Remembering Allah: The Obligation and Warning Against Forgetfulness

Khutbah Opening

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. And the end is for the righteous. And there is no aggression except against the wrongdoers. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and there is no partner for Him, the Lord of the worlds.

And I bear witness that our Master, our Prophet, our Beloved, our Intercessor, and our Protector is Muhammad, His servant and Messenger. I bear witness that the Messenger of Allah is a mercy to the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions — the good and the pure. And whoever follows them with goodness and calls for their call and follows their Sunnah and follows their guidance until the Day of Judgment.

Allah, the Exalted, said in the final revelation — after we seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan, in the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful:

"O you who have believed, be not like those who forgot Allah and He made them forget themselves."

And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

"The one who remembers his Lord and the one who does not remember is like the living and the dead." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6407)

My dear respected brothers and sisters, respected elders and youngsters. Peace and blessings be upon you. May Allah, the Exalted, accept this Jumu'ah and all of our ibadah. And may Allah, the Exalted, give us these few minutes we have as an opportunity for us to reflect on the wujūb — the obligation — of remembering Allah, the Exalted, at all times.

The Call to the Believers

Allah, the Exalted, says in the āyah that I just recited — the well-known āyah at the end of Sūrah al-Ḥashr:

"O you who have believed, O those who believe." Allah, the Exalted, here is addressing the believers. And if we consider ourselves — hopefully we do — that we are amongst the believers, then we should realize that Allah, the Exalted, is addressing us. And we should pay attention to what He is saying, because He is addressing the believers.

If we are not paying attention to what He is saying — inshāAllāh, not that we are in this category — but as a wake-up call: a person who does not feel himself being addressed has to consider where the issue is lying. Does he consider himself to be among the believers or not? If he does, he should pay attention.

A very simple example our teacher used to say: if the school has an assembly and the principal is dismissing the students — when he says, "Year 5 students, 5th grade, stand up, you are now dismissed" — the 5th graders who are there should get up because they are being called. Then he says 4th graders, the 4th graders will get up. 3rd graders, 2nd graders, kindergartners, they should get up as they are being called, because they are being addressed. And if you don't get up, that means you are not part of the group.

So when Allah says يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا — O those who believe — if we pay attention, inshāAllāh this is a good sign; we are remembering the fact that we are among the mu'minūn. And if you are not paying attention, we will not — na'ūdhu billāh — rush to the judgment and conclusion that you are not among the mu'minūn. Rather, that the state of ghaflah is dominant, such that a person does not realize that he is among the mu'minūn, inshāAllāh.

So:

"Do not be like those who forgot about Allah — as a result, Allah made them forget about themselves."

فَأَنسَاهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ — He made them forget about their purpose of existence. Made them forget about the fact of what they are here for, where they are going, and what the objective of their existence is, what their priority should be in life. Made them forget all of that. And how did He make them forget that? Because they forgot Him.

So there is an obligation to remember Allah, the Exalted, at all times.

The Two Categories of Du'ā

One very beautiful study for us to reflect on — not just to study and reflect, but to inshāAllāh learn, memorize, and implement in our own lives — is the study of the du'ās of Rasūlullāh ﷺ. The du'ās of Rasūlullāh ﷺ are of two types.

First Category: Du'ā as Supplication

The first type are the du'ās in which the du'ā itself is maqṣūd — the du'ā is the objective — where you are focusing in invocation, begging from Allah, the Exalted, for your needs: needs of this dunyā, needs of the grave, needs of the ḥashr, needs of the ākhirah, needs for yourself, needs for your loved ones and family members, needs of the entire ummah.

There are particular etiquettes for that type of du'ā, including facing the qiblah, being in a state of wuḍū, starting off with ṣalawāt and ḥamd and praise of Allah, and ending with ṣalawāt and ḥamd and praise of Allah. Because when you ask Allah, "Further elevate the status, further shower Your mercies on the most beloved being of Yours, Muhammad ﷺ" — that is a du'ā that is sure to be accepted. So when you start with a ṣalawāt that will be accepted, and you end with a ṣalawāt that will be accepted, then you are sealing your du'ā with acceptance, inshāAllāh.

When Allah will accept the first du'ā for sure and will accept the last du'ā for sure, then we hope that He will accept all the du'ās in the middle as well. So those are some of the many etiquettes for making du'ā. That is one category.

Second Category: Du'ā as Dhikr (The Masnūn Du'ās)

There is another category that falls under the term ad'iya — du'ās — but these are actually the maqṣūd al-dhikr, remembering Allah. And those conditions that are there for the first category may not all necessarily apply for the second category. Meaning, turning around, facing the qiblah, being in a state of wuḍū, ṣalawāt before and after, and all of those etiquettes will not apply.

What is this second category? That is what I wanted to focus on today. These are what we call the masnūn du'ās. But they are actually different types of adhkār. And these masnūn du'ās cover pretty much every single wakeful moment — from the time a person awakens and opens his eyes, till the time a person closes his eyes.

When a person is in deep sleep, there is no particular dhikr he is obligated to do, because any kalām at that point is of no legal effect. If a person utters a kalimah of kufr while he is sleeping, it will not expel him from the fold of Islam. If a person issues three — or multiple — talāq while he is asleep, it will have no effect on his marriage. This is a masā'il discussed by the fuqahā' and mutakallimūn. And if a person admits to a sin or makes an iqrār of a crime, saying "I am the one who committed a murder," it cannot be held against him in a court of law, because this is the kalām of a nā'im — a sleeping person. So the speech of a sleeping person, from every perspective, is of no value.

But right before you sleep there is a dhikr, and right when you open your eyes there is a dhikr. I am pushing it to the extreme for us to realize that the adhkār masnūnah — known as the ad'iya masnūnah, the masnūn du'ās — are literally from the first moment you open your eyes to the last moment when you close your eyes. In fact, after you close your eyes while you are still awake, until you drift off into a deep sleep — until that very moment there are du'ās. SubḥānAllāh.

Now, a person is not necessarily going to be in a state of wuḍū for these, and he is not going to be facing the qiblah. And another difference in etiquettes is raf' al-yadayn — raising up the hands. Raising the hands is one of the etiquettes of the first category of du'ā, not of the second.

Examples from the Masnūn Du'ās

Du'ā After Eating

There are interesting matters that come to play here. For example, the du'ā after eating. There are many du'ās after eating; one of the more well-known ones is:

Commonly people say waja'alanā minal muslimīn, but the more authentic narration of it is waja'alanā muslimīn — without the min. What is the big difference? It is not a big difference from the wording perspective, but it is a difference from the perspective of what did the Prophet ﷺ actually say. He said: "All praise and thanks to Allah, who gave us food to eat, gave us drink, and made us Muslims." Both are correct in meaning. But the words of Rasūlullāh ﷺ are waja'alanā muslimīn.

And specifically with regards to changing the words of a du'ā in a manner which appears insignificant — this has been mentioned in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, where the du'ā the Prophet ﷺ taught includes the words:

(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Hadith 247)

A Ṣaḥābī said wa bi-rasūlika alladhi arsalt — "and Your Messenger whom You sent" — and it was corrected: no, it is wa bi-nabiyyika alladhi arsalt. Even though the Prophet ﷺ is both a Nabī and a Rasūl, changing the words — even when it appears insignificant — was corrected by Rasūlullāh ﷺ to recite it the correct way.

So for the du'ā after eating, for example — in the Christian tradition, there would be a prayer after the meal, raising the hands and saying "amen" at the end. So when a Muslim eats his meal and recites the du'ā, will he raise his hands? Many people think, "What's the big deal?" But this is where the difference applies. Raising the hands at the time of making du'ā is an etiquette of the first category, not of the second.

Du'ā When Looking in the Mirror

For example, when you see yourself in the mirror you say:

"O Allah, as You have beautified my exterior creation, beautify my interior — my character." You are not going to be raising your hands when you say that.

Du'ā When Entering the Bathroom

"O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the male and female evil jinn." And when coming out from the bathroom:

"I seek Your forgiveness. All praise and thanks to Allah, who has removed that which is harmful from me and given me comfort." I could easily pass the urine — I don't have to go to the ER and get a catheter, with fear of my bladder bursting in extreme pain. I did not have severe constipation requiring medical intervention. Adhhaba 'anni al-adha — He removed the painful thing from me. Wa 'āfānī — He gave me comfort.

So we are not raising the hands in these situations. There is great emphasis in our deen on following the Sunnah exactly as Rasūlullāh ﷺ practiced it. And another element is avoiding tashabbuh — similitude with others. But the original point that we started with is: in all conditions, we see that Rasūlullāh ﷺ was remembering Allah. There is not a single moment where he is ghāfil — heedless — from Allah. And we see that in the du'ās.

The Masnūn Du'ās as a Path to Wilāyah

That is why the masnūn du'ās are such a powerful — yet undervalued, underrated — tool for gaining the ma'rifah of Allah. For becoming literally a walī of Allah. For becoming a beloved friend of Allah. For becoming among the awliyā' Allāh of whom He says:

Such a walī of Allah that there is no fear and no grief. No fear for the future and no grief for the past. Just if we learn these masnūn du'ās.

When we think of masnūn du'ās, we are like, "Oh yeah, that is what the kids study in Islamic school — they have to take an exam on them, memorize, take the exam, pass, forget, and move on into life for greater and bigger and more important things." That is like the best-case scenario. Otherwise, masnūn du'ās could also mean something someone has never even heard of. If you go around and ask people what the first thought that comes to mind is when they hear "masnūn du'ās," somebody will say, "I never heard of that." Somebody may say, "Oh yeah, something I learned in school." Somebody may say, "My kid learns that in school." Or someone will say, "Yeah, maybe some type of prayers."

But actually, moving forward from this moment, when we think of masnūn du'ās, we should think: these are the steps to gain wilāyah. If we implement them, we will literally be remembering Allah all the time. The approach is:

Step one — memorizing the du'ā. Step two — actually reciting it in all the different activities of life. Step three — understanding the meaning: what we are actually communicating, what type of dhikr we are doing.

Du'ā When Entering the Masjid

"O Allah, open the doors of Your mercy upon me." There is always a link between the meaning and the action. As the door is being opened, we are also reciting the dhikr — "O Allah, open Your doors of mercy upon me."

Du'ā When Leaving the Home

"In the name of Allah, I rely upon Allah, and there is no might and no power except with Allah." Because there are many dangers out there. Death is lurking in all different corners in different ways. So we are seeking the protection of Allah, declaring our reliance on Him.

The Common Thread: Bismillāh and Alḥamdulillāh

As a general qāsim mushtarak — a common denominator — the du'ās for beginning any action include some form of Bismillāh: tayammunan bismillāh, tabarrukan bismillāh — taking the barakah from the name of Allah, taking isti'ānah, seeking the help of Allah. And at the end, there is an element of thanks: Alḥamdulillāh.

So before we eat, there is Bismillāh wa barakatillāh. And then after we eat, there is Alḥamdulillāh. Before we sleep, there is a Bismillāh again.

Du'ā Before Sleeping

(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Hadith 6320; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Hadith 2714)

"With Your name, O my Lord, I lay down my side, and with Your name I raise it up. If You hold my soul, then have mercy on it. And if You release it, then protect it as You protect Your righteous servants."

What does inna amsaktahā fa-raḥimhā mean? "If You keep my soul" — meaning if I die in my sleep. Like we just heard yesterday, one brother had an aneurysm and died in his sleep. That is what we are talking about. Inna amsaktahā fa-raḥimhā — if You keep my soul, meaning You do not turn it back to my body, shower Your mercy on it.

The separation of the soul from the body — infiṣāl al-rūḥ min al-jasad — that is the definition of death. They have all the definitions of death in medicine: is it when the heart stops? When the brain stops? Brain death? Heart death? All the discussions in medical ethics. But our understanding of death is infiṣāl al-rūḥ min al-jasad — when the soul leaves the body.

And inna arsaltahā fa-aḥfaẓhā — "and if You send my soul back to my body, then continue to protect it." Protect it not only from calamities, but from disobedience and sin. Bimā taḥfaẓu bi-hi ibādaka al-ṣāliḥīn — "as You protect Your righteous servants."

Or the shorter version, which perhaps everyone knows:

(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Hadith 6324)

"O Allah, with Your name I die and I come back to life."

Just like the seasons, at a global level: the green trees become yellow, then orange, then they fall — dead. The gardens become desolate. And then, as Allah says, كَذَٰلِكَ يُحْيِي اللَّهُ الْمَوْتَىٰ — when the spring comes, it all comes back to life. So this is death and resurrection at a yearly level. But at a daily level, we go into sleep. Al-nawm ukht al-mawt — sleep is the sister of death, as has been narrated. And when we wake up, it is like we are coming back to life.

The way we wake up every morning is a reminder of how we are going to wake up from our graves. So before we sleep, we say Bismika amūtu wa aḥyā — with Your name, I die and I will come back to life — meaning: I will sleep and I will wake in the morning, at a daily level, and at the level of one's entire life: I will die from this life and I will be resurrected in the hereafter.

Du'ā Upon Waking

(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Hadith 6312)

"All praise and thanks to Allah, who has brought us into a state of life after we were in a state of death, and towards Him is our return."

So what are we thinking about? We are literally waking up with the realization that just as I am awakening from my sleep, I shall awaken from my grave. Just as my alarm is buzzing today, the trumpet will be blown — وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ. When you hear the alarm and you are hitting the snooze button, you should think: "I can snooze this thing, but will I be able to snooze the trumpet of Isrāfīl?" I don't think so. There is a trumpet today, and there will be a trumpet on that Day.

Du'ā When Wearing Clothes

And every time we eat and drink, enter the bathroom, leave the bathroom, enter the home, leave the home, look in the mirror, change our clothes — when you are wearing clothes:

(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Hadith 4023; Jāmi' al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 3458)

All praise and thanks to Allah. The two purposes of clothing are mentioned in this du'ā. Allah says in the Qur'ān:

"O children of Adam, We have bestowed upon you clothing to cover your private parts and as adornment." يُوَارِي سَوْآتِكُمْ — it covers your private parts — وَرِيشًا — and it is an adornment. So likewise when we wear our clothes, mentioned in Sūrah al-A'rāf, we say: "All praise and thanks to Allah, who has clothed me, by which I cover my private parts and adorn myself in my worldly life." So we praise and thank Allah, the Exalted, at every single given moment.

Closing Du'ā

May Allah, the Exalted, give us the tawfīq to make 'amal — to implement this in our lives — and inshāAllāh climb the stairs of ma'rifah, and make us all among His 'ārifīn, those who have the ma'rifah, understanding, and realization of Allah, and reach the level of iḥsān:

"That you worship Allah as though you see Him." May Allah, the Exalted, give us that reality.

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

Announcements

We request the brothers to come closer together, fill in the gaps, and perform the Sunnah prayers. Please pass the donation boxes from left to right and donate generously. Ṣadaqah tadfa' al-balā' — charity wards off calamities and draws the mercy of Allah, and specifically on the day of Jumu'ah there is a greater reward.

Please note: there is no curb parking behind the seminary building or on the Swift Highway. Additional parking spaces are available in the used car lot.

There is a Sisters Bi-Weekly Youth Program — Soulful Chats taking place today, Friday. Sisters are invited to spend the evening in the environment of the masjid with young sisters, where we will be experiencing a unique opportunity to bond and discuss the challenges that our youth face today. This is a girls-only program, ages 13 to 21, from 5:45 to 7:45. It is conducted by young women who are students in the seminary — the 'ālimāt who are training here are the ones conducting these ḥalaqāt for this very important and challenging demographic. May Allah make it easy for all of our daughters and sons to remain steadfast on the straight path.

There is also a program inshāAllāh on Monday after 'Ishā' — Attaining Allah's Mercy — discussing Laylat al-Nisf min Sha'bān: what are the aḥkām of it, the injunctions regarding it, and its virtues.

Weekly programs:

• Team Fajr — Saturdays after Fajr (Iqāmah at 5:45)
• Bukhārī Dars — Mondays (with the special Laylat al-Barā'at program this Monday)
• Tuesday Night Tafsīr — Sūrah al-Mu'minūn continuing after 'Ishā'
• Weekly Ṣalawāt Gatherings — Thursday nights

Requests for du'ā: Brother Zaheer Siddiqi is in critical condition. Brother Imtiaz Memon's wife is also critically ill — we need to make du'ā that she comes out of her coma. May Allah, the Exalted, grant them both shifā'.

Āmīn.