Allah wants us to fast from our desires. Do not break the command of Allah.

And when we hold ourselves back from breaking the command and we fast at the same time — fulfilling the command of Rasulullah ﷺ and of Allah — we will see that Allah mentioned in the Qur'an لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ: the benefit, the result, and the objective of the fast will be achieved. But if we do not follow these conditions, we will see that the month of Ramadan will come and go, and we will still be the same person we were. We will still have the same evil habits and still be committing the same sins — whereas we should have been cleansed during the month of Ramadan.

Conclusion

So we have to understand this. We have to make sure that we fulfill the command of Allah, the command of Rasulullah ﷺ, and are patient — not only during this month, but throughout all our lives — knowing that Allah is going to test us from time to time. May Allah grant us the ability to understand this, and may Allah grant us the ability to practice upon what has been said.