The Undeniable Reality Of Preparing For Allah's Judgment

Opening

ونشهد أن سيدنا وسندنا ومولانا محمداً رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أرسله بالحق بشيراً ونذيراً وداعياً إلى الله بإذنه وسراجاً منيراً

أما بعد، فقد قال الله سبحانه وتعالى في القرآن المجيد، أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم، بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم:

Respected brothers and sisters, friends and elders, السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

The Undeniable Reality of Meeting Allah

There is one indefinite, undeniable reality which all of us must come to terms with. In fact, this reality is often seen as the most bitter pill to swallow. The hardest fact to internalize is the idea that one day we will leave this world, and one day we will come face to face with Allah. And we will have to present all of our life's worth in front of Allah. Every day, every hour, every second we are coming closer and closer to Allah, and ultimately we are all treading a path which ends at our Creator.

The Four Questions on the Day of Judgment

Nabi ﷺ reminded us in a famous hadith which we have heard many times, where he said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 2417)

That the feet of mankind will remain standing — his presentation, his حساب in front of Allah — it will not end until he is asked regarding four different matters:

عَنْ عُمْرِهِ فِيمَا أَفْنَاهُ — Regarding his life, his age, whatever years he spent in this dunya. How did he spend them?

وَعَنْ شَبَابِهِ فِيمَا أَبْلَاهُ — And regarding his young age, his youth. One is the entire life, and now one is one's youth — his golden years. How did he spend it?

وَعَنْ مَالِهِ مِنْ أَيْنَ اكْتَسَبَهُ — His wealth. Where did he earn it? His actions may have been right, but now when it came to earning money — when money came into the picture — how was his dealings? How did he decide to take his income?

وَفِيمَا أَنْفَقَهُ — Moving forward, what did he spend it on? Was he one who amassed large amounts of wealth but did not spend a dime? Or was he someone who splurged all his money in haram? Or was this individual one who spent his money for Allah, for the deen of Allah, for the sake of his own rectification?

And lastly, وَعَنْ عِلْمِهِ مَاذَا عَمِلَ فِيهِ — now his entire life, he was taking in information. He was constantly taking in different facts, different forms of information. But now, what did he do with that information? Whatever he learned about his deen — did he truly internalize it?

Knowing vs. Internalizing

Every day we hear we have to leave this world. But now, did that lead to action? There's a difference between knowing something and internalizing something.

An easy example is the example of the father and the son. The father is constantly telling the son: "You need to be smart in terms of your financial transactions. You need to save money. Be smart with every penny you spend. You don't need to waste your money on random wants. Every now and then you can spend on something which you would like, but that shouldn't be something you do all the time. This should not be a regular thing. Rather you should save more than you spend."

Now when you go to the son and ask him, "How should you spend your money?" — he'll give you the entire routine. Everything his father told him, he'll tell you every single thing. He has it memorized, word for word. He's heard it hundreds of times. But then you look at his bank account and it's in the negatives. Because he's taken in the information, but it did not internalize. It did not settle in his heart. Rather it's a fact in the brain. It is not a reality in the heart. Once the reality enters the heart, it leads to action.

The Heedlessness of Mankind

And so now Allah on countless occasions in the Quran reminds us that no matter how far we run away from Allah, no matter how far we may end up, no matter where we may end up in life — how deep, wherever, how dark the area is — Allah reminds us that there's only one return, and that is to Allah.

That mankind is continuously coming closer and closer and closer towards the time where he has to present in front of Allah, to the time where he has to answer for his life's worth in front of Allah. وَهُمْ فِي غَفْلَةٍ مُّعْرِضُونَ — that he's just constantly, heedlessly treading in this world. He's not thinking about the akhira. He is in a completely different world. He has lost this reality that he has been sent into this dunya with a purpose. He has been sent into this dunya with a test. And now he has made the dunya his purpose. He has become engulfed in the traps of his greatest enemies — the nafs and shaitan — and he has forgotten his greatest caretaker, his greatest benefactor, Allah.

The Poem of Abū al-ʿAtāhiya

Regarding this ayah, there was a poet by the name of Abū al-ʿAtāhiya who had composed a long poem, where he said:

So he said: "Oh the one who is buttering himself up, as if he is preparing himself as a dish — who are you applying this butter for? Who are you applying these seasonings for? Meaning, who are you adorning yourself for? Why are you engaging in this dunya so much? What are you preparing this for?"

وَبَطِنْتَ يَا مُسْتَوْطِنُ — "And what are you concealing? What are you hiding? Oh the one who constantly wants to put things in his belly."

وَأَسَأْتَ كُلَّ إِسَاءَةٍ — "And now you've committed every single sin. You've constantly turned away from Allah. You have constantly ended up in sin, in negligence."

وَظَنَنْتَ أَنَّكَ تُحْسِنُ — "Yet you thought you were doing something good." Often times one thinks he's doing what's best for himself, but in reality he's only taking himself towards his own destruction.

Prophet ﷺ reminded us on many occasions that the greatest enemy which you have is نَفْسُكَ الَّذِي بَيْنَ جَنْبَيْكَ — that your nafs which is inside of you. Often times we think that the one who is the most sincere friend for us, the one who is looking out for us the most, is ourself — me, myself and I. Yet Prophet ﷺ is informing us that that is not the case, that you can't even trust yourself, because that nafs which is inside of you will lead you to your own destruction.

Towards the end he says:

"Oh the one who is staying in his rooms — when he's not going outside, he's not engaging with reality, he's kind of separating himself — you only have one place to go. You only have one destination, and that is your grave."

The Purpose of Life: Excellence in Deeds

So Allah has sent us into this dunya with a time limit, and alongside this time limit there is a certain goal which we must achieve.

Allah ta'ala in Surah al-Mulk describes himself and honors himself with many different praises. And then Allah describes himself as the one who created life and death. These are two things which we have no control over. We cannot produce life by ourselves as Allah ta'ala produces life. Allah ta'ala is the one who produces life out of nothing. Allah ta'ala is the one who takes life. How many times do deaths occur without any known reason? That is the system of Allah. Allah ta'ala is displaying his qudrah, his greatness, his might: "I do not need a reason to take away a soul. I do not need a reason to take one of my creation back to me. There does not need to be any asbab."

The system of Allah works in three ways. We have one which is muwāfiq to the asbab — certain phenomena which occur in accordance to asbab. For example, a fire burns. When you put a paper into fire, it will begin to burn. That is in accordance to the asbab. Then you have things which go mukhālif to the asbab — against the norm. For example, Ibrahim a.s. was thrown into the fire but he did not burn. This is Allah working against the asbab. And then Allah can create without any asbab. For example, the birth of Isa a.s. — there was no father, yet Isa a.s. was born. Allah will resurrect us from nothing. This is without any asbab.

And now Allah, going back to the ayah, he mentions life, he mentions death — which is pretty much our time limit. Then he says: لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا — to test you all. Your entire life is a test. But what is Allah ta'ala testing for? What is trying to be gauged over here? Who will strive, who will achieve excellence in his actions? Not the one who amassed many actions. But rather one may have a small amount of actions, one may not live a very long life, but his actions are such that it raises him to ranks far beyond one who has lived for decades. Why? Because in the test of Allah, in the court of Allah, deeds are not counted — rather they are weighed, based on the excellence which one achieved in these actions.

The Danger of Being Content with One's Spiritual State

Allah constantly reminds us that we must strive for excellence in our actions. And often times we are deluded by our nafs and shaitan to think that we're doing alright: "Why do I need to work anymore for my deen, for my akhira? I think I'm in a good position. I'm doing pretty good. So I don't think I need to come to the masjid anymore. I'm at a good place right now. I don't think I need to move any more forward." That is shaitan taking us for a ride.

The greatest sickness which shaitan can implant within us is to be content with our ruhani state. Because the trend of this dunya is that once you are content, you will end up in destruction. But once you are always on your toes, always looking around — "Am I fine over here? Am I fine over here?" — then one will end up reaching success. But once one thinks that "I'm fine, I don't need to do anymore," shaitan has taken him for a ride, and he will end up in a place where he does not want to be in the akhira.

Racing Towards Allah

And so now, respected friends and elders, we must see what strides we can take. How can we excel? How can we reach excellence in our actions? You know, when you work out, the last rep is generally the hardest one — the one where you put the most weight. Why? Because you know this is the last one, so you try to push yourself the hardest. Respected friends, in this world, in this life, we don't know when it's going to end. So every step we take has to be far greater than the last one.

Nabi ﷺ in many ahadith mentions: bādirū bil-aʿmāl — rush towards good actions, rush towards coming close to Allah. Allah ta'ala in the Quran says:

Run towards the forgiveness of Allah. Sābiqū ilā maghfiratin min rabbikum — rush, come, run as fast as you can towards Allah, towards the closeness of Allah, towards the forgiveness of Allah, towards the close companionship of Allah.

So now we need to take this moment to reflect and see what strides we have taken to come towards Allah. On the Day of Judgment, Allah ta'ala will say:

"O mankind, what caused you to sway away, to deter from your benevolent, your generous Lord?"

"Where are you going? Why are you running from my mercy?" So now we need to really reflect and see where we are in terms of our relationship with Allah, and what we can do to take that next step to come close towards Allah.

Practical Steps: Utilizing Our Free Time

We have a perfect opportunity in front of us. The holidays are coming up and we have a great amount of free time. If we're students, then we have our winter break. If we work, then of course we have a few government holidays which are coming up. So now, what are some steps we can take to utilize our time? The time which we have been given is amanah from Allah. So how can we use this time to come close to Allah, to really come to terms with ourselves, turn back to Allah, be sincere, and take those steps we need to take?

1. Establish an Environment of Learning in the Household

First and foremost, we must try to establish environments of learning in our households — of ta'lim in our households. Just pick up a book. Have the whole family come together and learn something about our deen. Educate ourselves. And the greatest book which you can pick up is the Quran — the book of Allah.

How many of us have spent years and we haven't picked up the book of Allah to even try to memorize a portion? How many of us have reached high-level corporate jobs, but then there are many of us who don't even know the last three surahs of the Quran? This is not to point at any individual, but this is the reality, this is the situation which we are dealing with. When was the last time we said, "You know what, I have a few hours today. Let me open up the book of Allah and try to memorize at least one ayah — at least two ayahs, three ayahs, four or five ayahs, one page, one surah." Now we have some free time. Let us not waste away these holidays. Let us utilize them to become a means of us connecting with the book of Allah.

2. Connect with the Masajid

Second, let us connect with the masajid — the houses of Allah. They are the greatest strongholds, the greatest fortresses which can protect us from our nafs and shaitan. Once one deters from the masjid, turns away and does not connect himself with the masjid, he ends up in the trap of shaitan. This is what will give us that spiritual boost, that spiritual refresh.

3. Connect with the Spiritual and Intellectual Legacy of the Prophet ﷺ

And lastly, let us connect ourselves with the spiritual, intellectual legacy left to us by Nabi ﷺ — by attending a class, learning from our local scholars, learning from those who have connected themselves with this legacy, and becoming a part of this legacy. And through this, Allah may accept us to become a means of this legacy spreading to the next generation.

Annual Winter Intensive — Masjid Darussalam

In regards to this, we would like to invite everyone to our annual winter intensive, which will be taking place from tomorrow at Masjid Darussalam. This is a perfect opportunity to connect ourselves with this legacy, to learn more about our deen, to educate ourselves. And once we have taken in this information, we can let that reality rest in our heart, which will then lead to action.

Program Details

Dates: Starting tomorrow through December 25th.

Topics to be addressed:

• Spousal support and child custody in Islam
• Riba in contemporary times — is it halal or haram?
• A united Eid in the United States of America — is this a solution?
• How to implement Islam in the workplace
• The need for Halal certification in the meat industry
• The exact definitions and parameters of terms like takfīr and bid'ah from a conclusive and religious perspective

Speakers: Mufti Abrar Mirza, Dr. Mateen Khan, Mufti Minhajuddin Ahmed, Mufti Azimuddin Ahmed, Mawlana Yusuf Suleiman.

This program is open for brothers and sisters ages 15 and above. Additionally, there will be a separate winter intensive for the children as well. So we can create an environment in our households of learning and teaching — where the mother and father are attending their winter intensive and the children are attending their own winter intensive — and on the way back home, everyone is reviewing what they learned. This is open to brothers and sisters in state and also out of state, and there will be different activities for the youth as well.

Closing Du'a

We ask Allah that He grants us the tawfiq to take the necessary steps to connect with Him, to become a part of this legacy, and ultimately to meet Allah in a state where He is pleased with us.

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

Announcements

Just a couple of quick announcements. First, let's pass the donation boxes from left to right and donate generously. Sadaqah wards off calamities and draws the mercy of Allah.

Additionally, there is no curb parking. Please do not park on the curbs behind the seminary building or the Swift Highway. We do have additional spaces in the used car lot to the side. Please do not park in the condos parking lot as well.

We have a couple of weekly programs going on right now. Firstly is our team fajr which will continue tomorrow — fajr iqamah is at 6:15. Additionally, our tafsir of Surah al-Qasas continues on Tuesdays after Isha salah, and iqamah is at 7:30. And we have weekly salawat and khatirah every Thursday after Isha salah.

Next, the latest estimates from Gaza are staggering — 25,000 children have not only been displaced but have also been left orphaned. In response to this crisis, some volunteers are raising funds for orphan sponsorship through the Heroic Hearts Organization by selling miscellaneous items, and 100% of the sale will go directly to the orphan sponsorship program. Essentially, your purchase will be your support for the people of Gaza. Please look for their table on your way out and support their cause. Jazakallahu khairan.

Citywide students should gather at Masjid al-Noor on Friday night. All students should gather at 7pm at Masjid Darussalam so that inshallah we can carpool over there.

Community Center Programs — Darussalam

• Tuesdays: Women's Basketball — 7:00pm to 9:00pm
• Sundays: Women's Badminton — 7:45pm to 9:45pm
• Sundays: Women's Volleyball — 6:00pm to 7:45pm
• Wednesdays: Men's Volleyball — 7:45pm to 9:45pm
• Thursdays: Men's Basketball — 7:45pm to 9:45pm

Du'a Requests

There are some du'a requests for Muhammad Iqbal Hashim, who is the father of Haris and Zubair Maiman, as well as Abdul Rauf Moti, who is sick, as well as all the Muslims in Palestine and for the Muslims who are being oppressed all over the world.