Dr. Basem Hameed

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

وَبَعْدُ

All praise be to Allah, our Creator, Sustainer and Cherisher. We bear witness there is no deity worthy of worship save Allah and we bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and last messenger.

We ask Allah to send and bestow His blessings, peace and mercy upon His beloved Prophet Muhammad, his household, his companions and all of his followers till the end of time. My dear respected brothers and sisters, fear Allah, be God conscious and do know that Allah has warned you in the Quran by saying O people, fear Allah and be prepared for a day when no parent would suffice for their children nor a children would suffice for their parents. Do know that the promise of Allah is the truth and do not be swayed by the worldly matters and do not be swayed by the Shaytan.

The Levels of Paradise

My dear respected brothers and sisters, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in Surah Al-Waqi'ah told us about the status of the believers or the status of people in general as He would admit by His mercy subhanahu wa ta'ala certain people to the Jannah and others to the Hellfire and He spoke about the Jannah itself that even those who enter Jannah are not in the same level. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala talked about those who are the elite people, the winners, that would get the highest levels of Paradise and then He spoke about a category that is inferior to that.

Those who are given their books of reckoning in their right hand a sign of acceptance, a sign of success and a sign of admittance to Paradise by the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. When the Prophet ﷺ spoke about Paradise, he spoke about so many levels.

In the highest level which would only be assigned to one and one person ever that is our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ that is مقام الوسيلة that is only for one servant to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And below that you have السابقون the winners. This is how Allah described them.

It's like there is a race and you have the winners. Even when there is a race in this life a fraction of a second determines who wins. The gold, the silver, the bronze medal and those then who were able to complete the race or to participate.

When the Prophet ﷺ described the levels of Paradise he said between two different levels the inferior and the superior you would have the span of 500 years of travel. Imagine that. Imagine that you own part of a palace or part of a garden or in this case in the Jannah and then the step higher to that when you're upgraded it takes 500 years of travel.

And when we're talking about the unit of time here it's not our worldly time and place units. It's in the divine units that measures thousands and thousands of multiplications of our time units here. So truly the levels are so distant beyond our comprehension beyond anything that we can ever conceive and the words are not even able to encapsulate these concepts.

But the Prophet ﷺ tried to simplify them to us in simple words. So they're easier for us to digest and comprehend. The question that a wise person, my dear respected brothers and sisters would ask herself and himself in that abode of success and happiness that place of eternity near to Allah the serious question that comes where do I belong?

Where is Your Level?

Where is your level? Are you close to that highest level to the Prophet ﷺ? Are you among the Sabiqoon? Are you among the Ashabul Maymanah? Are you among those people who would take even a blink of an eye to cross the Sirat to reach the Jannah as the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ described? Does it take you the duration of a breeze or a wind or a racing horse or someone who's crawling on the Sirat taking them years and years to reach to the Jannah? Are you in the lowest level? Are you going to be admitted to the Jannah after spending some time in the hellfire? And how long is it going to take you to be released from the hellfire to the Jannah?

My dear respected brothers and sisters, a wise person should busy their times thinking about this every day. As much as you think about your wealth, your college, your degree, your career, your children, your family, your community, every goal in life, a more worthy worry to have on your mind and on your heart is what can happen in that eternal life. And what is it going to take for you to have that desired goal you have?

Dream High and Aim for the Highest Paradise

Everyone wants to the highest levels in paradise. The Prophet ﷺ has said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2790)

When you ask Allah, do make sure that you ask Him for the highest level of paradise. Because Allah will grant you. When you dream and when you shoot, always dream big and shoot high, the highest you can. Because Allah has given you that opportunity.

And Allah has given you the means to reach them. So do aim high and do not be a weak person in iman.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2664)

The believer who is strong in his belief, in his dreams, in his aim, in his goals, is more beloved to Allah than a weak believer. A person that shows Allah the ambition, the aspiration, the grit, the vim to reach the paradise, this is a mu'min that Allah loves more.

But again, Allah has determined that the paradise is not an easy target. Allah did not make the paradise. It is a commodity and it is an expensive commodity. This is what the Prophet ﷺ:

(Sunan at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2450)

Allah is selling you a product, is selling you a commodity, and it is a very precious, invaluable, expensive commodity that is paradise. And then the Prophet ﷺ said, that you will be admitted to the paradise by the mercy and pure and mere grace of Allah. But then you will divide its levels based on your deeds, how much work you have put forth to Allah in this dunya.

The Elite Companions and Their Level

And that takes us to the important point, what does it take for you to be among the السَابِقِين. What does it take for every and each one of us to win that highest level of paradise and not to be among the lowest people of paradise. Allah has given you that chance.

When you compare our deeds to what the elite, the companions of the Prophet ﷺ has done. How much we're doing? Everyone combined. How much are we spending in charity? The Prophet ﷺ, when he described his companions, said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3673)

The Prophet ﷺ was reminding us of the high level of his companions. That no one would love them but for the love of the Prophet ﷺ. And no one would dislike them but for the dislike of the Prophet ﷺ. So he made the sign of the love of the Prophet ﷺ, the love to his companions.

And then he said, this is how much Allah regards the companions. That if one of you, and the address was to the companions who came later in life by the way to the Prophet ﷺ. He said, if one of you spends in charity the entire amount of Uhud equal in gold, the entire amount of Uhud, you see how magnificent and enormous, gigantic amount.

That just the look of it, subhanallah, fills your heart with awe. If you spend gold in that equal amount, you're not even getting close to what a companion spends their handful or one handful of its charity. This is what it takes to become one of the Sabiqeen, the elite people of paradise.

When Umar رضي الله عنه described Abu Bakr رضي الله عنهما, he said, Wallahi Abu Bakr is better than an earth full of Umar. Imagine, if the entire people throughout history are the like of our beloved companion Umar رضي الله عنه, one of the عشر المبشرين بالجنة, the second successor of the Prophet ﷺ, the one that the Prophet described him, if it were to be a prophet to come after me, it would be Umar. And if there is a person who is inspired by Allah through his heart, it would be Umar.

Imagine, that they're all would not become equal to the level of Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه. So, what can we do to get close? What can... How much you pray? How much do you have to give in charity? How much you have to fast? How much remembrance of Allah سبحانه وتعالى you have to do to be with them, to be on their path, and to reach their level.

The Secret to Being with the Righteous

One and one thing would get you there. This is what the Prophet ﷺ has said. When he was asked ﷺ by a person as narrated by Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, he said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6169)

A person that loves people, the righteous people, but he's not able to do what they do. Always behind lagging. Not enough prayers, not enough charity, but he loves them. The Prophet ﷺ reassured him and he said, that that person would be with those whom he loves.

And a person came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked him, متى الساعة؟ When is the day of judgment? And the wise answer from the Prophet ﷺ was, what have you prepared for it? He pointed his attention to what really matters. Why would you care when is the sa'a? If it's today or after a thousand years.

What matters is where you fit in Paradise. He said, what have you prepared for it? And that companion asked, Wallahi, I have not prepared much of charity, neither prayers, neither fasting. But I'm counting on one thing.

I'm counting on one thing that I love Allah and love His Messenger ﷺ. So, the Prophet ﷺ gave us the glad tidings through that person. He said:

The person would be with those whom he loves. Anas رضي الله عنه who narrated this hadith said:

Anas who narrated this hadith said, I love Allah and I love His Messenger ﷺ and I love Abu Bakr and I love Umar and I'm hoping that I would be with them in the Day of Judgment even though I have not done the equal of their deeds and the equals of their works.

And we, Inshallah, love Allah, love His Prophet ﷺ, and love Abu Bakr and Umar and all their companions and this particular companion and we hope that Allah would grant us that honor to be with them in the Day of Judgment.

Three Truths from the Prophet

The Prophet ﷺ in a different hadith has said:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 16957)

Three things are nothing but the truth. And he said, that a person who's contributed to Islam, a share in Islam will not be made equal by Allah to those who do not. And any person who would make Allah his supporter, his friend, Allah will not allow anyone to be his friend, meaning Allah will be his supporter and will not leave him to the rest of humanity, to mankind. Allah would take care of them.

And the last point which is the topic of our khutbah, that no person would love a group of people but Allah would gather him with them on the Day of Judgment.

So, choose for yourself those who you love and associate with. This is the danger, my brothers and sisters, because if you love a person, your soul is gonna be mixed with their souls.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3336)

The Prophet ﷺ said, the souls like knights, like soldiers. Allah released them. And when a soul matches another soul, they mix. And if they don't match, they repel from each other.

And that's basically the matching component is determined by the love. When you love a person, your soul is mixed with their soul. And this is why important is to dispel any love of those who are not loyal to Allah. And that's the religious love as opposed to the instinctual love like for your family, for your household.

So in summary, my dear respected brothers and sisters, although we're encouraged to do all the good deeds, prayers, remembrance of Allah, giving charity, all the aspects of rituals and deeds that Allah and His messengers have taught us. But the most important aspect that should not be lacking, the most important asset that you need to capitalize on is the love to the Prophet ﷺ. The love to his companions. Because that's your ticket to the highest levels of Jannah.

That's your ticket to be with the Prophet ﷺ. And that's your ticket to be amongst the highest level of winners, the saabiqeen. I ask Allah to make us among them.

The Signs of True Love for the Prophet

My dear respected brothers and sisters, the love to the Prophet ﷺ is something precious. And something that cannot just be uttered by words. It's not a claim a person makes. Allah has deposited the love of the Prophet ﷺ by the fitrah in everyone's heart.

But our goal is to grow it, to preserve it, and to make it manifest in our deeds. The Busiri had a beautiful poem and he said:

He said, how would you be able to conceal a love that manifested by witnesses, trustworthy witnesses. What are these trustworthy witnesses that would point to you as someone who has the sincere love, he said, the tears and the illness.

When the name of the Prophet ﷺ is uttered, what do you feel in your heart? Does your heart jump and bounce longing to the Prophet ﷺ? Do your tears run down missing the Prophet ﷺ? In the past we've talked about Thawban, who was sick, blocked in his house, not even able to go to the prayers because he was thinking how he's gonna miss the Prophet ﷺ in the Day of Judgment, and not be able to see him as opposed to this dunya when just he goes physically visit him. And the Prophet ﷺ told him:

And that was the best tidings given to the companion, they said. He said, we've never been happier than this statement by the Prophet ﷺ.

Cultivating Love for the Prophet

For you to have a successful career, you went to school for years and years, learned skills, earned degrees, and still have constant continuation of education and training and this and that. Your love of the Prophet ﷺ, which is your ultimate success, deserves more than that. You need to specify time every day where you're invoking the prayers on the Prophet ﷺ, when you're mindful and feeling his presence. Everyone asks, how do we love the Prophet ﷺ? This is how you do it.

It deserves the time just like you give to any worldly matter. I ask Allah to grant us His love, to grant us the sincerity to Allah.

وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ