People Are ALIVE But DEAD | Jumuah Khutbah | Imam Nadim Bashir | EPIC Masjid

Opening Du'as and Announcements

So, Brother Rana, he's requesting du'a for his mother. She's in critical condition. We ask Allah to grant her also shifa.

There was a request for Sher Afzal Khan, who had a spinal surgery, also recovering. We ask Allah to grant his brother shifa. أَذْهِبِ الْبَأْسَ رَبَّ النَّاسِ، وَاشْفِ أَنْتَ الشَّافِي، لَا شِفَاءَ إِلَّا شِفَاؤُكَ، شِفَاءً لَا يُغَادِرُ سَقَمًا.

There's a young brother of our community, Brother Muzammil, his wife is going to have a surgery this coming Tuesday. It's a young family, so please keep him also and his family your du'a. We ask Allah to grant her shifa. أَذْهِبِ الْبَأْسَ رَبَّ النَّاسِ، وَاشْفِ أَنْتَ الشَّافِي، لَا شِفَاءَ إِلَّا شِفَاؤُكَ، شِفَاءً لَا يُغَادِرُ سَقَمًا.

And finally, Brother Haroon is a member of our community. His wife just had surgery, so we ask Allah to grant her shifa. By the same time, he's also requesting du'a for a person who passed away who was very close to his family. They passed away overseas. We ask Allah to grant them a place in Jannah, آمين يا رب العالمين.

For everyone who is sick, anyone who has gone through any kind of surgery or procedure, or they're recovering, or they are about to have a surgery taking place, we ask Allah to grant all of them shifa. اللَّهُمَّ اشْفِ مَرْضَانَا وَمَرْضَى الْمُسْلِمِينَ. And all those who may have passed away, may Allah grant them a place in Jannah and have mercy upon them. اللَّهُمَّ ارْحَمْ مَوْتَانَا وَمَوْتَى الْمُسْلِمِينَ، آمين يا رب العالمين.

Importance of Paying Attention During Khutbah

Finally, before I start my khutbah, I just want to remind everyone that I've talked about this before, that the Jumu'ah Khutbah is extremely important. And that means that during the Jumu'ah Khutbah, we should not be checking our phones, we should not be on our phones, we should not be checking our social media platforms or accounts or emails and things of that type. While you are there for the Jumu'ah Khutbah, you have to give your full attention to the Jumu'ah Khutbah, إن شاء الله.

It is a violation against the khutbah to be checking your phone. The reason why we have only just two rak'ah for Salat al-Jumu'ah, instead of four for Dhuhr, is because the khutbah is equivalent to that too. So this whole thing, the khutbah and the Salat, is a complete and entire package. Everything is together. So that is why, just like in Dhuhr, we will not be checking our phones of course, likewise in the Jumu'ah Khutbah, we should not be checking our phones or doing anything else, but listening to the Jumu'ah Khutbah, إن شاء الله. May Allah grant all of us tawfiq. جزاكم الله خيرا.

The Heart that Remembers Allah vs. The Heart that Does Not

I ask Allah that just as He has gathered us here today on this day of Jumu'ah, may Allah gather us along with our families in جنة الفردوس الأعلى, in the companionship of Rasulullah ﷺ and his Sahabah. آمين يا رب العالمين.

Brothers and sisters, imagine seeing two people standing next to each other, or two people sitting next to each other. Both are talking, both are listening, both are walking, both can feel, they can touch, they can see. Seemingly, they both are alive. However, in the eyes of Allah, one is dead and the other one is alive. One is dead, the other one is alive.

Why? Because one constantly remembers Allah throughout the entire day. From the time they wake up in the morning to the last time they sleep. The entire time they wake up saying, الحمد لله, and they finish the day by saying, اللَّهُمَّ بِاسْمِكَ أَمُوتُ وَأَحْيَا. One remembers Allah and the other one never remembers Allah.

That is why Rasulullah ﷺ, he says in a hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6407)

The one, the heart that remembers Allah throughout the entire day, is a heart that is alive. This person, they are alive. Though they are walking, but they are alive. But the person who does not remember Allah, seemingly they look alive. But they have no purpose in life. They don't understand their purpose of life. And hence they are dead inside. There is no spiritual goals that they have. They are not running after the love of Allah. And hence they become a slave to this dunya.

Allah's Call to Abundant Remembrance

Brothers and sisters, Allah, when He talks about dhikr, He not just mention dhikr and say, make dhikr of Allah. He says:

When it comes to remembering Allah, remember Allah abundantly. Remember Allah throughout your entire day.

Allah, He says also in the Quran:

Imagine if there was someone that you loved very much. Someone who you admire very much. And they are followed by so many thousands of people. They probably don't even know your name, but you admire them. Imagine if they took your name. Imagine if they recognized you. How honored would you feel? Allah is telling us, remember me and I will remember you. فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ.

This is Allah, not a human being. This is our Lord, our Rabb, our Ilah, who is telling us, remember me and I will remember you by your name. Brothers and sisters, what more of an honor are we looking for? The fact that Allah is taking our name, wallahi that's all that we should be looking forward to in life. I don't care if another human being takes my name, but if Allah is taking my name, and Allah is remembering me, then that is the greatest honor.

And Allah, He says in the Quran:

There is nothing greater than remembering Allah.

Lessons from the Prophets: Dhikr in Times of Difficulty

The Story of Prophet Yunus (AS)

Because brothers and sisters, the reality is that even when you study the Quran, Allah has mentioned stories after stories in the Quran. Let's reflect on the story of Yunus (AS) for a moment. Allah says:

The next time we are in a difficult situation, what should we be doing in that time? Yes, we can go and ask others for help, there is nothing wrong with that. But we should never forget about Allah. What we often do brothers and sisters, we will run to the creation of Allah, we will run to the creation of Allah, before we run to Allah. No, first it has to be that we come to Allah, then we can ask other people. First we make du'a to Allah, then we can ask other people. First we make the dhikr of Allah, then we can ask other people. But today our system is the complete opposite. We go to other people, we exhaust all of our options, and then when all the doors are closed, then we start turning to Allah. No brothers, it has to be the other way around.

When Yunus (AS) was in the belly of the whale, put yourself for a moment, put yourself for a moment in the shoes of Yunus (AS). Where you feel like that there is no way, that there is any way to escape the situation. There is no way out of this situation. How many times you and I we find ourselves in a similar situation, where we feel like that there is no way out. All the ways, all the exit doors are shut. But what did Yunus (AS) do? Did he lose hope in Allah? Did he forget about Allah? No, at that time he remembered Allah, and he made the dhikr of Allah.

What did Allah say in the Quran? فَاسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُ - We responded to the call of Yunus (AS). وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْغَمِّ - And we saved him from that calamity. And then what about you and I? Allah says, وَكَذَٰلِكَ نُنجِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ - Allah will save the believers.

When you and I, when we make the dhikr of Allah, day and night, when we remember Allah day and night, not only in difficult situations, but even when there are things are going well in our life, at that time when we remember Allah, and now when we are in difficult situations, we remember Allah, Allah will make a way out for us. This is the promise of Allah.

The Story of Prophet Ibrahim (AS)

Or whether it was Ibrahim (AS). Put yourself also in the shoes of Ibrahim (AS). Think about being catapulted, being thrown into a fire. What's gonna happen? He's mid-air. He's about to head towards that fire. At that time, what du'a did he make? What dhikr did he make? He said:

At this point, there is nothing that is sufficient for me. There's only one, only one creator that is sufficient for me, and that is Allah. And in this matter, He is the best disposer of my affairs. These are adhkar that are mentioned in the Quran. As a result of this dhikr, what did Allah say?

O fire, become cool and a means of comfort for Ibrahim (AS).

The Story of Prophet Musa (AS)

Or whether it was Musa (AS) who is about to be sent on an expedition. And once again, think about all these stories. Think about Musa (AS) for a moment. Allah is telling him, go into the lion's den. He already knows that there in Egypt, because of a previous situation, he killed a person unintentionally. They are looking for him. There is a bounty on his head. Everyone is looking for him. And Allah is telling me to go back to that tyrant.

And not only that, but Musa (AS), he stutters in his speech. Looking at all these factors. The fact that he is not so eloquent. The fact that he has to go and face the person in whose house he grew up. Now to go and face that person, it is not an easy task. But what did Allah say in the Quran? That Musa (AS) made a du'a to Allah:

O Allah, grant me the ability to be eloquent. Send my brother with me. Expand my chest. Why? Why, brothers and sisters? Musa (AS) says it right after that:

Ya Allah, grant me this. You know why? So I can remember You, O Allah. I can make Your dhikr, Ya Allah. That is why I'm asking You to give me this. And then secondly, of course, I'll give da'wah to Fir'aun. But more importantly, Ya Allah, You grant me this so I can remember You.

The Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr in the Cave

Or whether it was Rasulullah ﷺ when he was in the cave. And Abu Bakr (RA) is sitting right next to the Prophet ﷺ. He says, Ya Rasulullah, if these people just look down, they will see us. We are caught. We are done. Just like in the case of Musa (AS). We're caught. We're dead meat. What did he say? My Lord is with me. He remembered Allah. What did the Prophet ﷺ say to Abu Bakr (RA) when he was in this state of anxiety? He says, Do not be afraid. Do not worry. Allah is with us.

Brothers and sisters, a heart that remembers Allah throughout the entire day in times of difficulty, that heart will come back to Allah. How much do you and I remember Allah throughout the entire day?

The Heart and Dhikr: Like Fish and Water

And that is why, subhanAllah, Ibn Qayyim, he says something very beautiful. He says, Dhikr is to the heart what water is to the fish. Listen to this again. Dhikr is to the heart what water is to the fish. Just like a fish cannot survive without water, a heart cannot survive without the dhikr of Allah.

The Heart: The Center of Islamic Psychology

Brothers and sisters, something interesting that we find when we talk about the heart is that Allah combines the dhikr of Allah with the heart. It has an impact on the heart. That's why He says:

It has an impact on the heart. When we make the dhikr of Allah, it brings tranquility to our heart. It does not mean that our problems will vanish. Our problems will still be there. But Allah will grant so much peace in our heart that we will be able to navigate those challenges in life.

See, there are people who have very little challenges, but for them those challenges are like a mountain. And there are people who go through an enormous amount of challenges, but those challenges seem very insignificant. A heart that is connected to Allah, no matter how big the challenge is, as long as their heart is connected to Allah, that's all that matters to them.

The Difference Between Western and Islamic Psychology

And that is why, subhanAllah, even when you study Islamic psychology or even Western psychology, the biggest difference between Western psychology and Islamic psychology is, Western psychology has always focused on the mind. For them, everything is about the mind. That's why there's something called meditation. That's why there's something called mindfulness. That's why there are billions of dollars that are spent by these big corporations where they go for retreats and they sit there and they meditate and they're talking about mindfulness and they spend so much money on this idea.

But it's never been about the mind, it's always about the heart. Islamic psychology, if you study nafsiyyat, it's always, it's not about the mind, it's always been about the heart. That's why, again, the Prophet ﷺ, what did he say?

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 52 & Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1599)

When the Prophet ﷺ talked about that one organ in the body that dictates the entire body, he did not say that it is the aql or the brain or the intellect, he said it is the heart.

And that is why subhanAllah, even when you study, there have been studies and reports about people who went through a heart transplant. And people, when their heart, when a new heart was put into their body, they actually began to see things and remember things that came with the heart. Meaning that if there were certain experiences that the person went through, the heart was able to internalize it. When that heart was transferred from one person to the next person, the heart, now when it found a new home, a new body, that new body is now experiencing and seeing things in their dream. These are actual reports, by the way. I'm not just making this up here. These are actual reports that people and there are research articles about this that show how much of an impact the heart has.

And that is why, brothers and sisters, the heart in itself has its own intelligence. It has its own memory. It has its own emotions. And it has its own spiritual awareness. That is why, once again, Imam Ghazali said something very beautiful. He said: the heart is the king and the limbs are the soldiers. If the king is corrupt, then the limbs are going to be corrupt.

Four Categories of Daily Adhkar

So that is why with this in mind, I want to quickly share with you that there are few types of adhkar, few different categories of adhkar we should keep in mind every single day.

First Category: Daily Glorification, Istighfar, and Salawat

The first category of adhkar is something that we find very consistently amongst our ulema, our aslaf, our pious predecessors, even amongst the sahaba, which was that every single day, a hundred times morning and evening, they would make some kind of glorification to Allah. Whether it was:

Or, سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَلَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظِيمِ. Or, سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ بِحَمْدِهِ عَدَدَ خَلْقِهِ وَرِضَا نَفْسِهِ وَزِنَةَ عَرْشِهِ وَمِدَادَ كَلِمَاتِهِ. Anything that is considered as a glorification of Allah, سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ بِحَمْدِهِ, سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ. All of these are duas that glorify Allah. This is something that you and I should be doing a hundred times in the morning and evening.

The second one you and I should be doing consistently is to make some form of istighfar:

Any form of istighfar is sufficient, but we do this morning and evening. Why? Because Rasulullah ﷺ also mentions, this is a person whose sins, his past and his future are forgiven. Yet there are two different hadith. One hadith says 70 times every day, morning and evening. And one hadith says a hundred times every single day. That is why brothers and sisters, with the amount of sins that you and I commit, we should be making istighfar a hundred times, morning and evening. And the benefits and the fruits of istighfar are endless. They are found in the Quran, and they are found in the hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ.

And finally, in this first category of adhkar, the last thing that we should be doing abundantly is sending our peace and blessings upon Rasulullah ﷺ. Every single day we send as many as we can. Something that we learn from our ulema is, hundred times morning and hundred times evening. We don't only send our peace and blessings on the Prophet ﷺ only on Friday, or only when we go to Medina, or only when we hear the name of the Prophet ﷺ. No, we send our peace and blessings on Rasulullah ﷺ as much as we can every single day. Because there's a hadith also, there are many a hadith about the benefits of sending our blessings on the Prophet ﷺ. But there's one hadith in particular where the Prophet ﷺ says, that anyone who sends an abundance of peace and blessings upon me, Allah will remove the worries from their heart. This is something that you and I are going through.

So this is the very first category of adhkar that we should be making every single day.

Second Category: Morning and Evening Adhkar

Then the second category of adhkar is your morning and your evening. There are, by the way, in order to make our life a whole lot easier, plenty of apps that you can find online. In the morning and in the evening, what are the duas that we should be reciting every single day:

And the duas are endless. But morning and evening adhkar, take our time every single day. 15-20 minutes for our akhira and for our dunya. Brothers and sisters, wallahi, this is something that will change your life. Ask a person who has a habit of making dhikr, and how much barakah Allah puts in their life versus a person who never remembers Allah. There is no barakah in their life.

Third Category: Post-Prayer Adhkar

Then the next category is the adhkar that we make after salah. For example, the Ayat al-Kursi that we recite after every single salah. These are things, SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar, 33, 33, 34 times. This is something that we're supposed to do after every single salah.

Fourth Category: Timely Duas

And then there are timely duas, timely adhkar, before you go into the restroom, after you exit the restroom, before you go to sleep, after you wake up, before you eat, after you finish eating. There are timely duas. All of these are adhkar that the Prophet ﷺ had made sure that it was part of his life. And we have to make sure that they are part of our life.

Advice to Parents

If we do this, first of all, it starts off with the parents. Parents, listen to me very carefully when I say this. It is not right that you are obsessed with your own children learning the duas and you don't know those duas. You need to learn those duas first. Because I understand the mindset, that I was not able to memorize it, but I'm gonna make sure my child memorizes it. Well, your child is gonna go to his own grave and you're gonna go into your own grave. He has his own book of deeds and you have your own book of deeds. So that is why parents, you need to first start doing this on a consistent basis. And the children will look at you and they're also gonna develop this habit.

But these are four categories. Number one is the glorification of Allah, our peace and blessing on Rasulullah ﷺ, and istighfar, hundred times morning and evening. The second category is our morning and evening adhkar. There are so many apps on the phone, and they have all these duas already present for you, ready for you. You just have to take the initiative. The third category are those adhkar that we make after salah. And the fourth category are those timely duas or timely adhkar that we make.

I ask Allah that He makes us from amongst those who are the adhkareen. اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنَا مِنَ الذَّاكِرِينَ. And may Allah make us from amongst those who remember Allah in all times of our life. And may Allah raise us from amongst those who remember Allah on the day of judgment.

آمِينَ رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ

بَارَكَ اللَّهُ لَنَا وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقُرْآنِ الْعَظِيمِ وَنَفَعَنَا وَإِيَّاكُمْ بِالْآيَاتِ وَالذِّكْرِ الْحَكِيمِ أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

Are You Alive or Just Existing?

Lastly, I just want to share with you about the subject matter. The question that we need to ask ourselves is - I'm leaving this question so that we can ask ourselves these few questions every single day.

What will we be remembered for? The number of followers on our social media feed? Or the fact that we remembered Allah in our quiet moments?

We scroll through our phones every hour. But how often do we scroll through our souls?

We check our notifications religiously. But do we check the condition of our hearts?

Is Allah present in our mornings, evenings, and nights? Or only when we are in the state of emergencies?

Is He in our decision making? Or just in the times of desperation?

Is He remembered in our peace? Or is He remembered only when we're going through pain?

The one who remembers Allah is truly alive. And the one who forgets about Allah is simply existing.

So are you alive? Or are you just existing on the face of this earth? That's the question we need to ask ourselves.

May Allah grant all of us tawfiq.

Closing Dua

أَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ