Iman And Islam: The Supreme Blessing Of Submission

The Greatest Bounty: Iman and Islam

As a believer, we should firmly believe that the greatest bounty that Allah has blessed you and I with is none other than the bounty of Iman and the bounty of Islam. This faith of ours, this world view of ours, this religion of ours is truly the greatest of blessings.

As Muslims we believe — and if not, we should believe — that if Allah were to grant a particular individual a life full of luxury, a life full of riches; he has wealth, health, he has happiness perhaps even, he has the greatest of cars, he has the best of jobs, the most amount of financial security, so on and so forth — and he were to live life, but if such an individual were to die without Iman and without Islam, then truly he has left this world with absolutely nothing.

And on the other hand, if a person is going through a very difficult life, he's struggling, and perhaps he may not even have the best of health — he may even be crippled, he may not even have a house, he may be living on the streets, he may be living a truly miserable life, stranded from his family — but if that individual has Iman and he has Islam and he dies with that, then we believe, and we should very firmly believe with utmost conviction, that this individual has passed away securing for himself the greatest bounty that he could possibly secure.

For us it's a matter of eternal salvation or eternal damnation. Eternal salvation on one hand — eternal peace and contentment and enjoyment — or a life full of suffering that can never ever be imagined. This is the bounty of Iman.

Iman Must Be Lived, Not Just Spoken

But this is not all that Iman and Islam has to offer. Iman and Islam — to truly understand what it brings — has to be understood properly. In order for a person to see the bounty of Iman and Islam in their life, in order for a person to realize how truly blessed they are by having Iman and Islam, the only way for a person to understand that is through practicing on his Islam. Is through submitting.

A person can testify, he can say the Kalima — like a parrot can recite so many different things. A parrot you'll teach it, but at the end of the day if you take a knife to the parrot's throat and it realizes what's truly coming its way, then what's truly in its heart is going to come out. There's no more.

And we can also similarly, like a parrot, be reciting the Kalima. We can testify, we can say that we believe that no one is worthy of worship besides Allah and that Rasulullah ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah. But then we ought to ask ourselves — how much are our actions doing the talking? As actions speak louder than words, how much are we truly submitting to the will of Allah?

And in order for a person to truly understand the bounty of Islam, the beauty of Islam — the only way to see it in this world, in this world itself — is through acting upon your Islam.

The Example of Ibrahim and Ismail: True Submission

As Muslims, what is Islam? Islam means to submit. Islam is submission. And Allah talks about this in the Qur'an in many verses. Very famously, the time of the year when we speak about Ibrahim ﷺ has just recently passed — we can still speak about his story as well. It's history that has been recorded for all of mankind to the end of time, that should be refreshed at all times.

Allah mentions, and we hear about this particular point usually in the Eid khutbah, Eid al-Adha, and the Friday sermons — where Allah mentions the story in the Qur'an in Surah As-Saffat:

He says, "Oh my son" — talking to Ismail ﷺ — "I see that I am slaughtering you in a dream." And when it comes to the prophets, their dreams are a means of revelation. So he said, "What should I do?" — مَاذَا تَرَىٰ.

Then the son, mashallah, with his wonderful upbringing and wonderful manners and character, he also said:

"Oh my beloved father, do whatever you have been instructed to do. Soon, inshallah, you will see me amongst the patient."

The very next ayah, Allah says:

"That when they both submitted." And we'll come back to that, inshallah. As the Arabic students understand — any person who studied Arabic for even a few days, perhaps even a week — you have فَعَلَ، فَعَلَا، فَعَلُوا: singular, dual, plural. So فَلَمَّا أَسْلَمَا — "when they both submitted." وَتَلَّهُ لِلْجَبِينِ — and now his neck was on the ground, ready to be slaughtered.

Then Allah called out: "Oh Ibrahim! Certainly you have seen this dream come true" — meaning you have fulfilled what has been required of you. Then Allah mentions: "That is how We reward those who do good." After the whole aspect of submission came into play, Allah said: "Then we took care of all his worries, and this is how We reward those who do good."

The Promise of a Goodly Life

In another place in the Qur'an, Allah mentions:

"That individual, male or female, that does righteous deeds whilst in the state of Iman — whilst having belief, faith — so not only having faith but acting in accordance to the teachings of Allah, in accordance to the teachings of Rasulullah ﷺ — then for that individual, فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُ حَيَاةً طَيِّبَةً" — We will most certainly grant him a wonderful, amazing life.

Another person will say, "If I had popularity and fame, if I was setting the trends and everyone was looking up to me, that would result in a pretty comfortable, wonderful, peaceful life." Another person will say, "It has nothing to do with tangible goods — it has to do with a well-knit family. You have to have everyone in the family emotionally stable, a suitable wife and wonderful, obedient children, and a good connection and relationship with your parents, and in that condition you will have a wonderful, peaceful life." And everyone will give you their own answer.

But if you reflect and if you ponder about your own life itself, Allah has shown us countless examples where that's not where peace lies — in none of these things. Whether it's playing a sport, you may enjoy it so long as you're winning. One loss, you yourself are no longer happy, and you've lost so many of your fans. A single injury — entire career gone.

It may not — it won't be in financial security either. You have the richest of people, the wealthiest of individuals, the most famous of people, yet they are still resorting to drugs because they are not happy, they're not content — to the extent some of them are going to take their own lives. Is there not a lesson in that for us? That that is not where true happiness lies.

If you look at that individual who has a well-knit family — then too, everyone is only happy and content so long as everyone in the family is healthy and well. A single person passes away, and then all of a sudden so many go into depression. So it has nothing to do with these things.

Allah has mentioned the secret for true peace and contentment:

You connect yourself to Allah, you submit to the will of Allah, and then you will find true peace. That is the only place where true peace lasts. That's the only place where a person can truly find contentment — when we link ourselves to Allah and we submit to the will of Allah and we submit to the decree of Allah. That is when, as the promise of Allah states, a person will find true happiness and contentment.

That is when we will see the true bounty — we will see the bounty of Iman and Islam and the worth of it manifesting in this very dunya itself. In the hereafter everyone will definitely see the value of their Iman. But in this very world, if we want to truly enjoy and understand what a great bounty it is, then we have to come to submit.

Islam: A Complete System of Life

If you look at our deen — this is the only religion that provides a complete system of life. There is no other world view, no other creed, no other religion that provides an objective guide, an objective set of laws and instructions for every single moment in our life. Everything else changes from time to time.

To this extent — that even before birth till after death, Islam has given us exactly what is required. A Muslim always lives a life full of purpose — he always has a purposeful life, not a purposeless life. If there is a fetus in the womb of the mother and the father passes away, should any of his inheritance be allotted to the fetus that is growing in the mother or not? Islam has also discussed that.

When a person passes away — how to wash the body, how to get rid of the body, how to split his estate, how to spread his wealth, and how to take care of his dependents — even that is discussed in Islam. To the extent that even mundane things that we take for granted — as simple as knocking on a door before entering a particular room — Allah Himself has addressed that in the Qur'an too. SubhanAllah.

And this is a great bounty indeed. This is the greatest honor that a Muslim has, which he can boast about. Because there is no other such example, there is no other creed, no other faith that gives you so much detail and gives you such a complete way of life for every single thing, every single aspect.

And it's not only that — Islam gives a Muslim, a mu'min, a proper framework to work with. Islam is the only thing that gives a person purpose to continue living. That if a person is going through difficulty, we are taught — this is the promise of Allah — if we are living a life wherein we are being devoted to Allah and we are obeying Allah and we are submitting to the will of Allah, then Allah has promised He will give us a peaceful and contented life.

So if there is anything which is difficult happening in our lives, any downs that we are experiencing, then we ought to reflect: what am I doing? How is my connection with my Creator that He is causing me to go through this — He is testing me with this particular thing.

Allah has mentioned in the Qur'an:

He says that We will definitely inflict upon them small tests — not large, terrible catastrophes — but small tests. Why? So that they may turn back to Us. So it's an opportunity for us to reflect.

The Example of Imam Abu Hanifa

Imam Abu Hanifa rahimahullah — anytime there was something very difficult for him to understand, he wasn't able to perhaps articulate it properly for his students — he would immediately go and perform two rak'ahs of salat al-tawbah, seeking forgiveness and repenting for whatever sin he may have committed. And then almost immediately, the students would mention that thereafter, subhanAllah, he was so easily able to articulate that very difficult concept with such ease.

The other ulema, they mentioned upon hearing that, they lamented. They said that subhanAllah, he was so righteous that he knew exactly what he did wrong, that he could repent to Allah and then everything was taken care of.

But on the other hand, if we reflect on our lives and we realize that everything is in order between us and Allah — there is nothing that maybe we don't know where we went wrong — then perhaps it could also be a test. Allah mentions:

"Do the people think that they're just going to be left saying لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ and then they're not going to be tested? We certainly tested those before them. Allah knew those who truly had faith and who truly believed in Allah, and He separated them from those who were actually lying, those who didn't have the utmost conviction."

As a believer we understand: whatever difficulty I'm going through, whatever that may be — this is my Allah who is testing me and putting me through this trial. And it is only that Allah who is going to come back and help me and assist me.

Are We Truly Submitting?

So we ought to reflect on our lives. We hear time and again from this mimbar and from various other mimbars throughout the world — in various different masajid and various different lectures — we hear about what is required from us. We hear that we are supposed to be performing five daily salats, that we're supposed to be giving zakah, that we're supposed to be fasting in the month of Ramadan, that we're supposed to go for Hajj if we have the money, that we're supposed to maintain family relationships and ties, that we're supposed to stay away from haram. We hear all the various different things that we're supposed to do and all the various things that we're supposed to stay away from.

But then let us ask ourselves — how much are we submitting to the will of Allah? We are to a large degree aware, but are we giving preference to that? Or are we giving preference to other things? Are we slaves of Allah or are we slaves of our desires? Are we slaves of society?

That when it comes time to have a wedding — you find unfortunately some of even the most conservative of families — when inviting their various other relatives, all of a sudden their whole life never ever would you have gone to their house and there would have been a gathering where there was intermingling or mixing of the genders — but then all of a sudden there is a wedding and gathering that happens. And then what happens? "What are everyone else going to say? What are our family relatives going to say? How are we supposed to take care of them?" Doesn't matter — are we submitting to Allah or are we submitting to the pressure of society? Peer pressure.

When it comes to taking our children and putting them through school — many of us unfortunately succumb to our desires and we look for a more convenient way, engaging in interest-bearing loans — even though some of us have the opportunity to stay away from that and still put our children through school. But it's because we can save a little bit more on a particular investment, but at the cost of waging war against Allah.

So we have to ask ourselves — how much am I truly submitting to the court of Allah? How much am I truly submitting to the will of Allah to see the beauty of Islam? And we have to understand — we are Muslims, those who submit. If we don't submit — this is our greatest honor, this is the greatest thing we have to boast about, our entire way of life — but if we're not even following the way of life that we are taught, this amazing gift that we were given, then what do we have to boast about? We have to think about that.

A Message of Hope: Repentance and Allah's Mercy

And I'd like to end off with a little bit of hope. Allah — you'll find in the Qur'an — mentions various different ayat: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا — "Oh you who believe, do this." يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا — "Oh you who believe, fear Allah and be with the righteous people."

"Speak truthfully, speak uprightly."

"Stand for justice." And there are various different rulings that the believers are given — Allah addresses them. One alim counted and said: 89 — 89 يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا instructions. The very last one, Allah says:

At the end of the day, it's as if Allah is saying: "I understand —

"We have all been created weak." I understand that the nature of mankind is that they are weak. So you are going to slip up. You are going to have shortcomings. So at the end of the day, repent to Allah. Feel bad about what we have done. Stay away from doing that. And make the firm intention and create the resolve within ourselves to refrain from ever engaging in that sin ever again.

Allah mentions — you'll find in the Qur'an, Allah addresses His servants in two ways. He says عِبَادًا لَّنَا and عِبَادِي. When He attributes a servant to Himself, He is talking about a slave that He loves — like Rasulullah ﷺ:

— talking about Rasulullah ﷺ and the journey of Isra'. And then He talks about other servants: عِبَادًا لَّنَا. So Allah is addressing His servants and He says:

"Oh my beloved servants" — who are these lovely servants of Allah? What are their characteristics? Allah says — not the one who performs tahajjud every single night, not the one who is fasting every single day, not the one who is performing large amounts of nafl salah. Those are all good and in their place and we should do them. But that's not who these lovely servants of Allah are that Allah is addressing.

Allah is addressing people like me — and perhaps a few people in the crowd as well. Allah is saying: "Oh my beloved servants who have wronged themselves. They have transgressed against themselves. They have disobeyed Me. Don't lose hope in My mercy. Don't lose hope in the mercy of Allah."

Mend your connection with Allah. Allah is waiting for us to come back — like a mother whose child has run off, how she waits for her child to come back home. Allah is waiting for us to mend our connection, our relationship with Him. And all it takes is that feeling, that resolve, and that commitment. InshaAllah, when we renew that, we will find a newfound connection with Allah.

Du'a

May Allah grant us the ability to value our deen. May Allah grant us the ability to submit to His decree and to His will. May Allah forgive us for all of our shortcomings and not deprive us because of that.

Announcements

All the brothers are kindly requested to please move forward before performing their sunnah salah and fill up all the gaps. There are many brothers waiting outside. Please let us all stand up and fill in all the gaps possible — especially on the right and left hand wings of the masjid, there's generally a lot of space. Please continue trickling in until all the gaps are filled. Jazakumullah khairan.

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Also join us for our weekly programs. Team Fajr will continue tomorrow. Saturday Fajr iqamah is at 4:45 a.m. Tafsir will also continue with Surah Hajj on Tuesday after Maghrib.

Registrations are open for the following programs:

Arabic Essentials — a three-week program for both brothers and sisters. Start your journey of learning the language of the Qur'an today. Classes start from July 24th.

Tadris Integrated High School Program — high school education in an Islamic environment. Enrollment is also open. Classes begin from August 14th.

For more information on the programs, kindly visit the website masjidds.org.

The MSI Seminar — please join us for an extensive seminar at MSI Masjid on the current issues that are plaguing us — of atheism, liberalism, and other ideologies — and how Islam and the Prophet ﷺ provide guidance on this. It will be a whole day program starting from Dhuhr till Isha with lunch and dinner being served as well.

There is also a du'a request for Mirza Faraz Beg. He is currently on a ventilator and undergoing a brain test. May Allah grant him a complete and speedy recovery, as well as all of the believers — both brothers and sisters — that are going through difficulties and that are ill.