Team Fajr with Mawlana Farhan Shariff - 12/16/2023

Tests and Trials: The Nature of This World

Every single individual is created in such a manner that he will always be placed through tests and trials and difficulties. That is the nature of this world. And that is how Allah has mentioned He has created us:

And at the same time, every single individual will have a test which has been fashioned purely for him. Such a test that he will be able to withstand, such a test that he will be able to succeed, and it will never be beyond one's ability, it will never be beyond one's capacity to pass through that test. As Allah also mentions in the Qur'an:

Allah will never burden a soul with more than it can bear. And our Allah is so merciful, so kind, that He has already forewarned us in the Qur'an. He has already informed us — before, if you can brace yourself before any type of impact, any difficulty, it's much more easy to bear. In fact, even if a person is braced before receiving an injury, the pain that he'll experience is less compared to if he was not braced. Sometimes it will completely derail him.

But Allah mentions:

He says, most definitely, without a doubt, We are going to test you — with just a little bit, meaning something that you'll be able to bear. بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ — some fear at times. وَالْجُوعِ — other times hunger. وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الْأَمْوَالِ — sometimes a deficiency in wealth, difficulty in our livelihood. وَالْأَنفُسِ — sometimes shortage of lives around us, the taking of lives, or sometimes even our health. وَالثَّمَرَاتِ — and also various other things. And Allah mentions at the end: وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ — give glad tidings to those who are patient.

At the end of the day, being servants of Allah, our job is not to question and to ask: Why did this happen? Why did that happen? Why am I going through this difficulty? Why are other people not going through this difficulty? Because at the end of the day, we are the mere servants of Allah. We don't get to make those decisions.

It's like a person has a car, and he's selling the car for $10 — maybe he purchased it for $15,000 — and he decides, I want to sell it for $10. Who are you to go to that person and tell him, what is wrong with you? Why are you selling it for $10? That's his choice. He can do whatever he wants. If he wants to give it away as a gift, free, then he can give it away as a gift. If he wants to sell it for $100, he can. If he wants to sell it for $20,000, he can do it. It's his material, his possession. He can do whatever he wants with it. We don't have a right to mandate that he sells it at a certain price. Because it's his commodity, it's his item, he possesses it.

Similarly, we are the creation of Allah. And we do what Allah wants us to do. And we live as Allah wants us to live.

Only Two Options: Contentment or Discontent

When we understand that, then we have just two options. We only have two options in life: either you can be happy and pleased with the decree of Allah, or you can be angered, upset, and depressed. But at the end of the day, the outcome is still going to be the same. As far as this loss that a person is suffering, this difficulty that a person is going through — you are still going to go through it. There is no change.

Either you can adopt a positive attitude, look at what's forward, look at what's to come, observe patience, and see what's in store for you — or you can live a life of suffering and misery. But at the end of the day, it's not going to change anything in this world. It may not change any outcome, any decision that Allah has made. It can change your outcome in the hereafter definitely, and possibly in this world. But that difficulty that you are facing is not going to necessarily change. We only have two options. It's like a switch that you have to flip. Either the cup or the bottle is half full, or it's half empty. And it's up to us to decide.

The Story of Shaytan: Three Qualities Without a Fourth

If you look at Shaytan's conversation with Allah, when he refused to prostrate to Adam (alayhi al-salam) — he refused to prostrate, and then Allah addressed him. Shaytan replied:

He said, why do I have to bow down to this person? I'm better than him. You created me from fire — fire ascends. You created him from dirt — dirt, so despicable, look, it falls to the ground. He didn't realize that fire is something that is destructive, whereas clay and dirt is something which is constructive — you can build buildings with it, etc.

Anyway, then Allah cursed him:

In different places of the Qur'an, this discussion is mentioned — the discussion between Shaytan and Allah. Allah told him: get out of here, you can no longer stay in the heavens with the angels, it's not appropriate for you to be here, and you are cursed forever.

But subhanAllah — this is a side point, quite an amazing side point, something to think about. The ulema mention that Shaytan had three things, and he did not have a fourth. The first is he was an alim and an aqil — he was extremely knowledgeable and intelligent. Shaytan was extremely intelligent at that time, except for this blunder that he made. But besides that, he was known to be quite intelligent. And even now, Shaytan is very intelligent. Shaytan has over a million years — perhaps more — of experience of how to deceive and how to misguide people. The greatest, closest friends of Allah, if they're not careful, can slip up.

He was also a great abid — he worshipped Allah prior to that time. That was why he was given that rank amongst the angels, because he was an excessive worshipper of Allah. And some ulama mentioned there wasn't a corner on the earth where he did not prostrate to Allah. And he was also an arif billah — he was someone who had the ma'rifah of Allah.

How in the world can Shaytan, the accursed one, have the recognition of Allah? He knew how merciful Allah was. That's why right after Allah cursed him and said "get out!" — what did he do? He immediately turned to Allah and made du'a:

SubhanAllah. Shaytan immediately made du'a to Allah: "Ya Allah, grant me respite. Give me a chance until the day they are resurrected." Of course, this later turned into his challenge to Allah:

"I'm going to lead every single one of them astray." But he made du'a to Allah at that particular time — he had enough understanding of Allah and how merciful Allah was to actually make du'a at that time. And what did Allah do? Immediate response:

Okay — your du'a got accepted. SubhanAllah.

On one occasion, someone came to Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi rahimahullah — actually, Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi was walking past him. And so this individual said, "Hazrat, please make du'a for me." And then Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi said, "Okay, insha'Allah, I'll make du'a for you. You also make du'a for us." So then he replied, "Well, my duas are useless. I'm such a big sinner. There's no point in me making duas. Hazrat, you make du'a for us; insha'Allah, we'll all get salvation." So then he got so upset and said, "Why are you talking like this? Don't you know that Allah even accepted the du'a of Shaytan? Are you so bad? Are we so bad that despite seeing the angels around us, despite seeing things from the ilm al-ghayb, we still disobey Allah? None of us have reached that point, alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah."

So we should have utmost hope that our duas get accepted. Rasulullah ﷺ mentioned:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3479)

Make du'a to Allah when you have absolute conviction that your duas are going to be accepted. If Allah can accept Shaytan's duas, then why wouldn't He accept yours and ours?

Shaytan's Plan: To Make Us Ungrateful

So anyway, the conversation continued. And what was part of the conversation? This is now pertaining to our topic of discussion. Shaytan told Allah:

Part of his threats to Allah — and there are many others:

"I'll misguide everyone. I'll give them false hopes to pursue. I'll instruct them to do various things — they will slit the ears of camels." Some ulama mentioned that means they will cause chaos and wreak havoc throughout the earth. "I will also instruct your servants and they will alter your creation." And there were different threats.

One of them, particularly, he says: "Ya Allah, I will come to them from in front of them — مِن بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ. I'll come from behind — وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ. I'll come from the right — وَعَنْ أَيْمَانِهِمْ. I'll come from the left — وَعَن شَمَائِلِهِمْ. I'll come from every nook and corner, every single way." All for what? وَلَا تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَاكِرِينَ — all so that you find your servants will not be grateful. They will not be thankful to You. They won't be positive. They won't be appreciative. That is the plan of Shaytan.

Contentment with Decree: Two Paths

In another hadith, Rasulullah ﷺ speaks about when Allah has destined something, then there are only two options:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2396)

That person who is pleased with the decree of Allah — فَلَهُ الرِّضَى — then he himself will find happiness, and Allah will be pleased with him. And that individual who is not pleased with the decree of Allah but rather is angered — Rasulullah ﷺ mentions فَلَهُ السَّخَطُ — that he shall also receive the wrath of Allah because he's not pleased with the decree of Allah. And in other words, then let him die with his grief. There is nothing you can do to change it. It's all about perspective.

How Do We Develop Patience and Positivity?

That's the next question. How do you develop that? One way is you ponder about the ayat that Allah has mentioned in the Qur'an. You reflect over what Allah mentions very shortly afterwards:

Right afterwards, after Allah mentions that there are going to be different tests, Allah says: وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ — give glad tidings to those who exercise patience. So we can reflect over these ayat, that Allah has promised wonders for those individuals who remain patient.

Allah mentions elsewhere in the Qur'an:

Do we think that we're going to be left alone to just say لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — we believe — and there's no test that's going to come our way? Whereas those before were definitely granted tests. Allah made known those who were true to Him, and He made known those who were not true to Him.

So we can ponder over these ayat, and the more that we ponder over them, then we realize — subhanAllah — that Allah is the ultimate being. He is our creator, our master, and He is the one who is in control. And we only have one option: to adopt patience. Then we can ponder about all of the different rewards that come with patience.

But at the end of the day, it's also a desire within the soul. I remember our Shaykh would tell us that when it comes to self-betterment, it's a decision that has to be made — it's an active decision. If we want to come closer to Allah, we have to want to come closer to Allah. We have to flip that switch in our bodies: yes, I am going to do what I can to come closer to Allah. Similarly, when it comes to positivity or negativity, it's a switch, it's a perspective, it's an attitude.

One person can look at a particular plot of barren land and say, "This is such a despicable place. This is such a useless place. Nothing will ever grow here, nothing will ever be built here, it's in the middle of nowhere." Another person will look at it and say, "SubhanAllah, this is such a wonderful place. What a wonderful area — I can build various different buildings here, or we can bring cattle, and we can have them live here, we can make lots of money, lots of business." Another person can look at it and say, "Wow, this is such a wonderful place to play soccer, such a wonderful place to come and fly a kite." It's all about perspective. Every person is looking at the same piece of land and coming with a different perspective, a different attitude.

Similarly, whatever comes in our lives — when we have different perspectives, different ways to look at it — either we can look at it in a positive way, make shukr to Allah, or we can, again, be displeased about it and angered about it.

Islam Regulates, Not Eliminates, Human Emotions

And if we look at the ahadith, especially when it comes to the loss of life — subhanAllah — no one is saying not to get hurt, no one is saying not to feel pain. That's abnormal. Islam does not preach, when it comes to all of these spiritual states, to get rid of them entirely. Islam doesn't say: get rid of all of your lust and desire, get rid of your desire to eat food, get rid of your anger, get rid of your envy. Islam doesn't say that. Islam preaches how to regulate these normal human characteristics.

When it comes to anger, you have to have some anger. But where is that anger directed? For the sake of Allah. Rasulullah ﷺ said:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4681)

Whoever loves for the sake of Allah, and hates for the sake of Allah, gives for the sake of Allah, and withholds for the sake of Allah — then he has completed his faith. So anger is there, but it should be directed for the sake of Allah. If a person is fighting for the sake of Allah — when the Sahabah would go for jihad, how are they supposed to fight the enemy if they don't have that anger? That ghayrah diniyyah — having that type of righteous zeal at the right time for the right purposes.

Like it's very famously mentioned: Ali (radiyallahu anhu), when he overcame someone in battle and threw him to the ground, was about to take his life — that individual spat in his face. All of a sudden, he stepped back and let him go. That person was so confused: "You're fighting a war with me, you were about to take my life — you should have just taken my life. Why didn't you take my life? I spat in your face, you should have taken my life in a more gruesome manner." So Ali (radiyallahu anhu) told him: "Initially I was there only for the sake of Allah. When you spat in my face, it became personal." SubhanAllah — look how he just let go. So you have to have anger for the sake of Allah.

How is a person supposed to show affection and compassion to their spouse if they don't have some sort of love? How is a person supposed to survive if they don't have some sort of desire to eat food? So all of these things have to be there, but they have to be regulated. Too much of anything will harm a person — if a person drinks way too much water, it can even result in his death. So it has to be regulated.

Sorrow Is Natural — But Do Not Speak Against Allah

Similarly, when it comes to sorrow, pain, difficulty, and dealing with that — no one is saying that a person should just remain positive all the time. Someone (radiyallahu anhu) passed away in the family and you have a smile on your face? That's not what we're saying. Rasulullah ﷺ himself was a human being. Rasulullah ﷺ himself taught us that, yes, it's fine — it's perfectly okay to have sorrow. But to refrain from saying anything against Allah at that time. When his own son passed away, he said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1303)

The eyes are tearing. The Sahabah were surprised, "Ya Rasulullah, what is this?" He said, "This is rahmah — mercy." The eyes tear, the heart grieves. But — and subhanAllah — we will not say anything except that which pleases our Lord.

When you think about difficulties that happen in a person's life, there are different stages. First it's shock, then it's grief, then it develops into anger. Especially if you see — may Allah protect us — certain individuals when they experience a particular loss in the family, especially those who are very close — a brother or a sister, a close close friend — they first feel shocked, they don't know what to say. Then it results in grief, they become depressed. Then what happens? They start questioning Allah. Then it becomes hatred. Those are the stages of grief.

So if you look at the hadith — Allahu Akbar — yes, there is time for grief, there is time for sorrow. إِنَّ الْعَيْنَ تَدْمَعُ وَالْقَلْبَ يَحْزَنُ — the eyes will cry, the heart will feel the loss. But when that stage comes — وَلَا نَقُولُ إِلَّا مَا يُرْضِي رَبَّنَا — we will not say anything except that which pleases our Lord.

It is at that time where Allah says: وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ — give those individuals who are patient glad tidings. Glad tidings of what? Allah mentions:

They are those who, when they experience any difficulty, say: "To Allah we belong, and to Him we are going to return." They understand this world is temporary. They understand that whatever they are going through is temporary.

One scholar mentions in the tafsir of the ayah:

Whatever is with you is going to terminate, it's going to deplete, it's going to run out. وَمَا عِندَ اللَّهِ بَاقٍ — and what is by Allah is everlasting. One way to look at this ayah is with regards to the temporary benefits of this worldly life — the luxuries, the enjoyment, whatever we have is all going to perish. Whatever is by Allah is going to remain forever, so let's focus on the hereafter.

But he also mentions another way to look at it: مَا عِندَكُمْ يَنفَدُ — whatever difficulty you're going through, ultimately that too is going to perish, that too is going to be gone, that too is going to leave your life. وَمَا عِندَ اللَّهِ بَاقٍ — and what is in store for you by Allah, if you exercise patience and adopt a positive mindset and attitude, then that is indescribable. Such pleasures that the eyes have never seen, the ears have never heard of, the thought of which has never crossed a person's mind.

Allah says: أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ — those are such individuals who will receive the special mercy of Allah. And the only other individual upon whom Allah sends salawat all the time is Rasulullah ﷺ:

A person can receive a similar type of special mercy from Allah by adopting patience at the time of difficulty, at the time of hardship. And when we are placed in such a situation, then Allah is actually granting us a package which will upgrade our status in His court.

The Moving Sidewalk: Difficulty as a Path to Allah

There is one brother — may Allah reward him — he mentioned to me: any person who goes through a difficulty such that it derails them, it causes tears to flow from their eyes, then that is a time when they are placed on an elevated path. Everyone is trying to get closer to Allah. Everyone is trying their best:

Some way or another, to come closer to Allah. Everyone's on a pathway, coming as close as they can. But when a person goes through such a difficulty — provided that they observe patience, yes, they can cry, they can have sorrow — but they won't speak out against Allah, and they persevere, and they go through that difficulty and they do tear up — then that individual is actually placed on a moving sidewalk. You know when you go to the airport, and you're walking through, you have those walkways that are moving? It makes you get to your place faster. Allah places such individuals on something similar to that. Your ability to come closer to Allah is far better than anyone else.

There is one nasheed, one nazm, you can hear it: سَبِيلُ الدُّمُوعِ سَبِيلٌ مُرِيحٌ — that the way of tears, when a person cries and cries and cries, provided that he cries in the court of Allah, to Allah, then that is like one of the most healing things ever. And that is a person's way out. That is how a person will actually come much, much closer to Allah.

That same individual was saying: when a person cries and reaches that point of breakage, that is the extent to which the anbiya (alayhimu al-salam) were tested:

To such a point that the believers were broken down, that the cries came out of their hearts: "Ya Allah, what's next? When is the help coming?" They reached such a point of breakage that it just comes out naturally. When a person is so broken down to the bare bones — so pitiful, you don't know what to do, you're losing your mind — at that time you cry to Allah, because you know no one is going to help me except Allah. You cry to Allah, you cry to Allah, you cry to Allah. At that particular time, every other barrier is completely removed. You have a direct connection to Allah.

And it's at that particular time — this particular Shaykh, may Allah reward him, mentioned — it's at that time where the real opportunity lies. Allah mentions and promises:

Allah is with those who exercise patience. And it's famously mentioned — it's not a hadith but like a proverb, and an Isra'ili narration — أَنَا عِنْدَ الْمُنْكَسِرَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ — "I am with those whose hearts are broken." The meaning of this is understood from various other ahadith as well. We understand that the concept is definitely real: when a person's heart is broken, all the barriers between him and Allah are removed.

And it's at that particular time — now the question is: do I make du'a only for my one difficulty, or do I branch out and make as much du'a as possible? Do I use this opportunity to come as close to Allah as possible, and completely pour out my heart asking for everything possible? Or do I just restrict it to that one particular difficulty that I'm facing?

If a person utilizes this package that Allah has granted them — to upgrade, to grant them a closer status by Allah — then they will find, subhanAllah, every single thing that they would make du'a for, they will find, insha'Allah, answered — either in this world directly, in a matter of a few days, moments, hours, perhaps months or years, or in the hereafter. He will see the results of those duas.

Shaytan Was Right — Except About a Few

Sometimes we don't have any other choice, when we are placed in such a difficulty, except to submit to the decree of Allah, to adopt a positive mindset. We need to understand that Shaytan is the one who wants us to think negatively. And the most frightening ayah of the Qur'an — we'll try to end on a positive note from here — is this:

Shaytan was right. That's what Allah mentions. Whatever Shaytan thought about mankind, and thought that he was going to be able to do — Allah says: وَلَقَدْ صَدَّقَ عَلَيْهِمْ إِبْلِيسُ ظَنَّهُ — Shaytan saw true his thoughts and assumptions. He was right. So everyone followed him. إِلَّا فَرِيقًا مِّنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ — except a small group of believers.

Those are the قَلِيلٌ مِّنَ الْأَوَّلِينَ and the قَلِيلٌ مِّنَ الْآخِرِينَ. May Allah make us among this qalil — who are granted the ability to be patient at the time of difficulty. May Allah grant us this mindset, that Allah grants us the ability to maximize on these moments in our lives where we are going through difficulty in whatever shape or form.

Rasulullah ﷺ has mentioned so many different rewards for that individual such that at every single second, whatever difficulty he goes through — in the hadith it's mentioned:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5641; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2573)

To this extent — that even some sort of disturbing thought, if a person loses their keys for example, then too at that moment Allah will be forgiving his sins because of the status of a believer in the court of Allah — provided that they are patient, provided that they do not lash out, provided that they do not adopt a negative mindset.

Du'a and Closing

May Allah grant us all the tawfiq to remain positive. May Allah protect us from all sorts of difficulty. And if Allah ever does test us with difficulty, may Allah grant us the tawfiq to remain patient.

Tawfiq only comes from Allah. May Allah grant us the tawfiq at those particular times.

Dhikr Session

Before starting, let us all recite Surah Ikhlas 12 times with the intention of sending isal al-thawab to Rasulullah ﷺ as well as all of those who have passed away. With the intention of repenting for all of our major and our minor sins, let us say Astaghfirullah 11 times. With the intention of attaining spiritual sustenance, let us take the name of Allah by saying Ya Basitu 11 times.

Repeat after me, the du'as of dhikr:

Rasulullah ﷺ said: the best of dhikr is لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — that except for Allah, the love of Allah, and the main purpose for which we are living — to please Allah — is coming back into our hearts.

Du'as for the Ummah

Insha'Allah, food is ready. Those of us that would like to go can go insha'Allah, and those that would like to perform Ishraq can perform Ishraq after breakfast — I believe there is still time.