Connect With Allah In Ease For His Help In Hardship

Jumu'ah Khutbah — Hafiz Sulaiman Mahmood

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And to Him is the return of the righteous. And peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and upon his family and companions.

After this, I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan.

Alif Lam Mim. Did the people think that they would be left to say, "We believe," and they will not be tested? Indeed, We tested those before them. So surely Allah knows those who are truthful, and surely He knows the liars.

Allah, the Great, has spoken the truth.

The Advice of the Prophet to Ibn Abbas

And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Introduce yourself to Allah in leniency. He knows you in severity." Or as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said.

Respected scholars, beloved brothers, mothers, and sisters. On one occasion, Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, was riding behind the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, took the opportunity to give Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, a number of advices. And from amongst those advices which he gave him was the following:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 2763; also reported in Sunan al-Tirmidhi)

Ta'arraf ila Allahi fil rakha'. Ya'arifka fis shiddah. — Introduce yourself to Allah in leniency. He knows you in severity.

That is — get to know Allah. Connect yourself with Allah. Familiarize yourself with Allah in times of ease. When everything is going right in your life. You have good health. You have a stable income. Your family is well. Everything is perfect. Everything is going right as you would wish and as you would desire in your life. At that time, turn to Allah. At that time, build and develop a connection with Allah. Call out to Allah. Be punctual in your prayer. Every day, perform two raka'at shukr and thank Allah.

"Oh Allah, I thank You for all the blessings and all the bounties that You have bestowed upon me."

Ta'arraf ila Allahi fil rakha' — get to know Allah in times of ease. What will be the result of that? Ya'arifka fis shiddah — Allah will help you, will aid you, will assist you, will be with you in times of difficulty. When things get tough. When something unfortunate happens. When a person goes through a test or a trial. And then he calls out to Allah. When he has built that connection with Allah in times of ease, Allah's help will be with that individual.

The Narration of Salman al-Farisi

Salman al-Farisi, radiyallahu anhu, used to say:

"Idha kaana ar-rajulu da'aan fis sarraa" — that if a person has the habit of constantly making du'a during times of ease, he continuously and constantly calls out to Allah. Fa nazalat bihi darraa — and then some difficulty or calamity befalls him. In that situation, the mala'ika intercede for such an individual, and they tell Allah: "Oh Allah, this person was somebody who was always turning to You. This person was always calling out in du'a when everything was going well for him. Oh Allah, we intercede on his behalf. Ya Allah, You assist him. Ya Allah, You take care of his problems."

Wa idha lam yakun ar-rajulu da'aan fis sarraa — but if a person is not someone who turns to Allah in times of ease — Allah gives him wealth, Allah gives him health — but rather than coming to the masjid, he moves farther away. Rather than spending in the path of Allah, he becomes stingy. He distances himself from Allah. He sees himself as independent because of the blessings which Allah has blessed him with. Then if a calamity befalls him, the mala'ika do not intercede on his behalf. Of course, the doors of tawbah are always there. But that connection which a person builds during the times of ease is very powerful, and it rescues him during the times of difficulties and calamities.

The Story of Yunus and Fir'aun in Surah Yunus

Allah in Surah Yunus speaks about Yunus, alayhi salam, and also mentions Fir'aun in the same surah. There is a principle: al-iqtiranu fil nazmi yufidu al-iqtiranu fil ma'na — that when two things are joined together in speech, there is some connection between the two. By way of example, Allah mentions:

"Fear Allah, be conscious of Allah, and Allah will teach you." The mufassirun mention that the connection between taqwa and ilm is that the more consciousness a person has of Allah, the more ilm, the more knowledge Allah will give that individual. So when two things are joined together, there is always a connection between the two. Likewise here in this surah, Allah joins between the mention of Yunus, alayhi salam, and the mention of Fir'aun.

The Story of Yunus, Alayhi Salam

We know Yunus, alayhi salam, was sent to his people, and for many years he tried very hard to call them and invite them towards Allah. But very few of them understood, very few of them believed. Until a time when he left that town and decided to hop onto a ship. And as he was on that ship with his companions, a storm came, the tides came, and they realized they had to toss out their luggage in order to save their lives. So they threw out all their bags, all their luggage off the ship to try and lighten the burden. But the ship was still sinking.

They decided that they needed to throw one of the people off in order to save the rest. So they decided to draw lots. Yunus, alayhi salam's name came up. But they all loved him for his good character and good manners, and they didn't want to toss him off the ship. So they said, okay, let's do it a second time. Again they drew the lots. Again Yunus, alayhi salam's name came. Third time, fourth time — again and again, the name of Yunus, alayhi salam, kept coming.

They say: an intelligent person, you give him a small, subtle indication, and he'll pick up the message. But a fool, you can write him an entire essay, and he still won't understand what you're trying to say. Yunus, alayhi salam, picked up the message, and he realized that this is a divine sign from Allah. Allah wants him to hop off of the ship. So he hops off, and we know the incident — the whale swallows him.

Now, when he was in the belly of the whale — in such darknesses, not just one darkness, but darkness upon darkness: the darkness of the night, the darkness of the ocean, and then the darkness of the stomach of the whale — in that condition, he calls out to Allah:

"There is no deity worthy of worship except You. Glory be to You. Indeed, I am from the dhalimeen — from those who have oppressed themselves."

Ibn Kathir, rahimahullah, mentions a narration in his tafsir of this verse where he says: at that time, when Yunus, alayhi salam, made this du'a to Allah, the mala'ika said: "Ya Rabb, sawtun ma'roofun min bilaadin ghareeba" — "This voice, we are very familiar with it, we are very accustomed to hearing this voice, but this location — we are unfamiliar with it. We haven't heard of this location before, but we know this voice. Who is this individual who is crying out and making this du'a?"

So Allah told them that this is His slave, Yunus, alayhi salam. So they said: "Afala tarhamu bima kana yasna'u fee ayyamin rakha?" — the mala'ika interceded on behalf of Yunus, alayhi salam, and said: "Oh Allah, he was somebody who in the days of ease would always turn to You. He would always call out to You. He would always make du'a to You in times of ease. Oh Allah, this difficulty has befallen him. We are asking You, oh Allah, to remove this difficulty from him."

Allah, ta'ala, accepted the intercession of the mala'ika, and Allah saved him from the distress he was going through.

"If it was not for the fact that he had built and developed that connection with Allah — he was from amongst those who would remember Allah in the days of ease — lalabitha fee batnihi ila yawmi yuba'thoon: he would have remained in the belly of that whale till the day of Qiyamah."

The Story of Fir'aun

On the other hand, compare this incident to Fir'aun, who is mentioned in the same surah. How beautifully Mawlana Abu al-Hasan al-Nadawi, rahimahullah, describes the incident in his famous Qisas. He writes: dies the king of Egypt — the man who thought he was in charge of the world. He even claimed, he even professed, that "I am the lord — worship me. I am the one running the entire world." Such a man, but he lived his life on a throne. And here he is, dying in his final moments, finding himself in such a condition. There is no doctor to attend to him, no friend to console him, to give him some sort of comfort as he is leaving this world. And there is nobody to shed a tear over the loss of Fir'aun. Nobody cares about such an individual.

Now, when Fir'aun was in that situation, going through that difficulty, drowning, Allah mentions:

Three times, in one sentence, this Fir'aun professes iman. He claims to bring iman in Allah thrice in one sentence. Amantu — "I believe." Annahu la ilaha illa alladhi amanat bihi banu isra'eel — "There is no deity worthy of worship except that deity which Banu Isra'eel worship." And then he repeats his claim a third time: wa ana minal muslimeen — "And I am from the believers."

Allah responds to him so beautifully:

"Really, oh Fir'aun, is this the time? All these years, all these decades, I sent Musa, alayhi salam, to you. I sent Harun, alayhi salam, to you. Sign upon sign, sign upon sign came to you. It became clear to you that Allah is the Lord. But all these years you chose to reject. And now when you find yourself in dire need, when there is no one to help you, no one to rescue you — now you want to turn to Me? Now you want to call out to Me?"

Allah rejected that claim of iman which Fir'aun made.

Now look at the difference between the two — between Yunus, alayhi salam, and Fir'aun. Yunus, alayhi salam, in the days of ease, had built and developed a connection with Allah such that when difficulty came upon him, Allah responded to him.

But Fir'aun, when he was enjoying the blessings and the ni'mah of Allah, when he was going through the days of ease in his life — at that time, let alone thanking Allah, let alone recognizing the ni'mah and the blessings of Allah, he became so stubborn, he became so arrogant, that he even declared amongst his people:

"Don't you people see — my kingdom — that I have possession and power over Egypt? And these rivers here, they are flowing by my command, by my permission. All this is happening because of my power and my strength."

Under this ayah, in Safwat al-Tafasir, Shaykh Ali al-Sabuni, rahimahullah, writes so beautifully:

"Ightarra Fir'aun bis sultan wal mulk, wahadhihil anharu tajri min tahtihi" — Fir'aun had pride and arrogance over his kingdom, his dominion, and these rivers which were flowing — he thought he was in charge of them. Fa ahlakahu Allahu bi jinsi ma takabbara bihi — so Allah destroyed him with the very thing over which he had pride and arrogance. He was proud over those rivers which he thought he owned, and Allah made those same rivers, those same waters, a source of his destruction.

And then he writes: "Wa feehi isharatun ila anna man ta'azzaza bi shay'in ahlakahu Allahu feehi" — this ayah gives a subtle hint that whosoever will express pride and arrogance over any of the ni'am and the bounties of Allah, Allah will make that same bounty a means of his destruction.

The Lesson: Turn to Allah in Times of Ease

So, my respected brothers and sisters, throughout our life, we will go through times of ease, and we will go through times of difficulties. We never ask Allah for difficulties. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, one day saw a man who was making du'a to Allah:

"Oh Allah, I ask You for patience." The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, told him: "What are you doing? Naqad sa'alta Allaha al-bala' — you are asking Allah for difficulties! Sal al-'afiyah — rather ask Allah for 'afiyah." But these difficulties and tests are bound to come in the life of every individual, as Allah mentions:

Do you think you just bring iman in Allah and that's it — everything will be easy, and you just walk into Jannah like that? That's not how the world works. That's not how the system of Allah is. Allah mentions that He tested those who came before. And He will most definitely, most certainly also test you with various tests — so as to distinguish between those who are truthful in their iman and those who are the liars.

So my respected brothers and sisters, when we find ourselves in moments of ease and comfort, these are times to turn to Allah. These are times to develop our connection with Allah — through the masajid, through the madaris, through spending in the path of Allah. Utilizing the opportunities that Allah gives us. Such an amazing opportunity which Allah is blessing us with — to spend in His way, to give for the sake of Allah, for the masjid, for the madrasah. These are opportunities which Allah gives us so that we can develop that connection with Him.

So in this world, when we develop our connection with Allah in times of ease, Allah will be with us in times of difficulty. And on the Day of Qiyamah, in the akhirah, when Allah will usher the occupants of Jannah into Jannah — just as when you are boarding a flight, they first welcome aboard the first class individuals, then the business class, and then the rest of the economy passengers board — likewise on the Day of Qiyamah, the first class individuals, the VIP individuals who will enter Jannah before everyone else, will be those who turned to Allah in both times of ease and in times of difficulties.

We ask Allah to grant us the understanding. Inshallah, we can perform our sunnah.

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As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah.