“I Have Allah With Me.”

"I Have Allah With Me."

Anybody other than Allah is not invincible, is not great, is not special, is not all-powerful. Everybody other than Allah is just another creation of Allah. This is what gives Ibrahim عليه السلام the confidence to stand in front of Nimrod, and Musa عليه السلام the confidence to stand in front of Fir'aun, and Muhammad عليه السلام the confidence to stand in front of his great and powerful enemies.

Because when you start to absorb this idea — Allah is Akbar, greater — you realize this guy is nothing. What is he going to fight me with? I have Allah behind me. I have Allah with me.

The Divine Assurance to Musa

Allah says in the Qur'an — go, you are within Our sights. Allah says to Musa: with My signs, with My miracles, with My revelation, you're going to win. Nobody can defeat you.

This power, this confidence, this strength — it comes from Allah. Because you realize He is the greatest.

The Lesson of Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali — not the Imam of the Masjid, the boxer Muhammad Ali — you know what he used to call himself. He used to call himself the greatest. And in his boxing career, at one point in time, he fell ill for six months. He couldn't recover. He couldn't step back in the ring. After over a decade of a spotless performance, suddenly he just falls ill.

And when he is asked — when he makes his return to the ring — what happened? Mr. Muhammad Ali, the big talker, you're the big man, you're the boss of the ring. What happened? He says: "I used to call myself the greatest, until God reminded me He is the greatest."

Allah sometimes makes us fall to humble us, to realize that actually we're not all that much. This is the spirit of Takbir.

Balancing Fear and Hope

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — some people sell the idea of God as loving, as merciful, and all of these nice things. But they forget that there is another aspect of Allah. We are to be humble in front of Him. We are to be respectful in front of Him. We are to be scared in front of Him. Because He is not just merciful — He is powerful beyond measure. And it is important to balance these two things: the fear and hope, the mercy and respect.

We all have parents that we love. Our parents love us. They are merciful to us. They feed us. They hug us. They cuddle us. But the day that you mistake that mercy and love to mean that you can abuse your parents — and you stand up and you give them a word of abuse, and you feel a flying slipper catch you in the face — you realize on that very day that love and mercy does not mean that that person is incapable of disciplining you. That that person is powerless. No. There is a balance.

And this is just a human example.